First weekend trip, here's what happened

[CaliJoe]

So, we've done our first weekend trip away in our new Beach. Family of 4, plus a bundle, and a young puppy. Quite a lot of lifestock for the van, but all good, and we fitted in well. But I've got a few bits of feedback, that some other first timers might find helpful, and I'd be super grateful if people for any advise from more experienced folk.

We went to Mount Folly in Bigbury, South Devon. A stunning location, and the views are something else. But we did have a few teething problems (well less problems, just a few things to work on), and I wondered if people might be able to help.

The Bed
A couple of things here. Took us ages how to work out how to unfold it, but I think we got there, the manual wasn't as helpful as I thought and I ended up trying to watch YT vids at the 11th hour.
- Are you meant to take the headrests off? All the videos I watched say you fold them down, but we couldn't get it to fit like this, so I took them off, and they don't appear to "hinge" down.
- The Length - maybe something to do with above, but I'm 6ft, and had to curl, it just didn't seem to get very long. What's the length?
- The comfort - might just be that she was heavily pregnant lady. But we'll def be buying as thick a topper as possible.
- We tried kids up top, dog in the footwell, and us downstairs. But ended up splitting the kids and I went up top (bbbrrrrr) as we took a child each.

Heating
- It was a chilly night. Can you have the can heating on overnight? We didn't

Front Curtain/windscreen cover
Not really sure on the technical term for this, but we couldn't really get this right up front. Any pointers gratefully received

Leaving the van
When we went down to the beach for the day we wound in the awning, and popped down the roof. Do most people bother with this, or just leave it up? The weather was calm.

Seat Covers
We don't have these, but most definitely will be purchasing. The kids love a good clamber!

 

[Ting Tong]

Bigbury is lovely: glad you had a good time.

Can’t help with the Beach bed but with the front blind, tilt the mirror up first then put the sun visors down once you’ve closed the blind.

Yes you can leave the heater on. Get a CO alarm if your Mrs worries like mine.

Yes leave the roof up when you go out but wind in the awning as the wind could come up or it could rain heavily. We sometimes leave ours but we have a tie down kit and ensure it’s not level in case it rains.

 

[Nolan]

Things get a lot slicker as you go on

The headrests do come off in the Beach, depending how many people are travelling I leave the centre one at home (2 kids with us) as it's one less thing in the van.

Have you got the comfort mattress? I find that very comfortable but last time we camped I forgot to pack it and the 3 seater bench on it's own isn't so comfortable. I'm thinking of sewing a couple of coloured tags on the comfort mattress so I don't spend a couple of minutes figuring out which two bits zip together every time I use it.

The routing I've found works best with the front screen blind it to fold the sun visors down before turning the front seats, the blind goes behind the sun visors and the end of each visor fits in the pockets on the bling. The blind then goes behind the mirror and velcro up around the mirror stalk. I keep meaning to pack a ruler or something to help poke the fat edge of the blnd down into the gap at the bottom of the windscreen.

I really want some Jackyards seat covers but finances don't permit at the moment

 

[CaliJoe]

Things get a lot slicker as you go on

The headrests do come off in the Beach, depending how many people are travelling I leave the centre one at home (2 kids with us) as it's one less thing in the van.

Have you got the comfort mattress? I find that very comfortable but last time we camped I forgot to pack it and the 3 seater bench on it's own isn't so comfortable. I'm thinking of sewing a couple of coloured tags on the comfort mattress so I don't spend a couple of minutes figuring out which two bits zip together every time I use it.

The routing I've found works best with the front screen blind it to fold the sun visors down before turning the front seats, the blind goes behind the sun visors and the end of each visor fits in the pockets on the bling. The blind then goes behind the mirror and velcro up around the mirror stalk. I keep meaning to pack a ruler or something to help poke the fat edge of the blnd down into the gap at the bottom of the windscreen.

I really want some Jackyards seat covers but finances don't permit at the moment

Thanks - I found this thread which was helpful for matress toppers. I since looked at the prices of seatcovers, and some official mattress toppers (wow!)

Downstairs mattress options!

We haven't tried sleeping downstairs in our 3 seat beach yet but as things stand it doesn't look like a very comfortable option so we are thinking of getting a mattress. We'd really appreciate any views on what others have found the best option. brandrup v Comfortz? I'm sure I read somewhere...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

Re - the comfort mattress - is this the standard issue? It's a new van, so I guess so, just not sure of the name.

