Keith Gooden
Welcome back to the Motorhome Matt podcast. I’m Keith Gooden.
Matt Sims
And I’m Motorhome Matt!
Keith Gooden
Let’s dive in, shall we, with a bit of news?
How close are we to electric motorhomes?
Keith Gooden
Electric motorhomes! You’ve got a brand new project, haven’t you?
Matt Sims
Ooh. It’s a secret. I’ve got so many questions about this. Mark asked us, ‘How close are we to seeing motorhomes running on alternative energy sources like electricity or hydrogen?’ So a fuel cell. It’s a great question, Mark. We’re going to see it soon, for sure. By 2030 – that’s not very far away.
Keith Gooden
They say that, but I don’t see how it can happen because with electric cars – what about the range? You can’t get far in a car. How are you going to get far in a motorhome?
Matt Sims
I mean, they exist already. There are some campervans that have been built. We’ll explain what a campervan is in this episode, won’t we? But they’re smaller motorhomes. So they’re lightweight and for two people really. And some of them exist. VW have obviously brought out their T5 equivalent, the people carrier, called the Buzz. £65,000 before you convert it was the last price I saw for one.
I’ve got so many questions about this – range, recharging, charging on a campsite, weight – what are they going to weigh? What payload is one going to have after all the batteries are in it? At every juncture, I have questions. And I’ll be quite honest, I’ve asked them of lots of people, some far cleverer people than me. And frankly, no one has got the answers. I can’t answer these questions. So we thought, ‘Right, blow it. Let’s go and buy one.’ So we have.
Keith Gooden
What, you’ve bought an electric motorhome?
Matt Sims
No, we’ve bought an electric van. We’re going to make our own. So we thought, ‘Right, let’s go and get a van.’ This is all top secret, Keith.
Keith Gooden
Is it?! Well, I won’t tell anybody.
Matt Sims
We shouldn’t be talking about this. Yes, so we have bought a van, it’s arrived and we are going to convert it. We’re going to make it into a camper. It’s going to have a pop roof. And we’re going to make our own campervan and we’re going to go off on holiday in it and see what happens.
Keith Gooden
Sounds like a great idea. But I remember, back 50 years or more when I was a milk boy in London, we used to have the milk float. And the thing with the milk float was it had racks and racks in there of the old lead acid batteries and wouldn’t go more than about six or seven miles an hour. That was a restriction. Now we have lithium-ion, but they’re still heavy. So to get enough batteries in to go, say, 500 miles, you fill the whole thing up.
And that’s the problem we’ve got, isn’t it? And as you say, when you arrive, then how do you recharge it? I was in a famous motor suppliers the other day, and they’re offering now that the government aren’t giving grants for an electric charging point if you buy an electric car at home, they’re often to put one in for between £1,300 and £1,700.
Are sites going to do that for, say, 20 or 30 different motorhomes? That’s going to cost a lot of money. So like you say, lots of questions to be answered.
Matt Sims
Loads of them.
Keith Gooden
And you’re going to answer them in your van.
Matt Sims
We’re going to go off in our own electric campervan. And we’re probably going to find loads more questions and get stuck. I don’t know – we might not. But, I mean, you mentioned a good point about the campsites.
There’s the cost but there’s also the issue of the power. We love going down to Lizard Point. How are you going to get enough power down there to charge ten cars towing a caravan? They’re big electric cars by virtue of the fact that they can tow a caravan. Or motorhomes – how’s that gonna work?
Keith Gooden
No, you can plug a car into the mains, but it takes forever on 13 amps.
Matt Sims
Interestingly, lots of holiday parks are experiencing holidaymakers now turning up in their Tesla or whatever and running a cable out of the window of the static caravan to charge the car, and they’re banning it. They’re putting signs up saying, ‘No EV charging here.’
You know, that’s dangerous. It could cause a fire, not to mention the fact that they’re drawing 13 amps, a huge amount of power, and putting the campsite under pressure. I’ve been on campsites where you literally push the toaster down and the whole row goes out. How am I going to charge a car?
