Beach with Heater

[Bigted]

Neither of the new beaches I've been looking at have the three zone climate, but do have the elusive heater (one with remote, one without). Is the consensus out there that three zone climate is an essential or a nice to have?

Depends on who is in the back - the main downside of not having it is no ac cooling other than dash vents. The rear can still be heated however so only cooling to consider. The rest function is nice but you can live without it.

 

[Rich20]

I think it is essential for the rear passengers. They can select their own temperature in the rear and fan speed. The two zones at the front are good as well so that each side can set their temp. Well worth the money IMO.

 

[cleve]

I wouldn't be without the 3 zone as it enables my husband to have his side of the van cooler than I like to be when I'm dozing on long journeys! In the summer if the sun is on the windscreen we can have the cold air blasting but the children who are shaded in the back can have a different temperature so they don't freeze.

My daughter used to get really travel sick but now she sits next to the rear control she can keep it a comfortable temp & has not been sick since!

We found the 3 zone quieter as you don't need as much fan on to circulate the air to the rear of the vehicle as you do with standard ac.

 

[Yorkdubshire]

I went for the 3 zone climate and left out the parking heater as we are always going to use site hook ups (with a 'y' splitter) and a driveway awning. Thought was that we could use a couple of slim 700-800 watt electric oil filled rads, one in the van and one in the awning. Hope this will work or I have just dropped a big clanger?!

 

[Borris]

I went for the 3 zone climate and left out the parking heater as we are always going to use site hook ups (with a 'y' splitter) and a driveway awning. Thought was that we could use a couple of slim 700-800 watt electric oil filled rads, one in the van and one in the awning. Hope this will work or I have just dropped a big clanger?!

If it is not too late to order and you can afford it then I would recommend you get the auxillary heater. You will not regret it. Its expensive but IMO it is by far the best option you can have on a Cali.
Mind you I haven't used it with an awning fitted. There may be an issue with fumes from the heater exhaust so your rads may be the right choice.

 

[Yorkdubshire]

If it is not too late to order and you can afford it then I would recommend you get the auxillary heater. You will not regret it. Its expensive but IMO it is by far the best option you can have on a Cali.
Mind you I haven't used it with an awning fitted. There may be an issue with fumes from the heater exhaust so your rads may be the right choice.

Hi Borris I picked up the van 10 days ago so not a lot I can do now. They are a lot of money aren't they. As its my first Cali I didn't realise it was a must or I would have gone for it. I'll give it all a try in Feb/March as we are planning a trip to stud fold farm http://www.studfold.com/caravan-and-camping-park and if it doesn't workout it will have to be retrofitted.

 

[Rich20]

If it is not too late to order and you can afford it then I would recommend you get the auxillary heater. You will not regret it. Its expensive but IMO it is by far the best option you can have on a Cali.
Mind you I haven't used it with an awning fitted. There may be an issue with fumes from the heater exhaust so your rads may be the right choice.

Yes definitely an issue with fumes. We use a small fan heater in the awning when on hook up.

 

[Borris]

I'd definitely recommend going for the spec you want and agree parking heater and 3 zone climatronic would all be top of my list if purchasing again. Don't spend a small fortune only to regret that you didn't spend a tiny bit more (if affordable obviously) on what you really wanted. We nearly bought an ex demo which was much less than what we paid for the ex hire one but feel we would have been disappointed if we had bought the cheaper one although it was newer with lower mileage it didn't have the heater or climatronic.

I'd recommend chatting to steve about the ex hire one as he specs his vehicles well and can tell you lots about it then you can weigh up how important those things are to you vs what it would cost you for the same spec if buying new. We also factored in that the ex demo was available almost immediately vs waiting for a new one. Depends how patient you are and also if you are bothered about T6 vs T5.

When we were looking, the only other ones we found with heaters were ex demos from SMG as they are one of the few places to include heater in their spec so try them if you haven't already.

I agree. Laine Watts at SMG Tonbridge knows what options are popular and usually specs their demonstrators accordingly. He is very knowledgeable on all matters Cali and only too willing to help and advise.

 

[thesquirrelpatrol]

Where has my post gone?

 

[Richy]

Where has my post gone?

I'm glad it wasn't just me who noticed the post was missing !
I replied to it asking if it's for sale, could you send some pics and where are you based.
Cheers Richy

 

[WelshGas]

Where has my post gone?

I think the Forum has a proper " For Sale " section for items and vehicles.

 

[Stoneybroke]

We are in the final stages of deciding on the spec of a new Beach so this thread has been a real help - we definitely want a parking heater that is independent of the engine/coolant, but the choices in the options brochure are less than clear.
First question is about the auxiliary heater - what's the difference between that and the parking heater? And why is there an option with and without the auxiliary heater?
Secondly, the remote control seems expensive at £240 extra - can anyone tell me what the remote does? How big is it, or its it part of the normal key?
Thirdly - fume issues? I understand the air-parking heater uses diesel, so there must be some exhaust, but where is the vent? Just thinking about our drive-away awning...
Thanks in advance.

