Zelda

We spend most weekends travelling to compete with our dogs. Towing was never enjoyable, and we often felt we missed out on discovering towns and walks along the way due to parking limitations.

The tow vehicle did offer generous and safe travelling and living space for the dogs, but a scare when a fellow competitor’s camper van was rear-ended — leaving their dogs inaccessible for hours until emergency services arrived — made us determined to find a safer solution.

The challenge was on: a van small enough to venture into towns, but capable of offering full facilities when camped off-grid for a weekend or longer on muddy fields — and with safe, comfortable space for the dogs.

Standard ‘off-the-shelf’ vans didn’t meet our needs, often requiring major changes that felt wasteful. Many conversion companies only offered set designs, or worked exclusively with motor manufacturers we didn’t want. We were surprised at how critical we became of very expensive vans that seemed poorly constructed and not robust enough for real life.

Armed with vague layouts and a zillion inspiration photos (mostly of things we really disliked), we finally hit the jackpot when we found Born Wild Vans and met David. He transformed our rough sketches and ambitious ideas into a practical plan — even though, truthfully, what we wanted really needed an XL wheelbase, not just a long one!

David and his team guided us at every stage, offering suggestions and collaborating with specialists so we could choose upholstery, mattress, dog caging and more to suit our exact needs. (What we don’t know about toilet options via YouTube isn’t worth knowing!)

Now travelling is so much easier. The dogs ride securely under the large corner seat behind the driver seat in a metal cage system, and when we park up they can move into the spacious garage under our bed, sliding doors neatly hiding the cage under the seat.

Packing up and heading up and down the M6 is so much quicker without towing. We’ve explored towns and villages, taken narrow roads without worrying about U-turns, and stayed off-grid for weeks without issue — powering the giant fridge, air fryer oven, and even enjoying the coffee machine in some truly picturesque spots.

If a small issue crops up (usually user error, despite the excellent manual), the Born Wild team respond quickly and calmly. The aftercare has been fabulous.

Zelda now attracts plenty of attention and soon she’ll be heading over to Europe!

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