Listen Now

How Motorhome Happiness began – Facebook’s biggest motorhome community

Play Video
Listen on

This week Matt and Keith explore Facebook's largest community of passionate motorhome enthusiasts. With an impressive community of 82,000 members who all share a love for motorhomes and travel, we sit down with none other than the founder of Motorhome Happiness, James Riley.

Discover the inspiration behind James's remarkable journey in creating and managing this thriving Facebook group, where members regularly exchange hints, travel tips, and advice, and seek answers to a wide range of motorhomes-centered questions.

We explore James's personal story and an amazing strategy he's employing to provide financial assistance to those who otherwise would be unable to experience the joy of a motorhome holiday.

In the news, this week sees the start of the NEC Motorhome and Caravan Show 2023! Motorhome Matt and the team are on the scene all week, with the Motorhome Matt stand at 9.23b. That Leisure Shop has a range of security and winter essentials at stand 12.100. Tune in as Matt speaks with Karen Dodd, Sales Director of NCC Events, to uncover this year's highlights and new launches.

Plus, we have another opinion on what Vanlife is from Highlands2Hammocks and in the Q&A an old customer of Matt's is looking to make a customisation to their motorhome.

The Motorhome Matt podcast is brought to you by That Leisure Shop; camping and leisure vehicle accessory specialists, ready for the adventure. Get £10 off your first order over £100 with the code MOTORHOMEMATT.

The Motorhome Matt podcast is brought to you by That Leisure Shop, camping and leisure vehicle accessory specialists.

10% off your first order with the code MOTORHOMEMATT.

Episode Transcript

Keith Gooden

Welcome back to the Motorhome Matt podcast. I’m Keith Gooden.

Matt Sims

And I’m Motorhome Matt.

Keith Gooden

I ask the silly questions, and Matt – he is the expert. It’s all brought to you by www.thatleisureshop.com. So welcome along – a busy programme, a busy podcast today. First of all, we want people to like and subscribe to us, don’t we?

Matt Sims

We would love that on YouTube and on the podcast app. So if you are listening or watching, we would love it. If you’re on YouTube, click the little bell and click subscribe. Then we can tell you when new content comes out.

And often the content on YouTube is different to the audio content. So don’t miss out. And if you’re on Apple, Spotify or any podcast platform, if you can subscribe there, that really helps the algorithm and helps promote the podcast so we would love it if you do that.

Keith Gooden

The great thing about the YouTube channel is that Matt can show you around inside motorhomes and caravans and you can also see his extremely handsome face. I’m still waiting for my invite for the YouTube channel. It hasn’t come yet.

Matt Sims

I wonder why.

Keith Gooden

No wonder. But of course with audio, it’s the theatre of the mind. We’re recording this at the moment from the crystal cavern somewhere near Las Vegas surrounded by diamonds.

Motorhome and Caravan Show 2023

Keith Gooden

Okay, then – the Motorhome and Caravan show starts tomorrow from the 17th through the 22nd of October. I’m going to see you down there midweek, and Matt’s going to be there all the time. You need to get your tickets if there are any available. How do people do it, then?

Matt Sims

Go to the website, but you’ve got to be quick. www.mcshow.co.uk – make sure you use the discount code, MMATT, to save a few pounds on your ticket. As we said before in previous video content on YouTube- and if you’ve not seen it, go and check out the video with the drone flying around the show last year at the last show, because it was amazing – parking’s included. That’s the big one. People always say, “Do I have to pay for parking?” No – it’s included in the ticket price.

Everyone needs a ticket. Children go free, but they do need to have a ticket. So go to the website, www.mcshow.co.uk. All the details are there. Use the code MMATT and save a few pounds. So you’ll find the podcast at the entrance hall nine, right inside the doors – 9.23B is the stand number. And the team from That Leisure Shop are there with Maypole. The stand is called Maypole at That Leisure Shop and it’s in Hall 12 – 12.100. There’s the clue. Stand 100. So look for the orange.

