Buying T7 California Beach Camper

[sticky1]

This chat about seat changes has made me wonder about my T6.1 Beach Camper. But the answer could be relevant to a T7 as well. Mine is a 5-seater aa sold and I bought two extra seats which I use occasionally. I have not yet told DVLA or insurance about them. Should I inform them both every time I increase or reduce the number of seats?

I think I would ask DVLA and definitely tell your insurance that you have purchased VW approved accessory seats.

 

[WelshGas]

This chat about seat changes has made me wonder about my T6.1 Beach Camper. But the answer could be relevant to a T7 as well. Mine is a 5-seater as sold and I bought two extra seats which I use occasionally. I have not yet told DVLA or insurance about them. Should I inform them both every time I increase or reduce the number of seats?

You should inform both that your maximum seating capacity is 7. Neither organisation will be concerned if you have less seats than your maximum of 7. So once informed you don’t have to inform them each time you take seats in or out.
But be aware. If you do not inform either organisation and you have an accident with 7 seats/ passengers you could be prosecuted for carrying more passengers than the vehicle has been registered for and the Insurance Company will likely refuse to cover you, including the accident claim.

 

[thatsnotmynaim]

Back to my extra seat conundrum - I was reading that the latest T6.1 beach camper (not tour) was registered as 5 seaters (elsewhere in this forum) and it was just a simple form to the DVLA to up it so they could add additional seats (and of course tell the insurance) so I've been assuming that's the same case here.

I don't suppose anyone has the T7 beach and could confirm that it's registered as a 5 seater? (apologies if I've missed that in the thread!)

 

[stoobthealien]

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Thanks for that! I shall await with interest what happens when @FamCamping get theirs and try to increase the seat number with DVLA!

 

[stoobthealien]

Just to add - California Chris has got his hands on a Beach now - he's done a short intro but has promised a number of in-depth videos, I've asked again if he'll try putting an additional seat in....

 

[NZCol]

I've been going round the Multivan/Beach conundrum for a while, had to wait for 4Motion as we need it to a) Get in and out our house in winter and b) For to get to work as a Ski Patroller !

The configurator is up to its usual VW high standards of consistency versus the wrtitten catalogue. Some questions for those in the know:
1) Does the Hybrid 4Mo definitely only come with 4 seats, my dealer is insisting it comes with 5
2) The 7VH parking heater is the attraction for us (which can't do on a multivan from factory) - anyone got one and can report on it
3) The online configurator offers 7VH for diesel not for Hybrid but catalogue states for both. Anyone ordered a Hybrid 4mo with 7VH

I actually need a Beach Tour. Or might just go Multivan, add some front seat plates and think about how we heat it, or spec the Aux hester which will give me 3 hours, then i'll put a hat on. I did look in the engine bay and there is space for an additional battery which could open up the option of adding a Petrol Eberspacher somewhere down the line.

 

[MickyBlue]

As a current T6.1 transporter owner (4m, Reimo pop top, caravelle rails & with 2 swivel singles, & a removable micro fridge/sink/cook pod) I’d be interested to hear if anyone has either looked into or managed to fully remove the factory cooker/LB/bed pod in the new T7 beach.

We can do this in our current van & add up to 4 individual rear seats as we don’t have or use a 3 seater bench/bed downstairs, but sometimes take all rear seats & our Vangear mini pod out to use it as a van.

I’d quite happily engineer a ‘box’ to house a higher capacity LiFe LB/charger & a higher wattage inverter in that back corner. I just wonder how tied into the van CanBus/camper control screen/systems the factory ‘pod’ is??

 

[Kayleigh]

As a current T6.1 transporter owner (4m, Reimo pop top, caravelle rails & with 2 swivel singles, & a removable micro fridge/sink/cook pod) I’d be interested to hear if anyone has either looked into or managed to fully remove the factory cooker/LB/bed pod in the new T7 beach.

We can do this in our current van & add up to 4 individual rear seats as we don’t have or use a 3 seater bench/bed downstairs, but sometimes take all rear seats & our Vangear mini pod out to use it as a van.

I’d quite happily engineer a ‘box’ to house a higher capacity LiFe LB/charger & a higher wattage inverter in that back corner. I just wonder how tied into the van CanBus/camper control screen/systems the factory ‘pod’ is??

I think you would be better off buying a Multivan and getting the Reimo roof fitted (when available). You can fit a Vanessa Arco bed & pull out kitchen system and the window bags. With the Multivan you also get the inside sliding table, which looks much better than the old Caravelle one.

