Advice gratefully received please

[TripleBee]

That's right, fiendishly clever method method of identifying which side of a road vehicle is being referred to introduced into England by the Romans after a spate of chariot crashes, so that the insurance companies could Identify the damaged side correctly. The previous method of using left and right depends on whether you are viewing from the front or the back of the chariot, and led to a succession of vehicles having the wrong side of their vehicle repaired - a bit like going into hospital and having the wrong hip replaced!

Left and right are always seen as the point of driving, flow of river, your body, so quite clear to me?

 

[Amarillo]

Left and right are always seen as the point of driving, flow of river, your body, so quite clear to me?

Perhaps we should use port and starboard.

 

[owen_h]

It was mentioned earlier but a 2 seat bench beach does give the option of adding a side kitchen unit for cooking inside. That is what I did when in a similar position to the OP 7 years ago:

(Not cooked any oysters in it though)


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[Big Ron]

Left and right are always seen as the point of driving, flow of river, your body, so quite clear to me?

Hi.....
Near-side and Off-side have been terms in general use for as long as I can remember.
Although it is true that understanding off-side has got a lot more complicated with the use of VAR this season.

 

[westfalia]

It was mentioned earlier but a 2 seat bench beach does give the option of adding a side kitchen unit for cooking inside. That is what I did when in a similar position to the OP 7 years ago:

(Not cooked any oysters in it though)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Neat job
I like the way you have made the blue lines integrate.
In fact, that is a fckn great job

 

[BeagleMum]

It was mentioned earlier but a 2 seat bench beach does give the option of adding a side kitchen unit for cooking inside. That is what I did when in a similar position to the OP 7 years ago:

(Not cooked any oysters in it though)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That looks first class

 

[TripleBee]

It was mentioned earlier but a 2 seat bench beach does give the option of adding a side kitchen unit for cooking inside. That is what I did when in a similar position to the OP 7 years ago:

(Not cooked any oysters in it though)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So in fact you made a Coast of your Beach?

 

[flying banana]

Unlike BMW drivers who don’t bother indicating at all !

ive got a bmw .my indictors are band new

 

[Amarillo]

Audi parked outside my house yesterday.

 

[Jodalo]

Audi parked outside my house yesterday.

Looks like a bit of N/S, O/S, Topside, Bottomside damage there.

 

[TripleBee]

Why the tow truck? Was it parked illegally?

 

[owen_h]

So in fact you made a Coast of your Beach?

Before VW did yes


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[MOJO]

Brilliant posts ..... thank you so much ...keep em coming ....so much to think about now

 

[cooky73]

My T5 SE is a 2009 and it cost less than £30k last Sept. You might get an early 5.1 for similar? Think the 5.1 auto is defo better so think about that perhaps...

You can't beat just having everything ready in the cupboards so you can take off when you please!

Cooker is mainly for brewing up but I reckon most people are happy with that.

I've had T3, T4 and T5 Californias since 2005 and never had water pipes frozen or sterilized it. I have replaced pumps and floating water level sensors though...

Top load fridge is more efficient but admittedly always has something on it when you try to grab a beer

They all served as daily drivers for a family of 4 for 10k miles a year.

Beach just doesn't get the heart pumping for me, maybe go and have a look and see how you feel.

These things are bought with the heart no doubt...

 

[BeagleMum]

My T5 SE is a 2009 and it cost less than £30k last Sept. You might get an early 5.1 for similar? Think the 5.1 auto is defo better so think about that perhaps...

You can't beat just having everything ready in the cupboards so you can take off when you please!

Cooker is mainly for brewing up but I reckon most people are happy with that.

I've had T3, T4 and T5 Californias since 2005 and never had water pipes frozen or sterilized it. I have replaced pumps and floating water level sensors though...

Top load fridge is more efficient but admittedly always has something on it when you try to grab a beer

They all served as daily drivers for a family of 4 for 10k miles a year.

Beach just doesn't get the heart pumping for me, maybe go and have a look and see how you feel.

These things are bought with the heart no doubt...

Mojo you can consider other folks opinions to death, but they are just that opinion, that phrase ‘these things are bought with the heart’ sums it up. As the Beach doesn’t do it for cooky, no way does the Ocean do it for us, it just doesn’t excite us. You need to clearly identify what you need and go with that, whatever you decide we wish you happy travels.

 

[Cali Virtuoso]

Would appreciate any advice please. Newbie, so please be kind & forgive my ignorance !
Very early stages of research, but decided a couple of must haves

1. Want an Automatic
2. Budget £20k to £30k
3. T5 or preferably a T6

Should I go for a Beach or Ocean
Pros & cons of cooking/washing up facilities/ storage etc
If I want cooking facilities etc, do I buy already converted
Or do I buy a van & have it converted?
I'd be grateful for any thoughts

If you want to sleep upstairs (we always do unless it's very wet/windy/cold) make sure that any conversion has an upstairs bed suitable for adults - not all are. And check that the bench seat on a conversion is a properly crash tested model. The top loading California Ocean or SE fridge is great as you can access it easily - including when the bed is extended. Only drawback - fridge needs electricity. Some run on gas so will last you longer without hookup. But of course you can use the Ocean fridge as a cool box if necessary and use campsite freezers for the blocks if you want to be off the beaten track. Take a washing up bowl or multipurpose plastic crate to wash up in. We adore our 2013 SE. Have a read of Martin Dorey's "Camper Van Bible" - it's not all geared to VW T2 campers etc, lots of useful advice. Don't think your budget will get you a T6 though. Enjoy the hunt!!! so much to look forward to ...