Keith Gooden
There is a thing with people who own electric cars – and don’t write to me, but there is a thing about where you can go to get free charging. And there are all sorts of little WhatsApp groups and Facebook groups with people trying to get free charging. The plain fact of the matter is that electricity costs money. Now, you might be saving on petrol and diesel, but you can’t expect to plug in for nothing.
Matt Sims
Is running an electric car cheaper than running a petrol one? That’s a question. Is it at the moment?
Keith Gooden
We’ll see.
Matt Sims
I’m sure if you’re listening and you’ve got the answer to that, you can help me. Because honestly, I have so many questions about this, and you will I’m sure as well. So our plan is – I can’t believe you’ve lifted the lid on this one.
Keith Gooden
I haven’t said a thing.
Matt Sims
We’ve got this vehicle and over the coming months in the lead up to Christmas it will be converted. We will announce it properly and we will head off. Certainly, throughout next year it will be available to hire. At the moment as far as I can see, it’s going to be the first electric camper for hire in the UK. That’s quite exciting, isn’t it?
Keith Gooden
It is very exciting. We’re looking forward to that one. So keep us posted. We will keep you posted, that’s for certain.
Matt Sims
We will.
Keith Gooden
So that’s Matt’s brand new project-,
Matt Sims
Shh!
Keith Gooden
An electric camper van.
Last week to get tickets for The Motorhome and Caravan Show
Keith Gooden
Let’s talk about the big show at the NEC! It’s your last chance now to get tickets. Go onto the NEC website. Don’t contact us! That website is, Matt…
Matt Sims
Keith Gooden
www.mcshow.co.uk. When you go to book your tickets, there’ll be a little box that says, ‘Discount code.’ Put in EX1.
Matt Sims
There you are. You’ll get a few pounds off.
Keith Gooden
What do you put in?
Matt Sims
EX1. You always make this sound really difficult! It’s just EX1.
Keith Gooden
It’s not difficult! ‘What’s going on?!’
The different types of motorhomes
Keith Gooden
In the main part of our podcast today, we’re talking about different types of motorhomes, just to clarify things for beginners and people who aren’t such beginners. Campervan, coachbuilt, A class, B class, motorhomes, RVs – it’s all so complicated. And once you start getting into abbreviations like RV, then you know the anoraks are involved. So let’s start with campervans, shall we?
Matt Sims
My thought was we’ve had lots of questions about the difference between a campervan, a motor caravan and a motorhome – what’s the difference? What defines one from the other? And people of course are going to these various motorhome and caravan shows right now. And as you mentioned, the big one at the NEC is coming up very, very soon. And I thought it’d be helpful if we just unpacked what the differences were and what the words meant so when people are going and talking to a dealer they don’t just assume and get the wrong answer.
Campervan vs Motorhome
So, motorhoming started in the early 1900s. The first one was literally a house on wheels and it was referred to as a house car. It’s a brilliant name. Funnily enough, it didn’t stick, and it soon became known as a motorhome. And this was a great big thing that could seat 10 people and accommodate them all as well. It was massive.
And then of course, things have evolved and the bay window campervan in the ’50s came around, and that became the definitive campervan. And we all know what one of those is. Then things evolved, and they’ve gotten bigger and have more features and so on.
So the fundamental difference, I think, between a campervan and a motorhome is that a campervan is normally a van, a metal bodied van, which still has the metal body and the sliding door and perhaps the double back doors or a tailgate. It might have a porta potti but it probably doesn’t have a toilet. It probably doesn’t have a shower. So it might have fresh water on it for a sink, but it doesn’t have all those home comforts. And in my view, that’s a campervan.
Keith Gooden
So your electric campervan that you’re building will basically be like that.
Matt Sims
Stop talking about it!
Keith Gooden
The secret project won’t have a shower and a toilet in it. But you might have a sink in there.