There’s a whole range of Maypole products on sale with the team from That Leisure Shop. And we’re going to be joined on that stand by the lovely Jon Gooch, who’s helping Darren from our own team. Jon is from the YouTube channel Life Beyond Bricks. And Jon is an expert on all things motorhome tech.

So go and have a chat with Jon if you’ve got a technical problem you want fixing, or if you need to buy something from the Maypol range and you need some technical help, Jon’s your man. There’s some exciting stuff to see this week at the show. Also, I’m on stage every day.

Keith Gooden

We will be recording podcasts at the show.

Keith Gooden

The wonderful Karen Dodd joins us on the podcast. She’s one of the organisers

Matt Sims

She’s the sales director of NCC events. So she is the head honcho and I said to Karen, ‘What can we expect to see at the show that’s new and exciting?”

Karen Dodd

As you know, the show’s the UK biggest showcase of new leisure vehicles for the UK and Europe’s leading manufacturers and dealers. And as well as the new 2024 models, there’s an exciting show exclusive that visitors will be able to explore for the first time.

Bailey of Bristol will be launching their campervan at the show. It’s their first launch into the campervan market. The Endeavour is a campervan conversion built on a Ford chassis, so that’s exciting for them. They’re also launching the Endeavour EV which is a concept vehicle, a fully electric version of the Endeavour, which will be built on the Ford Pro E-Transit platform. Bailey will also be launching the Alora, which is a brand new three model range of coachbuilt motorhomes.

Coachman are extending their luxury Travel Master motorhome range with the new Travel Master Imperial. It’s an A-class motor home that seats four and has been fully designed for touring throughout the year. It’s got heated floors, leather interior, all that you’d expect, really, from Coachman as a luxury manufacturer. Auto-Trail will be showing the new Excel range of lightweight low profile motorhomes, which is a complete upgrade of the Excel brand that was launched back in 2011.

Matt Sims

So that’s a lot of UK manufacturers. What about the European manufacturers? What are Bürstner doing?

Karen Dodd

They’re showing their new Playa campervan, which is built on a Renault Traffic base. Frankia are showing the new Yukon panel van which is based on a Mercedes four by four. That’s been designed for off road touring. That’s a pretty cool setup and worth looking at. And then we’ve got the Globebus Go from Dethleffs which is their most compact motorhome to date.

I mean, there are so many more. That’s just some of the exclusives. There are almost 1,000 vehicles that will be on display at the show. They’re all there now setting up. And of course, if you’re not in the market for a van, it’s the best place to research if you are because they’re all side by side and you can see everything in one go.

If you’re not, there are lots of accessories to buy and to see, so if you’ve already got a van and you’re just looking to upgrade you’ll find all that at the show, as well as some pretty funky gadgets and tech to make your time on the road more enjoyable.

Matt Sims

And of course, our own team are there from That Leisure Shop with Maypole in Hall 12 where we’re selling security and covers for your motorhome and caravan. But Karen, it’s not just about the vehicles nor the accessories, is it? There are plenty of chances to win big this year.

Karen Dodd

The Caravan and Motorhome Club are offering a prize of an escorted motorhome tour to the Canadian Rockies, which is worth about £2,500. If you go along to their Worldwide Travel stand, you can enter that. The Camping and Caravanning Club are running a draw to win a brand new Swift Monza campervan so again, that’s going on from their stand.

If you visit the Xplore stand, which is the Erwin Hymer UK brand, they’re showing a concept vehicle of their new Xplore campervan panel van conversion. And if you offer your thoughts on that new model and enter their survey, you will automatically be entered into a prize draw to win one of those vans worth over £70,000 when it goes into production. So that’s pretty good!

And of course, there are loads of accessories and things to buy at the show. If you’ve got a van you’re not looking to change, you can actually upgrade a lot of your gear, awnings and access at the show too. So there’s lots going on.

Matt Sims

And as well as all of that, of course, there’s the conference programme on the main inspiration theatre, a place where you can get insights and inspiration and loads of free advice too.

Karen Dodd

Matt, I know that you are joining us in the Inspiration Theatre for the expert panels sessions each day at 1:30. So we look forward to seeing you there.

