2018 Beach 150 DSG 4Motion

[burnercan]

which is bent over then to stop it coming out

German engineering... lol

 

[homerorchid]

Hello Burnercan, Cali colour looks fantastic, so much so just changed our Cali Ocean ordered colour to Candy White upper/Starlight Blue lower.

 

[burnercan]

Cali colour looks fantastic, so much so just changed our Cali Ocean ordered colour to Candy White upper/Starlight Blue lower.

It's a good choice

One thing I didn't think of when choosing the colour, however, is how conspicuous it is. I really does stand out. I'm used to flying below the radar normally and in this thing people are always gawking, I'm not sure I'm getting used to it. Also not sure if it is the colour or the Cali causing the attention!

Welcome to the forum!

 

[homerorchid]

Having read the sad story of a recently stolen Cali, apart from it being a fantastic/fun colour it may help to protect it from being stolen

 

[burnercan]

And the next addition:



The VanEssa window bags. My local off-road shop had them in stock and on sale. Love them! In the bottom of the pic you can just see the IsoTop hiding on the floor. That's next, but not sure when I'll have time.

 

[burnercan]

I just returned from the first longish road trip (~1300km) in the bus and and had a few interesting findings on the way.

1) After 3000km, the MFD and actual brim to brim fuel consumption are almost exactly in agreement! The MFD shows 8.6L/100km and my measurements are showing 8.8. Easily the most accurate MFD data of any vehicle I've driven. This is from 20km on the clock, including ~1500km of running in and now twice over the Alps lightly loaded with a few full power uphill overtakes.

2) Quite a bit of water drains out of the folding mirrors when they retract after torrential rain. Seems they drain much better in the retracted position then in the normal operating position. When researching prior to ordering, the consensus seemed to be that the mirrors would collect water when retracted. Mine certainly do not, quite the opposite.

3) The factory installed bike rake flopped with a heavy thump into the down position while travelling on the motorway at ~120km/h in a stiff head wind. This was well over 1000km into the journey, during which time the rack had not been touched. I'd not heard of this happening before, very disconcerting to say the least. Karma for driving with no bikes on it..?? I'll be installing a safety pin to prevent it happening again.

4) The California is an absolute please to drive! The 150hp tdi only ever felt like it was meeting it's match during the above mentioned overtakes on 6-8% gradients. Very pleased indeed.

 

[Amarillo]

3) The factory installed bike rake flopped with a heavy thump into the down position while travelling on the motorway at ~120km/h in a stiff head wind. This was well over 1000km into the journey, during which time the rack had not been touched. I'd not heard of this happening before, very disconcerting to say the least. Karma for driving with no bikes on it..?? I'll be installing a safety pin to prevent it happening again.

Don't bother with the pin. The short arm does a perfectly good job preventing the rack from falling down.

Follow my blog: www.au-revoir.eu

 

[burnercan]

Don't bother with the pin. The short arm does a perfectly good job preventing the rack from falling down.

What a great idea! How good are the chances that if I read the instruction that would be in there...?

Edit:

Had a read at the manual (out of character I know) and was surprised that’s not in there. Should be as it’s simple security. The dealer also failed to suggest it when demonstrating how the rack works. Thanks @Amarillo

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[burnercan]

One other interesting (or maybe not) tidbit from the last longish voyage: 19 Calis spotted during the 1300km voyage over 4 days. Mostly one of the indiscernible brownish colours (??) followed by a few white ones, a black one and a silver one. No two tones, no yellows, no greens..

 

[burnercan]

De-badged, and de-bike racked. The BEACH decals might go too, but not sure yet the wife will agree. Here's hoping she doesn't notice the stuff missing off the back!

 

[motacyclist]

You forgot the VW badge!

 

[burnercan]

You forgot the VW badge!

One I can live with. But three???


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[burnercan]

Thanks in part to the many clever ideas to be found on the CC forums, I’ve built up a trusty IKEA Alex for our adventures. I customized mine with a bamboo worktop (made from cheap ikea chopping boards, and some felt lining in the bottom compartment. I opted to leave the water system out for the time being. Never used it much at all in my Westy so let’s see if we decide we need it or not. I made a little spare cabin table out the leftover chopping board and a collapsible broom stick.

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[burnercan]

A few more pics

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[motacyclist]

I’ve built up a trusty IKEA Alex

Like it! Who needs an Ocean!

(I wonder if those drawers would fit under the sink in an Ocean?)

 

[Gary&Heather]

Brilliant can I ask you where you purchased the catches for the front of the drawers thanks in advance.

 

[burnercan]

can I ask you where you purchased the catches

Also from Ikea, they do work well. I think they may have been discontinued though... I had initially tried the touted magnet closures but on our first spin through a roundabout the cutlery drawer flung open with an almighty crash. (No, I’m not the guy who over takes in the roundabout) So these were sourced enroute as a temporary fix, but we now we kind of like them.




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[Gary&Heather]

Okay sterling no seriously they are a really good idea, see what you mean about the drawer flying open round roundabouts. Just had a look on IKEA webpage came up with nothing back to the drawing board but thanks anyway.

 

[scottk]

They look like child proof locks for drawers.

 

[2haw]

Okay sterling no seriously they are a really good idea, see what you mean about the drawer flying open round roundabouts. Just had a look on IKEA webpage came up with nothing back to the drawing board but thanks anyway.

You could possibly install a lock in the unit side panel so the pin locks into the drawer side. Just need to check the clearance between the unit and the drawer first.

https://www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk...3mm-keyed-alike-differ-1-chrome-plated-133156

 

[Gary&Heather]

Good idea thanks for that I'll check that one out

 

[audio2]

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/search/?k=PATRULL window catch

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20282051/

 

[LEE D-HODSON]

Morning all,
re the locks for the drawers:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?tag=vwcalifornia-21

 

[burnercan]

I just realized that it’s already a year since we got the new bus! How time flies. 14000kms, 6 countries, many day trips, only about 20 nights spent in it. The only problem was day 3 when I very gracefully ripped a tyre off of it, so we’re very happy! Let the good times roll



**Edited for autocorrect

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[willwander]

Great looking van. Love those wheels.