Matt Sims
We might put a porta potti in it. So that is a little box, basically, with a lid and you sit on it and go to the loo and then you carry it away and empty it. It’s portable.
Keith Gooden
So that’s a campervan.
Matt Sims
That would be, in my view, a campervan. Now, over time campervans have become better equipped, they have had bathrooms fitted and they’ve become bigger. The Fiat Ducato became a very popular van to convert. The Mercedes Sprinter too, Ford Transit vans as well, and they have more room in them. You can stand up in them and you can build a bathroom and you can put a toilet in them and so on and a shower. And so they morphed into this motorhome world and that’s where it becomes a bit grey. Is it a campervan or is it a motorhome?
A motorhome in its pure sense I think is where the donor vehicle is the cab – so the driver and passenger seat and the metal bit you sit in to drive – and a ladder chassis, and then a motorhome converter will build a box on the back and put in all the home comforts, so your toilet, shower, kitchen, bedrooms and so on as well as a sitting area. And that is a traditional motorhome.
There’s this crossover area. So one of the classics – one of the benchmarks in the UK is the Adria Twin, and it’s a van conversion. And I think that is what they are referred to as – van conversions, where you get a metal van with a sliding door, double back doors, but it’s got a bathroom and toilet and sitting areas – all the mod cons of a motorhome, but it’s in a van. And in the trade, we refer to them as van conversions.
So it’s kind of a step up, if I dare say that, from a campervan into a van conversion. And then you go into a motorhome.
The definition of a coachbuilt motorhome
Keith Gooden
I’m with you. And what’s coachbuilt, then?
Matt Sims
So coachbuilt is where a motorhome manufacturer builds the body on the back. That’s referred to as coachbuilding. And that’s an old fashioned term. And it’s the construction of the floor, the walls and the roof on the back that houses the living area.
Keith Gooden
I’ve got you. Now we’re into A class and B class. So what does that mean?
Matt Sims
Yes, so these hail from the American market. And of course, all these vehicles in America – this is where the Americans I think have won over us. They refer to all of them – so caravans and they have something called a fifth wheel as well, which is a huge caravan like an Arctic trailer and it pivots on a hitch point like an Arctic trailer has rather than a tow bar – they call all of them recreational vehicles or RVs. So Meet the Fockers – remember that?
Keith Gooden
I love those films. Very funny.
What is an A Class motorhome?
Matt Sims
Huge great bus type things – that’s an A class motorhome or RV. Now, the Americans, as I say, call them RVs. They are all RVs over here. We haven’t got an overriding term, I don’t think, for them in the UK or even in Europe. We refer to them as leisure vehicles, which is just a bit rubbish.
Keith Gooden
But RV just means recreational vehicle.
Matt Sims
It’s a recreational vehicle. And I don’t mind adopting that term, which will cover campervans, caravans and motorhomes – all of them. But it’s a very American term. So as a result, there’s resistance to using it over here, I think.
Keith Gooden
So you’ve got this A class, then. So that’s the one like in Meet The Fockers, then, is it?
Matt Sims
That’s right.
Keith Gooden
The huge one?
Matt Sims
It doesn’t have to be huge at all. It could be small, but it looks like a bus. It has a new windscreen. So when it’s built on the cab, if you can imagine this, the cab is removed. There is no cab. It is literally the driver and passenger seat, the dashboard, the engine and the ladder chassis. And that’s it.
And often there are no seats, and you see them when you go to a motorhome factory. I’ve seen them where they actually bolt them together back to back. So you’ve got a push me – pull you.
Keith Gooden
Brilliant!
Matt Sims
And they drive them around at both ends. It’s great – why not? And then they extend the chassis with their own -there’s a company called AL-KO who will build the chassis extensions, which are very, very strong and reinforced. And then that can take a much bigger, heavier motorhome. And that’s why they do it that way.
What is a B Class motorhome?
Keith Gooden
And what’s a B class, then?
Matt Sims
So B class is a step down in terms of the build. So the original cab is there. And it includes the overcab bed. So we might refer to it as a Luton van, if you’ve ever moved house and hired one of those.
