Im buying a T7 Ocean

Hey Guys nice to meet you all!.
Will be buying a new T7 Ocean in 6 weeks very excited.
I have never travelled in a camper but I am planning Europe asap .
I would like as many tips please .

Welcome and congratulations on your T7 in a few weeks.

Some (obvious) tips:

- enjoy, experience and learn from your travels and T7
- use the search of the forum when looking for something specific
- pack light, it’s not as big as you imagine (that’s what she said ;-))
- don’t buy all kinds of goodies right now, your wallet will thank you for it and it’s only by experience that you’ll find out you need something
- don’t get scared by other people’s problems with their van, it may never happen to you
- get an app like CamperContact, Park4Night to explore sites where you can stay

Foremost, enjoy the freedom and possibilities it gives you!

Fully enjoy the van. I think we need feed back on its usage on longish trips. There are lots of negative comments about the space in them. But if I could afford one I would be buying. As @SanderR72 says go and enjoy and don’t forget the pics.

Make sure that the van has the latest software installed and read some of the T7 threads on here to make sure you check everything before you leave the dealership.

Vwmusthave said:

Hey Guys nice to meet you all!.
Will be buying a new T7 Ocean in 6 weeks very excited.
I have never travelled in a camper but I am planning Europe asap .
I would like as many tips please .

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Hi Vwmusthave,

Jumping into a T7 Ocean without any camper experience feels a bit like buying a yacht without ever having set sail. Have you considered renting a T7 first to see if the camper lifestyle suits you before making the full investment?
Cheers!

Pollewop said:

Hi Vwmusthave,

Jumping into a T7 Ocean without any camper experience feels a bit like buying a yacht without ever having set sail. Have you considered renting a T7 first to see if the camper lifestyle suits you before making the full investment?
Cheers!

Click to expand...

Who cares if (s)he considered that? The T7 has been bought already. To me this feels like warning somebody that the soup is hot after the poor guy burned his mouth already.

Vwmusthave said:

Hey Guys nice to meet you all!.
Will be buying a new T7 Ocean in 6 weeks very excited.
I have never travelled in a camper but I am planning Europe asap .
I would like as many tips please .

Click to expand...

Get familiar with all the many controls and configurations before heading off as it can be quite daunting ant first and never force anything to open or shut etc. that will be the wrong
way. Don’t worry about it getting a bit dirty, they clean up pretty good and who wants to worry about a little splash of coffee every 5 mins. Just relax and it will be great

Pollewop said:

Hi Vwmusthave,

Jumping into a T7 Ocean without any camper experience feels a bit like buying a yacht without ever having set sail. Have you considered renting a T7 first to see if the camper lifestyle suits you before making the full investment?
Cheers!

Click to expand...

Hi Pollewop,

Yes I’ve rented quite a few T6.1 California in the past few years but only been local ish places .

I was referring to long distance travel as I want to get away from the English winter to the south of Spain for at least 4 months .

Cheers

Avoid the temptation to buy any “camping” extras which you may not need.
Touring in Europe is great if you take your time ( use normal roads not motorways) and don’t be too hung up about stopping and pottering around in places as the that’s what is one of the special delights of camper van travel

Vwmusthave said:

Hi Pollewop,

Yes I’ve rented quite a few T6.1 California in the past few years but only been local ish places .

I was referring to long distance travel as I want to get away from the English winter to the south of Spain for at least 4 months .

Cheers

Click to expand...

Are you planning to be four months based from the van?
How many of you will be in the van?
I think that may affect the advice you are given.

Vwmusthave said:

Hi Pollewop,

Yes I’ve rented quite a few T6.1 California in the past few years but only been local ish places .

I was referring to long distance travel as I want to get away from the English winter to the south of Spain for at least 4 months .

Cheers

Click to expand...

You are aware of the 90 day limit imposed by the EU?

WelshGas said:

You are aware of the 90 day limit imposed by the EU?

Click to expand...

My first thought.

sticky1 said:

Are you planning to be four months based from the van?
How many of you will be in the van?
I think that may affect the advice you are given.

Click to expand...

WelshGas said:

You are aware of the 90 day limit imposed by the EU?

Click to expand...

Rent one first.

WelshGas said:

You are aware of the 90 day limit imposed by the EU?

Click to expand...

and you can no longer reset with a trip to Gibraltar!

Hi VWmusthave, I am looking at buying a T7 California myself fairly soon but at the moment I am just evaluating exactly which model and getting my head round the whole VW California camper technology, issues, experience, models etc.

I know many folk will naturally be comparing the T7 against the T5/T6/T6.1 but I do not have this experience and hence working from a clean page as it were. Indeed I am coming from a purely camping background ie Tent!

So in order for me to justify the move and purchase which is not inconsiderable! I am drawing up a long list of all the advantages a van will give me with an eye on much of what has happened in previous years with VW camper vans. I do have a friend who has a T6 so I and have experience of it so I am not completely ignorant of what they are like to sit in and feature etc but I have no camping experience in one!

I am drawing up a very long list of all the advantages of the T7 comparing against my camping experience and it may also show some of the advantages/disadvantages compared to the VW campers in previous years. It will be just my thoughts and observations but I do need to totally convince myself it would be the right move for me although I am 90% sure it will be.

You will more than likely get your van before me so I will be keen to hear of your thoughts and experiences.

WelshGas said:

You are aware of the 90 day limit imposed by the EU?

Click to expand...

We are on a short stay visa (less than 6 months) whilst we stay in France over the summer. A largely bureaucratic exercise but once you have done it a few times, not that hard.