Keith Gooden
Welcome to the Motorhome Matt podcast brought to you with www.thatleisureshop.com. I’m Keith Gooden, and here is our expert of experts. The man the show is named after. It’s Matt Sims.
Matt Sims
Here I am!
Keith Gooden
Fantastic! In the next couple of episodes, this one and the next one, we’re going to be looking at new products and some of the people we talked to at the big NEC show.
Matt Sims
We did! What a great week it was.
Keith Gooden
It was fantastic. Over 40 interviews, I understand.
Matt Sims
Yes, we did. We were busy.
Keith Gooden
Absolutely fantastic as I’ve said before, and brought to you of course with our friends at Avtex, Cabbunk, our friends at Creative Funding Solutions, and sponsored also by Maypole, Towal, the Ethicurean Restaurant and Van Love Fest.
Matt Sims
Brilliant. Thank you all ever so much. It was great to have you on board. Great to have your branding presence with us in the atrium. Did you see it? Did you see the big banner?
Keith Gooden
I saw the big banner. I’m a fan of the banner.
Matt Sims
It was a great week. And thank you again to all our sponsors. We couldn’t have done it without you. And we’re going to do it all again next year. We asked everyone at the show, Keith, what their highlight was. What was yours?
Keith Gooden
My highlight was watching you climbing into the big HYMER campervan and you disappearing. Other people see the front of you. I, however, see a completely different side.
Matt Sims
Nice.
Keith Gooden
Two eggs in a hankie!
Matt Sims
I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Keith Gooden
I did, and what a great motorhome that was as well. We’ll be talking more about that.
Matt Sims
We will, the Venture S. It was certainly a highlight of the show for some – not for everyone, I have to say. Not for me.
Keith Gooden
Shock horror!
Matt Sims
We’ll come back to it, shall we? With your branding in the atrium, did you see the poster in the banner in the atrium?
Keith Gooden
Did I see it? How could I miss it? It was huge.
Matt Sims
It was massive, wasn’t it? We’ve booked it again for next year.
Keith Gooden
Really – the same one? Are you having it reprinted?
Matt Sims
No, a new banner.
Keith Gooden
A new one? Where’s the old one, then?
Matt Sims
I don’t know. I was offered it!
Keith Gooden
Did you not take it?
Matt Sims
I was offered it. The NEC said, ‘Do you want the banner?’
Keith Gooden
And you said…
Matt Sims
Well, it took me a weekend to think about it. I thought, ‘What are we going to do with it?’ Obviously we can’t use it next year because it had the stand number on. That might change. The sponsor logos were on there. We’re hoping that we will have some more for next year as well.
Keith Gooden
I mean, I had a call from O2 offering to buy it. They want to use it as an alternative venue, it was so big.
Get a free weekend in a motorhome with Motorhome Holiday Company
Keith Gooden
So what’s been happening with your business, the Motorhome Holiday Company? You’ve got some news for us, haven’t you?
Matt Sims
Yes, we have an early bird offer. It’s brilliant, this. So the team and I came up with the idea that if you book now for next year and pay when you book, which gets you nailed on, as it were, then we’ll give you a free weekend away. So there are some terms and conditions, but really simple ones. We need you to book for a week next year, in any of our motorhomes for hire, and you can have a weekend away before it, after it or immediately before it to make your week 10 days. We know how important that week away is.
And for many people that hire from us, they’ve never done it before. And so we thought a weekend away would mean people can get familiar with what to pack, how to use a motorhome, and so on and then when it comes to that big week away, that big holiday, which is so important, everything’s going to be familiar. It will be a familiar environment and you’ll be able to head off on that holiday feeling and believing you know what you’re doing. So the free weekend offer has been really, really successful. We’ve only got a limited number to give away.
As we record this, I think we’ve got seven or eight left. So if you’re interested in booking a week’s motorhome holiday next year, then now is the time to do it. You can go to www.motorhomeholidaycompany.com, and you can reserve your dates. And then when you talk to the team to actually make a payment, they will confirm that you have a weekend away.
You don’t need to book the weekend at the same time as booking your main week. You can leave that until next year when you have a plan. I’ll tell you what’s been really interesting – the way people have used this offer. We’ve been a bit taken aback. People have said, ‘Can we take the weekend away at the same time so our friends can come?’ That’s a nice idea, isn’t it?
Keith Gooden
It’s a lovely idea.