Matt Sims

Yes, and I’m really looking forward to that session every day, Karen. If you’re listening to this and you have a question for the panel, and you can’t be there or maybe you are going to be there and you don’t want to ask it on the radio mic live from the floor, then you can submit it please do at www.motorhomematt.co.uk/askmatt. You can record your question or you can just submit it on the form and we’ll read it out to the whole panel. But Karen, how are ticket sales? Can I still get a ticket?

Karen Dodd

Tickets are still on sale. Saturday has unfortunately sold out. We’ve sold over 100,000 tickets across the week. You can still buy tickets online now at www.mcshow.co.uk. The price is £12.50 plus the transaction fee. And actually goes up at midnight on Monday. So it goes up to £15.50 on the day. So get in there now, get your ticket, and we really look forward to seeing you at the show.

Matt Sims

Thanks, Karen. Likewise, and thank you again for talking to me today during the middle of the build up. It’s going to be a brilliant week as it always is. But I hope the opening tomorrow goes to plan and it all goes smoothly. And may I wish you and the whole team a fantastic week ahead.

Karen Dodd

Thank you.

Matt Sims

That was Karen Dodd of the NCC events team. Thanks, Karen. Some exciting stuff to see, then, this week at the show. Also, I’m on stage every day.

Keith Gooden

What are you doing? Is it that pom pom dance? The one with the balloons? It’s the one with the balloons, isn’t it?

Matt Sims

That pom pom dance?

Keith Gooden

Yeah… what are you doing?

Matt Sims

I’m on an expert panel every day at lunchtime, where we invite questions from the floor to a panel. I’m not sure who I’m on it with. I can make a guess at who might be on it but I’m not going to. And so if you’ve got a question and you’re going to the show at lunchtime, head to the main theatre. And I’ll be on stage trying to answer some questions.

So if you’ve got a question and you can’t make the show, the organisers have asked us if we would collect them from you. So to submit them, you go to mhmp.info/askmatt. I’ll give you that again – mhmp.info/askmatt. I did that without reading it. That’s the problem. Submit your question there. And we’ll collect them up and we’ll put them to the panel on the day, assuming no questions come from the floor – you never know. We might have a very quiet audience. But we’ll see. But if they don’t get answered on the panel, we’ll be answering them on the podcast.

Keith Gooden

Do you want me to be your ringer at the back?

Matt Sims

Pardon?

Keith Gooden

Well, I could ask a question. I could come in with a question.

Matt Sims

My ringer at the back?

Keith Gooden

“What’s your favourite colour, mate?”

Matt Sims

Orange, obviously.

Keith Gooden

“Do you like prawn vol-au-vents?”

Matt Sims

I love them.

Keith Gooden

“I want to fit a new toilet in my motorhome!”

Matt Sims

This is why you’re only invited on Wednesday and Thursday.

Keith Gooden

Kept away from the bulge, is what I am. Kept away from the bulge.

Matt Sims

From the bulge?

Keith Gooden

Yes, the bulge of attendants.

Matt Sims

Oh my deary me. My bulge and a ringer at the back…

Keith Gooden

Vol-au-vents as well, mate. So it’s going to be one hell of a show.

Matt Sims

And then if we’re brave enough… you’ve got to behave yourself, because we are thinking we might try and do a live podcast from the stand. So in hall nine, we have our stand. We’re going to try and transmit a live podcast, but you’ve got to be on good behaviour.

Keith Gooden

I will be. And by the way, I’ll be waving my microphone around in front of your face if you’re going to be there. So you can put your questions to Matt. And you never know, we might have a whole episode of just questions to Matt. A sort of expert panel podcast.

Matt Sims

That’s a good idea. Let’s see what we can come up with. So if you’re going to the show, do come and say hi. If you see Keith, don’t run away. I know it’s tempting. But he might point his microphone in your mush and we’ll ask you some questions. If you’ve got one, then please ask us.

Matt’s product of the week

Keith Gooden

It’s the Motorhome Matt podcast brought to you by www.thatleisureshop.com with me, Keith Gooden.

Matt Sims

And me, Motorhome Matt.

