Sweet As Campers Review

Rated 1.8 / 5 from 6 reviews

Editors Review

Last Updated: 10/22/19

Sweet As Campers is a funky campervan hire company based in Auckland, New Zealand. They have traditional campervans and motorhomes as well as 'pimped' rides with disco decorations, soft padding from floor to ceiling, shag pile, tinted windows and a slew of other options and themes.

About Sweet As Campers

This Auckland-based campervan business is as sweet and exciting as it gets. If you are looking to attract attention or have a unique ride, this may be the company that can sort you out. Sweet As Campers also knows a little about luxury travel. They have a rather interesting rental range with all the amenities that add comfort and lots of fun to the users. Moreover, they offer drop-off and pick-up services at most major centres. And when you freedom camp using one of their units, don't forget to gear yourself with the important freedom camping rules that may vary per NZ district. 

Fleet

They supply 2, 2/3, 3, 4, and 6 berth campervans and motorhomes in the budget to mid-range price. Before reading on, I suggest you check out the gallery section―an area that gives you a glimpse of what lies ahead when renting a unit from them. Most of their vehicles are more than 3 years old, hence some wear and tear signs could peek out, But on the contrary, they provide extra items such as bedding pack, GPS, camp chair, mattress, child car seat/ child booster, bike rack, and tent at an additional charge.

Vehicles

Pimped Vehicles 

Sweet As Campers are quite unique, offering “pimped” campervans into travellers to New Zealand. The pimped campervans come in different colors both on the inside and the outside. Whilst you are allowed to make a booking for the preferred vehicle of choice, unfortunately, they can’t guarantee it as each van is unique and you may already be out, or need a repair at the time you need it. All pimped vans have crazy colored interiors and various fittings include; bubble tinted windows, chandeliers that transform the van to a luxurious nightclub comfy vehicle, plush leather seats, blue velvet seats, etc. You will definitely like the van’s sweet body kit, shag pile carpets, high-interior roof, moon roof over the driving cab, and perfect body paints that are well decorated with awesome graffiti. Having a pimped campervan that is decorated with stylish graffiti will make you stand out from the crowd, however, let’s not over-sell it – there are only 5 in the fleet.

2 Berth Later Model Campervans

For this category, they offer two options: 2 berth Hiace and 2 berth Hitop. Both Toyota models are automatic, with a spacious interior equipped with a convertible double bed, kitchen space, and solar panels. So, if you are two friends or a couple who wouldn't mind a simple yet well-furnished campervan, this energy-efficient unit is the answer. 

2 Berth Campervans with Shower & Toilet

Next of the list are these upgraded 2 berths now with shower and toilet. There are three campervans from this range: 1  Toytota Hitop, 1 Toyota Hiace, and 1 Ford Transit. These are large enough to cater to all travelling needs for most people. They have a lot of similarities and also some added features that distinguish them. Some of the features that you can expect to find include interior kitchen with microwave, a small tub for the sink, gas cooker, and fridge. Plus, there are lots of storage inside the unit so you won't have a hard time keeping your things safe. 

2 - 3 Berth Campervans

These Hitop campervans come with 2 to 3 seatbelts, hence the name! Depending on your choice, you get almost the same facilities, which include a double bed, pull-out awning, well-equipped kitchen, dining equipment, and an outdoor solar shower. 

3 Berth 

The 3 berth Ford Transit vans come fitted with a double bed, a pull-out bed, and 3 seat belts. These manual units are very roomy during daytime as you have the rear area for dining or lazing around with a cup of coffee. Come nighttime, you can easily convert the rear bench seats into a double bed. More than that, you get to utilize the USB and power sockets for your devices. And before we forget, these campervans have good storage too and an extra interior space for standing up. 

4 Berth Campervan

The 4 berth motorhomes have all the amenities that you can expect to find at a luxury home. There are three 4 berths on selection: a pop-top model, a Fiat Ducato, and a Toyota Hitop. Each camper is quite spacious and one can roam around and still stand upright. It’s ideal for a family, small group and couples that want to enjoy a fantastic holiday in style. Features include 2 double beds, kitchen space, interior dining table, and ample storage for your things. 

6 Berth Motorhomes - Later Model

Sweet as Campers offer these fantastic 6 berth manual motorhomes to renters who want to experience a comfier house on wheels. These are late Ford models can accommodate 5 adults with comfort and contain all amenities for a cozy and efficient road trip. Its ample space provides one with a lot of freedom to walk around and enjoy a great meal while taking a beautiful view at the side-rear windows. There are three sleeping options inside these motorhomes, including other facilities such as shower & toilet, entertainment system, and a kitchen. 

