1989

Just Kampers Is Founded

Mark Reynolds founded Just Kampers on his Birthday, September 1st, as he couldn't get motor traders insurance before he was 22 years old.

The business started as a restoration and repairs workshop, a 'one man band' specialising in VW Campers, at the Old Pump House in Bagshot, Surrey.

The place was so small that Mark couldn’t close the workshop doors if he had a campervan in there, which wasn’t ideal. If it rained, he hung a tarpaulin over the tops of the doors to keep the camper (and himself) dry!

Back in the late 1980s the Old Pump House didn't have a land-line telephone connection, so Mark had to make use of one of the ironically titled ‘Motorola Transportable’ mobile phones – with a battery pack about the same size and weight as a car battery, it really wasn't all that transportable.

Did you know?

Just Kampers was originally a workshop doing repairs and restorations, and we still have an on-site workshop where we test products and work on our vehicles.

1990

The Move to Wrecclesham

In the spring of 1990, around the same time that his son Josh was born, Mark moved Just Kampers into larger premises at Wrecclesham near Farnham in Surrey.

The site had previously been used as a Rolls Royce service and repair shop and could accommodate up to six campers – with the workshop doors closed!

The workshop was next to a retirement home and it soon became clear that our new neighbours didn’t share our enthusiasm for air-cooled VWs, or Mark’s long working hours. There were a few complaints, and while we did our best to be good neighbours we knew it wouldn't be long before we would be looking for somewhere new to move!

1991

24 Hour VW People

Just Kampers continued to grow and so did our neighbours cause for complaint! By 1991 JK was running nearly 24 hours a day, and we’d begun breaking old Volkswagens in order to sell second hand parts.

This was the beginning of our transition from workshop to parts business. In hindsight a lot of the VWs that we broke would be repaired and restored these days, but it was a different time, and the vehicles just weren’t in such demand in the early ‘90s and were not nearly so valuable!

1992

Becoming a Parts Shop

Having outgrown our second workshop, and our welcome with our neighbours, we moved to Farnborough, Hampshire.

The new location gave us more space, which was great, but our new neighbour was a four-star hotel and their residents were no happier with our 24 hour VW workshop than those of the nursing home had been!

We were finding that more and more customers were struggling to find certain parts, so we decided to source them ourselves and sell them from a small shop, which we set up above our workshop.

Did you know?

This is where Farnborough VW are now based!

1993

Buried Treasure

Whilst on holiday with his wife Kerry in Malta, Mark inevitably took an interest in the local VW scene!

Completely by chance Mark and Kerry discovered a closed down VW Main Dealer that had stored all of its parts in a nearby cave!

Mark knew this was an unbelievable find and the week after returning from holiday he flew straight back to Malta to buy all the parts and get them shipped back to the UK!

This was the first time that Mark had imported anything into the UK from overseas, but since then we’ve brought it countless containers full of parts, accessories, and even whole fleets of classic Volkswagens from all around the world!

1994

Wheeler Dealers

Here's a photo of Ed China, of 'Wheeler Dealers' fame, standing next to the Bay that Pete had chopped - we knew him before he was on TV!

Pete was (and still is) a big fan of roof chopping vehicles, which involves cutting the roof off, shortening the pillars, and re-fitting the roof.

Ed once rented the unit next to ours at our HQ in Odiham,and used to amaze everyone at JK with his fantastic and imaginative vehicles.

As well as parts, we were also selling the crew cab that Pete had roof chopped!

1995

The Grand Tour

1995 saw an attempt to find another Malta style treasure trove. Having found a 1959 Volkswagen Dealer map with every VW dealer in Europe marked out, Mark began a trip to see if they were still in existence and if they had old treasures gathering dust. A few thousand miles later, it was decided that Malta was a bit of a one-off and running the workshop paid the bills better than treasure hunting!

By 1995 we’d expanded our shop and the range of products that we stocked, but were still 95% workshop.

1996

LA Story

In 1996, Mark and his wife Kerry went to LA to see if they could start importing parts off Volkswagens like doors and front axles back to the UK. They found a few scrapyards that were full of VWs like these, which were scrapped back then but these days would probably be restored!

