The Conway Cruiser has the longest production run of all the Conway models. In fact, it's production lifetime is actually longer than that of the original Conway company, itself. The Cruiser commenced production in 1984, and remained a current model, continuously, until new owners, Pennine, finally ceased manufacture in 2013, almost 30 years after the first model rolled off the production line.

 

During those 30 years, many aspects of the Cruiser have changed, significantly, including dimensions, weights, equipment levels and colour schemes, but it has always remained true to its original layout, with the only minor change being the later introduction of U shaped seating.

 

In the Dimensions and Stats sections above, the top figures represent the Mark 1 Cruiser, when it first came out, whereas the lower figures represent the 2013 models, when production ceased.

 

The Cruiser was a typical 6 berth folding camper, along the lines of the Pennine Sterling and Pullman, and the lesser known Trigano Randger  575LX and Raclet Tamaris.

 

As stated above, the Cruiser has remained largely unchanged, in terms of layout, although it has become significantly larger and heavier over the years, and equipment levels have continued to improve, with the introduction of the likes of the wardrobe and heating / hot water system.

 

When the Cruiser was introduced, in 1984, its key selling point was that it could (supposedly) be set up in around 60 seconds, using their revolutionary 'Connaumatic' system. You can see how this looked in the 1984 Sales Brochure in the Paperwork section above.

 

Due to the longevity of its production, the Cruiser went through a large number of colour scheme changes over its lifetime. The original 1984 and 1985 models were brown and beige (as in the 1984 brochure). In 1986 / 87, this changed to brick (orange) and beige, and, in 1988, this changed to burgundy and grey. (In this year, the door was also moved over to the near side of the camper, in line with most other UK models, in order to facilitate easier entry / exit on UK roads. Just three years later, in 1991, another change, this time to bottle green and beige, and, again, in 1993, to bottle green and grey,which continued until 1995.

 

In 1996 and 1997, the colour scheme changed to petrol blue and beige, and, in the latter year, the new style gas locker was also added. 1998 and 1999 saw the move to violine blue and beige, as well as the introduction of the kitchen shelf. The last Cruisers produced by the old Conway company, from 2000 to 2002 were in algue green and beige, and this colour was retained for 2003, by new owners of the brand, Pennine. In 2004 and 2005, the canvas colour changed, yet again, to royal blue and beige, and, in 2006, to marine blue / metallic grey. 2007 and 2008 saw the move back to blue and beige, however, in 2009, Pennine introduced the new, acrylic, canvases across the entire Pennine / Conway range, in the now familiar charcoal and grey colour scheme. This remained with the Cruiser until its demise, in 2013.

 

With such an extensive history, it isn't practical to include the 30+ brochures and manuals for the model in this guide, however, you can check them out on the Conway Owners Club web site, in all their glory. Click here for brochures, and here for setup instructions. For the purposes of this guide, in the Paperwork section above, we have included the very first brochure, from 1984, the last one ever produced, in 2013, and a mid range one, from 1998. Likewise, below, we have our earliest setup instructions, from 1986, our latest, from 2003, and a mid range one, from 1996.

 

The images in the gallery above are mostly of the older Conway models, prior to acquisition by Pennine. All images, specifications and model details can be found on the links above, via the Conway Owners Club, if you wish to know more about a specific year for this model.

 

Also, below, we have a couple of videos for the Cruiser, both from Campers and Leisure Limited. The first shows the setting up of a 2005 Cruiser, and the second is is a brief walk around video of a 2000 model.