Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2018 i Caravan and Outdoor Life

"There is a difference between camping where you drive, and driving to a camp. To tour, while making the journey part of the adventure, is becoming more and more popular with South Africans.”― Leon Ras (Maxmo Adventure Campers) I have a confession to make... at the time of writing this letter, I haven't been camping for weeks! It's not just because winter is around the corner in the Cape, but simply because I've been too busy (with work and private life). Luckily, I have a camping weekend lined up, and by the time you have this month's Caravan & Outdoor Life in your hands, I would have been out to recharge my batteries in nature. This getaway comes just in time, I was starting to feel a bit grouchy from…

OKTO IS LAUNCHING Sneak peek: New caravan manufacturer in South Africa A brand-new manufacturer is entering the South African road caravan market: Okto Caravans. The team behind this new caravan is impressive, and includes Keith Laing, Tinus van Wyk, Ingo Ferreira, Derek Laing and Rudolph Vorster. Keith has 17 years of experience in the caravan industry, of which a substantial part was as Managing Director of Jurgens Ci. Tinus has 13 years of experience in caravan manufacturing with Jurgens Ci, the latter half as Production Director. Ingo is an industrial designer who was the Jurgens Ci designer for seven years, Derek is an engineer who has been key in the design and commissioning of certain work stations, and Rudolph is a mechanical engineer who was previously with Jurgens Ci and…

Motorhome-World started in 2001 with the development of the Discoverer range of motorhomes. Back in those days, the factory under the watchful eye of Managing Director Dennis Bouwers, was producing units only for the Bobo Campers rental fleet. It wasn’t long before Dennis realised there is also a market for private custom vehicles, and over the years Motorhome-World gradually increased their market share in the private market as well. Today, Motorhome-World has a large following in the new motorhome market from the private individual. In fact, in 2017, they produced more new motorhomes for private clients than for the rental market. Caravan & Outdoor Life visited Dennis Bouwers at his factory in Atlantis (Western Cape), to talk a bit about Motorhome-World, as well as the South African motorhome market, and…

Maxmo is launching an exciting new range of campervans tailored for the South African market. These products were designed as multipurpose vehicles for touring, camping, sport, adventures and various other outdoor activities. Leon Ras, the owner of Maxmo, says that he grew up around motorhomes, caravans, cabin cruisers and aeroplanes. In the 60’s, his dad bought an old Bedford mobile bank and converted it into a motorhome – out went everything but the bulletproof glass, and in went the stove, sink, fridge and beds for the whole family. They travelled extensively and visited almost thirty countries, which were all influential in Leon's understanding of trends in the global leisure markets. In the US, Germany, France, Spain and Italy, Leon saw that campervans (or Class B, as the Americans say) form…

Jurgens has recently launched its Reimo campervan range in South Africa and it certainly offers great versatility for holiday adventures combined with everyday usage. Whether you load the whole family or simply drive off with your spouse on an unplanned adventure, you will be travelling in luxury. The compact nature of these campervans enables you to traverse holiday destinations throughout South Africa and beyond, but is also suited to drive in the inner city. The ease of use and setup of the Reimo campervan is a pleasure and one of the reasons why so many people are gravitating towards these more compact adventure options. What makes the Reimo stand out of the crowd is that the full conversion only adds 200kg to the weight of the vehicle. The fibreglass used…

A family business with a professional attitude! Vista Motorhomes was started in the late 1990’s by Neil Lawrence under the original name of Helderberg Camper Hire. This family business has grown to become a leading motorhome manufacturer in South Africa, and prides itself in producing high quality, modern, up-to-date motorhomes modelled on the best products on the European markets. Current owners Tienie and Ronel Schietekat have maintained the family-run business tradition and have brought a wealth of experience to their management team. Their factory is based in Somerset West Business Park in the Western Cape; they also run a comprehensive rental division called Helderberg Camper Hire with depots in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Vista Motorhomes offer new motorhomes, custom builds, rentals and accessory sales for all those who are interested…

