Experienced at camping or "newbies"?

[Teejay]

Hi all
I'm reading lots and lots of the forum posts trying to soak up information and gain experience and tips.

We have been camping in various forms of tent for 15-20 years. So we can make camp and break camp quickly. We have lots of lightweight gear and all the to keep us dry, warm, cool as needed. Only decided to go with electric heating last year ! Never had and never will have a caravan and a big white box, coach built, does not suit our purpose and guess it never will.

Anyway to the question:

How many California buyers are new to the outdoor life or have been doing it for many years in what ever form? So how long have you been living the life in the outdoors?

thanks
Teejay

 

[AlisonF]

Hmmm, never say never - as you have no idea how your life will pan out (that's an aside).

I did heaps of camping (DofE, caravanning with family) as a kid / teen and then nothing until 6 weeks ago when I got my Cali. I had reached the point where I said 'never' again to camping. But am loving it now with the dogs and they are loving it too.

 

[pjm-84]

Ex RMR.

 

[kave]

Camped while young much, but last years one time a year. I don't really like sleaping in a tent so I figure the Cali will be bettet.

 

[GrannyJen]

Since I was about 13 years old.

 

[calimera]

Girl Guides then camping/ surfing a lot with our boys in Cornwall & France. Main holiday until storm winds at Polzeath broke the frame of our Khyam tent .
Started hiring holiday cottages ,staying in hotels instead.
Now children grown up ,feel time is right for extended travelling with the dogs.
Having hired a motorhome & Cali , we concluded the Cali suited us the best . The dogs loved it.
Great photo Alison. That's where the girls will sleep.

 

[snowy55]

First went camping when I was 4, been camping most years since then, so thats 56 years for me and I still love going.

 

[DM]

Have always camped and continued to do so until the kids reached early teens. Then it became much less frequent as we found ourselves having to fit around the kids 'commitments'. But we never missed our annual September surf trip to Devon .

We tried all sorts to find the 'ideal' holiday with teenagers. We rented a few Motorhomes in the UK and Canada which worked well. Perfection for us was flotilla sailing in the med. Mrs DM and I could get up, enjoy a leisurely breakfast, set-sail and anchor for lunch whilst the kids slept in and eventually poked their heads out of the companion way at about noon asking if it was time for a swim. It worked for all of us.

Now we find we are pretty much back to the two of us and want to get back to the sort of holidays we used to have where we can just spend as much or little time in a place as we please. We still enjoy camping but our aging backs certainly prefer not to sleep on the ground too often. The Cali gives us the best of all worlds. .

 

[Hotel California]

Never liked camping in a tent and never did it much ,few times in the army and few times at F1 weekends 15 years ago , thats why i bought my hotel on wheels!
Now we are "glamping"

 

[Californiaman]

Loads of motorcycle touring and camping. I loved it but don't really miss it. I increasingly thought - I' want to wake up to that view' or 'I want to climb that'.

lots of motorcycle competitions - enduro, rallye etc where I was camped next to friends in vans, campers, caravans. They encouraged me to get a van and I always said - 'if I ever get a van, it is unlikely I will get up at 5am for scrutineering only to crash upside down in a ditch and have someone ride over my head...' And that is pretty much what happened. Never looked back...

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

[theonecraw]

Been camping with the family for years. Always looked at the VW's and thought why would you want one of those and "HOW MUCH"???

Now there is no looking back, we've sold our tents and 75% of our camping gear, only keeping what we still use. All of which now lives in the Cali rather than the shed, garage or loft.

The best thing about it is the freedom to go away (even in the coldest of winter) without having to strategically pack up the car/trailer to go somewhere as the Cali is always ready to go. We can decide we want to go away and be travelling in under 20mins. With camping we always had to prep and back for what felt like hours.

 

[cpjb@btinternet.com]

As much as I love "camping" in the Cali, I have to admit I do find the constant loading/unloading a bit of a bind.

Probably when the kids have flown the nest and we don't have to find room for pup tents, air beds, extra duvets, body boards, the topper etc things may become a little easier.

"Theonecraw" - I'm assuming you have the van pre-loaded and sitting on the drive allowing you to get away in 20 minutes. More like an hour loading and then another hour unloading after the trip for me .

 

[theonecraw]

"Theonecraw" - I'm assuming you have the van pre-loaded and sitting on the drive allowing you to get away in 20 minutes. More like an hour loading and then another hour unloading after the trip for me .

Yes @cpjb@btinternet.com we have the van pretty much loaded up all the time. The only things we need to pack when leaving are food, drinks, clothes, iPads, kids and dogs. I don't miss the days of tetris/jenga in our previous vehicles at all.

 

[sapto]

Before owning a Cali I loved travelling by train with tent or tarp. Later with a car we slept in the tent, hostel or hotel. IMO every aspect of travelling and camping has it pros and cons! Sometimes I miss it sleeping in a tarp and counting stars in warm summer nights and on the other side I love my Cali to have a packed home and have the opportunity to leave as quick as possible!

 

[Speleo62]

Have been camping since since small with own family and with Guides and scouts (and still doing this with Guides now!!) and continued the tradition with our own children. looking forward to be able to just up and go when our van arrives instead of the week before collecting everything, packing roof boxes/trailer etc.

 

[Teejay]

Thanks to all those that contributed, it all makes for an interesting read.

Many of your experiences seem to mirror our own. We've migrated from a two man tent with single stove to larger tent with and two burners, then Quechua 4.2 then we added heating, a good move!

