Keith Gooden
It’s a very special Motorhome Matt podcast today because we are live from the NEC in Birmingham at the Motorhome and Caravan Show 2022.
Matt Sims
You said it all! Well done.
Keith Gooden
I finally remembered it.
Matt Sims
You remembered where you are.
Keith Gooden
Are you going to swallow that microphone?
Matt Sims
I’m going to try.
Keith Gooden
And we are live. I don’t mean pre-recorded live. I mean live live. We’re here and everybody can see us like a great big goldfish bowl.
Matt Sims
We are real. This has been a technical challenge. We’re live on Facebook, apparently!
Keith Gooden
You could say that. I’m Keith Gooden. This is Motorhome Matt.
Matt Sims
Good afternoon. It is the end of a busy day.
Keith Gooden
What the devil have you been up to today?
Matt Sims
Well, I reckon we’ve walked 100 miles. We’ve been like The Proclaimers, you and me.
Keith Gooden
They walked 500. That’s 400 more to go!
Matt Sims
Yes. Oh, don’t tell me that. Over the next few days, that might well be achieved. It’s been great – lots of interviews, hundreds of customers. I don’t know how many interviews we’ve done today. 20 plus, probably.
Keith Gooden
At least 20 plus.
Matt Sims
5 Strepsils.
Keith Gooden
Poor old Terry Wogan, God rest his soul, would be very proud.
Matt Sims
He would. Terry Wogan!
Keith Gooden
Did he have a caravan?
Matt Sims
I don’t think he did. No. Toyah Willcox was here today, though.
Keith Gooden
Was she?
Matt Sims
Yes. Box of frogs mad, she is.
Keith Gooden
She’s married to that guy from King Crimson, isn’t she?
Matt Sims
She is, yes. He’s a great guitarist.
Keith Gooden
Between the two of them they’ve done rather well for themselves.
Matt Sims
They have. Yes, she was sharing all her caravanning history as a kid and an adult. It was good to see her.
Keith Gooden
It’s a mystery. Okay, then. So what have you been up to today?
Matt Sims
Well, talking to lots of consumers at the show. Lots of visitors, lots of exhibitors. It’s been great catching up with old friends and new. We’ve been talking toilet chemical for half an hour with Ian from Qualkem.
Keith Gooden
Yes, I was to the left of that particular conversation. 30 minutes of toilet chemical.
Matt Sims
Yes, you’d love it, Keith. You’d love it. There’s loads of future content planned and recorded. We’ve got loads to do and to edit. But it’s really good. Lots of exciting stuff coming.
Keith Gooden
Alright. So we’re standing here, we’re live – what’s happening right now?
Matt Sims
We are hopefully-, I saw Darran just now. Come on over.
Full-time motorhoming with Darran, The Urban Motorhome
Matt Sims
Darran’s here. Do you know Darran?
Keith Gooden
I don’t know Darran. Hello, Darran.
Matt Sims
Do you want a mic and a pair of headphones? This is Darran from The Urban Motorhome. How are you doing, kiddo?
Darran
I’m good. How are you guys?
Matt Sims
We’re good. How’s your new motorhome?
Darran
Ah, if I had a pound coin for every time I’ve been asked that, I’d be buying it right now. I would be buying a brand new one.
Matt Sims
You’re just milking YouTube for clicks and views.
Darran
Yes, I’m doing the clickbait thing. Instead of the bikini shot, I’m getting a new motorhome.
Matt Sims
The bikini shot?!
Darran
The typical van life shot.
Matt Sims
I was about to say I’d love to see you in the bikini, but I’m not sure I would.
Darran
Well, that could be arranged.
Keith Gooden
For people who don’t know you, explain what you do.
Darran
So I’m Darran The Urban Motorhome. I’ve been living in a Swift Sundance 590 RL for almost six years now. I do campsites here and there but predominantly I just park up as and where I can find park ups.
Matt Sims
A prolific wild camper, aren’t you?
Darran
Yes, politely, legally.
Matt Sims
Respectful.
