Mate we just concluded 6 weeks cruising all around NZ in Scuba Steve and couldn’t be more positive about our experience. The vehicle itself performed flawless, the fit out is surprisingly practical and the staff easy going as. Shoutout to Chanelle who dropped us off at the airport and to the lady who drove to the airport to deliver my water bottle that I forgot. Legends!
Malveeka Bhandari
-
February 25, 2026
Husband and I rented the dream sleeper mini for a 2w trip around the South Island. The pick up and drop was easy and hassle free, but our car was not in good condition.
1) the sliding doors kept getting stuck the entire time, making it a struggle every time we closed them.
2) Turning the seats to make a bed was another struggle as they would get stuck. Eventually we gave up and just pushed the seats ahead and managed with a half dangling bed instead of spending 15 min struggling to turn them.
Overall the condition of the vehicle was not good. Things were loose, the curtain clipper came off, so did one of the plastic things on the hinge of the front passenger door.
Would definitely go with another company the next time.
Michael Green
-
December 31, 2025
My wife and I rented a Dream Sleeper Van for our sixteen day road trip around NZ. With our rental we purchased the extra insurance. Here is what we discovered using the van and talking to other travelers along the way.
Positives:
Mechanical: The van we were provided with was an older model Toyota Estima. It was very scratched up from wear and tear and paint was peeling. We encountered no major engine or mechanical issues with the van. (There were some issues with the sliding door not opening and closing completely.)
Bedding:
The bed was comfortable and easy to easy to set up.
Supplies: Everything that was provided worked. From the chairs, portable gas stove, and table all were clean and in workable condition.
Negatives
Pick up:
On the day of the pick it was difficult to find any staff to help answer questions. Our van was parked out front ready for us however I had a few questions about the logistics and operations of the van. Our introductory email stated “staff will be available to answer any questions”. That was not the case as both times I went into the showroom no one was on the floor. The woman who did help seemed to be distracted with other tasks in the back office. She pointed me to a computer station to watch the instructional video. Which I had already done prior to our pick up. Mind you, I picked up our van at 10 am on a Tuesday in December so staffing should not have been an issue.
Mechanics:
We had issues with both sides of the sliding doors closing/not closing. When I What’s App’d to ask about this, I received an AI/Bot response. About 12 hrs later we did have someone respond and check. We eventually figured it out on our own.
Drop off:
We paid for the fast check out 100 NZ. However on two day before we dropped our rental we received an autogenerated email stating that if we did not car wash and vac our van, we would be charged a 150 NZ cleaning fee. This email should have not been sent to those who chose to pay the easy check out fee.
Conclusion:
We have mixed reviews: Not bad not good. I would suggest as a budget option first time camper van, this is OK. But there are issues with customer support and the vehicle being dated which need to be addressed. My advice, I suggest you do your research and keep digging as there are plenty of other options available.
jean teng
-
April 06, 2025
I just wanna to express my sincere appreciation to Esther's excellent customer service. I initially encountered an issue with receiving two gas canisters that was not completely full, which caused some problems while cooking. However, her handled the situation swiftly and efficiently, offering a speedy response and an easy refund process that truly exceeded my expectations.
Additionally, her assistance with the power supply LED light issue has been incredibly helpful. Thanks Esther for her outstanding service
Y Hu
-
December 19, 2025
We rented spaceship at Christchurch and returned at Auckland. The whole trip was smooth and the car was easy to drive. The vehicle was old and made in 2005 but I was surprised that how well it held up. I got some very good tips and comments from the past before the trip, so I would like to contribute my share as well.
Positives:
1. Shanelle, the employee at Christchurch was super nice and positive. She answered all my questions in detail while I was a bit nervous to drive this kind of car for the first time and drive in NZ for the first time. She even helped me to build table and shade together so that I won’t have to figure those out by myself out there.
2. The gas mileage was not that bad as some comments said. For us, the average was 11.6 liter per 100km.
3. The free accessories were thoughtful and practical. It is one of the reasons that our trip went smoothly.
4. The freebie is such a great idea. We took some useful things and put a blanket back :)
Need improvement:
1. Our trip was 11/28 - 12/12. During this season, I find stove useless unless we are cooking in a shelter or kitchen. Small wind could affect the efficiency of stove a lot.
2. Kettle was a bit difficult to use. If I pour hot water while pressing on the red button to open the kettle mouth, my hand would be burnt by steam.
3. We paid for shade but it was not useful during our trip. It doesn’t stand well if there is wind. And often times we are not parked on soil to put stake in. Also the shade is supposed to be attached to the back so half of the shade is on top of the trunk. Therefore the usable area under shade is not a lot.
4. When we found out that our spaceship didn’t have jumper cable, I reached out to customer service via WhatsApp. However, I got replies in completely different tones and different commands which confused us. One set of replies was something like “if you can’t find in x y z, then just purchase one and we will reimburse you”. In the meantime we would get another set of replies after asking us to look into places after places in multiple replies which got a bit annoying in the end. I don’t know why there would be two people giving different replies.
Some tradeoff about this kind of campervan if this is your first time.
1. (Negative) I (169cm) can’t sit up upright on bed and that is a bit hard on my body after 15 days. It is not very good for my weak lower back to be in bent position continuously for 10 minutes before lying down and after waking up.
2. (Neutral) The length is ok for me but my foot would be at the edge of the mattress. If you are taller than me, I don’t think you can straighten your legs sleeping
3. (positive) The car drives like a SUV. It is easy to drive on narrow roads. Gas mileage is great on this car.
4. (negative) It’s inefficient to set up bed, get going and cook. Because item and stuff are stored everywhere, access to those things could be in the driver door, passenger door, back left door, back right door, and trunk. We need to go like 30 times around the car every evening and morning.
