Just two years after taking the complete production of its campervan range in-house, leading VW and Ford campervan conversion company, Redline Campers, has gained prestigious approval from the National Caravan Council (NCC).
On Monday 1st July 2024, Redline Campers’ campervans were recognised by the NCC’s Manufacturers Approval Scheme. This means the company’s campervan conversions exceed BS EN 1646 European Health & Safety Standards, and have been subject to the NCC’s comprehensive inspections and safety checks.
In receiving NCC approval, Redline Campers joins just 15 other companies and only four other VW campervan converters in the UK that are licensed to carry the NCC badge.
Based at Watford Gap, just outside of Daventry in Northamptonshire, Redline Campers is the in-house brand from award-winning leisure vehicle retailer, Venture Caravans.
Whilst Venture Caravans has traded from its site in Watford Gap since 1971, the Redline Campers brand was established just seven years ago. Across the brand’s range, there are six distinct campervan models available.
For the first five years of Redline Campers’ existence, the company partnered with another converter and collaborated on the conversion of its campervan range. However, just two years ago, Redline Campers decided to take the complete production of its vehicles in-house. To do this, the company invested £750,000 into building and equipping a dedicated in-house production facility. This is located within the grounds of the company’s HQ, which is on the A5 and is adjacent to the Grand Union Canal.
In the short time since taking production in-house, Redline Campers has been audited to the internationally recognised standard, ISO 9001 and has gained Type Approval from the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) through the GB Small Series Type Approval scheme. In addition to this, Redline Campers also offers insurer-recognised campervan models and are members of the National Caravan Council (NCC).
It was through its membership of the NCC that Redline Campers sought approval from the organisation. This has led to the company gaining this industry-recognised badge of approval.
The NCC Approved Badge, which can now be displayed on the outside of Redline Campers’ campervan conversions, demonstrates that the company’s vehicles have been safety and technically checked by specialists. This badge also demonstrates that the company's vehicles exceed British and European safety standards.
Now approved, each Redline Campers campervan conversion is licensed to carry an NCC Approved badge and a certificate will also be issued to the new owner of the conversion.
To gain this approval, Redline Campers was subject to on-site inspections of its production facility and safety checks on its gas and electrical installations, furnishings, and cooking equipment. As part of these inspections and checks, up to 600 individual points were checked on Redline Campers’ units.
With NCC approval, customers can be reassured that Redline Campers’ campervan conversions comply with all industry regulations and satisfy the requirements of the not-for-profit trade association.
Whilst NCC Approved Badges are relatively commonplace on caravans and motorhomes from major manufacturers, this is not true of the largely unregulated campervan conversion industry. This is reflected in the fact that only four converters out of hundreds in the UK are licensed to carry the NCC Approved Badge.
Discussing this, Redline Campers director, Mark Turley, said the following:
“We are honoured to have gained prestigious approval from the NCC and are proud to say our campervan conversions exceed stringent European health & safety standards. This is a massive milestone for our brand and sets us apart from hundreds of campervan converters across the country.
With the NCC Approved Badge now on our campervans, customers have complete peace of mind that they are purchasing a vehicle that has been tested, passed numerous checks, and is built to a consistent standard.
As evidenced by the badge, at Redline Campers, we only utilise fully tested components within our conversions and can provide safety and approval documentation for everything we use. In addition to this, every campervan we convert is built to the ISO 9001 framework to ensure consistency.”
Founded in 1939, the NCC champions the leisure vehicle and parks industry. It does this by providing a range of services including technical and regulatory support, and access to industry research and data.
In gaining this approval, Redline Campers joins a list of household names and established manufacturers of caravans and motorhomes that includes the likes of Bailey of Bristol and Swift Group Ltd.
