LIVE Q&A at the South West Motorhome and Campervan Show

Keith Gooden

In today’s episode of the Motorhome Matt podcast…

Matt Sims

We are live from the Warners Southwest Motorhome and Campervan show in Shepton Mallet for a full audience Q&A episode.

Keith Gooden

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

Matt Sims

And I’m Motorhome Matt.

Keith Gooden

Industry insights and expert advice for the world of motorhomes, caravans and campervans, and it’s brought to you by www.thatleisureshop.com.

Matt Sims

Now, please do remember to follow on your favourite podcast app, and make sure you click to subscribe on our YouTube channel – brought to you by www.arobasecreative.co.uk.

Keith Gooden

Let’s dive in, shall we, for this episode? Because it’s a bit here and it’s a bit there. Stay tuned. You’ll find out.

Product of the Week

Keith Gooden

Our product of the week – what is it?

Matt Sims

It’s very exciting this week. I’ve got my little boxes under the desk. These are gas regulators. So we get an increasing number of people asking us for help and advice on choosing a gas regulator. Calor have caused lots of chaos in our industry.

Keith Gooden

Calor chaos.

Matt Sims

Yeah, that’s what we call it, the Calor chaos. With the drop in propane and the little butane bottles, it meant lots of people had to change their regulator because they were changing the gas they were using on the van. So we thought, right, let’s stock up on these. And we have bought hundreds of these little regulators, and all the team at That Leisure Shop are clued up on which one you need.

Keith Gooden

So just for people who don’t know, the bottle, the bit that you screw it onto, that tells you what regulator you need?

Matt Sims

Correct. And annoyingly, every different type of gas bottle needs a different type of regulator.

Keith Gooden

And this is where we can help.

Matt Sims

This is where we can help. So the first thing is that a propane gas regulator is left-handed thread. This always confuses people. We’ve got loads of these. This goes on the end of your pigtail of your motorhome or caravan, or even your barbecue. And you can use the LPG red bottle for a barbecue.

And it has a hand wheel, so if the gas runs out, or when the gas runs out, you can undo it without the need for a spanner. Brilliant. We love these. We’ve got loads of these in stock. They are very handy.

Keith Gooden

Same when you do your strimmer. You know your strimmer on the grass?

Matt Sims

What, you’ve got a gas powered strimmer?

Keith Gooden

No, no, that is a left hand. You see people struggling with it trying to get it undone.

Matt Sims

Well, gas is always left handed thread, because I remember once asking someone years ago, why is it left handed thread? Gas fittings are always left handed, so they can’t be confused with water or any other kind of flow that’s going through.

Keith Gooden

That means when you screw it up, it’s not clockwise, it’s anti clockwise.

Matt Sims

It’s lefty, righty, yeah, the other one.

Keith Gooden

So when you’re unscrewing it, it’s as if you’re screwing it in. You get it.

Matt Sims

A left handed thread! And then, of course, lots of people that were using the small propane bottle or the small butane bottle – Calor discontinued that, so they had to change to Campingaz, which is the most expensive gas you’ll ever buy. It’s a French product.

And theirs, the Campingaz regulator, screws in the top of the bottle. So if you have to change to Campingaz, you’ve got to change your regulator. We’ve got loads of these in stock as well. And then very quickly, I’ve just bought a new barbecue, and it is amazing. It’s a fantastic barbecue, and it came annoyingly with a Patio Gas regulator.

Now, Patio Gas has the red handles, and they’re green bottles, and they’re two sizes, five and 13 kilo. And they have a gauge on. Really handy. So you can tell how much gas is in there, and it’s always much more expensive than propane, the red bottle.

And I’ve noticed that Calor are delivering to us green bottles where the paint’s chipped, and underneath it’s a red bottle. And I asked them the question, “How are you managing to do that?” Do you know what? It’s a premium price because it’s considered a leisure product.

Keith Gooden

I see.

Matt Sims

Exactly the same inside the bottle, but Patio Gas comes with a clip on regulator as the butane bottles, the big butane bottles. This is a Patio Gas regulator, and it clips on. But you’re going to pay a premium for Patio Gas simply because you’re using it with a barbecue in the garden and Calor are of the view that they can charge more for it, so they do. So you could change to a cheaper red propane bottle, the same as you probably are using on your motorhome.

Keith Gooden

So if you’re using propane or butane, what’s the difference?

Matt Sims

The difference is the temperature at which it freezes. So propane will stay liquid until -28 degrees whereas butane will freeze at nought degrees.

Keith Gooden

So you can use…

Matt Sims

You can use propane in winter. Butane will freeze. That’s the big difference. There’s lots of, frankly, myths about how quickly it burns, how hot it burns. I’m told by Calor that you’d have to burn an awful lot for a very long time before you notice that. It’s just not true. So I am using propane and butane on my barbecue. But you should be using propane in your motorhome, because that’s what the regulator’s designed for.

Keith Gooden

If you want your Christmas dinner on your barbecue, you use propane.

Matt Sims

Yes, absolutely, in the winter. Yeah. And then this is a butane regulator.

Keith Gooden

Which freezes at nought degrees.

Matt Sims

Which freezes at nought degrees. But it comes with – look at this. It’s got what’s called a nanometer.

Keith Gooden

That’s the thing. It’s a nanometer.

Matt Sims

It’s a level gauge. So like a GasStop – which is the safety device I love, and I go on about – this has a manometer on it, which tells you how much pressure is left in the bottle. Really useful for any butane bottle. It’s very hard to measure propane accurately, because it’s a dynamic thing. It’s expanding and contracting because it’s trying to measure the pressure in the bottle.

