carrying the first Volkswagens to come
to the United States.
Both the Austin A90 and the Pons’ effort
to introduce the Volkswagen to America
were failures (at least initially), but that
didn’t keep foreign companies from
trying to sell goods here. Two trailer
manufacturers—Berkeley Coachwork
Ltd. of Biggleswade, Bedfordshire,
England and Berger Caravan of
Rotschwaige-Dachau Vor Munchen
(American Zone), Germany—were
among the interested exporters.
Berkeley produced the largest-sized
caravan in the English market in 1949 and
also produced England’s largest number
of trailers. It typically turned out thirtyfive
units per week. One of the most
popular models the company produced
was the “Consul”. Berkeley advertised it
as the “all-roads, all-climates trailer of
your dreams.” Superior road-holding and
superior braking were two of its heavily
promoted features.
The Consul included spacious luxury
lounges, cozy bedrooms, a houseplanned
kitchen and an acoustically
insulated toilet room with a shower.
Advertisements for the Consul showed
the exterior, as well as two illustrations
detailing its design and construction
features. Incorporated into the Consul’s
floor plan was a dressing table, a closet,
an airing cupboard (it had a stove-pipe
type air vent into the cupboard), space for
a heating stove, a concealed pull-down
bed, a fixed divan, a writing bookcase,
Berkeley produced the
largest-sized caravan in the
English market in 1949 and
also produced England’s
largest number of trailers.
28 | vintagetrailermagazine