ahhh stuff it - we bought one!!

[CaliDave]

Hi everyone, this is our first post after the honour of of being accepted into the club We will be signing up as VIP members as we have a bus load (yeh yeh i know - terrible pun) of extra 5% discount stuff to by - why? i hear you ask (or maybe not) - because after 3 years of do we/don't we, life events have led us to the decision of "if we dont we may regret it" - so we've ordered a Cali Ocean which is about to arrive in the UK - woohooo!!

Looks like its customary to tell everyone a little about ourselves so here goes - we live close to Chester, have grown up kids and an 11 year old little lady with a king charles aptly named Charlie. Life is crazy busy, we work in our business from dusk till dawn like many others and were literally 7 days a week until i heard the news a few weeks ago that a guy ive worked with on and off for about 20 years in the industry of similar age with 2 beautiful girls had found out he had terminal cancer 6 weeks earlier and has already lost his sight, hearing and wont make Christmas. My wife and I are so wrapped up in work and home we decided its time to do something about it before our 11 going on 21 year old decides we aren't cool enough to hang round with - so we've thrown caution to the wind (spent the rent as my dear old dad used to say) and bought a beautiful blue/white cali. We are more glampers hence the purchase, and likely more 1 or 2 day ones at best but as the cali is also a fantastic day van we can head off and have a great day out with a home from home to run back to if needs be, or just to have a brew while we kick back.

So - that's us, we all have stories, life events and reasons to start a journey, that's ours, and hopefully we will enjoy many trips around the surrounding areas, and hey maybe make a few new friends along the way too!

Any tips for newbees who have thrown caution to the wind welcome, we've spent literally hours reading and watching some very impressive posts from many of you (thank you) to try and learn as quick as we can what we need to start out with but i guess in the end we will learn by doing.

Looking forward to being part of the club.

Simon and Karen

Welcome !

 

[sirendipity]

I get travel sick in the back of a car but find travelling in the back seat of the cali quite different. Because the windows are low and you are high up you can see out better so motion sickness is not really a problem. Its really comfortable. Be interesting to see how your children get on.

Will update everyone when we get it, we've gone for the lowering option too so wont have a perspective of whats its like not lowered but it need to be able to put the baby to bed in the garage

 

[sirendipity]

We have had our Cali Ocean for a year now.

Like yourselves we had the need to go out and buy accessories. Much of what we could have bought will have been surplus now.

My advice is to get the van and try to meet up with other Cali owners first.

See what they have kitted their Cali out with.

For the bigger items look for alternatives.

Get to some sites to look at other van users.

Remember anything you buy has to be carried with you, and has to be stowed somewhere inside.

Good luck.

Thanks for the feedback, are there regular meet ups? weve been looking to find out how we can do that but im either looking in the wrong place or its not obvious....

 

[Legin]

Welcome Im Chester based as well. Dont rush into the 30mm drop is my advice. Same price if you do it now or later. Im happy with mine stock although I did spec the stiffer arb,s

 

[CannellWalker]

Welcome. We’ve had ours 6+ years and have had some awesome trips. From the West Coast of Scotland, Denmark, trips through the Alps to the Italian Lakes, Provence and also to Northern Spain. They drive like a large estate, can be parked unobtrusively (with kit like bikes covered up secure inside) and are always welcoming when the weather does turn. Nothing quite beats the feeling of adventure when we embark on a ferry.

 

[HectorPascal]

Wishing you every happiness together in your new van. Like you we have rented, dithered and slithered. will join you soon I think.

 

[burnercan]

Great colour choice!

As others have said, drive it a while to decide what needs adding/changing with regard to equipment and handling. It's taken us well over a year to get it to where we want it (including plenty of early wasted money) and now it's like a fine-tuned, well-oiled machine. HD rear dampers are by far the best bang for buck improvement I have done. Also may help with motion sickness, though thankfully none of my crew are sufferers so can't confirm.

Welcome and enjoy!

 

[BeachyBird]

Welcome ‍ Take you time and just enjoy I’m sure you will love the family time and experiences you have on adventures in your new little home.
Looking forward to seeing some snaps xx

 

[Esandar#1]

Hi everyone, this is our first post after the honour of of being accepted into the club We will be signing up as VIP members as we have a bus load (yeh yeh i know - terrible pun) of extra 5% discount stuff to by - why? i hear you ask (or maybe not) - because after 3 years of do we/don't we, life events have led us to the decision of "if we dont we may regret it" - so we've ordered a Cali Ocean which is about to arrive in the UK - woohooo!!