Matt Sims
Some people have said, ‘Can we have it as a voucher? We want to use it as a Christmas present.’
Keith Gooden
Good idea.
Matt Sims
That’s a cracking idea. We’ve done a few of those. And other people have said, ‘Can we extend it and make our week a 10 day holiday?’ Whereas others have booked a weekend away in the spring, maybe in the motorhome they’re actually going to go in or in something else. They want to try different layouts, and this is a great way of doing that.
So it’s been a fabulous offer. I’ve agreed that we will extend it a bit further, a bit longer, and we’ll give away some more. The team is a fantastic team with lots of awards and some super, super Google reviews. Go and check it out – www.motorhomeholidaycompany.com. And if you’re thinking of a motorhome holiday on hire for next year, then this could be the answer.
Keith Gooden
Okay, so get in touch – www.motorhomeholidaycompany.com. That’s right, isn’t it?
Matt Sims
That’s the one.
The talk of The Motorhome and Caravan Show 2022: Delivery delays
Keith Gooden
Okay, then – let’s talk about something at the NEC. It kept on raising its ugly head. And when I talked to a lot of members of the public as well, and recorded things for the podcast, people, or some of them anyway, had come along, had already ordered a motorhome and were waiting and waiting and waiting because of the delivery issues.
But they just wanted to come along and be surrounded by the whole atmosphere of the pastime. Delays. That was the big theme, wasn’t it, of the show? It was a fantastic, shiny show. But getting your hands on some of these fabulous monsters isn’t the easiest thing, is it?
Matt Sims
No. There are still lots of supply chain issues. And to actually meet people and talk to them about their own experiences firsthand was really interesting. Lots of people, though, are incredibly positive about it. There were lots of people buying at the show, talking to dealerships and their representatives.
They had a really good show and a really good week. The feedback is always positive from the show, but genuinely, people were spending money and they were aware they might have to wait a year for that motorhome.
And I know since the show, people have come back and are looking and have bought secondhand. And some of those people have ordered new and are buying a secondhand one for a year or so and may sell it back to the dealer when their new one arrives.
Keith Gooden
Because they can sell it back, they’re hoping, for the same price or a little bit more than they bought it for.
Matt Sims
Well, possibly, yes. But there are buyback deals happening where dealers will supply a used motorhome for the period they’re waiting. It might be a year. And they agree on a price that they will buy it back for, subject to mileage and so on. That’s always been the case, but these deals are more common now. It’s interesting.
Keith Gooden
But people are buying there at the show. They were putting deposits down. And I think a lot of the dealers were very happy about that as the show came to an end, weren’t they? Because I don’t think they were expecting so much of that. But the news was all good, wasn’t it?
Matt Sims
Very encouraging indeed, yes. And I did make a point of speaking to lots of friends of mine off-mic and saying, ‘Actually, genuinely, how has it been for you?’ And all were very, very encouraged, very positive, all banging their head on the wall a little bit because getting new stock is difficult. But interestingly, all talking about used prices staying strong. And we will come back to that in a minute.
Keith Gooden
We will. So that’s just some of the news. The NEC – can’t wait for next year!
Matt Sims
No!
Matt Sims
Have I told you? So we have some news.
Keith Gooden
What’s the news?
Matt Sims
We’ve booked again for next year, but not just October! There’s a show in February – the Caravan, Camping and Motorhome show in February at the NEC. We’re going there as well, and we’ve got a stand.
Keith Gooden
Are you having a banner?
Matt Sims
No, it’s a different type of atrium. It’s in the older version of the NEC, so we haven’t got the ceiling height for a banner.
Keith Gooden
You could have wrapped yourself and posed like Caesar.
Matt Sims
We’ve got some other ideas, though. We’re talking to the organisers right now about how we’re going to get Motorhome Matt everywhere. So it’ll be interesting. Watch this space! More news is coming.
Keith Gooden
Or listen to this space. Okay, then. So if you were at the show, and you came up and said hello, it was great to see you, by the way. There were lots of people who listen to and watch the podcast, and it was absolutely fabulous to meet you. And thanks for all the positive feedback.
Usually – I mean, I’ve worked in radio stations and done all sorts in my time – you always get one or two who come up and say, ‘I think you’re rubbish.’ We didn’t get any of that. So either the people who think we’re rubbish didn’t come to the show, or maybe we’re not that rubbish!
