It was back in the early 1960s when Vauxhall Motors decided to launch the Viva, a smaller car to complement their bigger Victor, Velox and Cresta ranges.
It was perceived as both ‘fresh and fun’, very much the right car for the Swinging Sixties. Bedford (Vauxhall’s commercial arm) cashed in on the Viva’s success by building the HA van. Martin Walter of Folkestone is probably better remembered for its iconic Bedford CA Dormobile campervans, though it was also at the forefront of converting vans to estate cars and was producing the (Bedford approved) HA-based Beagle estate car from 1964.
It had an overall length of ‘just’ 3.8m (12’6”), which prompted the contemporary advertising slogan: ‘Drive Small, Park Tall’. While leisure vehicles have got longer, you can take a look at our best small campervans guide to see the latest compact options.
Taking the development one stage further by converting it into an elevating-roof campervan occurred for the 1967 model year… when Roma was born. It was based on the 8cwt version, which had beefed-up suspension and bigger wheels. Roma featured Dormobile’s iconic candy-stripe canvas-sided elevating roof.
The campervan layout placed a (very) basic kitchen on the offside immediately behind the driver. The rear bench seat backrest folded flat behind the squab, and with some extra cushions formed a longitudinal double bed. Unfortunately, its length could only be accommodated by lifting the rear tailgate. Fortunately, folding GRP sides and floor were included to weatherproof the makeshift extension.
The Dormobile Roma by Martin Walter on Bedford HA 8cwt is also widely recognised as the first volume car-derived British campervan. At the 1967 launch, it featured a 1057cc four-cylinder petrol engine driving the rear wheels via an all-synchromesh four-speed gearbox. Engine size increased to 1159cc and finally to 1256cc.
You can take a look at what I had to say about buying a used Auto-Trail Cheyenne, a ‘van which was a volume seller, so there will be plenty on the pre-owned market.
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