Motorhome “Aways“ About to Start

Dethleffs Just Go 7055 EBL Motorhome - parked up in its new home — *_{Dethleffs Just Go 7055 EBL Motorhome – parked up in its new home}*

Pinching Myself!

#smilingontheinside – Friday 30 May 2025

It’s taken 20 years of dreaming and finally, here it is! The beginning of another chapter in My Ordinary Married Life. #smilingontheinside

I’m still pinching myself! I can’t believe that this motorhome is ours… that we’re not just hiring it… borrowing it… with the requirement to return it in 10 days or so.

This time, we get to keep it!

Back when Alan and I first met, I told him one of my dreams was to travel around Godzone Aotearoa New Zealand in a motorhome. Not permanently, but holidaying. Exploring the cycleways and walkways – the Great Outdoors. Not for extended periods but for short “aways” – around his roster.

Otago Rail Trail 2012

The dream truly began when we cycled the Otago Rail Trail in 2012.

During our ride, I struck up a conversation with a retired couple traveling in the opposite direction.

As was typical, this chat started with, ‘Where did you start from this morning?’.

They shared they were retired and had parked their motorhome just behind them. They were enjoying their Otago Rail Trail adventure slowly – cycling about 10 kms each day – then turning around to relocate their motorhome to their endpoint.

The next day, they would do the same or explore the surrounding area. By the end of their trip, they would have cycled the entire trail in both directions, totalling 304 kms.

I wanted to experience that.

I mentioned to Alan that I hoped we could do something similar – before we retired. He replied that it sounded nice, but he had no interest in living in a ‘tin box’ for an extended period. Or even short periods, like a single overnight.

Different Camping Experiences Growing Up

His childhood camping experiences seemed quite different from mine.

I’d only known camping under canvas during holidays in both the UK and New Zealand, and those trips were always great fun. I don’t ever remember having to fold up my bed each day.

I held onto the dream of motorhome travel combined with exploring New Zealand’s ‘Ways’: cycleways and walkways.

One Rental at a Time

After 18 years – in 2023 – Alan willingly agreed to try life in a motorhome for a short period. His only condition was that he didn’t want to dismantle his bed every morning just to have his breakfast. This meant we needed to rent something big.

We chose a 6-berth Mercedes, an older model that allowed the bed to remain in place. Over 10 days, we travelled about 2,000 kms and explored much of the lower South Island.

Research Started

That adventure provided Alan with a new perspective and set him on his journey into motorhome research, which took a couple of years.

We hired again (Dethleffs 7057 DBL) and attended several motorhome shows. We talked with motorhome owners, joined online groups and forums, and watched squillions of videos and podcasts. We also joined the NZ Motor Caravan Association.

Dethleffs 7055 EBL

During 2024 we started our search to buy a Dethleffs model.

We chose this particular Dethleffs model because of the sheer size of the ‘garage’ at the back – under the master bedroom.

We wanted to be able to transport our bikes hidden – away from the weather, prying eyes and people carrying bolt cutters to ‘appropriate’.

The model we wanted didn’t come up for sale very often (second hand) – the Dethleffs “Trend” range. Now that we’d decided to purchase, we opted for another Dethleffs’ model range, the slightly lower-spec’d Just Go series.

Ford vs Fiat

One of the biggest differences in consideration for us was the chassis: Fiat (Trend models) vs Ford (Just Go models). Alan’s research led him down the Fiat model pathway. His concern was he’d read about the expense involved when it came time to replace the cambelt on the Ford (which was hidden deep inside the engine) versus the Fiat, which was easier to access.

There were some internal finishing differences between the Trend and Just Go, but none those were of major concern to us.

Weight Implications

With a motorhome (and caravan) everything you carry has weight implications. The Ford Transit comes with a retrofitted airbag suspension kit – this means we’d be carrying a lot (and I mean a lot!) of stuff to ever end up overweight.

With the Fiat, we’d weighed our loads and only had about 10 or 20kg up our sleeve before we became overweight (with all sorts of legal ramifications).

Alan getting 'driving instructions' on how to operate the airbag suspension in the Ford Transit. — *_{Alan getting ‘driving instructions’ on how to operate the airbag suspension in the Ford Transit.}*

Kitting Out

It’s exciting kitting out the van – however, I’d also include daunting as well.

Lots of decisions to make with all the things we take for granted at home and then when we’ve hired … what do we really need…? For example, a toaster…?

As soon as we parked up at home, Alan turned around and went to work on a double-overnight – perfect timing right?

This means it’s my solo job – in absolutely foul, squally weather – to do the kitting out ready for our first night in the wild Sunday – if he’s on time and gets home as planned – so we can arrive at our first destination in daylight.