What Motorhome

Chatting with a friend over lunch recently, he told me how he had hired a motorhome for the very first time. Thinking that more berths meant more space, he rented a six-person ’van, only to find that the motorhome seemed full of beds and, in his words “I ended up sleeping in the coffin above the cab.” That unsuccessful trip, fortunately, hasn’t put him off buying a motorhome of his own, but he is now keen to read as many of our reviews as possible − and watch our YouTube channel, MotorhomeCampervan − before he dips into his retirement funds. Of course, hiring before you buy remains a great idea and it’s possible that even hiring completely the wrong ’van can be a positive thing, if it stops you buying…

Slovenian manufacturer, Adria, is to join the burgeoning UK market for pop-top campervans with its Active model, which is already well-established on the Continent. Based on the latest short-wheelbase Renault Trafic (like Bürstner’s recently announced Playa campervan), the Active is 4.99m long and around 2m high with its rear-hinged roof closed. It comes with four berths and five travel seats and features the popular side kitchen layout. There are five exterior colours available and LED headlights and rear parking sensors are fitted, though exact details of UK spec and pricing have not yet been announced. The Active has a sliding rear seat on tracking in the floor, while its galley – finished in a scratch-resistant laminate – includes a two-burner hob and 36-litre fridge. Right-hand drive models will have twin…

HOW do you stand out in a marketplace where there are so many rivals? After all, it seems that every continental maker offers a Fiat-based campervan with rear single beds. And when you’re not part of a major group, like Trigano or Erwin Hymer, and you’re based in a country that’s not one of the big European markets, it’s even more important to not just follow the herd. So, what this Polish brand has done, in effect, is make a campervan that’s more like a full-sized motorhome, whilst retaining the structural and size advantages of a steel-bodied panel van. That starts with the exterior, which loses the barn doors at the back and also gains a taller, more attractive roofline with a small peak over the windscreen and roof rails…

IT’S fair to say that Chausson has led the way where drop-down bed motorhomes are concerned, certainly where the lowerable bed is the main the sleeping quarters. In a reduced range of seven layouts for 2023, three models fall into this camp. There’s the one-of-a-kind 660 with its huge walk-in garage, the 720 that’s family friendly thanks to its rear bunk beds, and the classic, the 640. This is the one that’s been so successful that a number of both British and continental manufacturers have copied its concept. What was that about the sincerest form of flattery? But the French firm hasn’t just sat back on laurels and let everyone else catch up. For a start, the latest 640 (only on Ford this season, due to difficulties in obtaining Fiat…

AT What Motorhome Towers we’ve been staggered by the number of new names entering the VW campervan market – it seems like we discover one that we didn’t previously know almost weekly. That means that buyers need to be very aware of the variable quality of the different conversions and investigate carefully the reputation of the converter. Edge Campervans can’t call on a long history, having only started in 2019, but its founder, Russ Hubble, previously built bespoke narrowboats, each involving up to 4,000 man hours. Over a 20-year period, he created over £2.5m-worth of boats and the same dedication is now aimed at even smaller living spaces. The company’s conversions don’t yet have Type Approval but it does use TÜV-tested components and Russ is keen to emphasise safety as the…

HYMER has its B-Class ModernComfort in WhiteLine trim, so it’s perhaps no surprise that Frankia now has a Black Line version of its competing Neo. The recipe is the same, take an existing model and pick some choice add-ons from the normally lengthy options list, then throw them in as standard while not increasing the list price to the same degree. In Germany, the saving is said to be around €12,000 compared with a standard Neo equipped to a similar level. And, of course, everyone will know you’ve got the one with the toys because of its metallic Obsidian Black cab. The 16in alloys are gloss black, too, and much of the extra spec is from Mercedes-Benz. That includes semi-automatic climate control, cruise control, a reinforced front axle, start/stop, a…