Abenteuer Allrad in Bad Kissingen
- David Wenzel
- Jul 7, 2024
- 9 min read
Abenteuer Allrad is one of the largest trade fairs in the off-road, overland, and exploring sectors. Here you can get inspiration, see the latest news, and make one or two contacts. When we attended the trade fair for the first time in 2022, the main reason was to gather information about the possibilities of a cabin for "Kubu" and what is available on the market. We also wanted to see everything in real life. Because everything looks great on TV or in pictures, but in reality, it's often very different. We also wanted to find out about the cost of a finished cabin and what it costs to build one ourselves. Here we quickly came back down to earth. Because it gets very expensive very quickly...
After the first day at the fair, someone told us that we had to visit the Campground because we would see a lot more there than at the fair itself. No sooner said than done. And we have to say, that's one of the best things about this trade fair. Because here you can see everything that is possible and how one or two things have been implemented. Not only the real high-end campers are on display here, but also the campers that have taken months to build. There is everything from luxurious to low-budget. Much of what we have seen has given us inspiration for our expansion.
But what do we want and need? That was the big question. And not only that, what can we afford?
At the Genesis stand, we saw the new Alu-Cap Canopies. They were perfect, and we had almost decided to go for it, but after careful consideration and trying it out several times, we realized that it wouldn't work. There is simply not enough space for 2 people. We simply want and need more space. But we were only able to make this decision because we were able to have a look at it. The first two days at the fair were very exciting and we gathered so many impressions that it was almost too much.
One day there was a suggestion on YouTube for a video by GrizzlyNbear and that's when we saw it. The perfect cabin for us. We googled the cabin and ended up at the Wohnkabinencenter near Cologne. They also had a cabin on sale just like the one we had in mind. So that meant we had to go and have a look. Well, the year was now over and we were about to go to the next Abenteuer Allrad expo.
This time we had booked an apartment in Bad Kissingen and just wanted to stop by the cabin center on the way there to take a look at the cabin we liked so much. There was no question of buying it, as we wanted to go to the trade fair first to see if there was anything better.
It came as it had to, at the end of the day the purchase contract was signed, and we were the proud owners of a Fourwheelcamper cabin called Wildcat. Everything had been agreed so far and then came the next shock. We, as naive as we are, thought that the installation of the bracket, etc. on our Kubu could be done in the next week, it's not such a big deal. But no, the workshop was fully booked for the next month and after that, they were on vacation. So that meant we had to come back to Cologne to get the cabin.
What can you do, that's the way it is... so, we took a few more pictures of "our" investment and, with heavy hearts, jumped into the car to drive to the Expo. As we are, we also like to dawdle and this came in handy. Moritz, our salesman, spent a long time talking to the workshop foreman about how they could install the cabin today and TADA, 4 hours later it was on Kubu. We were over the moon. Not only that we now have it, our cabin, but also that we could take it with us straight away. Now we had to hurry to get to our apartment in time. As soon as we arrived, we found out that we wouldn't get a parking space now that we were a bit bigger than originally planned. So, we contacted the owner and he gave us one of his private spaces where we could park with Kubu & our kitten.
The Expo was a blast this time too. So many things to look at. Now that we had our cabin, it was another feeling to walk through the Expo. Now we could get started with the expansion. And so, we visited all the exhibitors we had on our list, picked up new offers, and bought one or two things. Last but not least, it was here that we saw many new companies and innovations.
The days flew by and on Sunday the star guest came: "Reinhold Messner", what a person! His talk was mega, and it confirmed to us that this is the right thing to do.
We are now taking a different path to everyone else and that's a good thing! And so, the 2023 trade fair was over, we saw a lot and took away many impressions, were shown many useful tips and tricks, and also left a lot of money there. Of course, we took what felt like 5kg of brochures with us again this time, because we hadn't bought everything and we were unsure about many things, whether they were the setup we wanted. But as we all know, after the Expo is before the next one. And it helps to take a little reading with you to prepare well for next year, but now it was time to say goodbye and collect everything we had bought, and after the first few weeks at home and evaluating everything, we had bought, we found out that we still needed more. And of course, the new contacts and discount codes we made/got at the fair helped a lot. And it started again. Planning for the next trade fair. Where do we have to go, what exactly do we need and what can wait another year? The winter flew by, partly because the expansion went so well that it was almost finished by the end of February. We were way ahead of schedule and so we decided that this year we would also go to the Campground.
Unfortunately, everything turned out differently than planned.
The weather did not play along this year. It was rainy the entire time before the Expo, which meant that all the campgrounds looked more like a meadow and therefore far fewer cars could be parked on them.