 

[MickyBlue]

I think you would be better off buying a Multivan and getting the Reimo roof fitted (when available). You can fit a Vanessa Arco bed & pull out kitchen system and the window bags. With the Multivan you also get the inside sliding table, which looks much better than the old Caravelle one.

Nice ideas but the fudamental flaws in that plan are the car tax difference, costs involved vs retained value, & VW always denying warranty claims due to the vehicle being 'modified' regardless of any of the modifications being the cause.

Been there & got many copies of that T-shirt with this van. I'd rather remove something VW put in than chop the van about & add stuff VW will never cover & make it less saleable/part-ex-able if that makes sense.

Also we would want the extra floor space in the rear & wouldn't be looking to put a 'downstairs bed' in, we don't have one currently & wouldn't use it as the dog crate etc is there

 

[WelshGas]

Nice ideas but the fudamental flaws in that plan are the car tax difference, costs involved vs retained value, & VW always denying warranty claims due to the vehicle being 'modified' regardless of any of the modifications being the cause.

Been there & got many copies of that T-shirt with this van. I'd rather remove something VW put in than chop the van about & add stuff VW will never cover & make it less saleable/part-ex-able if that makes sense.

Also we would want the extra floor space in the rear & wouldn't be looking to put a 'downstairs bed' in, we don't have one currently & wouldn't use it as the dog crate etc is there

Going by past vehicles the Beach kitchen is probably a standalone module , built off site , loaded into the vehicle with just a wiring loom connection. Rather than something built in-situ.
That's how the Transporter based SE/Ocean are assembled.

 

[MickyBlue]

Going by past vehicles the Beach kitchen is probably a standalone module , built off site , loaded into the vehicle with just a wiring loom connection. Rather than something built in-situ.
That's how the Transporter based SE/Ocean are assembled.

Great thx. Thats what I’d thought having looked at some pictures & Cali-Chris’ video on the unit.

I really need to see one in the flesh or get some feedback on how deeply they have integrated it into the camper controls/Sw etc & wiring loom to contemplate whether it will throw errors on removal & whether changing to Victron gear could be integrated at all or run completely seperately maybe with a smaller LiFe LB to keep the VW Camper Sw in the van ‘happy’ if that makes sense

 

[WelshGas]

Nice ideas but the fudamental flaws in that plan are the car tax difference, costs involved vs retained value, & VW always denying warranty claims due to the vehicle being 'modified' regardless of any of the modifications being the cause.

Been there & got many copies of that T-shirt with this van. I'd rather remove something VW put in than chop the van about & add stuff VW will never cover & make it less saleable/part-ex-able if that makes sense.

Also we would want the extra floor space in the rear & wouldn't be looking to put a 'downstairs bed' in, we don't have one currently & wouldn't use it as the dog crate etc is there

Do you know what is in the Kitchen Pod?
Is it just storage, gas hob and gas cylinder storage? Or does it include the Leisure battery and mains charger which would run the Parking heater if fitted?

 

[MickyBlue]

Do you know what is in the Kitchen Pod?
Is it just storage, gas hob and gas cylinder storage? Or does it include the Leisure battery and mains charger which would run the Parking heater if fitted?

It has the leisure battery/charger/inverter in there as well as the gas locker/cooker etc. The inverter is only rated at 300w & the cabinetry has one pass through 240v 3-pin socket when on hook up & 1x300w rated 3pin socket

It is connected to the external 240v input on the outside.

The cabinetry itself looks like something I or any other converter could make & I’m pretty sure it has fairly generic charger/inverter in there from a 3rd party, it’s just who’s & how it’s monitored by the VW camper S/W.
Cali Chris' look at it

I don’t need the gas/hob or bed as use a small induction hob 1kw inverter & B2B + LB-2-SB ablemail trickle charger system & LiFe LB which works well for us under& behind the drivers seat in our T6.1.

The camper/bed unit in the back of a T7 beach just takes up space I’d rather use for other things. ‘If’ the VW stuff can be housed better in a smaller unit this would work for us esp if a tiny LiFe LB would keep the van itself happy, I’d then use a seperate kitchen pod like we currently have & add a B2B charger/LB & inverter of my own with at least 1kW capacity

 

[MickyBlue]

Actually the closer I look at this it looks like the cooker/gas locker/bed cabinet is seperate from the electrics unit looking at these pictures


Also the Beach Tour we dont get in the UK shows the Cooking unit appears totally seperate with the bed board on top
This has only the electrics unit in vs the Camper with the cooker cabinet...this is very promising...Happy Days