Fifty Shades of Dub #3

The last week has been a busy mix of sewing, campervan enquiries, feeling guilty that the kids have been predominantly stuck at home during their summer hols and trying to get our splitscreen on the road.

Both Delia & Ramsey received some TLC last week to get them ready for their week hires, Delia is currently in Norfolk, and Ramsey is on the other side of the country on the holiday just by Exmoor National Park.

Weeks like this I wish I had time off during the summer, so I could be the kind of mum who has time to plan day trips and activities for the custard creams, but the reality is when the weather is not great there is not that much to do that doesn't cost money and that we can get to on our bikes.  At least I'm setting them a good work ethic example!

So here we are on Wednesday evening and it's time once again for

Last week it was Cuthbert's turn, but this week it's all about.....


Peppa  a 2007 VW T2c Brazilian Kombi with a Danbury Rio Conversion, 
Engine : 1400cc Watercooled Bio-fuel Totalflex     Fuel: Unleaded and E85 Ethanol 

Owned by

Paul   (@vwpeppa)

Tell us something unique about Peppa

She's the only Brazilian Kombi in the world in that particular spec and colour, Candy White over Barbie Pink.  

Just in case there is anyone who hasn't guessed, why the name Peppa?

The name was given by the two young son's of the first/previous owner,i think they loved Peppa Pig and being pink and white it made sense, also my kids loved Peppa so you can say it was meant to be.

How long have you owned Peppa and what have you done to her so far?

We have owned Peppa since June 4th 2010 - we had been looking for a Brazibay for about three months and my wife spotted this one on the internet late one night, she emailed the owner straight away and the rest is history...She was that confident we would buy it she only got one way train tickets...!

Because Peppa has a magnificent spec as standard including heated front/rear screens,all through heating,pumped hot/cold water,fridge/freezer,central locking,I-pod stereo,to name but a few I have not added very much so far.  A set of eyelids,aerial topper,a few stickers and a set of genuine Porsche centre caps is about it.

Do you have anything else planned for Peppa?

Future plans are for a flip down tv/dvd,electric windows,euro headlight conversion and new curtains but watch this space...!

What do you use Peppa for?

It is our main vehicle and I use it seven days a week, doing the school run, food shopping etc...It is very economical and ultra reliable,the 1400cc watercooled engine returns on average 35+mpg and will cruise at 75mph easily.                                                                                           

Weekend's are spent at our favourite place,Royal Sandringham Estate and following the beautiful Norfolk coast road from Hunstanton to Cromer and beyond...Camping adventures are plenty and the kids love sleeping in the pop-top double bed and telling everybody it's from Brazil...

What made you choose a modern Brazilian Kombi rather than an aircooled camper?

The reason behind a Brazilian watercooled and not a classic was purely down to using it everyday and knowing that it was going to be 100% reliable whatever the weather,also I have spent enough time under vehicles working on them when I should have been driving them and didn't want this to be the case with a bus...The brazibay gives me the best of both worlds,the gorgeous baywindow look with ultra reliable engine technology...

These buses were built until 23rd December 2005 with a 1.6 fuel injected aircooled engine but due to it failing Brazils high emmision standards the 1.4 watercooled Fox engine with the front mounted radiator has been used since then..

There is a lot of snobbery and misconception over Brazilian built buses one being they are inferior quality to German built one's and not worth the £20,000 to £50,000 price tag...My opinion is that all buses,no matter where they were built be they split,early bay,late bay,brazilian bay,LT's,T25's/3's,T4's and T5's are all as equaly important to the VW scene as each other :)

OK so got to admit the Custard's are probably what you'd call Aircooled Snobs but I've got to admit Peppa is rather pretty and I'm a bit jealous at her internal spec....totally agree about the point of them all being important to the scene (hence why we're more than happy to feature Peppa here!)

And finally when your not busy playing with your dub,  what do you do?

I like photography,film making, going on nature hikes and spending precious time with my family...My company, Cubarose Media is currently involved with organising a new VW show for Norfolk - East Coast Dubbin to take place in summer 2013...You can follow on twitter, @eastcoastdubbin and check out the facebook page also for regular updates and info...

Thanks very much Peppa for letting us feature you this week, if you'd like to appear with your dub just shout  Custard Campers,  vw campervan hire Essex.  We'd love to hear from you.

Kerry x

Fifty Shades Of Dub....#2

It's that time of the week again when we make contact with the Dub community out there and invite one of them to tell us about theirs.

Last week it was Merlot's turn, but this week it's all about.....

Cuthbert, a RHD 1971 earlybay dormobile

Owned by

The Dearsley family, Craig, Veronica & their lovely children Oli & Tabitha

So Craig, when did the Dub Love start?

