Hi there

Mriddell · Dec 1, 2015

Hello

I have just bought a T5 Beach ....something I've been meaning to do for a while. It's great fun already and I'm really looking forward to getting away in it.

This forum has been a great source of advice in and around making the decision, so thank you.

Best wishes

Matthew

larrylamb · Dec 1, 2015

Hi and welcome Matthew, can't believe you've had no replies. Yes great forum and great choice of camper. Enjoy :thumb

Swissian · Dec 1, 2015

Hi and welcome from Switzerland. Get out and enjoy!

Hotel California · Dec 2, 2015

And offcoarse a warm welcome from Belgium.
Pictures....!

daveyboydanger · Dec 2, 2015

Welcome! I'm awaiting my beach. As hotel said, pictures please!

Mriddell · Dec 2, 2015

Thanks for your replies! Much appreciated. I really like the Beach and agonised a bit over it vs. the SE, like many others I'm sure......but after a couple of weekends know it was the right choice for me which is a relief! I need the extra seats and space. Would have absolutely loved a T6 but couldn't get it through the family finance committee...I'm sure it will be very much worth the wait! Attached a few pics....sorry about the mud! And hope the van sees both Switzerland and Belgium in the next few years. Best wishes Matthew

daveyboydanger · Dec 2, 2015

Looks great! Where is the black bike rack from???

Mriddell · Dec 2, 2015

Thank you! The black bike rack....I went to Dirty Weekenders in Worcester to enquire about a Webasto night heater system after reading a thread on here....and saw them there....it was impossible to resist. I had the VW bike rack already from an older Caravelle I once owned and it was a bit tired so Dirty Weekenders refurbished and powder coated it for me....and I love it! Their service was first class.

Hotel California · Dec 2, 2015

Black & blue , looks very nice!

Mriddell · Dec 2, 2015

Thank you very much! I just need a set of black alloy wheels now, but it may be 2017 before I broach that subject at home! I plan to play the long game and try and wear this set out first before suggesting winter and summer wheel sets.....it will give me time to save up anyway! A black VW badge may be within reach and come a bit sooner though

Borris · Dec 5, 2015

Mriddell said:
Hello

I have just bought a T5 Beach ....something I've been meaning to do for a while. It's great fun already and I'm really looking forward to getting away in it.

This forum has been a great source of advice in and around making the decision, so thank you.

Best wishes

Matthew

Welcome Matthew,
They are lovely vehicles but you already know that. So far I have only discovered one major problem, finding enough time to use it!
I agree with your comment about the forum being a great source of advice in and around making the decision.
Have fun.

Borris · Dec 5, 2015

I have just noticed your pictures. Very nice. I think you have made a wise choice and as far as I am concerned so did your family finance commitee. IMO you will find nothing in the T6 that improves on the T5 package to any great degree.

Mriddell · Dec 7, 2015

Thanks Borris! I think you've hit the nail on the head, time is absolutely the issue! Though this weekend coming up I have earmarked to go away so am watching the weather to try and pin down a spot by the sea that will be dryish. I have a few questions forming for the forums at the moment but I think I will have a weekend away in the van first to see if that answers or generates more!

And thanks for your comments about the choice. Seeing the T6 beach at the dealer when I went to pick up the T5 did make me think...but as a good value package for me I think I have everything that I need in the T5 to get what I want out of it....other than a bit more time as you say! The front of the T6 and the new dash did look very smart though! But I'd pretty much forgotten about that by the time I was driving home with the radio on thinking 'Yes!!!' (admittedly having promised myself a T6 Ocean in 6 or 7 years time when my eldest two have left home!)

MattBW · Dec 7, 2015

Welcome, a nice looking van indeed! Really like the bike rack and wish I had got the awning on mine when I bought it.

Mriddell · Dec 7, 2015

Thanks Matt! I appreciate that. I wondered about the awning but one of my friends with a motorhome advised that it was a good plan for extra cover for cooking and sitting outside, with limited space inside. I've yet to use it though so we'll see! I went for a pre-registered van so largely took it as I found it but I got most of my wish list which was the extra 2 seats, parking sensors, privacy glass, dsg, awning, cruise control and Bluetooth. I would have liked the auto dimming mirror/auto wipers and a multi function steering wheel but you can't have it all!! How are you enjoying your Beach?

MattBW · Dec 7, 2015

Loving my beach to be honest and we held off on the awning because a few people said they didn't use theirs at all. We figured we could always buy one later.

Mine was a demo van so came with lots of extras for a nice price but was missing awning and Bluetooth but had satnav, parking sensors, privacy glass extra Windows, cruise etc.

It's a great way to get around.

Mriddell · Dec 8, 2015

Thanks Matt. I'll keep you posted on the wear I get out of the awning in reality! Jealous of the satnav! Having had an integrated one in may last car. Have a Garmin now....just need some invisible cable!

Hotel California · Dec 9, 2015

You can buy plenty original radio/gps on the athermarket .
But i got a RNS510 (original VW)fitted on my 2012 SE demo and find it not worth the money.
I drive arround with a lose TomTom as extra.
If you do invest in a built in GPS go for something else...

Mriddell · Dec 9, 2015

That's good to know...I've always thought that factory fitted units were very expensive compared to aftermarket ones. The Garmin NU57 I have just bought is really good actually and I have one of those beanbag mounts that sits above the radio and with the wires up behind the head unit it looks alright. £100 well spent I think! and sadly completely necessary now that years of satnav use has rendered me incapable of finding anywhere without one!

WelshGas · Dec 9, 2015

No problem with the RNS510. If it is kept unto date it is a very good piece of kit . Have yet to be stuck in a traffic jam caused by roadworks or accidents , unless the accident just happened and then it is normally only until the next junction. Only been caught out once by a new motorway bypass and bridge in Sweden, but then it had only been open a few months.
It depends what you want and I certainly do not want one piece of kit for this, one for that etc: with wires trailing everywhere and then having to take it down everytime I park in case some scumbag takes a shine to it and decides on a little smash and grab.
Yes the Factory fitted unit is more expensive BUT it is fully integrated with the vehicle AND has a 3 year warranty as does the vehicle. Haven't come across an aftermarket unit with a 3 year warranty. Are there any?

Noeleen · Dec 9, 2015

Hello Mriddell and welcome from Ireland.
Another Matthew, seems a popular name on the forum.
Love the bike rack and AHA on number plate.

Have fun!

Noeleen

Mriddell · Dec 14, 2015

Thanks Noeleen! And for the feedback on the bike rack!.....and yes AHA.....it's either eighties pop band or Alan Partridge.....I can't decide. We had our first weekend away in the Beach just now in St Ives and it was great! Having slept in it for two nights with three others I definitely feel I've learned a bit for future trips! Overall fantastic fun. P.S for WelshGas, my satnav set up is definitely fairly ugly, but Argos did offer me a 2 year warranty extension on it for £26, which I declined

Best wishes Matthew