Eber123
Top Poster
Lifetime VIP Member
Hello,
On the 07/07/2021 we collected our Grand California 600 and run into one problem after the other. It was so bad that we were one step away to give the GC back to VW (about this saga I put up some posts).
But we liked the Grand California and even with so many problems there were a few advantages. So the VW dealer and we continued to "battle on".
Saturday we came back from a trip to Germany (leaving Ireland 21/10) spend 7x nights in the camper and drove 2,755 km. During one night we had -1 and the other just +1 degree.
Long story short - everything went well. All the work the VW dealer (and a few Volkswagen specialists) spent working on our camper paid finally off.
This week Friday the VW dealer would like to upgrade the Camper Control Unit to the latest software version (from last Friday). If that works well for a few weeks, we install the car alarm again. Also I will get new tyres (Michelin Agilis CrossClimate, courtesy from VW Ireland).
For the moment it looks good and we are happy (we should have been at this point on the 07/07/2021 when we collected the camper). Now I have a few questions and items that I am curious which I hope some people from the forum can help me with. I haven't looked into this earlier because we were busy with the repairs.
So here it goes:
Kitchen tap / pump
I will replace the VW tap and pump. I believe they contribute to the issues we still have with the water flow in the camper. I am looking for a tap that has a mounting hole of 27mm, max height of 40mm, waterproof switch. The pump should be a wee bit more powerful than the old one. The original pump has 19 l max throughput I would like to get one with at 21 l or 22 l. I don't believe that this little bit more on pressure will cause problems to the pipes but will increase the water pressure a wee bit.
If somebody have changed the tap and the pump could you let me know what you have used please?
Camper battery
This is a small mystery to me. Here is what I believe to have understood:
Wetroom sink
During our small journey it turned out that my wife does not like the sink in the bathroom (but I do). So you guest it right, it had to go. Now I have another spare part in the garage.
Nevertheless have you ever seen an option of the VW bathroom sink in half the size? If you have please let me know.
Propane gas
During the short trip we used the warm water boiler twice a day and the heating twice for a few hours (on the timer) and for boiling water (we didn't cook). I believe that this little use already used up a bit more than 30% of the propane gas in one cylinder. I thought that was a bit much. What is your experience of the usage?
LED lights
The VW dealer mentioned that the lights will adjust themselves when driving on the right side. I don't know how that could happen. We drove a lot during the dark on small country roads and nobody flashed their lights at us. So it seems it was ok. Do you know a bit more about the LED light settings?
Spare wheel holder
I toying with the idea to get a spare wheel holder for the left back door. Has somebody already installed such a holder and how did it worked out?
Storage
I don't believe that there is a lot of storage available in the GC 600. There are only the 2x small drawers and one cupboard above the kitchen.
I suggested to my wife that we store food and other items we need on the daily biases on the top of the top bed and bigger items in the back (not to much because it will be in the way to get at the cupboards).
How have you organized the storage in the GC 600?
DVB-T aerial
My wife would like to get a small TV into the camper, but without a good aerial it doesn't make sense. Have you installed one and how did you do it? I try to find a company who can do this for me (I am not that good in DiY). Also why they are working on this there needs to be a 12 V connector beside the aerial connector for the TV. If you know a company in the greater Dublin area who can advice me and install this, please let me know.
We lost a lot of time during the summer, so I hope we will catch up a wee bit before Christmas.
Happy Grand California,
Eberhard
On the 07/07/2021 we collected our Grand California 600 and run into one problem after the other. It was so bad that we were one step away to give the GC back to VW (about this saga I put up some posts).
But we liked the Grand California and even with so many problems there were a few advantages. So the VW dealer and we continued to "battle on".
Saturday we came back from a trip to Germany (leaving Ireland 21/10) spend 7x nights in the camper and drove 2,755 km. During one night we had -1 and the other just +1 degree.
Long story short - everything went well. All the work the VW dealer (and a few Volkswagen specialists) spent working on our camper paid finally off.
This week Friday the VW dealer would like to upgrade the Camper Control Unit to the latest software version (from last Friday). If that works well for a few weeks, we install the car alarm again. Also I will get new tyres (Michelin Agilis CrossClimate, courtesy from VW Ireland).
For the moment it looks good and we are happy (we should have been at this point on the 07/07/2021 when we collected the camper). Now I have a few questions and items that I am curious which I hope some people from the forum can help me with. I haven't looked into this earlier because we were busy with the repairs.
So here it goes:
Kitchen tap / pump
I will replace the VW tap and pump. I believe they contribute to the issues we still have with the water flow in the camper. I am looking for a tap that has a mounting hole of 27mm, max height of 40mm, waterproof switch. The pump should be a wee bit more powerful than the old one. The original pump has 19 l max throughput I would like to get one with at 21 l or 22 l. I don't believe that this little bit more on pressure will cause problems to the pipes but will increase the water pressure a wee bit.
If somebody have changed the tap and the pump could you let me know what you have used please?
Camper battery
This is a small mystery to me. Here is what I believe to have understood:
- The alternator charges the car battery and the camper battery
- If the car battery is full the camper battery will be charges to a max of 80% by the alternator
- Solar panel will charge the camper battery up to 100% (even when driving?)
- If the camper is connected to power the camper battery will be charged to 100%
- The button on the dashboard will "force" the alternator to charge the camper battery up to 100%
Wetroom sink
During our small journey it turned out that my wife does not like the sink in the bathroom (but I do). So you guest it right, it had to go. Now I have another spare part in the garage.
Nevertheless have you ever seen an option of the VW bathroom sink in half the size? If you have please let me know.
Propane gas
During the short trip we used the warm water boiler twice a day and the heating twice for a few hours (on the timer) and for boiling water (we didn't cook). I believe that this little use already used up a bit more than 30% of the propane gas in one cylinder. I thought that was a bit much. What is your experience of the usage?
LED lights
The VW dealer mentioned that the lights will adjust themselves when driving on the right side. I don't know how that could happen. We drove a lot during the dark on small country roads and nobody flashed their lights at us. So it seems it was ok. Do you know a bit more about the LED light settings?
Spare wheel holder
I toying with the idea to get a spare wheel holder for the left back door. Has somebody already installed such a holder and how did it worked out?
Storage
I don't believe that there is a lot of storage available in the GC 600. There are only the 2x small drawers and one cupboard above the kitchen.
I suggested to my wife that we store food and other items we need on the daily biases on the top of the top bed and bigger items in the back (not to much because it will be in the way to get at the cupboards).
How have you organized the storage in the GC 600?
DVB-T aerial
My wife would like to get a small TV into the camper, but without a good aerial it doesn't make sense. Have you installed one and how did you do it? I try to find a company who can do this for me (I am not that good in DiY). Also why they are working on this there needs to be a 12 V connector beside the aerial connector for the TV. If you know a company in the greater Dublin area who can advice me and install this, please let me know.
We lost a lot of time during the summer, so I hope we will catch up a wee bit before Christmas.
Happy Grand California,
Eberhard