They say a change is as good as a holiday! You are a camper by nature, so why not try an overseas holiday? We did, and decided on Scotland… and it seems that most of Europe does, as well! This is surely the most beautiful part of the United Kingdom and, as such, an extremely popular motorhome and caravanning destination. It’s the place where 2 000-year-old medieval castles stand, where kings fought against kings, and clan feuds were common. The landscape along the coastline is as dramatic as the huge variation in the rise and fall of the tide, with one beautiful coastline replacing another, and one fascinating town replacing the next. And in spring, it has green, rolling grass hills and woody forests; plus, it boasts absolutely pristine lochs,…

IN THE HEART OF PARADISE My wife and I have visited Mozambique twice since October 2017. This time around, and on our second trip, we camped in the heart of the paradise at Bemugi’s Place just outside Santa Maria. We stayed here for a month in our Mobi Lodge, while we enjoyed a great adventure, found hidden gems with surreal landscape scenery, and had truly original Mozambican cuisine. When we explored the nearby area, we could not get enough of the breathtaking views, white sandy pathways and the nearby huts, structures and fishing dhows in the distance. Everyone at Bemugi's Place was incredibly friendly and we quickly felt like locals. Marcelo, our personal ghillie, took us on a road trip down to Ponta Mucombo, where we roamed the beaches and…

JURGENS AND THE AUTOVILLA The story of the motorhome industry in South Africa opens in 1974, when the Jurgens Caravan factory in Kempton Park launched the Autovilla, built on a Volkswagen Kombi chassis which was specially reinforced in Germany before being shipped to SA as a chassis cab. The Autovilla was nicknamed “skilpad” because of its rounded shape and its rather slow progress up hills. The motorhome body on this chassis was very similar to the Jurgens caravans of the time, with the same white and grey colours outside, and a dinette/ double bed in the rear. In 1977, the Autovilla underwent a change, with Jurgens adding an additional small double bed over the cab, called a Luton bed. The outside colours changed to all white with green striping on…

Allan Keyzer’s vision was to create a business doing what he loves most: camping. So, in 2010, in his garage at home, he started building the first prototype that paved the way for the future of Aloe Caravans. By 2011, production of the “Striata” off-road caravan was under way. The Striata, constructed on a galvanised steel chassis with an aluminium frame covered with an aluminium skin, was a hit. But it wasn’t caravans with a galvanised steel chassis sub-frame to match the truck chassis, and aluminium cage and skin (no wood). Following the success of the Iveco Daily 4x4 motorhome, Aloe Caravans went on to build a string of off-road motorhomes based on Iveco, Mercedes-Benz, Izuzu and Toyota Land Cruiser chassis. Off-road motorhomes are a major production item for Aloe…

Travelstar is the manufacturing division of Tourism Holdings Rentals (THR), which consists of Maui, Britz, Thule, Thetford, Kea Travel, the lifestyle divisions, and Travelstar. This group of companies has been in existence for more than 25 years. THR caters for many overseas and local customers on the rental side, for conventional two-, four- and six-berth vehicles. It also caters for a large market on the 4x4 side, with the Britz 4x4 vehicles for the more rustic adventurer. The lifestyle section caters for customers that may not want to rent but would rather invest in a well-maintained, used vehicle from the rental fleets. Units can either be purchased from the lifestyle division or new directly from Travelstar. Travelstar is the company’s manufacturing division, and produces not only for the rental fleets,…

REVERSE CAMERA VIDEO FEED FIXED I have installed a camera on the back of my caravan, but from the start the image on the monitor has not been very clear. I have noticed that when I am driving in the shade, the image is brighter, so my logical conclusion is that the sun is reflecting on the lens of the camera and causing the dim video. So what I did was to take a 50 mm PVC pipe of about 30 mm long, cut it in half, painted it black en glued it to the top of the camera lens. The image on the monitor increased almost 80%. Andries van Rensburg RENT BEFORE YOU BUY The last issue had good advice on how to go about buying your first caravan.…

Shower tower This Camplux Outdoor Shower Stand 5L Kit features a fully-adjustable shower head that’s compatible with most portable water heaters on the market today. The aluminium tripod unit is easy to set up just about anywhere, and can be extended up to 2.2m. Water heater not included. Price: R352.99 For more information, contact Roadque on 012 804 1967, email them at info@roadque.co.za, or visit www.roadque.co.za. Bits and bobs Bev-Tent Components is a Knysna-based company that manufactures a wide array of tidbits, from cupboard hinges for your caravan to elbow connectors for your gazebo tent’s poles. The company’s quality products can be found in retailers throughout southern Africa. If you need a replacement part for your recreational vehicle or tent, these are the guys to call. For more information, visit…

