7 minute read
Love Campers: Van Life Elevated
We’ve all seen the #VanLife social media craze – but how could this transfer to the glamping industry? Love Campers specialise in converting vans and quirky vehicles into artisan ‘cabins’. After exhibiting at The Glamping Show UK for the first time this year, International Glamping Business’ Annie Hilton spoke to Director Clara Usiskin to find out more.
Clara & Darren
How did Love Campers come about?
My husband Darren and I started Love Campers six years ago when we realised we could turn our passion for campervan design into a business. We’ve both always enjoyed campervan holidays and getting into nature, so it made sense to do a job we felt passionate about. At one point, Darren even lived in a converted bus.
We started by building campervans, and have more recently added bespoke portable horsebox cabins to our products; we love the freedom that a home-on-wheels gives. We wanted to create a company that was conscious about its impact and as accessible as possible and that’s why we try to be thoughtful about equal opportunities, sustainability and inclusion in everything we do.
Who are the people behind the brand?
I’ve been the Operational Director of Love Campers since 2016. Prior to this, I qualified as a solicitor and ran my own human rights consultancy, specialising in research and advocacy around the world.
Darren is the Technical Director and brings over 25 years’ experience of precision metalworking across a variety of areas, including making and fitting parts for super-yachts. He’s an inventor and problem solver by nature, so always loves a new challenge!
Alongside Darren, we have a team of excellent craftspeople who work on the fitting of the conversions to an exceptional quality. We also have a dedicated Marketing Manager who looks after everything in that department.
What can Love Campers do?
Love Campers creates beautifully designed artisan campervans and portable horsebox cabins.
It can all be fully customised to suit the taste and requirements of our clients, meaning they can perfectly reflect the brand and look of a business. We can even make bespoke products such as saunas, showers, micro cabins and cafés.
We kit out our campers with state-of-the-art renewable energy systems with products like induction hobs and extra powerful solar panels. On top of this, we always aim to choose the most sustainable interior options, including FSC-certified wood for our furniture, and natural fibre insulation made from sheep’s wool or hemp.
How could glampsite owners use Love Campers to diversify?
Our converted horseboxes are completely portable and off-grid, which means they offer business owners the freedom to step away from planning permission, or having to think about complicated electric hook ups. The cabins can be moved to varying positions at different times of the year, useful for land that is prone to damage from seasonal weather conditions.
Love Campers works closely with the client to create a completely bespoke and beautiful product, unique to your business. The idea is that you can keep it simple, or let your dreams run wild.
Campervan rental is absolutely booming at the moment and is a fantastic way to create a secondary income. What’s more, when a campervan is not being rented out, it makes a great addition to the life of busy owners who’d like to escape into nature themselves!
According to a survey by the Camping & Caravanning Club, the demand for UK campervan rentals is at an all-time high; it reported an increase of 33% in campervan rentals in Easter 2022, compared to the same weekend in 2019. Further studies carried out by market researchers Mintel reported that 1 in 5 British adults have been on a camping or van holiday since the pandemic, and about 4.5 million of these were sleeping in a tent or campervan for the very first time.
These findings go to show that it’s the perfect time to maximise on the campervan rental industry. We’ve already been helping out lots of inspirational and ambitious small business and entrepreneurs this year, and want to help even more people harness the power of this sector.
It was great to meet you all – how was your first time at The Glamping Show?
We absolutely loved the show! It was incredible to meet so many inspirational entrepreneurs. We had some great chats and got excited talking about people’s creative ideas. The team is very excited to see the glamping industry continue to diversify in interesting ways.
The show made us realise that we’d love to convert some less traditional spaces. As converters of small spaces, we’re experienced in designing conversions to fit all sorts of shapes, so it would be great to work on something a bit different like a plane, helicopter, or bus.
We’re already working with someone we met at The Glamping Show, working closely with her design and converting a horsebox into a portable coffee shop.
Darren at The Glamping Show UK
Alastair Hilton
Which project has been your favourite to work on – or most unique?
Our most loved project is a recent conversion of a retro ambulance in a 1989 Mercedes-Benz 507D. The classic vehicle had been stored inside for the bulk of its life and had only clocked up around 28,000 miles. It was in great condition for its age and the original paintwork had been preserved pristinely.
The ambulance conversion features a fixed main bed at the rear of the campervan with a children’s bunk below. Complete with a curtain and lights, it’s also been designed as a play den, making it perfect for a family. At the back, Darren installed a metal locker to store electric skateboards and bicycles, or even surfboards!
A dinette was made from birch ply and oak with twin benches around a table, whilst the kitchen features oak worktops, a Thetford oven, grill and three-burner hob, a copper-coloured sink, a coffee maker, and a Dometic fridge. The campervan has been lined with Thermafleece insulation and features solar panels – and a very powerful lithium battery! Now fully converted, it’s currently part of a fleet of Love Campers’ show vehicles.
We’re about to put this rare and special van up for sale and welcome enquiries to hello@ lovecampers.co.uk.
1989 Mercedes-Benz 507D Ambulance
Would your conversions be suitable for a fully off-grid site?
Absolutely! All of our conversions can work completely off-grid with solar panels and powerful batteries; your entire campervan or cabin can be completely powered from clean solar electricity. This has the added benefit that the campervan or cabin is completely portable, as you’re not tied to a particular piece of land where you’re connected to the mains.
What is possible for customers with a smaller budget, versus what could be possible with a larger budget?
Some of our conversions are large and can take months in the workshop, with hundreds of hours of expert carpentry and expensive base products. These obviously come at a premium, however there are options for people with a smaller budget. For example, there are certain wood finishes that are still lovely, but less labour intensive, so we charge a bit less for them. We had the idea of building a surf campervan for a charity that would be crowdfunded by their supporters, and are always looking for creative ways to fund our builds for those who would not otherwise have access to a campervan.
What are your plans, and goals, for the future?
This year Love Campers achieved one of its goals, which was to build a really unique conversion in a classic vehicle base. We want to continue to develop this experimental and creative element of our work, being inspired by the individual character of classic vehicles to come up with a design that is one-of-a-kind.
We are also aiming ultimately for Net Zero in our carbon output. The journey to that is going to involve working with more electric vehicles, delving into our supply chain and partnerships, and continuing to develop our cutting edge off-grid campervan and cabin systems.
We have a really exciting plan up our sleeve for 2023, involving a vintage VW Splitscreen campervan, but at the moment it’s top secret – so watch this space!
