Dreaming of two new Dreamer campervans

Dreamer has launched an all-new brand to cater for those looking for a compact campervan that can be used as everyday vehicle. The new brand – City By Dreamer – was launched alongside its first model, the City Camp, which is benchmarked against the likes of the Ford Nugget

Dreamer has also launched the all-new Cap Land campervan (pictured), which is based on the latest Ford Custom sitting on the longer L2 (5.45m-long) chassis (the City Camp is also based on the Custom but on the shorter 5.05m-long L1 chassis). 

The two new campervans have been created through a collaboration of the Westfalia and Dreamer teams with Westfalia – which is famous for manufacturing campervans for automotive marques likes Mercedes and Ford – having significant input into the rising roof that is fitted as standard to both models and the design of the interior living areas. Indeed, the new Cap Land is built at the Westfalia factory in Germany, while the City Camp is built in France. 

Dreamer has specified both campervans with multiple Ford extras – it estimates €4,000 (£3,500) worth of base vehicle options are included – which means buyers get loads of driver-assistance aids, heated cab seats, automatic lights and wipers, and even 17in alloy wheels. UK buyers also get treated to Ford’s eight-speed automatic gearbox as standard (the rest of Europe gets a manual gearbox as standard). 

It is also expected that there will be plug-in hybrid versions of the two new campervans and possibly even all-electric versions in the future. 

Camping in the city

But back to City By Dreamer’s new City Camp. Despite its urban-friendly compact size, the new compact camper is a true four-berth packed with features and comes with dual sliding doors, making it perfect for dropping children off, loading shopping and carrying passengers when it is being used in its weekday mode.  

What also sets it above many of its competitors is that, while a three-seat rear bench with two Isofix points for child seats is standard (it converts into a 1.93m by 1.25m double bed), this bench can be swapped for two or even four optional individual seats, making this a six-seater minivan when needed. All the rear seating is on a rail system, meaning the bench seat can be moved fore or aft and the individual seats can be all forward facing or in a group with the two middle seats facing the rearmost couple. 

The City Camp’s exterior has an understated design allowing it, says Dreamer, to blend into an urban setting and, while its overall height with the rising roof will prevent it from entering 2m-high car parks, it is hardly tall at just 2.04m high, nor is it wide at just 2.03m. 

Inside, there is a functional compact side kitchen that can be accessed from outside. This includes a single-burner removable hob powered by a disposable gas canister, and a removeable 25-litre Dometic coolbox.  

With the removable table and the optional outdoor chairs, Dreamer says the kitchen set-up is equally as good for cooking outside as inside the campervan. It also points out that for those looking at dual-use functionality, the coolbox is perfect for keeping shopping cool and then carrying it all inside your house in one go. 

The interior layout holds few other surprises – there is a neat cutlery drawer and a small sink in the kitchen fed by an inboard 25-litre fresh water tank (there’s a 15-litre waste water tank, too), while the pop-top roof holds a large (2.01m by 1.3m) double bed with USB points on either side.  

As mentioned, the new Ford Custom base vehicle is well-equipped and there is an option to upgrade the standard 136bhp engine to the more powerful 170bhp and also to have all-wheel drive. Other options include 19in alloy wheels, the individual rear seats, Outdoor Kit (table support, two chairs and a rear tailgate cover), a choice of four exterior colours – Azure Blue, Lunar Gray, Matter Gray (non-metallic) or Artisan Red – 19in alloys, sat-nav and an induction smartphone charger. There is also a Pack Ready option that includes Eberspächer diesel heating, an outside shower, carbon grey alloys and rear and side tinted windows. 

The standard darker Urban furniture and Java upholstery can also be switched to a lighter, more contemporary TEP Dakota scheme. 

Demonstration models are expected to be in UK Dreamer dealers by April and will retail for £64,200 (170bhp auto). Production will run until summer 2025. 

Doffing your Cap Land

Meanwhile the new Cap Land from Dreamer is aimed more at buyers of the VW California; although, unlike the VW, this new model comes with a rear washroom that features a cassette toilet with privacy screen and a shower area with built-in shower tray. 

But what also sets this new pop-top apart from many – if not all – of its competitors is it has an electric rear bench seat (with one Isofix point for a child seat) that converts at the press of a button into a 1.93m-long double bed, which can be extended to 1.24m wide if infill cushions (these live behind the bench seat and on top of the loo) are used. 

As with its shorter sibling, the new Cap Land has twin sliding doors, which will please British buyers looking for a more practical campervan. It also comes with a double bed (2.08m by 1.30m) in the roof. 

The side kitchen is befitting a full campervan and comes with central locking for its drawers, which include an integrated cutlery tray, a storage compartment that doubles as a fifth seat (not belted), a twin-burner hob, a 51-litre fridge and a stainless-steel sink serviced by inboard fresh and waste water tanks (50 litres each). 

The interior is aimed squarely at a younger audience with bi-tone anthracite grey and white – ‘modern and cosy’ is how Dreamer describes it – and it’s well thought out, even down to the large table that can be easily halved in size and removed completely but, when it is in use, has been ergonomically shaped to be more comfortable when up to five people are dining at it. 

Other neat touches include roof rails for carrying large items like surfboards or kayaks and prewiring for a solar panel – the solar panel will be offered as an option in 2025. 

As with the City Camp, this new four-berth Cap Land is available in a variety of exterior colours, while other options include a 10-litre Truma gas water heater, the Outdoor Kit, the Pack Ready kit and 19in alloys. 

Prices start at £67,600 for the 170bhp automatic and we expect the first models to be in dealers by April 2024.

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