New Beach owner! - West London

[Kayleigh]

Hi all, we have just bought ourselves a 2020 Reg. Beach ex demonstrator. It’s been well over 30 years since I’ve last been on family camping trips in my parents old T2 and I’m really looking forward to some new adventures in the Beach - maybe a short break at half term of the weather is OK and COVID permitting.

It’s going to be our only vehicle, so for us it seemed a better proposition than getting an Ocean, plus we can add a separate cooking unit to the rails if we really want to.

I’m so excited about it

Any recommendations for essential accessories would be much appreciated!

 

[Perfectos]

to the beach club Kayleigh.

Accessories depend greatly on how you intend to use the van

my best purchases are CFX35 fridge / freezer
Vanessa window bags
Blue tooth speaker
25m hook up cable (10m + 15m)

essential purchases:
wine
diesel

post some piccies of the new arrival and give us a run down of the spec.

 

[BeagleMum]

Hi all, we have just bought ourselves a 2020 Reg. Beach ex demonstrator. It’s been well over 30 years since I’ve last been on family camping trips in my parents old T2 and I’m really looking forward to some new adventures in the Beach - maybe a short break at half term of the weather is OK and COVID permitting.

It’s going to be our only vehicle, so for us it seemed a better proposition than getting an Ocean, plus we can add a separate cooking unit to the rails if we really want to.

I’m so excited about it

Any recommendations for essential accessories would be much appreciated!

Congratulations accessories are quite personal, one person‘s essential is another’s no no. Depends on how you want to use the Beach and if you have any current stuff you could use. Our choices included, EHU cable for charging the leisure battery at home or on a site, an internal isotop to keep the upstairs warm and dark for sleeping. A Dometic fridge, expensive but excellent, a windscreen and rear screen external cover from RAINBOW Screens, Ridgemonkey and Ridgemonkey saucepan kit for cooking, Alpkit for quick cuppas, small gas stove, single electric hob, mugs plates and cutler. There’s a lot you could add, whether anything is essential only you can decide. It will take you a few trips to get a feel of what works for you, but that’s all part of the fun

 

[An-j]

Hello! We have a beach also and absolutely love it. What colour have you got?

We started off using old camping stuff, then gradually added bits and pieces. The things we bought to start with were a fridge, hook up cable, seat and mattress covers.
Over time we added Vanessa window bags - these are just brilliant as all clothes are easily accessible, cadac cooker, awning and more recently a sliding boot tray and storage boxes.

With 2 boys we can never really travel light, but it’s amazing how much stuff you can pack in! The best thing about the beach is how flexible it is, although even after a year I’m still refining what to take for different length trips. And how to take bikes, wetsuits etc along as well!

If you like organised campsites, we have found the motorhome club sites good - members can book without a deposit and the harstandings are flat and level with decent toilets. I’m still not very brave at driving across grass fields in case I get stuck!

 

[Neilos]

Welcome! I’d agree with the above. Alpkit stove or similar makes making tea easy. That and if you like a decent coffee. I love the aeropress go. It’s compact and very easy to clean and makes excellent coffee.


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[Karlos]

 

[Kayleigh]

to the beach club Kayleigh.

Accessories depend greatly on how you intend to use the van

my best purchases are CFX35 fridge / freezer
Vanessa window bags
Blue tooth speaker
25m hook up cable (10m + 15m)

essential purchases:
wine
diesel

post some piccies of the new arrival and give us a run down of the spec.

Hi, thanks for the tips. Several have mentioned the Vanessa bags so I will check them out. The van actually came with a brand new VW cool box still in the box. No idea if they are any good, but it looks quite robust and the pattern on top matches the floor.

Our Beach is bright red!! It’s like a beacon on our road in a sea of shades of metallic grey. We’ll have no trouble finding it unlike our old grey VW car.

We had a few ‘must haves’ in our spec list:
- Parking Heater
- Awning
- Heated windscreen
- CarPlay
- Parking sensors.

but it also came with dark windows, cruise control (an option I think) and the steering wheel with controls, which is nice. Oh and a thicker mattress and maybe a few other bits and bobs. They even gave us a bike rack!

It was only registered in June, so I was wondering if it could be the last Beach!!

View attachment 67562

 

[Kayleigh]

Hello! We have a beach also and absolutely love it. What colour have you got?

We started off using old camping stuff, then gradually added bits and pieces. The things we bought to start with were a fridge, hook up cable, seat and mattress covers.
Over time we added Vanessa window bags - these are just brilliant as all clothes are easily accessible, cadac cooker, awning and more recently a sliding boot tray and storage boxes.

With 2 boys we can never really travel light, but it’s amazing how much stuff you can pack in! The best thing about the beach is how flexible it is, although even after a year I’m still refining what to take for different length trips. And how to take bikes, wetsuits etc along as well!

If you like organised campsites, we have found the motorhome club sites good - members can book without a deposit and the harstandings are flat and level with decent toilets. I’m still not very brave at driving across grass fields in case I get stuck!

