Is the GC a fail?

[Calimili]

I don’t think it’s the fixed bed that’s the issue. It’s the bathroom.
They’re all very small and take up a lot of living space. It’s something that’s used for a very small percentage of time when living in the van.

Currently looking at a Crafter self/bespoke build, without a bathroom.

yes. That's why it is so hard to "upgrade" from a California. No need for bathroom, a portapotti for emergency is fine. why two sinks? one is enough...

 

[Borris]

It's a Gran Cali Killer!
Totally agree with your analysis. That double sofa area is huge and you can spend hours if it needs be, without the claustrophobics sensation offered by 95% of all other RVs with the dinette squeezed between Bathroom and front seats, only to leave a huge unused bedroom at the back.
The only downside, it seem to lack a place for storage for outdoor chairs, levelling ramps, barbeque, that sort of stuff. Probably there must be some storage underneath at least one of the bed/sofa.
Love it actually.

And that's another problem with many of these vans. Not only have the designers managed to fit a lounge, kitchen, wc, shower and fixed bed area but some also have a so called "garage". This latter feature is of course useful but it comes at the expense of the fixed bed area which has often been raised up towards the ceiling in order to accomodate it. IMO, this trend of trying to compartmentalise a smallish van into something akin to a private dwelling often results in a van with an internal layout that is both awkward and chlostrophobic. And I am only talking about two berth vans. Some compound the issue by including more beds to sleep four or even six persons. Whereas the AS B appears to be a roomy two berth haven, these aforementioned designs look like something that's well worth avoided. If we want to take the grand kids away then we have the Cali with a Vango Airbeam awning.

As you say, the AS B doesn't have a vast storage for the stuff you have mentioned. However the external locker on the nearside along with the wet locker beneath should be enough providing you don't want to take the kitchen sink. The external locker gives access to the N/S under seat/single bed area which measures 1920 x 730 / 6'4" x 2'5". The O/S seat/single bed also has some storage beneath but isn't as generous due to various items of fixed equipment located there.

 

[Borris]

Very nice Borris, I love Autosleepers, British made (owned by Trigano now I think) and British layout with excellent build quality.

I would have gone for one but I am the opposite to you. The fixed bed, small dinette was my "must-have". I am often on my own and have plenty of room to stretch out when wanted and most of my lifestyle involves being out all day and coming home for somewhere to sit, work, cook and sleep all with the total minimum of fuss.

I do drool at AS though. Something very traditional about them with an excellent reputation and really went through hoops wondering if I could accomodate making the bed up each night.

Lovely!

I can certainly see how your needs would suit a fixed bed arrangement. What have you got at present?

Anyway, as far as the AS B is concerned, it may never happen but we are certainly working towards getting our mitts on one. What makes it an even more attractive proposition is that whilst I used to be a keen walker, the current state of my knees has put pay to all that, at least, until I have had replacements fitted. So going to a nice site and chilling out with a good read doesn't seem such a bad idea anymore.

 

[GrannyJen]

I can certainly see how your needs would suit a fixed bed arrangement. What have you got at present?

Anyway, as far as the AS B is concerned, it may never happen but we are certainly working towards getting our mitts on one. What makes it an even more attractive proposition is that whilst I used to be a very keen walker, the current state of my knees has put pay to all that, at least, until I have had replacements fitted. So going to a nice site and chilling out with a good read doesn't seem such a bad idea anymore.

I have a Hymer Ayers Rock. One of my hard boundaries was 5.4m max. Both my drive at home and the length of the vehicle with a tow ball bike rack on precluded anything longer so the GC was never a consideration. I really hoped that AS had an end bed in the fleet but, sadly, no.

I am delighted. over 200 nights now, and every night it is just a sheer delight to curl up in the most comfortable bed I could ever imagine in a camper. I also need the load space underneath it, which is huge, and when travelling, on top of the bed as well!!

