C19 forum stats

[Claremacrob]

Hi admins,

Just out of interest, are you seeing a huge spike in forum activity at the moment as many of us (me included) were motivated by C19 to buy a Cali? Do you track how many new members join in a particular period of time? I'm imagining a graph of new users and/or forum posts over a couple of years... if you have any such data I'd be happy to plot it!

I don't have any particular reason for asking - I'm just curious about big market changes happening because of the current situation.

We've always been keen on camper vans and motor homes as a holiday option - we've hired them a few times over the years, including for our honeymoon. We never took the plunge before because we also enjoyed other kinds of holiday. When C19 came along buying a Cali went right to the top of our wish list... a way to get away when we can and see friends/family from a safe distance. I'm sure loads of people will have thought the same and since so many Cali owners (or aspiring owners) will find their way to this site I imagine you have a pretty good idea of the peaks/troughs in demand.

Thanks!

 

[2into1]

I used to retain my 'unread posts' at about 3000. It got up to 4000 so I reset it to zero a few weeks ago, but it's gone from 0 to 5346 in that time, so yes, the forum seems substantially busier than in the past.

 

[calikev]

 

[Claremacrob]

Aha - a graph - fantastic! And what about the same period last year - can you access that?

 

[calikev]

 

[SusiBus]

Yes, there does seem to be a continual stream of new members to the forum, but as there is only a limited number of Calis available, l can't see that the overall number of owners has increased significantly. Probably people just discovering our fabulous forum! Yes the dealers are doing well at the moment, but that wouldn't swell the numbers significantly as supply will always be limited.

 

[Hotel California]

@2into1
The forum might been busy , you might see many posts but if you leave out all those posts on build time , the live chats with VW , when will my Cali arrive, ect ....there's not much going on recently .
Some new threads have three pages of posts in a few days but if you filter out the essential there's only a few posts left.
Many new post are just quoting and reacting with a smiley , seems we are transforming in whatsapp or facebook way of communicating .
New members every day yes but many of them never do one post .
The forum has changed a lot the last few years ...

 

[Claremacrob]

Very interesting - thank you @calikev. So it looks like posts are up 30-50% on the same period last year. As you say @SusiBus there is a limited supply, but I am struck but how busy the posts @hotel california describes are - i.e. loads of us ordering, waiting, getting excited etc. It will be very interesting to see what happens as the situation (hopefully) changes for the better over the next 6 -12 months. Thanks for the info - I love a bit of data!

 

[westfalia]

@2into1
The forum might been busy , you might see many posts but if you leave out all those posts on build time , the live chats with VW , when will my Cali arrive, ect ....there's not much going on recently .
Some new threads have three pages of posts in a few days but if you filter out the essential there's only a few posts left.
Many new post are just quoting and reacting with a smiley , seems we are transforming in whatsapp or facebook way of communicating .
New members every day yes but many of them never do one post .
The forum has changed a lot the last few years ...

 

[clarinetbcn]

@2into1
The forum might been busy , you might see many posts but if you leave out all those posts on build time , the live chats with VW , when will my Cali arrive, ect ....there's not much going on recently .
Some new threads have three pages of posts in a few days but if you filter out the essential there's only a few posts left.
Many new post are just quoting and reacting with a smiley , seems we are transforming in whatsapp or facebook way of communicating .
New members every day yes but many of them never do one post .
The forum has changed a lot the last few years ...

My impression is that some of the technical mechanical discussions have moved to the T6 Forum, which has always been more technically oriented, while the camper aspects have changed so little over the years that there is only a certain amount that you can say to newer members, aside from encouraging them to use the search function. This is not necessarily a bad thing, since the T5/T5.1/T6/T6.1 is so well known thanks to the work of so many Forum members that it is a priceless resource.

When VW brings out a truly new product, which can't be too far in the future, traffic here will explode as all the new quirks are explored.

 

[clarinetbcn]

Maybe it would be useful to have a regular (weekly?) feature: Past threads which have most changed the way we use/maintain our Californias. There is so much valuable info here which newer members are often unaware of, because once a thread is days or weeks old it often gets forgotten.

