Motorhomes

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franko171, Jan 23, 1:24am
looking to buy a motorhome . what are the best sites to look at.
tamarillo, Jan 23, 1:45am
trademe, and facebook groups - go to facebook and search motorhomes and a few groups come up. The groups are great places for advise to.
msigg, Jan 23, 2:21am
New zealand motor home association has for sale and a forum for information.
tygertung, Jan 23, 3:12am
You might be better off renting one or staying in a hotel unless you want a real budget one. They are pretty expensive for occasional use.
s_nz, Jan 23, 3:16am
This one is pretty good if you are looking at a used motor-home.

Companies like Smart RV import nice ($130k+) new ones from europe if you have the budget to go that route.

Rent one (or do a relocation if your budget is tight) and see what features work and do not work for you.
tygertung, Jan 23, 7:17am
If it costs $130k to buy one, you could probably rent one many times for $130k.
headcat, Jan 23, 7:53am
Or a lot of pretty good hotels.
lakeview3, Jan 23, 7:55am
yeah and without all the maintenance as well! Or the worry of where to store it. Unsightly things lol.
flagheaven, Jan 23, 8:43am
and insurance and always buying "flasher" stuff for them .
then depreciation when you finally sell it in a few years when there is a glut of them on the market as folks are back into the swing of overseas travel etc
kacy5, Jan 23, 9:06am
The OP hasn't said what they want a Motor Home for, to live in and travel around the country or for just the odd holiday. I worked with people of all age groups but mostly those who retired early or were over 65, who travelled around NZ doing a little seasonal work when the need or want arose and loved the life. Most had rented their homes out or sold up and were looking to buy elsewhere when health or travelling became too much for them. None regretted their decision and although one lady told me they lost a fair bit when they sold the MH to settle down again she said it was worth it for the 9 years of fun they had on the road.

Whatever OP decides I'm sure there is a lot of thought going into such a purchase, it's not one most people would rush into unless they had plenty of cash and could afford to make a mistake.
s_nz, Jan 23, 9:56am
$130k for the cheapest New camper-van from SmartRV. There most expensive is $188k. They also have the used ex rental vans from wilderness rentals at lower prices.

For people that are going to use their campervan a lot ownership makes sense. Outside of Covid times, such vans rent for $300 - $600 a day depending on season (+ insurance and extras). Even then they would get sold out in peak summer. My grandparents spend like half their time in their van. Payback would be well under two years for them (again without covid-19).

Other than financial there are the following major reasons to own rather than rent:
- If you live outside of a major center.
- Want the convenience of being able to go away for the weekend without planning
- Want to be able to customize to your requirements
- Want better stuff than is available in rental fleets.

Regarding hotels, they are often cheaper than rental camper-van, but the experience is quite different. No hotels in many of the spots campervan owners love.

Downside of ownership is you are somewhat constrained geographically. Going to the other island is relatively time consuming vs someone who fly's and rents a van. And of course it is only useful within NZ.
tygertung, Jan 23, 7:58pm
Most of the vans I've seen are parked in camping grounds, but of course you can just park up anywhere if you like, unless there is a sign saying not to.
franko171, Jan 23, 9:46pm
to just go where and when i feel like it .no time frame to feturn to a base
raewyn2, Jan 23, 10:26pm
OP asked about the best sites to look at.I'd say TM and maybe the sites that cover motorhoming overall. Someone above mentioned NZMCA which will probably be limited to vehicles owned by members but they have so many members that it could be a good placer to start.
OP didn't ask for pros and cons of renting v. buying, or to know what's cheapest. Maybe they've already done the homework on needs v. wants and just want to get on with buying.
s_nz, Jan 23, 10:36pm
If it fits your use case, and you have the budget, go for it.

Trademe is a good place to start. 840 camper-vans listed at the moment. As with cars, many dealers list all their stock here in addition to their own website.

