Misery Loves Company? (Grand California Problems and VW Support)

[therandman]

I posted this elsewhere but I'm thinking it might warrant its own thread...

My "Spanish" GC 600 is plagued with camping-related issues (the Crafter itself is brilliant) and in Spain it seems all but useless to try to get it fixed by a dealer. VW España is a joke. I've also tried (albeit randomly) in France, Croatia and Italy. I sense that the dealers in this part of the world don't think it's worth the trouble and expense to become proficient with a vehicle that they will rarely see.

I'd be "happy" (relatively speaking) to take it at my expense to a competent independent technician but that would invalidate my warranty.

So I turn to the shared wisdom and generosity of some knowledgeable people on this and other sites. I've learned a lot. And it helps that I've been able to enjoy the camper in spite of its issues. I'm trying to keep a sense of humor about it. I will take the van to Germany before the warranty runs out in August. Perhaps I will fare better there.

I'm thinking that one of the RV builders (maybe Knaus) who offers a MAN chassis (same as a Crafter) would have probably been a better choice. Plus you can get 4Motion on the smaller 600-size chassis. There are other threads that address this.

Of course my observations are limited to my personal experience and efforts. I would love some push back and some positive stories along with EU dealer recommendations.

I rarely see GC's on the road or at campsites but I did see one at a spot in Croatia. The camper came over and said hi. A Polish chap who, as it turns out, works at the factory that produces the Grand California in Poland (he was on holiday with a factory GC).

I didn't have to say a thing before he apologized for the lack of quality control and poor design choices...

Reply

 

[dominichayhoe]

I posted this elsewhere but I'm thinking it might warrant its own thread...

My "Spanish" GC 600 is plagued with camping-related issues (the Crafter itself is brilliant) and in Spain it seems all but useless to try to get it fixed by a dealer. VW España is a joke. I've also tried (albeit randomly) in France, Croatia and Italy. I sense that the dealers in this part of the world don't think it's worth the trouble and expense to become proficient with a vehicle that they will rarely see.

I'd be "happy" (relatively speaking) to take it at my expense to a competent independent technician but that would invalidate my warranty.

So I turn to the shared wisdom and generosity of some knowledgeable people on this and other sites. I've learned a lot. And it helps that I've been able to enjoy the camper in spite of its issues. I'm trying to keep a sense of humor about it. I will take the van to Germany before the warranty runs out in August. Perhaps I will fare better there.

I'm thinking that one of the RV builders (maybe Knaus) who offers a MAN chassis (same as a Crafter) would have probably been a better choice. Plus you can get 4Motion on the smaller 600-size chassis. There are other threads that address this.

Of course my observations are limited to my personal experience and efforts. I would love some push back and some positive stories along with EU dealer recommendations.

I rarely see GC's on the road or at campsites but I did see one at a spot in Croatia. The camper came over and said hi. A Polish chap who, as it turns out, works at the factory that produces the Grand California in Poland (he was on holiday with a factory GC).

I didn't have to say a thing before he apologized for the lack of quality control and poor design choices...

Reply

What are the actual issues?

 

[therandman]

- I took delivery with a defective leisure battery. It would not hold a charge for more than 8 hours with minimal load. After over 6 months and 3 visits the dealer finally justified a replacement from VW but they didn't pair it with the vehicle. It has now been paired but the software needs to be updated. Dealer is clueless.
- Control panel gives random, non-sensical readings and I cannot "swipe right and down" to get to the factory window.
- Refrigerator does not regulate regardless of temperature setting. Always full cold/freezing. (I checked the probe.)
- Kitchen faucet needs a new micro-switch. (I will replace it myself.)
- No ambient lighting- not a fuse, the control panel does not recognize it.
- Defective skylight. Comes loose from its fixed position at its base when opening. (I can probably repair this myself.)
- Numerous latches need to be replaced. (I don't really care.)

