The Stuttgart Motorhome Show

It’s 10 years ago this week since we took ourselves off to the Stuttgart Motorhome show to choose our next new campervan.

The last decade has flown by, bringing an incredible amount of van travel memories from near and far. Thankfully, our campervan is still the right van for us, but getting there wasn’t so easy.

Finding a replacement campervan to our previous one took a few years of searching. Initially beginning in Germany at the Dusseldorf show, and ending at the lesser known but equally vast Stuttgart Motorhome show which takes place every January.

So why go to Germany?

Changing our motorhome functionality

Back in 2008 we were on motorhome number 2 – an A-Class Carthago Chic i47. Although the Carthago was great at the time, by 2014 we were craving more flexibility and a different type of motorhome function.

This especially came to light during a Summer trip in Austria. After stopping to enjoy some mountain views, we saw in the distance a couple of off-road campervans parked beside a beautiful lake. This was only accessible by a narrow rough track, which was off limits to our big van. There and then, we knew we needed to change vans!

About this time, our children were flying the nest and no longer travelling with us. So, this gave new opportunity with the search for a smaller 4×4 campervan.

Germany – home to 4×4 campervans

There weren’t many manufactures building a dedicated 4×4 campervan, let alone any in the UK. This was an era of big Motorhomes, the A-Class and Coachbuilts being dominant. Two-wheel drive panel van conversions were only just coming onto the market, of course gradually these became ever more popular to the extent they are today.

Things are also different now in terms of 4×4 campervans than 10 years ago. Once we knew a 4×4 was to be our next van choice, going to Germany was the only option to choose one.

Germany was home to just three 4×4 campervan manufactures building on the Mercedes Sprinter 4×4 and each were to have a stand at the Stuttgart Motorhome Show.

Flying to the Stuttgart show

Flying to Stuttgart with Eurowings was really easy. Not only is it a short flying time, but the Stuttgart Messe is right next door to the airport.

Hotels in Stuttgart

We chose a hotel in Stuttgart away from the Messe (show) but a short tram ride direct to the show. There are numerous hotel choices in our around Stuttgart, the airport and Messe.

What’s the Stuttgart Show called?

The Stuttgart motorhome show is known as CMT, The Holiday Exhibition and is held for around a week in January.

How much are tickets?

Tickets are about €15 each and can be purchased online beforehand.

How big is the Stuttgart Show?

The Stuttgart show is huge! Not only are there numerous halls of caravans, motorhomes, campervans, travel ideas and accessories but it’s the largest show of it’s kind in the World!

We were expecting a similar size show the the NEC but this was much bigger.

Choosing our 4×4 Campervan

Before arriving at the Stuttgart Show, we’d already done lots of research and visited the Dusseldorf show a couple of times.

We knew we wanted a Mercedes Sprinter 4×4, which gave us a choice from just 3 manufactures building on this at the time.

These were:

• CS-Reisemobile who didn’t have a UK dealer which meant we’d be importing ourselves.
• HRZ they also didn’t have a UK dealer but also didn’t at the time have the Certificate of Conformity needed for importing, although they were in the process of gaining this.
• La Strada which had one UK dealer but these didn’t keep any stock.

All 3 manufactures were exhibiting and we went directly to their stands to see which one we preferred. As there were no other manufactures building on the 4×4, it was a relatively straight forward way to choose.

Day 1 at the Stuttgart Motorhome Show

As with all motorhome shows, not only are they tiring but the day seems to go really quickly. So, an early start ready for doors opening is important.

For us, we were heading to the hall where each of the three manufacturers were exhibiting. Luckily, these were next to each other.

HRZ

First up was HRZ and the lovely owners who showed us the display models and went over everything we needed to know.

Although we loved the exterior, especially the colour, we weren’t sure about the interior finish and the fact there wasn’t the Certificate of Conformity yet.

CS

Next came CS and their 4×4 campervan in the range called “INDEPENDENT”, due to its off-grid capability and rugged build.

Although we couldn’t fault the build quality on the CS, with everything seeming super strong, we didn’t like the interior style.

For us, it was a bit old fashioned looking. We also weren’t keen on a couple of features, such as the fridge location below/under the bed and the bathroom sink or toilet (can’t recall which) was one which was movable.

La strada

Finally came La Strada, and their 4×4 model which is the Regent S 4×4. As soon as we saw this, we knew it was the campervan for us. Now all we had to do was choose the interior colour scheme, fitment style, exterior colour and extras. This was going to be the most difficult part to get right.

Talking with La Strada

La Strada is a relatively small campervan manufacturer based in Ezchell in Germany. The director, Mario and his colleague spoke English and both were really helpful answering questions and assisting with choices.

Day 1 was spent sitting in the Regent S, looking at extras options and getting a feel of what was important for us. Luckily it was relatively quiet, so we were able to take our time without too many interruptions.

Despite being able choose fitments etc at the Show, the purchase wasn’t able to be done with La Strada direct. Instead this would wait for our return to the UK and a visit to the dealer in Oxfordshire.

At the end of Day 1, our list of fitments was getting longer and a feeling of getting somewhere fell upon us! With brochures and price lists in German, it took a bit of time to translate things. Eventually, with many of our own notes in hand, we were slowly able to comprise the list which would make the order.

Day 2 Stuttgart Show

After a long night discussing fitment choices for the new campervan, day 2 was all about finalising the colour schemes.

Another early doors start to the show saw us head straight for the La Strada stand. There was only one exterior colour choice that would do and this wasn’t on the La Strada stand or in the brochure!

Mario wasn’t sure on the exterior colour we were trying to describe, which we’d seen on the HRZ 4×4 stand. So, he made a quick dash to ask HRZ in person and got the answer we were looking for!

Choosing inside colours

The interior colour scheme took us ages to choose. We like a bit more of an individualistic look, so getting this right took a while.

Luckily there were several other La Strada campervans on display, enabling opportunity to check out different colour options. Eventually we chose a red and silver theme with red leather upholstery for a stand out interior!

Final choices

By the end of Day 2, our list of colours, extras and all fitments was complete. After one last look at the Regent S 4×4, we said our goodbyes before glancing back one last time at our new campervan choice. Our mission was complete!

Time for a quick Look elsewhere

With just a couple of hours left until closing time for the day, it was time for a quick Look elsewhere in the show. The various halls display numerous leisure vehicles, campervans, motorhomes, caravans and accessories. There was also vast hall for travel providers, show casing campsites across Europe, destinations and publications.

Wandering round the picture postcard displays of inviting locations gave a sense of the adventure to come in our new campervan. Then it was time to fly home where the whole other process of visiting the UK La Strada dealer was yet to come.

Buying with a UK dealer

10 years ago there was one La Strada dealer in the UK, where we were able to buy but who didn’t have any stock to view. Unfortunately there no longer is a UK dealer, with all La Strada dealers being predominantly in Germany but also France and just a few other European countries.

After a several phone calls and a couple of meetings at the motorhome dealership in Banbury – Elite, the deal was done! Then our new campervan was on order and 10 months later, the Regent S 4×4 was ready to collect direct from the dealer.

If we were to buy a new La Strada today, we’d have to buy one in Europe and import it ourselves, which is potentially a little more tricky post-Brexit?

Buying a motorhome