What Motorhome

It’s not hard to see the appeal of a compact coachbuilt motorhome. The square sides give a greater volume of living space than it’s possible to achieve in a van conversion and there’s potentially better winterisation and insulation to boot. But what exactly does ‘compact’ mean in motorhome-land? For some, it’ll be an overall length of 6m or less, to make for easier parking and cheaper ferries, but often it’s width that makes more difference, more of the time. A typical coachbuilt is around 2.35m wide (30cm broader than a Fiat panel van), which can make you want to ‘breathe in’ on busy city streets lined with parked cars, or when venturing down the lane to the beach with high hedges on either side. That’s when a slimline coachbuilt can…

Wild Drives is an electric campervan hire company that launched its first EV camper in 2022. Now it has one of the first UK conversions based on the award-winning VW ID Buzz (watch our report at motorhome.ma/review269), and it’s available to hire from £150 per night. The campervan conversion was carried out by artisan van converter, Love Campers, based in East Sussex. It features a side-facing settee that pulls out to form a slatted bed alongside the kitchenette, which includes an induction hob, sink and fridge. The interior is made with a modern ply laminate and bamboo for a bright and retro feel. The campervan also offers a powerful lithium battery and a solar panel on the roof, making it functional as a totally off-grid experience without burning fossil fuels.…

German motorhome manufacturer, Carthago, has recently opened a brand-new manufacturing plant in Slovenia. The new €50-million environmentally friendly factory in the north-east town of Ormož will specialise in the manufacture of Malibu Vans and is expected to create 300 jobs by the end of 2024. This is Carthago’s second plant in Slovenia, with the nearby Odranci site (which builds the majority of all Carthago motorhomes) celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. A special opening ceremony at the factory was attended by the Slovenian President, Nataša Pirc Musar, and Matjaž Han, the Minister for Economy, Tourism and Sport, alongside Danijel Vrbnjak, the Mayor of Ormož. Carthago Group’s founder and owner, Karl-Heinz Schuler, says, “In addition to our headquarters in Aulendorf, Upper Swabia, the plants in Odranci and now in Ormož constitute…

Carado, one of the German brands of the Erwin Hymer Group, has again broken with the traditional way of doing things and is once more the first of the European manufacturers to reveal its 2024 line-up. While we still have a few months of the 2023 season to go, Carado has confirmed we will be getting three all-new Ford-based coachbuilts for next year. The trio of Transit-based low-profiles – the T338, T447 and T449 – all carry the Edition24 moniker for the coming season and are all based on the 130bhp Ford as standard (although the T338 and T447 are also available on the Fiat Ducato). The shortest of the new Edition24 trio, the 6.99m-long T338, has twin rear single beds above a garage, with a drop-down bed above the…

ONE of the big differences between a large campervan and a modestly sized coachbuilt is overall width. A Fiat Ducato panel van is 2.05m wide, whereas a standard motorhome is typically much broader, at around 2.30m to 2.35m. On a country B-road, especially in Cornwall or the Lakes, or when threading past parked cars in town, that could be the difference between relaxed motoring and sweat pouring from your brow. Or worse, a damaged vehicle. But, of course, many buyers are prepared to make the compromise in return for the extra interior space afforded by the flat, square sides of a coachbuilt model – as well as the potential for better insulation from the sandwich construction bodywork. There is, however, a halfway house – coachbuilt motorhomes that are slimline or…

IT all started for me at the NEC show in October 2022. Finally, Covid-related travel disruption seemed to be sinking into the past and thoughts of adventures abroad were bubbling back to the surface. Images of French boulangeries, Swiss Alps and Italian pizzerias, all drenched in summer sunshine, were fighting the little grey cells for top billing. But the Sahara Desert? Now, that hadn’t even crossed my mind. It wasn’t the topic I was expecting when I met up with Bailey of Bristol’s Marketing Director, Simon Howard, either. More on my mind were conversations about chassis delivery delays and new models for seasons ahead, so I was taken aback when we were joined by Marketing Communications Manager, Cristina Dorador de los Santos, who immediately started unfurling a map, not of…