Hi, thanks for the advice! Ours is bright red. Is your Beach red too?

it’s the 4 seat version. We only have one daughter and a whippet so that’s fine for us. I’m definitely going to check the Vanessa bags and was actually thinking of the Cadac - my mother has one for her caravan. Yes I agree that it will take a while to refine what we need, but a hot drink kit is first on the list!

Where did you get the sliding boot tray? That sound brilliant for accessing everything. Any tips on which storage boxes work well?

We do want to join one of the clubs but haven’t looked into it yet. I’ll check out the motorhome club.

 

[Kayleigh]

Welcome! I’d agree with the above. Alpkit stove or similar makes making tea easy. That and if you like a decent coffee. I love the aeropress go. It’s compact and very easy to clean and makes excellent coffee.


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Yes, a hot drink making kit is first on the list for us
I’ll have a look at the Alpkit one. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Kayleigh]

Welcome! I’d agree with the above. Alpkit stove or similar makes making tea easy. That and if you like a decent coffee. I love the aeropress go. It’s compact and very easy to clean and makes excellent coffee.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’m took a look at the Aeropress go, it looks brilliant! Thanks. I will put it on the shortlist..

 

[An-j]

Hi, thanks for the advice! Ours is bright red. Is your Beach red too?

Yes, we are team red too! If you search under my name you will find my post about the sliding boot tray - it’s a great design but arrived damaged.

 

[An-j]

Oops -posted half way through......

We use euroboxes on the sliding tray which stack really nicely from auer which was recommended on here. We also keep the fridge in the van permanently on the tray to make life easier. We only cook outside the van for safety so don’t mind having to go outside to the fridge but it can be annoying in wet weather! That’s in the 3 seat beach though, so a slightly different set up to yours.

I would definitely recommend the Vanessa window bags if nothing else. Moving clothes bags about and not being able to find everyone’s pyjamas drove me nuts!

 

[Borris]

Hi, thanks for the tips. Several have mentioned the Vanessa bags so I will check them out. The van actually came with a brand new VW cool box still in the box. No idea if they are any good, but it looks quite robust and the pattern on top matches the floor.

Our Beach is bright red!! It’s like a beacon on our road in a sea of shades of metallic grey. We’ll have no trouble finding it unlike our old grey VW car.

We had a few ‘must haves’ in our spec list:
- Parking Heater
- Awning
- Heated windscreen
- CarPlay
- Parking sensors.

but it also came with dark windows, cruise control (an option I think) and the steering wheel with controls, which is nice. Oh and a thicker mattress and maybe a few other bits and bobs. They even gave us a bike rack!

It was only registered in June, so I was wondering if it could be the last Beach!!

View attachment 67561View attachment 67562

Lovely colour and you have all the options that matter. As long as you are warm and dry then you are well set up. All the other options are nice to have but not essential. Some can be retro fitted e.g the MFSW. However use it for a while and I'll bet you won't be bothered.

Regarding the VW Cool Box, I'm afraid to say that you'd be better off leaving it in the box or selling it as they aren't that useful. They use way too much power so will drain your battery quite quickly. A cheap cool box with some freezer blocks would work just as well and not provide the same energy issues. They do keep things warm as well but you have the same power drain problem. As previously mentioned, get yourself a Dometic compressor fridge. They do the job properly and aren't noisy or energy hungry. You can use them as a fridge or freezer for days on end without draining your leisure battery. Also if they reach a point where your leisure batt is low they will automatically turn off to save the battery. I believe some models even have a phone app to check on it and adjust temperature from your phone. Frankly though that's way beyond me! There are many different sizes to choose from and just as long as it's a compressor fridge you shouldn'd go far wrong. The only downside is that they are expensive but are worth every penny. We have a CFX 35 which has a capacity of 32 litres. During the kids summer hols it was jammed full of ice creams and was running 24/7 at -22 degrees.

Congrats on the new Beach. They are brilliant vehicles and so very flexible.

 

[AlisonF]

Stunning colour!

 

[Kayleigh]

Lovely colour and you have all the options that matter. As long as you are warm and dry then you are well set up. All the other options are nice to have but not essential. Some can be retro fitted e.g the MFSW. However use it for a while and I'll bet you won't be bothered.

Regarding the VW Cool Box, I'm afraid to say that you'd be better off leaving it in the box or selling it as they aren't that useful. They use way too much power so will drain your battery quite quickly. A cheap cool box with some freezer blocks would work just as well and not provide the same energy issues. They do keep things warm as well but you have the same power drain problem. As previously mentioned, get yourself a Dometic compressor fridge. They do the job properly and aren't noisy or energy hungry. You can use them as a fridge or freezer for days on end without draining your leisure battery. Also if they reach a point where your leisure batt is low they will automatically turn off to save the battery. I believe some models even have a phone app to check on it and adjust temperature from your phone. Frankly though that's way beyond me! There are many different sizes to choose from and just as long as it's a compressor fridge you shouldn'd go far wrong. The only downside is that they are expensive but are worth every penny. We have a CFX 35 which has a capacity of 32 litres. During the kids summer hols it was jammed full of ice creams and was running 24/7 + -22 degrees.

