Bought the van. What next?

CaliJoe

CaliJoe

VIP Member
Messages
36
Location
Devon
Vehicle
T6 Beach 150
After years of dreaming, I’ve finally taken the plunge. Pregnant wife, 2 kids, 1 puppy and now a California (due in 2 weeks - the van, not the baby .)

I’ve just signed up so wanted to say Hi. Also, any recommendations for essential bits of kit to buy? I’m well stocked with the camping essentials (although I always want more ),
But I’d be interested to know what “must have” items people would recommend from their experiences.

Thank you all, and I’m very excited to be part of the community.
 
Welcome , all depends on your own needs .
For me difficult to give you tips on must haves , we have a SE and are only two adults...
Read some on the forum , go on a few short camping trips with gear you got allready and stuff you can grab away from home , before you buy (expencive) stuff you might not need ....
 
CaliJoe said:
After years of dreaming, I’ve finally taken the plunge. Pregnant wife, 2 kids, 1 puppy and now a California (due in 2 weeks - the van, not the baby .)

I’ve just signed up so wanted to say Hi. Also, any recommendations for essential bits of kit to buy? I’m well stocked with the camping essentials (although I always want more ),
But I’d be interested to know what “must have” items people would recommend from their experiences.

Thank you all, and I’m very excited to be part of the community.
Click to expand...
Beach or Ocean?
A pop up tent to put the kids car seats / bikes / stuff in when you turn van into camper mode.
 
We’ve gone beach. Wanted as much internal space as possible! A pop up tent is a good suggestion, thanks!
 
After having a van (admittedly not a Cali) for a while, I wrote a post last year about our favourite accessories, in case it’s useful.

The Aquasorb towels are probably our number one purchase, as they solve two problems: what to do with wet towels, and how to deal with condensation.
 
Having spent £1000's on extra's [see the list below] the one thing, the absolutely one thing that I would replace in a heart beat is the Brandrup Iso Top.

We camp all year, regardless of the weather.

It makes "upstairs" significantly warmer and when the "ceiling" is raised "downstairs" temperature does not plummet. Additionally it is waterproof and remains in-situ permanently so no faffing in the rain to remove an external cover

The rear draw would be a close second. Only because the boxes can be taken to the supermarket and loaded direct to the van

Products I've bought from www.calicap.de that are awesome .
1. Rear Draw --> https://shop.vwcamper.de/heckauszuege/264/calidrawer-ocean-heckauszug
2. Drawers in Cabinet --> https://shop.vwcamper.de/moebelzubehoer/213/schubladenerweiterung-t6
3. Shelving Wall Unit --> https://shop.vwcamper.de/moebelzubehoer/269/einlegeboeden-haengeschrank
3. Boxes from https://www.bigdug.co.uk/ to fit in the rear draw

43608

43609

43610

43611
Additionally....
Brandrup carpets. Great quality and tough

Anker Soundcore Mini Bluetooth speaker. Absurdly good sound in a tiny package --> https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01HTH8F3K/?tag=eliteelect-21

Premium Leather look club shop seat covers --> https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/shop/product/premium-leather-look-seat-covers-vw-california-t6-ocean

Spare safe from club shop --> https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/shop/p...l-locking-device-including-locking-wheel-bolt

Here's another thread on a similar topic
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/additions-since-purchase.28627/
 
Last edited:
Quentin SF said:
After having a van (admittedly not a Cali) for a while, I wrote a post last year about our favourite accessories, in case it’s useful.

The Aquasorb towels are probably our number one purchase, as they solve two problems: what to do with wet towels, and how to deal with condensation.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I’ll check it out
 
DrJuanKerr said:
Having spent £1000's on extra's [see the list below] the one thing, the absolutely one thing that I would replace in a heart beat is the Brandrup Iso Top.

We camp all year, regardless of the weather.

It makes "upstairs" significantly warmer and when the "ceiling" is raised "downstairs" temperature does not plummet. Additionally it is waterproof and remains in-situ permanently so no faffing in the rain to remove an external cover

The rear draw would be a close second. Only because the boxes can be taken to the supermarket and loaded direct to the van

Products I've bought from www.calicap.de that are awesome .
1. Rear Draw --> https://shop.vwcamper.de/heckauszuege/264/calidrawer-ocean-heckauszug
2. Drawers in Cabinet --> https://shop.vwcamper.de/moebelzubehoer/213/schubladenerweiterung-t6
3. Shelving Wall Unit --> https://shop.vwcamper.de/moebelzubehoer/269/einlegeboeden-haengeschrank
3. Boxes from https://www.bigdug.co.uk/ to fit in the rear draw

View attachment 43608

View attachment 43609

View attachment 43610

View attachment 43611
Additionally....
Brandrup carpets. Great quality and tough

Anker Soundcore Mini Bluetooth speaker. Absurdly good sound in a tiny package --> https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01HTH8F3K/?tag=eliteelect-21

Premium Leather look club shop seat covers --> https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/shop/product/premium-leather-look-seat-covers-vw-california-t6-ocean

Spare safe from club shop --> https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/shop/p...l-locking-device-including-locking-wheel-bolt

Here's another thread on a similar topic
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/additions-since-purchase.28627/
Click to expand...
Thanks. Looks like you’ve made lots of good investments in your time! I’m going to enjoy a bit more research
 
Hi Calijoe:welcome

A spare safe (club shop) is a good starting point, many have had wheels nabbed from under the van, some only find out when the spare is needed !