Matt Sims
They might have stayed at home. No, thank you all ever so much. And for all those that asked for a selfie, I loved it. It was great.
Keith Gooden
Bless him. We did!
Outdoor Revolution’s new top-quality awning range
Keith Gooden
Right, then. Let’s get on with it. What have you been doing, then? You were at the show. We recorded loads of stuff – who did you meet?
Matt Sims
Well, I caught up with Outdoor Revolution. They have a huge range of products for outdoor living, camping, caravanning, motorhoming, cooking outdoors, and I spoke to Craig Holmes. We got to sit in a rather lovely air-inflated awning!
Craig Holmes
This is a brand new product for 2023, first launched here at the NEC this year. It’s the Esprit Pro 330, and it’s available in three different versions, the 330, the 390, and we even do a drive away version for the big motorhomes.
Matt Sims
So this is a caravan awning, is that right?
Craig Holmes
This particular one is a caravan awning, yes.
Matt Sims
And by driveway, you mean you can literally leave it standing, unhitch it from the motorhome and head off for the day.
Craig Holmes
That’s right. So our driveway version of this, yes, you can leave it freestanding and drive off for the day, come back and reattach it.
Matt Sims
And is it one of those awnings that there’s a prize if you can get it packed up and back in the bag?
Craig Holmes
Well, there’s no divorce if you can do that.
Matt Sims
Love it. So Craig, I’m asking all the exhibitors that we talked to what their highlight of being back at the show is. What’s yours?
Craig Holmes
Being back at the show – I think seeing our retailers and seeing our customers again, inviting them back and showing the new products. You know, it is exciting, and it’s great to catch up with everyone again.
Matt Sims
That was the lovely Craig. A brilliant new product, that awning. It’s really good. So yes, go and check out Outdoor Revolution if you’re looking for an awning for your caravan, campervan or motorhome. Some of their new products are superb.
Moving Intelligence’s new top-of-the-range trackers
Matt Sims
There were lots of new products at the show, and this is all about new products. And we caught up with Paul Cooper from Moving Intelligence, formerly known as Phantom Trackers. And they have launched a new security device designed not just for motorhomes and caravans, but for trailer tents as well.
Paul Cooper
One of the products I’ve got is the Mi01, which we are launching at the show. The key feature of this product is the fact that it’s battery operated, and that it is still factory approved. It’s got a 94% recovery rate, so we’re very, very confident on the product. Even though it’s new to the UK market, it’s tried and tested in the Netherlands for the last four years.
Keith Gooden
So that was Paul Cooper. What did he call it? The Mi01.. 592/…
Matt Sims
A bit like James Bond! The Mi01… It is very good. Very, very good indeed. Go and check it out. We’re going to sell them in the shop. So yes, keep an eye on www.thatleisureshop.com if you’re interested in the tracker!
Keith Gooden
You got around the show and you interviewed an awful lot of people, didn’t you? I mean, you were there in your blue shirt being followed around by your troupe of orange shirted wombles…
Matt Sims
You included!
Keith Gooden
Me included.
Matt Sims
That did certainly get a lot of attention, yes, the crew. Of course, we had Jordan on camera, Eric on the mic, Nicola and Maddie as well running around organising us and everyone else. So we were a proper little posse. It was good. And then we had Jude, Mrs. Motorhome Matt, on the stand.
Keith Gooden
It was excellent. Fantastic. And I must say that I actually equaled the world record for racing a caravan and car around the Scalextric track.
Matt Sims
You did!
Keith Gooden
I did!
Matt Sims
Joint first.
Keith Gooden
I was, but I didn’t get any prize. That was given to a member of the public, and rightly so. Okay, then.
The star of the show: the HYMER Venture S
Keith Gooden
So you were around, you were doing loads of interviews, and the one that was causing the big stir, all the attraction was that new HYMER vehicle. Why was it causing such a stir?
Matt Sims
Well, it’s called a Venture S, and it’s constructed rather differently to any other motorhome. It’s an all wheel drive vehicle, so four wheel drive, and, ‘Adventure vehicle,’ has become the term. It’s a new buzzword, really. And lots and lots of motorhomes are being built to go off road. Is it a bit like Land Rovers doing the school run? You know, the closest to off road they go is the pavement, maybe? I don’t know.
Keith Gooden
But this had a huge balloon on the top.
Matt Sims
Well, this was the big feature of it. So its pop top up roof, rather than pushed up, was blown up. So it inflated-,
Keith Gooden
Not exploded, incidentally.