 

[dominichayhoe]

- I took delivery with a defective leisure battery. It would not hold a charge for more than 8 hours with minimal load. After over 6 months and 3 visits the dealer finally justified a replacement from VW but they didn't pair it with the vehicle. It has now been paired but the software needs to be updated. Dealer is clueless.
- Control panel gives random, non-sensical readings and I cannot "swipe right and down" to get to the factory window.
- Refrigerator does not regulate regardless of temperature setting. Always full cold/freezing. (I checked the probe.)
- Kitchen faucet needs a new micro-switch. (I will replace it myself.)
- No ambient lighting- not a fuse, the control panel does not recognize it.
- Defective skylight. Comes loose from its fixed position at its base when opening. (I can probably repair this myself.)
- Numerous latches need to be replaced. (I don't really care.)

Out of interest how old is your van?

Which dealer are you using?

I've never heard of these factory settings before, must give it a try on mine.

What are the nonsensical readings? Worst I get is when something won't react to touch and a reboot of the system (big red button off then back on) sorts it. Things like battery level and water levels are always going to be off as doing them in 1% increments is literally impossible.

Camper fridges are notoriously awful at keeping set temperatures.

Mine was only purchased late last year and I think VW has fixed quite a few of the original issues, fingers crossed.

I spent some considerable time working out the lighting as a fuse blew and just replacing it didn't immediately fix the issue. I'm not 100% certain now what eventually fixed it, but I have a feeling after replacing the fuse it also required another reboot of the big red knob and then leaving alone for 20 minutes for the software to realise the fuse was back working.

Ambient lighting is either the 7.5A or the 10a fuse. Those two fuses control the touch lights and the lights above the cupboards. Obviously if both those fuses are ok it's something else. Could be a relay or the control unit. OOI do you have the coloured lighting?
Im guessing your lights don't work from the switch by the hab door either then?

Good luck with everything.

 

[Eber123]

Good morning,

We got our GC600 in July 2021. From the start we had a lot of problems (I vented my frustration in various posts). It was so bad that I was very close to give the camper back (and with all the time the VW dealer put into repairs for this camper he would have happyly agreed to this).

But there were a few things that prevented us to give it back. 1.) ready available camper are almost not available in Ireland at the moment, 2.) lead time for new campers with our specification is 12 - 18 months, 3.) all camper dealers are a good bit away from the Dublin area (and with my experience we would expect issues with any camper). 4.) VW dealer is just 20 km away from us and credit where credit is due, he is very good and really tries. 5.) my wife argued that if all issues are sorted it will be the "best Grand California" in Ireland.

At the moment almost everything is ok. My only known issue is, that after 20 to 30 seconds occasionally the water stops (warm or cold, on all places). Beside that I never now what will hit me when I open the camper. But if things turn up, the VW dealer is only 20 km away ..... .

On 8th of March I will get the LPG system installed and after that I am toying with the idea for an Avtex LTE aerial and a router. But I am not sure yet.

Never the less, if everything is working we love our VW Grand California. It has the potential to meet our camper needs and travel expecations. I only wish that the VW dealer network would help more to install changes (LTE aerial, LPG, 2nd battery, LED Lazer lights etc.).

Almost happy Grand California,
Eberhard

 

[therandman]

Out of interest how old is your van?

Which dealer are you using?

I've never heard of these factory settings before, must give it a try on mine.

What are the nonsensical readings? Worst I get is when something won't react to touch and a reboot of the system (big red button off then back on) sorts it. Things like battery level and water levels are always going to be off as doing them in 1% increments is literally impossible.

Camper fridges are notoriously awful at keeping set temperatures.

Mine was only purchased late last year and I think VW has fixed quite a few of the original issues, fingers crossed.

I spent some considerable time working out the lighting as a fuse blew and just replacing it didn't immediately fix the issue. I'm not 100% certain now what eventually fixed it, but I have a feeling after replacing the fuse it also required another reboot of the big red knob and then leaving alone for 20 minutes for the software to realise the fuse was back working.