As you can see from the photo, Mark had already been busy stripping away the best bits to send back home to JK!

The owners of the scrapyards often couldn’t understand why we were bothering, but Mark had loads of customers back in the UK who just couldn’t find the parts they needed to keep their VWs on the road, so it was worth enduring the heat and the local wildlife.

Did you know?

The scrapyards were often home to snakes, spiders, and other Californian wildlife, so Mark and Pete would whack the metal bodywork with tools to announce their presence, and be really careful where they worked!

1997

The Space Race

In 1997, the first container of VW parts that we'd bought in LA arrived.

We knew we'd soon have to start looking for a new place to store all of these parts, as we were quickly running out of space in our workshop!

We started to stock more and more VW parts, to keep the workshop busy, which eventually led to Just Kampers becoming a parts business

Initially, we ran it from a small shop in North Camp. When we took on the shop we thought we could never fill it, but it wasn’t long before we’d outgrown the shop and the four shipping containers we'd wedged into the rear car park

It also didn’t take us long to fill up the offices above our shop, and the space above the two shops next door, too!

1998

Mail Order VW Parts

In ’98 Mark and his young family travelled to South Africa to find parts. All of their family holidays had them going to places where Mark could hunt down parts or cool VWs, but South Africa was an especially cool place to go with the family, especially when they went on safari in a VW T25!

This was also the year that we found many of our customers preferred to shop via mail order and so we started to extend our mail order offering.

Here's a photo of Mark on the phone in the old Sales Office. He's ditched the Vans, but he still sits like that when he's on the phone!

1999

JK Opens a Scrap Yard in LA

After enough visits to get to know a load of people in the California VW community, Mark managed to find the parts that our customers were looking for, and also leased some land out in LA so that we could run a VW Scrap Yard out there!

We'd salvage the best parts from wrecked VW Campervans and Beetles, and ship them back to Just Kampers, to sell second hand in the UK.

In 1999, Mark went back to California, bringing his family with him again so that they could take in some sights while he looked for more car parts. He managed to spare some time to go see some drag racing though!

Back in the UK, Just Kampers was busy moving into a new space which was dramatically bigger than any of the garages or shops we’d been in before. This move took us to Odiham, Hampshire, and we haven’t moved since!

We’ve massively expanded the amount of space that Just Kampers occupies in the converted aircraft hangar, but the address has stayed the same in 1999.

Did you know?

When Just Kampers first moved to Odiham, Hampshire, we didn't think we'd ever fill up the space we'd rented. Since then, we've grown so much we've taken over almost the entire building, as well as renting space in a few of the outbuildings nearby.

2000

Tidying Up

Despite thinking we’d never fill up the space we’d rented in Odiham, we managed to do exactly that in under a year! At the turn of the millennium we started to expand our warehouse and get everything more organised.

We've always tried to keep everything tidy, organised and logical in our warehouse, which is why we now run all of our picking on handheld computers to minimise the chance of errors

The JK Team also started to attend a lot more VW Shows & Events across the UK around this time, to keep on supporting the VW community and offer second-hand parts which we’d located and imported. Here's a photo of Mark and Pete at Brighton Breeze 2000!

2001

Taking Office

Business was really taking off, and in 2001 we started to build more permanent offices at JK HQ, because more orders meant we needed more sales staff!

These offices are still in use every day here at Just Kampers, although now they’re a staff break room.

Here's a photo of Mark holding down the fort in the new offices, which was filled with iconic Mac G3 computers which ran basically everything at Just Kampers.

2002

Kamperink-ing it Up

We used to fill it absolutely full of stock and take it to all the shows with us, and we used it to test a lot of products, too.

As well as growing the range of mechanical parts and accessories, 2002 was the year we got the JK Kamperink!

Did you know?

The Kemperink was designed by the Dutch coachbuilding firm of the same name, with the vehicle chassis being lengthened by around 900mm to give it huge rear storage space.

