Betty Bongo

Why didn't we find Bongo's sooner?

So, after years of trying other motorhomes we discovered the Mazda Bongo.

What did we like:

• Automatic gearbox (major benefit as my other half can only drive automatics)
• Can be used as a day van as well as for camping
• Easy to drive (even down those stupid roads the sat nav insists on taking us down)
• Freedom to drive off campsites easily
• As they are Japanese the drivers seat is really suited to me (I'm under 5ft)
• They look like the VW campervans but have a much smaller price tag

The Bongo seemed like the perfect option for us so we spent the next few weeks searching for our perfect specimen.

In late August 2016 we spotted Betty on ebay; she was a beautiful 2 tone silver colour with an Imperial Moonfleet conversion. We met with the seller and checked her over. The MOT had only 1 advisory for misty headlights and importantly she only had a couple of small spots of rust on her rear wheel arches. It was love at first sight.

We had to wait for nearly a week for the auction to end and in the last hour we must have pressed the refresh button every second whilst keeping fingers and toes crossed. It was a huge relief at the end to have won her....

Betty Bongo on her first outing to the New Forest

We picked Betty up on the 1st September and have never looked back. She is the smallest motorhome / campervan we have ever owned but by far the most fun. If we had discovered her first we could have saved ourselves a lot of wasted time and money.

We are now Bongo converts.

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Remember:

Camp more, explore more, enjoy more – live life!

Bertie Bailey

To Tow or Not to Tow?

This was a tricky dilemma.... if I'm being completely honest it scared the hell out of me but how hard could it be?

So, in 2016 we traded in Suzy Swift (our motorhome) for Bertie, a 2013 Bailey Olympus caravan. He was the newest touring vehicle we had ever owned and he came with everything, built-in microwave, full size shower room with separate shower, 2 wardrobes, full size fridge, you name it he had it.

We had a VW Golf 1.9 TD to pull him with and after watching the Caravan Club towing DVD a few times, we were ready for our first trip.

We hitched up (this took about half an hour) and I tentatively pulled away. We made our way 20 miles down the road to a campsite in Wareham, Dorset. I spent half the time looking in the mirrors to make sure he was still attached and the other half monitoring my position on the road.

The first trip was amazing. The space was unbelievable and we had the freedom of the car to go exploring. After towing Bertie back home I was starting to feel more confident and it seemed that this was the best decision we had ever made.

Unfortunately a couple of trips later our cars automatic gearbox had a major meltdown. To this day we don't know if this was caused by towing Bertie or just a stroke of complete bad luck but we had lost all confidence in the car and made the hard decision to sell Bertie on.

We contemplated ending our camping days.... We thought about staying in yurts, gypsy caravans and pods but no one wanted to take our little dog Lottie so we had to find something else. But what?

We were soon to discover the Mazda Bongo and the answer to our prayers!