Our Dream Camper Van Conversion
Back in January I wrote a Blog about our Dream Camper Van. Well this dream is now becoming a reality. We’ve purchased a VW T6 Transit Van and we’re having it converted by a specialist camper van conversion company. It’s very exciting.
When we finally decided we were going to purchase a camper van we started looking around. We couldn’t find one that gave us everything we wanted so we decided to purchase a van and get it converted to our specification.
The Van
Mr J had an extensive list of requirements for his dream van:
• low mileage
• Long Wheel Base
• Automatic
• 4 Motion – he thinks we’ll need it to get out of muddy festival fields
• 204 BHP
• Front & Rear parking sensors and rear parking camera
• …….. the list goes on!
We looked for a second-hand van that fitted his list of requirements but couldn’t find any. As this was going to be our dream camper van and we were paying for a specialist camper van conversion we decided to buy a new van.
The shiny new van arrived at the beginning of April. We even managed to get quite a bit of use out of it as a van. We picked up some hay for our village picnic in the park and managed to squeeze 17 bales of hay in it!
The Camper Van Conversion Company – Three Bridge Campers
When we decided we were going for a camper van conversion we started looking for a specialist company to do it. We visited a few camping shows where conversion companies had stands. As soon as we saw the Three Bridge Camper conversions we fell in love with them. The design and quality were just what we were looking for.
They’re not the cheapest conversion company but you get so much choice in the final spec that we think it’s worth it.
The company was formed by Daniel and his Dad in 2009 although Daniel had already done some conversions on his own. The company has gone from strength to strength.
History of Three Bridge Campers
In the Beginning – Before Three Bridge Campers was formed in 2009, Daniel was building campervans from his father’s workshop and home based on the Volkswagen T4.
2009 – Daniel formed Three Bridge Ltd with his father Stewart, who managed and built exhibition stand construction. Daniel was building the campervans from his own designs.
2010 – Now Three Bridge had been trading for a year, they started experimenting more with designs and ideas to really push the limitations within the leisure scene. Lots of new ideas and designs were created, which had a big influence on how the interiors seen today look.
2010 was a very important year, as this was the year that the idea for the Infinity was thought of. It was a trip back on the plane from the Dusseldorf motorhome show, that Daniel and long-time friend Lyall came up with the idea of a curved worktop which started at the floor and ended at the floor.
Later that year a customer came to Three Bridge with no deign specification, just a brief of wanting ‘something special’. This was the perfect opportunity to pitch the idea of the curved unit, which later inherited the ‘Infinity’ name. The Infinity interior has proved to be hugely successful and has pushed the boundaries within the campervan scene.
2011 – the campervan sector was booming, and more space and time was required to further progress this side of the business. Daniels father Stewart moved the exhibition side of the business to another location.
Later that year Daniel brought best friend Lyall into partnership, and further developed the Infinity interior.
2012 – this was the year Three Bridge purchased a CNC machine, which was to speed up production and increase overall quality. It was the most valuable purchase to date, as it provided free time to develop further ranges to compliment the Infinity interior.
The Tourer range was now developed and released for production and was focused on practicality but retaining the quality of the Infinity.
2013 -this was the year that the Infinity 2 and Infinity Low-line was designed and produced for the first time, expanding the range further to give more variety and options.
2014 – this was the year that Three Bridge opened up the in-house upholstery department, giving more control and influence over the design and quality of the trimming.
The Tourer range also received a revamp, with a new sleek and modern look with Corian worktop and extra storage.
The company has grown to a point where another 2000 sq. feet was taken to accommodate a new purpose-built office and upholstery department.
2015 – Three Bridge took on more staff to increase production and increase quality even further, with more qualified staff and a more streamlined operation the company pushed forward to strive to be the best in the industry.
2016 – 2018 the company continues to progress.
Our Camper Van Conversion
Once we decided to use Three Bridges the next step was to book an appointment with them to discuss our design spec and book a production slot.
We had a meeting at their workshop near Bicester to go through our requirements and look around the workshop and meet some of the team.
To come up with the final spec for our camper van we had to go through the extensive list of options to decide which ones we wanted. This included things like windows, type of bed, pop top, water tank, lighting, sound system, heating, leisure battery, water tanks. I never realised there quite so much involved.
At the meeting we also went through all the colour choices for floor, worktop, cupboards and seats with Daniel and decided on the ones we wanted. We’d already decided we were going for the Infinity.
Our colour palette is in shades of grey as we decided we could always add colour by accessorising and could change it as often as we want.
The Build
I’m very excited as we dropped the van of to Three Bridge’s in the first week of July ready for the build to start. They were running slightly behind schedule so were expecting to start the Build around the 3rd to 4th of July.
The complete build should take 4 to 6 weeks as they have to do a heap of stuff including taking the roof off to fit the pop top. Installing windows, cabinets and a bed. Reupholstering the seats and insulating and lining the van to name but a few.
I will keep you regularly updated with progress.