2003

Online Sales

In 2003 our Internet business really picked up, so we had to get ourselves even more organised to keep up with the increase in demand. New racking went into our warehouse in Odiham, and we revised the way that orders are processed.

2003 is also the year we started to stock a much larger range of new parts from places like Empi, as well as selling second-hand parts.

This was a big step for us, and it meant that we were sending more artic lorries down the country lanes of Odiham!

2004

Volksworld Show

2004 was the year of JK's first VolksWorld Show - We loved it then, and we love it now!

If you've got any photos from old VolksWorld shows, please send them to us, we'd love to see them!

2005

Getting Tooled Up

In 2005 we saw more and more parts becoming obsolete, we began to invest heavily in tooling up to produce the parts ourselves so that people could still get them.

This is an ongoing project as the vehicles become older and the parts harder to find. We've also manufactured some non-mechanical products, such as our ever-popular melamine sets.

Did you know?

We still produce a loads of our own parts and accessories, including over 150 different panels made on-site here at JK HQ.

2006

Breezing to Brighton

Mark Reynolds and his son Josh put together their first, but not last, team for the London to Brighton bike ride which included a few JK Staff Members, in order to raise money for charity.

This was also the year that Ed China relocated, moving out of the unit next to ours at JK HQ in Odiham. We quickly took over the empty space, but we left his Cummfy Banana sticker on the door. It's still there today!

2007

Doing it for Ourselves

In 2007 we began to increase our focus on designing and manufacturing our own products, such as our popular melamine dining sets, and our Spacemaker awnings.

Since the massive popularity of these JK exclusive awnings, we’ve hugely increased the range of camping parts and accessories which we stock here at Just Kampers, but our main focus has always been on the core parts and accessories you need to keep your classic or modern VW on the road and looking great!

2008

How Low Can You Go?

At Bug Jam, Santa Pod, in 2008 we were part of a team that set a record for the world’s lowest campervan, along with Andy Saunders

It was an amazing thing to be a part of, and although it took all weekend we got it finished in time for a run down the drag strip at Santa Pod!

Did you know?

The Vancake still holds the record for the World’s Lowest Campervan!

2009

Going Social

Throughout 2009 we became increasingly fond of Facebook and today we use the site on a daily basis to stay in touch with customers, colleagues, friends and our VW family. To read about our more recent history and current deals simply head over to our Just Kampers Facebook Page.

2010

Branching Out

At the end of 2010 we announced our launch of Just Kampers Australia. Wanting to cater to Volkswagen lovers on the other side of the world, we sought to set up a sister warehouse in Auburn, Australia. By having a partner on the other side of the world, we are able to service customers with the same great products we sell here, whilst also minimizing shipping costs and dispatch times to the VW enthusiast, which would otherwise be unattainable.

Did you know?

Just Kampers Australia is based in Villawood, NSW. The town was previously called Woodville, but had to change its name when the railway was introduced in the 1920s to avoid confusion with another Woodville in New South Wales.

2011

Build-a-Bus

In 2011 Just Kampers bought and restored the 'project bus' together as a team.

Each willing member of the JK Team played a part in transforming the broken bus into a fully functioning one, from new brakes to choosing the interior, everyone did their bit to make the bus the best it could be!

We sold the Project Bus a few years later, and it’s still driving around Europe with the faded Just Kampers sign writing.

2012

New look JK

In 2012 we launched our brand new website, which featured massive improvements and has made it far quicker and easier for people to find the parts and accessories they need for their VWs.

We also introduced our new round JK logo, which has been just as popular as the new website! Our annual JK Open Day and camping weekend was very popular, the weather was beautiful and hundreds of visitors arrived, in fact our charity BBQ was so popular we had to send people out to get more food!

2013

Improvements & Changes

We brought in many improvements and changes during 2013, and continued to grow as fast as ever. We introduced a range of new offers and schemes to help our customers to save money and further improve the service they receive from us. For example, our Group Buy offer which allowed groups of friends, forums and clubs to join together to purchase larger quantities of more expensive items such and rock'n'roll beds, Propex heaters and awnings at lower prices.

