What did you buy but now dont bring in your Cali ?

[Aoife T]

I was just reading another post where the the usual correct advice was given, do not rush out and buy things for your new Cali until you have tried it out a few times, often there are posts cover what people do use but I though it might be useful to list what mistakes were made, obviously its going to be different for every one,

Here is my "no longer pack" list:

The plastic sink insert provided by VW
A draining board which fited over the cooker rings
A chopping board which fitted over the sink
Too many plates, cups, cutlery etc.
Portable ikea draining board
A low voltage camping kettle (the gas is brilliant)
Spare bedding (the heater will solve any cold issues right down to minus 15 in our expierience)
Portaloo (very very occasionally bring it such as going to Euro Disney camping in car park)
Too many containers, they prevent flexible storage in my opinion (we do use two large boot boxes though)
Spare torches, fairy lights , lighting in T6 is good, fairy lights can be a faff
Low voltage camping electric blankets !!(yes seriously, what were we thinking !)
12v vacum (use a brush like everyone else )
Spare mains cable (sounds like a good idea but for the very odd time you need it?)
Wind breakers
standard towels (we use Decathlon microfiber towels, very compact)
And now for the big one, our expensive drive away awning, it just takes up too much space

I know some of the above are useful, but we are packing for two adults and two kids.
bottom line is, it must be essential or it doesnt come, unless its a long stay of more then a few nights.

 

[Bazz Bash]

Thank you for this. Just bought a T6 Ocean. Started making a list as I pick it up in a week. I'm now putting lines through some of my items

 

[GrannyJen]

Seat covers. Bought when I first collected Albert and now languishing in his cupboard.

Various outdoor lanterns.

Melamine dinner set. Now two very nice porcelain dinner, and two tea plates, portmerion, in the cutlery draw. Otherwise compostable disposable plates and bowls.

12v oven and 12v slow cooker. By the time they cooked my dinner malnutrition would have taken hold and anyway they kept blowing my 12v fuses.

Huge numbers of storage boxes. I could fill a shelf in Ikea.

Sleeping bags. (Now duvet, so much more comfortable).

Air bed. A failed experiment as a mattress topper.

335 portaloo, now use BiaB

Three lightweight electric cables. Now use tough leads, safer and do not knot up.

Matches. (yes, seriously). Now piezo electric device but that's redundant as the ignition for my hobs in Alfie works.

Frying pan. Made redundant by ridge monkey.

Spare 907 gas bottle. Now superseded by the cheap as chips bistro stove with 250ml cartridge. Great for outdoor cooking and an emergency standby in event of empty 907 bottle.

 

[Bazz Bash]

Well that just about kills the list I made. Thank you

 

[GrannyJen]

Well that just about kills the list I made. Thank you

I will add more to the list when I get home and look around Alfie's cupboard. There are also the things that come with the van and just get plonked away out of sight (safety net, door pocket rubbish bin etc)

 

[sensisuperstar]

Looking forward to seeing how this thread develops, as it’s decimated the list I made...

Cooking

Ridge monkey toaster
Ikea chopping board
Ikea flexible chopping board
Front Runner Cutlery Set & Bag
Ikea kuggis boxes (lid can be used as tray)

Tents & Awnings

*Already bought a Cinch! Hub*

General

Bellows bungy
Cali Topper
Silicon mats for shelves
25m Electric cable & 3 pin adaptor
Cable winder and bag
Emergency hold down roof straps
Seat covers
Thetford Qube 335 Porta Potty or Bog in a Bag
Stop lock Pro
Water fill up pipe
One set of level ups
Spirit Level
Bulb and fuse kit (VW Spares)
Travel adapter with two USBs
Fire extinguisher
Bistro stove (gas back up)?

Bedding

Mattress Topper
Dream tubes
Duvalays

...I guess if I bought all this kit I’d need a trailer too!!!

 

[Hotel California]

@sensisuperstar ,
It's about things you ....DON'T take anymore... , as the title says....

 

[sensisuperstar]

@sensisuperstar ,
It's about things you ....DON'T take anymore... , as the title says....

I know, that’s why if you read my reply I’ve pointed out the fact my list needs to be amended. You see I’m new to this, so threads like this are useful, so it’s a shame you don’t have any constructive to say yourself.

 

[Hotel California]

...yeah ...really a shame

 

[Intrinseca63]

...yeah ...really a shame

I’m a newbie too and hope to upcycle years of camping gear- nice to see that I probably don’t need to find a load of new stuff- my local hospice shop should be able to fill in the gaps - that said I have just received my new solar cell to fit on the roof!

 

[GrannyJen]

Looking forward to seeing how this thread develops, as it’s decimated the list I made...

Cooking

Ridge monkey toaster
Ikea chopping board
Ikea flexible chopping board
Front Runner Cutlery Set & Bag
Ikea kuggis boxes (lid can be used as tray)

Tents & Awnings

*Already bought a Cinch! Hub*

General

Bellows bungy
Cali Topper
Silicon mats for shelves
25m Electric cable & 3 pin adaptor
Cable winder and bag
Emergency hold down roof straps
Seat covers
Thetford Qube 335 Porta Potty or Bog in a Bag
Stop lock Pro
Water fill up pipe
One set of level ups
Spirit Level
Bulb and fuse kit (VW Spares)
Travel adapter with two USBs
Fire extinguisher
Bistro stove (gas back up)?

