VISIT THE DÜSSELDORF SHOW

The annual Caravan Salon is a huge event, hosting a vast array of the latest motorhomes and attracting thousands of visitors, says Techno Tom Bedworth

The Düsseldorf show is always a big attraction for motorhomers – particularly those wanting to buy something a bit special, and have the opportunity to see a little more choice than you might get in the UK.

The European market for leisure vehicles is much larger than the UK sector, so European manufacturers can often afford to spend more on design, testing, advertising and tooling than any UK manufacturer. Hence you just have to take a good look at what the European brands could offer.

Some show off their ranges at the NEC once or twice a year, but all of them will exhibit as much as possible at the Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf, held at the end of August each year.

You will find a very respectable turnout of UK manufacturers there as well, which isn’t surprising, given that these days, several major UK brands are part of larger European, US or international conglomerates.

For example, Elddis is part of the Erwin Hymer Group, which in turn is part of Thor Industries in the US.

Plan your visit beforehand

The Düsseldorf Caravan Salon is simply massive, but it is also extremely well organised. This is the biggest show in Europe, with 16 halls and 250,000 square metres of exhibition space. It is also very well established – this year’s show will be its 62nd appearance.

The first day is the Preview, reserved for trade and press visitors only. Allow yourselves a visit of three days and in that time, you still won’t cover all of it.

Booking ahead might be needed