Origin of CNW
Campers Northwest is the culmination of years of experience and enthusiasm for founder Glenn MacMillan and, in hindsight, was an obvious next step for him and his experienced team of specialists at Eastside Autoworks, the legendary Pacific Northwest VW Vanagon and EuroVan shop in Bellevue, WA. Glenn (and his team) all have almost 40 years of experience keeping these legendary vehicles roadworthy and ready for adventures far and wide. Customers asked Glenn to do more than attend to their vehicle's mechanical needs, requesting re-fitments, upgrades, and custom interior and exterior modifications. Campers Northwest takes what was a sideline for Eastside Autoworks and makes it the main event - an up-fitter worthy of the magnificent landscapes surrounding these two shops.
“A passion for people, a passion for vans.”
Volkswagen vans have been in Glenn’s family for 60 years, with some of the earliest photos of Glenn in his father's 15 Window Bus. Glenn's first VW van was (and is still) named “Moby,” a pristine 1986 VW Vanagon Syncro. Then, in 2010, Glenn acquired his first VW EuroVan camper. Fast forward five years and Eastside Autoworks had become one of the West Coast's most experienced VW van maintenance facilities. Word of mouth kept bringing new vans and their fans to Glenn, and then, in a serendipitous moment, local van builder Peace Vans began referring their EuroVan customers to Glenn and his team when they needed service. That's when Eastside Autoworks became what it is today: a facility dedicated to these customers and their adventures in their legendary Volkswagens.
As the camper van business grew, the team took on enhancement work: complete wood interiors were fabricated, tents and pop-tops were fixed or replaced, flooring was upgraded, and modern fridges were installed, all from a workshop tucked into a corner of the Bellevue mechanic shop. The shop was a hive of activity, and it was also bursting at the seams, with the mechanical bays filled with fabricators doing upgrades and everyone stepping over and around each other. So Glenn solved this in early 2022 when he found a perfect location in Kirkland just a few miles down the road from Eastside Autoworks. The new shop offered the Campers Northwest designers and fabricators a dedicated wood shop and several fitting bays. The Campers NW team, now settled into their new workshop, has been delivering VW interior and exterior upgrades, as well as Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Ford Transit van build. The Campers NW shop in Kirkland is also our showroom for teardrop trailers, so if you're looking to modernize your existing camper van, build a custom overlanding rig, or check out the most efficient teardrop trailers, we welcome you to visit us at our new shop. Whether you need mechanical or upfitting work, our team will get you on the road and on to your adventures. We wake up each morning with one thought: We make campers happy!