Ambient lighting is either the 7.5A or the 10a fuse. Those two fuses control the touch lights and the lights above the cupboards. Obviously if both those fuses are ok it's something else. Could be a relay or the control unit. OOI do you have the coloured lighting?
Im guessing your lights don't work from the switch by the hab door either then?

Good luck with everything.

Out of interest how old is your van? 2020, bought it w/ 4k km's, now it has 18k.

Which dealer are you using? A few, Telenauto in Leon is beyond awful. Incompetent pathological liars. Volcenter in Valencia is simply incompetent (it's been there for weeks on end). Others have told me that they have never worked on a GC and Volkswagen España tells me there are no dealers with any significant experience.

I've never heard of these factory settings before, must give it a try on mine.

What are the nonsensical readings? Worst I get is when something won't react to touch and a reboot of the system (big red button off then back on) sorts it. Things like battery level and water levels are always going to be off as doing them in 1% increments is literally impossible. Things like 243% grey water, "battery charging" icon when the vehicle is turned off and there is no shore power, Zero % battery while it's still powering things for hours, plus others in the same vein.

Camper fridges are notoriously awful at keeping set temperatures. Mine is full-on, all the time, regardless of the settings.

Mine was only purchased late last year and I think VW has fixed quite a few of the original issues, fingers crossed. Good to hear. It's not rocket science. All it takes it a competent technician. I'll find one.

I spent some considerable time working out the lighting as a fuse blew and just replacing it didn't immediately fix the issue. I'm not 100% certain now what eventually fixed it, but I have a feeling after replacing the fuse it also required another reboot of the big red knob and then leaving alone for 20 minutes for the software to realise the fuse was back working. Ambient lighting is either the 7.5A or the 10a fuse. Those two fuses control the touch lights and the lights above the cupboards. Obviously if both those fuses are ok it's something else. Could be a relay or the control unit. OOI do you have the coloured lighting? I'm guessing your lights don't work from the switch by the hab door either then?
I've gotten pretty good with fuse replacements and electrical re-boots. It's not any of that.

Good luck with everything. Thanks. It'll be fine...

 

[therandman]

Good morning,

We got our GC600 in July 2021. From the start we had a lot of problems (I vented my frustration in various posts). It was so bad that I was very close to give the camper back (and with all the time the VW dealer put into repairs for this camper he would have happyly agreed to this).

But there were a few things that prevented us to give it back. 1.) ready available camper are almost not available in Ireland at the moment, 2.) lead time for new campers with our specification is 12 - 18 months, 3.) all camper dealers are a good bit away from the Dublin area (and with my experience we would expect issues with any camper). 4.) VW dealer is just 20 km away from us and credit where credit is due, he is very good and really tries. 5.) my wife argued that if all issues are sorted it will be the "best Grand California" in Ireland.

At the moment almost everything is ok. My only known issue is, that after 20 to 30 seconds occasionally the water stops (warm or cold, on all places). Beside that I never now what will hit me when I open the camper. But if things turn up, the VW dealer is only 20 km away ..... .

On 8th of March I will get the LPG system installed and after that I am toying with the idea for an Avtex LTE aerial and a router. But I am not sure yet.

Never the less, if everything is working we love our VW Grand California. It has the potential to meet our camper needs and travel expecations. I only wish that the VW dealer network would help more to install changes (LTE aerial, LPG, 2nd battery, LED Lazer lights etc.).

Almost happy Grand California,
Eberhard

View attachment 88827

Beautiful van. Enjoy.

 

[Georgios]

I bought a Grand California 600 just two months ago in Luxembourg. The 2nd day while trying to familiarize myself with the new "toy", I have realized that the Truma Combi D6E was not working and the Battery was not charged when the vehicle was connected in 220V. With a lot of effort I have finally managed to have an appointment with he dealer after two weeks. The problems were fixed but it is obvious that there is no quality control in the factory neither with the dealer. So far I don't see any issues because and I do not use it. I do not use it because I do not trust it... Without previous experience in campervans, after reading all the stores in this club, all issues the owners are facing, I have lost my sleep. I just use it during weekends and not far from my area. All the plans I had to travel to Norway in May are gone... I think I will enjoy it better flying there to avoid the stress...

