Keith Gooden: In this week’s episode of the Motorhome Matt podcast, we’re looking at shiny things.
Matt Sims: We are live at the Motorhome Caravan show at the NEC, looking for new innovation and new creative products that you might be interested in buying.
Keith Gooden: Welcome to the Motorhome Matt podcast with me, Keith Gooden.
Matt Sims: And me, Motorhome Matt.
Keith Gooden: Industry insights and expert advice for the world of motorhomes, campervans and caravans. Brought to you by www.thatleisureshop.com and sponsored by Ripe.
Matt Sims: You did it without reading it. Well done.
Keith Gooden: It’s tattooed on the inside of my eyelids. There it is.
Matt Sims: Talking of eyelids, I’ve got my magpie lids on today. Magpies! I’m going around the show looking for shiny things. I’m looking around.
Keith Gooden: You mean mince pies?
Matt Sims: No, I’m a magpie. Look, I’m not mincing anywhere.
Keith Gooden: You’re mincing around the show.
Matt Sims: No, I haven’t got the energy for that. Not in my condition.
Keith Gooden: Magpies.
Matt Sims: Magpies. I’m looking for shiny stuff. So I’m looking for innovative products. I always say if you don’t innovate, you evaporate. And I’m looking for manufacturers, products and services that I think are new, innovative and worth considering. This is the biggest bit. So often we get products we think, well, what’s the point of that? Is that going to be useful? So I’ve been busy wandering around the show and I want to share with you some of my best picks.
Matt Sims: This is the Landseer stand. Now, if you know me well, you’ll know I’m not a huge fan of a pop-top campervan, but Landseer are one of our Motorhome Matt Approved brands, and they are a very much an exception to the rule. Their attention to detail is second to none. They are phenomenal, and they have an MAN van on the stand called the Artemis, which is just stunning. Honestly, I reckon it’s one of the best-looking vans at the show. This campervan was designed for one of their customers to their spec. And her name is Tracy and she’s here at the show. I wanted to ask her a little bit more about why she chose the specs she did.
Tracy: So I’ve had a Landseer custom pop-top for nearly four years now. Absolutely love it. We’d spent an awful long time sort of looking for a pop-top. We walked into the Landseer and it was just like, wow! I didn’t really think I was going to take to campervanning as much as I have done, but I just love it. 15, 16 nights in a row. So we just want something bigger because now we do a lot of festivals and rallies and all that sort of stuff. We’ve looked at lots and lots of vans, been to this show many, many times, but just couldn’t find quite what I wanted. So I started badgering Tom and Oliver from Landseer, two of the directors, and just saying to them, “Come on guys, you need to build me a bigger van.” I came to them with all of my ideas and said, “Right, let’s put it together.” I knew exactly what I wanted because I knew exactly what I didn’t want, what I didn’t like in other vans, and this is what they’ve produced for me.
Matt Sims: So they agreed to build on the MAN. I think this is the first time they’ve done that. Is that right?
Tracy: Yes, it is.
Matt Sims: You’ve gone for no rear seat belts. Is it just two of you travelling?
Tracy: Yeah. So when I bought the custom, we were insistent. Oh, it’s got to have loads of seat belts and everything in it. But to be fair, the grandkids have never come away with us. So this time we’ve made it purely just for two. So it sleeps two, seats two. That’s perfect for me.
Matt Sims: And you’ve gone for a lovely lounge.
Tracy: We have, yeah. That was really important to me, the space in the living area. Do you know what I mean? Because you step into many vans and actually you don’t have as much space in a larger van as you’ve got in a pop-top because in the pop-top you’ve got that enormous square area where you can do all your prepping in. You get into a lot of the small vans and there are so many pinch points in them, which was why we decided that we wanted the bench area and that for us, we didn’t need four belted seats so that we could have that lovely, lovely area.
Matt Sims: Now, do you know what? We’ve been wandering around the show and we saw this first thing. Every van we went in after this that was a panel van conversion that was bigger than a pop-top on a MAN or a Ducato or Transit was all really tight inside. You’re right, it’s because of all the furniture. And what you’ve achieved is this massive space because you wanted to sit and have a cup of tea in your lounge.