Keith Gooden
So you’ve got a bit of the storage area, which stretches above the cab.
Matt Sims
That’s right.
Keith Gooden
So it’s above the driver’s head.
Matt Sims
We call that the overcab bed. So it’s like a big box bed, and people call it the Luton bit.
Keith Gooden
A lot of heavy goods vehicles have that as the bed for drivers.
Matt Sims
Yes, that’s right. Now in a B class, again, this is an American term that we’ve adopted, where you have a bed up there.
What is a C Class motorhome?
And then there’s a C class where there’s no bed up there – it’s just storage. It is just there for effect or more space, and it’s maybe slightly smaller. And then you drop down to various types of coachbuilt – there’s low profile and semi-integrated. So these are basically where there’s no bed above the driver. Low profile is just a roof out over the driver’s head.
Semi-integrated motorhomes
Semi-integrated is where the roof may bow up. And there’s a bed in that roof but halfway back that comes down. So you get this lump halfway down. And that’s become a very, very popular motorhome layout, that semi-integrated style where the bed literally disappears up into the roof.
I remember going into a Laika, one of my favourite brands of motorhome. I walked in, and went, ‘Where’s the drop-down bed?’ It was electronic. And they built it – it literally disappeared into the roofline. It was completely flush and it completely disappeared. And they’re Italian-built. They’re phenomenal and they are, I’m unashamed to say, one of my favourite builds.
But going back to the Adria Twin that became the benchmark by which all other van conversions were built. I believe so, anyway, and we own one so I’m biased. I will admit it. But they’re a great van conversion. They’re short, they’re narrow.
And the reason we have one is that we love going to the corners of Cornwall. We want to go and explore Scotland some more, Ireland, and they’re great for almost going anywhere because they’re short and narrow, whereas a big coachbuilt motorhome is a different type of holiday where if we’re going with the kids they’re brilliant fun, but heading off down a Cornish narrow lane can be a challenge in one of those.
Keith Gooden
All of these are motorhomes, aren’t they?
Matt Sims
They’re all motorhomes, yes. But if you’re going to a show and you’re new to this and you walk on and say to a dealer, ‘We want to buy a motorhome,’ they will probably think of a coachbuilt motorhome. So that’s why I say understand the lingo.
And if it’s a van you’re after – so you might want something like a Romahome. They’re tiny, almost converted on a car, so a very tiny van. They have popped roofs so you can stand up in the back, but they are literally go-anywhere vehicles. Our friends have one and I’m always taking the mick out of them because I think they’re hilarious.
And they love it and they go off to every corner of the country. And if that’s what you want – that’s a motorhome, but you need to be clear to the dealer about the type of vehicle that you want. So if it’s a van with a sliding door, then go on and say, ‘We want a van conversion,’ and the dealer will immediately tune in and point you in the right direction. Same if you go to a dealership.
Keith Gooden
So we hope that’s been of some help for you, distinguishing the different sorts of vans and coachbuilt, A classes and B classes and RVs. It’s certainly a help to me. If you’re going to the show, we’re going to see you there. We’re going to be there. What stand are we going to be on then, Matt?
Matt Sims
We’re on stand 932, Hall nine, right in the entrance. You can’t miss us.
Keith Gooden
And look out for the posters for Motorhome Matt as well. We’ll be making some podcasts and interviewing people. And we want to talk to you, too. So please, turn up! So people can come, can’t they, Matt? And they can record themselves. How do they do that?
Matt Sims
So we’re going to have a little pod where you can ask us your questions. So you can fill in a form, pop it in the pod or we would love it – there’s gonna be a little microphone there and you can just press the button and record your question. And if it’s sensible and clean, then we promise we’ll include it in the podcast.
If you’re not going to the show, you can ask your questions on our website. Just go to www.motorhomematt.co.uk/askmatt. You can record your question there or fill out a form and submit it.
