my roamer rand vagabond

[sillylilly59]

hi to you all , i have just purchased a roamer rand vagabond , i live in the uk and bought it locally , i have been trying to find out about this van but can't find any info any where , it was made in 1970 , the base is fibre glass the seats are all moulded fibre glass , like wise is the roof , the walls are zip on zip off canvas , has any one seen one before , or got one . all the best silly lilly

[Matt in SV]

This sounds like a pop-up or tent trailer. Do you have a picture?

This forum is mostly about hard-sided travel trailers and 5th wheels (we call them Eggs) I am not familiar with your model, but maybe someone on here has owned one. You might also try one of the "pop up" trailer forums.

Regards,

Matt

[CliveAlive]

Originally Posted by sillylilly59

hi to you all , i have just purchased a roamer rand vagabond , i live in the uk and bought it locally , i have been trying to find out about this van but can't find any info any where , it was made in 1970 , the base is fibre glass the seats are all moulded fibre glass , like wise is the roof , the walls are zip on zip off canvas , has any one seen one before , or got one . all the best silly lilly

Hi Lilly;

Welcome to the forum.

I just looked at your Trailer Profile. That's a great looking camper! What a great find. Very open plan without the canvas! And the matching add-a-room and skirts are very cool!

Have fun with it.

[sillylilly59]

so far i have found out that it was made in south africa , maybe that is why it is so open plan , on a hot day you could remove one or more of the side canvas walls , don't know how it ended up in the uk though , it has a manufacturing plate on it with its production number and date of manufacture , the canvas was made by a company called preddy bros , germiston , also i beleive in south africa , though again there is no info on them , i know that it might be different to the trailers on here but it doesnot really fit with the normal pop up trailer tents either , the fact that it is all moulded fibre glass apart from the canvas cushions and table , i cannot wait to try her out even if it is raining !!

[Ricky 4]

Originally Posted by sillylilly59

so far i have found out that it was made in south africa , maybe that is why it is so open plan , on a hot day you could remove one or more of the side canvas walls , don't know how it ended up in the uk though , it has a manufacturing plate on it with its production number and date of manufacture , the canvas was made by a company called preddy bros , germiston , also i beleive in south africa , though again there is no info on them , i know that it might be different to the trailers on here but it doesnot really fit with the normal pop up trailer tents either , the fact that it is all moulded fibre glass apart from the canvas cushions and table , i cannot wait to try her out even if it is raining !!

Hi, you have a nice camper there. I was wondering-how the top lowers.

[sillylilly59]

hi there , takes about two mins , undo one nut each side , just drops down or goes up , and because the roof is hollow you can leave settees in position , there is loads of storage space in this , in the obvious places like under seats but also the roof has a shelf all the way round , we will be trying it out in a couple of weeks for a weekend to see how we get on , i am thinking that we can have the van up within 10 mins and hopefully van and awning with 30 mins , looks like a very simple set up but we will see .....

[Deb & Chuck]

There was a person at the Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada rally in 2006 that had an rv that looked like what you have. I'm not sure what his was called. You can look at the pictures from that meet at:

YouTube - Fort Langley Glass Eggs September 2006

The fellow was pulling it with a classic car.

Hope the helps!

[Alison Cape Breton]

Hi Welcome,

I love your trailer. What a great looking rig. It is very classic and I am jealous that you have such a rare find. Hope you enjoy your time in it.

[CindyL]

What an interesting-looking trailer. I see why you are here. It looks like one of our campers that has been cut apart and made into a popup.

An idea for a mod for someone who switched to fiberglass from a popup and misses the popup?

CindyL

[sillylilly59]

i agree , i think if you took a photo of just the bottom half of the van it does look a little like some of the vans on here .

[Gina D.]

There was a similar model made here in the States called a Ranger.

1954 Ranger Popup Trailer Restoration

It had a slide out ta boot!

[sillylilly59]

thanks for that , thats the first van that i have seen that is similar to mine

[Mike Magee]

Wow, that's amazing! Very cute too! If Boler or Scamp had ever produced a pop-up version, I bet it would have looked like that.

When it raises up, is there a spring assist or do you have to use some muscles?

[sillylilly59]

there is no spring assist but it is still easy , literally takes two mins , we will be going away for the weekend in a couple of weeks , see how we get on , its still cold in march in the uk so will be taking a heater !!!

[Wallo]

Originally Posted by sillylilly59

there is no spring assist but it is still easy , literally takes two mins , we will be going away for the weekend in a couple of weeks , see how we get on , its still cold in march in the uk so will be taking a heater !!!

This is so cool to converse with someone from "across the pond". Where do you go camping? Are there alot of campgrounds? What type of vehicle do you tow with? I've only been to the U.K. once only for 4 days. Was in London, no camping there.
What seems to be the most popular type of camper(van) in the U.K.?, pop-up, trailer (pull-behind), class C or A's?
Have fun on your inaugural trip.!!!

[sillylilly59]

well after much searching and not finding much info i decided to email roamer rand themselves , never thinking that i would get a response but guess what they sent me an email back !!!!!
and here it is , how nice is that !!! thank you roamer rand for a lovely van and a quick response

Good Morning Angie

It is wonderful that our product is still going so well. Roamer Rand’s original owner was killed in a motor car accident in 1997. I took over the company after his death when it was floundering into liquidation in 2001. However, we scaled the whole operation down to canopies, load bodies and truck bodies. We no longer make the campers and caravans but are very proud that they are still going places as far away as the UK. Thank you for your input – I shall keep your email as a reminder of the history of the company’s good name. Have a great weekend.

Kind Regards

BRIAN EDWARDS
Managing Director
Roamer Rand SA

[Vickie B.]

Wow, that e-mail is very nice!

[sillylilly59]

hi there are loads of camp sites in the uk , because i have small children i prefer haven as they have swimming pools and entertainment laid on , there are many different styles of campers here , the classic vw is very popular for their followers , as is the dandy , conway and pennine folding campers , i also have a rapido export , very clever little van , also popular if you can get one !! i am wondering what response i will get when i try out this roamer rand though , because i can't find another one on the net , not even a picture !!! so i am presuming that it must be a rarity

[sillylilly59]

helloo all still taking trips out in this little van ,just returned from a week in wales , high winds and very heavy rain ..... and we all stayed nice and dry , has any one heard of preddy bros in germston , they were the ones who made the canvas for this little van