I don't think I did the bed right at all, upon reading it's meant to be 2m, but ours definitely wasn't.

Also - re - the headrests, I meant - should I need to take them off when laying the bed out?

Thanks for all your help.

 

[Nolan]

The comfort mattress is multi part folding memory foam with zips to change configuration. I think it was an option with a new van and it comes with the multiflex board at the back which forms the first foot or so of the bed. Do you have the folding board behind the rear seats?

 

[CaliJoe]

The comfort mattress is multi part folding memory foam with zips to change configuration. I think it was an option with a new van and it comes with the multiplex board at the back which forms the first foot or so of the bed. Do you have the folding board behind the rear seats?

Yes - that sounds like what I have.

 

[Alan Andrews]

get a roof topper, it really makes a difference in cold weather, plus helps to protect the roof material in heavy rain. But it does take a little time to work out how to fit. There is a youtube video online. But practice several times before you leave home, as you do not want to have to learn when dark/damp/windy.

 

[Quentin SF]

A (perhaps rather obvious) awning tip: if you're at all dubious about the weather, make sure the poles are set low enough that water drains off .

On one van we rented, I had to get up at 1am to empty out the large puddle that had formed, but the rain had then stopped, so I then went back to bed, thinking I would adjust things in the morning, only to be woken at 4am by the sound of the awning collapsing under the weight of a large lake...

On the mattress topic: self-inflating mattresses are also worth considering, if you can find one (or two) that are the right size for your bed. Not always as warm as memory foam (which is good or bad depending on the time of year), but they can take less space, and are adjustable to suit your level of pregnancy.

 

[Borris]

Hello Joe,
First of all, what type of Beach do you have? Seven seater or five seater, with three seater bench seat or four seater with the storage box? Do you have the diesel parking heater?

1. If you have a version with the three seater rear bench you have to remove the head rests when you make up the bed. I don't have the four seat version so I'm not sure what you have to do there. It's basically the same seat unit as in the Ocean which has a fold away head rest arrangement. However I'm not sure if that element is the same in the Beach version.

2. If you have the diesel parking heater you can have it on all night. Just keep extending the run time on the over head display until you reach the infinity symbol. Then press set.
It doesn't use much fuel and will keep you toasty warm all night. However there are several things to note. It won't run continuosly if the leisure battery is low or the fuel level is low or the ambient temperature is above the temperature level set.
Don't forget to crack a window for ventilation.

3. You can make the bed a little longer by creating a small gap between the folded down seat back and multiflex board. Also you can gain extra length by setting the multiflex board a little further away from the rear door. These small gaps won't make any difference to the comfort and I doubt if you would notice them.

4. IMO the VW Comfort sleeping mat is quite hard and unforgiving for many peoples tastes. So it's as well to get yourself something else to top it off. You could try one or more of the following: self inflating mattress, ZoneSleep topper or something similar and/or a duvet etc. Only you will know when you've found the right formula.

5. I cannot recommend highly enough the fitment of a roof liner. We have a Brandrup Isotop fitted. It keeps the roof bed warmer, darker, completely dry and draught free. They are expensive but well worth the outlay. You won't be cold or uncomfortable up there with one fitted. I've had one in both of the vans I've owned and I wouldn't be without one. They are easy to fit and once fitted you can just forget about it. Just pop the roof and it's there keeping you warm.

6. The windscreen can be a little tricky to block off. What are you using? The internal curtains supplied with the van are the easiest IMO. They can be put in place very quickly without getting out and give a good degree of privacy. We also sometimes use an external thermal windscreen cover which also covers the front door windows. These are great and do a good job. They are easy to fit but do need drying off if it's rained in the night. The third choice is thermal internal window covers. Again they can be fitted without getting out and also do a good job. We have a set of Brandrup ones. The latter two options block out the light very well whereas the curtains less so.

