Some of the questions we’re asked

#smilingontheinside – Monday 21 July 2025

What’s the difference between a “motorhome” and a “campervan”?

A campervan is usually a “van” (think “Jucy”) or a “people mover” that’s been converted. Even though some campervans display “self contained” stickers on their bumpers, I’m not sure how (or where) a toilet could be used. Having showers would be done outside (maybe in a little tent).

A motorhome, on the other hand, is usually a “tiny house” built onto a large van or truck chassis. They have toilets you can stand up in, with a door. Some have separate showers and toilets and hand basins. Others have a nifty set up where the toilet/shower/hand basin is all in one and you cleverly swing the shower around so the toilet doesn’t get wet.

Ours has a toilet and hand basin on one side of the vehicle, and a shower on the other.

There’s a door that closes off the living area from the bedroom that creates a bit of an ensuite arrangement.

Where do you park it?

We have it at home on the lawn (I know, not the best idea for the lawn) next to our garage. Unfortunately, it’s not under cover (our ideal) – yet!

Because we’re fortunate enough to have it parked up at home, it means that loading and unloading is easy – we don’t have to drive to a lock-up before we go away. We can just get ready straight from home #smilingontheinside

We’re fortunate enough to have a reasonably sized section (>700 m²) with a two-storey house. This means there’s quite a bit of space for parking.

What type of motorhome do you have?

Ours is a Dethleffs model – German – which means it’s pronounced “det-leffs” on a Ford Transit chassis. It’s a 2024 ex-rental and had about 28km on the clock. All the consumer warranties were transferred to us when we bought it:

• 100,000km / 3 year Ford warranty
• 2 year general warranty – Dethleffs
• 6 year water ingress warranty – Dethleffs

Technically, our motorhome (we call it a van) is a Dethleffs “Just Go” 7055 EBL. It’s a twin bed model with two skylights – one in the bedroom (I’ve laid in bed and been able to marvel at the stars at night). The other skylight is above the dining table in the living area. That’s high – I can’t open it without standing on a stool.

We have 115 litres of fresh water, approx 95 litres of grey (kitchen, hand basin + shower waste water) and a black toilet cassette that holds about 15 litres.

On the roof we have around 450 kw of solar across four panels. We’re currently getting quotes to fit an inverter which means we’ll be able to use the AC plugs in the van when we’re off-grid. For example, I can only charge my laptop when we’re plugged into shore (mains) power at a campsite. We do have a 12V charger for my laptop, but that’s only good for a little while, not like being permanently plugged into a regular power outlet.

Can you go off-grid?

Yes – we can. We haven’t tested it fully, but we believe would could comfortably go for about three days without being plugged into shore (mains) power.

We’re planning an extended holiday next year where we know we’re going to have to be off-grid for around three days. We’ll probably take an additional couple of 10litre bottles of fresh water (I don’t think we’ll need these, but just in case). Provided we’re judicious with our water usage, we’ll be fine. Provided the sun shines for a few hours each day so we can charge up the solar panels.

How many can it sleep?

It could probably sleep four, although passengers 3 and 4 might be a bit cozy because that bed is one that’s made up across the dining table. It’s not a full size double/queen bed. It’d be a very comfy and spacious single though.

At the back are two king-single size beds – one on each side.

It’s registered to carry four passengers. We can set up two extra passenger seats behind the regular front cab seats, with seatbelts and headrests. Because there’s just the two of us, we store these extra seats at home.

When it goes for its COF – Certificate of Fitness – these seats have to be set up for passenger travel.

Why a Certificate of Fitness?

Because our motorhome weighs more than 3,500kg, it requires a Certificate of Fitness. These are 6-monthly, like a WOF. It costs around $200 +/- for each COF.

Can you drive it Julie?

This is an interesting question that always makes me smile. I’m not sure why some people think that I, especially, or women, generally, won’t drive large vehicles.

What especially makes me smile is that even if our motorhome weighed in at >6000kg, I’d still legally be able to drive it, while Alan would need a license upgrade. I’ve had my HT license for centuries.

But back to the question – our case the Ford Transit is lovely to drive and I enjoy it. The things you have to be aware of is its height – some roads have quite steep cambers on them, so when you park up next to a lamp post or tree, the angle at the top will be more pronounced and you could end up scraping the van.

The other thing is when you’re overtaking – yes! that’s possible! – you need to remember to allow more space behind you, before pulling back into the left hand lane again so you don’t cut off the vehicle you’ve just passed.

And another thing is that there could be vehicles behind you that you can’t see. It appears that not many drivers realise that when you’re following a vehicle, if you can’t see their wing mirrors, then they can’t see you.

I’ve followed Alan who’s been driving our van; I’ve needed to be a good 5-6 car lengths behind him, before he can see me. That’s quite a bit of travelling distance. Therefore, you need to keep checking wing mirrors and even shadows on the road. A vehicle may be following close and you can’t see them in your mirrors, so you need to see if there’re any shadows on the road that let you know someone is behind you.

Why a motorhome Julie – why not a caravan?

We did consider a caravan. You can certainly get a lot more caravan for your dollars. But we decided on the motorhome for a few reasons:

• we want to explore as much of New Zealand as possible, not park up for extended periods in one place;
• we’d probably need more gruntier tow vehicles than our V6 Commodores – which adds to the purchase expense and then there’s the cost of looking after that extra vehicle as well as parking considerations at home;
• any reversing of a caravan would probably fall on Alan’s shoulders because I’d need a lot more practice than I’ve had and that would be somewhat stressful!
• we wanted a “garage” to be able to store our bikes out of sight and under cover.

How do you intend to use it?

Firstly – as often as possible – even if it’s just for one night only an hour or so away from home. The plan is to get away as often as is reasonably practicable (although I really don’t mind impractical either!) around Alan’s roster, with the bikes and/or our 4×4 (tramping/trekking) shoes.

Yes – we could have waited until we retired. But neither of us are really planning on that happening any time soon because we both still enjoy, and are capable, of doing what we’re doing.

We also didn’t want to wait because none of us know what’s around the corner. We’ve seen people wait until the perfect time and then miss out because they get some horrible health condition and/or they die in the meantime and/or one half of the couple dies in the meantime. That’s sad and very tragic.

I’m #smilingontheinside that we haven’t had to wait and can have our adventures – even if just for one night up the road – at this point in our lives.

My Monday 21 July 2025 in Pictures

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Here’s to motorhome “aways”…

Here’s to exploring more of New Zealand…

Here’s to spontaneous trips – even if just for one night down or up the road

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Here’s to SmilingOnTheInside!