Could also consider caravan's, especially if you already have, or fancy a ute or larger 4x4 as your daily driver. Often they deliver a bit more value, and are great if you like to set up camp for a few days at at time. Campervans are great if you like to move every day or two.
tygertung, Jan 24, 12:32am
You can also tow a caravan with a normal car too.
framtech, Jan 24, 1:55am
130k thats an awful lot of nights stays at the Hilton, without blocking the roads, endless COF's, RUC's and no space to live in.
Need a big space to store and park when not in use.
They are no good off road unless you buy one built on a military 4WD truck.
franc123, Jan 24, 1:56am
How big, how many berths required and what sort of money are you wanting to spend? Remember on heavier units you may need to upgrade your drivers licence. Because of the amount of options there are you need to get down to specifics before even beginning to search. IMO theres far better value for money to be had in the caravan market, especially if you already own a large car or ute/suv. Some of the specialized motorhome groups on FB would probably be the best place to get an idea of what might be the most suitable for you.
tygertung, Jan 24, 4:18am
Surely people have been towing caravan around for long before everyone has been getting these big stupid 4WDs.
franc123, Jan 24, 4:28am
That is why I said large car, using anything more than that isnt really required with most medium sized caravans providing obviously it has the right tow equipment. People towed large NZ built vans with all sorts of cars that were not very powerful by modern standards for decades, why it's considered by some that a tens of thousands of dollars investment in a brand new truck is needed is anyones guess. It seems to be more of an image thing than anything else. I still use Falcons to tow my van's and have done for decades and hope to for decades to come, got 2300kg towbars and they do the job perfectly.
s_nz, Jan 25, 9:03am
Falcon is known as an exceptional tow vehicle, especially with the 2300kg tow pack you have. I'm sure it will serve you well.

Sadly it has been discontinued so it is not an option for new car buyers, and for used car buyers the 1600kg towbar is a lot more common the the 2300kg tow pack.

These days non euro sedans tow ratings top out at about 1500kg.

medium UK / Euro caravan's are fairly available under 1500kg which can be towed by a mazda 6 or similar, and larger ones are generally under 2000kg which can by towed by an out lander diesel or similar.

But a medium or bigger aussie caravan typically exceed 2000kg, These days such tow ratings on non euro cars can only be found on utes and large 4x4's.

OP didn't mention what their car was, so included the cost of an appropriate one for sake of comparison to campervan prices.
tygertung, Feb 15, 9:59am
One must also consider that a caravan with similar sized accommodation to which one would enjoy with a campervan isn't going to be the world's biggest caravan, seeing as campervans often are not that roomy inside.
kam04, Feb 16, 2:45am
We own one. Have had it now for about 3years. We really enjoy the freedom of just going where we want, when we want, for how ever long we want without any planning or pre booking, stay as long or as short time in one place as we want, meeting lots of different people doing the same thing. We enjoy the lifestyle. Of course we are retired so all these things make this easy for us.
I'm just wondering how many posters on this thread actually own one, rented one or even driven one but still willing to give a lot of negative advice.
My advice would be is to rent one first to see if it is really your thing. It's not everybody's ideal holiday choice. We went to Smart RV and hired one. At that time they had a promo going that if you hired one from them (Wilderness) and then purchased one from them, they would refund the hire cost. They may still have that going. We didn't purchase from them in the end but the experience was worth it and helped us to decide to buy. I think prices are a little over inflated at the moment because of the popularity of kiwi travellers doing this instead of going overseas. Choosing between a motorhome and caravan? They both have their advantages and disadvantages, personal choice is what it comes down to
Anyway I'm more than happy to answer any questions you may have if I can.
franko171, Feb 17, 12:50am
have purchased now to enjoy it . retired with no ties at home .
s_nz, Feb 17, 1:56am
Sounds good. I'm sure you will love it as my grandparents do. Ownership really does make a lot of sense for people in your situation, especially with international travel looking off the cards for at least another year.

What model did you end up picking?