Keith Gooden

That Leisure Shop – well, it has a clearance sale on at the moment. And explain to us, what are you selling and why are you doing it then, Matt?

Matt Sims

Well, it’s the end of season so we’re trying to clear out. There’s not a lot left. I have to be honest, we’re trying to clear our last product lines ready for next year. So we’ve got some new products coming. So if you want to save up to 55% on some items – most things in tables, chairs, furniture are all discounted – all the details are on the website, www.thatleisureshop.com. Go and save a few pounds.

We’d love to welcome you as a new customer if you’ve not bought from us before and the shop team will be there ready to serve you and help you if you’ve got queries. If you have got a question, our phone number is right on the front of the website. Just give the team a call.

Keith Gooden

Sounds like a fantastic clearance sale, that one, then, Matt. You’ve got a heater, 20% off, I understand.

Matt Sims

We have.

Keith Gooden

He’s been warming up his trouser leg while we’ve been speaking!

Matt Sims

It’s under the table. This is a little Quest heater called a Barbuda. They all have really funny names. Can you hear that?

Keith Gooden

I can.

Matt Sims

It’s a little ceramic plate with a fan that sucks air in the back and blows it through the front. That’s already getting really hot.

Keith Gooden

Yes, it is.

Matt Sims

It’s only tiny. It’s got an off switch, so if I lift it, it immediately turns off, so if you knock it over, it’s not going to do any damage or set fire to anything. These are brilliant. So we use these under our desks because I won’t put the heating on. I’m tight. So all the team have these under their desks. I certainly have one at home, and they’re brilliant. If you want localised heat sitting in your awning or sitting in the motorhome and you’ve just got cold toes, these are brilliant.

Keith Gooden

And heaters are 20% off, aren’t they, Matt?

Matt Sims

Up to 20% off. I think this one’s 18% off. But still – brilliant. I mean, they are really good. And they’re very handy and they fit in a cupboard. Even summer evenings can be chilly and something like that can fix it. I’m putting it back down there under my legs.

Keith Gooden

If people want to see That Leisure Shop, where do they go on the internet?

Matt Sims

Easy – they go to www.thatleisureshop.com.

Keith Gooden

And remember, Christmas is coming – ho ho ho!

Matt Sims

I tell you what, there are some lovely products on there that would make great Christmas gifts.

How Motorhome Happiness began

Keith Gooden

It’s the Motorhome Matt podcast brought to you by www.thatleisureshop.com with Matt – that’s him – and Keith – that’s me. What are we talking about today then, Matt?

Matt Sims

We’re talking about the lovely Facebook group that is Motorhome Happiness. Now, I’m sure many of you listening or watching are on Facebook. And I’m sure many of you are in the group Motorhome Happiness.

It’s a free Facebook group. There are 82,000 people in this group. It’s one of the biggest motorhome industry groups on Facebook. It’s incredible. So it’s run by a lovely guy, James Riley. And I wanted to talk to James and find out why he set the group up and how it all started.

James Riley

I was bullied on an anonymous motorhome group because we bought our first motorhome back in 2019. And we were looking at tips on what to look for and what to do. And we posted in this group and we got hounded by members saying, “You can’t spell. You need to go back to boarding school.” And the comments were just unreal to read.

And I reported it to the admins and got no feedback. So we stopped posting in the group and I was approached by my good old friend who said, “Why don’t you start your own motorhome group? People will love you and people will look to you differently.” I said, “Right, okay. I’ll give it a go.” So on the 17th of September 2019, Motorhome Happiness was formed. Yeah, it’s coming up four years this weekend, actually. It’s been amazing. It really has.

Matt Sims

Is it fair to say it’s the biggest motorhome interest group on Facebook? Is that true?

James Riley

Yeah, it is. We get hundreds of new members a day. We are adding between 150 to 200 members a day.

Matt Sims

Wow. Wow. And how many admins have you got on the group? Because it must be managed.

James Riley

Yeah, I’ve got 12 admins altogether. And we have two messenger groups. We’re connected 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So yeah, it’s great.

