Looking to purchase.

[Digger]

Thanks to you all for your informative and helpful replies. Much appreciated for sure.
It’s a really great forum from which the uninitiated (me for one) can become reasonably knowledgable in a short time in the many confusing types and options available with the VW California.

The first thought I have is ‘ Ocean or Beach, Beach or Ocean’.
What brought me to this thought is having read the ‘for sale’ section and noticing that some of the Ocean adverts stating the cooker has not been used.
So I am thinking, why pay for something you’re not using?
Looking forward to your replies that may help me in this thought process.

ChrisL.

Some that are sold on without use of cooker may have been bought prematurely or they didn't like the lifestyle. If bought as a campervan then use it. Seems daft to buy a campervan when people carriers can be bought for much less and the money spent on hotels.

 

[andyinluton]

I'm not 100% up to speed on current spec of a beach, but previously if you added on all the bits that I would want - heated seats, parking heater, opening back windows etc etc it came an awful lot closer to the cost of an ocean - that small difference would be more than recovered come resale time.

Look at it the other way round - if theres only 4 of you what are you going to put in the space that the cooker takes up? are you still going to buy a fridge, how are you going to carry water etc Where are you going to store them when the van is not used as a camper?

Do you want a people carrier that also works as a camper, or do you want a camper that doubles up as people carrier?

 

[B J G]

Thanks to you all for your informative and helpful replies. Much appreciated for sure.
It’s a really great forum from which the uninitiated (me for one) can become reasonably knowledgable in a short time in the many confusing types and options available with the VW California.

The first thought I have is ‘ Ocean or Beach, Beach or Ocean’.
What brought me to this thought is having read the ‘for sale’ section and noticing that some of the Ocean adverts stating the cooker has not been used.
So I am thinking, why pay for something you’re not using?
Looking forward to your replies that may help me in this thought process.

ChrisL.

Went through the same decision making process and chose the Ocean for the following reasons

Has a built in cooker, sink and storage cupboard enabling everything being there for a spontaneous getaway.

Built in fridge that runs on battery that can be used for frozen shopping in summer plus cold drinks salads etc if just going for a day out. It stays on when parked unlike portable cool box that goes off when engine ignition turned off.

Wardrobe to hang clothes rather than left to slide about.

Water tanks not an issue as I prefer fresh or bottled water.

Independent heater that can be used overnight or to warm up after a ramble without running the engine.

Didn't need the extra seating of a Beach. l personally didn't regard the Beach as a true campervan as only sleeping facility offered over a people carrier.

That's my view and nothing more or less.

 

[Borris]

Some that are sold on without use of cooker may have been bought prematurely or they didn't like the lifestyle. If bought as a campervan then use it. Seems daft to buy a campervan when people carriers can be bought for much less and the money spent on hotels.

Maybe or perhaps like me, they just prefer to cook outside when ever possible. After all isn't that the lifestyle we all hanker after? The fitted cooker is very handy but its use isn't obligatory.

If all you wanted was a people carrier then I would agree. However, since the four seat SE/Ocean can't in any way be described as a true people carrier, the Beach would be your only choice. If you were to buy a Beach, you would not only have a seven seat people carrier (if you choose that version), you would also have a perfect camper van that will sleep four adults in comfort. The down stairs double bed is massive as it isn't compromised by the sink, kitchen, fridge and cupboard facilities. The Beach also converts into a massive load lugger for other jobs. Just like the SE/Ocean you can still cook inside a Beach on a portable stove and also have a fully removable and portable fridge/freezer. As for the sink you can either do the washing up on site or take it home. It is also less complicated than the SE/Ocean. It is a truly versatile vehicle.

Having owned both versions, I can say that I really enjoyed them both and in the end it comes down purely to personal choice which one suits your needs.

 

[CALI FATE]

Maybe or perhaps like me, they just prefer to cook outside when ever possible. After all isn't that the lifestyle we all hanker after? The fitted cooker is very handy but its use isn't obligatory.

If all you wanted was a people carrier then I would agree. However, since the four seat SE/Ocean can't in any way be described as a true people carrier, the Beach would be your only choice. If you were to buy a Beach, you would not only have a seven seat people carrier (if you choose that version), you would also have a perfect camper van that will sleep four adults in comfort. The down stairs double bed is massive as it isn't compromised by the sink, kitchen, fridge and cupboard facilities. The Beach also converts into a massive load lugger for other jobs. Just like the SE/Ocean you can still cook inside a Beach on a portable stove and also have a fully removable and portable fridge/freezer. As for the sink you can either do the washing up on site or take it home. It is also less complicated than the SE/Ocean. It is a truly versatile vehicle.

Having owned both versions, I can say that I really enjoyed them both and in the end it comes down purely to personal choice which one suits your needs.

I think you summed it up well there Boris - all i would add is that the Beach allows you to be quite innovative when it comes to transforming it for holidays / camping / cycling / canoeing / family / taxi / wedding duties, and you will see from this forum, there are a million ways to adapt the storage for your exact needs - we have a Waeco fridge that fits on / under the MFB or in the passenger space - we have a range of cooking options depending on the plan, but keep a cassette camping gas cooker under the big seat - and of course you can order it in Grape Yellow - respect the beach

 

[RedCali]

We HATE shopping and choosing stuff so the SE/ Ocean suits us because everything we need is already there and we don't have to think about cookers, fridges , storage etc. If you already have a lot of camping stuff , and are happy to reuse it a beach ( with a heater) would be cheaper and perhaps more flexible for load carrying etc.
I would also add that, although most people on here do so, it isn't necessary to have a bigger engine, lots of sat navvy stuff, lots of extras blah blah in order to have a fab camper and great trips. We genuinely aren't interested in lots of possessions or extras and are very happy indeed with our simple van.

