Before we had the kids (mid 80's) we wanted "cheap " holidays whenever we wanted - drove by a tiny garage with a Jaffa Devon on the forecourt and traded in the car that day - van cost 1800. Turned out to be a one owner bus and the first owners called us the following week with all sorts of bits and pieces for it. Toured Scotland within 3 weeks of buying and we were hooked!
My infatuation came from when i was younger,my dad had a bus which he towed a speed boat and a Hobie cat behind that.Hippy road train deal,we camped for 3 to 4 weeks at a time,still remember that brown/orange tent he had...and his perm! Great memories which i am now passing down to my kids,except i dont have a tow hitch. South Africa was a safe place in the 70's and 80's growing up.
I remember my Gran's mate from the other end of the terrace had a white bay, and they used to go off round the country in it for holidays; and one of my friends parents had a typical 1970's 0range dormobile which we used to play in too, so I guess I was familiar with them from childhood. As I grew up, got a job, got older, travelled , I always thought I'd like my own, but I knew that on my wages it was a dream unlikely to be fulfilled. Last year at a music festival my trusty 20 year old tiny tent leaked for the first time, and I sat in it listening to the storm going on around me, trying desperately to keep my possessions away from the edges, and thought that something had to change ..... buy a bigger, better, newer tent? A caravan? I've backpacked and camped all over the world, and yet I've seen such a small part of my own country. After a lot of hard thinking, and staring at bank statements, it occurred to me that if I couldn't afford a campervan now whilst I have a regular job, I'm sure as hell not going to be able to afford it when I retire...... so I took a look at ebay and gum tree to gauge average prices, answered a couple of questions on the online application form, and within 5 minutes there was a large sum of money in my bank account. I know I won't actually 'own' my campervan for another 4 years; and despite buying the best I could afford, I know it is a big 0range money pit that lurks on my driveway and makes me sooo frustrated when I fix one thing just in time for another thing to break, fall off, rust, or leak; but in my first summer of ownership I've been camping twice, and have another trip lined up before winter; it makes me happy when I drive it; and I feel proud of my successes, however small they might be. Sometimes I do wonder if I've lost the plot.... but then I come on here and realise that I'm no different than anyone else who has the pleasure of owning a 40 year old tin box with a rock & roll bed and it's engine at the back
My wife said I looked a bit of a 2@ in my MGB so I sold it and bought a camper project cos they're dead cool
They are and have always been my favourite bus VW wise , conversely I am now very drawn by T25's maybe as I looked at many when I thought I could not afford a bay ...to say 'there is something about them' maybe vague but true ...
Our summer holidays used to be driving from Calais to South of France in a car and camping overnights in those fantastic free 'aires' that you get in France. She decided it would be a lot more comfortable to do it in a campervan. So I got a bay because they are cheap, reliable and economical to run. (Must be - it's a VW)
My old dad had lots of different VW's when I was growing up, and we used them to go 'home' to ireland for holidays....I learnt to drive in a 1968 bay (in 1986), and that was mine till the big storms of '87, when the garages that it was parked next to collapsed onto it...... I then worked my way through a succession of beetles (including two karmann's), bays, a beach buggy, 411Le, golf (wrong!) a lovely one owner Westie, that I totally restored and sold for £3700(!), before finally getting a 1964 right hand drive devon split, that was called kenny......you can't kill kenny! I sold kenny nearly 10 years ago, to start a little part time business, and pay off a few debts......and was without an aircooled for the longest period of my life, about 7 years. My dad passed away just over two years ago, and left me a bit of money....not a lot, but enough to make me want to spend a good chunk on hookers and drugs....then fritter the rest away! But I resisted! I thought that I would get something that would remind me of him.....at first, it was going to be a blue mercedes, as he always promised himself one, but never got around to it.....but the lure of the aircooled moter, and the smell of an old VW interior proved too much. So now, including my current 1979 devon, I have owned either 21 or 22 aircooled VW's in my 45 years.....I can't remember exactly how many! Some great stories on here, and without doubt, the best thread on here!
I can relate to that! My missus thinks I look a ***** full stop! Especially when I wear my Hi-tec squash shoes and black socks!
I like that abbreviation @Flakey - but I am sure that the MGB is cool as well - aren't all old MGs (I've got one before you answer that). But yes - we got the bay because you can't get 2 dogs and Mrs cunny in an MG - so a bigger classic was required - with that bit of kewl built in - so that's what we got 18 months ago - a kewl bay - and it's easier to get into than the MG. My kids think we have lost it though - embarrassing having kewl ageing parents - doesn't stop them wanting to borrow it for weddings etc though.
Crawling out of a tiny tent into semi frozen mud and snow kind of decided the need for a change ... Add in a "What about one of those campers we saw last year in Cornwall?" in hearing of Julie's brother and bam 2 months later we had Wilma. That was 15 years ago and we've never looked back.
We got rid of a warm and comfortable caravan in which I could stand and walk about upright for a cold and damp bay in which I could not even stand let alone walk about and why what madness cameth over us I hear you cry, well Mrs TW always wanted one so we did. Nothing more than rose tinted memories of her younger days when they were newish.
I've always been into vws. As a kid my Dad had a 79 panel which I adored. When I learnt to drive some of my mates had beetles and splits, I always had golfs in the old days but always wanted a split. As I travelled through life, my yearning for a split remained, but couldn't afford one, wrong time, buying a house etc. In my late thirties I thought ***** it, if I don't now I never will. I sold my 2 year old car and bought 30+ years old bay. I couldn't afford a split and over the years I had grown fond of bays. Never really worried about the camping aspect but went for a tintop cos in my opinion look the coolest
It's a good thread. Got me thinking WHY I so wanted one. I don't have any family history like so many here..... Then I remembered that my favourite toy car when I was little was this one (the gold James Bond car with ejector seat was a close second). As you can see it's, erm, well played with. And of course a splitty. But it must have planted a seed because I always loved the real things. So when I got a bonus from work a few years ago my first thought was NOT 'ooh, I can pay a bit off the mortgage' but 'woo hoo! I can get a van without feeling too guilty!' And Margarita joined the family. Now, as @Lasty and @snotty point out, they're just so...nice. And fun, and every time I get in I start smiling. And my little toy bus still has pride of place in the downstairs loo.!
A ha, yes... one of my favourite toys when I was a kid.... Matchbox 1970 Bay that lives on my kitchen window ledge (with the real thing in the background!)
Bunch of sentimental fools. I have a bay because I bought a crapper and have now spent too much on it to get rid and loose all my cash.