 

[Geesvw]

Would appreciate any advice please. Newbie, so please be kind & forgive my ignorance !
Very early stages of research, but decided a couple of must haves

1. Want an Automatic
2. Budget £20k to £30k
3. T5 or preferably a T6

Should I go for a Beach or Ocean
Pros & cons of cooking/washing up facilities/ storage etc
If I want cooking facilities etc, do I buy already converted
Or do I buy a van & have it converted?
I'd be grateful for any thoughts

Please bare in mind a “conversion” is more than likely fitted out with chipboard/MDF panel whereas a California kitchen units are constructed of composite aluminium therefore much lighter. I’ve had a T5 174 2.5 from new, done 150k miles and it’s been an absolute dream

 

[john eagle]

Would appreciate any advice please. Newbie, so please be kind & forgive my ignorance !
Very early stages of research, but decided a couple of must haves

1. Want an Automatic
2. Budget £20k to £30k
3. T5 or preferably a T6

Should I go for a Beach or Ocean
Pros & cons of cooking/washing up facilities/ storage etc
If I want cooking facilities etc, do I buy already converted
Or do I buy a van & have it converted?
I'd be grateful for any thoughts

My first van was a really good conversion but having been away in it a few times with friends who have a California I exchanged it for a Californi.
I would say if you can get a California it is the way to go and will be much easier to sell when you decide to exchange it

 

[Dave Wickham]

The vast majority of owners on here will be California owners, so will probably say Ocean or Beach, which are not conversions but are VW factory built. When you do the sums it doesn’t seem to be cost effective to have a van converted (unless you DIY), the California although pricey is often not that much more expensive than other “proper“ conversions.

Very true. I looked at a conversion option against an Ocean and it was only about £6k cheaper for the conversion. But that invalidates the VW body warranty and then consider you are in Spain and the pop up roof breaks - with a Cali the VW dealer will come out and fix. The UK converter won't. Risk vs reward!!!

 

[KiwiDave]

The vast majority of owners on here will be California owners, so will probably say Ocean or Beach, which are not conversions but are VW factory built. When you do the sums it doesn’t seem to be cost effective to have a van converted (unless you DIY), the California although pricey is often not that much more expensive than other “proper“ conversions.

Getting a near new T6 and getting it converted is still waaaaay less expensive than buying even a second hand ocean.

 

[Perfectos]

That's right, fiendishly clever method method of identifying which side of a road vehicle is being referred to introduced into England by the Romans after a spate of chariot crashes, so that the insurance companies could Identify the damaged side correctly. The previous method of using left and right depends on whether you are viewing from the front or the back of the chariot, and led to a succession of vehicles having the wrong side of their vehicle repaired - a bit like going into hospital and having the wrong hip replaced!

What have the Romans ever done for us !

 

[Perfectos]

Audi parked outside my house yesterday.

Inconsiderate parking usually result in parking on the path !
This takes it to another level

 

[ArunAlec]

Getting a near new T6 and getting it converted is still waaaaay less expensive than buying even a second hand ocean.

I guess it will depend on who does the conversion and whether it’s of comparable quality but as an example Vanworx conversions look to start at £18k (You supply the van).
I spent ages deliberating over what to get and had considered DIY, so I have nothing against conversions but when I compared a Cali and a similarly priced conversion it was a no brainer based on what you got for your money.

 

[Velma's Dad]

I guess it will depend on who does the conversion and whether it’s of comparable quality but as an example Vanworx conversions look to start at £18k (You supply the van).
I spent ages deliberating over what to get and had considered DIY, so I have nothing against conversions but when I compared a Cali and a similarly priced conversion it was a no brainer based on what you got for your money.

Likewise for us. Yes you CAN get a van conversion done to a pretty basic level onto a donor van and have something useable, although when we looked at it we found that even basic low-mileage Transporters are surprisingly expensive. I can't remember the specific figures but I recall that after pricing up a convo we then looked at 'real' used Calis and it was (for us) a no-brainer.

But you have to figure it out for yourself, actually looking at donor vehicles, convo fit-outs (including all the options you'd actually want) in the flesh, and doing a proper comparison.

 

[MOJO]

Loving all this. Again, thanks to everyone who has spared their time to reply. As I said at the beginning, it will be a while yet before we buy & after we have done our 12 day Scottish trip in the hired T6 dsg Ocean. The biggest challenge then will be to persuade Mrs MOJO to take the plunge! I'm already totally convinced it's the way to go for us. I think as BeagleMum wisely said ..... "it's a heart thing"