7. If the weather isn't too windy then leaving the roof up is fine. Any chance of high winds and it's best to park the rear of the van into wind. Any chance of very high winds then IMO it's best to bring it down altogether. The awning is a different matter. Never extend it without at least nailing it to the ground. The slightest gust can lift it off the ground and can cause a lot of damage to both awning and van. To prevent this always use a tie down kit. The shop sells them. My advice is, if you intend to go off somewhere always wind in the awning first. If you leave it out at night then drop one leg so one corner is lower than the other. If it rains it will fill up with gallons of water. Trust me, I was that soldier!

 

[MarkVw2017]

The beds huge (king size) so you have done it wrong, head rests come out.pull the leaver and then slide it to the back. The shelf at the back is also part of thr bed
Defo get a topper or two
Get a retro parking heater fitted or quality sleeping bags.
Front blind is a pain on the beach, might be worth fetting a new one to go on the outside to stop condensation.
Seat covers, defo

 

[Amarillo]

Having spent a year touring Europe in our bend new Beach June 2017 to June 2018, and during that year sleeping ~300 nights in the van with two boys (2 & 3 later 3 & 4) and two collies (later one collie), we can be considered experts on anything Beach related.

The Bed
The California manual is useless for the many Beach features - including the bed. For that you need the Multivan manual.

The Beach bed is ultra flexible. Cot, short bed, medium bed, long bed and ultra long bed.
- for the cot, use the multiflex alone
- for the short bed, use the short multiflex and the lowered bench
- for the medium bed, use the full multiflex and the lowered bench
- for the long bed, use the short multiflex, the lowered bench and the two additional seats
- for the ultra long bed, use the full multiflex, the lowered bench and the two additional seats

None of these are suitable for our needs so we have devised our own.


Mattress is close to essential.

Heating
Assuming you have the diesel parking heater, this can be run all night so long at you have 1/4 tank of diesel or more. It uses a tiny amount of diesel, and in all but the coldest nights setting #1 is sufficient.

Front Curtain/windscreen cover
Fit either ends to the lowered sun visors first (needs to be the right way round) before attaching to the rear view mirror. The weighted bottom can be tucked into the bottom of the windscreen.

Leaving the van
If on a campsite, it's fine to leave the awning out and roof up. Pack all away if wild camping. If parking in a town or city with lots of gear, park, release the handbrake and swivel front seat, apply handbrake and lock and deadlock the doors.

Seat Covers
@Jackyards . Over £1000 for a full set for seven seats but worth it. They have not been airbag tested, but as they rely on open flaps rather than weak stitching this seems unnecessary.

 

[Borris]

I forgot to mention that with kids and dogs, waterproof covers are essential on everything, seats and mattresses. We have the Inka covers and they have been great. They are wipe clean and can be machine washed if they get really grubby. Make sure you do them on a cool wash and don't tumble them. They come up like new.

It's a good idea to have an over carpet on the floor as I believe the factory floor can look second hand quite quickly. The rest of the Beach is wipe clean plastics so ideal. A couple of packs of wet wipes always come in very useful.

 

[Rhyd Izz]

We bought the Inka matts too, and as our kids are in carseats, we left the headrests at home. We remove them for putting the bed out too.

Im wondering, without an insulation on the pop up roof, what sort of temperatures do people sleep up there in? We chickened out of our inaugral weekend camp, as it was going to be 0 degrees C at night: we have a night heater, but just didnt want a first, miserable, wet weekend.

 

[Amarillo]

Can’t help with the Beach bed but with the front blind, tilt the mirror up first then put the sun visors down once you’ve closed the blind.

The Beach windscreen curtain is very different from the Ocean blind. It hangs from the sun visors and rear view mirror.

 

[Alan Andrews]

We bought the Inka matts too, and as our kids are in carseats, we left the headrests at home. We remove them for putting the bed out too.

Im wondering, without an insulation on the pop up roof, what sort of temperatures do people sleep up there in? We chickened out of our inaugral weekend camp, as it was going to be 0 degrees C at night: we have a night heater, but just didnt want a first, miserable, wet weekend.

Yes 0degC perfectly ok with roof topper and 3 seasons sleeping bag. we use night heater if no electric hookup, otherwise cuboid heater.
We find the upstairs bed more comfortable than downstairs, plus it doesn't mean that you need to clear everything away at night.

 

[Mart123blue]

We have just come back from Cheshire where the weather was brisk. We leave the heater on 3 overnight and don't bother retracting awning or repositioning the van to the wind unless a storm is forecast.

