What I took from this years Covi show was the slow move away from ground floor beds in Motorhomes, mostly in the smaller models to drop down or other options. There were lots of new knick knacks too.
Click on an image for Hi Res
Morelo area
There is a new Dethleffs XLI on its way which wasn’t available for the show but comes with a rear lounge instead of beds. The bedding comes as various versions of either a Luton type or different drop down setups. New also to the Dethleffs range is the Pulse GT.
Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow
The new Pulse GT
Pulse GT
Inside the Pulse GT
Looking back in the Pulse GT
Bedroom on the Pulse GT
Pulse GT
Phil from Carters Tyres. The man you should talk to when you want tyres for your Motorhome!
Neismann and Bichoff
Fold up bike
Autotrails
Inside the back of a Kea van
New bench area in the new Nomad caravans
The new Nomad
NZs Allisee
The Trailite area
Popular place.. the Bar
Leisureline Caravans
Drop in Bach!
Lots of new things in the Accessory area
Jayco corner
Burstner has a new 7 something metre van option with a rear lounge with a door, and a drop down bed with another drop down bed further forward. A nice option too.
One of the things I really liked was the trailer mounted fold out camper priced at just $32000 with all the extras. I forgot to get the name of it, but a lot of kit and good comfortable camping without spending a fortune.
Its like a friend of mine once said in the boating world, those who spend less on their boat than the million dollar boaties, still have just as much fun 🙂
Click on the Gallery below for a Slideshow
Neat camper
The Dining area
The fold out bedroom
Inside
There was lots to see in the accessories area too with several options available in the Generator area and there was also a drop on bach on display too.
A Mark 1 Zephyr with matching Lilliput. I had one of these during my misspent youth 🙂
No show is ever complete without the Lillput Caravans and their beautifully done up tow cars (Tugs).
Great CaravansThe lovely Lilliputs
A good day with lots of walking. Fiona looked at her phone at the end of the show on the bus back to Ellerslie and we did just over 9000 steps 🙂 .. plenty of exercise for the day.
Every year this is an event I look forward to and we missed it last year as we were in the South Island. This year it was held at Zion Motorhomes new premises at Pokeno rather than the usual Rally somewhere.
The rain on the way.
As the Rally this year was at The A&P Showgrounds at Pukekohe next to the Racetrack, Fiona and I decided we’d go straight to Pokeno and camp outside for the night. This worked really well as we found a driveway next to the Rental fleet yard and later we were joined by three or four others. Those at the showgrounds were bussed out to Pokeno and back.
Since we bought Rafe, Jonas and Irene have added several new brands of Motorhomes to their stable. This year we were also joined by Morelo, Frankia and Niessman and Bichoff owners too.
Other overnighters outside who later moved down near where we were in Rafe in the distance. It was windy and rainy too!
In previous years, they’ve been held at Camping grounds and one year was at the Car Museum in Hamilton where Gary and I did the parking!
The layout
The event was well organised by the Zion crew with a couple of ladies singing and the food was fantastic.
Irene during the quiz and prizes
Over the course of the night, there were some spot prizes given out. Some were drawn out of the pot and others were for answers to some easy questions.. like who’s the youngest and who had the highest NZMCA number !
Click on the Gallery below to see a Slideshow
Fulltimers in their XLI, Ian and Linda having fun. Good to see them again too.
Jonas having a say.
The front half of the showroom
The Foods up
Yum
Old friends Bruce and Judy from Coromandel. They’ve got Rafes twin with the same colour too. There are only a handful of Globe4’s in NZ as they were only imported for a short time.
At the Zion Motohomes table
More at the Zion table
Down the road a bit
It was nice to see some of our old friends that we haven’t seen for a while and amazing to think that our Rafe is one of the oldest Dethleffs Motorhomes on NZ roads as Jonas only started bringing them in not long before we bought ours 🙂
A great night thanks to Jonas and team and I’m looking forward to next years.
From small beginnings behind a church in Howick to the brand new custom built building they’re in now in Pokeno. Jonas and Irene have come a long way with Zion Motorhomes.
Click on an image for Hi Res
A happy looking Jonas in his last yard
I popped in to have a nosey on my way home from Waihi and it looks amazing.
The front of the showroom
The building is 1000 square metres and is in the middle of a 5000 square metre yard. Plenty of room to play with but on my visit, they’d managed to fill in all the gaps and still had some more motorhomes still to move!