Matt Sims
No, it inflated. It was incredibly warm and built of bamboo. And well, you’ll love this. It was built by the audio cassette company BASF, or in conjunction with BASF?
Keith Gooden
B-A-S-F?
Matt Sims
They’re famous for tapes, aren’t they?
Keith Gooden
They were!
Matt Sims
If you’re listening to this and you’re of a certain age, you’ll know what we’re talking about…
Keith Gooden
Half the population doesn’t know what the hell we’re talking about!
Matt Sims
Reach for the pencil…
Keith Gooden
Remember when we used to record things on tape?
Matt Sims
Remember that? Reel to reel – blimey. Well, I caught up with HYMER’s export manager, Andrea, and I started by asking her the price.
Andrea Kibler
230,000.
Matt Sims
Euros?
Andrea Kibler
Pounds.
Matt Sims
So £230,000.
Andrea Kibler
It’s a really high equipment vehicle. So a lot of it is already standard. It has almost no optional extras. So it’s really a small optional extra list. We’re using a lot of special materials in it, a lot of natural material like bamboo and so on. And that’s what makes the vehicle so special.
Matt Sims
So this has been a collaboration, hasn’t it, between HYMER, Mercedes and the chemical company BASF.
Andrea Kibler
Yes, that’s correct.
Matt Sims
Yes. So what was BASF’s input into this?
Andrea Kibler
BASF is involved in the materials for the cover, on the panels and a lot of our inside vehicle material.
Matt Sims
And it’s all terrain?
Andrea Kibler
It’s all terrain, it’s four wheel drive and it has a lot of outdoor equipment.
Matt Sims
And how heavy is it?
Andrea Kibler
4.1.
Matt Sims
You remembered! So it’s 4.1 tonnes, £230,000 – and what’s the availability?
Andrea Kibler
We are now looking at summer 2024.
Keith Gooden
Did she just say summer 2024?
Matt Sims
She did, yes.
Keith Gooden
£230,000 and you won’t see it until summer 2024. And they might have put their prices up by then.
Matt Sims
Well, I don’t know actually if that was a frozen price. Maybe it was held. It’s been a few years in the design, and it first featured at a huge motorhome and caravan show in Düsseldorf as an idea. I think this was back in 2017, and HYMER kept going with it and there it is – real. It was launched this year, again in Germany, back in August and it was at the show. They apparently sold some.
Keith Gooden
It was a lovely machine, I must admit, even for somebody like me.
Matt Sims
It was very eye-catching.
Keith Gooden
Yes, I’m not used to motorhomes and it is very eye-catching, and the inflatable bedroom on the top – that was a great idea.
Matt Sims
There’s a real staircase inside with solid steps. That was novel. And it has a sort of deck on the back.
Keith Gooden
She demonstrated actually doing yoga on the back.
Matt Sims
I had a go! It didn’t go well.
Keith Gooden
That back flap is something I’d just step off, and there’d be a splash in the night.
Matt Sims
That’s going to get all the wrong attention on a campsite.
Keith Gooden
And because they got BASF’s, the people used to make the cassette tapes, involvement, you started by getting a biro and just twiddling just a little bit.
Matt Sims
Apparently, they made the sides. I did ask Andrea off mic why. I mean, all the people I know who have got HYMERS – this is generalising a little, I have to say – but most of the folk I know that have got HYMERS are my parents’ age. And they’re that very traditional bus-like vehicle or very traditional motorhome, and they are very traditional people. I challenged and said, ‘This is not true to a HYMER customer.’ And Andrea got quite passionate. And I wish I had the mic on.
But yes, apparently on the continent, they’re flying. So people are loving it. And HYMER customers are great outdoors off road adventurers, and need a four wheel drive motorhome made of bamboo and audio cassettes.
Keith Gooden
Well, it did look fantastic. And it was attracting huge amounts of attention. It’s got some awards already. Good luck to them. And if you’ve got the £230,000 to buy one, even better luck to you.
Matt Sims
It did feel a bit like a brand flex. Am I allowed to say that?
Keith Gooden
What’s a brand flex?
Matt Sims
Well, I love HYMER, but it’s when a brand just does it because they can. Do you know what I mean? HYMER is one of the biggest and probably one of the wealthiest motorhome companies. I mean, they own loads of brands of motorhomes and they own most of the market. And for them to go off on almost, dare I say, a vanity project…
Keith Gooden
Well, I mean, you say that, but motorhome design tends to be fairly traditional, doesn’t it?
