Dotty - A Tale of Two Vans

Dotty – A Tale of Two Vans

Have you ever fallen in love?

Just in case you haven’t yet noticed that RCC now means Retro CAMPING Club, this article may warm the hearts of those who have eschewed towing in favour of self-propelled accommodation of a certain age. This is not just any motorised home from home either, but a venerable air-cooled VW camper. 

A little explanation first, because you are sure to wonder why, with so many groups dedicated to VWs, air-cooled VWs, VW campervans, VW transporters, etc, etc, etc, would anyone with a VW T3/T25 want to join the Retro Camping Club as well? The answer is that good clubs are about the people and the RCC is a friendly club that welcomed us. Of course, I’m interested in the other more specific clubs too, but when they become too tightly defined, they tend to get very exclusive and snobby too and our tolerance for anoraks quickly lapses once we have identified the parts I need to buy and want to relax and have fun.

It's also fair to say that we, Maria and I, fell into campervan ownership by chance and likewise joined the RCC. So, here’s the story so far.

Cast your mind back, if you possibly can, to those distant days before normality was shattered by the COVID pandemic, specifically to February 2020. We’d taken a trip up North to visit my aging parents and brother and I’d accompanied the latter to a garage in Sunderland where our friend Steve was to work welding magic on his car exhaust. Steve pointed out a banana yellow VW “wedge” that he was overhauling for a local second-hand car dealer who thought it might be worth more than was. I won’t admit I fell in love with it at first sight, but the more I looked, the more I began to wonder how I’d got this far through life without a camper and the more I looked, the more I realised what a sound start this one might be to make up for lost time. Maybe not the iconic VW split screen or bay window camper, but still the classic air-cooled engine and the most practical shaped interior of any generation of Transporter. I was sufficiently impressed to bring Maria back for her opinion later that day and the decision was made to take on a money pit. To be fair it was some time since I’d lost my shirt on a Series 3 Land Rover and money I didn’t have was nonetheless burning a persuasive hole in my pocket.

With one previous owner for 40 years, a little under 100k miles on the clock, no MOT, a blown cylinder, rotten heat exchangers, more stickers than places she could possibly have visited but very little rust, after serious haggling a deal was struck at £7k with a minor engine rebuild and a fresh MOT to be included. I bought replacement heat exchangers and arranged with Steve to fit these before collection too.

Getting to know each other

A few weeks later, job done, and the camper was ready to rock’n’roll, except I couldn’t. We live in London and by that time, unless you needed an eye test in Barnard Castle, a trip to the North East was out of the question. The camper was released into my brother’s custody and there it remained until July. 

Moving in together

Following a prolonged spell in my family’s northern “bubble” when my father’s illness sadly became terminal and the camper was the least of my concerns, she finally made the long trip South. That first uncertain journey was taken over two days in convoy with yet another brother - just in case. The van performed impeccably, but to be fair “performed” in the sense of behaving well rather than the context of power/speed based “performance”. It was soon clear that 0-60 times for my latest vehicle was to be even less relevant than my very first (a 948cc Triumph Herald) and, even if the van could eventually be wound up to 60 mph on the flat, without the confidence of frontal crumple zones, air bags and modern suspension, 50-55 mph was a more comfortable cruising speed. Oh, and those long gentle motorway climbs you barely notice in a 280 bhp Alfa Romeo need second gear in the 70bhp camper. No great concern for me, I used to live on a narrowboat and recall life at life below 3 mph.

We made it home and the camper was immediately far more valuable and therefore worthy of further investment. That’s my story anyway and I’m sticking to it. 

That first trip away

We grabbed just one weekend away between lockdowns in 2020, a trip to Repton in Norfolk, to a small site at a former railway station with a cycling route along the old line to Norwich, which we made good use of. This confirmed that our enthusiasm was well founded, but also that the camper would need work, quite a lot of it in fact. 

Nobody’s perfect

I wanted to sort what I could myself and thus stripped out redundant wiring (who needs a CD autochanger anyway), added a split charger and leisure battery and countless smaller jobs, then I took it to my favourite garage (Veloces of London). They’re Alfa specialists, but with a mechanic who’d spent his formative years working on VWs and who, despite loathing them, was happy to take on ours and, in particular to replace the leaking fuel tank. Then came the second lockdown and tyres were not to meet tarmac again until January 2021. The camper was returned to us with a new fuel tank, rebuilt carbs and a £2k hole where my wallet once was.