Keith Gooden
You could become a meme!
Matt Sims
A what?
Keith Gooden
A meme.
Matt Sims
A meanie?!
Keith Gooden
Those little things, those little films people put on. A meme.
Matt Sims
Is it?
Keith Gooden
Yes!
Matt Sims
I don’t know.
Keith Gooden
Yes. Okay, then see you at the show.
Sam’s competition-winning motorhome story
Matt Sims
I’m interrupting this week’s podcast episode to bring you news of another winner of our competition to win tickets to this year’s Motorhome and Caravan show at the NEC in October. Congratulations to Sam! Sam, thank you for entering, and your story made Keith and me both laugh. Here is Sam’s tale. ‘We’re about to buy a new campervan and we’d love to go to the show. But it’s sadly sold out for the Saturday, which is the only day we can make it.’
Sam, you’re quite right. Saturday has now sold out, and we’re delighted to enable you to be able to attend the show on the day you can. So, back to the story! ‘We were touring New Zealand in a campervan and it was a chilly night. So we would cuddle up with blankets and the DVD of the Osbournes, which if you haven’t seen, is mainly Ozzy Osbourne shouting loudly at his family in a strong Brummie accent.
One night, a newly arrived camper parked next to us and knocked on our door to check we were all okay as they had overheard us, they thought, having a huge argument and were fearing for Sharon’s safety. We had to explain, it made us laugh, and we turned the television down after that.’
What a brilliant story. I can quite believe it’s true. Sam, congratulations. You’re both heading off to the NEC show on Saturday. See you there.
Stephen: Any Motorhome Matt meet and greets?
Keith Gooden
Welcome back to the Motorhome Matt podcast. I’m Keith Gooden.
Matt Sims
And I’m Motorhome Matt.
Keith Gooden
We’re going to have a natter with Matt-a! A chat with Matt right now. We’ve got your questions. I really look forward to this.
Matt Sims
Can I get a bell every time you make a dad joke like that? We can ring it. ‘A chat with Matt,’?!
Keith Gooden
Stephen has written to us and he says, ‘Are you doing any fans meet and greets to win signed photographs, a calendar or goodie bags?’
Matt Sims
Oh, dear! A calendar?
Keith Gooden
Like in Calendar Girls.
Matt Sims
Oh, no, really? I’m going to need a bigger sign.
Keith Gooden
Or a magnifying glass… We could do a calendar, a nudie motorhome calendar.
Matt Sims
No.
Keith Gooden
Yes.
Matt Sims
He’s gonna nude again. Why do you keep doing this?
Keith Gooden
No-,
Matt Sims
Stop it! Honestly…
Keith Gooden
Me bending over the cooker?
Matt Sims
I’ve actually got a little bit of sick in my mouth.
Keith Gooden
The answer to your question, Stephen is no.
Matt Sims
Poor Stephen. He’s never going to contact us again. You can come to the stand and meet us and we’ll greet you. And we have got some goodie bags.
Keith Gooden
Stephen, we are going to do a meet and greet and you can come to the stand and meet us. And what else are we going to have there?
Matt Sims
We have got some goodie bags.
Keith Gooden
Oh, fantastic. What’s going to be in the goodie bags?
Matt Sims
That’s a surprise, but we’ve got sweeties!
Keith Gooden
Lovely. Well, there you go, Stephen. There’s the answer to your question.
Alan: What are your thoughts on changing from a campervan to a motorhome in light of possible damp problems?
Keith Gooden
Alan has written in. He says, ‘Hi Matt. I’m thinking about changing from a campervan to a larger motorhome. I’m being put off by tales of dampness because of the build – a shell on a flatbed instead of a van build one. What are your thoughts on this?’
Matt Sims
Well, it’s true. So van conversions – we know what they are now, don’t we – they tend not to suffer very often from damp, or water ingress getting in, because the body is sealed and solid. The manufacturer takes it and cuts the holes for the windows. Maybe there’s a pop roof, which has become an increasingly popular trend on van conversions, but those are the only holes in it, and they tend not to let water in.
