Matt Sims
I’m here with an award-winning industry celebrity. It’s Andrew Ditton!
Andrew Ditton
You’re too kind, Matt, thank you.
Matt Sims
It’s lovely to meet you. Every time I see you this week, either you’re having lunch, I’m having lunch or we’re both running somewhere.
Andrew Ditton
Absolutely. I’ve met so many lovely people here. So many lovely people.
Matt Sims
And I bet they say the same about you.
Andrew Ditton
Not all of them. “What you need to do is…”
Matt Sims
I bet. There’s always going to be some of that. So you’re prolific on YouTube, aren’t you? And you’ve been in the industry for how long?
Andrew Ditton
I’ve been in the industry for over 20 years. And I’ve had my own YouTube channel for over 10 years. I remember going down with a Bailey Pegasus to the Alps in-, oh my goodness, I think it was 2009 and blogging it before vlogging was even a thing. And I didn’t even know I was vlogging. I was just covering my journey. And yes, it was a vlog before vlogs even existed. So it’s not that I’m any good, Matt. It’s just I was there first. That’s all.
Matt Sims
Well, we’re loving the content, and it’s getting huge amounts of views. It’s really useful content for someone who’s never caravanned or motorhomed. And you’re a caravanner, aren’t you? You’ve got your own caravan.
Andrew Ditton
So I’ve got my own caravan, but I also go in motorhomes and even campervans. So I’m very lucky and I’ve got my own tent. So on my days off, I’ll go camping in the Hebrides locally. I’ll go camping.
Matt Sims
Because that’s where you live, isn’t it?
Andrew Ditton
Yes, I live in the Outer Hebrides.
Matt Sims
That’s convenient.
Andrew Ditton
It’s very convenient. I’m a fair weather camper, so only when it’s nice weather will I go out in the tent. Otherwise, it’s the caravan. And I’m very lucky that I get sent on trips by different clients, Dethleffs or Bürstner or Carado, to go on trips to take their products away, make videos and do photography about them. It’s basically almost like going on holiday and getting paid for it.
Matt Sims
You’re living the dream.
Andrew Ditton
I’m living the dream, although remind me of that when we’re getting up at five o’clock in the morning to do a photo shoot.
Matt Sims
I know that feeling. Or getting up at five in the morning to come here.
Andrew Ditton
Exactly, yes.
Matt Sims
What time does your driver pick you up? I have a pilot.
Andrew Ditton
Do you have a pilot? No, I put on my Wellington boots to get to the car through the mud at about eight o’clock.
Matt Sims
Well, you are living the dream here. You’re in the caravan here, aren’t you?
Andrew Ditton
I’m in the caravan. I’m at Kingsbury Water Park Camping and Caravanning Club site and it’s not muddy at all. I’m on a grass pitch, but it’s fine. And it’s just nice to go back to the caravan at the end of the day, and back to your own space.
This is actually a good point. Do you know the club has just launched this outjoyment campaign? Before that was even a thing, I actually already had two hours a day scheduled in my diary, Matt. And it’s called, ‘Meeting at Kingsbury Water Park.’ And that meeting is with the trees. That meeting is actually to get away from this complex.
So I have two hours in the morning-, today it’s two hours this afternoon, but I’m actually going to also do the rock and roll job of my laundry. But it’s to get out in nature and just enjoy the walks around Kingsbury Water Park and the lakes and the trees and the nature just for an hour or two. Otherwise, if you think of six days at the show in the concrete and with all the stimulation, it’s a bit too much.
My Caravan, My Sanctuary: Andrew’s award-winning video
Andrew Ditton
So I was very excited when the Camping and Caravanning Club launched this outjoyment campaign, and it actually ties in with the video that-, you said, ‘award-winning.’
Matt Sims
Well, tell us about it.