I have never got over the feeling of being able to come "home" from a long physical day, put the kettle on, get stuff out of the fridge for dinner, get pans out of the drawer, plug in my remoska and my induction hob, pop into the loo and wash my hands, sit at my "desk", plug in my laptop and start writing and video editing, all without moving anything around or having to move anything out of the way to get to something else.

I'm sure that you will be delighted.



Jen

 

[Borris]

I have a Hymer Ayers Rock. One of my hard boundaries was 5.4m max. Both my drive at home and the length of the vehicle with a tow ball bike rack on precluded anything longer so the GC was never a consideration. I really hoped that AS had an end bed in the fleet but, sadly, no.

I am delighted. over 200 nights now, and every night it is just a sheer delight to curl up in the most comfortable bed I could ever imagine in a camper. I also need the load space underneath it, which is huge, and when travelling, on top of the bed as well!!

I have never got over the feeling of being able to come "home" from a long physical day, put the kettle on, get stuff out of the fridge for dinner, get pans out of the drawer, plug in my remoska and my induction hob, pop into the loo and wash my hands, sit at my "desk", plug in my laptop and start writing and video editing, all without moving anything around or having to move anything out of the way to get to something else.

I'm sure that you will be delighted.



Jen

I'm not familiar with the Ayres Rock but I have looked at some other Hymer products. They all seemed to me to be very high quality products. Like you, for me quality has always been the first thing I look for when buying anything. Affordability, is always a secondary consideration. If it's worth the price but I can't afford it then I'd rather go without than buy a less well made equivalent. Quality usually endures long after one has forgotten the cost. I hope your van gives you much pleasure.

I'm off to look up Hymer Ayres Rock reviews on Youtube.

Paul

 

[soulstyledevon]

yes. That's why it is so hard to "upgrade" from a California. No need for bathroom, a portapotti for emergency is fine. why two sinks? one is enough...

Agree
As @andyinluton has already stated, standing room and being able to cook at the large sliding door with access to the fridge from both inside and out is a real winner.
Having the garage is another major plus point and helps with organising stuff.

 

[andyinluton]

yes. That's why it is so hard to "upgrade" from a California. No need for bathroom, a portapotti for emergency is fine. why two sinks? one is enough...

A portapotti in the middle of the van is not regarded as adequate facilities by my teenage daughter.
The GC bathroom also gives privacy when getting changed without the hassle of having to put up a driveway awning.

Someone needs to put the back end of a 600 with the crossways bed into a 680 & use the extra 800mm to make a better lounge area with a rock & roll bed instead of the roof level one.

 

[Jimmylondon07]

I am probably not far off the target market for the GC600. Currently got an Ocean and two young kids, we're fine for now but as they grow and we start doing some longer trips abroad rather than weekends here I'm sure we'll look seriously at vans which are still semi-compact and under 3.5T but give us a bit more storage and greater opportunity for self-containment. That top bed just looks an absolutely bizarre configuration to me though, what ages is it suitable up until?

 

[kave]

I can certainly see how your needs would suit a fixed bed arrangement. What have you got at present?

Anyway, as far as the AS B is concerned, it may never happen but we are certainly working towards getting our mitts on one. What makes it an even more attractive proposition is that whilst I used to be a keen walker, the current state of my knees has put pay to all that, at least, until I have had replacements fitted. So going to a nice site and chilling out with a good read doesn't seem such a bad idea anymore.

We went in to getting a larger van to get more than our Cali Beach, ie larger and better beds and a kitchen sink and toilet while still sitting at least four. The Grand Canyon is close but too expensive for a totally uninsulated van.
Sorry to interfere, but I had almost given up on my knees until I started working out Kneesovertoesguy style. It is possible to recover your knees but it takes time. After 1 year of this training my knees (and shoulders) are bullit proof again.

 

[Jimmylondon07]

Would folks be more inclined to buy one if the Aussie model was available here?

https://www.volkswagen.com.au/en/models/crafter-kampervan.html

 

[andyinluton]

Would folks be more inclined to buy one if the Aussie model was available here?

https://www.volkswagen.com.au/en/models/crafter-kampervan.html

I think just using the front downstairs fold out bed from that instead of the roof one would make sense.