Darran
Yes, and I don’t stay too long. And then I just go back to work.
Matt Sims
YouTube famous, he is. So you actually work as well then?
Darran
Yes, I’m a lorry driver.
Matt Sims
Oh, I didn’t know.
Darran
I drive double decker lorries.
Matt Sims
Wow, cool.
Darran
These are Tonka Toys compared to the lorries.
Keith Gooden
So let me get this straight then. So for pleasure you drive slowly down the motorway in a motorhome, and then for work you drive slowly down the motorway in a lorry?
Darran
Yes. I love it when I’m in a traffic jam and I’m at work because I see pound coins. But when I’m on the way somewhere like and I’ve got the day off and I see a traffic jam I’m like, ‘I’m not getting paid for this.’ It’s not the same.
Matt Sims
So you make quite a good living out of lorry driving, obviously.
Darran
Yes, we’ve had a good year this year because there have been shortages. So yes, we’ve had a pay rise this year, which is pretty good. I do a lot of hours.
Matt Sims
You’ve managed to monetize the motorhome life as well because you’re full time in a motorhome.
Darran
Yes.
Matt Sims
You’re a nomad.
Darran
Yes, full time for five and a half years. So I think in April or May it will be six years.
Matt Sims
How many followers have you got on YouTube now?
Darran
We’re coming up to about 40,000.
Matt Sims
Really good.
Darran
I love it.
Matt Sims
You love it. You live the dream, don’t you?
Darran
I’m living the dream.
Matt Sims
You are absolutely living the dream wherever you park up.
Kat Bird from Wandering Bird Adventures
Matt Sims
Oh, my goodness!
Kat Bird
What is going on?
Keith Gooden
Who the hell is this?
Matt Sims
I could hear her coming from 10 miles away.
Darran
I thought she was still in Scotland!
Kat Bird
I am. You can just hear my voice.
Matt Sims
They can still hear her from here. Kat, how are you?
Kat Bird
I’m very well, thank you.
Matt Sims
Good. How’s your day been?
Kat Bird
It’s been alright! I’ve been on two talks on stage.
Matt Sims
Stop shouting. Calm down! It’s okay.
Kat Bird
It’s the adrenaline. I’ve done a bit of wandering around, but not as much as I’d like.
Matt Sims
Wandering around!
Darran
Wandering!
Matt Sims
For those that don’t know, Kat goes by the name, ‘Wandering Bird,’ which is very clever because that’s actually her last name. I didn’t actually know that until very recently. And so tell us what you do then, other than shout a lot.
Kat Bird
I shout a lot, I laugh a lot. Yes. So I quit my job. I used to be an air traffic controller. I quit that about four and a bit years ago. And now I travel full time in the motorhome and go around the UK and Europe. I share it on our website and do a bit of YouTube.
Matt Sims
And you live in a boat some of the time as well.
Kat Bird
I do still have a boat, yes. But lately, I have been spending my time in the van. But yes, we’ve still got the boat. Yes, I’ve lived on a boat for 15 years.
Matt Sims
Have you? No bricks and mortar?
Kat Bird
No bricks and mortar.
Matt Sims
You’ve done five years, haven’t you?
Darran
Yes, five years. You’re almost the odd one out here.
Kat Bird
Come on now. Why aren’t you living in a motorhome?
Matt Sims
I live in a big posh house.
Kat Bird
How many motorhomes have you got now?
Matt Sims
It’s a secret.
Kat Bird
It’s a lot.
Matt Sims
I haven’t got that many now.
Darran
We need to get you full timing.
Matt Sims
With four kids? Jude would. Jude’s somewhere backstage.
Darran
There’d be great videos. Think of the content. Think of the clicks.
Kat Bird
Do it for the gram, Matt.
Matt Sims
Four kids, no thanks.
Darran
Podcasting on the road.
Matt Sims
I travel around a bit. We do a fair few trips. We want to do Norway.
Darran
It looks amazing.
Kat Bird
You need to go.