Preservation Parts was also launched in 2013. We'd been feeling for a while that there was something missing from the classic air-cooled VW scene, with both mechanics and customers expressing the need for a range of higher quality parts and accessories for their air-cooled 'dubs. We spent months searching around the world and throughout our own extensive range to pick out the very best parts and accessories available for Beetles, Ghias, Type 3s, Splitscreens, Bays and T25s, tested them and combined them into the Preservation Parts range.

It's an ongoing process and we're always adding new parts and accessories to the range based on the great feedback we've had from people worldwide on the existing range.

Did you know?

We now create over 150 different metal panels and products via Preservation Parts, and we have an adjoining door between their unit and ours, which makes deliveries nice and easy!

2014

Celebrating 25 years of Just Kampers!

Just Kampers was established in 1989 so 2014 marked our 25th Birthday, and we've marked this event with 25 fantastic offers at different shows and events throughout the year, as well as releasing a range of limited edition 25th Anniversary merchandise!

We also ran a fantastic vehicle giveaway competition all through the year in conjunction with our insurance side of the business, Just Kampers Insurance to give away a VW T4 van. The lucky winner was drawn in December 2014 and was Chris Cayton and his family

Did you know?

Mark and Kerry packed a huge amount of spare parts and tools for their road trip, but basically only ended up using a handful of cable ties!

2015

Extending the range

We focused the first part of the year on expanding our T5 range with many add-on parts such as Westfalia tow bars and Sportline products and also introduced our exclusive range of awnings, sun canopies and camping accessories for the summer. Our brand new melamine set also proved very popular.

During 2015 as well as attending six of the larger VW shows with trade stands, we also managed to sponsor 50 other shows and events, showing our support for the VW scene.

Our JK Open Day has now grown to a large camping event with over 400 plots sold all in aid of Cancer Research, our chosen charity for 2015.

2016

All change!

We developed a whole new range of body panels here at JK, with our on-site workshop going flat out to fulfil orders and Developing new body panels. As with all of our exclusive UK made panels, they've been made to the original specification from the highest quality materials, and have decades of experience and skill behind them.

2016 saw us bring in a whole fleet of rare and unusual VWs from Brazil. We displayed them at the VolksWorld Show in the spring, and they were really well received. Although we'd have loved to keep them all, we've got a lot of VWs already here at JK, and space is at a premium in our warehouse, so they've been bought by VW enthusiasts around the world and are now enjoying new homes.

The end of summer meant the start of us expanding and improving our warehouse. This had become something of an annual tradition at Just Kampers, and 2016 was no exception.

2017

Racing ahead

2017 saw the JK team rebuild and then race a 1956 VW Beetle in the covered Mille Miglia race in Italy.

This was a great opportunity to truly test the parts we sell, and we were delighted to say that after over 10,000km of driving in 12 months we can report not one breakdown.

The year also saw us expand into even more warehouse space, yet again! One of our neighbours moved out, so we took the opportunity to take on the extra space.

2017 was also full of some great shows that we attended, in Jack, the Mille Miglia Beetle. Our firm favourite was HO17 in Germany!

Did you know?

We finished the Mille Miglia around 220 places higher than we started, with our plucky VW Beetle leaving some truly prestigious classic race cars behind as we tore around Italy.

2018

Onwards and upwards

2018 has seen us expand upstairs to allow us to have a retail shop/display area. This shows off the Kampa Air awning range, and many of the JK Conversion parts we have added to our range.

In 2018 we also worked especially hard to bring the customer the very best value for money, a target we’ve been pursuing ever since.

2019

Heralds our 30th Birthday!

2019 saw us celebrate 30 years since a very young Mark Reynolds established Just Kampers. We celebrated this massive milestone throughout the year, and across the UK.

The team took on the great John O Groats to Lands End challenge for charity; our much-loved Open Day and Camping Weekender returned, and some of the team journey to Bad Camberg in Jack, the 1956 Oval Beetle we raced in the Mille Miglia two years earlier. We also proudly continued our sponsorship and support of World Champion GB Paraclimber Matt Phillips.