6 Berth Motorhome 

The 6 berth is the most high-end motorhome offered by Sweet as Campers; it’s extremely spacious and comes equipped with everything that you might need for a great vacation. For this fleet, you've got two models to choose from: a Ford Transit and a Canter. Both vehicles are manual and are suitable for small groups, couples and a family of 5 or 6. After hiring this great motorhome, you will definitely love the variety of sleeping spaces inside. There's a king-size bed, a double bed, and 2 single beds or pull-down bunk beds. Plus, you've got a spacious bathroom too. 

Insurance 

Sweet As Campers offers two insurance options to reduce the excess. At $25 per day, you reduce the excess to $1, 500. On the other hand, an additional payment of $50 limits the excess to $500 only. These payments are paid via credit card. 

Reputation

The company has seriously a lot of campervans and motorhomes for rent. This means they cater to travellers of different sizes, from couples to small groups to big families. They have new units, however, most of their vehicles are a bit old compared to those on the road. So, you might find a few small issues of wear. Still, they offer great quality for premium vehicles and their rates aren't that pricey. Most customers that have used their services are happy with their trip, though there are also some who are devastated. These leave them with a mixed reputation. 

Summary 

Generally, Sweet as Campers is a decent company with plenty of rental options. These can go further to those who want to have extensive choices before deciding what to rent. 

From the Agency

No word from this agency yet. Come back and see if they checked in soon.

Pros

  • Unique campervans
  • Traditional campervans too
  • Plenty of units for rent
  • Suitable for travellers of all sizes

Cons

  • Split resources on pimped and non pimped campers
  • No guarantee you will get EXACTLY the pimped ride you want
  • Limited branches
  • Older models
  • Mixed reputation

Facilities

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Tell the world about your experience renting from this company
Steffen - avatar not loaded
, Germany
1 Review

"Warning – do not book with Sweetascampers, the management is aggressive and our car was shit"

  • Reviewed 9 months ago

We booked a high top Toyota Hiace for a long time and had lots of trouble with it. At pick up, we realized the car doesn’t have the 2 meters inside height as promised on the website. When we tried talking to the Manager Anthony Laughton his words were to “go fuck ourselves” and “take it or leave it”. Moreover, the car was dirty (port-a-potty clearly used) and the fridge was not working at all (he had given me the warning before, that the fridge “wasn’t working well”). When we tried negotiating for a car suitable for our needs (traveling with a baby) we were yelled at and threatened by his staff on the ground (seriously not the way you want to start your holiday!). In the end, we took the car out of desperation because finding a van in high season without booking in advance is not only very expensive but sometimes just impossible (and Anthony knows that). The staff refused to hand out a copy of the contract to mark dents and scratches - even after asking for it multiple times (they never sent it via mail either, as promised).
After the horrible pickup, we repeatedly tried talking to Anthony about possibilities for changing to a bigger and functional Van. All we got was mad mails and calls (which we are happy to share if somebody doubts our story). He accused us of trying to lower the price, which we never did. He said that we were not thankful for the upgrade (there was no upgrade – we just rented the more expensive van) or the good price we got (what good is a low price if you don’t get what you ordered). He also threatened us by saying that using the GPS tracker he would always know were we are and that he knows people to make our trip unpleasant.
The service we were hoping for by paying the money for a rental van was nonexistent. When we had problems with the van (the driver’s door lock stoped working), we were too scared to call and knew, that it wasn’t going to be fixed anyway. Fortunately, on the road we didn’t experience bigger problems. At drop of, Anthony tried apologizing for the trouble he had caused, blaming it on medication and illness. Dear Anthony, if you are sick I am sorry for you – however, this is in no way any excuse for the trouble, fear, sleepless nights and time lost, trying to organize alternatives that you caused us.
Summing up, don’t be fooled by the low price he might offer you – don’t book with sweetascampers! As said earlier, if you have questions regarding our story, please email me at [email protected] . I am happy to help in order to prevent you from making our mistake again.

1Service 1Mechanical 1Interior 1Value
W. Campbell - avatar not loaded
, Canada
1 Review

"Our 10 day rental of there six berth motorhome from Sweet As Campers in NewZealand"

  • Reviewed 4 years ago

The motorhome was picked up by us in bad condition and only got worse as out trip continued. The two side window were taped up with duct tape, the interior had several latches that were damaged or broken (fridge would not stay closed when moving, overhead latch to one bin was not even there and taped up and the door handle was cracked). This vehicle should have not be rented out for trips in areas where there are hills as it was so under powered at times we were hard pressed to do 50 klm per hour, when we started small inclines there was always a line up of people lined up behind us where we would have to pull over to let pass. After the first couple of days the brakes begin squealing and continued throughout the trip and in the last couple of days the motorhome began to jump out of 5th gear when driving. In short when we identified these issues along our trip to the owner his response was we told you this was a older vehicle its a camper not the HILTON. Be aware of this rental agency is what I am saying.

2Service 1Mechanical 2Interior 1Value
Tori - avatar not loaded
, Australia
1 Review

"The only bad thing in NZ - this company."

