Wilderness Motorhomes vs Spaceships

Both companies run Auckland and Christchurch and nothing else, so neither can start or finish a trip in Queenstown. The two depots sit on opposite islands in each case, and the Cook Strait vehicle fare is the renter’s to book and pay for either way. Neither charges an itemised repositioning fee. Spaceships advertises none alongside unlimited kilometres, and Wilderness’s model and pricing pages promise the same, though a direct check of its booking engine turns up a higher total on some larger models. Wilderness separately reserves up to NZ$2,000 if you change your drop-off point after booking. The review records do not separate the two. Wilderness is the only operator in this market above 4.5 on both platforms, at 4.9 on Google across its two depots and 4.8 on Trustpilot. Spaceships is the only one where both platforms land on the same number, 4.5 either way.

The fleets are not the same kind of vehicle. Wilderness runs seven Fiat Ducato motorhomes, the smallest of them 6.0 metres. Standing headroom, a cassette flush toilet, a hot shower, 120 litres of fresh water and central gas and electric heating are fitted to all seven, behind full insulation and double glazing. The narrowest is the two-berth Twin/King at 2.1 metres rather than the model called Compact at 2.3, so read the width instead of the name. The Suite, the four-berth at the top of the range, adds two lounges, electric drop-down beds and what the company calls New Zealand’s only Bürstner in a rental fleet. Spaceships runs five compact vans. Four sleep two, the Beta seating four but still sleeping two, and the VW Cosmo sleeps three; only the Cosmo, with its pop-top raised, gives standing room, and it is the one Spaceships model that can be booked as a manual. Sleeping gear and a fridge come with all five, and a gas cooker and two gas canisters with the equipped models; the Cosmo’s fridge is 75 litres, and its hob and heater run off its diesel tank.

Certification is the split that decides the nights. Wilderness describes its fleet as certified self-contained in its FAQ and lists a cassette flush toilet on every model page. Spaceships lists three of its five, the Beta 2S, Sigma and Cosmo, as green-warrant certified, and the Beta and the Dream Sleeper Mini as not. Book either of those two and every night needs a holiday park or a DOC site, which over a fortnight is the larger number — compare these two as a total trip cost rather than as a daily rate. Wilderness then includes roadside assistance for a mechanical fault on all three cover tiers, so the tier moves the bill rather than the response. Standard cover carries a NZ$7,500 excess, Extra Cover cuts it to NZ$500 for NZ$64 a day, and Full Cover removes it for NZ$84 a day, on prices effective from 1 April 2026. What none of the tiers reimburses is the accommodation, meals or missed connection a stranded night costs, which is the clearest negative pattern in its Google reviews. Spaceships freezes a NZ$5,000 bond on the card instead, cut to NZ$3,000 on Partial and removed on Stress-Free for NZ$35 a day, or NZ$40 if added from 1 October 2026.