Full review

Words & photos: Peter Vaughan

The Rolling Homes Shackleton

Rolling Homes likes to build something a bit special for the NEC shows, a campervan to catch the eye and draw customers onto the stand like bees to the honeypot. Previously, we’ve seen a bright orange Expedition 4x4 camper with the full gamut of offroad goodies and, famously, the Edition 10 built to celebrate the company’s tenth birthday with its most expensive conversion to date. Last February, it was the turn of this Shackleton model in Bay Leaf Green.

Optional extras

It takes more than a nice metallic colour to stand out at a show where you can now expect to see dozens of different campers, so this Transporter boasted £700-worth of gloss black grilles and badges, side bars (£499) and a set of super-stylish 20in alloy wheels, also in black (£1,758). It had been given a more sporty stance, too, via Bilstein fully adjustable lowered suspension (£1,999), with the advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) correctly recalibrated to suit.

However, the star feature here, accounting for a big chunk of the £80,301 total on-the-road price tag, was a carbon-fibre bodykit from Urban Automotive, a company that offers haute couture for cars such as Lamborghini, Porsche and Rolls- Royce. Its work on the T6.1 includes a carbon-fibre replacement front bumper with lower tongue splitter, a new rear bumper (also in carbon-fibre, of course) and quad exhaust tips in satin black, as well as an upper rear spoiler on the tailgate. If you like your camper to stand out, but not look too OTT, the appearance seemed spot on, but you’d have to really want it to fork out the necessary £9,800 for what is essentially automotive cosmetic surgery with no practical benefit.

The interior

There’s plenty of practicality in the Shackleton conversion – as well as a dose of added style here, too. The Sport Leather seating front and rear, with its striking stitching pattern and exceptional quality, added a further £2,900, while the leather and carbon-fibre steering wheel was another £900.

The Shackleton breaks away from Rolling Homes’ trademark real wood furniture and adopts handmade Vöhringer lightweight board for the cabinets, instead – a more fitting look, perhaps, for such a sporty camper. There’s a choice of finishes, this one being a new design, while the kitchen worktop is in classy Corian, here in white instead of the usual black.

Like all Rolling Homes conversions, it is finished to a very high standard, as you’d expect of a converter that is NCC approved and one of the select few to be part of Volkswagen’s own Motorhome Qualification Scheme. The conversion is backed by a three-year warranty, too. A key aspect is the top-notch SCA Deluxe rising roof, which is TÜV approved and comes with a roof bed on a slatted base as standard. Here, it also featured the £500 panoramic roof canvas upgrade.

The layout

The classic side kitchen layout uses a crash-tested RIB seat/bed system, with room to store a Porta Potti beneath. Bed making is simple and the rear boot area generous, including the ability to fold the rear bed section vertically to carry larger loads. With the bed in situ, the end of the furniture is designed to incorporate a small bedside counter for night-time essentials.

The galley itself features a two-burner hob and sink unit from Dometic with split glass lids, while the front-loading compressor fridge has a 50-litre capacity. The large shelved cupboard alongside incorporates the sealed gas locker, while extra cupboards have been neatly added above the counter alongside the bench seat.

Shackleton prices commence at £48,995 for a 90PS Startline model, with Highline versions kicking off at £53,805 (with the 110PS motor). Here, it was a 150PS DSG model, which is £58,400 before options. And those options include metallic paint (£800), the Lighting Pack (£345) and diesel blown-air heating (£1,200).