It’s true coachbuilts are prone much more so to damp. Newer ones are not made of wood, or very often there’s very little wood in them. And that’s the problem. Water will get in and then it soaks into the wood, permeates into it and that’s when the damage occurs. With the ones that have no wood in them, the water gets in and just runs around and eventually comes out. So it’s far less of an issue, unless it comes into contact with your soft furnishings.
So the big thing I would be doing is getting a damp check done on any motorhome before you buy it. Ask to see the service history. We bang this drum all the time, don’t we? Ask to see any history of damp checks that have been done in the past. Get an engineer if you’re not sure to go and check it for you. It will cost you £80 to get a damp check done.
You can listen to our damp episode with Miles, and a company like his or indeed he himself will check it for you for just £80. If there is damp and they repair it, they will refund that money as well, so it’s definitely worth getting a check done. Don’t chance it.
Lee: What are some top tips to keep cool in my motorhome?
Keith Gooden
Lee has written in to say, ‘What’s the best way of keeping cool in a motorhome in Spain?’
Matt Sims
Go swimming!
Keith Gooden
Or park in the shade.
Matt Sims
Take your top off – no! Don’t start him off again.
Keith Gooden
Common sense, Lee. Common sense, mate.
Matt Sims
Keep the blinds down. Keep the motorhome in the shade and keep a window open and a roof light open to allow the heat to escape. You know that feeling when you open a roof light – you can feel the heat literally rush past your face. It is bizarre. And heat rises, we know that, but when it happens in front of you it’s often quite odd to experience.
So keep it cool. We sell in the shop at www.thatleisureshop.com a great little 12 volt and 240 volt air conditioning unit or air cooling unit, I should say. You fill it with water. There are lots of them on the market. These particular ones are made by Totalcool, and you pour water in them.
We suggest putting an ice pack in them. You know the little blue things you freeze? Pop one of those in as well, and it draws air through the cold water and blows it at you. And they are remarkably good. And they’re I think £100 off in the shop at the moment. Cheap!
Keith Gooden
Because even with a larger motorhome, you’re still talking about a relatively small area to cool.
Matt Sims
Yes. We had one on in the shop in the summer and it cools the whole shop area. The front area by the tail, it’s 10 metres across and you know a few metres wide – it keeps it cool. It’s incredible.
Keith Gooden
So there you go, Lee – park in the shade, go for a swim, or you can get one of these air conditioning units from Matt from the shop!
Matt Sims
An air cooling unit.
Keith Gooden
Sorry, yes.
Matt Sims
Really important, that.
Keith Gooden
Not air conditioning, air cooling. It just cools it.
Matt Sims
I guess you could buy an air conditioner, but that’s going to draw a lot of power, isn’t it?
Keith Gooden
I would have thought so.
Matt Sims
Air conditioners – you can buy them for the roofs. So you can fill one in your roof light, so you’d lose all the sunlight. There are units where you can cut a hole and fit as well. There are units that will go in the roof light and sit further back so you get the best of both worlds, but they’re quite power-hungry.
I’ve always found it ironic that in the place you need an air conditioning unit like that, the campsite gives you hardly any power so you can’t use it.
May: What are your favourite motorhome-related pastimes?
Keith Gooden
May’s written in – ‘What is the most popular pastime of all your motorhome buddies?’ She says hers is cycling.
Matt Sims
I don’t want to know yours.
Keith Gooden
I just ask the questions! What’s your favourite pastime?
Matt Sims
Jude would say, my other half, mine’s working, hers is walking. That’s generally what we do. So we’ll go and park on a cliff. And she’ll go off with the dog for a long walk. And I’ll say, ‘I’ll meet you in four hours at this pub.’ And then I’ll work all day and then head down and meet down for a pint.
Keith Gooden
Matt works. May, you cycle – I’m sure lots of people do lots of things.
Matt Sims
Cycling is great.
Keith Gooden
Yes.
