Two years ago I bought the world's smallest, cutest and most ridiculous Campervan. Meet Bamse.

The first photo I ever saw of her, for sale down near Glasgow. Suzuki made and sold these vans under the name Super Carry, while Bedford (now Vauxhall) made and sold there's as the more common UK model of the Bedford 'Rascal', which is what mainly survives of them to this day, mainly as the hilarious mini-motorhome, the Bedford Bambi. There was one thing that set this particular one apart, however...

It was also a campervan! This had at one time been a regular van but then converted into a strange pop-top ultra mini-campervan! It was had two beds, a 'galley', cupboards, sink and seats for four! Needless to say, when I saw it, I had to have it!

Since we were unsure about driving this untested wee van back home to our island of Raasay (a near 300 mile drive on Scottish roads, through Glasgow itself and over two ferries!), we decided to strap the tiny thing onto a trailer and tow it home. Needless to say, it was a unique and stressful experience!

The hilarious result. If you lived in Glasgow circa-2015 you might have seen this drive straight through the middle of town!

The (first) ferry home! You can see here the pop top more clearly. It had been converted in inverness by a (now-defunct) caravan firm, and I doubt any others have survived. She is truly one of a kind!

Parked up at my grans in Dunoon before the last leg home. We would be driving through Glencoe on some very windy roads, so those straps had to be secure! Also interestingly enough it was 5 door, with two sliding doors on each side. Unique also in that most campervans tend to have a single door on one side only.

Glencoe! An amazing road normally, but slightly nerve wracking with a van behind you! There was actually a moment where I looked back in horror to see the pop top had come loose and was billowing up behind us like a sail! Lucky we stopped and secured it before we hit any low hanging bridges!

Last ferry! We arrived at Raasay where we got some odd looks (they're used to my crazy plans generally though) but with Bamse intact! It had survived the rigors of the journey and was ready for its new life in the North of Scotland!

At the house. The boats in the background and probably wondering what on earth is going on.

Unloading her wasn't too difficult either, but getting used to driving her was certainly something. First time using something other than a boat or lawnmower that had a choke!

Home in one piece! Note the heavy black paint around the wheels that make it look like some of the bodywork has been cut out by an amateur! This is some thick black paint or pitch that was used as rust proofing and would prove to be a nightmare to remove or paint over.

She even had a towbar! Very useful. My plan now is to find an old super carry and turn her into a tow-able caravan for behind Bamse! That, or possibly adapting an old life raft... stay tuned...

First drive! Like I say, hard to get used to driving with a choke, no power steering and a lot less modern comforts! Great fun though.

The world's smallest, cutest, and most ridiculous campervan

Exploring! Best picture of the van before work. We had to clean the engine (which was producing some smoke and bad smells from oil and grime caking the outside of the engine), fix what rust patches there were, and get some hub caps for those wheels. Into the garage!

You can see her here, pop top popped and door removed! The doors, as you can see had some real bad rust on the bottom, so much so that you could put your hand through them! We removed them and patched them with fibre glassed, but it was really the only significantly problematic rust. the majority of the van was surprisingly solid where it counted (ie. the underside and chassis). The van had been kept in a garage for quite some time, so it had not faired too badly through the years.

An example of underside before we applied rust curer and underseal to the whole thing. You can also see new fuel lines which had been put in before I bought her. This is where the spare wheel is kept and had protected some of the floors from superficial rust. There were also several protective metal plates under here that crumbled away revealing perfect metal underneath! So far we've only found two holes in the bodywork of the van. Amazing considering her age and condition.

Me, in the process of scraping, brushing and bashing away rust! This is looking from the front, where you can also make out the oily engine block. The engine was producing quite a smell and smoking when running for a while, but it was really just because it was so dirty. You can make out a couple of the very corroded metal plates on either side of it too, these have now been replaced with new ones (made in part by using the back of an old washing machine!)

The engine! This is the front of the van with the seats removed, and you can make out the engine sitting underneath. Quite accessible, and the seats flip backwards normally to reveal these two bays. The engine is kind of slanted on its side, but although its now clean it is still very noisy. Sound proofing coming soon!

Rocker cap removed to be cleaned, revealing some pretty nice rocker arms! I've driven more powerful ride-on lawnmowers.

Work work work! You can see out garage is pretty well suited to bamse. You can also see the chair from the back seat removed and behind the van. I now only have three seats in the van (giving me extra space), but they fold flat and once the front seats are reclined horizontal, it forms two single beds!

Outside, more and more doors removed. You could hardly be able to tell how much repair work was done on the doors now they're patched, but the rear sliding doors still need some TLC, especially where rust had corroded around the locks and windows. The sliding back windows are quite liable to leaking.