If you’ve ever wanted to travel in a motorhome, or maybe even if you are already living the lifestyle, you might have heard talk of different classes of motorhomes. These classifications often causes confusion in South Africa, since internationally (Europe vs UK vs America) the different classes have different names. In Europe they refer to classes such as “panelvan”, “semi-integral” and “integral”, while in America it’s is simply classified as Class A, B, and C. Meanwhile, in the UK you get “low-profile” and “Luton-type” classes. Where does that leave us South Africans? Well, somewhere in between Europe and the UK... INTEGRAL These are the largest variants, built on a commercial truck or bus chassis which is fully integrated with the body. You cannot distinguish between the chassis cabin front and…

Whether you’re on the lookout for a custom-made motorhome built on a ten-ton truck, or a camper for a surf safari, look no further than Fred Oosthuizen’s Custom Campers in Meyerton. Through the caravanning grapevine I had heard about “this guy in Gauteng… you have to see one of his motorhomes to believe it”. Luckily I was recently up in Gauteng, so decided to pay a visit to the Custom Campers factory in Galloway Street. I followed up the tour by visiting two of his customers, but more about that later. Custom Campers consists of Fred Oosthuizen, his wife Corné and a small team of highly-experienced craftsmen. This is very much a family business, with each member of the team providing their own expertise. In fact, the whole factory has…

Jos Joubert has been building his Abba Campers since 2008. Tried and tested, these units are tough enough for the bush, but still offer top luxury. Now, after two decades of perfecting the Abba Camper, Jos is tackling a new adventure: The Abba Campervan. This new product is built in association with Reimo, a German company that has been building VW Campervans for over 35 years. Abba Campers attended the training in Germany in 2017, and spent time in the Reimo facilities studying the methods and production systems of these quality conversions. Your current minivan, Kombi or panelvan can be converted and homologated into an Abba Campervan, and still be used for daily driving and passenger-transport. These conversions are available in various styles and layouts, and cater for your needs…

AC Motorhomes, owned by Hein Visser, was started way back in 1998. With two decades of manufacturing under their belt, AC Motorhomes has honed their skills to produce a top-of-the-line range of customizable motorhomes, built to exact customer requirements. All the aspects of their vehicles are done in-house, including the fiberglass, carpentry and metalwork aspects of each build. Their motorhomes are custom built, each one with its own unique features, as desired by the client. Their close relationship with all their clients, during and after the design and build, is the very reason why AC Motorhomes has such a loyal customer following. Top-quality products are sourced in the manufacturing of their motorhomes to insure the highest quality and durability. Whether you require a 4x4 motorhome that can handle the rigours…

Almost 35 years ago, a small group of motorhome owners decided to get together and form the Motorhome Club of South Africa (MCSA). From that outing, the club has grown over the past 34 years to where it is today. Caravan & Outdoor Life spoke to Chairman Nowell Griffin to find out more about the club, the benefits of joining and what makes them special. WHAT MAKES THE MCSA SPECIAL? That answer is to be found in the founding values, ideology and spirit which underpins our ethos. Self-assurance, self-discipline, responsibility to all things around us – the natural environment and other people. The underlying attitude that we strive to engender and that needs to prevail at each and every gathering, is “I leave my issues behind and I bring my…

Cara-Sure product offers specialist insurance cover for Leisure Vehicles such as caravans, camper trailers and motorhomes. Motorhomes are perhaps one of the most complicated vehicles to insure in South Africa simply because no trade and retail values exist and the insured must rely on the motorhome manufacturer to offer a value. The good news is that CaraValue is a company that was registered two years ago that addresses this very problem and provides official insurance values of all motorhomes in South Africa, including imported ones. Motorhomes are normally “low risk” vehicles and the premiums are substantially lower than a standard vehicle, simply because motorhomes are mainly used for leisure and private use. Another factor that drives premiums down is the average age of the drivers who are often a bit…