Weather this weekend had gusts of 25 mph and we had no issues at all. However roof was naturally aligned with wind towards thin end of the wedge. Awning was left out but simply pegged.

First thing we did was fit seat covers and mats etc, complete pain but well worth it now.

 

[tuono001]

Tip for the seat location when making your bed is a small piece of duck tape on the floor when setup. Never need to mess around back and forth to get the right position.
Seat covers are a must with kids, saves the seats from mucky shoes to spillages.
The awning sides panels from the shop are a very useful addition, especially if you are doing one night stops, somewhere to put car seats cooking gear, shoes and tat out the van. Drive away awning for longer stays.

 

[Melanie Day]

We take head rest off our beach bench for laying into bed (one has car seat so we don't take that one, probably wont take any to France as want to be as lean as possible.

Then bench sometimes takes a little pull back further as if you try to lay flat in what seems the natural position you are just marginally too close to the board at the back and bench seatbelt bits don't fit in.

We crank up the heating close to bedtime as my boy sleeps in the roof and I notice when I pop my head up that it seems a few degrees colder than downstairs, I also give him a onsie over his PJs. We have the heating on and off through the night depending on how the temperature feels.

We have the brandrupt ISO Top liner inside the pop top roof which keeps it really dark and cuts down on any breeze or cool air passing through.

We aren't that tall but don't have any problems with the length of the bed, we have a mattress that came with our van (it folds back on its self and onto the board - we keep its fitted sheet on while folded)

We have the inca seat covers which serve their purpose, although we have to remove from back of the bench to fit with our isofox. Also we have mattress protectors for upstairs and downstairs.

We used the curtains provided, but found the front one a bit of a pain and not really that good at blocking the light - we have just purchased from the club shop an external windscreen cover (Comfortz VW T4 / T5 / T6 Customised Coloured Thermal windscreen cover)

We bought a Kaham Motordome drive away awning and also a Comfortz "Camping Room" so we can choose which one is best for each trip.

We are still finding our feet too, planning 2 weeks trip to France next month so excited for that.

 

[CaliJoe]

Hello Joe,
First of all, what type of Beach do you have? Seven seater or five seater, with three seater bench seat or four seater with the storage box? Do you have the diesel parking heater?

1. If you have a version with the three seater rear bench you have to remove the head rests when you make up the bed. I don't have the four seat version so I'm not sure what you have to do there. It's basically the same seat unit as in the Ocean which has a fold away head rest arrangement. However I'm not sure if that element is the same in the Beach version.

2. If you have the diesel parking heater you can have it on all night. Just keep extending the run time on the over head display until you reach the infinity symbol. Then press set.
It doesn't use much fuel and will keep you toasty warm all night. However there are several things to note. It won't run continuosly if the leisure battery is low or the fuel level is low or the ambient temperature is above the temperature level set.
Don't forget to crack a window for ventilation.

3. You can make the bed a little longer by creating a small gap between the folded down seat back and multiflex board. Also you can gain extra length by setting the multiflex board a little further away from the rear door. These small gaps won't make any difference to the comfort and I doubt if you would notice them.

4. IMO the VW Comfort sleeping mat is quite hard and unforgiving for many peoples tastes. So it's as well to get yourself something else to top it off. You could try one or more of the following: self inflating mattress, ZoneSleep topper or something similar and/or a duvet etc. Only you will know when you've found the right formula.

5. I cannot recommend highly enough the fitment of a roof liner. We have a Brandrup Isotop fitted. It keeps the roof bed warmer, darker, completely dry and draught free. They are expensive but well worth the outlay. You won't be cold or uncomfortable up there with one fitted. I've had one in both of the vans I've owned and I wouldn't be without one. They are easy to fit and once fitted you can just forget about it. Just pop the roof and it's there keeping you warm.

6. The windscreen can be a little tricky to block off. What are you using? The internal curtains supplied with the van are the easiest IMO. They can be put in place very quickly without getting out and give a good degree of privacy. We also sometimes use an external thermal windscreen cover which also covers the front door windows. These are great and do a good job. They are easy to fit but do need drying off if it's rained in the night. The third choice is thermal internal window covers. Again they can be fitted without getting out and also do a good job. We have a set of Brandrup ones. The latter two options block out the light very well whereas the curtains less so.

