Experience The Dream

[ CARAVAN REVIEW ] GRAY BY CUSTOM CAMPERS

- Richard Van Ryneveld

I rarely go to the caravan and camping shows, and now and again I get a bit miffed that I miss out on seeing all the exciting new

But as I drove up to the Custom Camper factory in Meyerton, I realized it didn’t really matter, since I get a much better deal: I don’t just have to look at the caravans parked at a show, I get to experience them!

I get down to the nuts and bolts, I see them being built, and actually trundle away and spend some time camping in these dream machines.

Could it get any better? I doubt it.

One of the latest caravans I got up close and personal with is the Gray, manufactured by Fred Oosthuizen and his team from

You’ve seen quite a bit about this superluxury home-away-from-home, but allow me to step away from the stats and facts, and let me tell you what it’s like to live this dream!

One of the reasons I love visiting the Custom Camper factory – which is bigger than ever – is the fact that there are always fascinating vehicles being built. As the name suggests, Fred mostly builds exclusive one-off campers.

But this visit was about the Gray, a super luxury double-axle caravan that had just rolled out of his premises.

It’s hard to believe but all the designs of Customer Campers come straight from Fred’s fertile brain. No CAD or fancy computers for this lad.

Fred’s passion for the Gray is palpable as he tells me more about the caravan: “Last year I specially traveled to Düsseldorf in Germany for the Caravan Salon, the largest outdoor show on earth.

“I’ve incorporated some of the latest technology from the overseas market.”

This includes importing the whole Al-ko chassis and tow bar assembly. This chassis allows for the Gray to even tackle dirt roads, and Fred purposely designed the caravan to make use of this ability.