Georgios

 

[Tony hylton]

I bought a Grand California 600 just two months ago in Luxembourg. The 2nd day while trying to familiarize myself with the new "toy", I have realized that the Truma Combi D6E was not working and the Battery was not charged when the vehicle was connected in 220V. With a lot of effort I have finally managed to have an appointment with he dealer after two weeks. The problems were fixed but it is obvious that there is no quality control in the factory neither with the dealer. So far I don't see any issues because and I do not use it. I do not use it because I do not trust it... Without previous experience in campervans, after reading all the stores in this club, all issues the owners are facing, I have lost my sleep. I just use it during weekends and not far from my area. All the plans I had to travel to Norway in May are gone... I think I will enjoy it better flying there to avoid the stress...

Georgios

Hi,Georgios, which dealer did you buy from in Luxembourg?
I normally take my california to Munsbach , but serious issues like the corrosion around the roof I took to Junglinster. Excellent service from both.

 

[therandman]

I bought a Grand California 600 just two months ago in Luxembourg. The 2nd day while trying to familiarize myself with the new "toy", I have realized that the Truma Combi D6E was not working and the Battery was not charged when the vehicle was connected in 220V. With a lot of effort I have finally managed to have an appointment with he dealer after two weeks. The problems were fixed but it is obvious that there is no quality control in the factory neither with the dealer. So far I don't see any issues because and I do not use it. I do not use it because I do not trust it... Without previous experience in campervans, after reading all the stores in this club, all issues the owners are facing, I have lost my sleep. I just use it during weekends and not far from my area. All the plans I had to travel to Norway in May are gone... I think I will enjoy it better flying there to avoid the stress...

Georgios

It's good to hear that the problems were fixed! In my opinion you should take the van to Norway! As long as the Crafter is operating and now the problems are fixed, enjoy your trip. Even if there are more problems, chances are you'll manage. I took my sick GC throughout The Balkans for 5 1/2 months and had a great time in spite of the annoyances...

 

[Georgios]

Hi,Georgios, which dealer did you buy from in Luxembourg?
I normally take my california to Munsbach , but serious issues like the corrosion around the roof I took to Junglinster. Excellent service from both.

I bought it from Junglister.

 

[Jester]

Good morning,

We got our GC600 in July 2021. From the start we had a lot of problems (I vented my frustration in various posts). It was so bad that I was very close to give the camper back (and with all the time the VW dealer put into repairs for this camper he would have happyly agreed to this).

But there were a few things that prevented us to give it back. 1.) ready available camper are almost not available in Ireland at the moment, 2.) lead time for new campers with our specification is 12 - 18 months, 3.) all camper dealers are a good bit away from the Dublin area (and with my experience we would expect issues with any camper). 4.) VW dealer is just 20 km away from us and credit where credit is due, he is very good and really tries. 5.) my wife argued that if all issues are sorted it will be the "best Grand California" in Ireland.

At the moment almost everything is ok. My only known issue is, that after 20 to 30 seconds occasionally the water stops (warm or cold, on all places). Beside that I never now what will hit me when I open the camper. But if things turn up, the VW dealer is only 20 km away ..... .

On 8th of March I will get the LPG system installed and after that I am toying with the idea for an Avtex LTE aerial and a router. But I am not sure yet.

Never the less, if everything is working we love our VW Grand California. It has the potential to meet our camper needs and travel expecations. I only wish that the VW dealer network would help more to install changes (LTE aerial, LPG, 2nd battery, LED Lazer lights etc.).

Almost happy Grand California,
Eberhard

View attachment 88827

Hi Eberhard,

I have the VW router installed and works really well ie picks up a signal where your phone will not.
The antenna is sited above the sliding door just above the head lining, inside the van ie no hole in the GRP roof. I am told that all the wiring for the router is in place under the drivers seat even if not chosen as an option. Obviously not the antenna coax cable. Would not be surprised if used, you could turn on/off via control panel as you can if installed as a VW option.