Congrats on the new Beach. They are brilliant vehicles and so very flexible.

I have to admit that I’m still getting used to the colour, although I do think bright colours really suit the Beach model. I did wonder if the fridge is any good. I think I’ll take your advice and sell it. I can put the proceeds towards a Dometic one. It’s not urgent as we have a decent Coleman cool box. Thanks for the advice

 

[Claremacrob]

I have to admit that I’m still getting used to the colour, although I do think bright colours really suit the Beach model. I did wonder if the fridge is any good. I think I’ll take your advice and sell it. I can put the proceeds towards a Dometic one. It’s not urgent as we have a decent Coleman cool box. Thanks for the advice

I love the colour so much we ordered the same! Our son chose the colour and I was slightly hesitant but now I'm really looking forward to having a bright red van. I love seeing pics since I'm still waiting to have ours in the flesh - hopefully just a few more weeks to wait.

 

[BeachyBird]

A lovely colour we also have the 4 seater Beach and the item we have found most useful is the small table we made which enables us to make tea inside all day and first thing in the morning for tea in bed.

 

[BeagleMum]

T

A lovely colour we also have the 4 seater Beach and the item we have found most useful is the small table we made which enables us to make tea inside all day and first thing in the morning for tea in bed. View attachment 67636View attachment 67637

We also have the 4 seater Beach, that looks good, is it detachable or does it fold?

 

[BeachyBird]

T

We also have the 4 seater Beach, that looks good, is it detachable or does it fold?

Both you can detach it from the rail and fold up the telescopic leg if you want to store it flat. It slides along the rail so you can open the box while you drink wine and leave it in situ when you make up the bed.

 

[BeagleMum]

Both you can detach it from the rail and fold up the telescopic leg if you want to store it flat. It slides along the rail so you can open the box while you drink wine and leave it in situ when you make up the bed.

Excellent, thank you.

 

[Kayleigh]

A lovely colour we also have the 4 seater Beach and the item we have found most useful is the small table we made which enables us to make tea inside all day and first thing in the morning for tea in bed. View attachment 67636View attachment 67637

Hey that looks really cool. Did you buy all the bits separately? I could really use one of those! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Kayleigh]

I love the colour so much we ordered the same! Our son chose the colour and I was slightly hesitant but now I'm really looking forward to having a bright red van. I love seeing pics since I'm still waiting to have ours in the flesh - hopefully just a few more weeks to wait.

Hopefully your Cali will be ready soon. We’ve started noticing other red VW vans now! I’m definitely warming to the colour and it’s really easy to find in the car park!

 

[Sunshine&Snow]

Congratulations! Lovely colour! We have the 4 seater beach too but in blue and silver. The box and big drawer are fantastic for holding everything needed to be to hand.

Vanessa bags and fridge are great. We also have a small bbq that we use a lot.

The other great thing we got was a couple of giant amazon basics holdalls, we have them filled with bedding, essentials and toys, so it's a real grab and go for a last minute trip when the weather is nice.

 

[Kayleigh]

Congratulations! Lovely colour! We have the 4 seater beach too but in blue and silver. The box and big drawer are fantastic for holding everything needed to be to hand.

Vanessa bags and fridge are great. We also have a small bbq that we use a lot.

The other great thing we got was a couple of giant amazon basics holdalls, we have them filled with bedding, essentials and toys, so it's a real grab and go for a last minute trip when the weather is nice.

Thank you! We are really delighted with it!
A number of people have mentioned the Vanessa bags. They look really nice quality. Do they just Velcro to the windows?

Yes I agree with being able to grab and go. We went out for the day on Sunday with pre-prepared lunch, but without any cutlery! Some essential items will need to stay on the van

I do have a question about using a fridge.. How do you monitor the leisure battery level in the Beach, or do people tend to use a second battery to power a fridge?

 

[Kayleigh]

Congratulations accessories are quite personal, one person‘s essential is another’s no no. Depends on how you want to use the Beach and if you have any current stuff you could use. Our choices included, EHU cable for charging the leisure battery at home or on a site, an internal isotop to keep the upstairs warm and dark for sleeping. A Dometic fridge, expensive but excellent, a windscreen and rear screen external cover from RAINBOW Screens, Ridgemonkey and Ridgemonkey saucepan kit for cooking, Alpkit for quick cuppas, small gas stove, single electric hob, mugs plates and cutler. There’s a lot you could add, whether anything is essential only you can decide. It will take you a few trips to get a feel of what works for you, but that’s all part of the fun

Thanks for the tips! The rainbow screens look fun and the toppers look really good too, and custom made to measure for each van.
Alpkit - is that the brewkit?
also, for a small electric job, I presume that’s on hookup only.
We already discovered that cutlery is an essential item to keep in the van, after a day trip at the weekend with a preprepared lunch, but nothing to eat it with
Thanks.