Paint! My dad doing a bit of spray painting. After removing that black horrible pitch, it was a case of spray painting the lower half. One for rust protection but also because I love yellow. An undercoat of yellow is all we have done, gloss is to come!

Looking good!

Dad again, the free mechanic and sole man responsible for this van running and looking as well as it does. This is him actually fitting a leisure battery into the tiny we cupboard at the back. I swear, this must be the smallest campervan in the world with a backup battery. The wiring in older vehicles, of course, is easier but it was an amazing system that he assembled (and all without a plan!). The van can now jump start itself and I don't have to rely on the tiny starter battery! Radios, lights, chargers, internet (more on that later) all got rerouted through this new battery. He's some guy.

Out on the road! The view to the road, as I headed for my first major expedition away from home. The bay window on the front is actually an amazingly open view, not to mention the multitude of windows all around, this thing is like 70% window!

New kitchen! Under the cutting board is the sink, which drains out under the van. It also has an electric tap and water pump running now off the leisure battery- talk about luxury! Next to that is the cooker, a twin hob and grill gas cooker that runs off of a gas supply in the cabinet underneath. It's compact, but it works! You can also see the remaining backseat, which also has some space underneath (used for tools, jumper cables and tow ropes etc)

Comfort! Sitting on the folded down front seat (I'm hoping to put in turn-table captains chairs at some point) and looking towards the galley. You can also see the cupboard, which has space for clothes, tents, a small portable gas heater (don't worry, carbon monoxide alarm is fitted too!) and the spare battery. Also: internet! I have a Wifi hub wired in for 4G internet on the go. Talk about mod cons.

Autobots deploy! Top popped, doors open! We sometimes do it with a tent outside as our 'bedroom', with the van as a 'living space/kitchen'. The back door open also acts well as a solid awning if it rains, so we built two little seats that we can set up back there.

The galley! Mary my GF making dinner, compact to be sure but not too difficult. The seats we made for under the door are visible too, acting as tables for our Thermos/cups and bowls. You can also see the power hookup- yes this van has plug-in electricity! it runs to a fuse box in the cupboard and powers the plugs on either side of the cupboard and some internal lights. The table that can be set up in the back fits into the space just under the plug there as well.

Dinner! The table, as you can see, sets up between the front and back seats, and you can see now why I removed the second back seat- perfect place for a cooler! Since I took this photo its been replaced with a fancy electric cooler wired into the spare cupbboard battery system.

All Yellow Everything

Out and about on my home island of Raasay. As you might imagine I've become a pretty recognisable sight.

And on Orkney! I've since moved to Orkney and took this up a couple of times to explore the islands.

On the top of Wideford Hill, Orkney looking south, towards Scapa Flow.

Glen Shiel! Obviously where I am is perfectly suited to a small van, navigating small roads and interesting "out of the way" places. I hope to explore most of Scotland in her one day- and beyond!

Kirkwall Cathedral + Bamse (the Cathedral is older).

Even fits a bike pretty neatly. Although you store the spare wheel under the rear of the van, I would love to have a wheel mounted on the front. Maybe one day...

Compared to my friends van, a 1988 Mercedes. Quite the difference!

Compared to a more conventional 'Romahome'.

I tour around Scotland in what is probably the world's smallest campervan. Meet Bamse.

Even fits my Kayaks on top nicely!

she's a 1989 Suzuki Super Carry (similar to the Bedford Rascal here in the UK also). She was converted into a campervan in the 90s with a pop top roof, cooker, sink and two beds! Certainly a one of a kind machine.
I actually towed her back from Glasgow (http://i.imgur.com/VDp93di.gifv) where I bought her to my island of Raasay via trailer. We strapped her up, towed her home and fixed her up! It was pretty nerve wracking. Since then I've painted her, done a lot of repair work, added in a whole new leisure battery system, internal Wifi, new speakers, lighting and even an electric sink and water pump. She's done a few thousands miles so far. Amazing vehicle though, certainly turns a few heads!

This is the normal setup- roof only half 'popped' to better keep in the heat, and as you can see the curtains run the entire length of the van and can 'button up' the entire inside. Feels incredibly cosy!

Giant imgur album of it all here- http://imgur.com/gallery/QBInE

John o Groats! Next up- lands end! She's done over 4000 miles since I've had her, but currently laid up in our garage with her engine out, complete cleaning and overhaul of the entire thing as well as the final undersealing. Hopefully, have her fighting fit for 2018!

Thanks for reading! You can see more photos of the van at my Instagram page

https://www.instagram.com/litzippo/

Also the page for the van
https://www.instagram.com/Scottishsupercarry/

Video of us taking her home

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB6NHlik6h4

The explanation behind the name:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamse_(St._Bernard)