Hope that’s of some help.

Will

 

[Eber123]

Hello Will,

Thank you for the information.

As we bought the GC 600 from the VW dealer pre-configured (but immediately available), we had no influence to order the VW LTE setup or not.

I believe that good LTE reception in the camper is something not only nice to have, but useful as well. As an alternative I had something like this in mind:



I believe they are quite good and can achieve the same. I am only worried about the installation. If it is done by somebody who cares and is professional and experienced enough it should be no problem. But I am not sure who in Ireland could do this?

I got an appointment for the LPG installation beginning of March (the company is in Northern Ireland). I hope I will get a sense if they can do the LTE installation or not.

But reading your post I thought I will contact my VW dealer to see if he would be willing (and able) to install the original VW LTE setup. Maybe it is not that expensive as I thought. I don't know why I haven't thought about this earlier. Thank you for that.

Happy not internet connected Grand California,
Eberhard

 

[Jester]

Hello Will,

Thank you for the information.

As we bought the GC 600 from the VW dealer pre-configured (but immediately available), we had no influence to order the VW LTE setup or not.

I believe that good LTE reception in the camper is something not only nice to have, but useful as well. As an alternative I had something like this in mind:

View attachment 88948

I believe they are quite good and can achieve the same. I am only worried about the installation. If it is done by somebody who cares and is professional and experienced enough it should be no problem. But I am not sure who in Ireland could do this?

I got an appointment for the LPG installation beginning of March (the company is in Northern Ireland). I hope I will get a sense if they can do the LTE installation or not.

But reading your post I thought I will contact my VW dealer to see if he would be willing (and able) to install the original VW LTE setup. Maybe it is not that expensive as I thought. I don't know why I haven't thought about this earlier. Thank you for that.

Happy not internet connected Grand California,
Eberhard

Hi Eberhard,

As I understand it the wiring is already in place ie the power and connection to the control panel so you will need the lesswire router, the cradle the router is supported by under the driver seat and antenna and coaxial cable.
From memory this option was about £750.

Good luck.

Will

 

[dominichayhoe]

Hello Will,

Thank you for the information.

As we bought the GC 600 from the VW dealer pre-configured (but immediately available), we had no influence to order the VW LTE setup or not.

I believe that good LTE reception in the camper is something not only nice to have, but useful as well. As an alternative I had something like this in mind:

View attachment 88948

I believe they are quite good and can achieve the same. I am only worried about the installation. If it is done by somebody who cares and is professional and experienced enough it should be no problem. But I am not sure who in Ireland could do this?

I got an appointment for the LPG installation beginning of March (the company is in Northern Ireland). I hope I will get a sense if they can do the LTE installation or not.

But reading your post I thought I will contact my VW dealer to see if he would be willing (and able) to install the original VW LTE setup. Maybe it is not that expensive as I thought. I don't know why I haven't thought about this earlier. Thank you for that.

Happy not internet connected Grand California,
Eberhard

Seems like a lot of hassle. I've always used www.motorhomewifi.com for the roof aerial and a 5G dongle type router. Always works really well on all my vans for about £250 all in.

 

[Jester]

Seems like a lot of hassle. I've always used www.motorhomewifi.com for the roof aerial and a 5G dongle type router. Always works really well on all my vans for about £250 all in.

No issue with this product if you don’t mind drilling holes in your roof thats not carried out via VW.

Out of interest where is your antenna mounted and is your cabling hidden between the roof and headlining, I’m guessing the router is mounted in one of the overhead lockers.

 

[dominichayhoe]

No issue with this product if you don’t mind drilling holes in your roof thats not carried out via VW.

Out of interest where is your antenna mounted and is your cabling hidden between the roof and headlining, I’m guessing the router is mounted in one of the overhead lockers.