Tracy: I’ve got this strap line. I need a brew with a view! And I think I’ve achieved it in there.
Matt Sims: You certainly have.
Tracy: Because I can sit there and I can look out.
Matt Sims: The other big thing you’ve done as well with the kitchen area is you’ve designed a multifaceted space in a really tight area. It’s incredible.
Tracy: It is. I’ve done a lot of research on this myself. I don’t need a huge kitchen. I need something that’s workable, but I don’t need it to be enormous. So I think I’ve worked with something that’s really quite innovative.
Matt Sims: It is. Well, the hob slides to one side, revealing the sink. It gives you a big worktop area.
Tracy: A large white top area. Yeah.
Matt Sims: Fridge and freezer.
Tracy: Yeah. We’ve got a 70-litre fridge in there as well.
Matt Sims: Loads of little drawers.
Tracy: Loads of little drawers. To be fair, the guys at Landseer, they literally used up every little tiny bit of space that they possibly could. It just works. I’m really proud and they’re really proud of it too.
Matt Sims: You’ve got an amazing lounge, but you’ve also got the rear bed that turns into a sofa.
Tracy: Yes, I have! Because for me, everything in a campervan needs to have at least two purposes. I’ve got this amazingly comfortable bed, but why not make it so that when I’m parked up next to Dorothy’s caravan, and I can’t see what I want to see… when I’m backed up against the Cornish coastline, let’s make use of that bed. Let’s have it so that it’ll sit up and it’ll turn into a sofa. It just works.
Matt Sims: Now there is one big compromise, isn’t there, which is your bathroom.
Tracy: Yeah. I think there’s always a compromise in any van. The compromise in this van is that we’ve achieved a usable shower space, but we have still got a slide-away portable toilet, which isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. Some people insist on a fixed toilet with a cassette that you can access from outside. For us, that was fine, because I’ll empty it anyway.
Matt Sims: Fair enough, fair enough. But you are looking at putting a different type of toilet in it.
Tracy: I’ve got an order. They call it a dual keg GottaGo toilet. You can either have it as a chemical toilet or a composting toilet. It’s just not here for the show because it’s been manufactured somewhere. It’s actually an Australian company and it’s coming at the end of November. So that’s going to go in. And literally the toilet seat lifts up, separates your wees from your poos, and you have access to the two cassettes from the top. You don’t have to take the whole unit out and move it.
Matt Sims: The Victron install is beautiful as well. The lighting is stunning. The finish is amazing. You’ve got a wonderful campervan. I wish you many happy adventures.
Tracy: Very, very, very proud of it. And I’ve got Tom, Oliver and Luke and all the other guys back at the factory who made my dreams come true.
Matt Sims: I was just about to leave the Landseer stand and I was chatting to Ken here from Nuneaton. Welcome to the show, Ken. You were telling me you’ve had a few campervans and you’ve got a strong view of the Artemis behind us.
Ken: Yeah. The last campervan I had was a similar length to this, and obviously not as much money, but nowhere near as good a use of space. This is like Doctor Who’s Tardis. It’s just amazing. It’s top-notch. I can’t say any more. If I was in the market today, I’d be buying this one.
Matt Sims: There we are. Thank you. Ken, if you were watching the podcast a few weeks ago, you would have seen an amazing interview with Simon Howard, who’s one of the co-owners of Bailey of Bristol. And he said they were launching a new campervan and wouldn’t give anything away. Well, here it is! It’s the Bailey Endurance, with its swamper alloy wheels and its funky external graphics. This is the only layout available at the moment, and I love the GPS coordinates on the exterior, which is, of course, the Bailey factory. With its roof-mounted tent box, it certainly is a showstopper. I’m joined by Mark from Vanlife Eats. Mark, the Motorhome Matt podcast and That Leisure Shop is delighted to be sponsoring your trip to Italy. You’re leaving on Monday. What are you up to?
