Bigger vans

[kurienp]

I am joining this one a bit late but am now as confused as ever.
I accept Im a bit of a VW/VAG/PORSCHE group fan boy.
Currently in my 3rd California. ( 9 VW Transporters in total )
After buying far too many VW/ Porsche cars/vans/Californias to last any sane person a life time!
I saw a Grand Cali 680 online which I thought would scratch the current itch, 4M with diff lock.
The dealer I visited was very honest before we looked at the 21 plate GC that it needed some trim repairing and would be sorted and I am sure they would do all to put it right.
The interior was battered, I cant imagine how a vehicle with only 3k miles on it was so injured.
At least 3 of the multiple tiny cupboards would not open.
The hinge/bracket to hold up the main section of the bed was broken so I could not open the floor cupboards without using one arm to hold the bed up.
Electric step was removed as broken.
The shower hose as it came out of the sink looked like it had started to split/uncoil.
Loads of other marks/ scratches which really worries me about how these GC will look after a few years.

We drove away gutted as we had intended on buying if it was a good one and + £90k for a used VW needs to up its game.

Kev

was this the one parked up at Breeze Poole? If yes, you can trust them to fix it up proper. Don't let its current state put you off.

If this was a rental, or a family with unruly kids, then it is nothing to do with VW build. It is how the owners have abused it.

 

[Kevthegas]

was this the one parked up at Breeze Poole? If yes, you can trust them to fix it up proper. Don't let its current state put you off.

If this was a rental, or a family with unruly kids, then it is nothing to do with VW build. It is how the owners have abused it.

Hi yes it was.
The salesman was totally upfront about the state the van was in before we opened it up and assured us it would all be sorted and I did believe him, even after we said we would not be interested he still gave us loads of time and even offered a test drive. It really was a breath of fresh air to have a sales person who was not pushy.
I was surprised it felt a bit cheap! the cupboards felt/looked like Ikea units. And so many small units I think I would go mad looking for stuff.
Sorry to upset some owners, I am sure once you have one and look after it they will be great vans, just not for me.

Kev

 

[soulstyledevon]

Hi yes it was.
The salesman was totally upfront about the state the van was in before we opened it up and assured us it would all be sorted and I did believe him, even after we said we would not be interested he still gave us loads of time and even offered a test drive. It really was a breath of fresh air to have a sales person who was not pushy.
I was surprised it felt a bit cheap! the cupboards felt/looked like Ikea units. And so many small units I think I would go mad looking for stuff.
Sorry to upset some owners, I am sure once you have one and look after it they will be great vans, just not for me.

Kev

Have a look at the Westfalia Columbus. A lot more interesting than a GC…

 

[Jester]

Have a look at the Westfalia Columbus. A lot more interesting than a GC…

Agreed the 601 and the 641D’s give the GC a run for the money but its horses for corses and what you want/need from a van. And as you give your opinion you must also recognise that the fiat has still a lot of catching up to do against the VW/Mann options. Even with its series 9.

 

[GrannyJen]

Agreed the 601 and the 641D’s give the GC a run for the money but its horses for corses and what you want/need from a van. And as you give your opinion you must also recognise that the fiat has still a lot of catching up to do against the VW/Mann options. Even with its series 9.

Yes, the Fiat does. Fortunately the price of the fiat is not yet catching up to the price of their illustrious competitors

 

[GrannyJen]

Hi yes it was.
The salesman was totally upfront about the state the van was in before we opened it up and assured us it would all be sorted and I did believe him, even after we said we would not be interested he still gave us loads of time and even offered a test drive. It really was a breath of fresh air to have a sales person who was not pushy.
I was surprised it felt a bit cheap! the cupboards felt/looked like Ikea units. And so many small units I think I would go mad looking for stuff.
Sorry to upset some owners, I am sure once you have one and look after it they will be great vans, just not for me.

Kev

I tend to agree with you.

I could not have anything over 5.4m. You know my drive and the shape of it. With two cars and a caravan in it a camper has to shoehorn in and 5.4m is the biggest I can allow.

