The new Maxmo Tourer is creating quite a stir in the market and sets a new standard in the luxury camper class!
We spoke to Leon Ras who says that the typical response at shows and expos range from comments like “Amazing!”, “I have never seen anything like this” to “where do we sign?” He says that their greatest expectations were superseded at the very first shows. Leon explained some of the design philosophy behind these new products: The Tourer basically creates a new class of leisure and lifestyle vehicle – compact and easy to drive and park with raised suspensions for southern African touring conditions, but with an amazing interior that rivals many of the much bigger RVs and Class C motorhomes.
This is about thinking inside of the box, says Leon. Rather than making the vehicle taller, longer and wider we chose a compact vehicle with the following advantages: it can be driven with a normal B or code 8 license; it is very economical with a range of as much as 1000km on a tank; and it is narrow enough to be parked in most normal parking lots. But it is on the inside that things are different from about anything that we have seen before: The Tourer has been designed after a first-class airline cabin and a lot of attention has gone into the look and feel of the surfaces and materials as well as interior lighting.
There are four “rooms” the lucky owner can select:
• The spacious lounge
• The luxurious bedroom suite for two persons
• The bathroom with luxury toilet & ceramic bowl
• Or, you can select the lovely kitchen with 1.5m work surface
The cherry on the cake is interior cargo space for two mountain bikes or golf bags and camping gear, all neatly stacked away behind the two rear doors without intruding on the interior space.
The dynamic interior changes according to your needs; when you need a kitchen, just press the “kitchen button” and out comes a prime kitchen, but when you are done making food and washing the dishes, the kitchen disappears and the space where the kitchen was becomes part of the spacious lounge again. Amazing!
This is “camp where you drive” at its best! When you reach your destination or even just a good spot en route for that matter, just swivel the two captain chairs around and choose the room that you need next.
Camping mode is set up from the cargo compartment where the control station is. Press a few buttons and the two electric awnings come out, the automated DSTV satellite dish goes up and the Tourer will even level itself with four hydraulic legs within as little as two minutes. This option could even lift all four wheels off the ground when you need to change wheels.
The Tourer D64C comes with a raised suspension with upgraded coils, front and rear, for a much more comfortable ride on bad gravel roads. It also has protection plates under the body. Leon says that most customers choose this option also because of the better ground clearance.
“The Maxmo concept was first established in 2008 when I did my first designs. Over the years, we have visited numerous countries and have experienced many leisure options, but recently we specifically visited the trade shows in Los Angeles, Dusseldorf and Turin, seeing the crème de la crème on offer on the market. Leon is confident that the new Tourer interiors are up there with the best!
The Tourer range is based on three different vehicle brands of which the D64C (Ducato), with its raised comfort suspension and advanced traction control, makes up for about 70% of all our orders (the Fiat Ducato makes up about 80% of motorhome sales worldwide).
The Volkswagen Crafter based C60X as well as the Mercedes Sprinter based S60X models come with the full Maxmo X-Pack options for off-road touring. X-Pack models offer all-wheel drive, raised suspension, all terrain tyres, winch, snorkel, raised breathers, jerry can holders and aluminum protection underneath, offering great touring abilities in tough conditions. These models are for our more adventurous customers who like to rough it through the rivers in Botswana or tour to Tanzania and abroad.
In terms of warranty and guarantee? “All work on our motorhomes is done with full factory warranty. The warranty stays the same and the base vehicles are serviced as per the service intervals set out in the service booklet at a registered servicing dealer in the extensive network across the country and further afield into Africa.
We asked Leon what his advice for prospective motorhome owners would be: “Go and have a look at different motorhomes and campers – there are good products around. But, whatever you do, first just come and have a look at the new Tourer with its amazing Flex Interior and you will see what the fuss is all about!”