Mark: Oh, honestly, it’s the trip I’ve dreamt of nearly all my life. Just driving to my hometown in Minori along the Amalfi Coast was one thing. But now I have the opportunity of exploring food, zigzagging all the way around the country. Parma. Bologna. Florence. Rome. Naples. I’ll be going all the way down to Puglia. Not just for the wine. You know I love a Primitivo.
Matt Sims: You and me both.
Mark: Yeah.
Matt Sims: You’re going to bring me some back?
Mark: Definitely. You’ll get a case!
Matt Sims: So what do you hope to learn from the trip, then?
Mark: I mean, I learned everything from my nonna, and I want to learn…
Matt Sims: Who’s your nonna?
Mark: My nonna is my grandmother. So I learned from her.
Matt Sims: This is an Italian term.
Mark: It’s an Italian word for nanny. I learnt everything from my grandmother. And I want to go and explore other family recipes. So I’m not just going there and going to the classic places that are overdone on other shows on TV. I actually am engaging with people and worming my way into their little family dinners.
Matt Sims: Do they know this?
Mark: Yeah, they know that! Do you know what? They just seem to be the nicest people ever. Everyone’s really accommodating when I tell them what I’m doing. They’re like, yeah, come over and you can have food with us. So, yeah, there’s a lot of really nice authenticity about this trip.
Matt Sims: So you’re a native Italian, aren’t you? I mean, Italian is your first language.
Mark: Not my first language. Come on! No, no, my dad is Italian. He moved over here when he was three years old. But we still have property on the Amalfi Coast. We’ve got a lovely little empty apartment on the hill that overlooks the beautiful Amalfi Coast.
Matt Sims: And so you’re going back to your roots.
Mark: Back to my roots. Exploring my heritage.
Matt Sims: So as a result of this trip, then, you will be at lots of outdoor shows in the motorhome niche next year. What will people expect to see then as a result of your trip?
Mark: I’m going to call it Vanlife Eats Bites Italy, and it’s just going to be food from Italy for all my demos that I’m going to be doing. I’m going to be teaching people those authentic recipes that I learned along my route and make sure it’s all friendly for a van or motorhome.
Matt Sims: This is one of the things you do, isn’t it, at the outdoor shows – your workshops where people get involved and get cooking with you.
Mark: Yeah, yeah. That’s it. Absolutely. So people are going to be learning to make pasta and different types of sauces and all these little fancy little pasta shapes that I learned from Nonna Rosso in Florence.
Matt Sims: I can’t wait to taste it myself. So how long are you away for?
Mark: I’m going to go away for about six weeks.
Matt Sims: And how can people follow you whilst you’re away?
Mark: So the whole thing is going to be on Instagram as lives, as constant reels. But I’ll also be making a YouTube series out of it, so there’ll be a long-form YouTube video for nearly every place I go to.
Matt Sims: Well, it’s a privilege for us to be involved with you and be part of it. I can’t come, unfortunately, but I will be following you from home wrapped up with my towel, protecting my breastbone! You take care of yourself and have a fantastic time. I’m joined by Mel here at the show from Ripe. Welcome, Mel. It’s lovely to have you on our stand today. Thanks so much for coming. Now, Mel, we’ve had lots of questions about going to Europe, questions about being covered with insurance whilst people are in Europe, and particularly about going to Morocco. Can you explain what people need to know?
Mel: Yeah. So Morocco isn’t in Europe! So therefore European cover does not cover you in Morocco. So you are insured with us for up to 90 days in one trip or 180 days in total over the year.
Matt Sims: Okay. But it’s important, though, that if people are going to Europe, they tell you and buy that extension – is that right?
Mel: Yeah. So as standard under the policy, you are covered for your public liability as that is a legal requirement to have that anyway within Europe, if you want to have your actual motorhome insured, though, for theft or damage, then you need the extension.
Matt Sims: Okay, so make sure they tell you if they’re heading to Europe! If they’re going to Morocco, they need to find somebody that will cover non-EU, non-UK territories. Thank you Mel. So remember you can get 15% off your premium with Ripe. Just click the link in the episode description! I’m with a very famous face here at the show, The Urban Motorhome. Darran. How are you, mate?
Darran: I’m good, I’m good. How are you?
