Basic Beach questions

[Goldie]

Sounds like the pod will be similar to mine in the end. Happy to share tips & ideas. Sink itself wont be to much of an issue, its where to locate fresh & grey water tanks that is the issue. If you want to have a look at mine in Aug send a PM.
We do actually appear to be having a summer this year

May take you up on the offer, probably have to go to Southampton to drop off Yeti for shipping and call by niece in Locks Heath.

I bought the SMEV unit with a gas burner, now have the issue of gas certification as well. :crazy

Sink on its own would be easier, need it for wild camping certification. Gas burner is a luxury and on second thought may have just gone with just the sink. But I like a challenge so onwards and upwards.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Hi, another newbie question - I can't see it in the answers above but maybe I missed it

If you had a 4-seater Beach and you added an extra single seat between the front and rear seats (I've seen a picture of this configuration somewhere, I'm sure ), how would that work with the downstairs bed? Would there still be room for the full-sized downstairs bed without removing the single seat?

Thanks,
Richard

PS Hoping to buy a Beach in the next week or two!

This configuration for camping would be a nightmare...!!!
I have the 3 seat bench and can honestly say its the most versatile of the California range. Wouldnt have it any other way.
Great for transporting people, good for camping and slides forward and folds down should you need to get some bulky stuff in there.
:cool

 

[JPBARNA]

Sorry to bother with a similar question: I own the 4 seat 2013 Beach. We where 4 but now a new baby is coming so my dilemma is:

Could I buy a 3 seat bench and use it normally for the 3 kids, camping and sleeping 5 of us, and then occasionally when parents in law appear once a year, can I remove the board and use the 2 benches (2 + 3) at the same time, so carrying 7 people?

I suspect the oficial VW word is that to carry 7 I should buy the 3 seat bench version first, then add 2 additional seats.

Thanks a lot!

JP

 

[Ma77sc]

@JP

Does the two-seater have four rails in the floor? If so I expect you could buy a three seater as I believe it's the same as the Caravelle so there should be some around - you might even get one from VW but you'd need to ask SMG.

This one http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-CARAVE...-NEW-2014-MODEL-GREY-ANTHRACITE-/181481298370 looks the same shapewise and mechanically to my three seat bench and 750 quid seems a steal!

Not sure if you could put the two and three seat benches into the same vehicle and still be able to get in and out of the back row. As a 7-seater the Beach is intended to have two singles in the middle row.

Additionally the multiflex board in a three seat beach is different to the two seat (higher with more folding options) so I don't know if this would be a problem too.

Congratulations on number three by the way. Our 2015 camping trips will have to evolve for the same reasons! Vango Kela / pup tent to the rescue, but we bought a three seat bench Beach with one eye on a larger family. :clap

 

[JPBARNA]

Thanks!

As only kids will travel in the back seat, I don't care (nor them) jumping over anything needed to get to the back seat

If I remove the storage box, they will have like 30cm left to bypass the 2 seat bench and get back.

And yes, I have 4 rails in the floor.

Starting to look at this problem I see there are lots of Caravelle seats around, starts to see itcnot a big problem as the 1500€ they are asking me here for a single VW swivel additional seat :-(

 

[Baloni]

Hi all Beach Seating Experts,

Can you use the 7 seater Beach with the three seater Bench in second row and the two singles behind.? Like a Land-rover config!

appreciate the access issue is then constrained, we’re due our third child in early December and we are looking to purchase a clip in rear facing chair for miss new born and need really easy access to the “children’s bench”!

cheers in advance

 

[Duxdeluxe]

I would imagine you can, I can’t see any problems to do it this way
You do realise the single seats can be spun round to face either forwards or backwards

 

[Amarillo]

If possible, I think it would be a major faff.

You’d need to first remove the bench seat, then put in the single seats, then replace the bench. Access to the two single seats, with the bench across the sliding door, would be difficult. The bench cannot be reversed.

In the normal 2,2,3 configuration, I don’t find it difficult to access child seats on the bench seat with the singles swivelled to rear facing.

 

[RobSWBeach]

When our fourth arrived we found it easy enough the way the 7 seater is laid out to have the baby car seat and one other on the 3 seater bench and the elder 2 on the single seats rotated round so they are facing the rear. The bench easily fits 3 car seats on (2 iso 1using the seat belt).