Dormobile is a 1950s-era onwards
campervan (motorcaravan, motorhome) conversion manufactured by the coachbuilder
Martin Walter of Folkestone
Martin-Walter was a long established, 1773, firm of harness makers in Folkestone, Kent which switched to building bespoke bodies for motor cars when horse-drawn vehicles began to disappear. As well as bespoke bodies they built short runs for vario ...
in Kent.
Initially based on the
Bedford CA van, the name is associated more with those and subsequent
Bedford CF conversions than other companies converted.
History
The first Bedford CA based Dormobile motorhome, complete with a gas stove, a sink and cupboards and seats which converted into beds, appeared in 1957.
The elevating roof, hinged on one side and featuring a red and white striped canopy, was quickly evolved in order to make it possible to stand within the vehicle. The campervan idea originated as a compromise negotiated with the UK tax office.
[ Earlier in the 1950s, the manufacturers specialised in converting the Bedford CA van into a mini-bus, featuring extra side windows and seats. The UK tax authorities asserted that the converted vehicle was effectively a form of estate car, and therefore its retail price should bear passenger car purchase tax, a burden from which buyers of vans were spared.][ However, the manufacturers negotiated an agreement whereby Dormobile converted vans could be sold without purchase tax, provided they incorporated "built-in life support equipment" such as a cooking device, and facilities for the washing and storage of clothes.][ These stipulations triggered a move away from minibus conversions to motorhome conversions, which carved out a substantial new life-style market as the ensuing decade saw a substantial increase in disposable incomes in the UK.][
The novelist Anthony Burgess and his wife, ]Liana
A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a ta ...
, owned one and used it as a home and means of travelling throughout Western Europe in the late 1960s.
Dormobile
Other vans were converted under the Dormobile name such as Morris Commercial Cars, VW, BMC, Land-Rover, Ford, Leyland, Commer.
The company subsequently converted a number of different van-based vehicles to other uses, including minibuses
A minibus, microbus, minicoach, or commuter (in Zimbabwe) is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, th ...
and ambulances, before collapsing in the mid-1990s. In 1997, Dormobile Ltd. was revived and is now based in Lyndhurst, Hampshire. The company carries out modern camper conversions as well as supplying spare parts and full restorations of the classic models.
See also
* Volkswagen Westfalia Campers
References
External links
Dormobile Owners' Club
CF-UK The Bedford CF Owners Club
Dormobile Ltd
Dormobile
Recreational vehicle manufacturers
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