Ive bought it down above the bench seat going into the smaller of the two cubby's which are a complete waste of space!

You can't see the small router/dongle or cabling inside unless you stand on the bench and look in, but have easy access to it, nor can you see the antenna on the roof.

 

[Eber123]

Ive bought it down above the bench seat going into the smaller of the two cubby's which are a complete waste of space!

You can't see the small router/dongle or cabling inside unless you stand on the bench and look in, but have easy access to it, nor can you see the antenna on the roof.

Hello @dominichayhoe,

I am interested in getting a LTE aerial and router installed and so reading each post about this. But I was wondering if you could help me and explain me a bit more in detail what you have done? I am not sure if I understood your last post.

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[dominichayhoe]

Hello @dominichayhoe,

I am interested in getting a LTE aerial and router installed and so reading each post about this. But I was wondering if you could help me and explain me a bit more in detail what you have done? I am not sure if I understood your last post.

Regards,
Eberhard

Go and take a look at https://www.motorhomewifi.com/product/4g-smart-compact/

This is similar to what I have used.

Simply, the wifi antenna for the roof, and the 4g/5g dongle for the sim card but importantly with antenna connections.

 

[Eber123]

Hello @dominichayhoe,

As I thought it was my fault. When dongle was mentioned I had something like this in mind:



I could not picture how this could be connected to an LTE aerial.

I am really looking to get the LTE aerial and router installed, either from Avtex or Maxxview But I am nervous about the installation:

• Get the aerial properly installed on the roof without a leak in the future
• Get the cables installed behind the wall plastic covers without causing problems
• Get 12V connector for the router without causing issues

It seems to me that most of the installers have more experience with camper vans from Fiat, Ford or Mercedes but not with the Grand California. We had so many issues with the camper from day one that my wife would never forgive me that an installation of the LTE aerial will cause issues, which at that point are not covered from the VW warranty (of course not).

Dominichayhoe, you also have a GC 600 how was the installation of the LTE aerial and router done? Are you happy with the installation of the aerial? On which side did they installed, driver or passenger side? Where is the router installed and from where did the installer got the 12V from?

Money is not that readily available, so the most important question is, was it worth to get the LTE setup installed? Is there a noticeable increase in reception in comparison to a portable LTE router like from Huawei or D-Link? If you have no LTE connection with your mobile phone do you still have good LTE connection through the aerial?

Sorry about all the questions

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[dominichayhoe]

Hello @dominichayhoe,

As I thought it was my fault. When dongle was mentioned I had something like this in mind:

View attachment 89050

I could not picture how this could be connected to an LTE aerial.

I am really looking to get the LTE aerial and router installed, either from Avtex or Maxxview But I am nervous about the installation:

• Get the aerial properly installed on the roof without a leak in the future
• Get the cables installed behind the wall plastic covers without causing problems
• Get 12V connector for the router without causing issues

It seems to me that most of the installers have more experience with camper vans from Fiat, Ford or Mercedes but not with the Grand California. We had so many issues with the camper from day one that my wife would never forgive me that an installation of the LTE aerial will cause issues, which at that point are not covered from the VW warranty (of course not).

Dominichayhoe, you also have a GC 600 how was the installation of the LTE aerial and router done? Are you happy with the installation of the aerial? On which side did they installed, driver or passenger side? Where is the router installed and from where did the installer got the 12V from?

Money is not that readily available, so the most important question is, was it worth to get the LTE setup installed? Is there a noticeable increase in reception in comparison to a portable LTE router like from Huawei or D-Link? If you have no LTE connection with your mobile phone do you still have good LTE connection through the aerial?

Sorry about all the questions

Regards,
Eberhard

Eberhard, read my posts above it explains most of your questions.

You of course need to drill a small hole in your roof, then attaching and sealing sikaflex as per usual on all motorhome installs, becomes your friend.

If you stand on the bench seat and push on the fabric above the cupboards you will see there is lots of space behind there making it easy to feed the wires to where you want them.

