Spotlight on Glamping Structures - Converted Vehicles
HELICOPTERS, PASSENGER JETS, AND RAILCARS ALL FALL UNDER THE GLAMPING CATEGORY “CONVERTED VEHICLES.” WE’LL EXPLORE SOME GLAMPTUARY DESTINATIONS THAT OFFER THESE UNIQUE GLAMPING STRUCTURES WHICH HAVE BEEN CONVERTED FROM SOME SURPRISING VEHICLES. PEOPLES IMAGINATIONS HAVE RUN WILD - AND WE LOVE IT…
Location - Costa Verde in Costa Rica - Photo Credit - 212quest
Glamping to the travel industry is a bit like the wild west was to the United States. A lot of unknowns and people making it up as they go.
As glamping becomes more defined and refined, the type of structures used in glamping is still very much an “open discussion.” In some instances it’s a full on debate, as is the case with RV’s. We’ll save that for the upcoming article that will feature RV’s as a glamping structure (our opinion, of course).
What we’re focusing on here is probably the most unusual glamping structure we’ll see - the converted vehicle. To the rest of the world, a “converted vehicle” is a vehicle that has been converted to run from a power source other than petroleum fuel - which we love. In the Glamptuary world, a converted vehicle means taking something that was once used for transportation and converting it to a stationary dwelling structure.
Can you imagine the possibilities? We can…and below are some Glamptuary destinations that feature some wild (and awesome) converted vehicles:
“The Beer Moth” - Location - Inshriach House in Scotland
“Santa Fe Rail Car” - Location - Country Woods Inn in Glen Rose, TX
“The Boat” - Location - Tir Bach Farms in Wales
“The Sea King” - Location - Mains Farms Wigwams in Scotland
“The Skoolie Bus” - Location - Skoolie Stays in Sussex, UK
“Conestoga Wagon” - Location - Conestoga Ranch in Garden City, UT
“Arabian Nights Airbus” - Location - Apple Camping in Pembrokeshire, UK
The exteriors of these glamping structures are something to behold, and the attention to detail on the interiors is second to none. A truly “glamorous” experience indeed.
The “go big or go home” cliche really hits the nail on the head when these glamping structures are in play. And it makes sense too because accessing these vehicles is no easy task and transporting them to a property is an even larger challenge. There are often times a lot of red tape that needs to be worked through to obtain the permits to house these decommissioned vehicles, and transportation usually requires large cranes, heavy equipment, and wide-paved roadways.
The covered wagons are probably the easiest to acquire and companies like Conestoga Wagons are a good soup-to-nuts option if wagons are your jam.
The best piece of advice for all Glamptuary operators is before you decide to do anything - contact your local government offices and make sure what you want to do is possible. Because these types of structures are so unique, the odds are there aren’t existing ordinances in place or an accepted process to follow. You may need to blaze your own legal trail to make it possible to offer one of these types of glamping structures. I imagine you've been blazing your own trail already if you operate a glamping destination - so this should feel familiar to you.
For the rest of us glampers, do try and stay in a converted vehicle. It’s as about as unique as glamping can get, and you’ll be supporting the herculean efforts of the Glamptuarys’ who offer these spectacular structures for us to enjoy.
Safe travels everyone!
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