Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2025 i Practical Motorhome

SUDOKU To solve the puzzle, each row, column and 3x3 box must contain the numbers 1 to 9. No single digit can appear twice in any one row, column or 3x3 box HALF & HALF The first use of the socialist red flag as a symbol of working-class solidarity is said to have been in which country during an uprising in 1831? Cross out a letter in each square to get a grid filled with words. The uncrossed-out letters in the shaded squares will complete the puzzle answer! WORDWISE You have 15 minutes to find as many words as possible using the letters in the grid. Each word must contain four or more letters, one of which must be the central square. No proper nouns, plurals or foreign words are…

HOW CAN WE CHECK THAT OUR GAS SYSTEM IS OK? Q We’re planning to buy a new (to us) motorhome and have spotted a 2021 vehicle we like the look of. It is fitted with Gaslow bottles, which we haven’t come across before. Could you tell us what we need to look for when going to view the ’van, to check all is in order? Is there anything else we need to know about this system? A Nigel Donnelly replies… Gaslow cylinders are refillable by the user. Instead of swapping them out when they’re empty, you can top them up at petrol or LPG filling stations. It’s a great option if you plan to tour abroad regularly. Calor gas is hard to find outside the UK, whereas Gaslow can be…

IS IT WORTH FITTING A TRACKER IN OUR VEHICLE? Q Are motorhome trackers worth installing? I have been tempted, but I’m still not sure whether it’s worth the initial outlay and the continuing cost of the subscription to the service. What do you think? A John Sootheran replies… I’m a huge fan of monitored motorhome tracking systems. I know the best ones work brilliantly, as I’ve tested them on several occasions with ‘fake thefts’ – the Tracking HQs being totally unaware of when I was going to ‘steal’ the vehicle. Nobody wants to suffer a motorhome theft, whether their ’van is worth nine grand or 90. That makes a good-quality, monitored tracking device a sensible buy for all, although of course, you have to weigh the cost (between £400 and…

C&CC pulls out of NEC show The Camping and Caravanning Club will not be participating in either of the next two shows held at the NEC. The club, which has had a significant presence at NEC shows for several years, says that it has decided to “pause” its attendance at the October 2025 and the February 2026 events. In a statement, it added, “As we head into our 125th anniversary year, we want to focus on building excitement and buzz around this milestone. It will be a very exciting time for the club, and we want to make it truly celebratory.” The shows’ organiser, NCC Events, said it wished the club “every success” in its anniversary celebrations, adding that it was pleased to confirm the club is still committed to…

ADRIA Adria is 60 this year, and to celebrate that fact, it is bringing out three special edition Adria 60 Years models. These include the Twin 640 SGX, the Matrix 670SL and the Coral 760DL. All three come with exclusive upholstery and design details and additional spec. CARADO A campervan fitted with a permanent staircase that takes you up to the bed in the pop-up roof is among the new models in the EHG Group brand’s line-up for 2026. The Fiat-based Carado CV541 Pro has a cab that is separated from the rest of the interior by a partition. Immediately behind this, and directly in front of the sliding door, a staircase takes you up to the roof bed. It also houses some handy storage compartments, a half-height fridge and…

Hillside Leisure has been converting panel vans into campervans and motorhomes since 2004. Based in Derby, it is the brainchild of brothers Adrian and David Cross, who remain very much at the company helm today. Earliest conversions – monikered Ashover – were based on the Toyota Hiace. Ranges based on the Renault Trafic, the Nissan NV 200 and the VW Transporter appeared later. Recent models include the (larger) high-top VW Crafter/Man TGE, plus Ford Transit Custom campervans. VW’s Transporter has been a constant volume seller. There have been quite a few Hillside Leisure high-top and pop-top VW conversions in our chosen timeframe, but we are concentrating on by far the most popular when new, thus more will become available on the pre-owned market. These are the Birchover and Cromford. Birchover…

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The modern world really can’t live without an electrical supply, and everything from your weekly shop to parking apps rely on it to work. Your motorhome is exactly the same and, while a flat habitation battery won’t leave you stranded, it will mean an early bedtime, limited toilet use and a warming fridge. Not the end of the world, then – but not ideal. So what can you do to avoid the issue? Well, the obvious answer is to only stay on sites that have an electric hook-up. In this scenario, your leisure battery automatically receives charge from the vehicle’s inbuilt battery charging system. The 240V AC mains supply powers a transformer and is converted to a 12V DC supply, which tops up the leisure battery – usually at 10-20A,…