Bedding

Mattress Topper
Dream tubes
Duvalays

...I guess if I bought all this kit I’d need a trailer too!!!

Before you discard the lot

Ridge monkey is useful. I have the smallest one in the van as I use it almost daily and the large one carried in my useful boot boxes. Equally I use a cutlery roll, and a screw fix tool roll for kitchen tools, making the cutlery drawer redundant and a place to put my posh plates plus sachet's of sauces etc. Beware of buying lots of storage boxes, I doubt if you could find any anyway, half the worlds supply are in Alfie's "redundant bits and pieces" cupboard.

Bellows bungey is worth having, cheap and doesn't take up any room.

I had non-slip mats for cupboard shelves and tossed them in the bin after a couple of uses.

electric cable is essential as is the bag but the cable holder I don't bother with. One more irritant to fuss with when the snow is horizontal, the hands are cold and the van is getting cold. (like now )

Water fill up pipe.... a metre of hose and a collapsible funnel but then I don't use too much water, carry drinking in a 2.2 litre bottle and use that to replenish the onboard tank.

Spirit level? Definitely not for me. mark one eyeball. The footprint of the Cali is so small you would hardly notice anything below a marked slope.

Level-ups I never use, sold the set I bought pre-albert after they sat in his cupboard for 3 years.

 

[ArunAlec]

Seat covers. Bought when I first collected Albert and now languishing in his cupboard.

Various outdoor lanterns.

Melamine dinner set. Now two very nice porcelain dinner, and two tea plates, portmerion, in the cutlery draw. Otherwise compostable disposable plates and bowls.

12v oven and 12v slow cooker. By the time they cooked my dinner malnutrition would have taken hold and anyway they kept blowing my 12v fuses.

Huge numbers of storage boxes. I could fill a shelf in Ikea.

Sleeping bags. (Now duvet, so much more comfortable).

Air bed. A failed experiment as a mattress topper.

335 portaloo, now use BiaB

Three lightweight electric cables. Now use tough leads, safer and do not knot up.

Matches. (yes, seriously). Now piezo electric device but that's redundant as the ignition for my hobs in Alfie works.

Frying pan. Made redundant by ridge monkey.

Spare 907 gas bottle. Now superseded by the cheap as chips bistro stove with 250ml cartridge. Great for outdoor cooking and an emergency standby in event of empty 907 bottle.

So a cupboard each for Albert and Alfie?

 

[GrannyJen]

So a cupboard each for Albert and Alfie?

Albert's ex cupboard, now Alfie's..... but Albert's presence will ever be in there, especially as it's full of his junk

 

[sensisuperstar]

Before you discard the lot

Ridge monkey is useful. I have the smallest one in the van as I use it almost daily and the large one carried in my useful boot boxes. Equally I use a cutlery roll, and a screw fix tool roll for kitchen tools, making the cutlery drawer redundant and a place to put my posh plates plus sachet's of sauces etc. Beware of buying lots of storage boxes, I doubt if you could find any anyway, half the worlds supply are in Alfie's "redundant bits and pieces" cupboard.

Bellows bungey is worth having, cheap and doesn't take up any room.

I had non-slip mats for cupboard shelves and tossed them in the bin after a couple of uses.

electric cable is essential as is the bag but the cable holder I don't bother with. One more irritant to fuss with when the snow is horizontal, the hands are cold and the van is getting cold. (like now )

Water fill up pipe.... a metre of hose and a collapsible funnel but then I don't use too much water, carry drinking in a 2.2 litre bottle and use that to replenish the onboard tank.

Spirit level? Definitely not for me. mark one eyeball. The footprint of the Cali is so small you would hardly notice anything below a marked slope.

Level-ups I never use, sold the set I bought pre-albert after they sat in his cupboard for 3 years.

Thanks GJ, you’ve saved me a small fortune

 

[Meoncoast]

Spirit Level

Most phones can be used as a spirit level or
have a cup of tea, the fluid will tell you by eye how level you are.
or if the packet of Hobknobs roll off the table you know you are not level

 

[calimera]

Looking forward to seeing how this thread develops, as it’s decimated the list I made...

Cooking

Ridge monkey toaster
Ikea chopping board
Ikea flexible chopping board
Front Runner Cutlery Set & Bag
Ikea kuggis boxes (lid can be used as tray)

Tents & Awnings

*Already bought a Cinch! Hub*

General

Bellows bungy
Cali Topper
Silicon mats for shelves
25m Electric cable & 3 pin adaptor
Cable winder and bag
Emergency hold down roof straps
Seat covers
Thetford Qube 335 Porta Potty or Bog in a Bag
Stop lock Pro
Water fill up pipe
One set of level ups
Spirit Level
Bulb and fuse kit (VW Spares)
Travel adapter with two USBs
Fire extinguisher
Bistro stove (gas back up)?