There are gauges that do manage to do it, but it is very difficult to measure it accurately. If you are stuck on this, then contact us at That Leisure Shop, and the team would love to help you and supply you with the right regulators. There you are.

Keith Gooden

So Matt, how much do they cost?

Matt Sims

They start around £10. Remember, use the discount code MOTORHOMEMATT at www.thatleisureshop.com and get 10% off. So £10.99 upwards.

Keith Gooden

There you go. That’s our product of the week.

Live from the South West Motorhome & Campervan Show

Keith Gooden

Right, Matt. Are we ready to head to the show? Because we are going off to Shepton Mallet, aren’t we?

Matt Sims

We’re off there, my lover.

Keith Gooden

3, 2, 1…

Matt Sims

Today, we are coming live from the Southwest Motorhome and Campervan Show at Shepton Mallet, and we’re joined by a massive audience who are delighted to be here.

Keith Gooden

This is question and answer, Q and As. If you listen to or watch the podcast, you’ll know it’s a very popular part. It’s a great way of engaging with people who listen and watch and it allows us to take the temperature of what you want to hear.

I’ve uprated but my road tax hasn’t been reduced. What’s happening?

Keith Gooden

So first of all, we have got a gentleman called Tim Allen.

Tim Allen

Hello, Matt. I wonder if you can help me. My name is Tim. I’m the proud owner of a Consort motorhome, which is a panel van conversion on a Fiat Ducato Maxi, 6.4 meters long. Just used SvTech, who have been excellent, to uprate my vehicle from three and a half tonnes to 3.9, because I’m concerned that when I’m fully loaded with all the food, water and all the rest of it, we’re at least close to the limit and almost certainly over.

And we’re off to France soon, and I don’t want to get told off by the gendarmes. So we went ahead with SvTech, who’ve done all the paperwork. Very happy. But it now appears that the DVLA have changed the rules around the taxation.

Originally, one of the incentives for uprating a vehicle was that you could get a reduction in the road tax from something like £320 down to about £165. Bit odd being a heavier vehicle and paying less road tax, but it was a nice incentive to get the job done.

Now it seems that DVLA are not doing that, and it will still attract the original £320 road tax, which I’m a bit miffed about. I would have done the process anyway, because it’s more important to be legal than to save on the road tax.

But this arbitrary change in the rules is annoying. Can you confirm if that is actually the case, and if there’s any way of protesting it or representing to the DVLA that this needs changing? Thanks very much.

Matt Sims

So Tim, thanks for your question. You are quite right. The DVLA have changed the rules on this, and if you upplate, they are now no longer refunding the road tax. We have an episode coming out on Monday where the same question was asked.

It’s coming out in the future, and I was not aware of this when it was recorded two weeks ago. So if you listen next week, I go, “Well, try SORNing it and try again. See what happens.” This is hot off the press.

Keith Gooden

Were you wrong?

Matt Sims

I was not wrong. I’m not going to give you that! But I didn’t know about this reality. This has literally just changed in the last week or two since we recorded the episode that comes out next week.

So the DVLA are currently changing their priorities around reweighting and refunding road tax. If your motorhome was registered at three and a half tonnes and you later upplate it, you should save money on the road tax. You won’t be we. You will still continue paying £325. So if that’s you, be mindful that change has currently happened. Loads of us are campaigning with the DVLA, including SvTech, to try and get this changed back. So we’ll see what happens.

Keith Gooden

So will Tim get his money back?

Matt Sims

Not at the moment, not the moment, not until something changes. So we’re campaigning to a parliament level with SvTech to try and get the DVLA to change their minds on this decision.

Keith Gooden

Okay.

Are campsites in France and Spain not accepting tax axle motorhomes?

Keith Gooden

Andy Stevenson’s asked us a question about a tag axle.

Andy Steveson

Hi, Matt. My name’s Andy. I’m on the verge of buying a Kon-Tiki, the big tag axle one. And I’ve been hearing rumors about a lot of the campsites in France and Spain turning away or not accepting the tag axle motorhome. Can you shine any light on that for us?

Keith Gooden

What’s a tag axle?

Matt Sims

So that’s a motorhome with three axles. It has a lazy axle at the rear, so six wheels, three on each side, and generally they’re over eight meters long. Anyone here got a tag axle motorhome?

Yes, I know there’s a few of you in the room. So I’ve not heard this at all. This has not been my understanding or experience. The only thing I would add is that a tag axle motorhome is often not welcomed on a campsite, because when you turn, the back wheel can drag in the grass and wreck the grass.

So a lot of campsites don’t like them for two reasons, that and also, they are exceptionally long and they struggle to house them. So my suggestion to Andy and to you, if you’ve got a tag axle, is to ring ahead to the campsite, Google it and check that you are going to be welcome with your third axle.

Keith Gooden

What is tag axle in French, then?

Matt Sims

Axle la tag. I have no idea.

Keith Gooden

And Spanish?

Matt Sims

No idea.

Keith Gooden

Anybody got an idea? Any fluent? No, okay.

How can we preserve the Outer Hebrides?

Keith Gooden

Peter Close is in Solihull. “Love the podcast,” he says. “You’re doing a great job of informing us motorhomers. I’m just a little concerned. We have also just got back from a three-week trip to the Outer Hebrides, and loved it.”

“We then traveled onto Skye, and the number of cars and motorhomes spoiled it, so we left early. And of course, the irony is we were part of the problem. My plea is, play down the Outer Hebrides. The beauty, tranquility and variable weather made for a fantastic and memorable trip. We just wanted to keep it to ourselves.”