 

[Calimili]

A portapotti in the middle of the van is not regarded as adequate facilities by my teenage daughter.
The GC bathroom also gives privacy when getting changed without the hassle of having to put up a driveway awning.

Someone needs to put the back end of a 600 with the crossways bed into a 680 & use the extra 800mm to make a better lounge area with a rock & roll bed instead of the roof level one.

My daughter is 9, we travel just the two of us. I am afraid soon, like your daughter, she will not put up with the Portapotti, even if seldom used. She might not want to sleep upstairs with me either.
Puberty might become my Cali-killer.

I am already searching for a substitute, to buy at a seller market in a few years once Covid Camper decide they had enough of camping.

It will certainly not be a GC. Choosing a GC is like choosing a MP over a Cali. Looks Smart and cool, drive well, terrible camping design, inefficient layout, way worse than any competitors.

 

[oliver100]

Moved on from our t6.1 ocean a few months ago to a gc600, it’s not perfect but for us it was the only thing that remotely worked (I can’t drive a Ducato based van as the seats cripple me!). We have two kids now at 9 and 6 who both race bmx all over the country / world so we needed something small enough to still access all kinds of awkward fields / places. There just are not that many 6m vans that can sleep a small family without a pop top and as we often have to be up and on the move early in the morning with racing and I got fed up of having to try and dry the canvas off so we didn’t have to put it down wet,

Agree that the bathroom could be smaller, and we have ditched the stupid table for a smaller yes camper van one but other than that we are loving it. Storage space is awkward for a van of it’s size but we have figured it out now with boxes in the electrical cupboard and the main rear one now kitted out with perfectly fitting storage boxes. The two overheads lockers closest to the kitchen are now used for food and plates cups etc.

Fixed bed is amazing after spending 120 odd nights of over the last 3 years making up the rock and roll bed. And the overhead bed should do the kids for at least the next 3 years. The garage can swallow 2 bikes with space for two more on the rack. And the front room is big enough for us all to sit and eat if needs be but to be honest we would all rather be outside if the weather permits anyway as that the whole point of camping for us.

I agree with a previous poster that we would have seriously considered a GC without the toilet and an additional rock and roll bed for the kids downstairs but I don’t think we are VW’s target audience!

It was also much cheaper after discount with most options ticked than anything else on the market along with the usual warranty / service plans which will cover us for our ownership. We loved our ocean to bits and there is no denying the packaging was much more intelligent on that but then it needed to be as it’s about as small a place as 4 humans can exist!

 

[Jimmylondon07]

That's a great post, thanks. My kids are 1 and 3 at the moment so I don't think I'd need to be concerned about the upper bed from a longevity perspective but me and the mrs take one child each in our Ocean; she has the 1 year old downstairs and me and the 3 year old go in the poptop. They're not of an age yet where I'd be comfortable putting them in a bed together alone so that kinda rules out anyone with really young kids from buying one. I assume there is no clever aftermarket engineering solution which adds enough bedspace to fit 1 adult + 1 child?

 

[oliver100]

That's a great post, thanks. My kids are 1 and 3 at the moment so I don't think I'd need to be concerned about the upper bed from a longevity perspective but me and the mrs take one child each in our Ocean; she has the 1 year old downstairs and me and the 3 year old go in the poptop. They're not of an age yet where I'd be comfortable putting them in a bed together alone so that kinda rules out anyone with really young kids from buying one. I assume there is no clever aftermarket engineering solution which adds enough bedspace to fit 1 adult + 1 child?

I’m 5ft10 and could sleep on the long side of the upstairs bed (just!) with one of them if needs be, but luckily ours are old enough now that we would just leave the 9yo upstairs and bring the little un down into our bed if required as it’s easily big enough for 3 of us in the a GC

 

[oliver100]

We could probably get all 4 of us in at a squeeze and the cupboards provide the perfect iPad stand in the morning so you can have some form of lie in!

