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VWBUS T4&5+
http://www.vwbusmagazine.com
SHOP TOUR
There is more to CJ Van Designs than just designing
vans. We find out more Simon Cooke
CJ Van Designs
L
et’s start at the beginning;
obviously the company is
named after the owner or
owners? Yes, sort of... The
boss is Colin Newnam -
but he is known as CJ (James is
his middle name). So that name
stuck when it came to christening
the company. And the logo
design? “I wanted a shield in my
logo because I knew what a shield
meant to me from watching all
the old movies like Robin Hood; it
stood for strength, righteousness
and doing the right things for
people,” explained Colin, AKA CJ.
OK – let’s rewind a bit. Naturally
CJ was brought up on a VW diet.
“My parents had a T2 camper when
I was young and I used to make
Beetle Trikes,” he explained.
CJ grew up to be a fully-qualified
carpenter. “My wife and I have had
loads of campervans, and friends
were always asking for help with
their vans, and then they startedasking for their mates,” said Colin
setting the scene. This growth
pattern is a familiar story to many
of the VW conversion companies
I’ve reported on over the past
few years. However, at this point
CJ’s story takes an unwanted,
unexpected and painful turn; he
managed to snap both his Achilles
tendons within days of each other.
He didn’t know what to do; he was
told he’d be spending six months
in a wheelchair and then maybe
another year, before he was up
and running again. “I’d recently
swapped our T3 for my first T4 and
was going away surfing in Devon
most weekends with my mate,”
remembers CJ. He decided that he’d
convert his T4 into a proper camper
and sell it to earn some money
while he was off his feet; he already
had tools and a workshop. So he
carried out his first ‘official ’ full
conversion while he had restricted
movement; he made good use ofone of those little mechanic seats on
wheels; he’s still got it today. That
T4 sold, and soon after a friend
of a friend wanted his new T5
converted - the rest is history. In
fact, that first T5 customer went on
to become his first T6 customer too.
He moved into this huge unit
back in 2016 - more by luck than
planning - he converted a van for
his landlord, who asked if he was
looking for more space to work
in. CJ now employs a team of four
full time experts, led by James his
manager, while his sister helps out
in the office. CJ is still trying to be
as hand-on as possible. “I try to get
out of the office as much as I can,
but I’m finding it harder and harder
these days to get in the workshop
as the phone is always ringing,”
he complains with a grin. There
are worse problems to have for a
business owner. There is a wide
range of experiences available in the
workshop, and although the staff
(AKA Agents of Shield ....) can all
multi-task if required, they tend to
stick to their own areas of expertise.
CJ tends to take on a lot of the