Our Home on wheels

The decision to custom build our new permanent home on wheels was made only after reviewing at least 300 Motorhomes both new and second-hand over 6 months. We wanted to be able to live ‘off the grid’ for 4-5 days each week and the rest of the week, in a campground or POP. So, we needed a Motorhome that would have enough Fresh and Grey water, sufficient battery and inverter power, 3 way fridge, oven, solar and toilet cassettes to last 4-5 days.

This reduced the available options considerably. Then the next decision was, if we could buy a stock Motorhome, has it got the configuration we wanted. That is, lounge at the rear with windows on all three sides that open around this area, 2m kitchen bench with good size oven, North/South bed above cab to provide more floor space and we needed plenty of storage.

WHY WE CHOSE ACM  MOTORHOMES (link) TO BUILD OUR NEW HOME

Having eliminated most Motorhome stock design options, we thought to investigate getting a Motorhome custom made to our specifications.

We met Chris Cunard and Malcolm Horne and their experienced team at ACM Motorhomes in Auckland and the rest is history. However, the build of our ACM Motorhome took longer than normal due to two Covid lockdowns which caused unavoidable delays.

The whole build experience was enjoyable, however. We loved to drive out to ACM most weeks to view progress. We chose an ACM Platinum 8.3 Motorhome which is built on a 2021 Iveco Cab and 70C Chassis. The heavier chassis allowed us to carry a bigger payload as we are going to be living in this unit for a few years and will carry more stuff than if we were only using it for short holidays. For those enthusiasts, here is the specification of the Iveco and Motorhome.

IVECO CAB-CHASSIS

The Iveco Daily cab-chassis comprises of a 70C chassis (7000GVM) the heavyweight in the Motorhome world. It is a dual rear-wheel drive. It is powered by a 3.0-Litre four cylinder turbo diesel with a 100 Litre tank. The engine puts out 155kW/470Nm with a HiMatic 8 speed ZF fully automatic transmission. There is also electronically controlled rear air-bag suspension. It comes with the electronic handbrake on the dash instead of the lever on the floor. The cab features anti-lock braking, electronic stability control, four airbags and lane departure warning. For safety there is adaptive cruise control and crosswind assist. The new ESP9 suite comprises of electronic stability control, anti-slip regulator, drag torque control, hill hold control, trailer sway mitigation, hydraulic rear wheel boost, rollover movement intervention, LED headlights, hill descent control, queue assist and traction plus. For comfort there are heated cab seats, automatic climatic control, automatic wipers and headlights.

The Hi-connect multimedia system features a 3.5inch hi-res display screen for your Apple Car Play wireless phone charging and USB charging. It comes with front fog lights and reversing camera.

THE ACM MOTORHOME ON THE IVECO CHASSIS

Robyn and I chose the Platinum 8.3(link) Motorhome with the bed above the cab. The home is 3.1m at the highest point and 2.7m wide including wing mirrors. Our unit comes with a 10 tonne self leveling legs operated by push button on the CZONE monitor mounted above the door. Of course if you have a flat tire you can use the legs individually as a jack. The CZONE touch screen controls all lighting, the inverter (3000w) and heating. The screens also monitors fresh and grey water levels, house battery, starter battery and solar levels.

We chose a 2m x 2m ‘U’ shape lounge to be at the rear of the home with wide opening windows on all three sides of the lounge. There is good storage under the lounge squabs which can be turned into additional two singles beds or another double. We saw this configuration on ACM owner, Chris Cunard’s own Motorhome and loved it. There is LED reading lights with USB ports and plenty of other USB, 12 volt cigarette lighter and 3 point plugs in this most used area. We love this roomy lounge with an adequate table that can move around in all directions and heights if required.

The 2m long kitchen bench is of Corian with a Corian insert for the sink to create more space when the sink is not in use. The Full gas oven, Grill drawer and 4 gas hobs is top quality. The full fridge and freezer above is operated in 3 modes (gas, battery or external power) The splash-back above the kitchen bench and hobs can have a custom graphic applied. We chose one of our own photographic images and MacMedia design and signage created this graphic.

Because the bed is above the cab(and not in the living area) there is ample space from lounge to cab illuminated by floor, wall and ceiling LED lighting options. The strip lighting design was created by Chris of ACM and we were fortunate to enjoy his latest concepts in our new Motorhome. The main floor, the bathroom floor, the garage floor and the walls of the shower have a grey wood plank. This plank is Neptune SPC(link) (Stone Polymer Composite) a 5mm, 100% waterproof, stone core (crushed limestone) plank with a hard wear surface. The use of the plank on the shower walls was another brilliant design idea by Chris. Again, we were the first clients to enjoy this new concept in our Motorhome.

Unlike other models that have a step ladder to access the bed, ACM have created four wide anti-slip stairs that go up each side of the North/South Queen bed. There is a narrow access way on each side of the bed with a two drawer bedside table with LED reading light and USB port. The LED wall side lights to this area make it safe to access at night and give a great ambiance to this sleeping area. Robyn says, “This is the best bed I have slept on. Even better than the one we had at our home.” When not in use two hydraulic arms assist lifting the bed up to stay, giving full headroom to the area below.

The bathroom with Neptune plank and floor and shower walls compliments the colours on the remaining walls, vanity and bathroom cabinet. The push button Thetford toilet with odour venting system, comes with two toilet cassettes. There is great LED lighting in the bathroom area and strip LED’s in the shower. One of the diesel heating outlets comes out on a shower wall. This is great for drying off wet weather gear hanging from the stainless rail around the ceiling of the shower cubicle. Nice for drying towels as well. Peter says, “I just love the good water pressure shower. This was such a pleasant surprise how good this shower is.”

OFF THE GRID

After living in our new Motorhome for 4 months now, we have found we can stay ‘off the grid’ for 4-5 days without the need to visit a dump station or top up with water (the most precious item) We have plenty of power from the 400AH batteries and 450 watts of Solar. We have 270lt of both fresh and grey water and a 9kg gas bottle and spare. There is two toilet cassettes. Robyn says, “This good idea of two cassettes, means we can stay ‘off the grid’ for longer without visiting a dump station.