Back when I was around 15 my friend’s uncle had a camper and he worked for Volkswagen so the thing was awesome, I was smitten! I had a couple of normal cars after I passed my test but I always had the idea of a camper in my head, then one day at the age of 24 I thought it’s now or never and just went for it. I always liked the early bay and I had big plans for a restoration, so I found myself a 1971 dormobile. It was in a bit of a state but I was smiling all the way home, until the roof blew open on the M25! But that’s another story.

Why the name Cuthbert?

He never had a name when I collected him so on the journey home my friend Gary and I went with Cuthbert and it kinda stuck

How long have you owned Cuthbert and what have you done to him so far?

I got Cuthbert just over six years ago.  I drove it around for a couple of months, took it to a festival, and then decided to get it in for that all important restoration I was planning.  The restoration wasn’t what I was expecting, the camper turned out great but it was a long and painful road. I will talk about this more in the future....

In the mean time I met my wife Veronica and we had two wonderful children Oli and Tabitha. I finally got Cuthbert road worthy and an MOT two days before our wedding! Talk about cutting it fine.

What's happened with Cuthbert since your wedding?

Since then he has been on and off the road but finally this year we have had a good run and we are using him as much as we can. We took him to Devon in May, it was such a buzz when I see the “Welcome to Devon” sign on the M5, I just had to pull over and take a picture. And when we arrived in Croyde there just so happened to be a small VW show on, so we found ourselves in a VW convoy, people were waving and taking pictures of us driving through the town centre, which was an amazing experience!

Do you have anything else planned for Cuthbert?

To finally get my twin carbs bolted on this winter after them sitting in the loft for the last 3 years and getting the interior more camping friendly (cupboards/fridge etc).

The Custard's are loving Cuthbert, we're a bit keen on early bay's and Dormies are a personal favourite's  of mine, maybe that's why we've invited Craig to come back and guest blog about the restoration of Cuthbert in the future.  But in the meantime what we want to know is, where can we see more of him?

I might try to get him to Brighton Breeze if I'm not helping my wife at the most Curious Wedding Fair (think they are on the same day) and hopefully down to air-cooled night at the ace cafe next month.

And finally when your not busy playing with your dub,  what do you do?

I'm an amateur photographer and I've set up a facebook page Craig Dearsley Photo to start showing some of my images.  I'm getting more into photographing vw's so look out for some I took at the Ace Cafe meet last night.

Thanks very much Cuthbert for letting us feature you this week, if you'd like to appear with your dub just shout  Custard Campers, vw campervan hire Essex.  We'd love to hear from you.

Kerry x

Something Blue

Saturday started with very early start, Ramsey arrived home at 4.30am as he'd been feeling abit poorly.  An anxious morning awaited us, as he was due at a wedding at lunchtime.  We had spoke to our mechanic who said he could take a look at some point, so we ploughed on with getting him washed & sparkling.

A last minute dash to the mechanics, who literally had to just tweak a couple of things, ten minutes later Ramsey was ready to party.  Very cross with the AA who had been called out & could of done exactly what our mechanic did and got our hirers on their way.  Instead they said it needed relaying back, stupid! I debated whether to share this but any hire company who claims they never have issues with their campers is lying, these are classic vehicles and no matter how well you maintain them they can still have their moments.  Thankfully not all the time!

Custard Campers are not just about self drive vw campervan hire, we also love taking part in VW Wedding Transport

                                         Something old, (oh that would be Ramsey)

Something new,

Something borrowed,

                             Something blue (oh Ramsey again!)

Ramsey looked pretty cool sat outside the church decorated in his rose garlands

Collecting his special passengers

And we were ready to set off back to the reception in Chelmsford, Frank Sinatra playing on the stereo sipping cold champagne on a sunny day, not a bad start to married life.

Ramsey was very happy to model for a few more pictures with the happy couple....(excuse the quality as these were just snaps I took on my phone, the couple's photographer took the 'proper' ones)

Congratulations to Susana & Shaun, thank you for inviting Ramsey to be part of your special day.

Kerry x

Fifty Shades Of Dub #1

Welcome to a new feature on Custard Camper's blog...

   

The idea is get more interaction with our 'liker's' 'followers' and campervan fans.  No use me tapping away at my keyboard if no one knows I'm here!  So every Wednesday we will be saying hello to one of you.     Finding out about a bit more about you and having a good nose at your dub.  So without further ado...

introducing

   Merlot  a 1969 early bay RHD campervan

Owned by

Sam & Andy and young Ben

Tell me more about Merlot...how did he get his name?