PICK OF THE MONTH AA Caravan & Motorhome spiral-bound Atlas Taking a dedicated motorhoming sat-nav when you go away is a great idea, but you can’t beat a good paper road atlas – it’ll be there even if there’s no signal or power available. We like this A3-sized atlas from the AA; not only does it have clear mapping, it also features 2000 campsites, so you can find your nearest one at a glance. There are 10 touring routes to follow, and more than 8700 places of interest marked on the maps, including National Parks. Price £13.19 W amazon.co.uk Vango Cuisine Casserole Pot This cleverly designed dish can hold up to three litres, but folds down neatly for easy storage. It’s oven safe to 180°C, and has a non-stick coating.…

HOW CAN WE AVOID ONLINE SCAMMERS WHEN WE BUY? Q Having come rather a cropper when shopping for a secondhand motorhome online (we found one that looked too good to be true – it was, and the listing was a scam, from a fake dealer), we are concerned about looking online again. How can we make sure that we don’t get caught out next time? A Sarah Wakely replies… It’s sad that there are so many scammers out there, but this is an issue that we hear about quite a lot at Practical Motorhome, so I’m glad to be able to pass on some tips that might help both you and others when buying in the future. These scams are getting more clever as time goes on, but there are…

It’s not that long since we last had a look at this four-berth, based on the Mercedes Sprinter, with fixed single beds and a rear washroom. But Auto-Sleepers’ Mercedes-based coachbuilts have had a major upgrade this year, so we’re looking at this one again, to compare and contrast. Chief among these changes is the inclusion of the new Alde 3030 heating system with continuous hot water. Auto-Sleepers has fitted this system, which comes as standard, a year ahead of everyone else. As an option, you can also have a Cinderella incinerating toilet fitted in place of the standard electric-flush cassette toilet. Our test model didn’t have that, although it did have the Mercedes Premium Pack (£5100). This gets you a Thule awning, alloy wheels and a 100W solar panel on…

They are extremely popular, and if you haven’t yet tried one, you might wonder what all the fuss is about, but an air fryer can provide you with a quick and efficient way of rustling up delicious food on tour. This is a gadget that could come in particularly handy if your ’van isn’t fitted with an oven. And if you use an air fryer a lot when you’re at home, then your lifestyle is already geared up towards cooking with them. However, before investing in one, you will need to consider how you intend to power it up – they require mains power, so will you have access to electric hook-up, or are you going to rely on a portable power station? This is important, because you need to…

HYMER MOBIL 520 1974-1983 Hymer Mobil first produced an A-class (integral) motorhome in 1972. It was palatial and based on the premium Mercedes-Benz chassis. In order to broaden the appeal of A-class motorhomes, Hymer decided to build a shorter range based on a more affordable chassis. This was the 500 series and the featured rear-lounge 520 was the first to sell in any number here in the UK. Based on the Opel Blitz (Bedford CF in Blighty), more were imported to the UK as pre-owned examples, than were sold brand new. This is probably the reason why so many were badged Opel and left-hand drive. The 520 has a forward UK offside kitchen, nearside wardrobe and washroom, all ahead of the opulent triple-aspect rear lounge. Standard equipment included acrylic double…

Our camper suffered a mysterious lurgy a little while back, when the front brake calipers became non-floating. This resulted in only one side of the brake discs actually being used. The brakes are good again now, though, with new discs and pads, the calipers stripped down and copper greased up so they float again. Now, this might seem irrelevant to an article that’s supposed to be about making a phone dock, but read on. Like most of us, we are addicted to our smartphones (Android in our case) – we use them for everything, including solving sudoku puzzles and crosswords, language translation and much more. Phone-charging options When the front seats of our camper are in the forward-facing/driving position, my wife (our navigator on the road) has a small shelf…

How to use the guide We’ve organised our listings by layout, generally the most crucial aspect for buyers. Simply locate the floorplan you like in the guide; then, on the left of it, you’ll find details of every UK model with that layout. Simple! Note that TA in a model name denotes a twin-axle. great for… Buying British SWIFT VOYAGER 475 (p105) Price £71,995 Sleeps 5 Belts 5 Base vehicle Ford Transit Engine 2.0-litre, 130bhp Length 7.54m MTPLM 3500kg Payload 430kg Water (fresh/waste) 110/85 litres Leisure battery 80Ah Gas 2 x 6kg The number of different overcabs produced each season has steadily declined. So full credit to Swift for its new Ford Transit-based range. The Voyager includes four overcabs, of which this is the smallest. They all have an MTPLM under…

ARE THERE SPECIAL RULES FOR VISITING THE ISLE OF MAN? Q We are thinking of visiting the Isle of Man with our campervan, but we’ve been told there are special requirements when booking the ferry. Could you please explain them? A Jo Davies replies… Unless you’re towing a caravan, there are no special requirements when taking your motorhome to the Isle of Man – you’re free to book your ferry crossing and go. Ferry travel is via the Steam Packet Company. Have a wonderful time – it’s a great place for a tour! W steam-packet.com SHOULD WE JOIN A TOURING CLUB? Q We recently bought our first motorhome and we love it! We have been staying at privately owned campsites so far, but are considering joining one of the major…