Darran
I can’t wait to just get over there in the new van when I get it.
Matt Sims
When are you getting the new van?
Darran
Next year.
Matt Sims
Next year?
Darran
Yes. I don’t know. Everything is playing on top of itself at the moment because once I get the new van, I want to quit work. I will quit work full time.
Kat Bird
Should you have told them that?
Darran
They know.
Kat Bird
He’s committed to his job!
Keith Gooden
The thing about Norway is that they all drive fjords.
Kat Bird
You’ve been working on that, haven’t you?
Matt Sims
You’ve been sat there quietly thinking about that.
Darran
He’s here all week, people. He’s here all week.
Matt Sims
That’s BBC humour.
Keith Gooden
Like your show!
Motorhome stories from Matt, Kat and Darran
Matt Sims
Very good. I’ve had 19 motorhomes. We were talking about that earlier.
Darran
19?! Is that because you didn’t find the right layout?
Matt Sims
Initially, yes. I was an idiot. I should have hired one.
Kat Bird
A new one for each kid.
Matt Sims
I haven’t got 19 kids!
Darran
That’d be a big motorhome!
Kat Bird
How many years have you been motorhoming?
Darran
Oh, that’s a good question.
Kat Bird
Is that one a year?
Matt Sims
Yes, probably.
Kat Bird
Are you like Goldilocks? Are you done yet?
Darran
This one’s too big. This one’s too small. This one’s just right.
Kat Bird
So you must have gotten too big again at some point.
Matt Sims
We started with the bigger version of yours. Right. We actually started with an American RV.
Darran
And you know what, Tash started with a smaller version of mine.
Kat Bird
It’s all about you.
Darran
It’s all copies! You’ve had 19 and you’ve gone through all the different layouts.
Matt Sims
We started with American, so we actually borrowed a motorhome. I borrowed a motorhome called Phoebe. And we decided it was absolutely not the layout we wanted. And a year later, I bought it. And we had it for years and she died and rotted away.
Kat Bird
You bought one that you knew you didn’t want?
Matt Sims
Yes, we loved it. And then the American RV thing – I got the bug and ended up with one three slides and a corner bath.
Kat Bird
And did you tour that around the UK and Europe?
Matt Sims
Yes.
Kat Bird
How did you find that?
Matt Sims
Tight! I remember going down to Ladram Bay in a big American RV with a car on the back and this guy’s coming up the hill. And he wouldn’t budge! He said, ‘The Highway Code says I have right of way.’ I said, ‘Well, I know that. What you don’t appreciate is I’ve got a car behind me and to reverse I’ve got to take the car off and move the car back up.’
And he wouldn’t have it, so I just said, ‘Mate, you do what you want. I got a week’s worth of food and drink in there.’ So I got back in the RV, spun the driver’s seat. The kids said, ‘Dad what are you doing?’ I said, ‘I’m teaching him a lesson.’ And he did reverse.
Darran
Yes, it’s the same with the lorries. I take the keys out and say, ‘I’m paid by the hour. You do what you want, pal. I’m paid by the hour.’
Matt Sims
Then we decided, I suppose, to go a bit more European and a bit smaller. And we bought a bunk bed motorhome, which we thought was a good idea. I hated sleeping in the overcab bed.
Darran
That’s where I sleep all the time.
Matt Sims
Really?
Kat Bird
What, like a coffin?
Darran
Not like a coffin!
Matt Sims
So you leave your lounge?
Darran
Yes, I wanted the bed always made up. I always want a bed made up, but then I wanted as much living space as possible. If I’m going to live in it-,
Matt Sims
But you haven’t got a garage.
Darran
No, I know. It’s the perfect motorhome for here.
Kat Bird
Are you going to get a bunk again?
Darran
No, no. It’s going to be hot. That’s what I’m dealing with. In the summer here, I sleep on the sofa downstairs. I said that to my mum once and she said, ‘You’re a fool. You haven’t got a downstairs. You haven’t gone upstairs. You live in a van.’
Matt Sims
She’s right.