Matt Sims
Very.
Keith Gooden
And they’re breaking that mould. And isn’t that a good thing?
Matt Sims
Absolutely, yes. And it’s no surprise that HYMER would do it. Though I say that, it’s not a surprise that HYMER would do it, but I feel like this product was a bit of a surprise. It feels to me like they’re not going to sell very many – not in the UK.
Keith Gooden
So if HYMER offered you one for a couple of weekends, you’d say no?
Matt Sims
No, of course I’d say yes!
Matt’s top product at the show: GasStop
Keith Gooden
So we went from HYMER and ultimate glamour, yoga on the back flap and-,
Matt Sims
We went to see GasStop.
Keith Gooden
GasStop?
Matt Sims
The HYMER had all the attention at the show. You say to people, ‘What was the best vehicle at the show-,’ there was a Bürstner with an inflatable roof that was lovely as well. We didn’t get to talk to anyone there. But the HYMER certainly got lots of attention.
But the thing for me, and this is my nerdy tendency, was a little valve called GasStop. It’s brilliant. Absolutely genius. And I got to catch up with Matt Howard. He’s a director of GasStop. I think it is an essential bit of safety equipment, and if you’ve got a motorhome or caravan, you need to hear this. Here’s a snippet from our interview with GasStop.
So we’re all familiar with the phrase safety first. That’s certainly the case here. I’m in Hall 12 with GasStop. Now, if you’ve got a motorhome or caravan, there’s a really important product that I think you need to be aware of. This is a really crucial safety device that’s relatively new to the UK, but fairly long established in Europe. Now, I’m going to talk to Matt. Here he is.
Matt Howard
Hi there.
Matt Sims
How are you doing?
Matt Howard
Good, thank you. Thank you very much for having me today.
Matt Sims
You’re very welcome. Thanks for talking to us. So GasStop is a valve – I’m going to be crude here – that screws into your bottle.
Matt Howard
That’s correct, yes.
Matt Sims
And in the event of a gas leak it shuts down.
Matt Howard
Exactly right. Yes, you’ve got it.
Matt Sims
But it doesn’t just shut down the side between the regulator and the bottle. It actually shuts down the entire system. Is that right?
Matt Howard
That’s entirely correct, yes. The entirety of your propane system in your caravan or motorhome.
Matt Sims
Now, that sounds really important to me. You’ve got a bottle here that you’ve reassured me is not full of gas.
Matt Howard
Nope, not at the moment!
Matt Sims
It is full of compressed air.
Matt Howard
Exactly right, yes. I’ll give you guys a demo if you’d like, and hopefully clarify a few things about what GasStop actually does.
Matt Sims
Go on, tell us.
Matt Howard
So this is the GasStop here. It goes directly into your gas cylinder and everything else downstream. Your regulator and your hose stays exactly as is, basically. The gas, or in this case the pressurised air, goes on and you press down.
Matt Sims
Okay, so this is a reset to open it?
Matt Howard
Absolutely. What you’re effectively doing, if you look behind me, there’s a bearing in the centre of this product, and what you’re doing there is you’re actually equalising it. So it’s hovering in the middle of the product there.
What I’m going to do is I’m actually going to simulate a major leak by releasing my thumb from this hose. And when that happens, it basically disrupts the ball bearing and puts it into the off position, like so. So in essence, if you have a major leak downstream from the GasStop, it shuts off the supply of your propane.
Matt Sims
That’s incredible. And that was immediate, as well. Just do it again for us.
Matt Howard
Yes, absolutely. So five or six pumps on the gauge, like so. And again, I’m going to release it now. And off she goes, straightaway.
Matt Sims
And that’s cut off the entire gas system, and no more gas can escape – and the bottle is still open.
Matt Howard
That’s correct. Yes, exactly right.
Keith Gooden
That’s incredible, Matt.
Matt Sims
I can see you’re enthralled by that! I think it’s genius.
Keith Gooden
Fantastic.
Matt Sims
It’s hard on a podcast if you’re listening, but it’s a tiny little valve with a tap on the top, a round tap with a gauge in it. And you just lift and drop the tap. You pump this thing up and down like a little plunger. It resets the valve. The traditional devices will stop the gas from leaking from the bottle, but they don’t stop the gas leaking from the van. If you have a pinhole leak anywhere in the van, it would cut the gas off straight away. It’s really good.
