Hi we have owned our California Ocean (2016) for two years now and are still finding out new things about it. We struggle with navigating the manuals

[Neil&SueNZers]

N

 

[66tim99]

And writing posts perhaps?!
No worries. Welcome here! Great choice of camper van. A couple with taste, in such a fabulous country too.
It’s a peculiar affliction, that I share, to want to know everything. But it’s a complicated van and some of it (like fridge or heater levels, or whether you can rely on the Sat nav etc etc) is a personal preference that you have to learn yourself.
I have skimmed the manual, and keep it in the van for emergencies and for picking a subject when I’m particularly bored (happened once so far), so perhaps put it away and learn as you go.
I prefer to read this forum and learn real life lessons from others. You’ll find many generous people here eager to help almost instantly so don’t be shy just ask. BUT the Search magnifying glass (top right) is your friend. Type in a subject, even a question, and you’ll almost certainly find the answer yourself - someone will have had the same thought before you. I haven’t worked out how to order those answers into date order yet, but just watch…some kind soul will be along in a minute to tell me how.
I’m afraid the payment for this advice is photographs of your trusty steed. Doesn’t have to be in glamorous far flung forest/beach locations but it would help. Click the little rectangle with a mountain next to the chain icon (that lets you embed links to websites or other posts) and it’ll take you to your photo library. Do that now! In return here’s on of my better half on delivery day (others have seen it but it’s the only one on my phone atm)
Look forward to hearing tempting stories of how you use your Ocean on the other side of the planet…

Cheers!

 

[Jay586]

I have adhd, so the manual is even worse for me, makes no sense. I need to read everything 3x then miss bits anyway. I get the able assistant to read it if totally necessary but I mainly use forums, searches & YouTube.

 

[The Tall Luthier]

The manual is focused on the How of things not the What or the Why.
Eg it will tell you How to activate camper mode, with lighting options, but it won’t tell you Why you should or What effect it will have.

 

[Alan Andrews]

In my experience, many parts of the manual do not apply and are not correct for the year of our vehicle. As has been said, I find that this forum and others on the internet provide a far more reliable description of functionality etc.