Melchior
Free Member
Hello chaps and chapesses
Last year we went to the Dusseldorf Caravan Salon for the first time and really loved it. There was no question about going back again this year so off we went. As we live in the Amsterdam area, it isn't that far for us. Unfortunately we had to go by car (what?!) as our Ducato based Knaus is devoid of a 5th gear and I'm half way through fixing it.
If you do go by motorhome, you have the pleasure of staying in a huge, nay *HUGE* stellplatz which is part of the exhibition centre. If my memory serves me correctly (hah!) there is space enough for 2000 motorhomes. Last year we stayed in there and I can well believe it. It was full of all sorts - a great pleasure to amble around in the evening and gawp, ogle, "wow" and "corr!".
Alas we were confined to our little €500 VW Golf. Car parking is €8 for the day, I believe around the same for the stellplatz per night; this includes a short bus shuttle to and from the exhibition centre. Entry is €13/day but you can sign up for a membership card, this gives you trade price for the year after so thanks to Miss M's forsight in 2012, we paid €9 for the day.
Most if not all big brands are there. Everything from the million-euro rock star penthouse suite on wheels with Porsche / Ferrari / Gullwing 300SL (really!) garage, to the few thousand euro micro-caravan and everything in between. A totally fascinating place for any motorhomer.
During the last couple of weeks I had questioned Miss M as to what could possibly have changed in a single year? Surely most things would be the same? We were both surprised at how wrong I was (no. She was not surprised at my being wrong). There were many many more small motorhomes around the 6 metre mark - last year we remarked at the lack of this size and how we found it odd. The fashion of the 'garage' had meant lengths going to at least 6m, this year there was more choice for those wanting smaller wagons.
Modern MH's lean towards a seating arrangement which did seem a little wasteful of space. This year we noticed almost every manufacturer had added a seat on the wall edge of the dining area - this small change brings a huge increase in practicality and space efficiency.
Kitchen workspace is still a problem. I think we are very spoilt with this as our now 14 year old Knaus Traveller has a frankly ridiculous amount of worktop. We didn't see a single motorhome with anything like the amount of space we have in ours. Maybe people just aren't preparing and cooking like they used to, I don't know. If we were looking to buy new, that would be a huge consideration for Miss M as she loves to cook. In most we saw today, it wouldn't be easy at all.
Often one comes away from such shows with a desire to call a showroom first thing on Monday and start talking to a salesman. We aren't in a position to do that anyway (far from it!) but even if we were, what we saw today make us realise how much we love our MH and that there is little within reasonable budget for which we would exchange it. We have, however, been inspired a little. A list now exists of things to change and improve to bring a more modern feel and comfortable experience. Perhaps a thread or two will follow off the back of these plans.
If you have never been and are able to, as you can tell I highly recommend going to this show. You can easily spend a day there and the stellplatz is just fantastic. It's not expensive and has the added bonus of being able to pop to a nearby Getränkemarkt and pick up some proper decent beer :thumb:
For those of you that did, thanks for reading this far.
Cheers,
M
Last year we went to the Dusseldorf Caravan Salon for the first time and really loved it. There was no question about going back again this year so off we went. As we live in the Amsterdam area, it isn't that far for us. Unfortunately we had to go by car (what?!) as our Ducato based Knaus is devoid of a 5th gear and I'm half way through fixing it.
If you do go by motorhome, you have the pleasure of staying in a huge, nay *HUGE* stellplatz which is part of the exhibition centre. If my memory serves me correctly (hah!) there is space enough for 2000 motorhomes. Last year we stayed in there and I can well believe it. It was full of all sorts - a great pleasure to amble around in the evening and gawp, ogle, "wow" and "corr!".
Alas we were confined to our little €500 VW Golf. Car parking is €8 for the day, I believe around the same for the stellplatz per night; this includes a short bus shuttle to and from the exhibition centre. Entry is €13/day but you can sign up for a membership card, this gives you trade price for the year after so thanks to Miss M's forsight in 2012, we paid €9 for the day.
Most if not all big brands are there. Everything from the million-euro rock star penthouse suite on wheels with Porsche / Ferrari / Gullwing 300SL (really!) garage, to the few thousand euro micro-caravan and everything in between. A totally fascinating place for any motorhomer.
During the last couple of weeks I had questioned Miss M as to what could possibly have changed in a single year? Surely most things would be the same? We were both surprised at how wrong I was (no. She was not surprised at my being wrong). There were many many more small motorhomes around the 6 metre mark - last year we remarked at the lack of this size and how we found it odd. The fashion of the 'garage' had meant lengths going to at least 6m, this year there was more choice for those wanting smaller wagons.
Modern MH's lean towards a seating arrangement which did seem a little wasteful of space. This year we noticed almost every manufacturer had added a seat on the wall edge of the dining area - this small change brings a huge increase in practicality and space efficiency.
Kitchen workspace is still a problem. I think we are very spoilt with this as our now 14 year old Knaus Traveller has a frankly ridiculous amount of worktop. We didn't see a single motorhome with anything like the amount of space we have in ours. Maybe people just aren't preparing and cooking like they used to, I don't know. If we were looking to buy new, that would be a huge consideration for Miss M as she loves to cook. In most we saw today, it wouldn't be easy at all.
Often one comes away from such shows with a desire to call a showroom first thing on Monday and start talking to a salesman. We aren't in a position to do that anyway (far from it!) but even if we were, what we saw today make us realise how much we love our MH and that there is little within reasonable budget for which we would exchange it. We have, however, been inspired a little. A list now exists of things to change and improve to bring a more modern feel and comfortable experience. Perhaps a thread or two will follow off the back of these plans.
If you have never been and are able to, as you can tell I highly recommend going to this show. You can easily spend a day there and the stellplatz is just fantastic. It's not expensive and has the added bonus of being able to pop to a nearby Getränkemarkt and pick up some proper decent beer :thumb:
For those of you that did, thanks for reading this far.
Cheers,
M
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