Hello from East Yorkshire

[MarkP]

Hi Everyone,
I'm a former caravanner, and presently a motorhome owner. I'm considering a 5 seat Cali to replace the family car and keep alongside the motorhome, my wife likes the additional space. We've got three small grandchildren and I anticipate taking them on days out with the fifth seat fitted, and then using the Cali with four seats when I go hiking with my wife, but using the motorhome for longer holidays, when hopefully friends or family can join us for a few days in the Cali.
I would love to hear from anyone else who uses their California in a similar way.
Mark

 

[two-saabs]

Hi Everyone,
I'm a former caravanner, and presently a motorhome owner. I'm considering a 5 seat Cali to replace the family car and keep alongside the motorhome, my wife likes the additional space. We've got three small grandchildren and I anticipate taking them on days out with the fifth seat fitted, and then using the Cali with four seats when I go hiking with my wife, but using the motorhome for longer holidays, when hopefully friends or family can join us for a few days in the Cali.
I would love to hear from anyone else who uses their California in a similar way.
Mark

Welcome Mark, some beautiful coastlines over your way.

Are you looking at the Beach? 5 seats all the time

 

[MarkP]

Thanks!
I'm thinking more likely the Ocean with the fifth seat option. That would give us the versatility of a camper for when it's just the two of us, and a family car when we have the little ones. Working at sea allows us to jump in the vehicle and take off at short notice, even mid week, so I think the Cali would be getting loads of use as a camper.

 

[two-saabs]

Thanks!
I'm thinking more likely the Ocean with the fifth seat option. That would give us the versatility of a camper for when it's just the two of us, and a family car when we have the little ones. Working at sea allows us to jump in the vehicle and take off at short notice, even mid week, so I think the Cali would be getting loads of use as a camper.

Ah ha, ok yes great, good thinking

 

[dave6779]

Hi Everyone,
I'm a former caravanner, and presently a motorhome owner. I'm considering a 5 seat Cali to replace the family car and keep alongside the motorhome, my wife likes the additional space. We've got three small grandchildren and I anticipate taking them on days out with the fifth seat fitted, and then using the Cali with four seats when I go hiking with my wife, but using the motorhome for longer holidays, when hopefully friends or family can join us for a few days in the Cali.
I would love to hear from anyone else who uses their California in a similar way.
Mark

We mostly use our Cali as a day van and it’s excellent. I’m considering getting a grand cali as a second to do the same as yourself for longer holidays. Love the Cali, it’s like a Swiss Army knife

 

[MarkP]

I'm just teetering on the edge of taking the plunge

 

[dave6779]

Thanks!
I'm thinking more likely the Ocean with the fifth seat option. That would give us the versatility of a camper for when it's just the two of us, and a family car when we have the little ones. Working at sea allows us to jump in the vehicle and take off at short notice, even mid week, so I think the Cali would be getting loads of use as a camper.

The only thing I would say, and it’s your call, we have the fifth seat in the ocean and have used it once. It’s very heavy to get in and out, I’m a big bloke (6’5”) and I struggle lifting it out regularly. I’m always worried my back will go. Something worth considering. Having the kitchen is immense though. Might be worth the compromise.

 

[dave6779]

I'm just teetering on the edge of taking the plunge

Hahaha I know that feeling all too well. We love ours, wouldn’t be without it honestly.

 

[MarkP]

The only thing I would say, and it’s your call, we have the fifth seat in the ocean and have used it once. It’s very heavy to get in and out, I’m a big bloke (6’5”) and I struggle lifting it out regularly. I’m always worried my back will go. Something worth considering. Having the kitchen is immense though. Might be worth the compromise.

Thanks Dave. An owner who I'm chatting to mentioned also it was heavy. That's definitely food for thought.

 

[dripster]

Thanks Dave. An owner who I'm chatting to mentioned also it was heavy. That's definitely food for thought.

They are flipping heavy (which is reassuring from a safety point of view of course!). We have a 3-seat bench Beach with two additional seats. We flip it between 7-seater for a kids bus to 5-seater with kitchen unit for longer camping trips. We leave the kitchen unit in and so have a five seat camper, but of course no fixed fridge or stove. Works well for us, but would depend on your balance of camping vs minibus use!

 

[MarkP]

Thanks for the photos. To be honest I suspect I'm not going to know what that balance will be until I'm already doing it. Do you have any difficulty securing three child seats on the bench seat?

 

[dave6779]

Thanks for the photos. To be honest I suspect I'm not going to know what that balance will be until I'm already doing it. Do you have any difficulty securing three child seats on the bench seat?

Agreed, you’ll only know once you have a go. What have you got your eye on a beach?

 

[MarkP]

I'm leaning towards an Ocean. Not a good idea in my line of work!

 

[dripster]

Thanks for the photos. To be honest I suspect I'm not going to know what that balance will be until I'm already doing it. Do you have any difficulty securing three child seats on the bench seat?

The three seat bench is pretty much as wide as you can get, we don't have a problem with three kid seats across. We've had five kids seats in there with the two extra in.

It was one of the criteria for this and our previous car, although we had to be careful what seats for the Tiguan and it was a bit of a squeeze in that.

 

[MarkP]

Thanks for the advice.

 

[NessL]

Thanks for the advice.

Multimac could be an option https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/3-kids-what-to-do.34904/page-5#post-531106

 

[MarkP]

Multimac could be an option https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/3-kids-what-to-do.34904/page-5#post-531106

Oh wow! Thanks for sharing that. It looks like a complete game changer. It means I could consider four seat vehicles, which are definitely more easily found.

 

[Karlos]