Full review

CCCampers proudly places a ‘Made in Britain’ logo on the tailgate of its Vauxhall-based campervans. To do that it has to reach targets for the percentage of British content.

So, you won’t find the usual German rising roof here, nor a French RIB seat/bed system. Nor an Italian or German base vehicle. Indeed, although the design of the Vauxhall Vivaro is very closely linked to that of the Renault Trafic, the van with the Griffin on the grille is made in Luton. Furthermore, new owners, PSA (Peugeot-Citroën) have committed to continuing building Vauxhall vans in Blighty.

Meanwhile, Worcestershire-based CCCampers offers three different conversions on the Vivaro – the Shelsley (conventional side kitchen), the Witley (rear kitchen, four seats up front converting to twin beds) and, finally, the Mamble (as seen here).

It’s the Mamble that’s the least conventional in design. Based on the long-wheelbase Vivaro, the conversion can be specified with a factory high roof (2.60m overall) or the elevating roof seen here.

This is CCCampers’ own design – called the Stargaze roof and you’ll soon see why when you spot the way the rear section of the roof material unzips for maximum fresh air! The roof also comes with a 6ft-long roof bed (with a rather thin mattress) and a low-level vent up front.

But it’s not just the pop-top roof (front-hinged here, to suit the layout, but rear-hinged versions exist, too) that is different in this conversion. The layout is a break from the norm, too. Its main focus is a long, side-facing settee opposite the sliding door, while the kitchen runs down the nearside, aft of the sliding door. It certainly feels spacious inside for such a compact vehicle, with plenty of floor space.

The side sofa also mates up with a swivelling double passenger seat to create an L-shaped arrangement and, with the sliding door open on a fine day, you’re well-placed to take advantage of the good weather.

CCCampers, once again, uses its own swivel seat base, which also allows the seat to slide rearwards as well as rotate. It all helps in creating an inviting lounge. For dining you just add a centre pole table (the tabletop stores just inside the back doors) but it’s a rather wobbly surface.

The settee converts into a bed, too. Just pull out the seat and fold it flat to create a 1.83m by 1.06m berth (wide single or rather slim double?) with a memory foam mattress. Don’t forget, there’s that roof bed, too, and the Mamble comes with just three travel seats (all in the cab – driver’s seat and a double passenger bench). There’s room to keep a portable loo under the settee for night-time emergencies and sufficient space for bedding is here, too.

Even with both beds in use, there’s some access to the galley, which comes with a two-burner hob and sink in a stainless-steel combination unit. The fridge – a 50-litre, 12V compressor-type from Dometic – is unobstructed at night but, facing forwards, it’s also conveniently reached from outside, through the side door when you’re dining al fresco or using an awning. Gas, electric or diesel heating is optional, and there’s a 30-litre underfloor fresh water tank as well as a gas compartment for one 4.5kg cylinder.

If you enjoyed this review, you can read loads more like it in What Motorhome magazine. You can get a digital version of this latest issue of What Motorhome magazine here.