Matt Sims: I’m all right. Just about. I’m hanging in there. So tell me – you were finding the G-spot recently?
Darran: Well, I was finding the GeoSpot!
Matt Sims: Sorry. The GeoSpot. Tell us, what is the GeoSpot?
Darran: So GeoSpot is a new feature from Park4night. So if you’ve got the Park4night Plus, then you get that function, which is landowners giving permission for you to park there. But the beauty of it is, because some spots do get overwhelmed with people wanting to go there…
Matt Sims: Well, we have one near our house and it’s tiny. I mean, four vans! And often there’s 7 or 8 and it’s packed.
Darran: Yeah. And some people don’t take a hint, do they? They don’t think, “Oh, there’s 6 or 7 vans there. I won’t park there. I’ll find somewhere else.” This has got a function where there’s a donation box and there’s a code. The app’s built so you get there, you enter the code into the app. It then tells everyone else that there’s one person there now and then when there’s a second person there, it tells everyone else there’s a second. And as soon as the third code is entered, it deletes itself from the app as if it was never there.
Matt Sims: Presuming only three can stay there.
Darran: Only three vehicles can stay there at one time for 24 hours. It then turns off from the app so then no one else can turn up, which means you are then relaxing wherever you are with only ever three vehicles.
Matt Sims: I get it. And what if you leave halfway through the day?
Darran: Then you can click, “I’m leaving,” and then it just checks you out and someone else can check in.
Matt Sims: It turns back on?
Darran: Yes, and someone can check in. And the beauty of it is, because it is private land, you can get your tables and chairs out. You can sit outside, watch the sunset, have your dinner outside. Just no barbecues and fires. It is their land. But yeah, it’s a brilliant feature.
Matt Sims: It sounds like a great idea. And are these free?
Darran: Well, they’re part of the Park4night Plus subscription, which is a whopping £10 a year.
Matt Sims: Nothing.
Darran: You know, it’s crazy, isn’t it? But then there’s a donation box and a recommended donation of £5 to £15.
Matt Sims: Perfect. And you are giving away some subscriptions.
Darran: I am. In the video, to celebrate that it’s only three vehicles, I’m giving away three subscriptions.
Matt Sims: You are so generous.
Darran: I am, I really am. It just doesn’t stop, does it?
Matt Sims: You’re all about the giving.
Darran: Yeah, but come buy some stuff as well while you’re here! I’m giving stuff away. But I also…
Matt Sims: And you’ve got your book as well.
Darran: I’ve got my book and I’ve got a calendar.
Matt Sims: It’s all your own colouring in. It’s very good.
Darran: It is, it is.
Matt Sims: Now, where can people buy your book other than www.thatleisureshop.com? Can they get it from you?
Darran: They can buy it from www.theurbanmotorhome.com! Thank you very much.
Matt Sims: Something I’m delighted to see back for season 2026 is colour. It’s great to see Laika embracing the full range of options from Stellantis. For years we’ve just had white, silver and grey motorhomes, and now you can get a fresh splash of paint. Another brand embracing this trend for colour is MEGAMOBIL. Now, you may not have heard them. They’ve only been in the UK for a year. They are from Slovenia and I was challenged by Dominic, who’s the UK sales manager for MEGAMOBIL. He said, “What do you think of MEGAMOBIL?” And I said, “Well, I’ll be honest, they seem really nice.” I’ve just spent the last hour trying to break one, as Dominic suggested, and it has been really difficult. The layouts are really different – big rear lounges that turn into massive double beds, fantastic build quality, loads of optional extras, and a fantastic finish. I’m going to go and find Keith who’s sat over here in this one. Let’s see what he thinks.
Keith Gooden: I think it’s fantastic. It’s like being in one of those first-class airport lounges, as I’m told by certain people. I wouldn’t know myself, obviously. But yeah, it really does feel premium quality. I’ve slammed a few drawers and slammed a few doors and sat on the toilet. Obviously just sat! And these benches are just beautiful. You can feel the memory foam in them. And I understand the bed comes down from on high and converts this area into a sleeping area.
Matt Sims: A huge double bed. Yeah. Really big. The price, though. Did you see the price?
