Campervan hire recommendations and experiences please

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josephhinvest

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#116867 12-May-2013 17:29

Starting to tentatively plan a family holiday for later in the year, at this stage we are looking at perhaps 10 day tiki tour of the north island.
Can anybody recommend a) hire companies and b) campervan brands that are particularly good and c) experiences with power sites at camp grounds.
We would either travel Auckland - Auckland, or Auckland - Wellington.
3 young ones so would require 5 berths, most likely a 6 berth van.
NZCamperVans.co.nz and Findacamper.co.nzlook like good places to start comparing different companies, as there are dozens! Any personal experiences muchly appreciated.

Cheers,
Joseph

Edit... Regarding budget. Middle of the range. Not looking for the cheapest possible option, will take comfort and features for higher price rather than cheapest.

insane

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#816289 12-May-2013 17:42

Friend of mine runs Classic Campers , Can't do wrong in a classic VW :)

josephhinvest

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#816291 12-May-2013 17:44

insane: Friend of mine runs Classic Campers , Can't do wrong in a classic VW :)

Those Kombis look sweet! Would be great for just a couple perhaps, but with three kids I think space would become a bit of a problem! :)

nickb800

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#816295 12-May-2013 17:51

Worth noting that few companies operate depot in Wellington, as campervans primarily target inbound tourism (so Akl, Chch, Qtown).

I had a good experience with a Backpacker Campervan (branded now as Mighty) which is part of the Rentals NZ group (Maui, Kea, United, Mighty, Britz, Alpha - the biggest company by far). I've noticed that Maui/Britz/Mighty brands tend to have campers of the exact same config, just with different levels of luxury e.g. leather seats in the top end Maui brand but cloth seats in Britz & Mighty. So if you want to save money don't go for a Maui!

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grant_k

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#816352 12-May-2013 18:49

We've had good experiences with Maui & Britz in the past, which are now part of Rentals NZ as Nick says above. Their vans are well maintained with everything you would need, with the possible exception of a gas heater. They do provide a heat pump, but this is only of any use in a camping ground, not if you are freedom camping. Having 3 kids on board though, realistically a camping ground will probably be the most sensible choice!

blakamin

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#816355 12-May-2013 18:59

I hate to say this as I used to work next door, but stay away from bluebird rentals in kapiti.

myfullflavour

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#816365 12-May-2013 19:13

Have you looked at one of the transfer services and doing the trip in reverse?

I.e. taking a camper from the South Island up to Auckland?

They often throw in a bunch of freebies ie fuel, ferry - on top of you paying $0 or close to $0 for the "reverse rental".

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josephhinvest

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#816380 12-May-2013 19:42

myfullflavour: Have you looked at one of the transfer services and doing the trip in reverse?

I.e. taking a camper from the South Island up to Auckland?

They often throw in a bunch of freebies ie fuel, ferry - on top of you paying $0 or close to $0 for the "reverse rental".

I have heard of people getting very good deals by doing this. Would I just enquire with individual companies about it or is there some easier way to organise? Having had a very quick look at, ugh, Jetstar, it looks like the family could fly to Chch, with a couple of bags, for low $300 range. If the van was inexpensive, this could indeed be a good option.

Thanks,
Joseph

oxnsox

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#816391 12-May-2013 20:01

There is a Web site for rental returns. . cannot recall it right now. But returns were from Christchurch going north or Queenstown going north near end of last year. Think they charged a nominal $50 for 5 days (?), but you could extend that by paying more. Certainly worth an enquiry

nickb800

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#816401 12-May-2013 20:27

I used standbyrelocs but another one is transfer car

Great deals, but one thing to look out for is that sometimes they advertise 'unlimited KMs' but this doesn't include RUCs. Shouldn't change the economics of the situation though

eracode

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#816472 13-May-2013 02:23

The Kombies do look cool but probably not a good go for two adults and three kidlets.

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