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 Wakelin’s 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.

With the business continuing to grow, in 2018 an opportunity was taken to expand the original Three Counties premises by acquiring adjacent land and buildings. After a massive investment in terms of time and money a long-term objective of the Directors was achieved, by creating a purpose-built Customer Collection facility, whilst also adding to preparation bays, office space and parking. The indoor ‘Handover Suite’ now provides a welcoming place, where all customer can enjoy a relaxing and professional demonstration of their new purchase, in any weather!

Shortly after in 2019, another expansion took place at the Three Counties site in Poole. With a further bordered acquisition, they were able to develop and additional workshop building along with valuable display place. The extra space also enabled the team to recruit additional specialised staff to manage the increasing demand.

A key part of the group’s success, is in the way they treat the purchasing of stock as importantly as the selling of the stock. An incredible amount of time is taken in sourcing the very best and desirable motorhomes and then being able to price them competitively. So, in 2020 the ‘What’s My Motorhome Worth’ website was launched by the group to ensure they had the opportunity to purchase the very best motorhomes on the market at any time.

Post Covid in 2022, the group embarked on one of its biggest and most exciting projects by expanding, once again, its Countrywide Motorhome/Volkswagen Kamper site near Ringwood. The forecourt space increased enormously to allow for 80 models to be comfortably on display at any time. A new showroom was created offering spacious and comfortable facilities for both customers and staff. Since this development the business is now able to operate in its most effective and customer dedicated way. All motorhome and campervan sales take place at the Countrywide Motorhome and Volkswagen Kamper Centre, whilst the Three Counties site in Poole deal with all stock preparation, customer collection, warranty matters, administration and accounts.  

Moving into 2025 the business continues to develop and goes from strength to strength. The sites are looking better than ever, the staff morale is incredible, the customer reviews are excellent, and the quality and quantity of stock has never been healthier!