We've then slowly migrated to cottages and lodges on CC sites but as my dear wife said just yesterday "lodges are fine, but I miss the chat when washing up with other campers". So she is missing the community feeling when camping. I don't enjoy the loading and unloading but we may be able to minimise some of this due to the nature of a camper.

So we arrive at probably the one vehicle that may suit all our needs. Our current tent is at end of life now and so it's crunch time. Either a new California or new XC60 with tent. We are planing on hiring a California either late this month or end of May and this may define what we do for the next 5-10 years. I know that many of you use it as a daily drive and that is one of the key questions the other is about sleeping comfort. If these get the thumbs up then we will probably be ordering one from either our local dealer or one of the dealers in the North/North West, based largely on the reading I've been doing over the last few weeks.

We have no kids, no pets and no plants :-D. So I'm hoping to be able to get good use out of it all year round even if we are only 50 miles from home.

Any way enough waffle from me. This forum is very much like the Volvo forum I joined prior to order but I feel this has more to offer as hopefully the California does.

Teejay

 

[DM]

Of course the £20K change you'd have after buying the the XC60 would buy you one hell of a tent

 

[T6 CFO]

Camped as a kid and a few holidays with our boys but to be honest found it all a bit of a hassle with all the preparation. Over the last few years I have returned to camping in a single man tent whilst on either walking holidays in the Pyrenees and Dolomites or whilst on touring cycling holidays. Basically I like camping with only the kit you can carry.
Now the boys have flown and we have no pets it's going to be me Jane and the Cali. Took us a while to work it out but we know we like our own space most of the time our own food and we want to travel. So a Cali it is. Will be our only method of transport other than bikes. Downsized to a City lock and leave flat and fingers crossed that we like the open road. We will not be adverse to the odd night in a B&B when and if required. Time will tell.


Mike

 

[GrannyJen]

I migrated to the Cali via a one-woman mountain tent, the odd avalanche coming through the roof and rocks and boulders for my bed.

I can't believe that I actually moaned that the downstairs bed was uncomfortable without a topper!!

Age softens the spirit clearly, or not enough spirit to soften the lumps

 

[andrewjh009]

We had never camped in our lives and don't plan to any time soon, however we love our Cali and use it as a mobile office and perfect for days out to the beach, also looks fine in a hotel car park. Loads of respect for you guys that do camp but we prefer the luxury of a hotel room or a villa ( sharing a toilet and a shower is not for us ) veruca's, germs from the toilet seat etc..

 

[Sp0_0k]

How many California buyers are new to the outdoor life or have been doing it for many years in what ever form? So how long have you been living the life in the outdoors?
Teejay

Feels like pretty a lot, considering Beach is majorly treated like not a fully suitable vehicle for camping.
Cooking outside? it is impossible!
And all those issue with hard not comfortable beds )

But for a person used to sleeping in a tent this is a magical vehicle in any form.

 

[TwentyOneThirtyFive]

Been camping since I was a nipper, still go tent camping sometimes. There are some places that just don't feel right in the van for some reason (like Wasdale Head), no idea why.

 

[Lewis]

We're not particularly keen tent campers, I've had some great tent experiences in warmer climes overseas but not keen on night times and UK tenting. My partner has only once slept in a tent when we went to Glastonbury a couple of years back.

Conversely, we love being outdoors and have a shoebox house (the only reason we can afford a Cali) so we're used to keeping things compact and organised. A Cali is therefore perfect for us, a warm and comfortable place to sleep that beats a tent but all of the outdoor life that goes with it.

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks to all those that contributed, it all makes for an interesting read.

Many of your experiences seem to mirror our own. We've migrated from a two man tent with single stove to larger tent with and two burners, then Quechua 4.2 then we added heating, a good move!

We've then slowly migrated to cottages and lodges on CC sites but as my dear wife said just yesterday "lodges are fine, but I miss the chat when washing up with other campers". So she is missing the community feeling when camping. I don't enjoy the loading and unloading but we may be able to minimise some of this due to the nature of a camper.

So we arrive at probably the one vehicle that may suit all our needs. Our current tent is at end of life now and so it's crunch time. Either a new California or new XC60 with tent. We are planing on hiring a California either late this month or end of May and this may define what we do for the next 5-10 years. I know that many of you use it as a daily drive and that is one of the key questions the other is about sleeping comfort. If these get the thumbs up then we will probably be ordering one from either our local dealer or one of the dealers in the North/North West, based largely on the reading I've been doing over the last few weeks.

We have no kids, no pets and no plants :-D. So I'm hoping to be able to get good use out of it all year round even if we are only 50 miles from home.

Any way enough waffle from me. This forum is very much like the Volvo forum I joined prior to order but I feel this has more to offer as hopefully the California does.

Teejay

5 kids now all settled and last one gets married in 9 weeks. California is my daily drive. Fully loaded and just need to add water to tank. just back from 2 days in London to visit the Monet Exhibition and Madame Tussauds ( certainly changed since last visit 30 yrs ago with the kids - but very interesting ).
Camped from Cub Scouts onwards - Tents then Caravan - then smaller tent and now the Ultimate , a California. Even went camping to France with 4 kids and Number 5 just 3 weeks old.

 

[Maud]

Touring caravan holidays since I was 3 months old - I need a little bit more luxury than a tent and didn't fancy towing myself, so a small camper was the logical next step