Matt Sims

And Facebook, as you experienced yourself, James, can be horrible. It can be a place where you get keyboard warriors, and people can just get very rude and abusive and really unfriendly and bang that abuse into the keyboard and press submit and walk away. And it feels like you haven’t done anything wrong. But your experience of that was very personal and obviously made an impression on you.

James Riley

I was just looking for advice, really. And I thought, “You know what? I’m going to set up my own group here and I’m going to make it positive with no negativity. And if there is negativity there, I will get it banned straight away.”

Because with me, I’m not a negative person. I’m the type of guy that lives life on the road and looks forward to meeting new people, so that’s my high standard. Because with me, I love my life. My motorhome’s changed my life. The day I got her, when I became a motorhome owner, that’s when I thought, “Right. Okay, time to raise the bar now. Time to show a new lease on life and me.” And I just love what I do, Matt. It’s great, you know?

Matt Sims

Now, you call your motorhome Tilly, don’t you? I love that. I love that you’ve named it.

James Riley

Yeah. It was my nephew’s idea to name it. Because before just after Christmas 2019, he said, “Can I stay at yours? What I’ll do is I’ll help you find a motorhome.” I went, “Right. Okay. You open your tablet and we’ll do some motorhome shopping.” And within an hour of him being there, he found Tilly on Auto Trader.

So he sent it to me. I sent it to my brother Kevin. And I sent it to my mum. And by half seven that night, the deal was done. He says “Right, I’ve rung them up. You’ve got to go and pick it up on a cold Tuesday morning.” So said to my mum, “Go and get her. I’ll stay here and look after the dogs.” My sister went with my mum, and she called me five hours into the journey. And my mum’s face just said it all. I said, “Come and bring her home and we’ll start our planning.”

Matt Sims

Brilliant. And what do you love most about motorhoming, James? What’s the highlight of it for you?

James Riley

There are so many highlights. That feeling of packing all your stuff in the van, hitting the road, seeing different motorhomers, giving everyone a wave, going to a campsite – just getting away and just getting away from the stress. You know, just meeting new people and being out there and loving life.

Matt Sims

Yeah, brilliant. Now, I know that you’re off this weekend, aren’t you? You’re off to Scotland.

James Riley

Yes, we are. We’re doing the Highlands and the Lowlands and the NC 500 round Scotland. This is our second time doing this. Because the first time we did it just after lockdown, we spent three months in our motorhome in Scotland. And I was inspired to do that by Steve and Lyndsay Radford, because they do everything with their children. And they inspired me to do the NC 500 because they go away in their motorhome every summer. And I said to my mum, “I’d love to do that.” And we did it just after lockdown and were out there for three months. It was brilliant.

Matt Sims

They’ve just come back from Morocco. Are you going to do the same?

James Riley

Oh, I would like to do that. We’re looking to go to places like that next year, but we’ve decided to do France and Ireland next year. So that’s in the pipeline for next year, because it’s Tilly’s 10th birthday next year and we’ve decided to go push the boat out a bit further.

Matt Sims

Brilliant. So James, back to the group. What’s the number one topic, would you say, of discussion in the group, do you find?

James Riley

It’s about hitting the road, really, and about going to different places. I think the number one topic in the group at the minute is my motorhome because everyone’s so interested in me and my mum, and they want to meet us just to say, “Thank you for what you’ve done.”

I’ve had loads of gifts since starting the group from motorhomers. They did they registration for Tilly. I had a photographic cartoon made of Tilly. And it’s just amazing. Everyone’s just been so friendly. And since I’ve opened the group, I’ve had loads of members coming to see me in my home town. It’s just amazing, and it’s nice to give something back to the community of motorhoming.

Because like I say to them, “It’s not my group now. It’s your group. And if you take pride in that…” and they have done. I’ve set my own shop up where I sell stickers. Everyone’s got Motorhome Happiness stickers on their vans, and that makes me happy and it makes me proud that I’ve achieved something in life.

Motorhome Happiness Patreon

Matt Sims

I need to get mine, James. I need to order my sticker. I’m going to order my Motorhome Happiness sticker. And tell me – you’ve launched a Patreon. Many people watching won’t know what that is. Can you tell us a bit more about that?

