​Whilst motorhomes drive on our roads along with cars and other smaller vehicles, in reality the maintenance requirements of a motorhome are much more complex and more akin to boat ownership. They contain a combination of domestic home type systems, RV specific appliances, and automotive and safety components, all housed within a vehicle that will be driven at relatively high speeds over many years. With that in mind, it's well worth staying on top of maintaining your motorhome at regular intervals.
 
With a brand new motorhome purchase, most European RV brands require the owners to undertake habitation inspections on an annual basis for a limited number of years to maintain the warranty cover period. However we would encourage owners to undertake these inspections every year regardless of any warranty cover requirements. We believe these habitation inspections are crucial for ensuring the safety and longevity of your motorhome, they can also affect its future resale value by preventing small problems from becoming big problems requiring serious repair. This applies to all brands and builds, not just the brands we import here at Deluxe.
 
If you require a habitation inspection we have a network of agents throughout New Zealand who can do this somewhere close by to where you are located. Customers who have purchased new RV's from us will receive an annual inspection reminder from our automated system that contains this list. However if you don't receive these annual reminders and wish to receive a copy of the list please just email us to request a copy. 

Last year our good friend Jean-Marie made the below winterisation advice video for the wider Pilote community. The video is in French but you can watch with English subtitles. Because Pilote offers class 3 insulation and sells into Scandinavian countries. The video gives detailed advice for long term winterisation advice for these cold European countries. However much of it still applies to general winterisation techniques and requirements. Even if you don't have a Pilote Motorhome.

You can also check out our previous winterisation blog article at the link below.

https://www.deluxegroup.co.nz/deluxe-rv-blog/winterizing-your-rv 

As the sunlight hours drop this is typically when we start to see people struggle with their 12V house batteries and field phone calls with confusion on why they might be flat. Its not so much an issue with battery capacity but an issue with the recharge rate during the day.

Most of our new customers are opting for around 400W of solar now. 200W of solar during winter is a very light set up, this in turn means you may need to plug in to 230V power every few days to recharge your batteries.
It is very important if you have an AGM/ Lead Acid or Gel battery you do not let the voltage drop below 12V. To assist with keeping on top of your winter travels you can always add an additional solar panel or two. Something I highly recommend is a Enerdrive E-pro Plus battery monitor, these are a very helpful device and keeps you well informed of your battery condition.

A couple of tips to help. Make sure you do not run your 3-way fridge on 12V unless you're traveling. 3-way fridges are designed to be on gas as priority, 230V when plugged in to mains power and 12V when the engine is running only. Most fridges are designed to automatically determine what source is most efficient and correct to run on and shouldn't require overriding.

When on the ferry, you are best to turn your fridge off completely, they work as a insulated chilly box and will be fine left like this for a 4 or 5 hour ferry journey. Once you are off the ferry, switch it back on to automatic 3-way.

Another good thing to check is if you have an inverter fitted, make sure this is off when not in use. An invertor will use 12V power while switched on even if nothing is connected to it.

I hope this helps and happy camping!

Brett Smith

​Most modern European motorhomes or caravans are fitted with double glazed poly plastic windows. While these are great for insulation factors they can be very easily scratched.
 
To maintain these windows scratch free we recommend you wash these with a microfiber cloth or wash mitt, use a second bucket so your dirt and grime from the body doesn’t get dragged on to the windows.
 
Every now and then it is well worth giving them a coat of car polish to help as this will keep them shiny and hopefully scratch free.
If you want to make sure your windows are looking like new all the time you can talk to your local vehicle detailer and they can apply a ceramic coating for maximum care.
 
Key factor, keep the wash brush well away from them and take care while navigating around trees, hedges and scrub. 