Nevertheless, we said to ourselves, yes, that's the way it is. It's not always sunny and when we're on the road we can't always choose. We camp anyway. We arrived at Camp 1 shortly after half past two on Thursday, and what can we say, it had been closed since 10 am. All the available pitches were occupied. We were stunned... we hadn't expected that. Now we had to find a place for the night. Because the other camps were also full...
But as we didn't feel like standing on the road, we asked if it was possible to stay in the Aldi parking lot, which was right next to Camp 1. This was granted and we wanted to go shopping the next day anyway, as we had of course arrived with an empty fridge. Despite the forecast of rain, the evening remained dry, and we walked the first tour over the already very soggy campground.
Here and there you could already guess that it wasn't going to be easy to leave the site... but that's camping.
At some point during the night, we woke up because it started to rain heavily. At that moment we both thought it was good that we were standing here in the parking lot and not in muddy hell. On Friday at 8 a.m. I was the first one at Aldi to do a little shopping for us because I knew from the experience of the last two years that the store would be empty by 12 at the latest. So, I went shopping for the whole weekend to avoid having to come here again.
After a chat with other campers who had also spent the night in the parking lot, we decided to stay here the next night too. There won't be anything free anyway and we'll be fine here, as long as nobody says anything, of course. We arrived at the top of the exhibition grounds at around 11 am. A lot of things are no longer as interesting now that we have our cabin, as we did the year before. But you should always keep up to date.
You never know. So, we let ourselves drift and strolled from one stand to the next. As we didn't have to drive today and the girl at the drinks stand was all on her own, we said to ourselves. Oh well, we could do with a wine spritzer. So said and done. Here's a little spoiler, it became our regular drinks trolley, and, in the end, we didn't have to say anything. As soon as they saw us, the place setting was ready :)
In the early afternoon, we had more or less walked through all the halls and had a look at a few things. Unfortunately, we realized that some of the exhibitors we wanted to visit were not there at all. It also felt like there were fewer exhibitors than in previous years. There were also far fewer visitors than in previous years. The weather forecast for the weekend was disastrous and that probably put some people off. But on this Friday, we stayed dry. And so, we made another round of Camp 1. This time we were able to explore other parts of the campground without mud.
And there we saw HIM, the Sahara of HRZ. It was always our dream to own a camper like this. The Sprinter also looks great in real life, and we were both dreaming of a car like this again...
But now we have Kubu & our kitten, that's what suits us best at the moment. Maybe there will be a liaison with this Sprinter later in life.
The evening and night remained dry, which was a positive sign. The next morning, we dawdled a little again and so we didn't get to the fair until noon. As soon as we arrived, it started to rain... This meant that we had to dash from one hall to the next to avoid getting soaked. Today we wanted to work through our to-do list so that we could order everything we needed on Sunday.
The tiresome topic of awnings is a drama in itself. We had picked out several suppliers in advance to take a look at their products. Because not all awnings are the same. And the prices are also very different. So, we went from one provider to another. And here again, you can see the advantage of a trade fair. In the pictures, the different awnings looked almost the same, but in reality, and after a few tests on our part, one or two favorites fell out.
In the end, it was the CampBoss Awning. Unfortunately, this awning is not in stock so we have to wait until the container arrives from Australia. Of course, this is a setback as the awning is an extremely important piece of equipment and its absence means that we can hardly sit outside. Saturday was ending and we had a date with our friends in the evening. This was more or less our farewell dinner, as they would be heading to Tanzania the following Friday to pick up their car. 6 months in Africa was on their agenda. Amazing and the best thing is that we will meet in Botswana. And the evening was then used to clarify a few things.
After we arrived back at the camper in the Aldi parking lot, we heard lots of cars leaving the campground. This made us quite suspicious and less than an hour later we knew why. It was pouring with rain, and we immediately thought to ourselves, oh dear, this is going to be bitter for those still standing there on the soggy meadow. On Sunday morning, our friends picked us up because they also wanted to sneak around the fair again. Maybe they'll find something else that can be used. On the way to the bus, we saw the whole drama at the campground. One or two cars had now turned the color mud brown and the drivers were dressed in the same color... oh God, if you look like that yourself, what's it like in the car, it shot through my head. I love the Aldi parking lot even more. Some cars also needed help to get out of the muddy field and it showed once again that a winch is great, but you also need something to put it on. Some of them quickly learned how to use the Maxtrax and had to put their newly acquired equipment to good use. When we arrived at the top of the exhibition grounds, it started to rain, how could it be otherwise?
We walked straight to the exhibitors, where we wanted/had to order one or two things. We wanted to stay until the afternoon so as not to miss Walter Röhrl's presentation, but the weather was just too bad, so we left early.
With new contacts and a few new achievements, it was time for us to say goodbye. And as always, we took 5kg of brochures with us so that the next four-wheel drive adventure will come soon.
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