It’s very clever, and it’s also a bit of a level gauge of sorts, because measuring LPG and the gas bottle is really, really difficult. In fact, it’s impossible to be accurate. But this does give a pressure illustration of how much gas is in the bottle. It’s very, very hard to do.
It’s one of the most popular questions we get at the till – ‘Can I buy a level gauge for my LPG bottle?’ No, you can’t. But this does give you an idea based on pressure. We’re going to actually cover the whole interview with GasStop, because Matt goes on to explain quite a lot more about it. And we’ll do that in a future episode. And we will be stocking them at www.thatleisureshop.com.
Honestly, if you’ve got any kind of leisure vehicle with a gas bottle on it – it could be an exhibition trailer and you’ve got a fridge in there or something – you definitely should have one of these on it. I actually think manufacturers should be fitting these from the factory. They are really, really clever and very innovative and not expensive.
Keith Gooden
So another fantastic invention. As you heard, you’re going to hear more about it right here on the podcast. Being serious now, it’s a proper safety thing and so we will do more on it. We will be doing more on new products, won’t we, in the coming weeks.
Matt Sims
Yes, next week we’ve got more interviews. We actually did over 40 interviews at the show. It was fantastic. So a lot of them will go on YouTube. You can go and find Motorhome Matt on YouTube and watch them there. But some of them will feature in the podcast. So again next week, we’re going to pick some of our favourites from the pile that we’ve got. So stay tuned.
Tony: ‘How do the police or the DVLA know your unladen weight?’
Keith Gooden
Okay, then. Let’s talk about some of the questions that you’ve been asking us here at the Motorhome Matt podcast. I’ve got a pile of questions here, Matt. Are you ready? Is your expertise primed and ready to go?
Matt Sims
Poised and ready!
Keith Gooden
Fantastic. Tony has asked a question of us here at the podcast. He says, ‘I find the weights really confusing, specifically the unladen weight determining your speed limit. How do the police or the DVLA know your unladen weight? Is there an online database?’
Matt Sims
That’s a very good question. Do you know what? I don’t think there is. I mean, obviously the DVLA knows your unladen weight if you’ve told them or the dealer told them when it was first registered. But I’m not sure that that information is easily available to the police. I think they are more interested in the gross weight and how much the vehicle can carry and how much you weigh. And if you look overweight, then they’ll take you off to be weighed.
And it probably won’t be the police that do that. It’s more like to be VOSA – one of those motorway patrol guys or girls – and they will take you off to a weighbridge and weigh you, and they will be able to tell your gross weight by the plate under the bonnet. And then they’ll compare that with how much you actually weigh.
So that’s really the more important thing, but when you own a motorhome, we know it’s important to understand what your unladen weight is so you know how much you can carry. I don’t think there is a database.
Keith Gooden
Okay, Tony, there’s no database. But of course if you know different, let us know.
Rick: ‘Can I up plate my Swift Bessacarr 560?’
Keith Gooden
Rick Morris says he has a question he’s hoping you can help him with. He’s just bought a 2018 Swift Bessacarr 560.
Matt Sims
Lovely.
Keith Gooden
It’s got a payload maximum weight of 3,500 kilograms with a payload of 383 kilograms. He says, ‘Would I be able to up plate to 3,850 kilograms?’ What is up plating?
Matt Sims
We have so many questions about weight, don’t we? Honestly…
Keith Gooden
You’re being personal now, aren’t you? We’ve been having some sausage rolls while recording this…
Matt Sims
Shh! I’m meant to be on a diet. Up plating is raising the gross weight of the vehicle, so how much you can weigh when you’re driving down the road. And to do that, you might need to change the suspension to fit air suspension and possibly change the tyres. You might have to change the brakes.
There are all sorts of things that you might have to change to do it. But there’s a fundamental criterion that would determine whether or not you can and that’s the actual chassis itself. And the only way to determine that is to get the VIN number. So that’s the number that’s printed usually on the windscreen where the tax disc used to go. So if it’s a Fiat Ducato, it starts ZFA.
Give that number to a company like SvTech and speak to the guys there, to Gareth and the team, and they will be able to tell you what you need to do and what weight that vehicle can go to. Citroen, Peugeot and Renault make this really easy with the VIN number. Fiat, less so – so they might have some questions of the vehicle in order to help you determine what weight it can go to.