+1 for roof topper (club shop)

Vanessa window bags, add loads of useable space for clothes in an otherwise unused part of the van. (Campervantastic)

Window bags can be Combined with packing cubes to make access to clothes etc very easy.

You’ll find a lot of useful ideas in this forum
 
Don’t rush out and buy lots of stuff! Wait until you’ve done a few trips and buy what you need. I’ve got a pile of things I thought we’re essential but weren’t! Also, there are lots of cheaper alternatives to posh/overpriced camping products, such as collapsible buckets and bowls. Wilko sell them at half the price of camping shops.
 
CaliJoe said:
Thanks. Looks like you’ve made lots of good investments in your time! I’m going to enjoy a bit more research
Click to expand...

I've had a splittie ['66 SO42] since 2000 so already had a good idea what would be good &/or needed already. It would be easy to go all "gung ho" and buy everything you see.

I'd advise using it several times to get a feel for what you may/ may not need before making any major investments. The spare safe I mentioned would be a good "very first" purchase however. It's a very quick and simple job to pinch your spare wheel. For the sake of ~£50 you'll save yourself all kinds of beef if it gets nicked
 
It depends on so many things, like how you use the van and how like to camp. If you can, do a few short trips close to home, or camp on the drive ha. You will soon figure out what you do and more importantly, what you don’t need. Have fun.
 
Helo CaliJoe,

Welcome - may the roads always be smooth, the traffic low, the garda busy somewhere else and the diesel cheap. Have always a save journey.

We had no experience with camping as such. So we had to learn what would be needed, good to have and useless.

We chose some trips and overnights not far away from home (just in case!) and discussed during and after the trip what we missed. It is so easy to spend a lot of money...

In the last 1 1/2 years the equipment grow and I can say with a good conscience that, with one exception, we did not waste money.

What was the one exception, says you? It was the compass. There was a compass in the VW Tiguan I owned before and I thought it shouldn't be that difficult to get this in the van. Wrong. I spent about 100 EUR in diffirent solutions and it was never the same as in the Tiguan. :headbang. So, finally I gave up and booked the 100 EUR under "collecting experience".

Regards,
Eberhard
 
Only things you really need are a power cable, gas bottle and ramps if you want to be level. Get the rest as you go along.
 
DrJuanKerr said:
Having spent £1000's on extra's [see the list below] the one thing, the absolutely one thing that I would replace in a heart beat is the Brandrup Iso Top.

We camp all year, regardless of the weather.

It makes "upstairs" significantly warmer and when the "ceiling" is raised "downstairs" temperature does not plummet. Additionally it is waterproof and remains in-situ permanently so no faffing in the rain to remove an external cover

The rear draw would be a close second. Only because the boxes can be taken to the supermarket and loaded direct to the van

Products I've bought from www.calicap.de that are awesome .
1. Rear Draw --> https://shop.vwcamper.de/heckauszuege/264/calidrawer-ocean-heckauszug
2. Drawers in Cabinet --> https://shop.vwcamper.de/moebelzubehoer/213/schubladenerweiterung-t6
3. Shelving Wall Unit --> https://shop.vwcamper.de/moebelzubehoer/269/einlegeboeden-haengeschrank
3. Boxes from https://www.bigdug.co.uk/ to fit in the rear draw

View attachment 43608

View attachment 43609



View attachment 43611

That shelf under the mirror is good. Is that part of the shelving unit?
Click to expand...
 
Less is more

Easy to get carried away buying “stuff “

My view- I get carried away looking at “stuff “ when home - but when away in van then I adapt to whatever I have with me and am more focused on whatever I am doing.

Haven’t found the one indispensable item yet!
 
kp64zl said:
Less is more

Easy to get carried away buying “stuff “

My view- I get carried away looking at “stuff “ when home - but when away in van then I adapt to whatever I have with me and am more focused on whatever I am doing.

Haven’t found the one indispensable item yet!
Click to expand...

Diesel is pretty indispensable hehe
 
Join the caravan and camping club. Site all over the shop.
Consider a folding camper for real comfort and longer breaks but weekends are perfect in our beach.
ABABFACA-21CA-49A1-A494-4287B9F1496C.jpeg
 
Without a shadow of a doubt I would recommend a good mattress topper. Realised that mistake on our first trip away. After one night I felt like I aged 20 years. We got ours from Comfortz

Then can only recommend to use the van, spend a little time thinking of what you will take. You will realise something is missing. Get it as soon as you get home ready for the next trip
 
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