Maybe it would be useful to have a regular (weekly?) feature: Past threads which have most changed the way we use/maintain our Californias. There is so much valuable info here which newer members are often unaware of, because once a thread is days or weeks old it often gets forgotten.

Members, mods, admin. could submit their suggestions weekly for older topics that are still very relevant (cam belt change interval anyone?)

Members, mods, admin. could submit their suggestions weekly for older topics that are still very relevant (cam belt change interval anyone?)

This ongoing list could be made into a permanent resource.

 

[OGII]

@2into1
The forum might been busy , you might see many posts but if you leave out all those posts on build time , the live chats with VW , when will my Cali arrive, ect ....there's not much going on recently .

I'm going to leave it a couple of days and add a new post asking for forum stats , keeping up the recent trend of posting the same thing someone else has. Hopefully one day the software will be smart enough to flag/ stop users posting the same questions/points etc. Need to allow some leeway though, automatically allowing posts on collection of chickens in lockdowns as an example, be a shame not to let those run and run.

 

[willwander]

Busy but dull. Looking forward to silly season

 

[soulstyledevon]

Really needs a Beach vs Ocean debate...

 

[OGII]

Really needs a Beach vs Ocean debate...

Interesting. But what spec?

 

[GrannyJen]

It's very difficult when a camper forum, based on an activity of getting out and about, is living in an age of mandatory stay put.

I have an 8 week cycle ride to do next year, across England and Wales, Alfie pulling Betty, if it can go ahead. I'm sure many of us have similar projects and just waiting for this stay put world we are living in to become a "get going" one again.

I'm hopeless mechanically and cannot contribute to anything mechanical. If I even repair a puncture on my bicycle I end up with a wheel left over.I can only talk camping, getting lost, waking up to snow at the level of the windows, sunsets in remote places, snuggled up in my cocoon or what can go wrong when you turn down into a street narrower than the camper.

Equally there are no meets to talk about, .... my current camper excitement revolves around the furry little things eating the cables of my Cali

 

[kp64zl]

@2into1
The forum might been busy , you might see many posts but if you leave out all those posts on build time , the live chats with VW , when will my Cali arrive, ect ....there's not much going on recently .
Some new threads have three pages of posts in a few days but if you filter out the essential there's only a few posts left.
Many new post are just quoting and reacting with a smiley , seems we are transforming in whatsapp or facebook way of communicating .
New members every day yes but many of them never do one post .
The forum has changed a lot the last few years ...

Good point- I wonder if some of the “social media” aspect of the forum (reactions, likes etc) could be scaled back a bit. Good for the advertisers though

 

[Karlos]

 

[Karlos]

Really needs a Beach vs Ocean debate...

Or Coast

 

[soulstyledevon]

Or Coast

The new kid on the block.
Should get nice and heated

I think the level of newbies has been a bit overwhelming this last couple of months...
Especially with the same posts popping up.

 

[Jenny H]

It's very difficult when a camper forum, based on an activity of getting out and about, is living in an age of mandatory stay put.

I have an 8 week cycle ride to do next year, across England and Wales, Alfie pulling Betty, if it can go ahead. I'm sure many of us have similar projects and just waiting for this stay put world we are living in to become a "get going" one again.

I'm hopeless mechanically and cannot contribute to anything mechanical. If I even repair a puncture on my bicycle I end up with a wheel left over.I can only talk camping, getting lost, waking up to snow at the level of the windows, sunsets in remote places, snuggled up in my cocoon or what can go wrong when you turn down into a street narrower than the camper.

Equally there are no meets to talk about, .... my current camper excitement revolves around the furry little things eating the cables of my Cali

Thats the stuff I most like hearing about! all the snuggled cocoons & sunsets - must be a girl kind of thing - anything mechanical doesnt interest me as long as it all works! hence the simpler the better - give me cushions, throws, & wine anyday!!!

 

[WelshGas]

No, there are now 4 iterations of the California.
Beach Camper, Beach Tour, Coast & Ocean. Or is the Beach Tour allowed as it is now defined as a MPV, not a Motor Caravan and has a different Road Tax regime to the others.