We continued to expand the range of products across for classic and modern VWs, showcasing these items in our new shop area and working in conjunction with JK Insurance to offer new Hire Insurance options.

We also be implementied a new environmental policy as we strive to reduce our environmental impact, through active management in all areas of our business.

2020

A Year Of Covid & Heroes

More than ever this year we have all sought to support our communities and, at a time when so many need help, charities have felt extra pressures. With fundraising events becoming impossible to host, and many household finances changing, it would be easy to be lost along the way.

Each year Just Kampers works hard to support our dedicated charity partner; Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care. Our Open Day and Camping Weekender would normally be our main fundraising event to raise funds for the charity. 2020's event was not able to go ahead and left us asking ticket holders, if they felt able, to donate this year’s fee.

So many of our camping ticket holders and traders did just that. Your generosity, when added to the Just Kampers £15,000.00 donation allowed us to pass a whooping £21,480.00 to Phyllis Tuckwell. As far as we are concerned, you are all heroes.

Your generosity will help to ensure that Phyllis Tuckwell can continue to support their patients and loved ones through often very difficult times.

2021

Another Year Of Covid

Another difficult year for many of us around the world, 2021 saw VW shows and events cancelled as lockdown restrictions were phased in and out. This, sadly, included our own JK Open Day, which we couldn’t reasonably make happen given the state of the Covid pandemic.

Each year Just Kampers works hard to support our dedicated charity partner; Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care. Our Open Day and Camping Weekender would normally be our main fundraising event to raise funds for the charity. 2020's event was not able to go ahead and left us asking ticket holders, if they felt able, to donate this year’s fee.

Still, it was a busy year for us at JK HQ as orders for camping products and mechanical parts were flying out of the warehouse – it seemed like a lot of our customers were enjoying staycations and getting their VWs back on the road.

We took the opportunity to design a series of new products, including our JK Solar Charging Screen, although many of these new parts and accessories wouldn’t land in our warehouse until the following year.

2022

We’re Here to Help

This was a great year for Just Kampers, which saw us doing more of what we love – working on VWs, heading to shows, stocking new products, and getting out in our Volkswagens! The JK Team attended dozens of different VW shows and events across the UK, and wrote up show reports with photos for anyone who couldn’t attend. We’ve been heading to Volkswagen shows since the 1990s, and we don’t intend to stop doing so any time soon! Back at JK HQ there were over 1,500 new parts added to our range, with everything from tiny mechanical components through to exclusives like our new JK Solar Charging Screen all jostling for space on our shelves. It’s been great to be able to offer an even wider range of parts and accessories for a wide range of classic and modern VWs, as well as several non-VW campers.

With 3DS2 looming last year, we made the tough decision to switch off our sales phone line in early 2022, as we can no longer take payments over the phone. However, you made it clear that you still wanted to be able to speak to people by phone, so we switched our phones back on again a few months later, and are now processing payments for orders made over the phone via a payment link.

Continuing our mission to be as helpful as possible, we transformed the workshop on-site at JK HQ into a space where we could shoot how-to videos at the same time as working on our fleet of VWs and testing out new products. These how-to videos have been uploaded to our Just Kampers YouTube channel to help you with your own VW projects.

Did you know?

‘Workshop Mark’, who presents most of our YouTube videos, hadn’t been on camera before he joined the JK Team, but he’s really taken to it. Watching him now, you’d think he’d been doing it for years!

2023

We Kept Our Focus

During 2023, we kept our focus on providing you with the information and parts you need to keep your VW on the road and ready for adventure.

As well as making sure we’re still available to you over the phone, by email, on social media, and via the live chat feature on our website, we’ve also reopened the sales counter here at JK HQ, so you can place your order face to face, and pick up your parts right away.

We also continued to film more and more how-to videos and other helpful guides, to allow you to work on your vehicle’s at home if you’ve got the tools, skills, and confidence to do so.

Over the last year our range has changed a lot, with less of a focus on our camping range and even more parts and accessories added for Volkswagens from the earliest Beetle through to the latest Transporter.