Keith Gooden: It’s a bit shocking, isn’t it? But then again, you know, motorhome prices are always shocking.
Matt Sims: Well, these are starting with a nine, typically. But they are very highly specced with loads of options. I agree with you – I think the quality is superb.
Keith Gooden: Yeah, it really is. And even the walls, you know – it’s a suede finish. You know what I mean?
Matt Sims: You’re back in a padded room, aren’t you?
Keith Gooden: Yeah. It would be nice. It would be nice to lie here in my Speedos.
Matt Sims: I’m joined by one of our own. This is Martin. Now, Martyn, you have become a bit of a famous face here at the show, haven’t you?
Martyn: Well, I’m trying to take you off the plinth. Everyone’s saying about Martyn waving. I’ve got my own security. Have you got your own security now? Yeah, yeah, I have to fight them off, Matt. I’m being a legend like you. Well, I’m trying, anyway.
Matt Sims: So you were on the podcast just a few weeks ago, and we were talking about your 31 years at Next, and you’ve joined the That Leisure Shop team for those that didn’t see it. And I wanted to get your insight into our little world of motorhomes and campervans. You’re here at a show for the first time, the NEC show.
Martyn: It’s massive. Lots of new products out there. Lots of new vendors out there. Yeah, some interesting products out there, some new innovations out there. It’s nice to see that the industry is moving forward, like we said before on the podcast. That’s been great. Really nice.
Matt Sims: Has there been any one exciting thing that you’ve seen where you’ve gone, “Oh that’s cool,”?
Martyn: No, there are lots of bits out there. I can’t name all of them. But yeah, there’s some amazing products out there.
Matt Sims: You’ve been busy. You’ve been up in Edinburgh. We recently took over a retail business up there, and you brought a couple of Arctic loads of stock back to base, which was a bit of a challenge, wasn’t it?
Martyn: Aye, as they say in Scotland. But yeah, it’s been a slight challenge. Brand new SKUs, loads of new stock out there. And they’re obviously filtered down into our Chelston and our Hewish store. Loads online. So yeah, you’re going to see loads of products we’ve never done before in volume as well. So yeah, it’s really exciting times for us.
Matt Sims: And at discounted prices.
Martyn: Correct. Lots of stuff out there. So just visit our website, come into our stores and you’ll see all the new products on there.
Matt Sims: Well, enjoy your wander around the show. If you see Martyn, give him a wave. Don’t pander to his ego too much, please.
Martyn: Yeah, I’ll be there now!
Matt Sims: No problem. He’s off. Anyway, head to www.thatleisureshop.com and look at the range of products. It really is amazing. I’m on the M and C stand in front of a very impressive Eura Mobil Xtura, I think it’s called, isn’t it? It’s a very impressive vehicle. And I’m with the very impressive, best dressed man at the show – Mr. Phil Newbury from M-Level. Phil, welcome.
Phil Newbury: Thank you very much.
Matt Sims: Now, Phil, I want to talk to you about M-Level. M-Level is the levelling system that we see on this impressive van behind us. But tell us – the market’s flooded with levelling systems now. And it’s a really complicated decision process for the consumer. What is it that sets M-Level apart from every other system?
Phil Newbury: I’m not sure the market’s flooded. There are there are a number of systems about. M-Level is the only truly British product. So we source all the components in the UK as close to our factory in Stoke-on-Trent as we possibly can. There’s nothing we bring in that’s more than probably an hour away from our place, so we try and be as green as we can. I personally have been in the levelling business for ten years, selling other products, Italian products, German products. We became aware of the faults and the issues and that sort of thing. So we’ve tried to design all those out of our system. For instance, our system has wireless remote control that gives you added security because you can put a PIN code into that to make the system work. Or you can switch that off if you want to.
Matt Sims: It’s much smaller than many other levelling system controls.
Phil Newbury: I believe it is. Yes, this is actually the T2. So when we first started we had a slightly bigger system with a smaller screen. So we’ve developed and improved it. This is a T2 version which we released earlier this year. And we’ve tried to make this as simple as possible. So it’s basically just this – it comes to life when you take it off the cradle. Or you can use it on the cradle. We can’t really do a lot with it now because it’s connected to this van here, and there’s people walking around!