Darran
She’s right, but she didn’t have to be so brutal. That’s a given!
Matt Sims
So where do you keep all your stuff, then?
Darran
I’ve got no stuff.
Kat Bird
He has got an air fryer.
Darran
Yes, I have.
Matt Sims
Okay, I’ve seen your air fryer.
Darran
I’ve just whittled it down. I’ve got a little storage unit in my brother’s garden. Apart from that, I don’t have anything else. Everything I have is inside the motorhome.
Matt Sims
So you’ve stripped it right back.
Darran
When I first moved in, I had everything.
Matt Sims
You haven’t even got a shaver, have you?
Darran
No, I lost it.
Kat Bird
It’s in there somewhere.
Darran
This is how much you don’t make on YouTube. I can’t even afford to buy one. You just can’t afford it these days.
Matt Sims
So what layout are you going to buy?
Darran
I’m looking at an A class.
Matt Sims
So a fixed bed. Which one?
Darran
So fixed beds at the back, whether it’s a Twin or-, I want a massive garage and then I want a nice big lounge. And then the last real want is it has to be heavy – four and a half to five tonnes.
Kat Bird
To put all your non-stuff on?
Darran
Well, so then I can buy some stuff.
Kat Bird
You can’t afford stuff once you’ve bought that.
Matt Sims
You’re quitting your job, so how are you paying for it?
Darran
It’s not well thought out, all of this. I’m a fool!
Matt Sims
Can you imagine him in a VW?
Darran
God, do you know what – they’re loved by millions but I just do not like them. I do not like them.
Matt Sims
No, I’m not a fan. I love a coachbuilt.
Kat Bird
Could you live in one full time, do you think?
Matt Sims
Yes, definitely. Yes, I would. Yeah. I’d let the kids get older.
Kat Bird
Good parenting, that.
Darran
Let them get older?!
Matt Sims
They have my blessing. I don’t see my daughter! She’s 20 and at uni, and that’s it. She’s gone.
Kat Bird
It’s magic! They leave home and they’re gone.
Matt Sims
Where’s yours?
Kat Bird
Winchester.
Matt Sims
Okay. Mine’s down in Plymouth, so I have to go down and see her.
Kat Bird
Yes, that’s a trek.
Matt Sims
From us it’s not too bad.
Kat Bird
Just take the motorhome and live down there for a while.
Matt Sims
We could do. We’re going to go and visit her.
Kat Bird
Do you know what’s amazing about the motorhome? When they come back to visit, you can move!
Matt Sims
They want to borrow it.
Darran
Just change the locks! ‘Sorry, we’re out!’
Matt Sims
One of those stickers, ‘No cold calling.’
Darran
No junk mail.
Kat Bird
And definitely no family.
Matt Sims
What have you been doing the show then,
Darran
? Kat’s been busy speaking – shouting! What have you been up to?
Darran
I’ve just been running around, looking at bits and bobs, looking at some layouts. Meeting a lot of subscribers, to be fair. I’ve had lots of selfies.
Matt Sims
I had someone come to me and ask, ‘Where’s
Darran
?’ I said, ‘I don’t know, why?’ ‘I saw you talking to him earlier!’
Darran
I need an air tag on me to find me.
Kat Bird
And a big map!
Darran
I don’t stick out like a sore thumb at all.
Kat Bird
No. So you’ve not been putting a deposit down on anything.
Darran
No, I’m going to be buying secondhand. There is one here that I would buy new if I had the cash. I’d buy the Cathargo Chic C Line. That on the Mercedes chassis.
Matt Sims
Very nice. How much is that?
Darran
£135,000.
Matt Sims
You can afford that.
Darran
Can we start a GoFundMe?
Keith Gooden
He can’t even afford to wear trousers on the sofa.
Matt Sims
You’ve seen that YouTube video?
Keith Gooden
By the way, for anybody who’s listened to the last 10 minutes, my name is Keith Gooden! Just a few questions for you. So that’s what you’d buy here. Kat, anything that you’ve seen?