James Riley

Patreon is a scheme for member. And there are two brackets – there’s silver and gold. The silver is £7 and the gold is £8.50 a month. And with that you get one-on-one exclusive talks with me and you also get discounts. And you’ll get first notice of the rides for this year and for next year. And the money from that goes straight into the Motorhome Happiness fund. We do not make a penny from that. Nothing. Zilch. All the money goes to Motorhome Happiness. And that’s what we do.

Matt Sims

So what does that fund spend that money on, James?

James Riley

We’re going to send a family with additional needs, like myself – I have autism and ADHD – we’re going to send a family on a holiday. We’re going to send them on a static caravan holiday. And we have a campsite that approached us as willing to help us and support with that. And that’s the dream, to send a family on a motorhome holiday or caravan holiday.

Matt Sims

Wow, that’s amazing. Well, we should talk about that because I don’t know if you know, but I own a motorhome hire business. We’ve got 36 motorhomes, so we could help you. So let’s have a conversation about that. That is amazing. James, I take my hat off to you.

It is a phenomenal group. I’m often in it answering questions. I’ve posed questions as well. It’s a lovely group. And if you’re listening or watching and you want to get some help on Facebook in a safe environment that is really well managed, then Motorhome Happiness on Facebook is the place. James, thank you so much for talking to me, especially just as you’re packing to go on holiday. Love to all the family, especially your mum, and have a great time in Scotland.

James Riley

I will do, mate. I’m really looking forward to it. And could you please give our socials a shout out as well?

Matt Sims

Go for it.

James Riley

We are on Instagram, @motorhomehappiness, and we’re also on YouTube. And the reason why I started the YouTube channel was that I was inspired by Lyndsay and Steve from the Roaming Radfords. They’ve made me become a YouTuber. I’ve just reached over 1,000 subscribers, and if anyone wants to subscribe to me, please do so. I’ll be doing blogs about this weekend and next week because I’ll be hitting the road in the motorhome. So that’d be great.

Matt Sims

And you’re Motorhome Happiness on YouTube as well, aren’t you?

James Riley

Yep!

Matt Sims

Brilliant. James, have a great trip. Great to see you. See you soon.

Keith Gooden

That’s James Riley, founder of the Facebook group Motorhome Happiness. What a nice guy, Matt.

Matt Sims

He is a lovely guy and I really do hope that we can work with James to achieve a family going away on holiday. It wasn’t just a hollow offer. We’d love to do that. We’ve done it before with other charitable groups and it is amazing to make a difference to someone’s life in that way. And a motorhome holiday does something really positive for you, as does getting out into nature. So yeah, James – let’s have that conversation and let’s make that happen.

Keith Gooden

And apparently, the Facebook group is really well run. No rudeness is permitted, which is unusual for Facebook!

Matt Sims

I mean, I’m sure some sneak through. That’s people, isn’t it, on a keyboard. But I have to say it’s generally a very positive friendly group and very helpful as well.

Keith Gooden

And the YouTube channel is Motorhome Happiness.

Matt Sims

Yeah, James is keen to promote that. So if you are on YouTube, have a look. James is recording all his holiday antics. He gets away in Tilly the motorhome very often. So yeah, go and subscribe to James’s YouTube channel, Motorhome Happiness.

Audience Q&A

Keith Gooden

It’s my favourite part of every podcast – our Q&A. And it’s a bit different this week. It’s a little bit ooh and a little bit aah!

Matt Sims

Steady. What are you going to ask?

Keith Gooden

Gemma and Campbell at highlands2hammocks – now, if you just recall a couple of podcasts ago, we did a whole one on van life. We asked people what van life means to them. Well, some people didn’t manage to get their little contributions in on time.

What does Vanlife mean to you?

Matt Sims

No. So after we did that episode I met up with Gemma and Campbell and they’re coming on a future episode. Highlands2Hammocks is their platform, their website. But they live in a motorhome and I asked them, “What is van life to you?”

