Our Story

The story so far…..

A wealth of experience and knowledge from the retailing, manufacture and repair of motorhomes form the backbone and strength of the business. The owners have been involved in the trade since the eighties and during this time have seen the market change and grow at remarkable levels. However, by instilling in their team the key principles of treating customers fairly, being honest and straight-forward and then being able to supply and prepare motorhomes to the very highest standards, they have created one of the most highly respected dealership groups in the country. 

Countrywide Motorhomes, the first part of the jigsaw, was formed in 1997 and operated from Sturminster Marshall in Dorset. Choosing to specialise in pre-owned motorhomes, enabled them to be completely unconstrained in terms of the range, age and brands of vehicles they supplied. They embraced the increasing number of exciting European models coming to the market while still providing the best selection of familiar UK models. Some of the operational procedures and systems adopted during the early days are still in place today and have provided the foundation for the whole business.

Three Counties Motorhomes was formed in 2008 with the dealership being set up in Poole, Dorset. Although having a similar operating style to Countrywide, the full dealership facilities enabled Three Counties to offer a complete customer package from brand new purpose-built facilities. Despite opening for business at the start of a recession a refreshingly friendly, professional approach and keen enthusiasm made it possible to quickly become firmly established in the local and national marketplace.

The Motorhome Dealer Group (MDG) was formed in 2009 to allow these two now well-established dealers to operate in partnership. By joining forces it became much easier to develop new areas of the business and invest further in products, premises and staff. By having the word ‘Group’ associated with a business name could make everything sound rather grand, with the potential to be seen as ‘faceless’ and ‘too large to care’, however nothing could be further  from the truth. The whole business across both branches has a welcoming, family feel with a relaxed ambience and the owners/directors work in the business on a day to day basis.

Initially the two businesses operated side by side in the same purpose-built premises in Poole, but when the opportunity presented itself shortly afterwards, MDG established a satellite dealership at a site known as Wakelins Garage, near Ringwood in Hampshire. This new site proved to be in a very advantageous location with easy access, and immediately delivered excellent results.

Within a year of amalgamation, both companies were presented with prestigious ‘2010 Gold Awards’ in the industry's only customer satisfaction awards, run by Practical Motorhome Magazine. This was the start of an amazing series of accomplishments gathering numerous awards ever since up to the present day. To give an indication of the size of achievement, each year Dealers from across the UK are judged on various categories comprising the best overall packages to their customers. The opportunity to win Bronze, Silver or Gold awards are competed for and also included is the category for ‘Outright Winner’ indicating the best rated dealer in the country. Since that inaugural gold in 2010, MDG remains unbeaten in the highly acclaimed Dealer section having won the ‘Outright Winner’ award in each subsequent year. A truly remarkable achievement and one the team is extremely proud of!

In 2011, VW Kamper Centre Ltd was formed to promote and showcase the Volkswagen T5 conversion range. VWKC joined in the award-gathering straight away, in 2012/13 the VW Kamper Centre won a ‘Gold Award & ‘Outright Winner’ in the category ‘Pre-owned Motorhomes: Manufacturer’.

In 2013 the company invested heavily in the expansion and re-branding of the Hampshire site. This transformed the whole display and parking area, clearly defining the Countrywide Motorhome and VW Kamper Centre businesses. The offices were refurbished and a brand new purpose-built workshop was created to help keep up with the ongoing demand.

Moving into 2018 the business continues to develop and goes from strength to strength. The sites are looking better than ever, the staff morale is incredible, and the quality and quantity of stock has never been healthier!