HUTT BootCamp: The Back Story

My Own Situation

I had a long list of wants and desires for my family vehicle. A list so long that it wasn't going to be solved, short of throwing a lot of money at it.

And I didn't want to throw a lot of money at it either!

This was at a time in my life where I wanted to travel more and work less. So, not surprisingly, having to fork out lots of money for a complement of new vehicles to fill my driveway wasn't the right course of action for me.

I needed up to seven seats for the extended family, a daily driver: school runs, shopping trips, work commuting. Enough cargo room for general DIY tasks: a trip to IKEA, the dump, or help a friend move a sofa.

As well as that, the most important use-case for me: family camping trips, days out, weekends away, and long adventure trips.

In a nutshell: I wanted it all, a no-compromise vehicle.

Nothing on the Market

After a lot of looking at what was available on the market, I could see that there was nothing available that ticked all my boxes, at least not at a price-point that I found palatable.

So, I hatched a plan, scribbled a rough design on the back of a napkin, and set to it. I was going to design my own removable camper unit based around a passenger carrying van.

My rather nice Mercedes E Class went up for sale, as did the little Ford Fiesta runaround. The funds went into an older, slightly higher mileage, but nicely kept Volkswagen Caravelle.

The big irony was that the VW was both older and had more mileage than the other two cars it replaced. It was also pretty pricey for it's age. But my research on these vehicles told me that the depreciation over time was low, so it seemed like a good investment.

Side Note: In the proceeding 10-years, the second-hand value of my VW Caravelle has changed very little. I'm sure I could sell it for the same price that I bought it for now!

HUTT BootCamp: The Camper Conversion Kit

So, with the new-to-me VW on my driveway, I set to work building my first BootCamp.

It was a pretty good effort, it ticked most of the boxes, and slotted nicely into the 7-seater Caravelle.

With the Caravelle's rail system, I could add and remove seats as needed. The vehicle could morph from a 5-seater camper, to a 7-seater people carrier, to load a carrying work van with no seats at all.

I had a seating and cargo carrying configuration for every conceivable situation. A genuine multi-use vehicle.

I could go camping with two people, or with the addition of a roof top tent, sleep four. By adding an external awning I could sleep up to six.

The record was eight, but that was starting to get very tight!

By this time I'd built several BootCamps, for friends, family and people that I'd met along the way. It had been adapted to fit different passenger carrying vans, and also, interestingly, to larger SUV and 4WD vehicles.

Four wheel drive vehicles opens up a whole new list of places to go. They may lack the interior space of a van, but they can get to places that a van cannot reach, opening up new possibilities for wild camping and adventuring.

I was on my umpteenth revision of the BootCamp, getting it right: the features, functionality and quality had, I must admit, become a bit of an obsession!

Some years had passed, my half-business-half-hobby was blossoming into something real. I'm glad I stuck to the principles that I started with: keep it simple, build it well, use quality materials.

Often products start with a great design from smart engineers, which then gets watered down as the cost accountants reduce it to rubbish with inferior materials, all in search of better profits.

I don't ever want to go down that road; I want to produce quality gear that lasts, you can take it from vehicle to vehicle over the years, and when you're done with it, sell on to the next person who will continue to get years of service from it.

Anyway, that's my story, ethos, the raison d'etre, and the circuitous path that got me here!

I'm glad to say that the BootCamp is now available for all, should they find themselves with the same wish: a truly flexible everyday but go-anyway vehicle, ready for family-sized adventures.

It's taken us literally from the mountains, to the sea, to the edge of deserts; to places that we could have only dreamed of and definitely wouldn't have experienced by any other means.

Wishing you as much fun and adventure that we've had.

See you on the road...