My aerial is fairly central on the roof and the cables run down behind the 12v usb socket in the first small cupboard/space so we took the feed from there as it is only a low powered device.
We then fed the antenna cables through a new hole we created to attach to the dongle so it sits in the foot of the cupboard/space so you cannot see anything unless you look down into that hole.

This is the 4th time I have done this install now on different motorhomes.

My experience is the antenna speeds up the download by about four-fold. i.e. If you get 3mb with just the router you will get 12mb with the antenna. Plus of course at times when your router on it's own gets nothing, you will still get reception with the antenna. This happens alot at beaches where you are low lying. Plus the added benefit of whilst you are driving, any blackspots you'd normally get and have the children whinging they have no internet, just doesn't happen with the antenna installed.

 

[Georgios]

Hi Eberhard,

I have the VW router installed and works really well ie picks up a signal where your phone will not.
The antenna is sited above the sliding door just above the head lining, inside the van ie no hole in the GRP roof. I am told that all the wiring for the router is in place under the drivers seat even if not chosen as an option. Obviously not the antenna coax cable. Would not be surprised if used, you could turn on/off via control panel as you can if installed as a VW option.

Hope that’s of some help.

Will

I posted this elsewhere but I'm thinking it might warrant its own thread...

My "Spanish" GC 600 is plagued with camping-related issues (the Crafter itself is brilliant) and in Spain it seems all but useless to try to get it fixed by a dealer. VW España is a joke. I've also tried (albeit randomly) in France, Croatia and Italy. I sense that the dealers in this part of the world don't think it's worth the trouble and expense to become proficient with a vehicle that they will rarely see.

I'd be "happy" (relatively speaking) to take it at my expense to a competent independent technician but that would invalidate my warranty.

So I turn to the shared wisdom and generosity of some knowledgeable people on this and other sites. I've learned a lot. And it helps that I've been able to enjoy the camper in spite of its issues. I'm trying to keep a sense of humor about it. I will take the van to Germany before the warranty runs out in August. Perhaps I will fare better there.

I'm thinking that one of the RV builders (maybe Knaus) who offers a MAN chassis (same as a Crafter) would have probably been a better choice. Plus you can get 4Motion on the smaller 600-size chassis. There are other threads that address this.

Of course my observations are limited to my personal experience and efforts. I would love some push back and some positive stories along with EU dealer recommendations.

I rarely see GC's on the road or at campsites but I did see one at a spot in Croatia. The camper came over and said hi. A Polish chap who, as it turns out, works at the factory that produces the Grand California in Poland (he was on holiday with a factory GC).

I didn't have to say a thing before he apologized for the lack of quality control and poor design choices...

Reply

Sorry to say it but "VW is a joke". I bought mine in Luxembourg last Noember and I am 100% sure that the vehicle was not checked/controlled at the factory neither at the the dealer's garage prior delivery. I have faced and still facing a lot of issues related to charging, heating, etc. And to be honnest I have not checked yet if everything works as it suppose to. Most of the time it is parked or for repair. 2000km and only 7 overnight stays. Now is in the garage for solar panel replacement. A problem that was present since the first day. The only thing that offers is stress... and loss of time...

 

[Georgios]

and I continue saying "VW is a joke". Finally, the "Losch Luxembourg" experts discovered the problem was not in the solar panel but the cable from the solar panel. They repaired the cable but the problem was still there... then I discovered the damages they did during the assembly of the roof parts so I had to go again to the garage... After that there was the Electric Step problem. I was waiting for almost two months the arrival of the step, and then the VW specialists found out that the problem was the software update... and not the step. Yesterday I picked up the vehicle with a new step of different colour... I give up.... I have already said to the garage that they are not even capable to feed cows (sorry for the cows). For the only thing I am satisfied so far is that I have convinced a family from Netherlands to cancel their plan to buy Grand California, that was a success!

 

[soulstyledevon]

How annoying.
Unfortunately, Volkswagen techs have no idea about the California which has been around for 15 years. They will know even less about the Grand.