Author: Mr A
Location: Brant Broughton, Lincolnshire and Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK
It’s funny how when you think you’re “finished” with modifying your motorhome or caravan you then realise it will never be done. There will always be something else that needs adding or tweaking. Part of the fun really. Well, until you check your bank balance.
Over the past few days we have been racing between various suppliers in the motorhome business here in England. I have to say its been a delight to deal with these people. All of them have been so quick to respond to enquiries, executed on what they committed to, and do so with absolute courtesy.
We started the week with a visit to an auto electrician to get an invertor fitted, basically it enables some 240v charging from your 12v system in the motorhome. A husband and wife team called Automate UK Ltd and had already done some work on Truffy for our dealer and done a great job. It was good to finally meet Rob and his wife Charlotte (who was also wielding the tools) as he had been so responsive, answering my initial e-mails about alarm systems and other electrical mods at all hours of the night, even on Christmas Eve! 
Then it was over to Fuller Leisure where we brought Truffy from, for a few minor tweaks. These guys have also been superb. From Neil our sales contact, who continued to be as diligent in answering questions after they had our money as before. We met the workshop guys – so keen to help, nothing was too much trouble, they even gave us a loan car so we didn’t have to hang around! Amazing…thanks Dave and Nathan!
Then today Truffy got himself a sleep mask…well it’s a thermal insulator to keep in the heat in winter and keep out that Southern European sun we are expecting this summer. It looks like a sexy mask though right? 
The guys who made this up (Minster Products) did it while we waited! All you Aussies out there with experience dealing with suppliers to the caravan industry – can you imagine that happening? We certainly haven’t come across that type of service before and it’s a pleasure when we have so much to get done.
Another great product and service experience has been from a company called Motorhome WiFi. We brought from them a bundled Huawai MiFi device (we clearly have no secrets worth hiding from the Chinese Communist Party) and a 4G signal booster (installed on Truffy’s roof). Again another business that has been awesome to deal with – timely and responsive to questions. Combined with a 100GB a month data plan from Vodaphone for £20 a month we have awesome wifi everywhere we go. We can even take the device with us on a day out.
The caravan parks we have stayed at have also been awesome, staffed by friendly, courteous people, who keep using the words ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. We’ve stayed on three of the biggest site pitches we’ve ever had. It seems odd doesn’t it, in this tiny country compared to Australia, where we are almost always crammed in awning to awning.
I should be clear that we are not receiving any affiliate marketing dollars from these businesses. We just want to give credit where credit is due. To see these mostly small family owned businesses finding a niche and delivering such excellent products and services certainly gives us a buzz. We have had a lot to do to get Truffy ready to embark on his adventures over in Europe. Our ferry to Dieppe is booked for the 2nd of May!
This generally good vibe also seem to extend to the pubs and shops we walk into. We are almost always greeted promptly with a smile and courtesy. Even on the crowded roads 9 out of 10 drivers seem keen to help each other by slowing down and flashing you out of junctions, or waiting for you to come through a tight spot rather than barging through. A very different experience for us than driving on the roads in Australia and New Zealand, where incidentally the mortality rate from car accidents is nearly twice that of the UK’s.
I’m sure it wont always be like this, but we are definitely in the honeymoon period. England is certainly showing us its good side, well apart from the fact that it’s BLOODY FREEZING! But apparently thats all going to change tomorrow…let’s see…hopes high. And you see I didn’t mention the B word once!