That’s from Peter, he says with his tongue firmly in his cheek. Well, the thing is, Matt, you know, the local press, they’re all owned by big companies now, and so you see one story from Exmouth, and you know, it gets run again in Birmingham, vice versa. They all share stories.

And I have noticed bad press directed towards motorhomers and caravanners when it comes to stopping car parking or going to places of outstanding natural beauty, like the Outer Hebrides. So while he’s been joking, there is a very serious side to this.

Matt Sims

It is really serious. I would love to tell you the Outer Hebrides are rubbish and don’t go, but I can’t. I’ve just done two weeks there earlier this year. We’ve got two weeks on Lewis, Harris and Skye, and it was amazing.

Has anybody been to the Outer Hebrides. Yes? Anybody planning a trip there? A couple of you. Yeah, it’s amazing. I would go again as well. East Harris is out of this world. Skye, less keen. The potholes are like playing some kind of computer game where you’re dodging them. It is horrendous.

The roads are horrible, and we are part of the problem that’s caused that because there’s so much traffic. They’re anticipating over a million vehicles visiting the island, I think, I read next year.

And that is a massive multiple of the people that live there. So yeah, we are a huge problem to the roads, and there’s not the funding. Let’s see if this tourism tax is introduced. But there are lots of issues where motorhomers are getting bad press, and it’s very frustrating. And it’s a minority, of course, Keith, that cause it, that are causing the problem.

It’s like dog walkers. I used the example earlier, chatting to someone. It’s always a minority of dog walkers that leave the poo in the field, isn’t it? For the rest of us, we walk our dog, we pick it up and pick theirs up. But if a few do it, everyone’s banned, and it’s the same with motorhoming. So how we fix it, I don’t know. Education?

Keith Gooden

Well, we do seem to have quite a lot of local people who want to talk to their local press, no matter where it is in the country, to say they’ve seen somebody emptying some dirty water by the side of the road, or say they’ve seen somebody taking up two parking spaces when they shouldn’t be, or staying overnight where they shouldn’t be. So what are we going to do about it? What’s the PR we can all take part in in order to kill off this negative press, which is is building?

Matt Sims

And that’s the problem. It’s the media that are kind of fueling it, and they’re feeding every opportunity for a story, because, let’s face it, bad news sells papers, doesn’t it? It sells column inches. So I think it’s about education. From us, we have to be good ambassadors. In fact, we have to be great ambassadors. Go and litter pick when you stop somewhere.

If you see dog poo, pick it up. Be a great ambassadors to the locals that see you doing that and think, wow, that’s not my normal experience. That’s not what I read about in The Sun. So yeah, we have to be ambassadors. We have to educate other motorhomers and councils. There’s a big task ahead.

Keith Gooden

Of course, there are quite a few councils now which are giving facilities to motorhomers and caravanners – overnights in car parks, providing the ability to get rid of grey water on their stay and doing it for a reasonable price. So shouldn’t councils, when they have their little get togethers like we are here, be talking to each other about this?

Matt Sims

Well, I’d love to think they would. I don’t know if they do. I doubt they do. We’ve actually invited our own councilor from North Somerset. Mark has agreed to come on the podcast, and I want to start with his view of our world.

So I want to get an insight into how he sees us and our pastime, and what challenges that presents him. In North Somerset, we have a place called Clevedon. Some of you will be local and be familiar with Cleveland seafront, the salt flats, Portishead.

Motorhome parking has been banned on the seafront there because of reports of people dumping waste. Really? Were they? So I want to ask Mark. He’s part of the reason these decisions have been taken by North Somerset Council. I want to get his view of us and see if we can change his mind, if we need to.

Keith Gooden

Has anybody here ever done anything naughty by the side of the road that they shouldn’t have done?

Matt Sims

They’re not going to admit that, Keith!

How are motorhome repairs regulated?

Matt Sims

Has anybody here got a question they’d like to ask? Yes, Jo has.

Jo Woolnough

If you live in a house and you’re having your repairs done, electrical or gas, they are certified and registered, and obviously, the ombudsman makes sure everything gets done right. What have we got as protection in a motorhome if we ask for a repair to be done? Who monitors them to make sure they’re regulated?

Matt Sims

So these are the traders, the technicians working on your motorhome. That’s good question. So technically, anybody can. You can bring anyone in from the street to work on your motorhome, because it is an unregulated industry in that sense.

You can go to the Approved Workshop Scheme, the AWS, which is part of the NCC, the National Caravan Council. They’re all very exciting acronyms, and the Approved Workshop Scheme is a scheme of hundreds of workshops.

Some are mobile that are inspected, and they have to do a training course to become AWS approved. And they are then able to work on your motorhome, and you’ll get that little sticker that says you had an AWS service and the year date. That’s really important if your motorhome’s under manufacturer warranty.

Jo Woolnough

So if there’s somebody who comes and fixes your fridge and it doesn’t then work afterwards…?

Matt Sims

Well, you’d have some recourse with the Approved Workshop Scheme, and thus with the NCC. Whether they would do anything about it with that workshop remains to be seen. It’s a kind of opt in. These guys pay to be part of it. It’s part of a marketing machine.

So that’s why they sign up to it. And it is a badge of honour. It’s not easy to become AWS approved, and there is some training and recognition that they need to receive from the NCC. So you would have the backup of the NCC if something went wrong.

Do I need snow chains?

Lily

Lily from a little village called Combe St Nicholas, not far from Taunton. And we are planning to take our motorhome through France to Spain for January and February. And my question is about, do we need chains, snow socks or winter tyres? What is the ruling on all of this?

Matt Sims

Okay, so if you’re going into an area where they are required – Google is your friend here, and look at the route – they are required normally from the first of November to the end of March. And there’ll be a requirement as to whether it’s snow tyres or actual chains, or whether snow socks are permissible.

