Driven: 1976 Volkswagen Kombi camper

Ah, the good old days. Or were they? They tell me I was there, so that means I can speak with some authority.

If you were ‘tripping’ on a budget, you would have either lived in, seen, or envied plenty of Volkswagen Kombis converted to campervans. They were compact, easy to drive and park, were acceptably economical and were well enough equipped for you to free-camp in.

New VW Kombi campervans have not been available in Australia for some years, but Volkswagen Australia has had its ear to the ground, sensed an upsurge in interest and is bringing in a batch of the latest T6.1 California Beach camper models in 2021.

Their instinct seems to be correct and despite a retail price of around $80,000, most of the highly specified vans in the first allocation have already spoken for.

The re-release of the California is indicative of the place the Kombi Camper holds in many Australian hearts, but why wait until 2021 when you can rent (or buy) a classic VW Kombi Camper now and enjoy a similar lifestyle?

As the response to the new Volkswagen Kombi Camper proves, many people today want to relive those days, either the carefree lifestyle they experienced, or the one their parents told them about.

That basically is the business plan of expatriate German Bertram Gutsohn, who established his VW Kombi Camper rental business in southeast Queensland’s Tamborine Mountains four years ago.

It’s essentially a hobby business, with Gutsohn in his semi-retirement doing most of the basic maintenance on his two 1976 T2 Kombis – ‘Berti’, who he found in Mt Isa and refurbished and then ‘Miss Sunshine’ who came from Toowoomba more recently and was updated to similar mid-1970s camper kitsch.

As most who have driven a period Kombi Camper will agree, they’re meant for a good time, rather than long-distance travel. So, they’re far more suited to taking your time and smelling the flowers – or putting them in your hair, if you hark back to the ‘60s – than conquering the ‘Cape’, although being based on proven VW Beetle mechanicals, their underpinnings are impressively robust.

They held a special place in Gutsohn’s life, as he recalls holidays as a child with his parents in his native Germany before arriving in Australia in 1982.

After starting an Airbnb business several years ago, he found that many of his Gold Coast Hinterland tenants had similar Kombi memories and branched out into camper hire.

“It probably would have been easier to rent out Toyota HiAces,” he said, “but a major attraction with the VW Kombi is the promise of the simpler lifestyle they evoke.

“People who hire them are not in a hurry; they want to recapture a lifestyle they once enjoyed, or that they have heard their parents talk about. Everyone who travelled in a Kombi Camper created special memories.”

The average renters were couples aged between 25-40, but Gutsohn says he also gets some families with young children, for whom he supplies a plank bed base for the kids to sleep on, higher under the pop-top roof, while their parents used the fold-down ‘rock ‘n roll’ converted lounge below.

Gutsohn says his VW camper hire business works because he treats it as an enjoyable hobby in his retired life, rather than a full-time business. He completed the camper conversions with updated cooking facilities while adding modern ‘essentials’ like sat-nav, a TV and a sound system.

He does all the basic mechanical maintenance, while leaving more major work, like engine and transmission rebuilds, to a local VW expert.

To make it economical, he requires a two-night minimum rental and limits travel to 250km radius from its base, with an included 150km in the daily rate for ‘Berti’ of $138/day, plus 40c/km for anything more.

This is enough to take renters to the most desirable destinations like Noosa Heads and the Sunshine Coast to the north of the Kombis’ base in the Gold Coast Hinterland, or to Byron Bay, or their natural habitat of Nimbin in northern NSW.

We found ‘Berti’ cute and desirable, although closer inspection showed that, like the star of the 1989 film Shirley Valentine, he had ‘lived life’ during the past 44 years since he left the Wolfsburg factory in northern Germany as a Kombi van, ready for his camper conversion by outside specialists.

Up front there are two comfortable seats that, thanks to the Kombi’s rear-mounted air-cooled engine, give a commanding view of the road and the countryside it passes through.

Typical of all Kombis, the large steering wheel is at a 45-degree angle to the floor, with the Volkswagen’s three dashboard dials easily read through its two spokes, while a cup holder, a rudimentary dashtop fan demister and USB plugs to recharge two phones have been added to meet the requirements of its predominantly millennial renters.

The large sliding door on the left-hand side grants access to the camper section behind, or you can reach it internally via the gap between the front seats.

Popping the fibreglass top is simply a matter of unlatching four Dzus fasteners and pushing upwards, which allows the roof to rise high enough on its scissor legs and gas struts so that you can stand inside. Getting it down is just as simply achieved by pulling down on the two inside roof-mounted chrome handles.

The ‘living room’ is simple in the 1970s style, with a 75-litre compressor fridge/freezer below a wash basin behind the driver’s seat, with room for the supplied frying pan in between, while a cupboard to the right reveals all the crockery that a travelling couple are likely to need.

Water storage is pretty basic – a 15-litre plastic drum which utilises an electric pump to reach the sink.

A flexible roof-mounted solar panel feeds a separate 140Ah deep-cycle auxiliary battery that powers all the Kombi’s ancillary camping equipment and should prove adequate for the extended free camping that will attract many couples to rent.

If you want a flush toilet or shower, you’ll need to check into a caravan park, at which time you can plug into mains power to charge the battery or run all the electric components.

A large-screen 12/240-volt TV on an articulated arm is attached to the rear of the front passenger seat and can be watched from the comfort of the van-width rear bench seat.

When it’s time for bed, this seat pulls forward and then folds down to form a large double rear bed. The bed is not totally flat, but this could be solved with a thin foam rubber overlay if it becomes a problem.

A cupboard above the bed contains block-out blinds for most windows to supplement the window curtains and a magnetic insect screen that can be attached to the sliding side windows if these are a problem.

Driving the Kombi is simplicity itself, aided by the rarely-seen automatic transmission fitted to both ‘Berti’ and its sister Kombi, ‘Miss Sunshine’.

Volkswagen’s 2.0-litre air-cooled flat-four engine, located under the bed at the rear of the Kombi, is adequate by today’s standards and allows you to keep up with everyday traffic, but the camper’s performance is more suited to byways than freeways.

However, the brakes are reassuringly good and rear vision through the twin large exterior mirrors is excellent.

Combined with the fact that the Kombi's compact overall footprint is no larger than an average family car and at two metres tall it will also fit into most underground car parks, it’s easier to live with than a larger cab-chassis based motorhome.

At its rental price, ‘Berti’ is not much more expensive than the cost of an average country motel room, but it combines transport, accommodation and cooking facilities, making it an economical proposition for those wanting a nostalgic escape, perhaps to celebrate a special occasion.

For more details on how to rent ‘Berti’ or ‘Miss Sunshine’, visit Camplify Australia.