  • Reviewed 4 years ago

1) Paid for 1 advertised van and delivered another, not even of the same make.
2) No instructions or helpful hand over at all. You're given the keys and that's it. Work the rest out yourself.
Oh, you mentioned you've never had a campervan and would like some help? Well. Here's some switches. Turn them on and you're good to go. READ: The hand off person has no idea about this van and possibly any campervan.
3) No, not all necessities are provided (as advertised). We purchased basics like porta-paks and dishwashing liquid all the way to a plug for the sink... so you know... you could actually wash up.
4) While the van was somehow Certified Self Contained it clearly did not meet this criteria. Again, from things like no bin to there being absolutely NO WAY near enough water to sustain anyone for 3 days. We couldn't wash the dishes (after getting a plug) and do 1 stop-start to soap up 1 minute shower, without needing to refill the water tank.
5) The grey water tank we were told was emptied for us, but we weren't provided fresh water. Except... The grey water tank also wasn't emptied and it's clear why - because again the hand off guy has NO CLUE. The handle to the grey water tank was bent upwards and this caused the almost understandable confusion. We had a lovely local legend help us with his - and not Sweet As Campers who we had been in contact with about a related issue for almost a week....
6) The hot water was entirely unreliable. Not just bad wind, or unstable camp ground. You were just 99% likely to have to wash up in cold water, doesn't matter anyway since we were having to pay for more expensive campsites so we could actually shower... AGAIN, something we were in contact with you about for almost a week before eventually giving up on any communications with you. We never got a fix, never got a sorry or a discount (and more on this later).
7) There are no checks. No photos, no support for you or the company at all on the condition of the van. So we got an extra $200 charge on our card (with no prior notice or invoice) for a 'broken grey water pipe'. Yeah, the one they gave to us with a bent pipe? Apparently it was smashed when they received it. Well, we emptied the grey water tank minutes from the straight, well made roads of Christchurch. So NO. We DID NOT break this pipe.
8) Oh, and all the bedding and towels were mildewy and had holes in them.

In summary, don't go with Sweet As Campers. The local legend who helped us was with a company called Cruzy Campers. He cared enough to help when these guys should have done the bare minimum.

1Service 1Mechanical 1Interior 1Value
L. Henne - avatar not loaded
, Germany
1 Review

"Disappointing"

  • Reviewed 5 years ago

From 16 November 2019 we are travelling around the North and South Island of beautiful New Zealand with a Fiat Ducato camper from SweetasCampers which is very old (over 250,000 km!). It was handed over to us as planned, however Unfortunately without a full tank.
From the beginning we had to deal with major technical issues including:
- when it’s connected to 240V we get electrical shocks whenever opening the door with the key or touching any metal based part of the camper
- the yellow check engine light turned on
- the rpm turned higher than normal without pushed throttle (1200 rpm)
- brakesystem warninglight is on frequently
- scratching noise when changing third to second gear
- camper suddenly starts to jerk while driving with no power when pushing the gas pedal
Unfortunately, we couldn’t reach our local contact agent for days. The message on his answering machine said that he is out of Office and even out of country!
Today when we could finally „talk“ to each other, he was very angry and offensive towards us on the phone, he did not let us even say anything, repeated frequently that he doesn‘t see any major problem about these things. He told us that he is absolutely sure that there is nothing wrong with the camper. We only shouldnˋt connect it to power anymore.
He also ensured that the camper had a service recently. However, the service sticker on the windscreen says that service was due on 31/10/19 and there is a note saying that only oil was changed.
Instead of giving us useful advice or support we were taught how to release the hand brake, asked if we were familiar with manual vehicles and told that our English was not good enough to talk and so we should send an email.
We are tired of getting offensed and getting treated like we were stupid. We feel very unsafe and alone with this.
If you also think that this is not OK then we recommend NOT to book your camper with SweetasCampers!

1Service 1Mechanical 3Interior 1Value
Chan - avatar not loaded
, Hong Kong
1 Review

"Total disaster"

  • Reviewed 5 years ago

Totally disaster, never use this company......my holiday was fuxked up due to this dishonest company.
1. Give a totally different car to you and tell you to accept it at the day of pick-up.
2. Shift your car returning time to earlier by its side.
3. Charge you extra money from your credit card without any notification and details.

Hopefully no one would suffer again, please be aware of this " Sweet As Campers" car rental company.

1Service 1Mechanical 1Interior 1Value
C. meurant - avatar not loaded
, New Zealand
1 Review

"cool campers"

  • Reviewed 7 years ago

hi I have used the sweet as pimped campers a few times and they are very cool they area bit older but I was able to pick one up in wellington and drop it off in Queenstown one one trip I did get a flat tyre on a hill so I just called the AA and they turned up and we were away The camper we were in had a massive comfortable bed and had a gas cooker and out door furniture my husband mt self and out 7 year old all sleeped in the same queen size bed and there was plenty of room so it was all sweet as

5Service 5Mechanical 5Interior 5Value