Click on the Gallery below for a slideshow
The Frankia Mline
The sharp end of the Niessman Bichoff Arto 79
In the showroom
The showroom is fantastic with a polished concrete floor and its nice to be able to check the various models out without getting in and out of the cold and wet.
in the Showroom
While I was there, I had a good look at the Niessman and Bichoff Arto 79 which is a slightly smaller version of friends Gary and Diannes Arto 88. Check out the piccies below.
Along with a few hundred others, I arrived fashionably early and we were all marshalled into a temporary parking area on the grass.
Click on an image for Hi Res.
The parking!
Kickoff at midday came and the lines formed to get in and once settled, there were old friends catching up everywhere you looked.
One of the many happy setups
The parking was superbly managed and given the huge task of parking hundreds of Motorhomes and Caravans along with Buses with Toads, the end result was just a work of art. Well done to all the volunteers who pitched in. An amazing effort.
Out with the awning
I was only there half an hour and spotted Nelson and Maree in Caniwi so popped in for a chat with them and later caught up with them for a drink after also catching up with John and Sarah Pedersen. It was really nice to catch up with them too. John does a blog called licenced to retire.
The next morning was showtime! .. I’d only just stepped in the door when Chris Nuttall tapped me on the shoulder. Chris runs the NZ Motorhome Forum and it was nice to see him. It has been a wee while!
The Swift Caravans are always a treat and this years new models didn’t disappoint. See below
Click on the Gallery below for a slideshow
The Swift Caravan
Inside the Swift Caravan
In the Swift looking forward
The Swift.. Nice!
With the bathroom and shower at the back, an east-west bed and then Galley and Lounge at the other end, with the finish and polish you would expect from Swift.
I was really impressed with the new Dethleffs Caravans for Families. One of them has two bunks with a childrens lounge at one end, the bathroom and shower facilities, a french bed and Galley area and then a big adult lounge at the other end. Its a big Caravan but they also have a smaller one without the kids lounge which is also a little cheaper.
Click on the Gallery below for a slideshow
The childrens bunk and lounge area. Dethleffs
Through the window
The adult area
Outside the Dethleffs caravan
Most of the big manufacturers were there, Trailite, Bailey, Jayco along with many others and it was nice to see Eldiss’s new Motorhomes too.
Click on the Gallery below for a slideshow
And the rush is on
Trailites!
In a Trailite looking back. Dropdown bed above.
Looking forward in the Trailite.
Going from one manufacturers Caravans and Motorhomes to another all in one spot, its really interesting seeing the different design styles and layouts.
I was really interested to talk to Carters Tyres executive Phil Jackson who was at the NZMCA stand, about tyres. Phil was telling me that many Motorhomes and Caravans are actually close to the weight limit of their tyres with some even over. This isn’t something that I ever thought about to be honest as you tend to watch things like GVM and axle weights. His team were going to weigh Motorhome and Caravans the next morning including Rafe.
I also found out that they have a brand called Giti which are well suited for Motorhomes and Caravans and will perform as well as or outperform my current factory fitted european tyres, and they’re less expensive too especially with the NZMCA discount. I’m really looking forward to finding out more as mine have done 58000k’s and need replacing!!
Rafe’s tyre weights were interesting. Weighed without me and without the bikes on the back, my current weight was just about 50 kg’s under on the front (each wheel) and would have been just over on the back with the bikes. The Giti’s have another 100kgs approx of payload each compared to my current tyres… who would have known!
Rafe’s overall GVM is just under 4300kg and on a heavy day is 4100kg with water, wine, groceries and packed with two of us ready to go. After having a great chat with Phil, and Ryan from NZMCA and a few others, I headed out the other end for a bite of something. There was a huge covered area with picnic tables with food carts down both sides offering all the usual treats. Some music was provided too.
Click on the Gallery below for a slideshow
Phil from Carters
The Rockwood stand
Autogtrails
Eldiss Motorhome
LOutside the Eldiss
Checking out the beds
At the eating space.
Plenty of choice
From here I’ll let the pictures tell the story but a fabulous show and I heard that it is now going to be an annual event. I can’s say enough about the volunteer parking people who did an amazing job with what seemed to be a zillion Motorhomes and Caravans.
They had a huge home at Waihi Beach. Over 260 square metres! It has been sold and in its place, their new Home, an 8.2 metre Morelo from Germany.
Click on an Image for Hi Res
These are seriously nice Motorhomes. They’re well appointed and they have everything that opens and shuts.
