Livin’ La Vida Retro – VW Style
When it comes to motorhome hire – or any vehicle hire, really – most companies do their best to offer the latest, most modern vehicles.
A few UK companies have decided to buck the trend, however – and offer classic VW campervans for hire instead!
One example is O’Connors, which offers fully-refurbished 60s and70s Volkswagen campers for hire from its Okehampton, Devon base. O’Connors’ fleet includes at least one genuine split screen model and are all fully converted motorhomes, with awnings available to expand the sleeping accomodation.
The funny thing about Volkswagen campervans is that they are still being made today – in Brazil. They make excellent low-cost vans and minibuses for the South American market and are now being imported to the UK for nostalgia-hungry buyers. Danbury, in particular, produces campervan conversions. I’ve seen a few at motorhome shows and although the conversions are ok, I reckon that the prices are a bit steep for such a basic, outdated vehicle.
Seven Degrees West have capitalised on this trend and rather than offering refurbished old ‘vans for hire, have a fleet of four new (Brazil built) VW campers. Also based in south-west England (Bristol), Seven Degrees’ vans have been customised – with alloys, lowered suspension and various other surfer-style bling. The company boasts that they offer “today’s reliability with fabulous traditional retro looks”.
Update Feb 2013: Judging from the disappearance of its website, Seven Degrees West isn’t offering campervan hire any more…
Hi
We are looking to hire a retro VW campervan for a weekend next year. We are based in York and would only require the van for a few days in this location – is this something your company could help us with? If so could you confirm pricing?
Thanks
Hi Jemma,
Unfortunately we don’t aren’t able to offer any older-style vans through our website – our suppliers all use new models for their rental vehicles.
The two companies mentioned in the article – O’Connors and Seven Degrees West – both have the type of campervan you want but are based in Devon.
I don’t know of any motorhome hire companies local to York offering such vans for hire but a couple of alternatives who may be able to help are:
http://www.motorcaravanhire.com/
http://www.yorkmotorhomes.co.uk/
Hope this helps, good luck finding what you’re after.
Roland
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