Bram and Thomas Hester from Tilburg are completely devastated. The old-timer camper they worked on for months was stolen this weekend. The car had been completely refurbished with blood, sweat, tears, a lot of love and a lot of money. But before they could actually use their 1978 Mercedes camper, it was stolen. Thomas and Bram will not rest until they have found their car again. Searches are even underway in the port of Antwerp.
Bram (25) and Thomas (27) are both avid kite surfers. The idea was that with a vintage campervan they could drive to the beach with their kite gear and their friends. Bram bought the car last year and the whole family worked on it for months to restore it.
“We worked on it at our father’s company,” Thomas says. “We have welded several pieces of sheet metal on it, the construction has been reinforced, we have removed all the rust,” he sums up. “Everything has been sanded, the electricity has been replaced, there is a new battery in it, everything has been painted. We have had months of work on it.”
“There is so much in this, we would never sell it again.”
It was a wonderful project that the boys worked on with love. “We even said to each other, ‘There is so much in this, we will never sell this car again’. That is perhaps the most sour of all.”
Because even before the refurbished old-timer could start serving well for all those beautiful trips to the beach, or Bram’s vacation that was planned in a few weeks, the camper was stolen this weekend. “He was at our father’s in a closed business park,” says Thomas. “Not just along the street where someone with a screwdriver could take it.”
The thief or thieves had to do their best for it. “The gate was cut to get in and they drove through it with the old-timer.” The police were immediately called in and CCTV footage was requested. “But that will take a long time and who knows where he will go in the meantime.” So the brothers are now looking for themselves.
“We have to do something, even if it is a desperate attempt.”
Bram drives around in Tilburg in the hope of encountering their camper. Thomas drove to the port of Antwerp to look for the old-timer there. “It seems that such cars are immediately taken out of the country and put on a boat.” So he spends his Sunday at a shunting yard in the Belgian harbour, peering through binoculars hoping to catch a glimpse of the camper.
Although he realizes that the chance is small that he will really find their camper on that huge site. If he’s already there. “But we have to do something. It’s a desperate attempt, but better than nothing. We keep hope that we will find him one day.”
The classic car is not fully insured. “That’s priceless. We encrypted it for 12,000 euros. That’s all gone. And all the hours we put into it. It’s just all gone.”