Bedding

Mattress Topper
Dream tubes
Duvalays

...I guess if I bought all this kit I’d need a trailer too!!!

Emergency roof hold down straps - are provided by VW , if buying new.

Cali Topper , not bought haven’t needed so far . Have camped when cold & slept on bed in roof. Aware people buy then don’t use.

Try toppers first (bought topper from Lidl & dunelm ,seemed cheaper but too bulky ,now ditched).
Have zonesleeper /with replacement mattress for top. Would now buy the new /latest zone sleeper from club shop .BUT would try first. Good to go to a club meeting.

Rarely use our windbreaker.

 

[sensisuperstar]

Most phones can be used as a spirit level or
have a cup of tea, the fluid will tell you by eye how level you are.
or if the packet of Hobknobs roll off the table you know you are not level

Good thinking, I’ll maybe start a smart phone thread to see if anymore apps can help!

Brew & Hobnob tip is fantastic, but in my experience the half eaten pack doesn’t roll so well and bourbon’s are even worse

 

[Ocean Spirit]

I know, that’s why if you read my reply I’ve pointed out the fact my list needs to be amended. You see I’m new to this, so threads like this are useful, so it’s a shame you don’t have any constructive to say yourself.

For what it's worth I was confused by your post initially too.
I read it the same way as @hotel california

But let me tell you, there was no malice or awkward intent in his post.
Relax @sensisuperstar

 

[motacyclist]

Stuff clogging our garage up:-

Queche base seconds blow up annex - too much space
Safari awning sides and front - too much hassle
Ground sheet thingy for the awning space
TV (use iPad and with Tivizen receiver)
TV aerial and extension lead
Sleeping bags, just use a duvet now
Pairs of Crocs, always in the way
Sandals (never the right weather)
Spare gas bottle
Small stools we thought were a good idea at the time for friends (but we don’t have any )
Solar charger (small trickle charger one)
Outdoor shower - the type that the sun warms up
Electric shower - type you immerse the pump in a bucket of water
Wind breaks - the wind always changes direction once they are up
Tarps - ditto
Electric 13 amp extension and adaptors
Bucket BBQ
Gas BBQ
Another fancy BBQ thingy with batteries in we got from Aldi seemed like a good idea at the time
Meths stove (in case the gas went)
Various hand warmers (the ones you boil in a pan of water)
A hand warmer that runs off lighter fuel, with spare fuel
A rack to hang wet clothes on
An external cosy for the pop top - too much hassle
A thing to weigh the gas bottle
2 way radios
Power pack to charge your phone when out walking using gps (always flat when needed)
Thingy to store cd’s (remember them) in the sun visors
Full size bath towels (now microfibre)
Toilet tent

Also most of the time in the garage are the hook up lead, electric kettle and fan heater; although these are used occasionally.

Another good space saver I’ve found is to leave the other half at home!

 

[BikerGran]

Levelling ramps - it only needs to be level enough that your wine glass doesn't slide off the table.
'Leisure room' - sides to turn the wind-out awning into a room - only used once when I realised I bought the Cali to get away from putting things up and pegging things down.

I didn't buy much else as I'd been camping on a trike (3 wheeled motorcycle) so I put my camping equipment in the van apart from campbed, chair, sleeping bag, tent. Some more bits and pieces have crept in (and sometimes out again) as and when I've thought they would be useful.

 

[motacyclist]

Looks like our levelling ramps will be getting chucked too, the space at the side of the seat where we normally keep them has a compressor and tyre sealant kit in the new van. Not that we’ve ever used them much ....

Agree about the leisure room sides, while they are fairly easy to put up in theory, we could never get them taut even after spending ages faffing about; particularly if the ground wasn’t absolutely flat. We’ve only used them twice and the second time I had to keep getting up in the night to empty bathfuls of water which had collected in the awning “roof”. And the wind was howling through the gaps in the top and under the van!

 

[Amarillo]

After spending all last summer in Scandinavia and Northern Europe with solar panels generating all our electricity needs we dumped our hook up cable, only to find that we needed to buy a replacement for shorter cloudier days in Southern Europe over the winter months.


Follow my blog: www.au-revoir.eu

 

[T6 CFO]

Levelling ramps getting chucked out it seems. Cali has a small footprint and you can usually find a flattish spot but I’m keeping mine for now as used them quite a few times when off piste. Mine are stored next to the rear bench/ski slot.

This was a magnificent pitch. Best on the site but free as sloping.

Mike

 

[westfalia]

Looks like our levelling ramps will be getting chucked too, the space at the side of the seat where we normally keep them has a compressor and tyre sealant kit in the new van.

Don´t be too hasty chucking them out.
I would throw the sealant kit first, the compressor might come in handy.
Order a cradle for the spare wheel and buy a cheapish spare to put in it.

 

[El Greco]

I held back from buying anything but the bare essentials. This way you buy what you need, not what you fancy.

The ramps were bought after staying at a site where the pans would not stay on the hob. They are kept in the 'ski' storage area and have been used several times.