First look at Auto-Sleeper 2025 models & Truma CombiNeo
News
Auto-Sleepers first to install revolutionary new Truma heating system
For 2025 all Fiat-based Auto-Sleepers motorhomes and campervans will have the new CombiNeo boiler, which provides continuous hot water, for as long as the water tank can supply water. Although saving water in motorhomes will continue to be the norm, now you'll be be able to take a proper shower rather than the on-off method used with finite resources from the traditional hot water boiler.
Peter Vaughan Content Editor: Motorhomes
Peter Vaughan Content Editor: Motorhomes
It was the one thing that was missing. Now you really have a home from home.
Motorhome showers revolutionised
Some Auto-Sleepers customers had sometimes complained about showers only lasting for a maximum of six minutes, an issue common to almost all British and European motorhomes.
The solution comes through the fitting of the new CombiNeo boiler and heating system. This will be fitted to all Fiat-based Auto-Sleepers (campervans and coachbuilts) for the 2025 season, making these the first vehicles in Europe to have Truma’s brand-new unit.
Truma, of course, is already the market leader in leisure vehicle heating, having developed both the first caravan/motorhome heater and the first Combi unit. In its 75-year history it has supplied over six million heaters to the leisure industry, but the CombiNeo is not simply an updated Combi, it is a clean sheet design that shares not a single screw with its forebear (which will continue in production).
Truma wanted a motorhome manufacturer that it could work with closely to introduce its new system but, by late 2023, it knew the CombiNeo wouldn’t be ready for 2024’s summer new model launches held by the majority of motorhome manufacturers. It, therefore, needed a brand with more flexibility and Auto-Sleepers’ smaller scale allowed that, with a planned launch of the new Fiat Ducato Series 10 models not scheduled until February.
A real desire to work together came from Brian’s passion for the project and soon an open dialogue between Auto-Sleepers in the Cotswolds and Truma in Germany developed, with Brian’s team even visiting Truma’s secret prototype area.
Since then, Truma engineers have visited Auto-Sleepers’ dealers as part of a three-stage training programme to ensure a smooth arrival for the CombiNeo in the market.
This isn’t just big news for Auto-Sleepers but a major story for Truma, with both companies promoting the global launch of the CombiNeo at the forthcoming Caravan, Camping & Motorhome Show at Birmingham’s NEC (18-23 February).
How does Truma's CombiNeo work?
The USP of the Truma CombiNeo is that it provides continuous hot water, so you can stay in a nice warm shower in your motorhome for as long as its fresh water supply lasts. It takes just three minutes to heat the boiler’s first six litres to 40 degrees for dish washing, or eight minutes to be ready for showering (that’s using gas or hybrid modes – shower heat takes 12 minutes on 230V only).
Once you’ve heated those initial six litres, the CombiNeo’s clever patented system of baffles inside forces cold water coming in via a very narrow capillary pipe system through the heat exchanger, so water is entering the tank pre-warmed.
The CombiNeo will be available, like the existing Combi, in 4kW and 6kW gas versions (Auto-Sleepers will only use the more powerful unit), but on 230V it has 1kW, 2kW and 3kW settings (an increased output, with lower power options when a campsite’s supply is more limited). In hybrid mode (offering up to 7kW of heat), the unit will stop using gas once it can rely solely on electricity and Truma says that the 3kW setting should allow electric-only use for three seasons of the year.
A diesel version of the CombiNeo will follow (planned for April 2026) and the new heater is compatible with the existing iNet X control panel and app. A further advantage of the CombiNeo is less weight, reducing the vehicle's MRO by around 6kg.
It is also more compact (especially in height), so it can be fitted anywhere that a current Combi will go (so no expensive redesigning of vehicles is required). From January 2026, the CombiNeo should be available to retrofit to existing vehicles, too.
What's new: 2025 Auto-Sleepers
The new-season campervans and motorhomes from Auto-Sleepers are not just the first to get Truma’s latest heating system but the company’s first vehicles on the facelifted Fiat cab. To go with these significant changes, there are cosmetic changes, too.
New exteriors and interiors
All coachbuilt motorhomes get new exterior graphics and a new soft furnishings scheme (offered with a choice of colours for the bolster cushions).
Redesigned kitchen
The layout of the Auto-Sleeper Broadway EK TB LP has also been redesigned to give more storage in the kitchen with a repositioned microwave (now over the sink).
Washroom gets full separate shower (Broadway EK TB LP)
Top lockers also now have soft-closing and the wardrobe has been increased in size, but the big news is in the washroom, where a one-piece separate shower unit replaces the previous swing-wall design.
New campervan ceilings
In the campervan range the changes are more minor but, again, include new cosmetics, as well as MPK rooflights and a new composite ceiling. As with the coachbuilts, an ultrasonic water tank sensor is being introduced to increase reliability.
Auto-Sleeper Mercedes motorhomes get new interior
Mercedes-based Auto-Sleepers all now feature Alde heating, plus a new dark wood furniture with copper flecks in the lower part of the top locker doors and contrasting pale cream upholstery. A lighter, speckled worktop also offers a counterpoint to the wood, while the patterned curtains in these flagship vehicles come in plum or blue with that choice reflected in similar colours for the scatter cushions.
New motorhome option: incinerator toilets
Another new feature, albeit as an expensive option, is the Cinderella toilet, which will be offered on Mercedes coachbuilts. This is an incinerator loo that turns all waste into ash and will greatly increase independence from facilities for toilet emptying. For those planning off-grid tours, it will be a must-have option.
