Rescue team is now in the Vanguard
Electrics are powered by a solar panel and there’s a water supply
The husband and wife team of Vanguard Campervan Conversions spent seven years running a catering business and yearning for a life in the mountains.
The latest project for Mark and Nicola Trigg was to fit out a van to be used by Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team for communications.
The van belonged to LMRT previously but was used as a minibus. Now the team can charge drones, view live footage on monitors, and even have hot food and drink with the added microwave and kettle functions.
Mark Trigg is a cabinet-maker by trade and very thorough with his designs, making sure everything is in the right place, down to the millimetre.
He said: ‘I am very particular about getting things right when fitting everything. People appreciate that level of detail because these things have to be very robust.
‘This is the first of this sort of vehicle we have done. It’s usually more holiday campervans we do, but we will be doing more projects like this in the future.
‘All the electrics are powered by a solar panel on the top, so the extras don’t affect the running of the van. There is also a water supply so the mountain rescue team have everything they need. We are looking to add things like showers, electric beds and other amenities to the new custom vans that we build.’
The couple build a new demo van every six months where they include new products, but are looking to appeal to the more active client with their larger, Volkswagen Crafter.
Nicola said: ‘We have such a lot of kit – we surf, snowboard, hike and, with a short wheelbase van, we can only do one activity at a time. A lot of people who modify Crafters aren’t using all the space to the best advantage. We’re away in them all the time so we know how to utilise everything.’
When they lived in Yorkshire, the couple were always coming up to Lochaber for outdoor activities and to get away from the grind of running a catering company.
‘The thing with catering was that you never stop. You’re doing big functions at race courses where people treat you like you’re invisible and we didn’t have a social life or time for family. We did that for seven years straight and at the end I just broke thinking, “There must be more to life than this”.’
The couple managed to sell the business quite quickly and, after a holiday, they moved to Fort William permanently and turned a hobby into a business that has now been nominated for the Best Rural Innovation Award at the Scottish Rural Awards 2020.
Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team is delighted with the van and now have it available to use for any rescue in Lochaber.
Mike Smith, treasurer of LMRT, said: ‘Eighty per cent of our rescues occur on Ben Nevis and, while we can conduct those from our base quite easily, this makes everything a lot easier.
‘The reason we needed to do this is because the changes to protocols for avalanches mean we need a vehicle close to the scene to run the rescue. It has not been cheap, but Mark and Nicola have been so helpful, being mountain people themselves, and gave us a generous discount. The whole team thanks them for their generosity.’
The group will be having a fundraising event in the new year to replace funds they used to fit out the vehicle.
You can support the volunteers at LMRT through their website www.lochabermrt.co.uk/support-us/.