My advice would be to check before you go, and check the route you’re going to take. If you’re buying chains or socks, make sure you fit them and test them out before you go. I bought some and they were for a 15-inch wheel, and our motorhome had a 16-inch wheel. And I got there, tried fitting them. It was a nightmare.

We were in the Pyrenees, and so I had a problem, and I did risk it. I nearly got stuck, but I was doing it on regular tyres. But actually it’s a legal requirement locally that you have either snow tyres or chains or socks.

Matt Sims

We’ve got another question here, please. Thanks.

Audience member

Yeah, sorry, a bit of an addendum to that question. I did look online about the requirements, and it’s essentially all across the Pyrenees. But it appears to be down to the local communities as to whether they enforce that newer regulation of having them over that period. Is there anywhere that actually lists what the current status is that you know of?

Matt Sims

I don’t know. That’s a very good question, because you’re right. It is the local towns that are introducing the sign that warns you that snow chains are required. I would say, given that more and more towns and villages are asking for it, I’d just take a pair. They’re not expensive.

And just take a set of snow chains with you. And then if you find you’re driving through somewhere – maybe your route is going to change and you end up driving through somewhere you didn’t plan. So it seems to me, at that time of year, a sensible thing to take. You’ll always be able to sell them secondhand on eBay. I’ll probably buy them. They’ll be the wrong size!

Keith Gooden

So Matt, what about your insurance? So you know, if you go and you don’t fit these things and you get stuck in the snow and you need to make a claim, how are your insurers over here going to look at you?

Matt Sims

There’s probably not an issue. The issue is probably if you have an accident and you haven’t got snow chains fitted, then, yeah, you might have a problem then. I can imagine insurance company might use that as a valid reason to create a problem with your claim. Breakdown is the other thing.

Would you be covered with a breakdown recovery service because you got stuck in snow without having chains on? You know, it’s your own fault. I mean, I’m sure they would, but the RAC will not pull you out of mud if you’re stuck in mud, unless you pay them. It’s £250, I think. So it’s not a breakdown, in their eyes. It’s a chargeable thing.

Caravan Guard have a stuck in mud addendum in their schedule of insurance. So they will cover you as breakdown if you’re stuck in mud. It’s something that I love about their policy, which is quite unique to them. So yeah, I would definitely take them.

Keith Gooden

On the continent, breakdown services operate in a different way, don’t they? It’s not the same as over here.

Matt Sims

No. So you need to make sure you’ve got European cover for breakdown. If you’re on a main road, you’re probably going to have to pay a breakdown service to take you off the road. Not always, not necessarily, but it’s probably going to be the case. It’s a local recovery company that will take you off the main road onto a back road, where then your UK sourced breakdown cover will recover you.

Keith Gooden

Yeah, and these people who take you off the main road, they are contracted, aren’t they? They have a contract with the government in order to do this, to get you to somewhere which is safer, where the breakdown service can then attend to your vehicl.

Matt Sims

And it’s generally always cash, so make sure you’ve got euros with you!

Compressor fridges vs absorption fridges

Keith Gooden

The gentleman over here in the red!

Stephen

I’m Stephen from North Essex, little town or little village called Gosfield. I’d love to hear your views, if any, on compressor fridges versus absorption fridges in motorhomes and campervans.

Keith Gooden

First of all, before you start that, Matt, can you just explain the difference between the two?

Matt Sims

Okay, so an absorption fridge is what’s often known as a three way fridge. It runs on 12 volt off your alternator. Never runs on the battery, regularly misunderstood. So it runs off your alternator, runs off the gas and runs off the mains hook up. They’ve been around for donkey’s years. Most motorhomes have been fitted with them forever.

A compressor fridge is a 12 volt fridge, and runs off the battery and uses totally different technology. And the main benefit of a compressor fridge is it will work in temperatures like in here. It’s hot in here. If you’re listening, it is boiling in here. And it will work at a high temperature.

So an absorption fridge will struggle to work over about 29, 30 degrees. And that’s why people are often fitting fans behind the top vent to push the top air out, because they work by absorption.

So the air circulates around, and it needs to boil the warm air out of the fridge and throw it out the top vent and suck cooler air in from the bottom vent. That’s how an absorption fridge works on gas.

A compressor fridge works irrespective of the temperature. The downside of a compressor fridge is they draw loads of power, so they will flatten a lead acid leisure battery in a couple of days easily. So the fix is normally to fit a solar panel or consider a lithium battery upgrade, and they’ll run for much longer without being hooked up.

So the charging system is recharging the battery or receiving a charge from the sun, which would be a challenge today. Despite being hot in here, it’s pretty cloudy outside. So if you’ve got a compressor fridge, consider a solar panel, a portable one or one permanently on the roof. Another downside is the noise.

So an absorption fridge is pretty silent. Just outside, you can just hear a little rumble, but inside, on a compressor fridge, it could keep you awake. So they have a sleep mode, a little moon, crescent moon shape. You can press that. They work far less efficiently, but much more quietly, enabling you to sleep.

And normally, you press that button and it will stay in sleep mode for about eight hours and then revert back to its normal operating mode, assuming that we’re back into daytime and it’s heated up again. Hope that explains it!

Keith Gooden

What about efficiency between the two of them? If you want to keep your cold drinks colder, which is the one you’d go for?

Matt Sims

That’s a good question. We’ve got an absorption fridge in our van, and it’s really cold all the time, unless it gets really hot. And that’s when the compressor fridge wins the day. So they both can work effectively, provided it’s not very hot.

