NEC Motorhome and Caravan Show

Yesterday we took a trip down to Birmingham to check out the motorhomes at the NEC Motorhome and Caravan Show.

It was a very, very big show but being a weekday it was not that crowded plus there were no ankle biters, so we could have a good look around!  We were virtually sure we wanted an Autotrail  as they are made in the UK and are sold in Australia, so we would be able to get parts or sell it on should we go back one day.

The first thing we spotted when we walked through the entrance was a brand new VW Kombi!


We spoke to a lot of motorhome dealers, who all rated the Autotrail range very well, plus we spoke to the head of Autotrail to find out the difference between a UK and an Aussie spec van... not a lot really apart from the price  The same van in Oz is about £30,000 more expensive!

So the Autotrail Delaware was the choice, next thing was to find a good low mileage unit as we didn't want and couldn't afford a new one, plus there is a long waiting list!

The thing we liked was that it had a fixed island bed plus plenty of storage.

Elaine in the captains chair ...

Such a nice bed ... no more crawling over each other to get up!

Long story short we found a good low mileage unit (as in 11,000 miles) which we put a deposit on subject to inspection and test drive. Talking to one of the dealers he said we should check the cooker and shower etc for wear and tear because even though it may have low miles it could be because they drove it to Spain and back a couple of times but lived in for months on end.  However our dealer assured us it is mint, but he is a used car salesman!

So it will look like the one below but will be all white, plus it has the higher horsepower motor and a extra bed over the top of the cabin, in case we have visitors.

Once we had done the deal we headed for the exit door but before we got there we had a look around the Lodge type places that were on display.  I didn't know what to expect, but they were fantastic!  We really liked this one, all up the cost including all the furniture as displayed plus installed on site was £170,000.  The park levies were about £4000 a year, it wasn't a  Park Home it was Dream Lodge.  They are holiday homes though, so you don't seem to be able to 'live' in them as your residence (bit like a narrowboat!) ...

Just lovely ...

And oh so cosy ...

So that was the end of the show for us!  I would have to say one day wasn't long enough to see all the offerings, we didn't get a chance to check out the 'shit and glitter' stands at all.

Now don't forget folks if you want to buy a very nice narrow boat, Caxton will be on the market in 6 months or so, ready to go for next summers cruising....get your offers in now :-)