New Beach on order-only just in time!

[jaylc.]

Hi,
This will be my first thread, but I'd like to thank everyone on the forum for the excellent advice etc.. Which I've digested over the past few weeks prior to the order.
Only just managed to get one in time due to the inability of some dealers being able to change an order/spec after the end of Feb, but thanks to SMG we've been able to grab one of the last build slots.

Beach 140ps bmt manual
Olympia blue
Privacy glass
17' cascavel alloys in silver
LMFSW
RCD 310 dab
Three seat rear in anthracite Milan
Folding mirrors
Front&rear parking sensors
Warm/cold box
Black awning
Heated seats
Front fog lights

Would welcome any advice tips etc as I may be able to add a few bits if not too late?

Only things I've been thinking about is should I really stretch to xenon lights? The led bumper ones look OK and a lot cheaper, don't want to go silly and have no money left for bike racks/ camping bits etc!
Also I probably won't stay in her for days on end so haven't opted for a parking heater, would a small fan heater plugged in for the odd day here and there suffice?

Any advice on handover would be great too..any issues I need to look out for..I expect it'll be June before I see her in the flesh but any advice now would be great.

Many thanks.
J

 

[Rednalong]

Hi Jay,

Congrats! Your spec and colour is just like ours!
Since picking ours up in October i'd strongly recommend you re-consider the parking heater, its a great option, esp when used to pre-heat on cold mornings and during our recent skiing trip. It just helps to make the van seem extra special.

Paul

 

[rippers]

Welcome. The small electric heaters work great as long as its under 2kw as that the limit on most campsites. It will limit you to only having heating when you have a hook up. I notice the resell prices on Beaches with the parking heater are better but you have the initial outlay to weigh up, personally it would have been a must have for me.
Xenons are dear for what they are, I have specced them rightly or wrongly on mine.

 

[jaylc.]

Thanks for the advice,
I know nothing about the parking heaters? How do they work? Off the engine battery or the leisure one?
Can they run all night ? Sounds silly but as I said no one has explained them to me?

 

[rippers]

It is a diesel fueled heater that uses a small amount of fuel and runs of the leisure battery using minimal power.

 

[hubert72]

It is really hard to get everything right, the parking heater was the one thing that I really couldn't make up my mind with, so many people including family say they paid a lot of money for it but never use it, but then just as many people say they can't live without it. As I am a total newbie and can't see me doing much winter camping I opted for no parking heater. I have bought a little 800w oil filled radiator for when on hook up (which probably will be most of the time), Not used it yet but it gets very hot very quick so might be ok on chilly nights. If money was no object I would say get the heater just so you don't regret it later, If cost is an issue then your funds may be better used for the never ending list of extras you will find your self buying "just in case you need them".

 

[WelshGas]

I have found that if you are limited to a pitch with electric hookup then you are limiting the campsites you can visit, as often all the electric hookups are taken. I wanted to visit Oxford. Good campsite near centre. Fully booked, until I looked at the non-electric pitches. With a California + Auxy Heater then you are completely self contained for at least 48hrs. Great flexibility.

 

[motacyclist]

Hi J and welcome.

For us the parking heater makes the California what it is and we wouldn't be without. It's miserable sitting in a cold van and seeing your breath . Even camping in June, for us the temperature has dropped to 2 deg C but that is no problem with the heater.

And apart from camping, what better than coming back from a brisk walk on a winter's day out, pressing the remote from over a ¼ mile away and getting back to a toasty van already warmed up! Or on your way back from the pub

Plus on a frosty morning you can press the remote from the house to melt the ice. Or waking up at camp and just pressing the remote to get the van warm before you get up.

We do carry a small fan heater as well, but only to get our money's worth when we pay for hook up

 

[Hotel California]

Welcome , as for the aux- heater , it's a must have !
Imagine yourself in wet and damp conditions without a decent heater , not much holydayfun
I would say , lose the big wheels ( easy to refit aftherwarts and you can use the steels to put winters on...)and put that money in a decent investment like aux-heater

 

[cleve]

another vote for parking heater. We use ours all the time & not just for camping

 

[nlaundy]

Can anyone clarify the difference between a parking heater and auxiliary heater?
We have recently taken delivery of our June 2014 beach and it has no auxiliary heater fitted - despite the dealer (and spec sheet) telling us it was standard. The dealer had no clue (unfortunately nor did we...) and when we took delivery he said he couldn't find the remote control - but would order one for us. On getting home and reading the manual - realised there should have been a control unit in the headlining...which there isn't - so clearly not fitted.
Is due to go back for some tweaking of the parking sensors which we had fitted - and so far they have just promised to "look into" the absence of auxiliary heater - but keep mentioning that to us that they never said it had a "parking heater"....

 

[rippers]

Doesn't sound like you have the parking heater :-(

 

[Big Bloke]

The auxilary heater is used to heat up the engine coolant, making the engine run more effeciently. It kicks in automatically when starting the engine in temperaratures below 10c ( I think thats the correct temp). If you start your engine on a cold morning, leave it running for a couple of minutes then turn it off, outside the van you will be able to hear the Aux heater running down, sounds like a jet engine!
We just went to Exploria in Brighouse on wednesday to get a qoute for having a parking heater retro fitted ( Webasto Air Top 2000ST ). Ours was a dealer demo and hasn't got one fitted, just the Webasto Thermo Top C auxillary heater, which dosn't run off the leisure battery. On your drivers door, there will be a sticker telling you what heater you have, 2 x stickers if you have the parking heater as well as the aux heater.
Took me a while to suss this out myself. VW dealers either don't understand the function of the Aux heater or don't explain it very well!