 

[Borris]

We are in the final stages of deciding on the spec of a new Beach so this thread has been a real help - we definitely want a parking heater that is independent of the engine/coolant, but the choices in the options brochure are less than clear.
First question is about the auxiliary heater - what's the difference between that and the parking heater? And why is there an option with and without the auxiliary heater?
Secondly, the remote control seems expensive at £240 extra - can anyone tell me what the remote does? How big is it, or its it part of the normal key?
Thirdly - fume issues? I understand the air-parking heater uses diesel, so there must be some exhaust, but where is the vent? Just thinking about our drive-away awning...
Thanks in advance.

Hi Stoneybroke,
1. I too found the descriptions in the brochure confusing. However the expensive £1740 "Programmable air parking heater with radio control and auxiliary heater(coolant)" is the one to go for. It is expensive but believe me it is worth it.
The air parking heater is a drip feed diesel hot air heater that warms the vehicle all night and does not require the engine to be running. I stand to be corrected but I think that the auxillary heater (coolant) is designed to warm the engine coolant quickly on cold days. Diesels take longer to warm up and reach optimum working efficiency and I think that this device is designed to speed this up. I think it only works if the temperature is low enough. I have learnt this from reading others comments on this forum so I hope I've got it right. Sorry I don't know anything else about it. It is one of those features which I haven't yet looked into fully. It is interesting to note that you can apparently order the air parking heater without the auxiliary coolant heater but it costs just the same so why would anyone do that?

2. The remote is a separate remote control to the vehicle remote control. It is slightly larger and is designed to activate the drip feed diesel parking heater. You can apparently activate it from some distance away from the vehicle. So it is useful for defrosting on icy mornings and pre-warming your Cali without you leaving the house, firing up the heater whilst still returning to it on a cold day and for just being a lazy monkey and lying in your Cali bed firing up the heater whilst thinking about getting up on a cold morn.

3. The exhaust vents out from somewhere under the vehilcle and whilst I have never had an issue with it, I do understand that if you have an awning fitted fumes can be an issue. Therefore if someone sleeps in the awning, don't run the heater.
Finally, these heaters are really great. Don't go without one.

 

[soulstyledevon]

I think what you will find Matt, is people with the T5.1 eu5 engine wont be selling. The new T6 will come with eu6 compliant engine and that's a whole world of complication being added to these vans.

T5.1 140bhp engines are gonna have seriously good residual values going forward. Diesel is becoming very problematic due to emission standards.

Most seem to be around 1 year old and up for £36k-£39k from VW dealers. Generally I think prices for used Beaches are really close to a new Beach with a discount, especially given that the T5s were a little cheaper in the first place. I guess this shows how good the depreciation is, but equally I haven’t tried to negotiate a discount off the list price of a used one either? I guess £400-£800 should be possible on used)

Other considerations such as whether used prices for T5s will start to drop once more people start taking delivery of their T6s,

Cheers
Matt

 

[Stoneybroke]

Finally, these heaters are really great. Don't go without one.

Borris

Many thanks for the informative reply. Mrs S. has now told me that we are definitely having a parking heater. I think we will chose the same one as the Ocean, as you recommend, then we know we are getting the full package. I think she'll appreciate the remote on those cooler mornings when she has to get up to exercise the dogs - switch on from the sleeping bag!

 

[Borris]

Borris

Many thanks for the informative reply. Mrs S. has now told me that we are definitely having a parking heater. I think we will chose the same one as the Ocean, as you recommend, then we know we are getting the full package. I think she'll appreciate the remote on those cooler mornings when she has to get up to exercise the dogs - switch on from the sleeping bag!

Tell Mrs S that she is very wise.

 

[matt-k918]

Have nearly ordered a T6 beach to our exact spec, but still in "negotiation" with vw over the loyalty discount

Have missed out on 2 used T5s with heater just by not being able to get to see them before they've already sold.... Market is moving quickly out there if they've got heaters!

 

[thesquirrelpatrol]

Decided I'm definitely selling mine. Just need to get some photos taken. For some reason the Cali's for sale section won't let me place an advert???

 

[matt-k918]

Well finally done the deal on a new T6, obviously with parking heater!!!

 

[DebsWhite]

My first van was a beach and yes, the parking heater was a necessity. We bought ours second hand from an ex hire with about 9,000 miles on the clock. Sold it last November, so if you want the second hand option they are out there, but ex hire possibly a good place to start?

 

[rackind]

Anyone know the difference between the 2 air parking heater with remote options for the beach? One with coolant heater, one without. Why would you want to order the option without coolant heater?

 

[MattBW]

Auxiliary/Coolant heater is to warm up the engine in cold weather and kicks in 5c and below. if you have the optional remote it allows you to pre-warm the van/coolant and I believe run the heater for upto 30 minutes without the engine running.

 

[rackind]

Auxiliary/Coolant heater is to warm up the engine in cold weather and kicks in 5c and below. if you have the optional remote it allows you to pre-warm the van/coolant and I believe run the heater for upto 30 minutes without the engine running.

Thanks but my question is why you would choose not to specify the coolant heater when both options (with and without ) cost the same?

 

[MattBW]

Unless you live somewhere hot I can't see why you would? Weight?


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[Gazellio]

Quote: I think he is referring to the heater that uses the engine heat (coolant) to keep provide 40 mins or so of heat after the engine has been switched off. ...

Can anybody tell me how to use this function?