Ally and Andrew recently featured in a lifestyle story of the NZMCD magazine, and we have been looking forward to the article for weeks. They have been Deluxe customers for a long time, and we are always happy to receive positive feedback as well as appreciating their never-ending support.

They also celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary last week and the team at Deluxe would like to congratulate them and cheer them on for many more.

"Ally and Andrew Dodge say they know a good thing when they see it – that’s why they’ve just ordered their seventh motorhome from Deluxe RV Group. Penny Lewis went to find out more.

Seasoned campers Ally and Andrew Dodge have just put in an order for their seventh motorhome. The Dodges, who live in Murchison in the Tasman District, purchased their first RV in early 2012 – and it wasn’t for reasons you might expect. They had farmed for many years and run several businesses, including a Monday-to-Friday firewood operation, but on one chilly Christmas Day, they had a customer turn up to buy wood. It was the push they needed."

Please click on the link below, read the full article and say hi to Andrew and Ally when you bump into them on the road.

https://nzmcd.co.nz/stories/lifestyle/the-boss-and-dodgie/

A large proportion of our customers take bikes with them on their adventures and require either a bike rack to be fitted to their motorhome/caravan or an easy solution to store the bikes in the motorhome boot. The topic is usually first discussed during the sales process, and we always do our best to provide the most suitable option for the customer’s needs. Options available have also changed throughout the years and I am happy to share my thoughts in the article below.

​Enjoy the read and please feel free to ask if you have any questions!!!

There are many different bike rack brands such as Thule and Fiamma and the specific brand used varies between dealers and type of vehicle. We predominantly use Thule bike racks due to the quality and suitability of the product.

Note: Bike racks can not be fitted safely to all vehicles. For example vehicles with a rear bathroom or lounge, caravans and campervans always should be assessed for suitability first.

What bike rack is suitable for my vehicle?

If you are looking for a bike rack to be fitted on your caravan or motorhome your options can be limited by the design and built of it.

Caravans:

Some caravans have extended drawbars and therefore can be fitted with a front mounted bike rack on top of the drawbar. However most caravans have a reasonably short drawbar, and this option is not suitable.

Your next option would be to fit a "standard" bike rack mounted to the back wall of the caravan. Please note that the caravans back wall will need to be assessed to determine that mounting a bike rack and carrying bikes will not damage the vehicle.

If your caravan is suitable, you will have the option of fitting a manual or electric wind-down bike rack. The wind down option allows part of the bike rack to be lowered closer to the ground and enables the user to fit bikes easily without lifting them to a high point. E-bike users often consider the option due to the weight of the bikes and to future proof the system.

If the back wall of your caravan does not allow a bike rack to be fitted, you will need to investigate options for your towing vehicle.

Motorhomes:

Assuming the back wall of your motorhome is strong enough to fit any "standard" bike rack your options are as above however we strongly recommend the wind-down option if you carry e-bikes. It avoids lifting heavy bikes to a high point and prevents potential injury as well as future proofing the system.

​If you are either unable to fit a "standard" bike rack to your vehicle or are simply uncomfortable to carry expensive bikes on a rack Thule has recently released a safer option. The Thule Velo Slide bike rack is specifically designed for motorhomes with a large boot and can be a great option. Gary fitted this option to his personal motorhome pictures in the middle above and strongly recommends it.

Last month we explored Nelson and this month we are moving 220 km southwest to the West Coast Region.

Often described as an "untamed natural wilderness" the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island is incredibly beautiful and one could stay for months exploring the wilderness and beauty whilst never running out of new and exciting adventures.

I have picked a few weekend destinations however feel free to click on the link and explore further options.

https://westcoast.co.nz

"You can expect things to be different on the West Coast – more real, bigger, much greater than you thought. From the highest of mountains, stunning coastal scenery to abundant rainforests and absolutely everything in between. The world's most accessible glaciers, a UNESCO Heritage area, natural arches big enough to park a truck in, New Zealand's West Coast has so much to offer.

Be prepared to be astounded! This is New Zealand's West Coast.

​This is the Untamed, Natural, Wilderness."

After last year’s cancellation the anticipation for the Covi Motorhome, Caravan and Outdoor SuperShow was nearly killing us. We are always keen to exhibit, catch up with other dealers and meet our customers however we didn't really know what to expect this year.

The past three years have been incredibly busy and successful for the industry, and we were starting to notice a change in tides at the end of 2022. The North Island had also been hit by multiple severe and destructive weather events and we were unsure how those would impact the industry.

As usual the organisers of the show did a great job in planning the event meticulously and setting up the stand prooved to be relatively straight forward. We were showcasing our much-loved Pilote and Le Voyageur motorhomes throughout the weekend and the guys had fun meeting new customers as well as catching up with existing ones.

In comparison to 2021 the event seemed to attract less visitors and the main interest of potential buyers was focused on our high end Le Voyageur Motorhomes. This enabled people to have a little more space as well as time to have a detailed look at the vehicles and gave us the opportunity to talk to customers for longer than usual.

​All in all, we enjoyed the show weekend and are very happy to be back at the ASB Showgrounds. We hope you did too!!!