So I’m presuming that this Swift that Rick’s got is on a Fiat Ducato. So I would suggest, Rick, give SvTech a call – www.svtech.co.uk. There are other specialists as well, but I know the guys at SvTech and they’re very good. And they will be able to help you and advise you and steer you in the right direction.
Keith: ‘Will motorhome prices come down?’
Keith Gooden
Keith – another Keith, not me – has asked a general question. He says, ‘Do you see the higher prices lowering soon along with,’ he says, ‘The collapse of the housing market?’ I think that’s a bit of wishful thinking. The housing market hasn’t collapsed. ‘I only ask because I have money ready, but I hear conflicting stories about the market in the short term.’
Matt Sims
Interest rates went up today. Did you hear that?
Keith Gooden
Yes, they did, to 3%.
Matt Sims
What’s that going to do to the housing market, then?
Keith Gooden
Well, I mean, the thing with the housing market is that people have been buying mortgages with low interest rates and factoring in their payments based on low interest rates. So if somebody is buying at the top of the market, which is where we are now-,
Matt Sims
Hopefully!
Keith Gooden
– at high prices, then they’ve been borrowing more than they would have borrowed, say, five years ago at a lower interest rate. So any increase in interest rates is going to hit them hard with actual pounds, shillings and pence payments, so they could be paying £500 or £1,000 more for the same mortgage.
So, you know, that’s where we are. But surely when people were shopping around for their mortgages, maybe they should have gone for a house which wasn’t the top of the market, wasn’t as much as they could possibly afford and factored in any change in circumstances, after all, which for most people is a 25 year contract.
Matt Sims
Yes. It’s the same with motorhomes, though. It’s just human nature, isn’t it? But that doesn’t mean that Keith’s right, though? Isn’t the housing market going to collapse?
Keith Gooden
Well, I don’t know. Let’s come back in a year’s time, and if it has, you can say, ‘I told you so.’ But Keith and you clearly have got a view. I don’t think it’s going to collapse at all. No, it’s not going to collapse.
Matt Sims
It’s one to watch,
Keith Gooden
It might go down by 10% or even 20%, but it’s not going to collapse.
Matt Sims
We’re a property podcast all of a sudden!
Keith Gooden
We are, yes!
Matt Sims
Different types of homes – let’s keep with motorhomes. So will the prices lower? Honestly, Keith, no.
Keith Gooden
We’re not talking about houses, we’re talking about motorhomes. He’s basically saying, ‘Are the prices going to come down?’
Matt Sims
I don’t think so. I genuinely don’t think so. We had an interesting chat with Wandering Bird and Darran from Urban Motorhome, and they both thought that they would because people were going to be struggling for money and the motorhome on the drive was going to be the first thing to go. And they were of the view that they would just cash it in for whatever they could get for it. And that’s paraphrasing the whole conversation a bit. And I disagreed and said, ‘I don’t think that means the market’s going to drop.’
I think there’s always a bit of a seasonal trend now. So we’re recording this in November 2022, and there’s always a little bit of a feel that prices are coming down in the winter. Demand, particularly for family motorhomes in my experience, is slower at this time of year. But I don’t think it’s going to crash – not in the way that Keith feels the housing property market is going to. Prices will stay strong.
Demand is still strong. We saw that last week. We know that’s true. It’s not as crazy as it was in 2020, that’s for sure. But people still are waiting and want to order new motorhomes and can’t get them as quick as they’d like. So that pushes them to the used market, which of course just props the prices up.
And remember, of course, if you take a dealer, they’ve paid, say, £30,000 for that motorhome which perhaps was £25,000 three years ago. And they’ve paid £30,000, so why are they going to sell it for £25,000? They’re not! They’re a business. You know, their charity number hasn’t come through yet, so they are going to sell it for £30,000 plus a margin. That’s going to be the case, and they’re probably going to be sat on that motorhome – or they might be – until next year. So the prices are going to stay strong.
As a dealer, we’re very used to buying motorhomes now at the end of the season and we know that we could well sit on them for six months. We keep on top of the prices and we bear in mind that six months is going to pass but prices can’t drop because I can’t afford them to. So they don’t.
Keith Gooden
Yes, you have to understand, Keith, when it comes to the price of anything, it’s supply and demand which is the key. If there’s demand there, the prices will go up or will be strong. If there’s no demand, then prices will go down.