A real treat.
The Helm station
Underneath is a 3 litre turbo charged Iveco connected to the rear wheels via an 8 speed gearbox.
The Bedroom
I first bumped into them a few weeks ago when I first stopped in at the NZMCA park at Waipu beach and they had been staying here for a few nights being their old home turf.
The Galley
They’re really enjoying it and have lots of ideas for making it “theirs”.
The Living Space
The amazing thing that Robin volunteered later is that this is their first Motorhome.. What a way to go!
And soon one might be on its way to NZ! This will be the first of this make/model of this size in the country..!
This is the last in the series of images of flash Motorhomes from Jonas in Dusseldorf and its of the new Morelo Palace. Thanks to Jonas for making them available.
Click on the Gallery below to see a slideshow of the interior
In the Uk, these are sold from 186 K Euros. The UK ones are fitted out as follows
IVECO 6.5T Chassis
Meier Chassis
Double Floor
43mm Insulation
Alde Heating
3.0Ton Tow.
SLIDE OUT
CAR GARAGE
These images are hot off the press from Jonas Ng who is at the big Motorhome and Caravan show in Dusseldorf in Germany.
Jonas’s comment on this “Impressive” as well :-)..
Click on the Gallery below for a slideshow of the Interior
The new Niesmann and Bischoff is based on the Fiat Ducato and in NZ are 180HP with a 6 speed comformatic gearbox. These start at NZ$280K in NZ.
We met up with our friends Dianne and Gary in the UK when they first laid eyes on their Arto 88F, a slightly different model than this one. They were over the moon and have been since with it being one of the first of its kind in NZ. Check this out for another look at their thing of beauty.
A happy Dianne in the living area while Fiona inspects Gary and Dianne’s unit in the UK 🙂
These images are hot off the press from Jonas Ng who is at the big Motorhome and Caravan show in Dusseldorf in Germany.
Jonas is Managing Director and with his wife Irene, they own Zion Motorhomes in Pokeno who also import Frankia, Neismann Bischoff and Dethleffs Motorhomes.
This new vehicle is based on the Mercedes Benz Atego 1530L… Jonas’s comment “Impressive”!
Click on the Gallery below for a slideshow of the interior
This model starts at 450K Euros and is on either a Mercedes or Eurocargo base chassis depending on the customers needs. Jonas has some other smaller models made exclusively for the NZ market but if you want an Empire, I’m sure he could be persuaded to get you one 🙂
Some of you probably aren’t aware of the number on the top right of the blog but thats the total number of hits that have come our way.
The Hits on the right
You’re not alone and its really interesting where everyone comes from. Most hits come from NZ but there are a lot of you from the UK and around Europe as well. The Dethleffs Users UK have been big supporters too.. Thanks Richard!
Where the hits came from over the last year.
We started the Blog way back in August 2015. One of the first posts was about a Fiamma clothesline I installed on the bike rack on the back of Rafe which as been really useful and it was nice to see that it got some good hits again just in the last week!
When Fiona and I went to the South Island last year, it became very obvious how often we were recognised and how well read the Blog actually is. Thanks to everyone that made themselves known .
It was really nice to meet so many of you and get your feedback.
Thanks again for your support.. Now to get to the Million Hits!
From starting out 5 years or so ago from a yard behind a church in Howick and outgrowing that space, Jonas Ng and his expanded team, are about to move into their new custom designed building and yard in Pokeno.
Click on an image to see Hi Res
A happy looking Jonas
The building is still under construction and with competion due in June, they’re making the best of it in a temporary yard a few doors down the road.
The current yard
In the last year, they’ve added a Rental Motorhome business with McRent NZ.
A line of McRents ready to go
Now they have Frankia Motorhomes, Neismann and Bichoff, and Morelo to add to the Dethleffs fleet and the yard is looking really busy.
Outside the new buildingInside the huge new Building
And I couldn’t leave without having a nosey at the inside of one of the new Frankia Platins..
Click on the Gallery below to see a Slideshow
A Frankia Platin
Platin Living Space
Platin Galley area
The Bedroom of a Platin
Platin Toilet area
Platin Shower
Compared to the Church yard though, there is plenty of room and the new building will be really good for them. Go Jonas!
Fiona & Chris, two empty nesters put their dreams of doing something different into reality… Now back in a house, they were living in their Motorhome, come along for the ride.
Bugger It, we are off - www.buggeritweareoff.com 
You must be logged in to post a comment.