Andrew Ditton
I just won an award, which is the Caravan Writers’ Guild John Wickersham award for video 2022. I entered a video that was called, ‘My Caravan, My Sanctuary.’ And it was a video from the heart. The story behind the video is that unfortunately my brother became very ill in December and went into hospital and it became clear that I was going to need to go down and support my family in Kent for a long period of time.
I live in the Outer Hebrides, so I thought the best thing to do was to take the caravan down with me, which I did. My brother was in intensive care. Because it was COVID, there was only one named visitor. That visitor was me, and I also had to support my mother. It was a seven hour round trip to hospital three or four times a week, and sometimes we couldn’t even get in to see my brother. He was on a ventilator for six weeks. It was an incredibly stressful time.
But to be able to go back to my own space-, I’m sure loads of people listening to this podcast will understand, whether or not they’re in a campervan or a motorhome or caravan. It’s your own space. And I could just be. We were at Black Horse Farm Caravan and Motorhome club site, and that’s a nice green site.
So again, I could get out into nature and destress. I could nap. I had my own bed. I could cook my own food and just be in my own place. And it inspired me to make a video showing the juxtaposition between the stress of caring for a sick relative and then what a sanctuary and what a well-being saver my leisure vehicle was to me.
I love making videos like that. I love making videos from the heart. I entered that. That was the winning industry. And I’m just still humbled, absolutely humbled and grateful to the judges. And as I say, it ties in so much with what the Camping and Caravanning Club are doing now with outjoyment, about how beneficial caravanning and motorhoming is to your well-being.
I think that’s what drives me, Matt. I think it drives me, not just how important it is to your well-being, but also to get out and live. We’ve all known people who have passed away too soon, or they’ve been struck with an illness too soon. They retire and then boom, it’s too late. I just want to encourage people.
I never encourage people to go into debt. I never encourage people to do anything they can’t achieve. But if you’ve got the money, and you’ve got the dream, then what is the point of having the money sitting in the bank? Use that to live your dream, because tomorrow it might be too late. And that’s really what pushes me to keep doing this.
Matt Sims
Carpe diem.
Andrew Ditton
Exactly.
Matt Sims
Where can people watch the video, then?
Andrew Ditton
The video is on my YouTube channel. Just search Andrew Ditton, which is my name. And then the video itself is called, ‘My Caravan, My Sanctuary.’ And you can see it there. It was uploaded in January 2022. So if you go back on my videos, that’s where it is.
Matt Sims
And it is very moving. We’re very proud of you for winning the award.
Andrew Ditton
Thank you.
Matt Sims
A very worthy winner, I have to say.
Andrew Ditton
I’m the perennial runner up. I’m always the, ‘Nearly was.’ So this is the first time in 20 plus years of working in this industry that I’ve actually won something.
Matt Sims
Is it really?
Andrew Ditton
It’s the first time. I’ve been runner up loads of times.
Matt Sims
Well, you want to try harder!
Andrew Ditton
I have!
Matt Sims
Well, it worked.
Andrew Ditton
It worked.
Matt Sims
You’re on a roll.
Andrew Ditton
I’m not allowed to enter now.
Matt Sims
Are you not?
Andrew Ditton
Definitely not next year, but I wouldn’t anyway, that’s not fair.
Remembering John Wickersham
Matt Sims
Can you tell us a bit about John Wickersham?
Andrew Ditton
Yes. I mean, I was fortunate enough to know John before he passed away. He was one of the key people in the industry. He was so helpful, supportive and friendly. Now, when I came into this industry, you know, 23 years ago, and I was less bald than I am now and still actually fairly young, he wasn’t one of those who was like, ‘Oh, who are you, you young whippersnapper?’
He was like, ‘Oh, new blood! How can I help you?’ He was supportive and encouraging. And he just knew everything. He just knew everything. And he was very, WYSIWYG! He was, ‘What You See Is What You Get.’ He was really one of the good guys. Don’t set me off. He is still sorely missed in this industry.