So if you’re going to southern Spain in July and August, a compressor fridge is going to win, because an absorption is going to struggle. But they both work very effectively. The benefit in absorption is you’ve got a choice of fuel source. You’ve got the engine, you’ve got gas and you’ve got electric hookup. Whereas a compressor, you only have 12 volt.

Keith Gooden

And what about the price when you’re buying your first one?

Matt Sims

Yeah, you can directly replace one with another now. Lots of people have done that, and they are comparative on price. The issue is actually about supply. So absorption fridges are in short supply. It can take six to nine months to come at the moment. Dometic have got more coming. They’re running out. Thetford do a compressor fridge, which replaces their absorption fridge. And there seems to be lots of stock around.

Keith Gooden

Why is there such a waiting list, then?

Matt Sims

I think more manufacturers are putting compressor fridges in motorhomes at the moment, so there’s lots of them in the UK and in Europe, ready for conversion. So Bailey have just started converting to compressor fridges in their caravans, for example.

That’s a new venture for them. Lots of van converters are now using compressor fridges and 12 volt systems have been totally reinvented in recent years with lithium batteries, with solar, and it’s all coming down in price. So if you’re building a van and considering a fridge, I would definitely consider a compressor fridge.

Can a motorhome with electric appliances last off-grid for long?

Keith Gooden

Okay, another question from the floor. Sir?

Johnathan

Thank you. Johnathan from Cardiff. Following on from the last question, actually, we’re looking to sort of get a van built, and we’re starting to find that a number of manufacturers of these bespoke vans just purely have electric only vans, rather than having gas appliances, something we’ve never even considered.

The way we like to travel is probably two or three days off grid. But if we’re having, you know, an electric cooker, electric oven, obviously, fridge, with modern technology, can it cope with that for, say, two or three days off grid?

Matt Sims

Yeah, so that is about having an adequate 12 volt system to run those appliances. So they can, yes, provided you’ve got sufficient amount of amp hours in your battery stock. So if you’re running lithium, for example, it will run for a much longer time than a lead acid battery. So a 100 amp hour lead acid battery only lasts about 50 amp hours, whereas a lithium battery lasts for about 85 or even 95 amp hours.

Johnathan

Is there an easy way of calculating that?

Matt Sims

No, and I’m not going to bore you with it now! It’s Ohms law, but basically, my point is a lithium battery will run for a lot longer. That’s really the consideration. If you want to go off grid, you need to be considering the power you need, and can you keep supplying that from your battery bank? There has been a big move to non-fossil fuel campervans, and it’s a really great environmental thing to do, using cleaner energy, i.e., from the sun.

And it’s ultimately, I think, where we’re going to go. Lots of people tell me I’m wrong, that gas will always be a factor. Calor are introducing a clean gas, which is non-fossil fuel, and there’s a plant already in production.

We talked about it very recently, didn’t we, Keith on the podcast. There may be a clean gas alternative, which might mean you have an option for a gas heating system or gas hub that is non-fossil fuel, but it’s one of the changes in our industry which is very nerdy and I find very exciting, and it’s a great time to be alive. It’s the same with the drive chain.

Electric vans, EVs are coming. Our industry, I believe, has its head firmly in the sand over this. We’re just not embracing it. We’re not gearing up for it. And I think, you know, at the moment, it’s just not viable for us, or it feels very unviable. So there’s another huge change. And will we be able to run everything in the van off of the main battery that’s running its powertrain? I don’t know. We’ll see. Probably, but there’s a lot to happen before that can occur.

Keith Gooden

There’s always, isn’t there, a penalty tax to pay for being an early adopter with this technology? In five years’ time, we’ll be having these conversations, or 10 years’ time, and the batteries will be a lot more efficient, and the outboard gear will be a lot more efficient. And we’ll be wondering why we were worrying about it. But actually now, when people are knocking on your wallet, it makes a difference.

Matt Sims

Yeah, it all comes at cost, doesn’t it, especially with early adoption, as you say. And new technology is coming. Sodium batteries are coming. Hydrogen is going to happen. I didn’t believe it, but it is going to happen. As soon as our governments can figure out a way to tax us for it, it will happen! He said, cynically.

Keith Gooden

Very true, very true.

Will the UK adopt the EU licence changes?

Keith Gooden

This gentleman over here wanted to ask a question. The gentleman in the black top.

Peter Thomas

My name is Peter Thomas from Bridgend, South Wales. My question is regarding the C1 licence and the weights of the motorhomes. There was talk in the industry about upgrading the 350 up to the higher one, which is going to happen in Europe sometime next year.

So why isn’t our government willing to do the same? Because the palaver you have to go through to increase your license to a C1 after the age of 70 is ridiculous. It took me nearly seven months with the DVLA refusing, sending things back and forth when it was pretty straightforward.

Matt Sims

So you are absolutely right. This is being debated in the EU Parliament right now. It’s called the fourth directive. And of course, we are no longer part of the EU. And the consideration – lots of changes to the licence going digital.

The big one is making the B licence 4,250 kilograms, so we will all be able to drive 4,250 kilograms. Now, in Europe, if you’re European, that’s true. The UK government then have to debate that fourth directive and decide to adopt it in full or in part.

And I had the great honor at the Malvern show just a couple of weeks ago to give a talk on this fourth directive. And I presented the idea to Warners, and they agreed that I could give this talk because it’s a massive issue.

The room was packed, wasn’t it, Michael? It was absolutely standing room only, and we had a really good session, and we recorded it, and it’s going to come out on the podcast. So stay tuned, because I unpack all of the changes being discussed.

We’re at stage seven of 10 in the whole process. There’s another debate to happen, and then adoption, and then the UK government need to consider whether they’ll adopt it. I think they will. I hope they do.

