Inspiration can start in the strangest of places. For James and Dave, the team behind Kohi Campers, the idea took shape at their local golf club over a few nineteenth hole celebrations."

“The business started in about 2016,” says James, “Dave and I were looking for a camping solution for Kiwis to embrace their big backyard which meant four-wheel-drive capability, the ability to tow holiday toys, camp and yet at the same time retain the functionality and practicality of an everyday vehicle.”

After extensive research, Kohi Campers decided to collaborate with an American company which has produced slide-on’s since the 60s and which has kept up with mobile accommodation trends ever since.

As such, the interiors are practical, ingenious in their design and built with quality materials and the care which comes as part of a passion for lifestyle living.

Most delightfully, the space encompassed by a slide-on Kohi Camper is ‘reality changing’.

It’s a challenge to remember that – while you luxuriate in the comfort of the divan seating with friends or prepare an a la carte dish of freshly caught brown trout, wild venison or sauteed duck – you are sitting on the tub of your ute.

Furthermore, as you settle in for the night in the ‘’upstairs Luton suite’’ it probably won’t register that you are just a few feet above the cab roof of your ute of choice.

What is surprising is the amount of space inside. Those used to caravans or motorhomes will recognise the limitations of being able to swing a cat around once you are inside, but the Northstar units feel much larger than they are and are designed to make you feel comfortable and relaxed, even when friends drop in.

The two models of slide-on camper from Kohi Campers are designed to be accommodated on any of our popular double cab utility vehicles – the same utes which you use to commute during the nine-to-five work week.   

And in less than 10 minutes on a Friday night, that ute – and your holiday accommodation – can be ready to go exploring our big backyard, with all the comforts of home.

“New Zealand is the best tourism destination in the world, with the best in natural outdoor living, camping and recreation choices,” enthuses Dave. “The only challenge is getting to see the best of it, but that’s where the Kiwi love of the ute comes in, combined with the slide on camper.”

“The ute is one of the more popular vehicle types sold in this country and is frequently used as a weekend getaway vehicle,” adds James, “but all too often, there is a second vehicle to holiday in.

 “The ability to tow is often lost with a motorhome or caravan. You do limit the exploration capabilities of getting away from it all. And for a good part of the year, your ‘holiday home’ sits there taking up valuable driveway space and being something of a nuisance.”

With a Kohi Camper slide-on however, once you have reached your little slice of private paradise – using your ute to its fullest potential to get there – it’s a simple matter to unstow your self-contained, and secure apartment, leaving your ute unencumbered for further adventuring, if that is your idea of a holiday.  

Northstar’s design allows the slide on camper to self-support and not necessarily on perfectly flat ground. The unit’s four legs can be set at different heights and a built-in spirit level ensures stability.

A few additions like strategically positioned awnings for example, means you can add accommodation to your accommodations – under the overhead bridal suite for instance, can become a secondary lounge area, and the clever mountings and fixtures which the Northstar has as standard, can provide an open-air bathroom/shower.

A clever getaway option, the Kohi Campers Northstar applications are diverse:

If hunting is your thing, how cool would it be to have a blind with all the comforts of home?

If living the roaming lifestyle is your thing, the self-contained Northstar is eminently more practical than a campervan or full-sized motorhome.

If you can convince the Boss, a Northstar unit would be brilliant for an on-the-road rep in the South Island!  

So, the next time you book a holiday and have to lash out some serious coin for a motel that’s – close to – where you want to go, maybe take a pause and think outside of the holiday box and see if a Kohi Campers Northstar might be the better option..

Visit the www.kohicampers.co.nz website for more information.