My Grand California 600 weight

[andyinluton]

How are you getting on with your GC are pleased with it?

Brilliant to drive.
Seats more comfortable than an Ocean - whilst they look the same, the lumbar support goes up & down & in. & out a lot more, & the whole seat is hight adjustable.
Handbrake fantastic- no need to drop it to swivel the seats.
Parking - we've just done a week by St Ives & didn't have any problems, being a 600 its no longer than an ocean with a bike rack & only a couple of inches wider, so fits in a supermarket bay with probably a 2 ft overhang at one end.
Stereo - crap, no rear speakers at all
Heating / aircon, fine in the front crap in the back & no rear opening windows.
Front passenger space much much better than a T6.1
Rear bench, if an ocean is 8 out of 10, the GC is 1 or 2 very uncomfortable
Rear Bed excellent - but getting in & out requires more acrobatics than the roof bed in an Ocean.
Roof bed, our 12 year old hates it & would rather sleep on the fully reclined front passenger seat.
The dog - hates both beds as she cant jump onto either, at home she normally sleeps at the foot of someones bed.
Kitchen - surprisingly I would rate this as miles better than the Ocean, being able to stand up straight looking out with the door open is fantastic.
Heating - electric heating on hookup is brilliant - silent with heat distributed evenly round the van.
Hot water - again on hookup I had forgotten how good it was to have near limitless supplies of hot water on tap.
Toilet - great to have but a bit of a squeeze
Shower - we are going to have to be desperate to attempt a shower in there there's no room!

Biggest hate - there's no where to keep dinner plates - they won't fit in the overhead lockers or the small kitchen drawers. We use a plastic storage tub that sits under the bed.
Actually i'll change that, its the horrible plastic gear selector from the most basic transporter - give me the leather & metal trimmed one off an Ocean please!

Biggest like - surprisingly, its how quiet it is at night. I used to sleep in the pop top so being inside downstairs means its so much better insulated noise wise. With also not needing a drive away awning that invariably flapped it is so much better.


The whole van is actually very good with some very clever little touches like the kitchen worktop extensions & the SOG system on the toilet, but with a little more thought / design changes it could be really special. Theres tonnes of storage space but its a nightmare to get to. The overhead lockers are an impractical shape - would be far better if they were just on one side but twice the size.


Sorry for the ramble but you did ask!

 

[The Merle]

Great review.
The storage and solutions will get better everytime you use it.
Not sure if it’s possible in GC but I store plates ridge monkeys at an angle in drawer. Have things there to wedge it all in place, maybe worth a try.

I’ve heard a few people put a dog bed under the rear bed and remove the access between boot area and kitchen (again don’t know if it’s possible in a GC) thought it was a clever idea.