Keith Gooden

And the thing is, even though we’ve Brexited, you know, we’re now the smaller partner, and we’ve got the whole of Europe on our doorstep. So if they do make changes, companies in this country who are manufacturing or supplying to the continent, they’re going to have to meet those standards anyway. So isn’t it just going to be a question of assimilation over the years?

Matt Sims

Yeah, absolutely. So it’s more the fact that Europeans manufacture and send to us here, rather than us Brits exporting. That doesn’t really happen very much with motorhomes and caravans. There’s a lot more European motorhomes here than there are British ones in Europe. So the Europeans will just start manufacturing them at 4,250 – motorhomes, this is.

Because think how much kit they can put on them then! They can flood them with lithium batteries. We can actually start using domestic appliances in our motorhomes running on 240 volt inside. What a change that would be. And then this whole absorption fridge, compressor fridge – you just have a normal electric fridge.

And you go to a brand like Morello, one of my favourite motorhome brands. If you see one, go and have a look inside. Unless you’re on a campsite, maybe knock the door first. They’re phenomenal.

All the appliances are 240 volts, running off 12 volt batteries, it’s amazing. They’ve got dishwashers in, tumble dryers, but you’re spending half a million quid. Now, they are heavy vehicles. They’re eight tonnes.

But with 4,250 we can have much more equipment, and we are demanding more and more from our motorhome holidays. So yeah, the change, I think, would be really positive. And I think it would be daft – it’d be ludicrous if we don’t adopt the change.

Keith Gooden

Could there be the nightmare scenario, though, that we don’t change and then you do have a gap of a year or two?

Matt Sims

No, because we could still upgrade to C1. You’d still have to take the test. Or if you’ve got grandfather rights, then you’re okay. If you took the test before ’97 you’ve got the C1.

Keith Gooden

That’s grandfather rights.

Matt Sims

That’s right, yeah, and then you lose it when you turn 70. And that’s the bigger issue in our marketplace, with so many of us turning 70 and losing it and having to have a medical to get it back, and all of that stuff is looking at being changed.

So how the medicals are done, how long the licence lasts for – there’s talk of it being extended to 15 years, not 10, but a medical at every renewal. So my licence is due to renew in a few years’ time. I would have to go through a medical. So it’s a big topic. Check it out when it comes out, or just Google EU fourth directive driving licence. You can read about it for yourself.

Keith Gooden

Well, I’m learning a lot. I don’t know about anybody else.

Can a motorhome with an automatic transmission be towed??

Audience member

I was just wondering if, with an automatic transmission, should you break down, can you be towed? For example, if you got stuck on a muddy field, could they tow you? In years gone by, I understand you weren’t allowed to tow automatics.

Keith Gooden

Can you clear this one up? Can you be towed or not?

Matt Sims

Put it in N and yes, you can, unless it’s a Mercedes A1. So the tiny little Mercedes. We had one. This was true in my experience. Maybe it’s different now we had an A1 Mercedes tow car. I bought it to convert to a towed car, and was told I couldn’t.

So maybe you’ve had a different experience with a little Mercedes. The little four seater A1, it’s called, but yeah, the A class. I was told I couldn’t tow that in neutral, but with a motorhome gearbox you can long, as it’s in N. And it doesn’t mean night mode.

Keith Gooden

Neutral! You disengage the gearbox.

Matt Sims

That’s like the guy that said it doesn’t work at night. “I put it in night mode. It doesn’t drive. It’s fine in D.”

Keith Gooden

I’m not going to tell you what I did in P mode.

Will we be able to recycle lithium batteries?

Keith Gooden

So this gentleman over here!

Mike Osmond

Good afternoon, everybody. This is Mike Osmond from Gloucester. Going back to lithium batteries, will we have the same problem in 20 years’ time about recycling lithium batteries?

Matt Sims

Yeah, that’s a big topic now, isn’t it? Lithium phosphate 4 batteries are the batteries that we’re using in motorhomes, and can be easily recycled. And there’s massive developments in this globally on recycling lithium batteries, and yes, they can be recycled and reused and repurposed.

I’m actually following quite a few nerdy podcasts on EVs because it fascinates me, and it’s fascinating how worldwide, the number of businesses that are repurposing batteries from Tesla to homes for storing electricity. And storing electricity is something that our kids are going to do very naturally.

Keith Gooden

Can I just say that I’ve got solar panels and a battery?

Matt Sims

We know, and you’re obsessed with them. He doesn’t stop talking about his solar panels. So yes, recycling is an issue now. So 20, 30, years ago, we all went to the supermarket with a paper bag, and we picked up a box from the back of Fine Fair. For the youngsters in the room, it was an absolute trip hazard nightmare, wasn’t it, getting out of the tills? Do you remember?

There were all the piles of cardboard boxes, and you could help yourself. It was brilliant. Now they take them away and flat pack them and put them in the landfill, probably. So it’s a different way of shopping. It’s the same with batteries.

I think we will look back at what we’re doing with batteries now and what we believe about batteries now and laugh, because I think we will repurpose them in a different way in the future. I hope so, and I’m pretty certain that’s true.

Keith Gooden

Six months or a year ago, we were talking about a leap forward in sodium battery technology. Anything come of that?

Matt Sims

Not that I’ve heard yet. There are developments in the US, and the issue with sodium batteries is mining it and creating it, creating salt from the sea, then turning it into a battery and taxing it. And that, I believe, is the reason this technology doesn’t develop as quickly as it could.

