Camper Envy delivers Euro bling

Whereas there’s plenty of colour and variety offered by Australia’s custom caravan builders, local campervan conversion specialists apart from a few exceptions have stuck firmly to the ‘cookie cutter’ white van formula.

However, a new boutique campervan company based in Newcastle, NSW is aiming to change that, offering discerning buyers the opportunity to order the Volkswagen Transporter-based campervan of their dreams, whatever that may look and ride like.

Using the catchline ‘Obsessive Camper Design’, Camper Envy was started by self-confessed ‘van guru’ Brenton Miller, who brings a wealth of experience to the new business including stints in finance, motorsport and the car and house building industries.

Miller said it was while living in the UK with his wife and three children that he developed a passion for high-end bespoke campervans, touring around Europe for six months with his family in a stylish VW Transporter built by New Wave Custom Conversions in South Wales.

As well as all the usual campervan features, the trick T5 Transporter featured a lowered stance, sporty alloys and custom interior finishes including yellow upholstery to make it look something more from an episode of ‘Pimp my Ride’ than ‘What’s Up Downunder’.

While some campervan specialists like Achtung Campers already offer customised styling, Miller said there is no-one locally offering a full custom fit-out of the latest Volkswagen T6 Transporter including fitment of all the latest top-spec European components and fittings.

“No-one is filling that niche of European style top-end camper and also the ability to go bespoke,” he explained. “It’s more difficult for the other campervan converters to do custom design as they have their set models and layouts and that’s what they do.

“I’ll sit down with a customer at the start and we’ll design the van, the seating configuration, the cabinetry, the roof… Everything is designed around what they want from their camper and that includes all the top-end componentry which I’m mainly sourcing from Europe at the moment,” he said.

The Camper Envy website lists some of the countless options available including SCA pop-top roof systems with integrated roof beds, Scopema Altaïr seat/bed set-ups finished in a choice of 500 different leathers or fabrics, cabinetry with over 300 different coloured, metallic or wood finishes, and bauxite and acrylic resin benchtops in 80 different styles.

Other options available on Camper Envy conversions include custom two-tone paint jobs, factory alloy sidebars and aftermarket alloy wheels.

The low volume converter will also get your campervan cornering like a sports car with fitment of a Bilstein B14 Coilover kit, or VB FullAir 4C replacement suspension for improved ride comfort.

Being a one-man band at the moment Miller has only completed two bespoke campers so far in between attending shows, but plans to put on staff as the orders start rolling in for the eye-catching glampervans.

“My aim is to give customers exactly what they want, rather than an approximation of what they want… in some ways we’re the modern interpretation of (the old Kombi campers), and tapping into that retro appeal,” he said.

Camper Envy is currently finishing off a low-riding grey and orange T6 Transporter conversion nicknamed Stanley, that comes complete with bright orange roof and complementary orange leather interior, walnut cabinetry, and Blizzard flooring, not to mention camping essentials like a diesel cooker and air heater, compressor fridge, solar powered battery system and 96L water storage, for final pricing of $107,990.

“They don’t have to be colourful, it’s more in the design detail and level of finish where I’m trying to set the vans apart from others available in Australia,” he said.

Despite the edgy Euro design elements he says he’s getting as many enquiries from retirees as younger couples who want a stylish weekday runabout cum week-end escape machine.

“We basically appeal to somebody who wants the best and is willing to pay for it,” he said.