 

[Carolinegallen]

We have the "app conect" and just plug it into our phone and use Google maps. It' comes up on the van's screen. I love it.

 

[Peewee]

Hi all

My first ever post on here having had a new Beach since June.
The BMW sat nav statement is quite bold but I have to agree. In my experience it’s a different world to the Volkswagen offering.
The upshot is that if I had my choices again I would omit the VW sat nav for certain. I find it so frustrating that when driving the camper I use the free software on my phone instead. I think it’s a lot of money for something so unintuitive and feature poor.

 

[BikerGran]

Bought my 07 SE Tiptronic a year ago last May. It had quite a few factory 'add-ons', it seems most do. I was moving on from camping with a tent on a motorcycle trike because of anno domini and arthritis making it too much like hard work. One of the great things about moving to a campervan is that there seems to be HUGE amounts of space because of all the things you don't need to take - tent, cooker, chairs, tables, campbed, coolbox, washing up bowl etc etc.

You can put everything you need in there so that you can take off on a whim, or make coffee/lunch/drink wine wherever you happen to be even if it's only a day out. I'm talking about the full-on campervan of course with all the storage and the stuff that the Beach doesn't have. Only you can decide which best suits your needs but for me there would be no point in having the Beach when the SE/Ocean does it all!

It's my daily driver too and I have no problem using it to cart all sorts of stuff around, not only the shopping. I LOVE the way it drives! I have to have an automatic anyway but it's the best auto I've had and there's always the Tiptronic bit if I feel the need to change gear - it hasn't happened yet.
I wasn't looking for a Cali, I wanted high top and long wheelbase but as soon as I saw the Cali I knew it was for me, it seemed to do everything better than any of the conversions I'd seen. Needing an auto narrowed the field for me but anyway I would say when you find one that you think fits your needs, don't hesitate, buy it! Cos someone else will - I missed out on several that looked like good buys because of hesitating.

But if you find one on an ad on Gumtree or Auto Trader etc, DO NOT pay a deposit before seeing it - it may not exist! (even if it's a dealer's ad - I found two like that). And don't arrange to travel a long way to see one unless you can get someone local to have a look first - it may not be as advertised even if it is real. This forum can be useful for that as there is probably a member willing to go and take a look - they won't be able to give advice but can at least verify that it's as advertised and worth your travel to take a look.

Oh and I don't use the built-in satnav in my 10 year old Cali as it's out of date and needs a £200 disc to update it! So I bought a cheap Garmin and plug it in, it's fine.

 

[EnricoWindsurf]

We have the "app conect" and just plug it into our phone and use Google maps. It' comes up on the van's screen. I love it.

Hi, I also have App Connect, but it seems that it works with Apple's "Maps" and not with "Google Maps" (for royalties issues I guess). Isn't it?

 

[CampervanTime]

Hi, I also have App Connect, but it seems that it works with Apple's "Maps" and not with "Google Maps" (for royalties issues I guess). Isn't it?

It's actually Apple not approving Google Maps for use with CarPlay, rather than Google not wanting to do it. If you have an android phone you now have a choice of apps as both Google Maps and Waze work with Android Auto.

I was really torn between the CarPlay/Apple Maps and AndroidAuto/Google Maps.

I really like the Apple Maps interface in the car. I think it is clearer and less cluttered but I MUCH prefer Google Maps for points of interest, traffic information and also voice input of addresses, places etc.

As an example, Apple Maps point blank refuses to navigate to a postcode by voice. Known issue and has been for ages but Apple seem to refuse to sort it. Google maps, just open it up and say 'take me to XX11 XXX' and off it goes. Same with natural language point of interest / google search (ie 'take me to sainsbury's' it just does it. Apple Maps doesn't find anything).

 

[shudycamps]

Hi to you all.

Some background: We are both recently retired and relatively fit oldies, living in the southeast.
In our youth, we would go on camping holidays around the UK, mainly Cornwall. The enjoyment was simply packing up the car, driving off, finding a site, pitching the tent and starting the holiday. The beauty of camping (certainly in those days) was the freedom to move sites as and when you felt the need.
So now without the restriction of work, we are looking at enjoying those times once again. The freedom to just decide “the weather looks good dear, let’s pack up and go touring”.
Rather than tenting this time, we have decided to get a camper van (likely a second hand one) to make it easier to do the “get up and go”, but what to choose is very confusing, eg, engine size, drive system, age, mileage, model (T?), price, etc. A difficult process all of you have no doubt been through.
The timescale for us is to get a van for a 2018 spring getaway, giving time to make those confusing choices.
That’s the introduction over, and I’ll certainly be back asking all the usual newbie questions and looking forward to all your replies.

ChrisL

Welsh Gas covered the bases extremely well. We have a 2015 T5.1 California SE 180 manual and Campi is part of the family now and cherished. Our travels with Campi are highly anticipated and thoroughly enjoyed and in our mid 60s + , we can still get into the bed up top! I would only consider exchanging Campi for the much anticipated California XXL !!!