( Is the Beach Tour, 3 seat bench, still taxed as a MPV if 1 sliding door is deleted and replaced by the Folding Mini Kitchen ? )

Then we can add in 150 or 199/204 engine.

Manual, DSG

4 Motion or FWD

Hill Descent, Diff Lock.

Cruise Control, ACC

And the new kids on the block - Active Lane Assist, Traffic Sign Recognition

 

[LesleyAnne]

It's very difficult when a camper forum, based on an activity of getting out and about, is living in an age of mandatory stay put.

I have an 8 week cycle ride to do next year, across England and Wales, Alfie pulling Betty, if it can go ahead. I'm sure many of us have similar projects and just waiting for this stay put world we are living in to become a "get going" one again.

I'm hopeless mechanically and cannot contribute to anything mechanical. If I even repair a puncture on my bicycle I end up with a wheel left over.I can only talk camping, getting lost, waking up to snow at the level of the windows, sunsets in remote places, snuggled up in my cocoon or what can go wrong when you turn down into a street narrower than the camper.

Equally there are no meets to talk about, .... my current camper excitement revolves around the furry little things eating the cables of my Cali

Love to know more about your planned 8 week cycle trip? We cycled the Coast to Coast Whitehaven to Tynemouth last year then immediately afterwards the Reivers Way, Tynemouth back to Whitehaven in order to get back to our Cali, left behind at the start in secure parking. We couldn’t work out a way of moving our van on along the route so ended up staying in b&b’s and pubs every night, other than the first and the last. We loved the experience of cycling a long distance trail and have plans to do further Sustrans routes, starting with the Pennine Cycleway as soon as Covid eases. Interested to hear how you‘re planning to tackle your ride across England and Wales with Alfie pulling Betty? How do you move your accommodation ahead etc.

 

[GrannyJen]

Love to know more about your planned 8 week cycle trip? We cycled the Coast to Coast Whitehaven to Tynemouth last year then immediately afterwards the Reivers Way, Tynemouth back to Whitehaven in order to get back to our Cali, left behind at the start in secure parking. We couldn’t work out a way of moving our van on along the route so ended up staying in b&b’s and pubs every night, other than the first and the last. We loved the experience of cycling a long distance trail and have plans to do further Sustrans routes, starting with the Pennine Cycleway as soon as Covid eases. Interested to hear how you‘re planning to tackle your ride across England and Wales with Alfie pulling Betty? How do you move your accommodation ahead etc.

I have a thread running on this subject here ..... The 900 mile cycle ride - part 1.

Jo and I have deliberately chosen not to have any form of back up for this trip. The reasons are personal but suffice to say some aspects it creates are driving me nuts.

We are actually going to do a "There and back", returning each day to the start point and ferrying the bikes to the previous days finish point the next morning using the camper bike rack, parking the camper up, cycling 15-20 miles, coming back, going back to wherever the caravan is parked etc.

I am limiting my driving to no more than 30 minutes each way so every 4 or 5 days we are going to have to leapfrog the caravan around 80 miles further along the route.

It sounds to be incredibly tedious but in practice, now I'm doing the detailed route plan, it is proving not so. Quite a few days I have found alternative return trips so not quite retracing steps, or pedal revolutions, we are also finding some really interesting places to park the cali up, cycle a few miles one way and back, then a few miles the other way, then enjoy where we are!

We also have another complication and that is our 13 year old boy, Max. When he came to us , to his forever home, 12 years ago he found two other doggie friends to be with. His bestest doggie friend died last year, he is too old now to be left with friends so he is having to come with us. This imposes a limitation on how Long we can be away from the caravan each day, why I am limiting driving time to 30 minutes each way.

Yes, route planning has been an intricate business

 

[Karlos]

Thats the stuff I most like hearing about! all the snuggled cocoons & sunsets - must be a girl kind of thing - anything mechanical doesnt interest me as long as it all works! hence the simpler the better - give me cushions, throws, & wine anyday!!!

Sun Warmth a great view and a good Malbec.