The makeover artist

She was back for a while at least. Then I carelessly asked a designer what she could do to a slab-sided wedge and a project was born. Dan Maier (www.extraordinarydesign.com) had come to our attention as the creator of a local “art crossing” in Southgate, one of eight commissioned by Enfield Council to answer the age-old question of why did the chicken cross the road? The answer, for any chicken in Southgate is to paste a huge smile on its beak.

We know what we like and we like what we know

Dan took to this challenge as any artist would when presented with a blank canvas; she presented us with a number of options, including one very similar to the circles and swirls of the aforementioned crossing and that quickly became our preferred option. There followed a period during which Dan presented us with many options varying only in a few digits in their pantones, which clearly mattered greatly to her, but in my case served only to remind me that having made the big choice, we trusted her absolutely with the small details.

The spray on tan

Minutiae done, the big question was whether we should we spray or wrap? Cue the now customary meticulous research by Dan of options and quotes, landing finally on paint spraying by Road Rash in Leighton Buzzard, selected on versatility and quality (ranging from detailing bike tanks to full resprays of custom cars) and a price substantially lower than a wrap. Paul, artist and proprietor, thought he’d need two weeks, maybe three but, as a planner by profession I had doubts and suggested it would therefore be three, and true to form it took him five weeks. Suffice to say Paul really enjoyed this commission, but had no idea what it was going to be like to be guided by our perfectionist designer and he will not undertake a similar job again without doubling the price!

The new woman

Wasn’t it worth it though! Dotty was striking beyond our wildest expectations (and clearly now a personality in her own right and warranting a proper name). Of course my wallet was even lighter still, but a “designer makeover” is bound to add value; again that’s my story and I’m sticking to it Barclays. 

The supermodel

Following a “separated at birth” photo opportunity in central Southgate, we soon set off for our first RCC event under new colours, the 2021 Elton rally. The journey there was a delight and Dotty was greeted with double takes, broad smiles and unsolicited complements from passing cyclists as Waze took us through Cheltenham,; maybe I’m being fanciful, but I expect GCHQ themselves were probably taken aback by their satellite imagery. She was warmly welcomed to her first rally too.

Domesticity

Three more outing in 2021 then guess what, another round of COVID restrictions consigned Dotty to the roadside for the winter. 

Various jobs were undertaken during that time ranging from little fixes such as non-return valves on the fuel lines to encourage starting when hot to new door cards and insulation wherever there was room. How I hanker back to my adolescent years when my cars seemed to require a full rebuild every weekend, and many weeknights too. 

A new identity

I wasted more time than I expected finally getting that cherished “historic vehicle” tax class nailed. For those who haven’t done that before, here’s how awkward it is; Dotty was 40 last September, but wasn’t eligible until the next calendar year 2022, but even then, not until April, needless to say I found this out with three largely disappointing trips to the post office, the most frustrating of which was in January where I discovered that I would still need retax and MOT Dotty in March. I’m sanguine about the MOT, I want to know that I’m safe on the road, but I’m still waiting for the refund on the Road Fund License (worth almost £25 a month).

The most important job so far this year has been the crafting and fitting of new curtains and seat covers a joint effort by Maria and my brother Alasdair (RCC Vice Chair). The interior is at last as striking as the exterior.

Living together

So, what next? Well Dotty has attended two RCC rallies already this year and has thus far behaved like a dream; she’s got more adventures to come. Of course, any money pit is going to continue to demand a magic money tree and I struggle to recall the many smaller expenses along the way so far; doubtless there will be more ahead. BUT she brings joy to all but the hardest of hearts, whether they be pensioners who stop for a chat when I’m loading her with provisions for the next outing or the passing teenagers that gave a thumbs up and told me that the paint job was “sick”. 

We wanted to make the world that little bit happier after some dismal times and Dotty is delivering in spades. So, if you are hesitant to make bold choices in your own “sympathetic restorations”, maybe you even fancy your own contemporary take on “hippy chic” as well, then my advice is go for it; the first kid waving at you from a passing car will surely bring a big smile to your own face. Trust me, I’ve got the t-shirt!