However I looked long and hard at 6m and was a little bit disappointed at the cheapo feel to some of the offerings on "prestigious" chassis. Comparatively my Ayers Rock, ok, on a noisy fiat running gear, feels agricultural but the living accommodation knocks spots of some of the other offerings, and a similar specced VW or Merc based offering would have left me digging into my purse for an extra £25k.

I would also say, thanks to a very sad circumstance, my noisy agricultural fiat was driven for 800 miles in 4 days and left me with no headaches, back aches or wallet aches despite also having a 1500kg caravan on the back for 400 of those 800 miles.

Horse for courses.

 

[Jester]

Yes, the Fiat does. Fortunately the price of the fiat is not yet catching up to the price of their illustrious competitors

 

[soulstyledevon]

Agreed the 601 and the 641D’s give the GC a run for the money but its horses for corses and what you want/need from a van. And as you give your opinion you must also recognise that the fiat has still a lot of catching up to do against the VW/Mann options. Even with its series 9.

Agree, the Fiat dash maybe not as pretty as VW.
But, the rest will be interesting and a close comparison.
The days of Volkswagen reliability are long gone and the major positive for the Fiat is the boxy design. Which pays dividends in maximising the internal space.
This was the most important factor on changing vans on this occasion.

 

[calimera]

We are thinking of ordering Westfalia Columbus 540 D with a fixed roof & selling our Cali.
Has anyone got any experience of one? Only have room for a 540.

​

 

[2into1]

We are thinking of ordering Westfalia Columbus 540 D with a fixed roof & selling our Cali.
Has anyone got any experience of one? Only have room for a 540.

​

I've not had one, but from my studies that led me to a rear lounge 6.4m ducato (and a Cali!), the fixed bed takes up far more room than you'd want. Everything else is compromised as a result, but still probably bigger than a Cali, except trying to sit 2 people in the 'dinette' without playing footsie.

 

[soulstyledevon]

We are thinking of ordering Westfalia Columbus 540 D with a fixed roof & selling our Cali.
Has anyone got any experience of one? Only have room for a 540.

​

Hi bud, how are you both?
We have a 540 hymer. It’s great for camping, loads of extra space, but I’m not overly keen on the Fiat chassis.
If you need this as an everyday vehicle, I would say look at something else.
Although, anything bigger than a SWB T6 will be a compromise.

I’m now looking at another Cali. My wife loves our Fiat, me not so much.
Unfortunately, I might have to run both. Unless I can convince her to ditch the Hymer…

 

[Kevthegas]

Hi bud, how are you both?
We have a 540 hymer. It’s great for camping, loads of extra space, but I’m not overly keen on the Fiat chassis.
If you need this as an everyday vehicle, I would say look at something else.
Although, anything bigger than a SWB T6 will be a compromise.

I’m now looking at another Cali. My wife loves our Fiat, me not so much.
Unfortunately, I might have to run both. Unless I can convince her to ditch the Hymer…

Still waiting for those pics, did you ever clean it !

 

[soulstyledevon]

Still waiting for those pics, did you ever clean it !

Once.
It doesn’t stay clean long…

I’m cleaning out again

 

[calimera]

Hi bud, how are you both?
We have a 540 hymer. It’s great for camping, loads of extra space, but I’m not overly keen on the Fiat chassis.
If you need this as an everyday vehicle, I would say look at something else.
Although, anything bigger than a SWB T6 will be a compromise.

I’m now looking at another Cali. My wife loves our Fiat, me not so much.
Unfortunately, I might have to run both. Unless I can convince her to ditch the Hymer…

Hi
A long time since we bumped into you all in Potes Spain.
We are fine thanks. Both retired. Only need one car. I love driving my new VW T-Roc.
Have been following your journey to the Hymer plus maybe ordering another Cali.
Note at one point you were thinking of ordering the westfalia columbus. Do you actually see inside one ?
Reason for choosing the 540 D is it has a bench seat that racks. Only a 540 will fit on our drive.
We would like to go away for long periods & not worry about the weather.
Last trip in Cali was fine whilst we could have the roof up. Not so much fun when the roof was down due high gusting winds & driving rain. The whole Cali was shaking.
We would like to be able to stand up & not keep having to move stuff.
We have loved the past 7 years with the Cali.