7. If the weather isn't too windy then leaving the roof up is fine. Any chance of high winds and it's best to park the rear of the van into wind. Any chance of very high winds then IMO it's best to bring it down altogether. The awning is a different matter. Never extend it without at least nailing it to the ground. The slightest gust can lift it off the ground and can cause a lot of damage to both awning and van. To prevent this always use a tie down kit. The shop sells them. My advice is, if you intend to go off somewhere always wind in the awning first. If you leave it out at night then drop one leg so one corner is lower than the other. If it rains it will fill up with gallons of water. Trust me, I was that soldier!

Thanks for all the tips (we're a 3 seater beach). I'll check out the diesel parking heater, and look into the brandrup liner.

 

[CaliJoe]

Thanks everyone for sharing their thoughts and comments. I think we're going to get the Ikea King memory foam mattress topper, it seems that's popular, and not too expensive. I'm going to give the bed set up a few dry runs this week, in advance of the weekend!

 

[CaliJoe]

Having spent a year touring Europe in our bend new Beach June 2017 to June 2018, and during that year sleeping ~300 nights in the van with two boys (2 & 3 later 3 & 4) and two collies (later one collie), we can be considered experts on anything Beach related.

The Bed
The California manual is useless for the many Beach features - including the bed. For that you need the Multivan manual.

The Beach bed is ultra flexible. Cot, short bed, medium bed, long bed and ultra long bed.
- for the cot, use the multiflex alone
- for the short bed, use the short multiflex and the lowered bench
- for the medium bed, use the full multiflex and the lowered bench
- for the long bed, use the short multiflex, the lowered bench and the two additional seats
- for the ultra long bed, use the full multiflex, the lowered bench and the two additional seats

None of these are suitable for our needs so we have devised our own.
View attachment 44472

Mattress is close to essential.

Heating
Assuming you have the diesel parking heater, this can be run all night so long at you have 1/4 tank of diesel or more. It uses a tiny amount of diesel, and in all but the coldest nights setting #1 is sufficient.

Front Curtain/windscreen cover
Fit either ends to the lowered sun visors first (needs to be the right way round) before attaching to the rear view mirror. The weighted bottom can be tucked into the bottom of the windscreen.

Leaving the van
If on a campsite, it's fine to leave the awning out and roof up. Pack all away if wild camping. If parking in a town or city with lots of gear, park, release the handbrake and swivel front seat, apply handbrake and lock and deadlock the doors.

Seat Covers
@Jackyards . Over £1000 for a full set for seven seats but worth it. They have not been airbag tested, but as they rely on open flaps rather than weak stitching this seems unnecessary.

I like the across formation! We could get all 3 down there for a while with that set up!!!!

 

[Amarillo]

Thanks everyone for sharing their thoughts and comments. I think we're going to get the Ikea King memory foam mattress topper, it seems that's popular, and not too expensive. I'm going to give the bed set up a few dry runs this week, in advance of the weekend!

I think that's right, just play about with the various configurations.

Do you have a 4 seat, 5 seat or 5+2 seat Beach?
Difference here:

Good video here of the 5 seat and 5+2 seat bed:

It shows the long bed first with the shortened multiflex and then the medium bed with the full multiflex. What is not explicit in the video is the shortened and full multiflex.

If you make the ultra long bed, you will need to move the driver and passenger chairs fully forward.

 

[CaliJoe]

Do you have a 4 seat, 5 seat or 5+2 seat Beach?

I think that's right, just play about with the various configurations.

Good video here:

We're a 5 seater, planning on getting a couple of extra seats in due course. Thanks for sharing that video I'll have a look.

 

[Amarillo]

I like the across formation! We could get all 3 down there for a while with that set up!!!!

Here's the thread where I planned, designed and made the extension to the multiflex giving a 1.50 x 1.00 metre fixed bed.

 

[Amarillo]

Here's the thread where I planned, designed and made the extension to the multiflex giving a 1.50 x 1.00 metre fixed bed.

Doh! Forgot to post the link...

Underbed storage area

I'm planning better use of the underbed storage area in our 3 seat bench Beach boot, in particular the space between the rear of the bench and the multiflex. Here is a cross section of the crates I intend to make for that space. The two large crates and the gas box can remain in place with the...

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