Kat Bird
I don’t think I’d ever buy it but the coolest thing I’ve seen, and I don’t even remember what brand it was, I was that overexcited was the one with the inflatable pop-, I’ve never seen anything. I don’t think I’d ever have it. There are so many flaws to that plan.
Darran
It’s got an actual staircase.
Kat Bird
And it’s got an inflatable thing.
Darran
It’s not just a staircase, it’s a little twisty staircase, isn’t it? Inside looks amazing. Outside, I don’t know.
Matt Sims
Have you seen the Hymer?
Kat Bird
Yes, it’s nice.
Keith Gooden
Hang on, I’ve just got a call coming in. Volkswagen on the phone…
Darran
It’s a freebie if I live in it! If I can stand it.
Kat Bird
You should contact them like, ‘I want to prove that I don’t like your van.’
The future of the new and used motorhome market
Keith Gooden
So anyway, we’ve been doing the podcast for a while now. And actually, there’s been a bit of doom and gloom around because of the financial situation, the difficulty, you know, when you’re getting the van through or getting the motorhome through. It seems there’s a lot more optimism to me as an outsider at this particular show. What are your feelings?
Kat Bird
I think the industry as a whole has got a backlog that it needs to fulfil. So I think that backlog will at least continue for the next 12 months just because they have to catch up. This is my personal opinion. I have no evidence whatsoever to back this up.
But I feel because things are getting a little bit tighter and people are penny pinching a bit more, there are a lot of people who bought motorhomes and campervans during the pandemic to travel that are now like, ‘Well, I’ve not really used it enough to justify carry on paying it.’ Those will go back on the market secondhand.
So I think the secondhand market will recover quite quickly. You’ll be able to buy your van at a more reasonable price. I think the new vans will stay higher for a little bit longer while they catch up. Again, my opinion.
Darran
I mean, that’s what a lot of people have been saying to me, that they’ve been waiting for so long. They’ve been waiting 18 months, 12 months for their motorhomes, and some of them are just still waiting. They’re just itching to get them. They can’t catch up. No. So they really do need to catch up.
Matt Sims
And so what do you think’s going to happen then with electrification, because that’s going to be the next curveball, isn’t it? So it’s not a secret that manufacturers of the chassis are not focused like they were on producing combustion engine vehicles.
Their attention is on alternatives. Now, by 2030 we have to be hybrid as a minimum or new. We’re talking new at the minute and all of us own secondhand motorhomes. So yes, we’re not necessarily in the new buying market. What impact is that going to have, do you think?
Kat Bird
Do you think they’re going to hit that target?
Darran
No.
Matt Sims
Well, there’s a question.
Kat Bird
Because that’s seven years away.
Matt Sims
Well, this government will change it 10 more times. We were going to get Liz on but she’s otherwise occupied. Hang on, the phone’s gone. She’s changed her mind.
Kat Bird
She wants a VW!
Keith Gooden
She says she’s buying that famous Russian campervan. Heaven only knows who we’re going to get next. So the feeling of the show, I thought, was very optimistic given the economic pressures. You go to Harrods and spend £5,000 to get a personal shopper. Here, you’ve got £135,000 pounds to spend, and you queue up on the ladder to get a look! Very democratic. mean,
Matt Sims
Keith, when did you get to Harrods and spend £5,000? I mean, £5,000? Look at him!
Kat Bird
It’s that t-shirt.
Matt Sims
It’s not even his t-shirt.
Keith Gooden
This is an EasyJet t-shirt. He bought a job lot and overstamped his name on it.
Matt Sims
It’s been an interesting show, hasn’t it, in terms of future availability. What do you think’s going to happen for used values, then?
Darran
I think they will come down. I do think they’re going to come down. Because if we talk seriously for a second, mortgages-, I haven’t got one. They’ve rocketed recently. They have rocketed.
And now if you’ve got a £50,000 or £60,000 motorhome on the driveway, and we’re coming into the offseason now, so we’re not going to be getting back out until March, April, or May. If they’ve got to do three or four payments of really high mortgage payments, that’s going to go before the house goes.