Celebrate the best of summer ■ The Big Feastival, Cotswolds 22-24 August 2025 This annual celebration of food and music brings a top line-up of Michelin-starred chefs and world-renowned artists to Alex James’ (of Blur fame) idyllic Cotswolds farm. Expect award-winning street food, fun family activities and performances from the likes of Nelly Furtado, Faithless and Travis. And of course, the Blur bassist is pretty sure to get in on the act! Adult day tickets from £93.50. W bigfeastival.com Stay at Chipping Norton C&CC Site W www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk ■ Glamis Proms, Scotland 23 August 2025 On the splendid lawns of Glamis Castle, experience the very best of Scottish talent, including the Scottish Pops Orchestra, the award-winning Dollar Academy Pipe Band, and top-class traditional Highland Dancers. Visitors can bring a picnic to…

For some customers, it has to be a VW. For decades, Volkswagen has offered its own camper to compete against the independents. VW has taken a different approach with the latest version of the hugely popular California: instead of being based on a commercial vehicle, it uses the Multivan MPV as a starting point. It’s a smart move, as the Multivan drives well and is available with diesel, petrol or plug-in hybrid power. The petrol is pacey and the plug-in offers emission-free driving on short journeys, but the diesel we’ve tested offers excellent economy and range. Driven almost 500 miles from Surrey to Scotland, the California returned 49.7mpg – an improvement on the official figure of 41.5mpg. With a 58-litre fuel tank, 500-600 miles should be possible between fill-ups. The…

Regular readers of Practical Motorhome will know that my current campervan – a 2017 Autocruise (Swift) Select 144 – has been in my ownership for just a few months. In that time, we’d not given it much of a run out, beyond a couple of local trips, so what better way to test it in a bit more depth than to drive to Alsace (somewhere I had long wanted to visit) in France during the early summer? Stunning scenery Inspired by a trip I’d taken about 10 years ago (that time in a VW California), we decided to drive to Alsace via Belgium and Luxembourg – it’s not much further than travelling directly through France, and the scenery is stunning. So we booked a crossing with DFDS from Dover to…

VW Kamper Centre moves on from Autohaus Independent VW campervan producer Autohaus may no longer be with us, but demand for its final vehicles seems unfaltering. The company went into administration at the start of this year, but one of its dealers – specialist campervan retailer the VW Kamper Centre – says sales have hardly been affected. As Andy Spencer, from VW Kamper Centre on the Hampshire/Dorset border, points out: “Since the closure of Autohaus, we’ve continued to sell Autohaus products very well, and have also sold many pre-owned models. It could be price point and that the public are being more reserved in their spending habits, but who knows?” At the time of writing, VW Kamper Centre had just five Autohaus models on its books. The dealer is filling…

Fitting new fuel injectors The other expense that we’ve had with KC has been engine related. For a while now, the ’van has been more and more reluctant to start once hot, which is almost always caused by fuel injector problems. A bit of diagnostic work suggested they were the cause, so I ordered four Bosch factory-refurbished units from our local parts supplier, at just over £300 each. Easing the way It is generally a good idea to carry out work like this with the engine hot, because that allows parts to expand and hopefully come out more easily. Fuel injectors on modern diesel engines are pretty notorious for seizing in the head. I set about the task and the first one came out really easily. Number two was a…

These days, the name Thetford is usually at the top of the list when you think of leisure vehicle appliances, and that’s no surprise when you consider that 99% of toilets fitted to mainstream UK leisure vehicles are by Thetford, as are 96% of cookers and 58% of fridge/freezers. Thetford toilets and fridges are manufactured in the Netherlands, but sinks, hobs, ovens and full cookers are produced here in the UK, at the company’s factory near Rotherham, South Yorkshire. I recently visited to learn more about the history of the company, and to see various products being manufactured. Beginning with spinning Back in the 1960s, a Sheffield ophthalmologist, Dr John Wilkie, acquired a Spinflo machine to ‘play’ with as a hobby. As the name implies, the Spinflo machine basically spins…

How to use the guide We’ve organised our listings by layout, generally the most crucial aspect for buyers. Simply locate the floorplan you like in the guide; then, on the left of it, you’ll find details of every UK model with that layout. Simple! Note that TA in a model name denotes a twin-axle. how to buy… Choosing a layout Before you get close to buying your dreamedfor van, you need to have a good think about what you are likely to use the vehicle for: is it just for touring, or for day-to-day use as well? If the latter, you may need a shorter vehicle with more travel seats in the back. And you need to think about who is likely to use it. If children are coming with…