Our Address
160 Orchard Road, Harewood, Christchurch 8051, New Zealand
Mate we just concluded 6 weeks cruising all around NZ in Scuba Steve and couldn’t be more positive about our experience. The vehicle itself performed flawless, the fit out is surprisingly practical and the staff easy going as. Shoutout to Chanelle who dropped us off at the airport and to the lady who drove to the airport to deliver my water bottle that I forgot. Legends!
Husband and I rented the dream sleeper mini for a 2w trip around the South Island. The pick up and drop was easy and hassle free, but our car was not in good condition. 1) the sliding doors kept getting stuck the entire time, making it a struggle every time we closed them. 2) Turning the seats to make a bed was another struggle as they would get stuck. Eventually we gave up and just pushed the seats ahead and managed with a half dangling bed instead of spending 15 min struggling to turn them. Overall the condition of the vehicle was not good. Things were loose, the curtain clipper came off, so did one of the plastic things on the hinge of the front passenger door. Would definitely go with another company the next time.
My wife and I rented a Dream Sleeper Van for our sixteen day road trip around NZ. With our rental we purchased the extra insurance. Here is what we discovered using the van and talking to other travelers along the way. Positives: Mechanical: The van we were provided with was an older model Toyota Estima. It was very scratched up from wear and tear and paint was peeling. We encountered no major engine or mechanical issues with the van. (There were some issues with the sliding door not opening and closing completely.) Bedding: The bed was comfortable and easy to easy to set up. Supplies: Everything that was provided worked. From the chairs, portable gas stove, and table all were clean and in workable condition. Negatives Pick up: On the day of the pick it was difficult to find any staff to help answer questions. Our van was parked out front ready for us however I had a few questions about the logistics and operations of the van. Our introductory email stated “staff will be available to answer any questions”. That was not the case as both times I went into the showroom no one was on the floor. The woman who did help seemed to be distracted with other tasks in the back office. She pointed me to a computer station to watch the instructional video. Which I had already done prior to our pick up. Mind you, I picked up our van at 10 am on a Tuesday in December so staffing should not have been an issue. Mechanics: We had issues with both sides of the sliding doors closing/not closing. When I What’s App’d to ask about this, I received an AI/Bot response. About 12 hrs later we did have someone respond and check. We eventually figured it out on our own. Drop off: We paid for the fast check out 100 NZ. However on two day before we dropped our rental we received an autogenerated email stating that if we did not car wash and vac our van, we would be charged a 150 NZ cleaning fee. This email should have not been sent to those who chose to pay the easy check out fee. Conclusion: We have mixed reviews: Not bad not good. I would suggest as a budget option first time camper van, this is OK. But there are issues with customer support and the vehicle being dated which need to be addressed. My advice, I suggest you do your research and keep digging as there are plenty of other options available.
I just wanna to express my sincere appreciation to Esther's excellent customer service. I initially encountered an issue with receiving two gas canisters that was not completely full, which caused some problems while cooking. However, her handled the situation swiftly and efficiently, offering a speedy response and an easy refund process that truly exceeded my expectations. Additionally, her assistance with the power supply LED light issue has been incredibly helpful. Thanks Esther for her outstanding service
We rented spaceship at Christchurch and returned at Auckland. The whole trip was smooth and the car was easy to drive. The vehicle was old and made in 2005 but I was surprised that how well it held up. I got some very good tips and comments from the past before the trip, so I would like to contribute my share as well. Positives: 1. Shanelle, the employee at Christchurch was super nice and positive. She answered all my questions in detail while I was a bit nervous to drive this kind of car for the first time and drive in NZ for the first time. She even helped me to build table and shade together so that I won’t have to figure those out by myself out there. 2. The gas mileage was not that bad as some comments said. For us, the average was 11.6 liter per 100km. 3. The free accessories were thoughtful and practical. It is one of the reasons that our trip went smoothly. 4. The freebie is such a great idea. We took some useful things and put a blanket back :) Need improvement: 1. Our trip was 11/28 - 12/12. During this season, I find stove useless unless we are cooking in a shelter or kitchen. Small wind could affect the efficiency of stove a lot. 2. Kettle was a bit difficult to use. If I pour hot water while pressing on the red button to open the kettle mouth, my hand would be burnt by steam. 3. We paid for shade but it was not useful during our trip. It doesn’t stand well if there is wind. And often times we are not parked on soil to put stake in. Also the shade is supposed to be attached to the back so half of the shade is on top of the trunk. Therefore the usable area under shade is not a lot. 4. When we found out that our spaceship didn’t have jumper cable, I reached out to customer service via WhatsApp. However, I got replies in completely different tones and different commands which confused us. One set of replies was something like “if you can’t find in x y z, then just purchase one and we will reimburse you”. In the meantime we would get another set of replies after asking us to look into places after places in multiple replies which got a bit annoying in the end. I don’t know why there would be two people giving different replies. Some tradeoff about this kind of campervan if this is your first time. 1. (Negative) I (169cm) can’t sit up upright on bed and that is a bit hard on my body after 15 days. It is not very good for my weak lower back to be in bent position continuously for 10 minutes before lying down and after waking up. 2. (Neutral) The length is ok for me but my foot would be at the edge of the mattress. If you are taller than me, I don’t think you can straighten your legs sleeping 3. (positive) The car drives like a SUV. It is easy to drive on narrow roads. Gas mileage is great on this car. 4. (negative) It’s inefficient to set up bed, get going and cook. Because item and stuff are stored everywhere, access to those things could be in the driver door, passenger door, back left door, back right door, and trunk. We need to go like 30 times around the car every evening and morning.