Matt Sims
That’s a fair point.
Darran
And that’s from someone that’s not in that situation, fortunately. I feel sorry for people that it’s going to happen to, but they are going to take a hit, aren’t they? They’re going to get rid of that before they get rid of anything else.
Matt Sims
And what’s your view, Kat?
Kat Bird
I totally agree. And just as they come on, because there are then more options for people, the prices will naturally come down a bit to hopefully something like what they were before the pandemic.
Matt Sims
I don’t agree with either of you.
Kat Bird
Okay, interesting. What’s your view?
Matt Sims
I have a different view. The thing is, you see, that people have paid a premium price for the product. We see it as a premium price. I certainly do. And that’s become the norm. Why would they give it away for way less than they paid for it? Because the dealer has bought it. They’re not going to sell it for less than they paid. They’re in business.
Darran
They are, but there is a glut-,
Matt Sims
But is there going to be a glut that’s going to drive the price down?
Darran
I don’t think it’s going to be just the dealers. Because if you’ve got that sitting on the driveway, like I say, for £50,000 that it should be getting valued at, and they go to a dealer and the dealer says, ‘I’ll give you £30,000 for it,’ because they know they might hold it for a year potentially if the outlook is looking gloomy.
Then I come along and say, ‘Hey, I’ll give you £40,000 for it,’ they’ll bite my hand off before they’ll bite the dealer’s off. So then the dealers are cut out a little bit, because they’re going to be trying to save their costs at all costs.
Matt Sims
I think you’re right. There will be some of that. But I think your point about the price coming back to where it was – I don’t think that’s going to happen.
Kat Bird
It might not come all the way back down, but surely the more that you have on the market, it will naturally drive the price down.
Matt Sims
The demand is still there, isn’t it? And as we go into recession, I think that’s going to mean people look at UK holidays. They’re perceived to be cheaper. And people go, ‘Well, let’s invest in this motorhome.’
Darran
Yes, they are perceived to be cheaper. But then again, you’ve got the fuel as well. That’s just a drive somewhere.
Kat Bird
Do you not think people are more likely to rent?
Darran
I think the rental market is going to be quite strong.
Matt Sims
I’m optimistic about rental for next year.
Darran
Yes, that might hit well.
Matt Sims
I’m anticipating a better year for us than we had this year. We didn’t have the best year this year. I think people took holidays they paid for two years ago.
Darran
I did. I went to Turkey two weeks ago, which was booked like three years ago.
Kat Bird
You can see your sun tan.
Darran
I actually tried to just put suncream on my arms and then not anywhere else to try and even myself out because I’m anaemic white.
Matt Sims
You look well on here with the lights above your head! But the thing is that new is going up. So that will naturally, I think, prop the used up because people say, ‘Well, look at them new now. They’re £80,000,’ and they paid £60,000 for it. And I just think people looking at new ones that are buying will go, ‘Well, £80,000, yes, I can buy a secondhand one for £60,000.’
The fact that person only paid £6,0000 for it will be irrelevant. Recently, we sold a motorhome for a gentleman, and I said, ‘I can return you £25,000. Is that okay?’ It was on brokerage. And we’d sold it for a bit more. He said, ‘Yes, that’s great. I bought it eight years ago for £24,000.’
Darran
Well, I bought mine for £18,000. And I’ve been in it almost six years. And I’ve done a few bits to it, but they’re neither here nor there. And they were saying they could get £24,000 for it. £24,000 or £25,000.
Matt Sims
Easy.
Kat Bird
And it’s just another £110,000 then!
Matt Sims
We’re coming at this as motorhome owners. For people who are not, they will see your van as worth that, because if you look at the new equivalent of yours is probably – I don’t know what it is. £80,000? £75,000? So £25,000 is a bargain.
Darran
It looks like a bargain. Yes, I’ll agree with that.
