Recently we were approached by a TV production company who were doing a piece on campervans and they were looking for ‘expert’ knowledge. Funnily enough they also wanted to sell us advertising too.

We don’t advertise very much and we try hard to target our adverts to people who are likely to be interested in one of our bespoke conversions, so we are careful.

People are bombarded with adverts for all sorts of things and I can honestly say that 99.9% of the adverts I see are of absolutely no interest. I’m over 50, but I have no interest in an over 50’s policy, I have no interest in a PPI claim, I’ll never use a product that is rich in A.H.A. fruit acids, I’ll never buy a new Peugeot or shop at Waitrose (Sainsburys is at the end of my road for goodness sake). So just think how much time, effort and money is wasted making adverts that are of no interest and then how much of our lives we waste watching them.

So perhaps there’s something to be said for targeted advertising; it doesn’t waste the advertiser’s money and it doesn’t waste our time either. Amazon and Google are masters at it, but if you ever allow anyone else to use your computer, beware: last week I suddenly started receiving adverts for skateboards and for a while last year lots of adverts for ladies swimwear appeared (don’t ask).

The production company who approached us make programmes for a TV channel that specialises in cruise ship holidays and about 80% of the schedule is given over to reviewing floating hotels wallowing in crystal clear waters somewhere exotic.

This got the team at 8 Ball Camper Conversions thinking about who would watch such a channel and perhaps more importantly, whether they would be the type of person who would genuinely be interested in a VW T5 or T6 campervan.

So here is a list of personality traits we associate with campervan owners. It’s based on no hard evidence whatsoever, so I guess this means any data generated is suitable for making national and international policy decisions.

How many of these traits do you display?
For each one, have a think and make a mental note of the number categories you fall into. If you reach 4 or more give us a call, as we may be able to help!

1 Do you like exploring places?
Campervan owners tend to want a vehicle that will get them anywhere a car can go; whether it’s into city centres, down country lanes or down to the beach. They like going off the beaten track and finding places that few others have found before.

2 Do you like the outdoors?
Campervan owners enjoy feeling closer to nature than they would if they were staying in a hotel (or on a cruise ship for that matter). The pop top roof gives us the benefits of feeling like we did when we camped in a tent, but the van conversion offers the advantages of being warm, dry and having all the comforts of home too.

3 Do you have an outgoing personality?
It sounds odd, but most campervan owners have a joy for life and are people who see the world as being a glass half full, rather than as being a glass half empty; they don’t like sitting about waiting for things to come to them. This can be a bit of a problem when we tell them the next build slot available is a few months away, but they usually accept it with grace and say something like “well at least it will give me time to research things a bit more”.

4 Are you thorough?
When people come to us with a view to a camper conversion, they fall into 2 groups: those who have spent hundreds of hours on the internet researching vans and those who are about to spend hundreds of hours on the internet researching vans. Researching vans can become addictive. But if you’re reading this then you know that already!

5 Are you slightly eccentric?
Quite a few campervan owners like to do things a bit differently. Their vans reflect their eclectic personalities and we see vans decked out out in everything from pretty pink flowers to blood splattered skulls and cross bones. They often use bold colours in their cupboard system and they’re always on the look out for something else to make their van even more individual. These owners tend to love their vans the most; they keep them for years and almost always the van will have a name. If you have ever named one of your vehicles, you have this trait; even if you try to bury it deeply behind a sensible and grown up facade.

6 Are you cool (or secretly want to look cool, but at the same time not be too ‘showy’)?
A few campervan owners are surf dudes, or they wish they were. They see their van as a cool means of transporting them and their boards to the next big wave. These customers often care more for their surf boards than their vans and they will ensure that their boards have something nice to travel on. If it’s not a surf board (and round here is not famed for surfing), then chances are it will be a bike; usually a mountain bike.

7 And the age of most campervanners?
Now this is a hard one, as we’ve seen campervanners from their 20s through to their 70s. However there seem to be two main groups: those in their 30’s who have young families and those whose children have flown the nest and who now have the freedom to travel where they want to go rather than keeping the kids happy.

So how did you score?

6 or more: You cannot live without a campervan. If you don’t already have one, you are missing out so badly that you may need therapy. Contact us immediately as part of the therapy process.

4-5: You should seriously consider getting a campervan. It will measurably improve your life and mean that you sometimes smile to yourself for no particular reason.

2-3: A campervan could be useful to you, but to be honest so could a vacuum cleaner or a set of emergency folding chairs.

0-1 You watch the cruise channel.