Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2023 i What Motorhome

IF you attended the NEC show back in February searching for an electric campervan, then there was just one to see – the brand-new Revolution from Scottish converter, CampervanCo. EV leisure vehicles are still very niche but there’s a growing – if small – selection out there if you look hard enough (see our February issue for a full rundown). CampervanCo is at the forefront of this sector, having offered conversions based on grey import Toyota Alphard Hybrids (still available, from £24,995) as long ago as 2016. Last year, it then followed up these Japanese vehicles with its Evolution PHEV (plug-in hybrid) camper, based on the Ford Transit Custom (July 2022 issue), but this is the firm’s first fully battery-powered campervan. It is based on the Toyota Proace Electric (a…

DAN Cooper, the founder of Custom Camper Solutions, spent his 20s and 30s at events like Bug Jam and Run to the Sun, so his love of VW campervans is not a case of joining the post-Covid bandwagon. In fact, the business has been trading for more than a decade – and it doesn’t just convert Volkswagens. This Pinewood conversion is the company’s most popular – and most conventional – model, and it can be built on either the Transporter or a Ford Transit Custom. The example here was based on a 72-plate Volkswagen fitted with the entry-level 110PS engine and five-speed manual gearbox. As a Highline, it comes with niceties such as colour-coded bumpers, automatic lights and wipers, Climatic air-conditioning, front and rear parking sensors and an alarm. But…

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.…

CJL Leisure is one of just five UK converters to have achieved Volkswagen’s Motorhome Qualification status. There can be no higher seal of approval in this sector, especially as those meeting the standard must type-approve their campers and have National Caravan Council (NCC) approval, too. If based on a brand-new Transporter, a CJL conversion will be registered from day one as a motor caravan. Here we have the company’s latest conversion, the Adventure Coast, which is available only on a long-wheelbase T6.1. It’s CJL’s first model to combine the VW California sliding seat system with a full-width bed. It’s not hard to see the appeal of using the same seat as Volkswagen’s own in-house campers (Ocean and Surf). Not only does this seat slide to infinite positions along its concealed…

THINK dealer special and you’ll usually be considering an Elddis motorhome with extra toys and cosmetic changes, because the UK arm of the Erwin Hymer Group is the leading exponent of these enhanced editions. But it’s not the only one. Lowdhams has a long history of selling Dethleffs vehicles, as the original importer 23 years ago, and its relationship includes the Eurostyle, which is exclusive to the Nottingham-based dealership. Based on Dethleffs’ Just 90 range, which is not part of the company’s standard UK line-up, the latest Eurostyle comes in two flavours – T 7052 DBL with an island bed and this EBL version with twin singles. Both models are priced from £74,995, which sounds tempting for a well-equipped German-built ’van. Making these vehicles even better value is the Eurostyle…

2007 SWIFT SUNTOR 590RS Offering four three-point seatbelts and five berths, this Swift packs a lot into its 6.61m length. The overcab is sure to find favour with children who always love having to climb up a ladder to bed. It’s got a guard to prevent younger kids rolling out and also features curtains so that adults don’t have to go to bed at the same time. The three adult berths are formed by rearranging the long side settee and dinette seating and can either form a pair of singles or one gigantic double. The only point to note is that, if you set it up as a double, the children will have to climb over you to reach the end washroom. Accessed via a door at the rear nearside,…

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…

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…

THE latest addition to the Horus campervan range mixes a UK layout with the keen pricing you expect from an Italian brand like Rimor. And it even has its sliding door on our nearside, unlike most imported models. This is a six-metre Fiat with the 140bhp engine and manual gearbox – the automatic is an additional £2,600, while metallic paint is an extra £995. Colour-coded bumpers, an electric step and an external shower are all standard, while alloy wheels are £995. Unusually on a continental camper, the Horus also comes with a 25kg underslung LPG tank. The Horus doesn’t have all the latest Fiat base vehicle bells and whistles but it does have stop/start. The 5in radio display (with Bluetooth and USB input) is a combined option with the cab…