1919 saw the first car-towed caravan enter commercial production here in the UK. The date marks the rise of caravanning for leisure and the start of the growth of the camping and caravanning industry.

It all began shortly before the start of the internal combustion engine era when a Scottish medic, Dr William Stables commissioned his ‘Wanderer’ caravan, which was hauled by two horses.

Following the horrors of the First World War, and with the growth in the number of personal motor cars, Britons were looking for new ways to spend their leisure time. Bill Eccles Snr of Eccles Motor Transport Ltd spotted a potential new and lucrative market, and created the world’s first prototype of a caravan, specifically designed to be towed behind a car.

In 1919, he sold the first prototype to the Dowager Countess Rhonda and soon had 50 more orders on his books. During the 1920s, he continued finessing his designs with th company becoming a world leader. The caravan was shown at the 1922 Motor Show in White City, which increased demand even further.

Today it is estimated that around one million Britons own a caravan or motorhome, and that the industry is worth about £6 billion to the economy each year. According to the National Caravan Club, 130,000 people are employed in the industry and Britons spend approximately £2 billion and stay 50 million nights in caravans each year. That’s an awful lot of nights!

In a lot of ways, Ropers Caravan World is the same today as it’s always been – delivering the same family values, exceptional personal service and value for money – and that’s not about to change. Our aim remains to share our vast caravanning experience and to serve the needs of our customers in a way that is hard for our competitors to match, with a personal service second to none. We take great pride in maintaining and improving every aspect of the shopping experience so, as we approach our 40th birthday, you may begin to notice some changes to the way we look and communicate to our customer base.

You know we supply touring caravans and motorhomes together with just about every accessory or part you could want or need, making us your one stop shop for all your caravanning needs. However, there are still some people our there (believe it or not) that don’t take advantage of the experience of our team, our products/deals, or our exceptional parts department. Going forward, we will be focusing on communicating our key messages to:

• All caravaners, especially those thinking about buying their first caravan
• Our competitors’ customers so they, too, can benefit from the extended warranties we offer with many of our carefully prepared pre-owned caravans
• People who prefer a thorough demonstration of their new caravan’s workings via our personalised handover, etc.

Ropers Caravan World – A world of caravans, a world of choice, a world of service, and a world of adventures. Visit us again soon!

We were in Birmingham last week at the NEC for what was billed to be the biggest launch event of the year! The Motorhome and Caravan Show had, as always, hundreds of leisure vehicles on display, so attendees could explore the latest layouts and discover new innovations from the world of caravans and motorhomes.

It’s always great to see all the leading UK and European manufacturers and dealers under one roof and this year was no exception. There were also lots of really useful demonstrations taking place too, like chefs on stage cooking up campsite friendly meals, designed to be quick and easy to recreate on your next trip away. Plus, tow car partner Jeep offering free one-to-one towing sessions, under the guidance of trained instructors, where visitors could get behind the wheel of a car to see what it’s like to tow a caravan. These sessions were great and ensured everyone, whether they were newcomers or towed often, left the session ready to thoroughly enjoy their next adventure!

From our perspective, here at Ropers it was a great week with lots of interest in the new ranges and plenty of customers and suppliers to talk to. If you came along and said hello, we hope you enjoyed the event as much as we did. To everyone who didn’t manage to attend, if you’d like further information on anything show related, you know where we are.

Either way, we look forward to welcoming you to Ropers Caravan World in Catterick very soon where you’ll find the very latest in new and used caravans and motorhomes, a friendly cafe, a full range of accessories, parts department, and an acclaimed Approved Workshop. See you soon!