Matt Sims: There’s people in it.
Phil Newbury: And might be underneath!
Matt Sims: You’ll scare them!
Phil Newbury: But basically all you do is press continue. And this is the PIN code, the security code which I mentioned, which you can have on or off. Put the code in that, and then you’ve got an option of what you want to do, and if you wanted to level the van, you would press levelling.
Matt Sims: And can you program different ways of levelling it so you can program it to empty your waste water?
Phil Newbury: You can’t program it to do that because that would make the menu a little bit more complicated. But you could certainly do that by going into the manual. And then you’ve got an option.
Matt Sims: Left or right.
Phil Newbury: Yes.
Matt Sims: So you can tip the van.
Phil Newbury: Yes.
Matt Sims: Or just raise one side if you’ve got a flat tyre. I mean, that’s where they’re really useful, for changing wheels.
Phil Newbury: Absolutely. But once you’ve lowered the jacks and you’ve got your van as level as you like, you can drop that control panel into your pocket and take it away with you so your van’s secure.
Matt Sims: So it’s raised off the floor and yeah, can’t be stolen.
Phil Newbury: So there’s three things for what people call a levelling system, really. Certainly on ours there’s levelling, there’s stability. Because once the jacks are down, it makes your van solid, so it’s not swaying in the wind and that sort of thing. So you’ve got levelling, stability and you’ve got the added security as well.
Matt Sims: One of the questions I often get asked is, can I leave the jacks down and my front wheels off the ground through the winter when it’s in storage? Is it okay for any extended period?
Phil Newbury: Yes it is. Yes. Depending on where you are in the country! If you’re by the coast, then really you should be treating the chrome on the jacks with some sort of PTFE or something like that. And maybe even if you’re not on the coast, it’s a good idea. And it’s also a good policy to operate the system probably once a month just to make sure it’s all working fine and that sort of thing.
Matt Sims: So keep it limbered up.
Phil Newbury: Yes, but in general, they’re sort of maintenance free so you can do whatever.
Matt Sims: Now, you have a wide network and a growing network of installers across the UK. So this is a system that people can’t buy direct from M-Level. They have to go to the approved installer, don’t they?
Phil Newbury: We don’t supply it to the end user. We don’t fit it, but we have agents. We do have a few dealers that fit it themselves, but mostly it’s through agents independent of dealers.
Matt Sims: So when I’m buying a brand new motorhome at a show like this at the NEC, can I spec it on the vehicle when I’m buying it new?
Phil Newbury: For most of them you can. Yes. It depends what vehicle it is, of course. But particularly most of the British manufacturers are aware of our products. Most of the British dealer network are aware of our products. So it can be done.
Matt Sims: And cost wise? I mean, it’s going to vary from dealer to dealer and from vehicle to vehicle, but typically a ballpark cost?
Phil Newbury: It shouldn’t vary from dealer to dealer! But obviously it does. But we do have one price for the whole market. So if it’s a Mercedes, if it’s a Fiat, if it’s a twin axle, they’re all the same price and it’s around about £5,700, something like that, fitted.
Matt Sims: That’s fitted. And the great thing with your system is you can take it off and put it on your next van, can’t you?
Phil Newbury: You can. So we’ve tried to make it as easy as possible for the fitter to fit it. So there’s no cutting cables and pipes and hoses. It comes with everything and they’re all pre-set with the plugs and everything on the end. So if you wanted to move it from one vehicle to another – it may be a different bracket if it was going from a Ford to a Fiat or something like that, but yes, it can be moved from vehicle to vehicle.
Matt Sims: So you can get best value for investment for many years to come.
Phil Newbury: That’s right. Yes. And we offer a three-year warranty with it. And we’re trying as a company to be as green as possible. We have a mission statement that says we will be green, hence trying to source everything locally for every system that is sold. If the end user registers it with us, they get an extra year warranty and the National Forest plant a tree on their behalf and they get a certificate to say so.
