VW Camper Van

The VW Campervan was invented immediately after the war, when a far-sighted English military man set up his factory in line with turning the German economy from making machines of warfare to more peaceful products. As this history shows, by the 1970s that dream had been amply fulfilled, as the VW Campervan became the conveyance of choice for West Coast hippies, Australian surf bums, and Europeans taking the overland route to find enlightenment and good karma in India. It had also become?indeed, still is?the first choice for those seeking a cheap camping vacation with wheels attached. So never mind the oddly off-center driving wheel, the vagaries of the aircooled rear engine?the VW Campervan had become more than a vehicle?it had truly become a way of life. Mike Harding shares the story of his first ride in a Volkswagen Camper Van back in 1961, when it was carrying around the gear and bandmembers of his rock band the Manchester Rainmakers. Finally, in 2009, he could wait no longer, and bought his own, a 2001 Type 2 bay window Brazilian import Danbury conversion in hot orange and off-white.

Mike Harding is a comedian, a folksinger, and the author of a series of Little Books on church iconography, including The Little Book of Gargoyles and A Little Book of Angels.