My reasons for not buying a Cali

[ainrofilac]

After a few months of researching, we finally had our weekend in a hire Cali, and really enjoyed ourselves, but (and I hope you don't mind) won't be buying one. On friday I was really excited and I had imagined nipping to my local dealer this afternoon and placing an order to beat the 1 Nov price rise, so whilst its a shame that it hasn't worked out, but I'm glad we tried it. It was great to drive, warm, comfortable, and I am sure with a bit of practice we could get the driving/eating/sleeping changeovers down to a couple of minutes. The reasons for not taking the plunge are:

1)We have a busy time with work and the kids and didn't find the weekend all that relaxing- especially as we had to get up when the kids woke up- this would get wearing for 2 weeks solid

2) the cali is warm and comfy, but you have to leave it to go to the loo, have a shower, or do the washing up- we have a busy life juggling work and kids and whilst doing this is fine for a weekend or a few days (we do that when we camp), its hard work and we want holiday times to be relaxing, if we bought a Cali all of our holidays would be in it and this would get us down.

So instead, we're going to blow a bit of the deposit cash on renting a massive RV in San Fran and driving it to Vegas!

I can totally understand why you all love them, they are great to drive (the 140 we hired was fine- but i won't start the 140/180 debate on here), and if the camper life is for you, it is the best one to get. I hope you all continue to love yours, and if you are thinking about buying one, definitely hire one first as you'll decide pretty quickly whether its for you or not.

Thanks to all of the forum contributors, over the last few months I've enjoyed reading debates about 140/180, DSG/manual, vango/kyam, seats made out of toilets and special waves. I think i am going to miss you all

 

[Kirk]

I would have thought the reasons you have given above would be obvious even without hiring one?

 

[KernowLad]

You have to be prepared to compromise a bit but we don't find our kids wake up too early (aged 6 and nearly 4 now) - in fact they sleep best in the van.

The toilet thing I understand but I also wouldn't really fancy a tiny loo in the van. Showers? Most sites have decent facilities.

We've had 2 x 5 weeks in Europe in ours plus loads of other trips and it just seems to fit into our (and everyone here) lifestyle. Handy vehicle, brilliantly versatile camper.

 

[ainrofilac]

As for knowing these reasons beforehand, we thought that taking away the hassle of packing car, putting tent up etc would offset the hassles of camping and make us want to go more, but it wasn't quite enough.

We thought we could live with the compromises but as much as the Cali is great, we can't. If we already camped a lot then the cali would be great for us too, but we don't.

Anyway- its our issue, nothing to do with a great vehicle, my main reason for posting was just to say thanks for all the advice etc on the forum.

 

[KernowLad]

We certainly had a few "uh oh, was this a wise decision?" moments in the very early days but you soon adapt.

It also amuses me when "wild" camping (which we've done a fair bit of) in a rather expensive, well equipped campervan!

An RV is ideal for the States but over here or in Europe, anything larger than a Cali would drive me nuts.

 

[Californiaman]

Good luck with the RV. That sounds like a great trip. I must say, that if I had kids, I would probably buy a caravan instead of a Cali. Or in fact, a Cali and then just leave and never come back.... (Without the kids obviously!)

 

[larrylamb]

Some good points from everyone, i understand what you are saying, we are not canvas campers, never have been but love the Cali concept. My wife is worried that buying one will take all our cash and every holiday will be spent in the van - she likes a "hotel" holiday once a year and thinks we won't be able to manage that as well. I am intrigued as to how most people afford a Cali, i expect better salaries than mine helps a lot but is a long finance arrangement popular?? Would you mind letting me know who you hired the Cali from as we are not far from the lakes, think another rental is needed. Cheers

 

[WelshGas]

The California is a very expensive "occasional " vacation vehicle BUT as the "ultimate " vehicle it is a totally different beast.
Everyday driver, Holiday vehicle, Load lugger, Camper, Day van you name it and it can do it. I like my hotel holidays, and my back to basics camping interspersed with a bit of glamping. Driving it is not a chore, nor is parking. It is the ULTIMATE vehicle, truly Generic

generic

adjective

characteristic of or relating to a class or group of things; not specific.
synonyms: general, common, collective, non-specific, inclusive, all-inclusive, all-encompassing, broad, comprehensive, blanket, umbrella, sweeping, universal, cross-disciplinary, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary

 

[Meoncoast]

I guess you will not require VIP membership then. Enjoy the direction you go in.

 

[johnyboy]

This proves what a good decision renting is for a lot of prospective buyers; take note!

As for the RV thing I did SF to Seattle last summer - good fun but always felt restricted where we could go, even with one of the smallest models people were recommending amazing day trips that they said were unsuited to an RV. Oh and we never used the toilet or shower

 

[ainrofilac]

Larry

Hired from here

http://easimotorhome.com

£400 for 3 nights- they gave us a 140 basic model no extras as far as I could tell (no reversing sensors and clear windows so a bit goldfish bowl-y) price included delivery/collection from our house as we live near Manc airport.