But then, as I said earlier, I’m a cynic. But I think once a way of taxing water is established… I mean, look at what’s happening with electricity now. If you’ve got an EV car, you’re about to pay road tax. It’s been free for years, hasn’t it? So once governments figure out a way of monetising how we live our lives, then it will get pushed.

Keith Gooden

But a lot of streetlights and hospitals and road services are funded through things such as the fuel duty. And if people are going over to EV, as this government has been talking about in the last two weeks, they’re going to have to start thinking about charging you per mile. Because if we go over to EV by 2030, what about the fuel duty?

Matt Sims

Keir Starmer has said that he is going to reintroduce the 2030 date, even though it wasn’t in the King’s Speech. He said that he was going to bring it back forward – does that makes sense? – from 2035 to 2030.

Remember, this is only new vehicles. That means your diesel powered Fiat Ducato motorhome is going to go up in price, because 70% of new vans have to be zero fossil fuel. Otherwise, the manufacturer is going to pay £18,000 per van for every diesel they build.

Keith Gooden

Well, no, the manufacturer won’t pay it.

Matt Sims

Well, we’ll end up paying it. Their fine is £18,000 per vehicle. That’s a lot of money, isn’t it? So I think our diesel vans are going to go up in value again. So we have this big debate about pricing at the moment, and it’s insane, isn’t it, post-COVID?

And prices are under pressure, but stick with it, because it’s like the housing market. The prices are going to rocket again. Wait and see. And there will be this parity between diesel and EV. I don’t think EV is coming down.

I think the value of diesel because of the fact that we can go 500 miles in a day – I know we never do, but we want the right to do it. It means we want our diesel vehicles, and that’s a big debate for the move to EV. But I think there’s going to be some price parity coming about.

Keith Gooden

Yeah, I’ve just recently upgraded my car. I used to have a Volvo diesel. Very happy with it, great car. But now I’ve bought a car that’s a petrol car. I haven’t gone EV because I didn’t trust the secondhand market. I didn’t even with the BMWs, which give a 10-year guarantee on the batteries. I didn’t trust it. Not that I don’t trust that company. I do.

It’s just that, you know, my trust in technology has been shaken in the past. So we’re heading towards 2030, aren’t we? I’ve changed this car. Now, I’m not the sort of person that changes my car on a whim. I keep the things for 10 years. So I’m guessing my next car will probably be electric. But when it comes to motorhomes or campervans, what’s going to happen there?

Matt Sims

Well, we’re a long way from adopting it. As I said earlier, I think our industry is just not focused on it. I don’t see any innovation. You know, I’ve been out to Germany to a huge show, Caravan Salon. If you ever get a chance to go, it’s amazing. It’s massive. And there was some innovation there, but literally in corners of the hall.

And the big innovation seems to be, at the moment, these big off road tyres and high suspensions and the ability for a motorhome to go off road. You know, probably it will go up and down a kerb. That is as off road as it will get, or down a dusty track to a campsite. You know, they’re not going to go out into the Sahara. That seems to have been the innovation.

I just don’t think there’s a move yet toward EV. It will have to happen, and it will happen. And we will look back in 30 years’ time and we’ll see the change, of course. But at the moment, we’re a long way from it.

Keith Gooden

But I suppose my point is that in the next five or 10 years, are the motorhomers going to be penalised because of this lack of innovation?

Matt Sims

No, I think we’ll just have to buy a used diesel. I don’t think you’ll be able to buy a new one, because they will all be electric, because the manufacturers have been forced to make new vehicles as electric. The new vans that come to our market will be electric.

Diesel will be around for the whole of our lives. I’ve only bought a couple of brand new motorhomes in my time. I’ve always bought secondhand, let someone else have all the first niggly problems and taking it back to the dealer 10 times in the first year, as often happens, and then I’ll get it all fixed. So I will continue probably buying a used diesel motorhome unless the electric one is at a compelling price. But I don’t think it will be.

Keith Gooden

So the message is, whatever you’ve got now, look after it.

Matt Sims

Look after it. It’s going to go up in price. Of that I’m sure. I mean, I may be wrong. We’re recording this, so let’s listen back in 20 years. But do you agree? Do you think they’re going to go up in price? Lots of people nodding. And they all own diesel motorhomes. So of course you agree!

Can you tow a motorhome with a comfortmatic gearbox?

Matt Sims

We’re coming to a young lady at the front.

Jo Woolnough

It’s Jo from Shamley Green. You were saying about being able to tow a motorhome that’s automatic. What happens if it’s got a comfortmatic gearbox?

Matt Sims

So that’s still a manual gearbox with an electronic gear change.

Keith Gooden

Is that the paddley ones?

Matt Sims

No, no. It’s still a gear stick that changes the gears, but it’s robotised, so the gearbox inside is still manual. So long as it’s in N you can tow it.

Will electric campervans be viable?

Lynne

I’m Lynne from Modbury in South Devon. We have an electric campervan. We love it. We’ve just done five weeks on the continent in it. So if anyone’s interested in asking questions about electric camper vans, we’ve got one! It’s great, absolutely wonderful. I would never get a diesel one

Keith Gooden

So Lynne, you know, if you could just choose one or two things which made you fall in love with it, why?

Lynne

There’s not a single rattle. The comfort of driving it is amazing. It’s so much cheaper on fuel. We can cook on it. We’ve got a solar panel that charges the leisure battery only, not the traction battery. It’s just so simple.

We haven’t got to carry gas. We haven’t got to carry diesel heaters. It’s a simple version. We’ve got a 100 amp hour battery. We’ve got a Renogy kilowatt inverter. It’s enough. You’re not having to go to the huge batteries. You’re not having to go to a lot of the equipment that the big campervans and motorhomes have. It’s the simplicity of it we like.