Matt Sims: Very good, Phil. Well, we’re loving the British tie. You’ve got the Union flag that you’re donning proudly.
Phil Newbury: Yes I have.
Matt Sims: It’s great to see a household name, Oyster, finally evolving their product offering -famous for the satellite dish, which of course is rather old school technology. And this year they are launching a range of lithium batteries, inverters, solar panels that can be bonded yet removed from the roof of the van and even an electric bike rack.
Keith Gooden: So, Matt, you’ve been out and about. You’ve had a look. What shiny things took your fancy with your magpies?
Matt Sims: Honestly, it’s a difficult time, I think, for manufacturers to be really innovative because it has been and still is a challenging landscape and innovation costs money. But it is great to see some manufacturers who’ve been around for a long time still here, and new manufacturers who’ve been around for just a year, still growing. So people like Aura and people like Landseer. Tom and Oliver have done a fantastic job with some of their new products. Just superb attention to detail. And great to see brands like Scorpion, like Oyster innovating, coming up with new products and new ideas – stuff which really for us as consumers is worth looking at and worth buying. What about for you?
Keith Gooden: Well, I mean, it’s great to to look around. But when I look, not being an expert, you know, I see the usual things and towbars and A-frames and little bags to blow up the back of your motorhome with and electric bikes and stuff. And I do wonder sometimes – how many times can you reinvent the wheel?
Matt Sims: True. Yeah, that’s very true. And there’s an element of that, isn’t there, for sure. One of the things that struck me, as it always does at these shows, the number of people that are coming for the first time and feeling overwhelmed. There really is such a lot to look at, and it can get really confusing whether you’re looking at a camper van or motorhome or a bike rack. Levelling systems. There’s lots of choice and it can be very overwhelming. I think it spurs me on to keep doing this and to try and unpack for people what you need to know, what you need to consider, because different products are going to have the best use and might be more appropriate for some than for others. And it’s a question of why. And there needs to be more questioning of, “Why this?” So it’s been great meeting the audience and our audience, hasn’t it? At one point I couldn’t even see you. You were surrounded by people. You had a huge crowd around you.
Keith Gooden: It was the debt collectors. Don’t worry about that. But you talk about innovation. You know, the Belmont Leisure Pathway 4G, the Wi-Fi thing that you’re involved in. That’s really taken people’s imagination. And like I say about reinventing the wheel – it’s not! it’s making it a bit rounder. It’s making it better, isn’t it?
Matt Sims: Yeah. It’s improving maybe a product that’s out there already and doing a better job of it and making something easier and simpler, slicker. And offering service levels which are perhaps higher. And service levels in our industry are often under huge criticism and rightly so.
Keith Gooden: Well, I was talking to one gentleman at the show today, and he was giving me chapter and verse, you know, on a door and door frame from a motorhome that he bought six months ago. For five months of it, the door hasn’t been able to close, and he still hasn’t been able to get it fixed. And he’s saying, “Hang on a second, I’ve paid for this and I’m not getting the customer service I think I paid for,” and we’re back to that again. We’re always returning to this level of customer service. Now, you know, some companies are brilliant at it and do a fabulous job, but there are some that aren’t doing the job properly.
Matt Sims: They’re just not doing a good enough job. And they have reasons for that. Whether they’re good or not depends on you, the consumer, and how it’s affecting you. But yeah, if you’ve just spent £50,000 on a leisure product and for five months of the six you’ve owned it, it’s in for repair…
Keith Gooden: You can’t shut the door.
Matt Sims: It’s no good, is it? I mean, if it’s a car… I spoke to the same chap. He said, “If this was a car, I’d have taken it back and they’d give me another one.” But it’s not like that with motorhomes and caravans. So this is a challenge of our industry that we’re in. And it’s not easily overcome and fixed at all, I’m afraid.
Keith Gooden: And filled with experts. I mean, clearly you’re the expert’s expert, but yeah, I remember I was sitting in on some experts giving their opinion at the show. And, “I don’t know,” seems to be the motto.
Matt Sims: Oh, yeah, there was a few, “I think,” and, “I don’t know.” Yeah, true.