Matt Sims
I remember talking to him when I came into this industry from a very corporate events background. He was very encouraging, and was very enthusiastic about how I could channel my experience into this industry. And I remember being a bit overwhelmed and thinking, ‘Why are you bothered by what I do? Why are you taking the time out to speak to me?’ He was a very generous man, wasn’t he?
Andrew Ditton
He was very generous with his time and with his knowledge. And, again, I think his motivator was just to help people live their dreams however that looked. Because he knew that helping this industry thrive would then help people thrive. And he was also pretty much the innovator in this industry of using video. So that’s why it’s the John Wickersham video award in his honour.
And I’m also fortunate enough to be friends with his daughter, Sammy Faircloth. She writes technical articles for the Caravan and Motorhome Club magazine. I’m still in touch with his family. In fact, Sammy was sitting next to me at the awards ceremony, so she was the first to congratulate me. You can tell I’m a bit of a sensitive person, Matt! She just looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, ‘Dad would approve.’
Matt Sims
He would. We’re all proud of you, honestly. It’s very well deserved. And if you’ve not seen the video-,
Andrew Ditton
Sorry, I’m tired. It’s been a long week.
Matt Sims
It has been a long week.
Andrew Ditton
I get so emotional. I’ll get heckled on my next talk and that will set me back to zero.
Matt Sims
Quick reset.
Andrew Ditton
Yes, quick reset!
Matt Sims
Someone will start going on about electric motorhomes to you. We’re not going there.
Andrew Ditton
We’re not going there.
Insights on the industry and supply chain issues
Matt Sims
Where I want to go is about the industry, Andrew. We were talking earlier, weren’t we, about how the focus of this industry is the people. We’ve been talking to lots of exhibitors this week, and they’re all saying the highlight is meeting the people and meeting the customers. But you and I both agree that sometimes we’re an industry that loses sight of that a little bit, aren’t we?
Andrew Ditton
Yes. I think sometimes maybe manufacturers, dealers or whatever, are so focused on product that they forget people. For example, if I just take what we do, this would be pointless, everything we’re doing now, Matt, would be pointless if people weren’t good enough to give us that time to listen to the podcast. My videos would be pointless if people didn’t give me their time to watch the video. And I never lose sight of that. Never.
And that’s why even when sometimes it’s not convenient, I’m tired, whatever, I never lose the fact that I depend on you. Even if you’re screaming abuse in the live theatre there, I need you. I need you more than you need me. And I sometimes think the industry may be focusing too much on the products because for the person buying that motorhome, or the caravan, that is their dream. And it’s not just a product, it’s a dream, and you can’t put a price on that. And that’s got to be part of a robust package where you protect that dream.
And sometimes, I find that even some of the higher tier manufacturers lose sight of the fact that this person has just invested their life savings into this. It’s got to be absolutely correct. And it’s no good saying, ‘Oh, just bring it in and we’ll have another look at it,’ especially if someone’s full timing. They’ve got to empty it. I was full timing for eight years. And, ‘Oh, just bring it in.’ If you’re full timing, or you’re on a long term tour, or you use your motorhome a lot, there’s no such thing as, ‘Just bring it in.’
It’s a three day job, it could be a hundreds of miles trip, and you’re interrupting your holidays. No, it’s got to be right. It’s got to be right from day one. And I appreciate also that – and again, this is maybe this is our job – a motorhome is such a complex piece of kit with so many components. And it’s subjected to being on the road and banging up and down.
And I think it’s natural that some things are going to wear loose and some things might fail. But again, it’s how that is dealt with. Again, you’ve got to set correct expectations. And normally when you explain to people, say, the weight on a Fiat chassis, you explain to people what’s going on. And it’s not just this industry. I think when we first had the delays on motorhomes, people thought it was just this industry, and then it became a global problem. No, they are global supply chain issues.
So it’s just communicating those things. And people think, ‘Oh, actually, it’s not that bad after all. It’s not just us. It’s everybody.’ None of us, suppliers, dealers or manufacturers should ever, ever lose sight of the fact that we are dealing with people’s dreams. And that is more important than anything else.