 

[motacyclist]

Can anyone clarify the difference between a parking heater and auxiliary heater?
We have recently taken delivery of our June 2014 beach and it has no auxiliary heater fitted - despite the dealer (and spec sheet) telling us it was standard. The dealer had no clue (unfortunately nor did we...) and when we took delivery he said he couldn't find the remote control - but would order one for us. On getting home and reading the manual - realised there should have been a control unit in the headlining...which there isn't - so clearly not fitted.
Is due to go back for some tweaking of the parking sensors which we had fitted - and so far they have just promised to "look into" the absence of auxiliary heater - but keep mentioning that to us that they never said it had a "parking heater"....

This is very confusing and took me a while to figure out, but there are two heaters available on the T5 California. The manual is useless as it does not make this clear, think "Lost in Translation"; you will find this forum far more useful than the manual (as I have).

Firstly there is an diesel powered Webasto auxiliary heater which assists in bringing the coolant up to temperature and it comes on automatically when the temperature is less than 5 deg C. It cannot be used without the engine running (although there are aftermarket mods available to enable it to warm the engine prior to start up).

Secondly, there is an Eberspacher parking heater fuelled from the diesel tank which can be used without the engine running and draws power from the auxiliary or camping batteries. This comes with a remote control and is a standard fitment on the SE, and an extra on the Beach.

The easiest way to see if either are fitted is to look for the stickers on the drivers door where it shuts. There will be one for each heater (if fitted); Eberspacher for the parking heater (heats the air in the van when camping), Webasto for the coolant heater (assists the engine to heat up the coolant thus making the vehicle heater warm up quicker when you are driving).

Hope this clarifies, and acknowledgments to other posters on this and other sites for my education (or lack of!).

Edit: One more thing, if you have the 3 way Climatronic (as against the confusingly named Climatic) there is also a facility to heat the interior using residual heat from the engine for about 30 minutes after stopping, the presence of this is indicated by a button marked "Rest" on the heater controls. (I might have got the Climatronic/Climatic terms wrong but I'm not going out to check now!)

 

[motacyclist]

Apologies Big Bloke, we must have been typing a similar reply at the same time ....

 

[Big Bloke]

No apologies needed....

 

[motacyclist]

No apologies needed....

You sound bigger than me so I thought I'd better play safe. Looking at you avatar it looks like you could clean the roof of the Cali with it up the raised position. I've never even seen our roof Edit: Auto correct changed "roof" to "door" ...

 

[rippers]

The VW cali brochure I have lists for the Beach 'Water Heaters' one with timer for £760 and the other with timer and remote for £1000.

My old Beach had the Aux heater as I had the Webasto sticker in the door but I never saw a timer let alone a remote.
I was always under the impression it was just an extra heater for the rear whilst driving when the coolant warmed up enough and there was an extra heating control on the ash above the ashtray which on SE is a little cubby hole.
Learn something everyday.. I'm struggling to work out why you would pay so much for this as an option is all it did was warm the engine coolant up?

 

[nlaundy]

Thanks guys - clarity at last. Feel very disappointed with the dealer as they clearly had no clue and having knowingly or unknowingly misled us (offering to order in the missing remote control for an option that wasn't even in the van!!). Not helped by the manual clearly describing what I now know is a parking heater as an auxiliary heater - I am sure we can't have been the first to have been misled like this....

 

[nlaundy]

The auxilary heater is used to heat up the engine coolant, making the engine run more effeciently. It kicks in automatically when starting the engine in temperaratures below 10c ( I think thats the correct temp). If you start your engine on a cold morning, leave it running for a couple of minutes then turn it off, outside the van you will be able to hear the Aux heater running down, sounds like a jet engine!
We just went to Exploria in Brighouse on wednesday to get a qoute for having a parking heater retro fitted ( Webasto Air Top 2000ST ). Ours was a dealer demo and hasn't got one fitted, just the Webasto Thermo Top C auxillary heater, which dosn't run off the leisure battery. On your drivers door, there will be a sticker telling you what heater you have, 2 x stickers if you have the parking heater as well as the aux heater.
Took me a while to suss this out myself. VW dealers either don't understand the function of the Aux heater or don't explain it very well!

What sort of ball park price are we talking about for a retro fitted parking heater?

 

[Big Bloke]

What sort of ball park price are we talking about for a retro fitted parking heater?

Its all on Exploria's website.......Our qoute is for:-
Webasto Airtop 2000 diesel heater located underbody with outlet coming from drivers seat OEM heater ducts + £995 + vat
OEM Heater ducts + £180 + vat
There are more options such as remotes,etc, which we decided we're not going for.

 

[Bertie63]

Sorry they've done that to you nlaundy - although the retro fit sounds expensive we find the heater is the crowning glory so probably worth biting the bullet.