The bathroom is the layout decision that splits NZ motorhomes from NZ campervans. A motorhome — almost any 2-berth, 4-berth or 6-berth rented from a mainstream fleet — has an internal wet-room: a small fibreglass compartment containing a cassette toilet, a hand basin, and a shower head that drains through the same floor grate as the basin. A campervan in the strict sense is a smaller vehicle without a bathroom — kitchen and bed, but you rely on holiday-park facilities. The campervan price is lower; the convenience cost on a multi-week trip is real.
How the wet-room actually works
A typical 2-berth wet-room is about 0.8 × 0.8 m and 1.9 m tall — tight by hotel standards but workable. The toilet is a Thetford or similar cassette unit that holds 18-20 litres of waste and empties at any holiday-park dump station (5-minute job, included in the site fee). The shower runs off the fresh-water tank (60-130 litres depending on vehicle) and is heated by the on-board boiler. A 4-minute shower uses about 18-25 litres of water — five showers between fills is realistic.
Fresh and grey water capacity
Fresh water capacity ranges from 60 litres (2-berth budget) to 130 litres (6-berth premium). Grey water (used water from sink and shower) is held in a separate tank of similar size and emptied at the same dump stations as the toilet cassette. For a couple in a 2-berth, two days of self-contained use is realistic between fills; for a family of four in a 4-berth, one day to a day-and-a-half.
Campervans without bathrooms
Some budget 2-berth campervans (typically Hiace or smaller van conversions) don't have a wet-room — just a kitchen and a bed. They're cheaper to rent (NZ$80-130 per day vs. NZ$180-260) and easier to park, but they restrict you to holiday parks every night for showers and toilets, which removes the freedom-camping cost-saving entirely. For a couple on a short trip with a holiday-park-only itinerary, they can make sense. For a longer trip, the math usually favours a self-contained 2-berth with a wet-room.