If you're planning a family motorhome trip for 2023 - or are looking for the perfect van for a group of friends - you're in exactly the right place. Welcome to our family's almost new (it's a 2020 model) Roller Team Zefiro 675.
We got it because of the enormous bunkbeds in the back. We have two teenagers - a boy and a girl - who very definitely need their own space.
If my wife and I can sleep in the huge over-cab double at one end of the van with them in separate bunks waaaaay down the other, then that's an ideal outcome for everyone. There's only a certain amount of eye-roll a middle-aged man can stand.
As the photos show, we've taken it to places as different as Scotland in Winter and the Mediterranean in Summer. For the record, it dealt with the cold better than the heat - its central heating system is truly epic.
I've also used it for taking away groups of friends. Five of us went down to Cheltenham for the 2000 Trees festival last July. The table and seating area converts into a second double, meaning that it'll comfortably hold six (two couples and two singles) or four if no-one is sharing. We took a tent with us too - there's loads of storage in the back - and two of the lads slept in there.
Having our own toilet, shower and fridge at a festival was pure luxury, and we've kitted the van out with brand new cutlery, crockery and equipment, so everything you could reasonably think to use is in there. Gents, that basically means I got dragged around Ikea, Dunelm and John Lewis so you don't have to. You're welcome!
The van itself is built on the Ford Transit chassis, which makes it super-easy to drive. As you'll see from the reviews, we've rented it to people of all ages and genders and everyone has found it fun to get about in. I mean, it's by no means build for speed, but it's comfortable and easy - we took it down to Italy last summer (we have insurance and breakdown cover for Europe) and it was just amazing.
Until last year, we'd never been away in a motorhome before and now we love it. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to send me a message, however dumb you think it might sound. :)
Stuff you need to know:
* 6-berth, 6-seat belts, 4 beds (two doubles and two large bunks, comfortably big enough for adults - they're technically singles, but one family of six put two in each and didn't bother converting the table)
* Massive garage (takes a motorbike, apparently, not that I'm cool enough to know)
* Cab DAB radio with Bluetooth
* No dedicated Satnav, but universal pop-up phone holder on the dash (with USB charger - please bring your own cable), so you can hook your phone up to the stereo and use it as a Satnav
* Hands-free call handling from the steering wheel
* Cruise control, speed limiters etc.
* Cutlery, crockery and cookware for up to six people
* Fridge with freezer compartment and separate bottle fridge
* First aid kit, fire extinguisher and fire blanket, EU breakdown kit
* Outside table and chairs
* Vehicle levellers
* Rear bike rack holds up to four bikes
* Bedding and towels provided at no extra cost, cos you deserve it, right?
* Central heating/hot water for shower and washing
* Free gas
* Full terms and conditions provided on booking
* Secure parking for your car in a fenced, locked compound for the duration of your trip
* Full briefing on how to use everything and my mobile number to text or call any time you have a question
Our pick-up location and ideas for some of the lush places you might like to visit:
* Our Motorhome lives 6 miles north of Newcastle Central Station, en route to the stunning Northumberland Coastal Area of Natural Beauty
* If you don't know it, the area between Newcastle and Edinburgh contains some of the UK's most scenic, unspoiled and under-visited beaches
* And castles, you can't get shifted for castles in Northumberland. We've got over 70, more than any other county in England; FACT!
* It's a great jumping off point for Scotland's North Coast 500 (check it out on Wikipedia - it's a 516-mile scenic route around the north coast of Scotland, starting and ending at Inverness Castle)
* We're also about two hours from the Lake District and handy for the Pennines; Cheviots; Kielder Forest, Reservoir and National Nature Reserve (book the observatory well in advance!); the North York Moors and the East Ridings of Yorkshire (we can recommend an amazing site near Robin Hood's Bay)
* Overnight ferries leave from Newcastle to the Netherlands and Belgium for anyone missing Europe :(
* Basically, we're the ideal starting point for a wide range of different motorhome holidays - let us know if you want help planning something, there are some amazing places squirrelled away any you're going to have the best time discovering them!
*** Train/Drive: southern/northern friends: let us know if you need us to arrange pick up from the train station. We're less than three hours from London on the East Coast Mainline and can come and get you if you need us to
*** Ferry/Drive: foreign friends: ferries sail into the port at Newcastle from Ijmuiden (Amsterdam) seven days a week. Let us know if you need us to arrange pick up/drop off.
Family
Diesel
Sleeps 6
6 Seats
with seatbelts
Adam
Mohammed
Karen
Ashley
