CJL Leisure Adventure Competition campervan

Base vehicle: VW Transporter T6.1 Price from: £27,900 Berths: 4 Travel seats: 4/5 Length: 5.30m Width: 1.90m Height: 1.98m Gross weight: 3,000kg Payload: 690kg

Words & photos: Peter Vaughan

The CJL Leisure Adventure Competition

You think you’ve seen every slight variation on the VW campervan theme and then along comes something that’s genuinely different. Peer in through the sliding side door of this Adventure Competition conversion by CJL Leisure and you might spot the sliding seat and the high-quality finish but it’s not immediately obvious what sets this conversion apart. For the USP, you need to lift the T6.1’s tailgate…

The storage

We always say that the storage back here is what makes or breaks a good Transporter camper but CJL has taken things to a whole new level. Not only is there the familiar deckchair pod on the inside of the hatch, but inside there’s a full-height garage for your bikes. Designed to take up to four road bikes or two mountain bikes, your top-end two-wheelers are on board in a dry, secure environment and away from the prying eyes of unsavoury souls as there’s no rear window. You can even have ebike charging facilities built-in here.

It’s not just a big space, either, but a totally practical-for-purpose one. The garage is finished in a spray-on coating, so bikes can even be washed in situ – for which there’s a pressure washer linked to the 70-litre underslung water tank. There are ABS plastic bike mounts, too, with six positions so that the cycles can be angled to fit.

The specification

So, that’s this campervan’s raison d’être, although the garage could, of course, serve multiple sporting or leisure purposes, not just pedal power. And there’s a lot more to this rather special example. Based on a 4Motion Transporter with DSG gearbox, like all Adventure Competition models, it’s a long-wheelbase T6.1. But this one also has VB air suspension (CJL is an approved fitter), Black Rhino alloy wheels with BF Goodrich all-terrain tyres, armour plating underneath and even a snorkel for driving through deep water. If you still manage to run out of traction (or luck), there are Maxtrax grip mats attached to the outside to get you out of trouble.

The interior

The company hasn’t exactly stinted on the inside, either, where the VW cab seats have a sports upgrade with new foam in the squab, back and head restraints, as well as toffee-coloured leather of the highest quality. Even the gearshift gaiter gets matching hide, but then a camper to this spec will set you back north of £100,000.

The rest of the conversion is more conventional, with a side galley and rear bench seat. Only bed-making is slightly different because of the full-height garage living where the head of the bed would usually be.

The sliding seat is familiar, though, because it’s VW’s own design, as used in the California Ocean – except that here it’s on the nearside and expensively trimmed in leather.

The kitchen

And the kitchen has conventional components, such as a Dometic stainless-steel combination sink and two-burner hob, while the 50-litre compressor fridge is from Vitrifrigo. More unusual is the standard of finish, including four soft-closing drawers. Access to the galley storage has been fully considered, too, with a sliding door utilised alongside the bench seat.

All the rest

A Webasto hot water system with outside shower on the tailgate is available, while the Simarine digital control panel gives you a comprehensive guide to power usage. There’s a Skyline elevating roof with roof bed, too, while concertina blinds cover the side windows and interior lighting is dimmable.

Your CJL camper can also be customised to your wishes with solar panels, lowered suspension, sports styling, parking cameras – or there’s a Sport Edition as an alternative to this off-road-style camper.