The Hymer Camp is the alcove motorhome of the Bad Waldsee range: its most visible feature is the sleeping space over the driver’s cab. The line is sold today as the Camp CL and Camp SL, after earlier versions called Camp, Camp Swing and Camp GT.
Hymer Camp at a glance
| Maker | Hymer, Bad Waldsee, Germany |
|---|---|
| Type | alcove motorhome (Alkoven) |
| Defining feature | sleeping space above the driver’s cab |
| Current models | Camp CL and Camp SL |
| Earlier names | Camp, Camp Swing, Camp GT |
| Other Hymer lines | Tramp semi-integrated, B-Klasse integrated, Van and Exsis-I compact, Magic Van bus |
| First Hymer motorhome | Caravano, 1961, pop-up roof on a Borgward B 611 |
| Series motorhomes | from 1971, Hymermobil on a Mercedes-Benz basis |
| Body construction | PUAL sandwich with aluminium skin and polyurethane foam from the 1980 season |
| Company since 2018 | part of Thor Industries |
No Wikipedia article covers the Camp on its own: the line names come from the Dutch article on Hymer and the company history from the German and English articles, which are in effect a single source.
History of the Hymer Camp
What an alcove motorhome is
An alcove motorhome carries its bed in a raised section over the driver’s cab, which gives a compact vehicle a separate sleeping area. In the Hymer range this body type is the Camp.
From the Caravano to series production
Hymer’s first motorhome was the Caravano of 1961, a pop-up-roof vehicle on a Borgward B 611 of which only three were built before Borgward failed. Series production began only in 1971 with the Hymermobil on a Mercedes-Benz chassis, and the range later divided into the body types the company still uses: alcove, semi-integrated, integrated and compact van.
Camp CL and Camp SL
The alcove line is currently sold as the Camp CL and the Camp SL. The names Camp, Camp Swing and Camp GT belong to earlier versions of the same line. Around it Hymer sells the semi-integrated Tramp, the integrated B-Klasse CL and SL, the compact Van and Exsis-I and the Magic Van bus.
Design and features
- Alcove body: a sleeping space above the cab gives the Camp its distinct front.
- Place in the range: the alcove line sits beside the semi-integrated Tramp and the integrated B-Klasse.
- Long name history: from Camp and Camp Swing to the current Camp CL and Camp SL.
- PUAL walls: Hymer’s aluminium-skinned sandwich construction, introduced for the 1980 season.
- Bad Waldsee production: the company has built motorhomes at its headquarters since the 1970s.
Hymer Camp versions
- Camp CL: current version of the alcove line.
- Camp SL: the second current version.
- Camp and Camp Swing: earlier versions of the line.
- Camp GT: another former name of the same alcove family.
The Camp was the alcove member of a range that also included the integrated Hymer B-Class and the compact Hymer Exsis-I. The first Hymer motorhomes are described in the Hymermobil article; more models are in the Hymer collection.
Video: Hymer Camp
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Hymer, Dutch Wikipedia: alcove line, current and former Camp names, other Hymer lines
- Erwin Hymer Group, German Wikipedia: Caravano, 1971 series production, PUAL construction
- Hymer, English Wikipedia: company history and ownership
