Designed to suit this converter’s own family
CUSTOM Camper Solutions has over a decade of experience in building campervans, mostly on the VW Transporter but also using the similarly sized Ford Transit Custom. But, like a number of companies competing in this overcrowded sector, it has also now moved into larger panel vans with the bigger Volkswagen, the Crafter (or its sister, the MAN TGE).
It has chosen the shortest (six-metre) version of this class-leading van for its new Trax Edition, which we spotted making its show debut at our Norfolk Motorhome & Campervan Show last summer. Company boss, Dan Cooper, has a vested interest in getting this one right, not only for sales but because he built the first of the breed to use with his wife and daughter.
The family angle is the reason for the Austops pop-top here, which is an option on customer vehicles. Take your Crafter van to CCS and it’ll cost £34,995 to turn it into a Trax Edition, but the rising roof is an additional £3,495. A telescopic ladder is provided for access and the roof hatch will be moved further forward on production models. A thin mattress sits on a carpeted base and there’s a fully opening panoramic roof canvas.
Downstairs, the Trax Edition also had to work for Dan’s family, so this example retains the double passenger seat in order to have three belted positions, all in the cab. Cleverly, both the bench and the separate driver’s seat (the former using an R&J Camper Solutions swivel base) rotate to face the rear, where there’s a small side-facing settee. This will need scatter cushions to be comfortable as the backrest is exceedingly shallow, but CCS has avoided dangling legs by adding a raised false floor in front of the swivelled cab seats and the sofa.
For dining, there’s a square table on an island leg. It looks big enough for two diners, but not three. Remember, though, that this is a small company building to order, so such details can be tweaked. It also says it could replace the rear settee with a single or, possibly, a double travel seat.
Another important aspect of family camping, of course, is having sufficient storage and, here, the Trax Edition is in its element. Not only is there a large garage area with 97cm headroom, but it can be accessed both through the rear barn doors and via a tambour door into the living area. The space also includes a shoe rack, the habitation electrics and an outside shower, while the small gas compartment seen here has now been replaced