Merlot is a 1600 Devon Deluxe conversion (though the interior has changed since then).  We called him Merlot (as in fine wine) as his colouring was deep metallic red and it suited him.

How long have you owned him and what have you done to him since you bought him?

We've owned him exactly one year and since then we've made him smarter with his new Empi-5 colour coded wheels, a new (quieter) exhaust, new interior floors and carpets and painted the interior red and black to match the existing original red vinyl seats and trimmings.

Have you got anything else planned for Merlot?

Yes we've just ordered new decals for him so you'll be able to recognise him by his name.

When do you drive him?

We show him locally about once a fortnight, but generally he's a weekend showing-off/cruising car.  Here  he is with Andy at the Enfield Motoring Pageant from a few months back..

The Custard's are loving Merlot and we've actually seen him a couple of months back and he looked even better than the photos.  Where can we see more of Merlot?

Merlot has his own facebook page and you'd all be very welcome to visit.

Finally what do you & Andy do when your not cruising in your cool ride?

We run Blackcarat, an Essex/London based online fine jewellery shop.  Blackcarat specialises in engagement, eternity, diamond and wedding rings - all things rings.

Thanks very much Merlot for letting us feature you this week, if you'd like to appear with your dub just shout  Custard Campers, vw campervan hire Essex.  We'd love to hear from you.

Kerry x

Whitenoise 2012

So last weekend saw the Custard's heading off to Norwich for VW Whitenoise Show.  Sadly we weren't able to go for the weekend as Ramsey had a prior engagement at his first wedding no less.

Dan had agreed to drive for this so it was his first VW Wedding as well....   Ramsey was washed and sparkling and then it rained again to try and ruin all my hard work, he still looked great though wearing a white rose garland on his front bumper and another rose garland wrapped round the back of his roof rack.  I think next time I'll wrap them right the way round the roof rack.

The wedding was in East London for a German couple Reme & Anna and their jack russell Spike.  Dan did a bit of dog sitting while the ceremony took part, the Custard's are a bit handy like that!

Ramsey was admired by everyone at the wedding and was very happy to be play his part in their day.

The bride rocked a gorgeous polka dot dress from Vivien of Holloway, a perfect match for Ramsey's rock n roll style interior.

Saturday afternoon was spent getting some jobs done on Ramsey and worked on the ongoing job of cleaning up the louvre windows for the splitscreen (we know how to enjoy ourselves!).  I also loaded up Ramsey with wellies & raincoats and of course tea making essentials ready for Sunday's day trip to VW Whitenoise.

We planned an early start as we decided to be brave and enter Ramsey into the Show N Shine.  Now I know he's not a show stopper like some dubs out there but he is super cool and our experience of Show n Shine's is that anything goes.  We set off later than planned and then got as far as Colchester and had to stop and park up for my radio interview.  Custard Campers was to be featured on Chelmsford Radio as their shop of the week, so there we were parked up in a holiday inn car park waiting for the phone call.   Dan had made the kids get out the camper as they always misbehave when I'm on the phone, lucky for them it wasn't raining.  The phone duly rang and although very short it went well and I got through it without saying anything too stupid, always a result.

We arrived at the Norfolk Showground to bright sunshine and after a bizarre drive around the show trying to find the entrance to the main arena, we snuck in and parked Ramsey up in the row of Bay Windows.  He wasn't the shiniest or the most stock looking but in my humble opinion he was the coolest.

We had a wander round the show, and at first it seemed there was loads there but the actual trade stall area was quite small and very quiet.  Some nice stalls but none of the normal 'parts' type traders which was a bit of a shame.  We did however order this gorgeous fabric from The Cosy Camper Co for the splitscreen's curtains, now I've just got to actually make them.

The weather could not of been better and we can had fun mooching around, the prize giving for the Show N Shine was at 3pm just about the time the sky went from bright blue to an ominous shade of grey, things were running a bit late and by the time they started, so had the rain.  This is when having a vehicle in the main arena came into it's own, we were able to jump in the camper, put the kettle on and wait it out.

Ramsey didn't win any prizes but we did have a great day and this show will be on our list to visit next year we might even be able to camp that time.

Thanks for reading and if you like what you see you need to hit the follow button up top so you can keep an eye on this blog.  If you don't fancy that make sure you 'like' our facebook page as I always post on there when I blog.  We've got some great features coming up showing off some of our followers campers  and we've even got a restoration project to share with you.  See it's not all my inane wittering.

In the meantime if you can't get enough of the campers, then you need Campervan Hire in Essex, that would be us Custard Campers!  (sneeky SEO link here..sorry but gotta be done)

Kerry x