The Caravan and Motorhome Show at Birmingham’s NEC showcases the best in motorhomes, campervans, caravans, tents, trailer tents, and caravan holidays. As a company that likes to keep up with the latest developments in the leisure holidays industry, we sent our intrepid team to go and investigate.
After an hour and a half drive, fifteen minutes of this being spent driving around in circles trying to find the NEC car parking entrance, we finally arrived. We thought we had arrived… the truth is, between the car park and the exhibition halls there was a ten to fifteen-minute walk with little in the way of directions.
Once inside the massive exhibition area, we headed straight to see our colleagues on the Westfalia / Witter stand. (As many know, we have approved Westfalia and Witter fitters with the majority of our tow bars being supplied by them.) After exchanging the usual pleasantries we got down to the business of checking out their new products, in particular, the Westfalia automatic tow bar, pressing a button in the car boot and the tow bar deploys, and the new receiver hitch tow bar. We will be adding these to our range and bringing you more detailed information on these exciting new products very soon.
This year’s Caravan and Motorhome show filled five huge halls with many of the country’s main manufacturers and retailers attending. After seeing the Witter / Westfalia stands we headed to hall one to see what was on display…
The latest shiny motorhomes and caravans filled the hall with lots of people looking to buy but mostly dreaming of one-day buying. The super luxury motorhomes from Morelo were simply awesome, designed for those seeking the very best in luxury motorhomes, find out more on their website at Morelo Motorhomes website link.
The main thing we wanted to check out was the main motorhome manufacturers/builders, to check if they were adding modifications that would affect the installation of a to bar. We must say that, from what we could tell, none of them were making the fitting of tow bars impossible. The main issues with motorhome towbar fitting is the addition of gas pipes, water tanks in the tow bar area, and chassis mounting points being used as fixing points for modifications.
If you have a motorhome that requires a tow bar then get in touch with us for advice, buying, and onsite fitting (dependent on location.)
What was apparent at the show is the number of companies modifying VW transporters into campers. Hundreds of VW T6.1s all modified as campers filled the halls. All great news for Ultimate Towbars as we get loads of transporters for tow bar fitting. Fitting the Westfalia detachable towbar that’s specifically designed for the vehicle, along with dedicated specifically designed wiring and vehicle recoding makes the Transporter great for carrying bikes or as an impressive towing vehicle. The new receiver hitch from Westfalia will be available for the transporter very soon, we’ll publish detailed information and prices once we get them from the manufacturer. To get a price for a towbar on the Volkswagen Transporter fill in our online tow bar fitting quote at Towbar Fitting Quote .
Caravans in their thousands were most people’s reason for attending the Caravan and Motorhome show. From the ultra-small pod-style caravans through to the big super luxury twin-wheeled home on wheels. Prices ranged from £19,000 up to over £50,000 with many having living areas and bathrooms that wouldn’t look out of place in a five-star hotel. Our favourite caravan was the amazing Swift Basecamp, one of the smallest caravans but what a great design. See more at the Swift Basecamp Website .
The main thing we noticed is that most caravans are now manufactured with LED rear and marker lights, be wary if you’re thinking of having cheap tow bar wiring fitted to your tow car, most are not compatible with LED lights.
For camping enthusiasts, the latest trend seems to be the car top tents that fit on the vehicle’s roof bars. A great idea and they do get rave reviews from people using them. Easy to put up and store, plus they leave your tow bar available for carrying bikes. Find out more at the TentBox website.
Alongside the main displays were multiple small companies tending their wares. Although we were looking for new innovations in caravanning and motorhomes we didn’t find anything that caught our attention enough to warrant comment. We did notice the absence of tow bar fitting companies, cycle carriers, and camping trailers.
All in all, if you’re interested in camping, caravanning, and motorhomes then the Caravan and Motorhome show is certainly worth a visit.
Below are a few photos we managed to take during our visit.
For high-quality tow bar supply and fitting get in touch… Call 0114 360 7080 or complete our online towbar fitting quote form at https://www.ultimatetowbars.co.uk/local-towbar-fitting/