Matt Sims
But don’t you think, though, that the industry is under a huge amount of pressure at the moment as well? And there are dealers in the supply chain – that’s what they are. And they are desperate to do the right thing by the customer but sometimes they just can’t because their supply chain or the supplier to them, the manufacturer, has just not got the same passion for the customer that they might have.
Andrew Ditton
That’s a very good point, Matt. In my own experience, I ordered a new caravan this year through Kimberley Caravans, and it got delayed and delayed and delayed. And the way they got around that, if you like, was number one they loaned me on a buyback basis a used model. So it was the fact they saw me. They saw that for me a caravan is essential to my well-being and my life and my business, whatever.
So they said to me, ‘Well, Andrew, your caravan will be late. So what can we do? How can we help you?’ And I said, ‘Well, could I use a used caravan?’ So I did that. And then every month I get a phone call from Kimberly caravans to say, ‘Andrew, we’re so sorry. Your caravan has been delayed again. We now think it is going to be delivered by this time.’ ‘Okay, no problem.’ I can now plan my life around this new date. And I knew that every month I would get a phone call from Kimberley Caravans to say, ‘This is the update. We think this.’
You know, they were just upfront and honest, and I think honesty, communication, seeing the customer and understanding what the customer needs – and you can only do that by communicating with the customer – that’s their job as dealers. And I’m so happy I went to Kimberly because their customer service is exceptional. They are getting let down.
And I feel a lot of compassion for the dealers right now, because they are desperate to help people achieve their dreams and they don’t have the means to do that. In the meantime, their job is just to communicate with the customers and see what they can do and help them that way.
I could have been in the situation of, ‘Oh, it’s alright. I’m not really in any rush, you know, don’t bother. I’m not worried.’ Or I could have been, ‘No, everything depends on this. What can we do to get around it?’
Matt Sims
But listening to you share that story – and thank you for sharing that – Kimberly Caravans are one of the good guys, undoubtedly. But you are <Andrew Ditton! Did they not have an agenda because of your profile?
Andrew Ditton
They might have done. But trust me, Matt, it has gone against me in the past because also-, this is the flip side. I am a professional and I’m not into clickbait. I’m not into sensationalism. I’ve been through some situations. I’m not going to bring people down now because it looks bad on me.
So if I was to go out and slate poor service or a poor dealer or poor whatever, that would pretty much be the end of me. So I’m not going to do that. And people know I’m not going to do that. But it has gone against me in the past, where I have had appalling service, but the people involved know that if I was to actually say exactly what had happened, not only is it just petty, but it looks really bad on me. I just look like a whinging ninny.
So believe it or not, when you look at it holistically, I’ve had my professionalism and good nature taken advantage of, and I’ve actually been treated a lot worse than some people because of what I do.
Matt Sims
And that baggage you have to carry, don’t you? Because you have a responsibility to what you’re representing as well, don’t you?
Andrew Ditton
Yes, exactly. So, again, what I’m putting out as a professional broadcaster, don’t get me wrong, it’s honest. It’s absolutely honest. And people know what I put out is honest. But if I’ve been treated terribly by someone, or something’s gone drastically, terribly wrong with communication or whatever, that’s not affecting the people that I’m talking to.
That’s just a personal problem. People know I don’t take my personal problems out. If it’s something that I feel is important for people to know and is a wide-scale thing, then yes, obviously, I’m going to talk about that. The one I’m talking about was unique to my situation, and nobody else in the industry. And that’s where I was taken advantage of.
Matt Sims
What would your advice be to someone listening who maybe has found themselves in your situation where their caravan or motorhome is being delayed? That’s a lot of people at the moment. What would your advice to them be in terms of what they can do about it?
