More care needed on camping fields !

[inthemidnighthour]

Arriving friday night for an explorer scout glider camp at Tibenhall airfield ,we had to find an area to set up some archery kit.We decided to set up at the far end of the camp field which meant weaving a path through some caravans.As always i walked through to make sure no hidden ditches, had already manoeuvred several times and the ground seemed rock hard.Anyway passed all the caravans and suddenly just stopped , we has sunk 6 inches in seconds.Rounded up several scouts who found it highly amusing all pushed no use.Luckily a land rover defender not too far away hooked up tried to pull us backwards - wouldn't budge so with scouts and land rover finally managed to be pulled out in reverse.

Havent read the manual yet but couldnt see the towing loop on the front only the one on the back.

This goes to show however careful you are checking the field there are certain unseen areas too wet for a 2 wheel drive cali

without the landrover and scouts we would have been totally stuffed :?

dave and lisa and very muddy cali :hello

 

[James]

Arriving friday night for an explorer scout glider camp at Tibenhall airfield ,we had to find an area to set up some archery kit.We decided to set up at the far end of the camp field which meant weaving a path through some caravans.As always i walked through to make sure no hidden ditches, had already manoeuvred several times and the ground seemed rock hard.Anyway passed all the caravans and suddenly just stopped , we has sunk 6 inches in seconds.Rounded up several scouts who found it highly amusing all pushed no use.Luckily a land rover defender not too far away hooked up tried to pull us backwards - wouldn't budge so with scouts and land rover finally managed to be pulled out in reverse.

Havent read the manual yet but couldnt see the towing loop on the front only the one on the back.

This goes to show however careful you are checking the field there are certain unseen areas too wet for a 2 wheel drive cali

without the landrover and scouts we would have been totally stuffed :?

dave and lisa and very muddy cali :hello

I suggest a sweepstake now be held based on the time it takes for one of the 4 Motioners to reply to this, correct answers should be rewarded at COTF with a suitable prize.

Seriously, glad you are okay

 

[Hutch]

With the money you save on fuel by not having 4motion - buy some grip mats!
G

 

[KernowLad]

Is there a front towing eye?!

Even 4motions could get stuck...

 

[SimplyDubs]

Is there a front towing eye?!

Even 4motions could get stuck...

On pre-facelifts the towing eye is in the tool kit... screws in next to the fog lamp (plastic cover needs removing)

Always remember it's a left hand thread... took half an hour trying to fit my brothers at Big Bang - Santapod last year when he got stuck in the mud

I'd suspect a similar arrangement on the facelift... but not sure

Rgds
M

 

[jamesC]

The towing eye on a facelift Cali, is in the boot, stored with the jack, and is inserted behind a cover near the front fogs....

You will find some images of my recent mud bath in the post below, along with a photo of the towing eye!!!

viewtopic.php?t=3565#p32050

 

[choplee]

i think in all my time around vw campers old and new i've personally only been in trouble 2 times and to be honest only a real 4x4 would have got out of it with correct mud tyres on .. :lol:

 

[Custardtart]

i think in all my time around vw campers old and new i've personally only been in trouble 2 times and to be honest only a real 4x4 would have got out of it with correct mud tyres on .. :lol:

That might get a reaction from the 4motion-ers :lol:

 

[KernowLad]

i think in all my time around vw campers old and new i've personally only been in trouble 2 times and to be honest only a real 4x4 would have got out of it with correct mud tyres on .. :lol:

That might get a reaction from the 4motion-ers :lol:

He's after a rise. :lol:

Our 4Motion replaced a 110 Defender so I'm pretty aware of how both cope with mud. The van is far better than I had hoped.

4Motion van

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjviA5gN-4g

This is very long but some good bits in it

4Motion Cali

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHtI7mlq ... =endscreen

Part two - around 4 minutes is pretty amazing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMRppF583GA

Oh dammit, I rose to it... :lol: :lol:

 

[choplee]

i think in all my time around vw campers old and new i've personally only been in trouble 2 times and to be honest only a real 4x4 would have got out of it with correct mud tyres on .. :lol:

That might get a reaction from the 4motion-ers :lol:

probably will custardtart ,but not really intended ....just really trying to make a point that 99% really don't want to put themselves in a crappy muddy situation in a £50k campervan (well some may i suppose) :smile i have seen alot getting pulled out at vw shows ,but i tend to either not go ,stay to the front if its that bad or bail out ,as a shiw really isn't worth that much crap....if a campsite is like that then they shouldn't allow you to park up there or just camp off that area .... maybe i will have the time to do some wild camping and just go camp where i stop ,but time is valuable to us ,so we want to posh camp it i suppose now ,so don't put myself in that situation ,as its not nice whether i was in me t2 or t5 ...

 

[KernowLad]

Chop, I feel there is a slight over defensiveness about your "not needing" a 4Motion.

It's not just about muddy fields or why would Lambo, Audi, Subaru, etc, etc bother with it? It's more secure on the road too - no wheelspin, no (almost) understeer, more secure in hideous rain, do-able in wintry conditions, the list goes on.

If T5s were RWD, I'd consider one but I don't get on with FWD. Wheels shouldn't steer AND pull IMO.

A camper is for "adventuring" and having fun - the AWD came in very handy many times in Scotland, allows us to pick the best spots (I usually find the "hardstanding" pitches aren't in the best locations in many campsites), comes in handy in soft sand on sandy car parks and is worth having alone for the looks you get when you plough through mud/sand/whatever.

If it's not for you then fine but for me, it's the MOST important option for us.

 

[choplee]

I had a few t25 rear wheel drives ,as my bay and split was ... Not the greatest in the wet I must admit ... I did use a merc vito rwd and wasn't convinced ....
I would love a 4motion DSG Cali ,but at the time it worked out the price of a car extra in money with a 6 month wait and to be honest I didn't know if I was going to like the Cali ,as I'm an old skool camper boy ,so the berghaus at a very good price with a very short delivery time was perfect. .....
If we all was the same and had the same spec buses then how boring would that be ....we know it works for you ,as you do a lot of traveling around and hobbies ,but I don't quite have that luxury at the moment ,but maybe one day I will

 

[KernowLad]

I had a few t25 rear wheel drives ,as my bay and split was ... Not the greatest in the wet I must admit ... I did use a merc vito rwd and wasn't convinced ....
I would love a 4motion DSG Cali ,but at the time it worked out the price of a car extra in money with a 6 month wait and to be honest I didn't know if I was going to like the Cali ,as I'm an old skool camper boy ,so the berghaus at a very good price with a very short delivery time was perfect. .....
If we all was the same and had the same spec buses then how boring would that be ....we know it works for you ,as you do a lot of traveling around and hobbies ,but I don't quite have that luxury at the moment ,but maybe one day I will

But be honest, having a Berghaus Cali isn't exactly slumming it!

But yes, it works for us, for some it would just be a fuel sapping, rather pointless extra.