Matt Sims
And I think money is devaluing. Inflation causes that. So £25,000 is not worth as much as it was so yes, it’s £6,000 more than you paid for it. I think that’s why the prices won’t come down.
Kat Bird
We should come back in the year and see.
Matt Sims
Interestingly, I think it was in 2018, I went around taking prices of price boards. I took about 50 photos, and I was going through them looking at the prices of new motorhomes – £36,000, £39,000, £56,000. A high end one was £62,000, and you go around now and it’s hard to find anything under £50,000.
Darran
There’s virtually nothing.
Matt Sims
We are intending to take loads of photos again this year and put a comparison together.
Darran
See what you can find.
Matt Sims
It’s just rocketed.
Keith Gooden
Can I just interject for a moment and put another side to this given the economic crisis. You mentioned mortgages and people being able to afford them. Do you think that people might give up their houses and live in a motorhome?
Darran
Well, a lot of people have said this to me because when we’ve had this conversation people, they were saying that the cost of motorhomes might rise because of exactly that. Yes, I do. But again, I think I’ll go back to the example of it on a driveway and their house could be taken or they can’t pay their bills. The motorhome will go first. You don’t want it to happen, but then the house would go and then they’d buy a motorhome to move in. That’s the way I would see it.
Kat Bird
Well, a lot of people, I suppose, haven’t bought a motorhome to live in. They’ve bought a motorhome to holiday in, and they’re totally different things.
Keith Gooden
And it’s different to America, isn’t it? A lot of people live in mobile homes and motorhomes in America. Could it be possible if people’s mortgages do go up by so much they sell the home and buy a motorhome and pay the mortgage off and bank the rest?
Matt Sims
I think we’ll see a large percentage increase of people that end up living in a motorhome.
Kat Bird
There’s a lot of people who have that dream.
Matt Sims
The whole hashtag van life. Instagram-, you jumping in naked to that little plunge pool. That’s you! That’s the hashtag van life.
Kat Bird
We’re back to the bikini again!
Darran
He wants me in a bikini.
Kat Bird
The bikini might be optional at this stage.
Darran
He might be one of the ones that’s on my channel who’s asking me for OnlyFans. The amount of people that ask me for that…
Kat Bird
Are you going to do it?
Darran
If I don’t start saving money quick then yes, I might have to. If the prices are going up, I’m going to have to sell something and I ain’t got much! I’ve only got this.
Matt Sims
I’ve actually got a little bit of sick in my mouth.
The Outjoyment Report from the Camping and Caravanning Club
Keith Gooden
We’ve been banging it on there for about 25 minutes, so for the last five minutes – today there was the launch of that survey. Was it the Caravan Club?
Matt Sims
I can’t remember what it was called! The Camping and Caravanning Club have done a survey of the mental health impact camping holidays have.
Keith Gooden
I can’t remember the title of it because they put two words in it. They got together with two universities, asked people and did a survey and came up with 11,000 responses in the end. And they’ve discovered and released the information today that actually, there is such a thing as a happy camper. It does make you happy. What’s your take on that?
Kat Bird
I totally agree. I have suffered from mental health issues for a long, long, long time. And I think a combination of being able to get outdoors more and certainly walking my dog has helped a lot. But I think for me personally, I always had that sort of wonderlust, itchy feet syndrome and motorhome life suits me down to the ground.
Darran
For me personally, I didn’t move into a motorhome or anything because of money or because of saving for a house or anything like that. It was just kind of on a whim. I thought it’d be a good idea. But then people say, ‘Are you going to go back to a house?’ Or, ‘Why’d you do it?’
And it sounds like a really, really cheesy answer. But I’ve found happiness. I have happiness, doing what I do. And I wouldn’t change it at all, what I do. Being able to move, being able to travel and explore and, and change my scenery and do exactly what I want when I want. It’s amazing.
Kat Bird
It’s fascinating how we both live in a van but we have totally different ways of living in the van. Because you’re based around an area for work still, and I’m not.
Darran
Alright, show off.