 

[Borris]

We went in to getting a larger van to get more than our Cali Beach, ie larger and better beds and a kitchen sink and toilet while still sitting at least four. The Grand Canyon is close but too expensive for a totally uninsulated van.
Sorry to interfere, but I had almost given up on my knees until I started working out Kneesovertoesguy style. It is possible to recover your knees but it takes time. After 1 year of this training my knees (and shoulders) are bullit proof again.

I'd like to think that was possible. However, both knees are now pretty much bone to bone so short of a knee replacement, I can't see them improving. After four cancelled knee ops this year I am resigned to a less ambulent life until I have the worst one, which is apt to give way without warning, done. Still, since there are 120 million plus knees in the UK, all in various states of degradation, I am sure I'm not alone.

 

[Jimmylondon07]

I’m 5ft10 and could sleep on the long side of the upstairs bed (just!) with one of them if needs be, but luckily ours are old enough now that we would just leave the 9yo upstairs and bring the little un down into our bed if required as it’s easily big enough for 3 of us in the a GC

I'm 6ft1 so sounds like it could be a job for the mrs at 5ft7 You're right though, the 1 year old could probably come in with us until he's big enough to go up with the 3 year old.

 

[soulstyledevon]

You can’t escape the fact.
For a family of 4 to be comfortable, you need a Poptop.
Poptop on a bigger van is far better than a Cali Pop.

 

[andyinluton]

You can’t escape the fact.
For a family of 4 to be comfortable, you need a Poptop.
Poptop on a bigger van is far better than a Cali Pop.

Or an 6m Motorhome with either an overcab or dropdown bed.

This looks pretty good use of space, 2 large beds, decent bathroom, comfortable lounging etc & £78k so similar price point.

 

[Calimili]

You can’t escape the fact.
For a family of 4 to be comfortable, you need a Poptop.
Poptop on a bigger van is far better than a Cali Pop.

When I shut the (Cali) Poptop, i need first a walkaround climbing on wheels etc, to clear leaves and other dirt from the recess where the pop-roof sould be lowered into, and from the mechanism. How do you do that in a taller van?

 

[oliver100]

Or an 6m Motorhome with either an overcab or dropdown bed.

This looks pretty good use of space, 2 large beds, decent bathroom, comfortable lounging etc & £78k so similar price point. View attachment 114744View attachment 114745

Not for us, the 4 of us are perfectly comfortable in the GC600 but it’s each to their own I guess. For example I can’t store bikes in that so would rule it out straight away

 

[Jimmylondon07]

Or an 6m Motorhome with either an overcab or dropdown bed.

This looks pretty good use of space, 2 large beds, decent bathroom, comfortable lounging etc & £78k so similar price point. View attachment 114744View attachment 114745

That looks pretty good actually, think I must be blind though as I can't seem to find the 2 additional belted seats? We carry two childseats that connect via ISOFIX and it always seems to be a struggle to find ISOFIX points on these sorts of motorhomes. Not sure why when they're marketed to small families.

 

[andyinluton]

That looks pretty good actually, think I must be blind though as I can't seem to find the 2 additional belted seats? We carry two childseats that connect via ISOFIX and it always seems to be a struggle to find ISOFIX points on these sorts of motorhomes. Not sure why when they're marketed to small families.

The seat in front of the sink has seatbelts, a section of the lengthwise sofa removes to give leg room you can make it out in the photo below. I very much doubt it will be isofix.

For me this has got to be the major difference between getting a cali or GC compared to almost every other camper / motorhome / conversion. I have a certain amount of confidence that the rear seats are going to be fixed properly, not just a few bits of steel welded in a shed & fixed to a ply floor with a couple of wood screws.

It's not just the seats I would worry about its the security of all the other fittings & furniture inside the van.

Having just read the price list - on this van isofix is an extra £87

 

[chockswahay]

But no one has mentioned just how BL@@DY UGLY the 600 is ………. (Jus sayin )