Andrew Ditton
I think the main thing is to keep the communication open with your dealer and ask them, ‘What is going on? Please be honest with me.’ If you’ve got something to trade in, obviously, make sure you can keep that trade in until you get your new thing. If you’re waiting for your first vehicle, maybe do what I did.
Approach them and say, ‘Look, is there a chance we could just use something on a buyback basis until my new one arrives or borrow something?’ I think the other main thing is that a lot of people buy a new leisure vehicle and then plan a holiday straight after they’ve taken delivery.
Matt Sims
The day they pick it up!
Andrew Ditton
Yes. My advice is don’t do that. Really don’t do that. Get the vehicle first. And then also travel locally for the first few days because things do work a bit loose in the first few days. Fortunately, they didn’t for me, but they have done in the past. I would just say keep the communication open with your dealer if they’re not communicating with you, and don’t book anything too soon. And also understand that the manufacturers and the dealers are in a difficult position as well. They’re not doing this on purpose.
Matt Sims
No, absolutely not.
From the dealers’ perspectives
Matt Sims
I talk to lots of dealers as a former dealer myself. We sell motorhomes in one of our businesses, and the dealers will give you the information they have at that time. And that changes. The manufacturer will give them new information.
That’s probably happened three or four times for certain manufacturer brands this year, and the dealers are constantly being updated on further delays, which of course they have to pass down the line to you, the consumer. So yes, bear in mind the dealer should be giving you honest information, but it could change. And that’s not necessarily the dealer’s fault, is it?
Andrew Ditton
No, it’s not necessarily the dealer’s fault. And I feel sorry if they’re passing on messages and then they’re getting grief from someone because, as I say, no one’s doing this on purpose. No one in this industry. It’s the first time in 20 years I’ve felt so much sympathy for the industry, for the manufacturers and the dealers, because they desperately want to supply people. And you’ve got to remember too, from even a business point of view, if the dealers have nothing to sell, how are they staying in business?
Matt Sims
Well, we’re seeing businesses starting to fold and we’ll see more next year, I think.
Andrew Ditton
Yes, and that is no that is not good for anybody.
Matt Sims
Long-established family brands, I fear, will start to disappear.
Andrew Ditton
That is really sad and no one wants that. That’s good for nobody.
Matt Sims
These problems, of course, hail from the tiniest microchip at the start of the chain, don’t they? They’re not the manufacturers of the motorhomes. It’s the manufacturers of the chassis who are having the problems and the manufacturers of the components that go into the chassis. This is a really deep supply chain issue. It’s way above our pay grade.
Andrew Ditton
It really is.
Electric campervans
Andrew Ditton
And to touch on the electric vehicle thing, I’ve got a Kia EV6, and I’ve had one of my subscribers tell me that his local Kia dealer has a waiting list to go on the waiting list.
Matt Sims
Oh, my goodness.
Andrew Ditton
So the waiting list is closed. And now there is a waiting list to go on the waiting list, when the waiting list finally opens up again.
Matt Sims
Well, let’s do another session together. And let’s lift that can of worms lid on electric motorhomes and campervans. I’ve got so many questions on this.
Andrew Ditton
We could do that again, yes.
Matt Sims
Let’s do it. Maybe you can answer some of them for me.
Andrew Ditton
Hopefully, I can. I’ve seen a prototype electric campervan. I’ve seen a real electric campervan. To my knowledge, there is only one fully integrated electric campervan on the market at the moment in the Netherlands, which is called a Tonke. It’s based on the Mercedes EQV. It’s about €120,000, does 320 kilometres, and when I say fully integrated, Matt, I mean that it has no LPG onboard. So the heating, the cooker, everything runs off the main battery.
It’s only got one electrical inlet, what we call a type two, and that is the only realistic fully integrated electric campervan I’ve seen. Now, we’ve got a couple of manufacturers in the UK who are doing electric campervans, but they’re still putting in LPG, the reason being that it is very hard to go below the floor with an electric campervan because of the battery.
