Self-sufficiency on the road has never been so comfortable, writes Steph Rowe.
The thing that always puts me off holidaying in a campervan van is the amount of time I've spent behind them on the road.
You watch these enormous bulky boxes nervously wobble around corners atop hugecliffs going a fraction of the speed limit on roads that are clearly not built to accommodate them. Cue the Go Glamper.
It's the new cool kid on the block — and for good reason. This product is what all campervans should aspire to. It's the tiny house equivalent of a campervan with everything you need, and nothing you don't — simple as that.
At times, it felt like we had Pope Francis in the back of the Popemobile with the number of heads turning as we drove by. If I had a dollar for every time a pedestrian stopped in their tracks to watch, I'd be able to buy a Go Glamper.
I should start off by saying that I have never towed anything before, so I was convinced this was going to be a little stressful, particularly if we found ourselves in a sticky situation.
We encountered no problems, and if we did I wouldn't have panicked.
The unit is light enough that if you're in a tight spot you can just unhook it and swivel it around and then rehook it up. We did this once to avoid having to reverse in a no-exit street with big native trees overhanging the road.
Before you ask, there was no testosterone involved in this process. Two women managed to turn the Go Glamper around 180 degrees without breaking a sweat. Rosie the Riveter, eat your heart out.
Inside a Go Glamper. Photo / Steph Rowe
Though the speed limit is obviously lower for a trailer, we weren't irritating every other motorist by travelling half the speed limit. It's an incredibly light trailer and though you're a longer vehicle on the road I'd much prefer to be hauling this unit round than an enormous campervan along the side of a cliff.
Having a grunty Hilux certainly put me at ease with towing but once we were past Auckland's peak rush hour traffic I was very comfortable driving.
For the most part, you actually forget you're towing a trailer, the tow is so smooth. As impressive as the outside of the Go Glamper is, it's nothing in comparison to what's hidden inside.
It's like a campervan Kinder Surprise.
The thing that really transformed this camping experience for me was that despite the temperature reaching the high 20s outside, I never felt hot in the Go Glamper.
There are air vents and windows in logical places — like right above the bed, so on those hot nights you can have some fresh air as you drift off to sleep.
The air vents are just the start of it though, the amount of light in this camper will blow your mind — and all powered by the sun. Two reading lights on either side of the spring-mattress bed as well as two on the roof above the bed. You won't need your phone torch to read your book in bed.
In the kitchen area there are two more smaller lights plus two long sets of LED strip lights that produced so much light we used them to light the whole camper.
I was a little reluctant to use this until I saw the state of the campground toilets. And then I was all on board. It's spacious and still has that clean feel even after a number of uses.
The retractable air vent works when you need it to, and I think that's all we need to say about that.
The on-board loo and solar system means you can take it to the remotest parts of New Zealand and be housed comfortably for a few days. In the Go Glamper you've got every "convenience" you could possibly need. I'm already planning on hiring one to travel the South Island in.
A Go Glamper.
EACH GO GLAMPER COMES WITH:
Queen-sized spring mattress with storage underneath, full linens, pillows included, toilet, sink and pump action tap, fridge, full cutlery and crockery set, portable double gas burner, optional awning with floor canvas for wet/muddy shoes, two portable tables and a third that folds out inside the camper, six bright LED lights and two huge LED strips that light up whole camper, two mosquito-net covered windows as well as two mosquito net covered air vents.