Many motor homer's and industry involved people have no doubt welcomed the recent news from the Minister of Transport Chris Bishop that consultations on extending the CoF inspection period from 6 months to 12 months have begun.
The NZMCA have been lobbying for this to happen for quite some years and it is great to finally see some traction. This could also be the one and only chance we as an industry get to make this change a reality. NZMCA is calling for its members to submit feedback to the NZTA on this matter. You can click on the link below to read in more detail on the proposed change and submit your view as part of the survey. The last day for feedback is April 4th. 
​
https://www.nzta.govt.nz/about-us/public-consultation-hub/current-consultations/land-transport-rule-vehicle-standards-compliance-amendment-2025-consultation/

​As part of the quality assurance process by our supplier Fiat, it has been determined that some 160 & 180hp Ducato vehicles equipped with a 9-speed automatic transmission may experience a malfunction of the torque converter, leading to limp mode (reduced speed, deactivation of non-essential functions). To address this malfunction, Stellantis has initiated Service Action 6926.

This service action has been communicated by Stellantis to all Fiat Professional partners and is therefore well-known. Affected vehicles being 160hp & 180hp models only. An appointment can be directly arranged with a Fiat Professional partner so that the service action can be carried out on the vehicles accordingly. During these operations, a software update of the engine and transmission control unit will be performed, which will be completely free of charge.

Further information is available at any time from all connected Fiat dealers.

Please be aware that this notice is NOT an urgent recall and could possibly carried out with your next engine service.

The Service Action can only be carried out by an authorized Fiat workshop. You can find the location of your closest Fiat Workshop at www.fiat.co.nz/en/motorhomes.html.

For your information: Stellantis is the parent company of Fiat.

All to often we see customers turn up on annual water ingress inspection and when we check the tyre pressures we find them at 70PSI or above. This is the Fiat factory setting for most campers and it rides extremely hard.

For the axle loading in your camper we recommend a lower pressure for a more smooth and comfortable ride. This will be a little harder on Fuel and tyre wear but in our opinion the general ride is worth the compromise.

Below is the pressures we run on most models we sell:

• Pilote P600 to P740 - 58 PSI all around
• Pilote G600 to G740 - 58 PSI all around
• Pilote G781 - 60 PSI all around
• Le Voyageur Classic and Heritage 7.8m and 8m - 60 PSI all around
• Le Voyageur Classis and Heritage 8.5m and 8.7m - 60 PSI front and 48 PSI rear

Ian Stevens from the Pilote owners group has contacted us asking to spread the word on this event in late January. If you aren't a member of the group or wish to join the owners group please click on the below link for details.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/165367360749767

With the changes to the Self-Contained Motor Vehicles Legislation Act 2023 now in place and the issues around venting cassette requirements now resolved. Deluxe can confirm we are now processing customer self containments as a commercial partner of the NZMCA who are a certification authority.
Please note that the existing blue self NZS5465 containment warrants issued before 7th June 2024 are valid for freedom camping until they expire or the 7th June 2025 whichever comes first. So no immediate rush to replace your warrant if it meets the above timeframes.

Going forward you can choose from either a green government warrant card or an NZMCA yellow warrant card. There is no requirement for a sticker on the back of the vehicles as with NZS5465. The warrant card must be displayed in the front windscreen or passenger side window so that it can be seen from the outside at any time.

Green Warrant
The government issue green warrant card is the Freedom Camping standard requirement, if you currently freedom camp or plan to do so at any stage we suggest this warrant type. They last for a total of four years before renewal is required. On new purchases if you request this warrant type we complete the self containment paperwork and submit to the NZMCA. They will then process and request the $120 government levy fee from you directly. Once this is paid your vehicle will be entered on the register and your warrant posted out to you.


Yellow Warrant
The yellow warrant is an NZMCA issued warrant suitable for those that never intend on freedom camping. They last for a total of ten years before renewal is required. On new purchases if you request this warrant type we complete the self containment paperwork and submit to the NZMCA. There is no fee for this warrant type so once the paperwork is complete your warrant will be posted out to you.
For further information on the warrant types NZMCA is handling please click here to be directed to their site for more details.