So Bürstner made a prototype this year. They showed it at Düsseldorf, and they explained to me that it was a Ford E-Transit. And they explained to me that when they did this conversion, they actually removed the battery.
Matt Sims
I was going to say, they took the batteries out, didn’t they?
Andrew Ditton
They took the battery out, did the conversion and put the battery back. And that is not an efficient way to do a van conversion!
Matt Sims
Was it like a Bond film? Like, ‘Cut the red wire or the yellow one – which one?!’
Andrew Ditton
But that’s the thing! Batteries are safe as long as they remain intact.
Matt Sims
Well, I’ve got so many questions about it. We’ve actually bought an electric van. And we’re having it converted to a camper right now. It’s a Maxus eDeliver 3. This is a secret. We’ve slipped it now anyway. So we’ll have that later this year. And we’re going to go on holiday and see what can go wrong.
Andrew Ditton
What could possibly go wrong? So my question to you is, are you fitting LPG or are you going to try and tap into the van’s main electrics?
Matt Sims
We’ve got a gas hob.
Andrew Ditton
You’ve got a gas hob. Because I’ve had a few people thinking of converting an electric van coming to my talks here. And the one thing I’ve said to them if they’re thinking of self-converting, is, ‘Floor up.’ That’s the mantra – ‘Floor up.’ Don’t think about going below the floor with anything.
And that’s probably one of the downsides of an electric van. So that puts out some of the underfloor heating system solutions and some of the underfloor tank solutions. No, no, no, no, no. You put your normal floor on top of the van floor and you do not go below that for absolutely anything, because obviously if you damage the integrity of the battery, that’s really bad news.
Matt Sims
Well, Andrew, it’s been an absolute pleasure to have you on the podcast. And congratulations again on the award. We’re so proud of you here at the Motorhome Matt podcast. I genuinely mean that. Tell us again where people can find you online.
Andrew Ditton
So my YouTube channel is Andrew J Ditton. But if you just type, ‘Andrew Ditton’, in the search box, you’ll come up with that. Instagram is the same – Andrew J Ditton. Sadly because there’s only me, they are my two channels. I’ve also got a couple of newsletters. They’re both on the Substack platform. One is called, ‘Streamlining,’ and one is called, ‘Electric touring.’
If you want to find out more information about what electric campervans are coming or if you’re thinking of towing with an electric vehicle or are thinking about it, then that one is www.electrictouring.substack.com. That is www.electrictouring.substack.com.
Matt Sims
Very good.
Andrew’s Motorhome and Caravan Show 2022 highlight
Matt Sims
One last question. We’ve asked everyone that we’ve spoken to. What’s the highlight of this show for you?
Andrew Ditton
Do you mean vehicles or experiences?
Matt Sims
Just a highlight. Something you’ve seen and experienced.
Andrew Ditton
The highlight for me was seeing a friend I haven’t seen for 30 years. She came and found me here. So Sarah, if you’re listening, that was amazing. To see someone for the first time in 30 years was amazing. Vehicle-wise, I’m hugely impressed with the Swift Voyager. I’m hugely impressed with the Bürstner Gallery.
I’d seen the HYMER Venture S in Düsseldorf, but it’s something else. So yes, I think they’re my main highlights vehicle-wise. It’s hard to think of one highlight. I just find the show is such a buzz. It’s such a buzz. And I think the other highlight is that this is the first time we’ve been together at the October show for three years. That is just a highlight in itself.
Matt Sims
It is very good to be back, isn’t it?
Andrew Ditton
It’s brilliant. It’s absolutely brilliant.
Matt Sims
We do moan about it and say, ‘Oh, I like six o’clock on Sunday,’ but actually, it is lovely to be here. Listen, enjoy your laundry this afternoon. And make sure you take out those two hours to go and enjoy the trees as well.
Andrew Ditton
I will, I will. Thank you, Matt.
Matt Sims
Bless you, Andrew. See you soon.
Andrew Ditton
Cheers. Thank you.