Keith Gooden: Well, why don’t you Google it? Well, if I was going to Google it, I wouldn’t pay money to get in here, would I?
Matt Sims: No, it’s very true! But it’s been a great show. Great to see so many people entering the pastime for the first time. And people coming back who have been doing it for years.
Keith Gooden: here’s a real buzz about it this year compared to last year, I think, anyway. And also, you know, we’re doing this now, late on the Thursday afternoon and there’s lots of people coming back and buying. Those tills are ringing and lots of people are leaving with bags, which we didn’t see so much of last year.
Matt Sims: No, that’s true. And the “I’ll Be Back” bus seems to have turned up for many dealers. So many of them are now sat down signing people up, which is brilliant. It’s just what this show is all about and what we need.
Keith Gooden: What about the orange bags then? 7,000 of them.
Matt Sims: 7500!
Keith Gooden: Really? I mean…
Matt Sims: They took hours to stuff. Here they are. If you didn’t get one… whether there’ll be any left after this show, I don’t know. I just want to say a massive thank you to motorhome.finance for sponsoring the bag along with Warranty Solutions Group. Inside is a lovely magazine which Steph at Warranty Solutions Group and I put together. Make sure you get a copy of this. We’ve got loads of these spare.
Keith Gooden: Don’t hit the microphone.
Matt Sims: I’ll try not to hit the microphone! And also a special thing – I’m going to call them out and name check them because these guys are heroes of our business. You’ll see them at all the outdoor shows. They’re sponsoring Campervan Campout in May. Spartan Campers! And of course, make sure you get your European guide and your guide for going away in the winter or preparing for winter in your motorhome. A special thanks to Fliss at Felicity’s Driver Training. Fliss the trailer lady has been looking after us as a team all week.
Keith Gooden: Five bean chilli tonight.
Matt Sims: I know, can’t wait. It was amazing the other night. We had a venison shepherd’s pie.
Keith Gooden: I said to her, “I want more than five beans on my plate.”
Matt Sims: Don’t you worry, you will be stuffed full tonight. Fliss and Andy, thank you. You’ve been superheroes this week. A special thanks as always as well to Ripe. 15% off – mhmp.info/ripe. Get your discount on your motorhome or campervan insurance. Motorhome.finance are in here too. Scorpion Track – if you need a tracker for your motorhome camper van, definitely check them out. There’s an offer with them. M-Level, the British levelling system. We’ve just done a piece with Phil from M-Level, a brilliant levelling system on a very funky motorhome. Landseer I’ve already mentioned – a shout out to Tom and Oliver. You boys are phenomenal. Your end product is definitely worth checking out. And Tottington Motor Company – a brilliant family run business in Bury in Manchester. Go and check them out if you’re the market for a new or used motorhome campervan. So thank you all. If you did not get an orange bag, you might be out of luck because we might have run out. I don’t know at this point in time!
Speaker11: Let’s see.
Keith Gooden: How do people get in touch?
Matt Sims: What was that? Do you know what you sounded like? You sounded like Domino. Do you know who Domino is? The chicken at our Airbnb! We have to look after a chicken at the house. Have you discovered Domino yet?
Keith Gooden: I have, yes. We’re having chicken tonight.
Matt Sims: It’s your job to feed her in the morning. Yeah, yeah. Her name’s Domino, if you’re watching on YouTube.
Keith Gooden: True story this – I mistook Domino for a cockerel. I said, “Oh, nice cockerel.” And they all said, “No, it’s a hen.” So those thousands I spent on chicken identification courses were wasted. How do people get in touch?
Matt Sims: We’d love it if you did. Head to info mhmp.info/askmatt. You can record your question by clicking the orange button. Or fill in the form and we’ll read it for you. And if you’re listening on a podcast app, make sure you click follow. If you’re watching on YouTube, then maybe Keith’s jokes will make sense. But make sure you click the bell and click subscribe!
Keith Gooden: Thanks for listening to the Motorhome Matt podcast. Remember to check back here for more episodes full of hints, tips and helpful advice. We’ll see you soon for another Motorhome Matt podcast brought to you with www.thatleisureshop.com.