And you’re talking about the housing market – there’s a demand for houses because there are not enough being built. So I don’t think they’re going to probably go down as much as you think. According to Matt, motorhomes aren’t going to be changing in price anytime soon.
Matt Sims
I think they’re going to go up. I think they will go up, only because new is thin in supply and the demand is strong. Yes, we’ll see more motorhomes coming on the market because there’ll be people who say, ‘Well, we can’t afford to keep this running as well as the house.’ So there’ll be a wider choice, but I think prices will go up.
Keith Gooden
There you go. Thanks for the question, Keith.
Jane: ‘We’ve bought a motorhome with damp. What are our rights?’
Jane
Hi, Matt. We recently bought a motorhome which we found had damp in it. The people we bought it off said they would repair it, but now they’re saying they can’t get the parts to repair it. What are our rights with this? Can you help us, please?
Keith Gooden
So Jane has got a motorhome recently purchased. It’s got damp in it. They said they’d repair it, but now they say they can’t get the parts. She wants to know where she stands.
Matt Sims
Yes. So I had lots of questions for Jane. I actually did go back to her and qualify some of this. So, ‘They,’ were a dealer. That was the first question – ‘Who were they?’ Obviously if she’d bought it privately, then the whole buyer beware scenario would play out, and she really has limited rights. She bought it from a dealer. She didn’t have any finance on it. So if she’d had finance on it, then she could have some recourse with the finance company. They could insist that the finance is recouped back from the dealer, and she could return it. So she didn’t take any finance.
She also, as far as I understood, didn’t use a credit card to pay for it. So she had no protection there. So really, this is, Jane, between you and the dealer to work together to find a solution. Communication is going to be absolutely key. What I didn’t get to ask Jane, because it was only a quick email exchange, was whether the vehicle is still fit for purpose. And that’s a phrase that gets massively overused. You know, ‘It’s not fit for purpose!’ Well, how was your holiday in Scotland? You know, you’ve just used it for three weeks – how can it not be fit for purpose?
Is Jane still using it? So that’s an option, that you could claim it’s not fit for purpose, and therefore on those grounds it could be returned. But Jane, if you’re using it, then obviously it is fit for purpose. It just has some damp in it.
Keith Gooden
But the thing is the Sale of Goods Act – you know, I’m not a barrack-room lawyer – but the Sale of Goods Act does offer protection, doesn’t it, for consumers for smaller items. They have to be of merchantable quality. So is a motorhome with a bit of damp of merchantable quality if they haven’t raised that issue before she handed the money over?
Matt Sims
Yes, that’s it. And, you know, there may have to be some professional intervention to establish that. The issue that Jane’s now facing is that the dealer is saying they can’t get the parts to fix it. Now, I can quite believe that. That’s not uncommon. And sometimes you have vehicles that are ten years old and the parts are no longer available.
But there are companies that will make copied parts. We had a window in an auto sleeper motorhome that we’d sold and it cracked and it let water in. And it was an older vehicle. It was only 15 years old though.
And I think we managed to get the last window from Auto-Sleeper – who were fantastic with their after sales, I have to say. Good shout out to them, so thank you – there is also a company that would make a copy if we couldn’t get that window.
So I would say, Jane, it may be worth taking it to a repair specialist and seeing what they say and then present that to the dealer and see if you can create a three way communication where the dealer is helping you get it repaired where they pay for it and you might have to just orchestrate the repair. But my view is always where there’s a will, there’s always a way.
Keith Gooden
Okay, Jane. Well, thanks very much and I hope you get that resolved very soon.
Get in touch about your caravan and motorhome queries
Keith Gooden
Well, that’s about it for this episode of the Motorhome Matt podcast, brought to you with www.thatleisureshop.com. Anything you want to add?
Matt Sims
Well, if you’ve got a question that you want to ask us, you can just go to www.motorhomematt.co.uk/askmatt. We love getting your questions. We do endeavour to answer them all, often in the podcast, and if we don’t, then I’ll come back to you on email or give you a call and have a chat about it.
And whilst you’re on the website, www.motorhomematt.co.uk, you can find all the places that you can listen to this podcast. And if you are listening on Apple podcasts, please leave us a review! We love getting them. It really helps the algorithm and helps spread the word that the podcast exists. A five star review is always very welcome.
Keith Gooden
I’d just like you to have a quick look at my algorithm, if you would
Matt Sims
I’m not looking at your algorithm.