Campbell

I mean, I’ve got to say the cliche of just freedom in so many ways. Freedom in terms of where we are, our location. You know, one morning we’re waking up in this beautiful lochside park up with mountains in the distance and then the next morning we’re waking up in a Tesco car park with lorries driving past us.

And it’s that kind of freedom where we wake up never knowing where we’re going to sleep that night. It adds a bit of a buzz to your day. But then it’s also just the freedom of living on the road and being able to just go and do stuff a little bit more spontaneously because we don’t need to pack. We don’t need to worry about whether we’ve got everything with us because our house is literally in the back.

Gemma

Exactly. I think that’s what I love the most, that I never forget anything.

Campbell

We’ve done a tiny little campervan in Australia, where we had to stand outside to shower, and now we’re in our mansion on wheels. We can do laps of the living room to do exercise. So in our opinion, it’s better. But yeah, I think no matter what – you could live in the back of a car, and I would say it’s van life. It’s the freedom that it provides, living on the road. As long as long as it’s got four wheels – maybe if you can get a three-wheeled van, it would still be van life.

Matt Sims

You could be Rodney Trotter.

We’re looking for someone who can alter the wood panel that forms the rear of one of the single beds

Keith Gooden

And now we have a question from Nicola Byrnes in Warrington. She says, “Hi Matt. We bought our Adria Coral SLT from you back in 2020. We’re looking for someone who can make an alteration to the wood panel that forms the rear of one of the single beds. It’s to make a hinged flap so it can be opened up to give my husband Patrick more legroom. We’ve asked some local motorhome service centres about it, but they don’t seem familiar with making changes like this. Could you recommend someone?”

Matt Sims

Hi, Nicola. Hi, Patrick. It’s great to hear from you again. Yeah, Patrick is very tall, I remember. And the Coral SLT has two single beds with a bathroom behind them. They’re separate beds. And yes, they are one of the widest beds you can find for single beds in the motorhome market, but they’re not the longest. And that’s what Patrick suffering from.

I would say, Nicola, go and find a campervan converter or a cabinet maker. The problem with motorhome dealerships is they’re used to dealing with what the manufacturer has made for them, and they then fix that rather than making modifications.

Whereas someone who is making something from scratch has got the know-how, the tools and the knowledge to be able to adapt that for you. It sounds a fairly simple adaptation. But I would say it really needs to be done properly so you don’t devalue the motorhome. It’s a beautiful motorhome that you’ve got. I remember it very well. So I would consider a converter or a cabinet maker.

Keith Gooden

There you go. Thanks, Nicola, for getting in touch. And if people want to get in touch and ask you a question, Matt, what should they do?

Get in touch with Matt and Keith

Matt Sims

Head to mhmp.info/askmatt. Hit the orange button or fill out the form.

Keith Gooden

See what we’ve done there? mhmp – Motorhome Matt podcast.

Matt Sims

It’s easier than reading out the whole website.

Keith Gooden

mhmp.info/askmatt. And don’t worry if you um and ah or you make a mistake. We can always edit those out. You can leave us a review as well at mhmp.info/review.

Matt Sims

I’d love to start reading the reviews out, actually. We can start doing that next week.

Keith Gooden

I think we should.

Matt Sims

Yeah, let’s pick a couple. We love getting them. Honestly, there’s a whole team who produce this podcast. Keith and I just live in the limelight. But there’s a whole team paddling in the background like a swan. We’re back to the pedalling swan.

Keith Gooden

So are you saying I’m not swan like?

Matt Sims

You’ve got a long neck.

Keith Gooden

More of an octopus.

Matt Sims

And a nasty bite.

Keith Gooden

Or something dirty and crusty you find on the beach. How do people share the episode?

Matt Sims

Something dirty and crusty you find on the beach?! I don’t want to think about what that is. You can share it with a friend. If you know someone who may think this episode might be useful – it was until about up to about a minute ago – then please share it with them. Send them the link, because we would love to reach more people and grow the audience. The podcast is already topping the charts in position five, globally, and we’d love to increase its reach. So if you know someone who might find it helpful or useful or even entertaining, then please do share it with them.

Listen on
Ask Matt

Submit your questions to feature in a future episode.