What Motorhome November 2022

It’s show time! Even after 35 years of visiting the huge German exhibition (once at Essen, long since in Düsseldorf), I still get a buzz from seeing what this wonderfully varied industry has come up with for the year ahead. If you didn’t make it to the Caravan Salon, you can see many of the highlights in this issue – and 2022 was a bumper show! Better still, you’ll be able to see most of the most exciting new models at the NEC, from 18 to 23 October. The Motorhome & Caravan Show 2022 should be a fantastic event, not just because it’ll be the first autumn NEC since 2019. You’ll be able to see truly groundbreaking new designs, such as the Bürstner Lyseo Gallery and Hymer Venture S (last…

Polish campervan manufacturer, Globe-Traveller is about to start selling its vehicles in the UK, following a debut at the October NEC show. It is expected that there will be around six dealers initially. The range includes the Voyager and Pathfinder, based on the Peugeot Boxer, and the Explorer on Fiat Ducato. Layouts include the XS/2XS at 5.99m long with a French bed, then the Z layout, which is 6.36m long and features rear single beds. The final layout is the X/2X, also on the 6.36m chassis, but with a French bed. Voyager and Pathfinder campervans have modified raised roofs to accommodate a dropdown double bed, making each model a four-berth with four travel seats, while the lounge area can still be used with the roof bed occupied. Highlights also include…

Lincolnshire-based premium campervan converter, Knights Custom Conversions, unveiled its first Ford Transit Custom campervan at the Motorhome & Campervan Show Season Finale. The new Custom Tourer is closely related to the company’s existing Prestige Tourer conversion, which is based on the VW Transporter T6.1. As well as the different base vehicle, the Custom Tourer’s USP is that it’s a gasless camper. So, it has a Sterling single induction hob, rather than a gas cooker. It also comes with a 42-litre Vitrifrigo compressor fridge and (optional) Webasto Air Top 2000 STC diesel-fired heating, as well as a 1,600W inverter. The conversion (excluding the Ford base vehicle) is priced from £22,990 (plus £5,650 for the Reimo pop-top), and also includes a Reimo Variotech 3000 sliding seat system with Isofix, blackout blinds, swivels…

Changes from Auto-Sleepers for the new season are quite limited, due to the well-publicised constraints that the whole industry has faced over the last two years. There are no new models but all 2023-season ’vans will get a 19.5in full HD smart TV with built-in FreeSat decoder, plus a 2 x 10W sound bar, which can be attached to the TV or used separately. The current on-board WiFi will also be changed to a new system from Avtex, and all coachbuilts receive a new Truma iNet X Control Panel with bluetooth connectivity. The internal look retains the current Casa Mila, Santana and Vogue trims but with the addition of a new Pamplona fabric available from January as an option on all models. The Mercedes coachbuilt range benefits from the latest…

Following on from the successful launch of the Transit Custom-based Monza campervan earlier this year, Swift is planning to introduce a range of low-profile motorhomes based on the full-sized Transit. The new Voyager range will be powered by a 160bhp engine and will feature a metallic grey cab. There will be four layouts, all with four berths – 540 (end washroom, large front lounge), 564 (French bed), 584 (twin single beds above a garage), and the 594 (island bed). All have twin inward-facing sofas in the lounge, with fold-out Aguti travel seats below equipped with Isofix. Kitchens will come with a Thetford oven and grill, three-burner gas hob, electric hotplate and a 133-litre fridge. Beds get comfy Duvalay mattresses. The new models adopt Swift’s SMART construction, featuring a timber-free polyurethane…

Campervan converter, Orange Campers, has, up until now, specialised in offering conversions on the short-wheelbase Fiat Ducato, thus creating a side kitchen layout in a vehicle offering noticeably more interior space than the ubiquitous VW Transporter, but with a similar sub-5m overall length. Now, with future supplies of the SWB Fiat uncertain in the UK, the company has launched a version of its Trouvaille campervan on the Ford Transit Custom, while it is also developing a conversion of the medium-wheelbase Fiat. The Ford, called the Trouvaille Actif, is the first to reach the market and is now available from £66,999 based on a Transit Custom Active SWB with standard 17in alloy wheels and limited slip differential, as well as the 170PS engine and manual gearbox. The Trouvaille Actif conversion retains…