I took their “black sheep” van for 45 days and it was great and simple.

The fridge is great, the car worked great and they were really friendly at the office when I talked to them.

Reviewed almost 2 years ago

Our campervan was an original 3 from a Toyota Hiace, built in 1999 with 650,000 km.

We chose the vehicle because it was cheap. The vehicle was clean when it was handed over, but was heavily worn in places. It was probably repainted during the Corona lockdown. The vehicle has not let us down in the 4 weeks and we were able to come to terms with the signs of wear and tear. A scent tree supported us. We drove about 3500 km from Auckland to Christchurch and with the gold insurance we paid not so much. The only real drawback was the slightly too small fridge freezer. At 69, I was getting by with the simple left-side gear shifter.

Reviewed over 1 year ago and experienced in January 2023

Worst company ever.

Campervans are not in a good condition, dangerous to drive. We had a breakdown on a bank holiday, stuck for two days. We only claimed one dinner and one brunch for the two days and they only wanted to pay us the brunch (the cheapest).

They are crooked, don't book with them if you want to have nice holidays.

Reviewed over 1 year ago

Saw a few very bad reviews but my experience was excellent.

Value for money, great and friendly service and good camper van. Christchurch location.

Reviewed almost 5 years ago

This is the 'Aldi' budget version of the campervan world that mostly does what it says on the tin, so don't expect a Juicy or Apollo.

We booked quite last minute, a month before super peak season and all the main suppliers were booked out so this still gave us an option to travel in a self-contained vehicle (freedom camping was one of the best things of the trip). The van is old, which is what we expected. Happy 3 is one of the oldest and was a bit battered and bruised outside (make sure you do a thorough check before leaving) and in, but it did the job. The staff seem friendly, although a bit inexperienced (weren't aware of their own online promotions so make sure you check and ask for it when you book, they forgot to purchase our rego on arrival but this was fixed in half and hour, had to remind them to supply the camping table and chairs), but these were small things. The online booking process is clunky and not in real time (take a couple days to confirm) but it sounds like this is common practise in NZ. In terms of downside: a number of essential kitchen items were missing which wasn't a huge deal, but an inconvenience nevertheless as we only found out when arriving at the campsite (check before you leave so you can buy them early on if needed). They were happy for us to purchase them however and we were later reimbursed. Camp chair collapsed but we purchase another and were reimbursed. I was mostly worried about it breaking down but the mechanics were very sound and we had no issues. It did guzzle down petrol however, but so do most vans. It did leak in a couple of places when it rained (passenger seat and main van door) but I just put a towel on my lap/on the floor. The fresh water pipe was also completely broken and couldn't be used but most camping places had one (they were happy to reimburse). Price was competitive for peak season, last minute booking. By the end we grew quite fond of it and it gave us the opportunity to do a trip of a lifetime.

Reviewed almost 5 years ago

Pay attention!

The vans are old and run down. Have 400,000 km or more on the clock. The first van had a clutch failure. It took several days for a replacement to arrive. Until then you're stuck somewhere. The support hotline was overwhelmed by the whole situation. The second van with 500,000 km was also junk. It was raining everywhere. While driving, it dripped heavily into my lap and onto my hands on the steering wheel. The interior fittings like gas stove, fridge etc didn't really work. Everything seemed dingy, especially the mattresses. With cable ties and enough tape you can keep the van reasonably tight and together.

Reviewed 9 months ago

Our campervan was an original 3 from a Toyota Hiace, built in 1999 with 650,000 km.

We chose the vehicle because it was cheap. The vehicle was clean when it was handed over, but was heavily worn in places. It was probably repainted during the Corona lockdown. The vehicle has not let us down in the 4 weeks and we were able to come to terms with the signs of wear and tear. A scent tree supported us. We drove about 3500 km from Auckland to Christchurch and with the gold insurance we paid not so much. The only real drawback was the slightly too small fridge freezer. At 69, I was getting by with the simple left-side gear shifter.

Reviewed over 1 year ago and experienced in January 2023

Picked up the Van from the Christchurch depot, which was a very quick and easy process, then we were away on our 12 day trip.

No problems with the van whatsoever. Had a perfect trip around the South Island and will be booking from here again in the near future

Reviewed over 2 years ago

Do not book through this place!!

Keeping your money during covid even when the borders are shut and you can't get there. Customer service is terrible.

Reviewed over 2 years ago

Don't rent Happy Campers, we absolutely don't recommand it!

We had a van for 1 month in New Zealand in january 2020, in very bad shape, with tyres so old that we had a low tyre. We had to pay (tyre and AA intervention) and Happy Campers did not pay back and still don't answer our mails 4 months after. Many other problems including security. We wish we had paid a little more with other companies with vans in better shape.

Reviewed over 4 years ago and experienced in January 2020

We booked a camper van for April.

Due to corona crisis we had to cancel but didn't get back any money . They making money out of this crisis!!! A NO GO

Reviewed over 4 years ago

We picked up the campervan from Christchurch.

Staff were helpful, but the van was tired and grubby. Some of this was not immediately apparent, but a lack of preparation was. The fittings were obviously old (‘armyl surplus’ blinds and storage pockets) and the bedding, though clean, was pretty much thrown across the seats. Additional towels and bedding were later offered. Subsequent examination found the fridge to be rusty and stained. It needed cleaning, and so did the floor. There was no evidence that the van had been cleaned and prepared properly in between clients.

The following day we had to return to exchange the stove and the satnav, neither of which were working properly.

The van drove well and there were no issues on the road, but the state of the living accommodation was unsatisfactory.

Reviewed over 4 years ago

Saw a few very bad reviews but my experience was excellent.

Value for money, great and friendly service and good camper van. Christchurch location.

Reviewed almost 5 years ago