Looks like its customary to tell everyone a little about ourselves so here goes - we live close to Chester, have grown up kids and an 11 year old little lady with a king charles aptly named Charlie. Life is crazy busy, we work in our business from dusk till dawn like many others and were literally 7 days a week until i heard the news a few weeks ago that a guy ive worked with on and off for about 20 years in the industry of similar age with 2 beautiful girls had found out he had terminal cancer 6 weeks earlier and has already lost his sight, hearing and wont make Christmas. My wife and I are so wrapped up in work and home we decided its time to do something about it before our 11 going on 21 year old decides we aren't cool enough to hang round with - so we've thrown caution to the wind (spent the rent as my dear old dad used to say) and bought a beautiful blue/white cali. We are more glampers hence the purchase, and likely more 1 or 2 day ones at best but as the cali is also a fantastic day van we can head off and have a great day out with a home from home to run back to if needs be, or just to have a brew while we kick back.

So - that's us, we all have stories, life events and reasons to start a journey, that's ours, and hopefully we will enjoy many trips around the surrounding areas, and hey maybe make a few new friends along the way too!

Any tips for newbees who have thrown caution to the wind welcome, we've spent literally hours reading and watching some very impressive posts from many of you (thank you) to try and learn as quick as we can what we need to start out with but i guess in the end we will learn by doing.

Looking forward to being part of the club.

Simon and Karen

Hi Simon and Karen,
Congratulations! You have made a great decision & you will love your adVANtures!

We ordered our Beach in Jan 2016, took delivery in August 2016 and have clocked up 30 nights away in it each year since. We love being away in the van. I decided to start a little book to record pertinent details of each trip we made, so (aside from all the photos) we now have a great record of the huge variety of places our van has taken us, a great many of which we would simply never have visited without having our own hotel on wheels! (I know that I could have blogged it on the internet but this way felt more special).

We love the feeling of arriving on a site, throwing the kids out into a field and cracking open a beer whilst we set up camp. Even the wet nights have their own special memories (I suspect we will be creating more of that kind of memories in Cornwall this weekend given the not-so-great weather forecast!!!!!)

I would agree with the 'try before you buy' approach to accessories, and buy in the sales if you can. Electric Hook-up cables and levelling blocks are kind of essential, and we bough a good fridge that we use on all our longer (2 nights or more) trips, but essentially you want to keep things simple. I might try to write a list of what we use, how and why, as I'm sure it would be useful to some newbies (and I'm sure other Cali owners more experienced than me that could teach us a few useful tricks too).

This forum is great too. I was never in any way 'geekie' before we got our van, but reading this site is now my guilty pleasure of a Saturday morning when the ' Last week's most popular topics (from VW California Owners Club)' email drops into my inbox! Enjoy!

 

[Erbster]

I decided to start a little book to record pertinent details of each trip we made, so (aside from all the photos) we now have a great record of the huge variety of places our van has taken us, a great many of which we would simply never have visited without having our own hotel on wheels! (I know that I could have blogged it on the internet but this way felt more special).

I made such a log for our previous van, which we had for 8 years. When that van was stolen, it was one of the things I was saddest to lose. I’ve done a blog and make notes on my phone (backed up) now instead.


caliventures364847572.wordpress.com

 

[Photo Nan]

Hi from The Wirral

Hi from the Wirral too new to the group not picked up our Coast yet but it it sitting waiting for the limo tint and bike rack to be fitted at Liverpool van centre.

 

[Jay586]

We're along the coast a bit and have a Coast on order with Liverpool, so lovely to hear all the local folk chipping in here.

But 3/4 hours for a handover, I can't be doing with that. They were great about letting me bring the dogs into the dealership but there's a limit...

 

[SimonB]

If you have owned a California before then 3/4 of an hour is possibly excessive for a handover, but if you haven't there is a lot of information to take in, perhaps you could ask to just ask to have the 6.1 extras clarified.
I met some newish owners of a California Coast over the summer and their vehicle was brought to them by a delivery driver who gave them the keys and wished them luck. No handover at all.
They said they had learned about the vehicle by asking other owners when they met them. They had a few problems on the way.