Dethleffs Motorhomes
Dethleffs is one of the longest running leisure vehicle manufacturers, dating back to 1832. Their slogan: "A Friend of the Family" represents the desire to appeal to the family motorhome market and brand themselves as having a strong sense of social responsibility.
Founded by Artist Dethleff after building his first mobile home for use by his family, the fist caravans were built to order in 1936. After many years of successful production and technological innovation, the mobile homes became motorised in 1983. After an integrated Mercedes-based motorhome was prototyped in 1977, commercial production was carried out 6 years later and Dethleffs released their first overcab model range, the "Pirat". In 1986, Dethleffs used glass fibre reinforced plastic on the outer motorhome walls with was a revolutionary step in design and production technology and is still employed today.
In 1996, Artist Dethleffs passed away aged 88. His motorhome and caravan empire still lives on and is today one of the most successful manufacturers in production.
Dethleff motorhome have high levels of winter compatibility and coupled with the introduction of winter comfort packages, the motorhomes remain number 1 in Scandinavia.
In keeping with their brand image and social consciousness, the Detleffs Foundation was established in 2004 to give needy families and social institutions the opportunity to go on a caravanning holiday.
Another first for Dethleffs was the introduction of external colour options, with motorhomes available in red, blue and other colours.
By 2005 Dethleffs had become the number 1 motorhome manufacturer in Germany with an ever growing staff and premises.
Again reinforcing Dethleffs' emphasis on social progress, the "Girl Power" project was introduced in 2006 to design leisure vehicles more suited to female travellers.
Dethleffs motorhomes have won a plethora of prestigious industry awards over the years. Just a handful of these include "Motorhome of the Year" in 2008 from Promobil for the Advantage A model and the Bild am Sonntag "Golden Steering Wheel" in 2007.
In 2009, Dethleffs invested in environmental issues and introduced a new heating system which will help to reduce the CO2 emissions from their factory. In addition to this computer-assisted technologies are also being employed to same millions of sheets of paper which were formally wasted during the manufacturing process.
Curious customers and members of the public can even sign up for a factory tour and see the Dethleffs manufacturing process in person. Taking place every Thursday evening, a guided tour of the factory in Germany is offered for free to interested parties.
You can hire a Dethleffs Motorhome from this UK based rental agency.