Our Mercedes L 207 (1977) Camping Bus
In 1977, my parents decided to buy a brand new Mercedes van in Germany, where we lived. It was a “Kastenwagen” meaning, it was completely unfinished on the inside except for the front seats and the dash. My father immediately dropped it off at a camping conversion outfit and they outfitted the van with bench/beds, curtains, kitchen, fridge, heater etc.
Then we traveled all over Europe for the next 10 years with an under-powered 4 cylinder that liked to vapor-lock. We puttered up the Alps and drum-braked our way down the hills. This Mercedes L 207 was actually a rebranded Hanomag Henschel with a Austin Motor Company 4-banger. Mercedes did nothing except put their star on the front, back and on the steering wheel.
It was a dog. But, we saw the world without power-stearing, air-conditioning, or seat-belts. We traveled all of Europe and slept on the roof-rack when we were in Greece, watching the starry night sky.
Our last family trip with all the family was in 1983, up to Scandinavia, where my mother forced us (me and my two brothers) to stop and sight-see every church on the way, until we said: “No! No more.” The next year my oldest brother, Mike, was killed in a motorcycle accident and the family camping trips came to a close.
My father Arthur Thomas with our Mercedes L 207 Camping Bus still in operation in Germany
But then my brother Mark Thomas and I decided to rebuild the rusted-out bus. It took us a year and we even made it through Germany’s TÜV inspection. Rebuilt motor, radiator, wooden floor, carrier-beams, interior, seals, paint etc. It was a labor of love. The color went from green to white.
After then I left Germany and could not use our camping bus much anymore, but my parents still use it a little in the summer.
So now when we barrel up the Rockies with my engine temperature gauge staying where it always is, going 70 mph and pulling our beloved 4000 lbs DWR Airstrem with our Volvo XC90 V8, I remember the days of climbing the Alps with 10 passengers in second gear with the engine stuttering in vapor-lock, since the radiator was a piece of crap, going 15 mph in the emergency lane. We had to remove the interior engine hood between the front seats and the engine was just blaring, smoking and stuttering.
So, I loved camping and traveling, but the under-powered “camping bus” was always an adventure. Thanks for all the fun, so many stories.
- When our window was shot by a BB gun in Belgrade
- When I got stung by a wasp that flew in the window while driving on the Autobahn to Munich
- When 7 people slept in this cramped space
- When our dog Pado, leaned into the shifter and put the bus into neutral, making it roll into a garage and ruining the roof, while my father got something out of the house.
- When visitors would puke while sitting in the far back while driving through the Black Forest, since the Mercedes fish-tailed.
- When my brother Mark and I had the left rear wheel ball bearing collapse on the Autobahn in Switzerland.
- and so much more … all a good time.
Oh, and did I mention that it drives like a tank? But, as my father said, it always got us there an back again.