 

[soulstyledevon]

@calimera firstly, congratulations on your retirements. I hope you have lots of adventures planned.

The Westfalia looks brilliant, we had a good luck round the Westy. Unfortunately, no firsthand experience of using one.
It seems well finished and built. But it’s not cheap…

One consideration is the Fiat platform. I’m really not satisfied with ours, the ride is awful and the engine could do with more power.

I went with the Fiat because it offered the biggest inside capacity, but the drive isn’t on the Volkswagen levels I’m used too. As a camping vehicle it’s excellent, the standing room, hot water, fixed bed and onboard bathroom makes camping more enjoyable.
However, it doesn’t necessarily have more living room. Around the dinette is tight, much like the California.
With the California roof raised, rear seat slid back and fronts swivelled, the California has more space.

For us, we drive long distances quickly and the California is a lot more pleasurable in that department.
If we were retired and had more time to use the bigger van, it would come into its own. But right now, we need a daily driver which is quick and comfortable, can be turned round quickly for camping, and the only vehicle which does that well, IMO
Is a VW California Ocean.

 

[soulstyledevon]

The Hymer is provisionally sold. It just wasn’t the right van for us. We had some great trips and happy memories, but the bathroom was a real space killer.
My wife loved having the bathroom amenities and it is useful. But, I think we could better utilise that area. After 10 months of ownership, we didn’t once shower in the van.

So, I’m back van shopping. The wife wants a Merc Hymer and I want a bespoke conversion.
We’re going to take our time and really consider what works best for us.

I’m thinking Crafter/Man

 

[Corradobrit]

The Hymer is provisionally sold. It just wasn’t the right van for us. We had some great trips and happy memories, but the bathroom was a real space killer.
My wife loved having the bathroom amenities and it is useful. But, I think we could better utilise that area. After 10 months of ownership, we didn’t once shower in the van.

So, I’m back van shopping. The wife wants a Merc Hymer and I want a bespoke conversion.
We’re going to take our time and really consider what works best for us.

I’m thinking Crafter/Man


View attachment 113771

Listen to your wife. Those MB Sprinter Hymers are the dogs danglies. Its the only camper van that would make me give up the Cali .

 

[RoB5urf]

This is unusual. Being sealed off from the cab is a bit weird but it makes for an interesting layout in the living area. Still a Fiat though!

MEDIA=youtube]UPjEkPyYcfk[/MEDIA]

 

[RoB5urf]

 

[HowieDog]

The latest MLT looks nice

 

[two-saabs]

The Hymer is provisionally sold. It just wasn’t the right van for us. We had some great trips and happy memories, but the bathroom was a real space killer.
My wife loved having the bathroom amenities and it is useful. But, I think we could better utilise that area. After 10 months of ownership, we didn’t once shower in the van.

So, I’m back van shopping. The wife wants a Merc Hymer and I want a bespoke conversion.
We’re going to take our time and really consider what works best for us.

I’m thinking Crafter/Man


View attachment 113771

Have you had a look at the Malibu? E.g. “Charming GT” ? That gets close to the Merc Hymer level, and quite a bit easier on the pocket thanks to it being Fiat based

 

[Ch1pbutty]

(Mann) Knaus Boxdrive XL is good value

 

[Camperfamily]

@soulstyledevon check out these guys. They are based in Spain but have converted a few UK vans

NORANTZ | IPAR

www.norantz.com

 

[Camperfamily]

Here is one of Norantz’s RHD MAN conversions

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[Ch1pbutty]

The latest MLT looks nice

It very nice, but only sleeps 3 and wide / long.

Prefer these (minus the graphics!) with a pop top:

HYMER GC S CrossOver edition at a glance| HYMER campervan

The perfect companion for a trip into the unknown: The Grand Canyon S CrossOver edition model is off-road capable and self-sufficient for up to 10 days. Discover now!

www.hymer.com