Matt Sims
Electric bikes are amazing.
Keith Gooden
Board games – just relaxing?
Matt Sims
Yes, we do that.
Keith Gooden
Reading?
Matt Sims
Red wine.
Send in your questions to Motorhome Matt
Matt Sims
What’s yours? What do you do when you go away in your motorhome? Tell us!
Keith Gooden
How do people tell us, by the way?
Matt Sims
Just head to the website! You can fill out a form, or you can record it. Just go to www.motorhomematt.co.uk/askmatt.
Keith Gooden
You can record it. That’s absolutely right. We want to hear your voice, and we want to know where you’re from as well. So, like Lee, if you’re from Manchester, ‘Lee from Manchester,’ would be great just to give us an idea of who’s listening and where you’re listening from!
Stock up on your motorhome essentials at That Leisure Shop
Keith Gooden
There are some bargains in the shop as well, aren’t there, Matt?
Matt Sims
Plenty of bargains in the shop – we have a big sale on at the moment. It’s fantastic. Some of the items are 70% off for the end-of-season sale. So yes, go to www.thatleisureshop.com and go and have a look. And if there are items not in the sale, we will give you £10 off when you spend £100. How’s that? Just enter the discount code, MotorhomeMatt. You’re welcome!
Keith Gooden
Almost free money. We’re going to see you at the show. We’ve mentioned that already. One last mention for the discount on the tickets – go onto the website for the show, not for Motorhome Matt. And that show website is…
Matt Sims
Keith Gooden
Get on there now! In the little box that says, ‘Discount code,’ put in EX1. It will get you some money off – EX1. How do people get in touch with us then, Matt?
Matt Sims
You can do so at the website – www.motorhomematt.co.uk/askmatt. You’ll find us on Instagram as @motorhomematt.co.uk or on Facebook as Motorhome Matt. And don’t forget we’re on YouTube too, where you can watch the podcast being filmed and see Keith in the flesh for yourself – fully clothed, thankfully.
Lisa’s competition-winning motorhome story
Matt Sims
I’m interrupting the podcast to announce our final winner of a free pair of tickets for the NEC Motorhome and Caravan show. Congratulations, Lisa. We’re delighted to give you a pair of tickets. And thank you for sharing with us your story which has made us chuckle.
Thank you, in fact, to everyone who’s entered and shared their story. Your stories have made us laugh, some have made us cry – they’ve certainly kept us amused. In fact, we intend to use some of them in some future podcast episodes, so stay tuned for that. Meanwhile, this is Lisa’s story.
‘My daughter and I hired a motorhome for Christmas 2020. I had never driven one before and where we were staying had torrential rain and flooded. The campervan rocked back and forth like being on a boat. My daughter and dog were both sick as pigs all night. And the next day, we were moved by the fire brigade – this was Christmas Day – due to cars floating down the road next to the campsite.’ Oh, my goodness!
‘We shared a box of biscuits and two pounds of cheese for Christmas dinner as our restaurant booking was cancelled. And then on Boxing Day, we were told we had to go home as BoJo had locked us all down again. We drove back to Bristol at just 40 miles per hour due to the high winds. And then the hire company from whom we’d hired tried to charge us for being late!’ You should have hired from us, Lisa. We wouldn’t have done that!
‘At the same time as all of this, I had worn the same clothes for three days as I packed everything but my suitcase which incidentally also had all the Christmas presents in. My daughter didn’t talk to me for at least a week. Happy Christmas it most certainly wasn’t. And you know what they say about, ‘Don’t come knocking if the camper’s rocking,’ I can say so far the only person who knocks on my door was a fireman. And thank goodness for that.’
What a nightmare Christmas, Lisa. I’m sure it was memorable and it certainly made us laugh more out of sympathy for a Christmas where it sounded like you didn’t have the best time. Anyway, well done. Thank you for sharing it. A pair of tickets is coming to you. Hopefully, that will go a little way toward improving your Christmas memories.