Keith Gooden

It’s simple. But I’m going to ask the question everybody always asks you – what’s the range?

Lynne

The range is about 200 miles.

Keith Gooden

And you find that’s okay for you?

Lynne

Yes, we’ve done up to 500 miles in a day.

Keith Gooden

And when you get to the other end, do you stay on sites?

Lynne

No, on our recent trip, four out of five nights were in a campsite. The rest of the time we were on aires or wild camping.

Keith Gooden

And plugging in is not a problem to recharge?

Lynne

No. We’ve had an EV car for six years, and the difference in the six years is just amazing.

Keith Gooden

The one thing that I always wonder is, how much does it cost to recharge when you plug in, compared to, say, putting in half a tank?

Lynne

If we’re charging at home, it works out as 3p a mile. If we’re charging in Norway, it was 6p a mile.

Keith Gooden

Yeah, in Scandinavia it’s always more expensive.

Lynne

If we’re charging in Britain, it’s still half the price of diesel.

Matt Sims

I think there are two issues here. One is the drive train, and the other is the living bit, the habitation side. And you’ve adopted to go all electric in both. The other key thing you said is we had an electric car for six years, and that’s the big change, I think, in our market.

Once all of us are driving EV cars or alternative non-fossil fueled cars, I think that will educate us, because it is a different way of using a car, isn’t it? We have a hybrid car. I always describe it that people who drive an EV are like my kids in that they are constantly craving the iPhone charger cable. “Dad, can I charge my phone?” All day at every opportunity.

And that’s like EV ownership. It’s a change of behaviour. You don’t once a week go to the fuel station and refuel. At every opportunity you park up and you plug it in like my kids do. So you plug in at home, you plug in on every trip.

You go for a coffee and a wee, you plug in and get 20 minutes of charge. It’s different behaviour, and we have to be educated on that. That takes time. So we have to go on that learning curve. And once that happens, as consumers, we are preparing to adopt EV motorhomes. They become, in our heads, feasible. It’s a huge topic. And again, another reason to be excited to be alive – I find so anyway.

Is upplating a motorhome just a paper exercise?

Keith Gooden

This gentleman over here,

Tim

Hi, Tim from Chichester. Twice, we’ve talked about the weight problems of motorhome. A lot of motorhomes are built to come under the 3.5 tonnes, so they can sell them to the people without grandfather writes on their licences.

If you’re driving a vehicle that is downgraded to 3.5 and you get nicked by HM constabulary because you’re overloaded, presumably you are nicked because you are now an unsafe vehicle because you’re overweight. However, with a paperwork exercise only you can be upgraded. Well, so how does that work out?

Matt Sims

So it’s not necessarily the case that you can be upgraded with a paper exercise. Sometimes you need to have accessories fitted to the van to enable that to happen. But many are capable of going to 3,650, or 3,850.

The issue here is about the derogation of the vehicle, and it’s registered at three and a half tonnes, and that’s the maximum you can drive it at. If you’re over that, on the V5 it will say 3,500. If it weighs 3,900, so you’re overweight, you’re overweight, and that’s the issue.

You might get a 10% allowance. That’s quite generous, but it’s down to the copper on the day. So they can ask you to go to a weighbridge, and the fine might be linked to the capability of the VIN plate of the vehicle.

So the vehicle said, I can go to four tons because it’s got 16 inch wheels, it’s got suspension that’s capable, and it says on that slam panel four tonnes. Then maybe the VOSA officer who is going to end up looking at it might be lenient.

But you are only registered at three and a half tonnes, so you are overweight. And this links back to what we were talking about earlier, where if you upplate to four tonnes, and you are driving at four tonnes, the DVLA have chosen not to update the V5 to convey that to the authorities.

So the WIMS cameras, the weight and motion sensors – we’ve talked about them before – they will weigh you as you go over those wires on the road. Camera snaps your picture. It says that’s a three and a half tonne vehicle weighing four tons. You are registered at four tonnes.

The cameras don’t see that. You are likely to get a letter, or worse, pulled over and you could be fined. And this is an argument that we’re going to start having to have with authorities because of this change at DVLA. So again, listen to this future episode that we’ll have on this because we’re following this very closely.

What’s the difference between having a gas bottle and an under-slung gas tank?

Audience member

Just a quick one if we do decide to have gas on our new van. What’s the difference between having a gas bottle and an under slung gas tank? And is an under slung tank easy to get filled as you travel?

Matt Sims

A gas bottle, if it’s a Calor bottle, can be exchanged anywhere that sells Calor gas. An underslung tank needs to be refilled at a refill point. You need to go and get the mylpg.eu app to find all the refill locations.

If there’s one conveniently close to where you live or where you like to go on holiday, great. If there isn’t, don’t do it. Consider a gas bottle. Around us there are no refill points. It’s a nightmare. They are slowly disappearing because gas powered cars don’t really exist anymore. Motorhome dealerships are starting to install them. But gas is going.

I believe, as I said earlier, it’s going to disappear.

Ask Matt your questions

Matt Sims

If you haven’t asked a question already and you’d like to – maybe one has inspired yours today – please go to mhmp.info/askmatt. Click the orange button and record it or fill in the form, and we’ll read it out for you.

Keith Gooden

Now, if you’re looking for trusted brands and services, then make sure you visit the Motorhome Matt Approved directory at mhmp.info/approved. They’re goods and services that Motorhome Matt himself is putting his name to. And if people want to get on YouTube, what do they do?

Matt Sims

They can. We love it. If you watch on YouTube, hit the subscribe button and the bell, and then the gods of YouTube will tell you when a new episode is released. Brought to you by www.arobasecreative.co.uk.