Hope you like it!

 

[larrylamb]

Thanks,

 

[Freeley]

My wife is worried that buying one will take all our cash and every holiday will be spent in the van - she likes a "hotel" holiday once a year and thinks we won't be able to manage that as well.

It's funny you say that as that's what my better half used to think when we first looked into getting one.
As it turned out we completely lost interest in hotels once we'd bought it - the freedom to do what you like when you like made the thought of inflexible meal times and having to be out of the room before the cleaners come round unappealing to us!
And although we are grown adults going on holiday in our cali is quite an exciting experience for us, especially when you don't have a proper itinerary and can change your mind about where you're going to stay.
Just wish we had the time to use it more often.

 

[Freeley]

My wife is worried that buying one will take all our cash and every holiday will be spent in the van - she likes a "hotel" holiday once a year and thinks we won't be able to manage that as well.

It's funny you say that as that's what my better half used to think when we first looked into getting one.
As it turned out we completely lost interest in hotels once we'd bought it - the freedom to do what you like when you like made the thought of inflexible meal times and having to be out of the room before the cleaners come round unappealing to us!
And although we are grown adults going on holiday in our cali is quite an exciting experience for us, especially when you don't have a proper itinerary and can change your mind about where you're going to stay.
Just wish we had the time to use it more often.

 

[KernowLad]

We still do the odd hotel but I've yet to find one that can gets anywhere near the views and locations we've stayed in our Cali.

Plus you still have to lug a load of gear into and out of a hotel room.

 

[GrannyJen]

Horses for courses.

San Fran to Las Vegas is a trip I have done many times in my days as a travel writer based in San Fran. A Cali sized vehicle would be a nonsense. A big RV makes total sense.

Back home I had an A class in the UK and it just became an expensive ornament in my drive. Everywhere I wished to go we're places that I would not dream of taking anything much bigger than a Smart car and when I did take it away then I got fed up with that feeling of dread every time that I needed to start it up and go somewhere.

Have a brilliant trip. Take I5 all the way, past LA, down to SD, then north west over the Anzio - borrezano to Joshua tree. Amazing.

 

[muttley]

I think your reasons may be more commonly held than you realise.

If you have never camped before (like us), then you have to balance the freedom and fun of the Cali against what seem to be very basic facilities, even on the best sites. For us, that isn't a deal breaker, but I also want 'real' holidays in luxury hotels too, with the Cali just for fun weekends away or European tours.

The Cali is a great all round vehicle as others have said, but it is limited by range. If you want to travel far, then you will spend a lot of the holiday driving, which is not always ideal. If I am in the mood for a scenic tour, then we will book a trip with the Cali (probably Scandinavia next year), but the rest of the time we fly. For me, there is too much of the world to see which is out of range of the Cali, but that doesn't stop me enjoying it when we do use it.

Can I justify having it for the relatively small number of days a year we use it? Almost certainly not. Would I consider selling it? Not yet, every trip still feels like an adventure.

Simon

 

[KernowLad]

Talking of hotels, the Polizzi ones are very nice indeed; Tresanton in St Mawes and Endsleigh near Tavistock.

Did Hotel du Vin in Winchester last month too; also very nice.

We get our fill of hotels for long range business trips.

 

[spanner]

I am sure you do :doh

I only stay at 5*, nothing less for me

 

[Neiljbg]

Well of course it's all personal choice...we have camped all our lives, hired a Cali, totally hooked, ordered ours today..... :clap

 

[Californiaman]

Personally, I've done enough airplanes and hotels to last me three lifetimes. I am firmly hooked on our awesome country!

But for balance, it is good to see peoples reasons for not buying a Cali. I don't like naked skydiving.. I'm going to go and see if I can find a forum where everyone does that so I can tell them why...

 

[KernowLad]

I am sure you do :doh

I only stay at 5*, nothing less for me

No more than Premier Inn for work unless its urgent. Now back to your cage...

Neil; nice one!!

Californiaman; agree with that. Naked skydiving could be fun if it's warm though...

 

[pjm-84]

I don't like naked skydiving.. I'm going to go and see if I can find a forum where everyone does that so I can tell them why...

Good analogy.

 

[BikerGran]

People told me I should hire before deciding to buy - but having camped for years with a motorcycle, then a trike, then added a trailer as I needed a larger tent and a campbed and a table and chair (age and arthritis!), I think I shall find it total luxury not to have to put up a tent and reconstruct my table and dig out my stove etc, before I can even have a cuppa!

I do have concerns about the lack of a loo but I'm working on that

 

[Geezso]

Nappies