Kat Bird
You know your areas where you can wild camp and urban camp, where you can do all that. And works for both of us. There’s not just one type of van life.
Darran
No, there are thousands of ways you can do it. And it’s just getting out there and exploring and having fun.
Keith Gooden
The key with this survey is that out of the 11,000 people that they asked, it makes them feel happy. It’s that indescribable feeling? They can’t put their finger on it.
Kat Bird
It’s an adventure with a fridge and a bed.
Keith Gooden
Yes, and it’s proven now by research.
Matt Sims
Science has backed it up. And it’s fascinating. It’s a year of research by some very clever people.
Darran
Not us!
Matt Sims
Not us. We know it to be true. They let the scientists loose on it and they studied the data and feedback. It was 16,000 people, wasn’t it? They filtered a load out.
Keith Gooden
They filtered out a load of miserable people and kept the happy ones.
Kat Bird
1 out of 5 said no!
Matt Sims
Incomplete surveys were filtered out, leaving 11,000.
Keith Gooden
Spoiled ballots!
Matt Sims
97% were in agreement that getting outdoors and camping-,
Darran
It’s brilliant. The fresh air just does amazing things. I know what we’re doing now is for social media, it’s for computers and all that. But getting away from that screen just for a little bit really does help. It does wonders. It really does.
Darran and Kat’s favourite motorhoming destinations
Keith Gooden
As an outsider again, what’s the best place you’ve ever been to that you’d recommend to people?
Darran
Hands down Scotland. I haven’t been across the water yet. But Scotland is amazing. Every turn you take is just a whole new vista of, ‘Wow.’ You know, it’s just incredible. It really is. And I can’t wait to spend months there, months and months and do some fishing, do some exploring, do some photography and make some videos of me being stupid.
Matt Sims
Standard.
Darran
Standard! Fool, fool, fool.
Keith Gooden
Kat?
Kat Bird
I’ve just come back from Scotland. It was magic, but I’ll go with a different answer. The Dolomites in Italy were incredible. And Norway. Norway is mind blowing. Everyone should go to Norway. It’s brilliant.
Matt Sims
Norway is beautiful. We haven’t done it in a motorhome. We did it on a cruise ship, because that’s me all over. It was amazing.
Kat Bird
Did you go in winter or summer?
Matt Sims
We went in winter.
Kat Bird
Did you see the Northern Lights?
Matt Sims
No.
Darran
He didn’t book them!
Matt Sims
It was 70 degrees on deck when we were at sea. It was incredible. I was sat there with my Mac working, but it was phenomenal. And we gravitated to the campsite when we got off the ship and went for a walk and just wandered around. They’re just phenomenal. Hardly any Brits there. Yes, absolutely beautiful. I agree.
Darran
What about yours?
Keith Gooden
Well, I’m an outsider, so Peckham Rye Park, I’m afraid. That’s as far as it goes!
Kat Bird
I mean, as standard goes…
Keith Gooden
I’ll leave it up to you experts. So that’s us about done and dusted for this live podcast.
Matt Sims
We made it!
Keith Gooden
Matt, your guests have been…
Matt Sims
This is Kat, Wandering Bird, thank you so much for interrupting.
Kat Bird
You are more than welcome. Any time.
Matt Sims
Classic behaviour from Kat. It will happen tomorrow. And Darran, The Urban Motorhome.
Darran
AKA fool!
Matt Sims
Your mum’s very proud of you
Darran
She is!
Kat Bird
She’ll never tell you.
Matt Sims
We got a few viewers. One’s your mum!
Keith Gooden
Any socials that need plugging?
Kat Bird
Wandering Bird Adventures everywhere for me.
Darran
The Urban Motorhome – you’ll find me everywhere. I get around. Sleep around!
Matt Sims
Thank you both for coming on. It’s been a chuckle. It has been a laugh.
Darran
Cheers guys.
Keith Gooden
So this has been the Motorhome Matt podcast! I managed finally to get it out! It’s me Keith Gooden, and of course the man himself – it’s Motorhome Matt! We’ll see you soon.
