New Members seniors from Spain. Hello!

[WonderlandTwo]

First of all, thank you so much for accepting us into the group.
We are a senior Spanish couple who have just bought our first Campervan, a VW California T6.1 Ocean, which will be delivered to us next July / August 2022, we hope !!

We are very excited, we rented a California last summer for a month around Europe, and it was an unforgettable experience, a dream that we had been waiting for a long time came true.
To debut, we want to ask you two questions, we think they are easy ones for a group with so much experience, as you are ;-)

- Here are the first one. The Ocean model in Spain comes with the electric aid power slide side door as standard, our question is, if it can be deactivated in some way and can be used manually without any problem? The idea is to avoid problems and save energy. Curiously, the vw salesman diden’t know how to answer it.
- The second one, is that we want to install solar panels on the roof, but, they do not have to exceed the 1.99 m in high that the California is, since it would not fit into our garage. Many people have recommended the ones from the Calisolar Company in Switzerland (320Wp), is there any other company that installs this type of reliable and fully guaranteed solar panels in Europe?
To begin with, these are our doubts.
Thank you all very much for the patience, that you are going to have with us.

All the best from Madrid and see you soon!

Marisa & Agustín.

 

[Dell]

Hi there,
I am also waiting for my California ocean and have had quiet a few delayed build date from VW.
I ordered solar panels from Roger Donoghue from www.solarcampersolutions.co.uk.
They have an excellent service and you can have one or two panels with blue tooth controls from your mobile phone, they include simple to follow instructions and will help you by phone if you need support. Look at their website and email them or give them a ring.
Happy to help you further.

 

[WonderlandTwo]

Hi Dell, thanks a lot for the Info.
How many time vw added to the delibery?

 

[Dell]

It will be basically over 18months when it arrives

 

[bob_summers]

First of all, thank you so much for accepting us into the group.
We are a senior Spanish couple who have just bought our first Campervan, a VW California T6.1 Ocean, which will be delivered to us next July / August 2022, we hope !!

We are very excited, we rented a California last summer for a month around Europe, and it was an unforgettable experience, a dream that we had been waiting for a long time came true.
To debut, we want to ask you two questions, we think they are easy ones for a group with so much experience, as you are ;-)

- Here are the first one. The Ocean model in Spain comes with the electric aid power slide side door as standard, our question is, if it can be deactivated in some way and can be used manually without any problem? The idea is to avoid problems and save energy. Curiously, the vw salesman diden’t know how to answer it.
- The second one, is that we want to install solar panels on the roof, but, they do not have to exceed the 1.99 m in high that the California is, since it would not fit into our garage. Many people have recommended the ones from the Calisolar Company in Switzerland (320Wp), is there any other company that installs this type of reliable and fully guaranteed solar panels in Europe?
To begin with, these are our doubts.
Thank you all very much for the patience, that you are going to have with us.

All the best from Madrid and see you soon!

Marisa & Agustín.

Hola y bienvenidos!
I have an Spain model Ocean on order and didn’t know it comes with the close-assist! So can’t help you with that.

I’m likely to fit the Solar Panel Solutions 100W panel (maybe 200W as we travel to the Pyrenees over winter a lot). They add very little height to the vehicle and are easy to install yourself.

But: check the vehicle height in relation to your garage! I measured a brand new Ocean 6.1 at the dealer, and it was 2.03m at the highest. I measured from the floor to the top of the awning rail at the rear of the van.

 

[Dell]

Lo último que me han dicho es que la fábrica tiene problema con los chip semi conductores y eso a causado demora en toda la gama del grupo VW.

 

[bob_summers]

Lo último que me han dicho es que la fábrica tiene problema con los chip semi conductores y eso a causado demora en toda la gama del grupo VW.

más Mercedes, Ford…
llevo desde abril en espera, me falta hasta feb.22 como minimo - un año más o menos es lo normal para entregar una furgo pedida hoy

 

[WonderlandTwo]

Ufffff, nosotros hemos realizado el pedido hace una semana en Castellana Wagen, y nos han dicho que entre seis y ocho meses, más cerca de los ocho que de los seis,…. Estamos temblando, queremos irnos de vacas en ella,…snifffff,….

 

[WonderlandTwo]

Hola y bienvenidos!
I have an Spain model Ocean on order and didn’t know it comes with the close-assist! So can’t help you with that.

I’m likely to fit the Solar Panel Solutions 100W panel (maybe 200W as we travel to the Pyrenees over winter a lot). They add very little height to the vehicle and are easy to install yourself.

But: check the vehicle height in relation to your garage! I measured a brand new Ocean 6.1 at the dealer, and it was 2.03m at the highest. I measured from the floor to the top of the awning rail at the rear of the van.

Muchas gracias por tu bienvenida, estamos muy ilusionados con el pisito con ruedas,….
Lo de la puerta eléctrica, parece ser un misterio, es imposible que nadie lo sepa ,… pero bueno, igual tengo que esperar más de ocho meses para enterarme,….

 

[WonderlandTwo]

Lo último que me han dicho es que la fábrica tiene problema con los chip semi conductores y eso a causado demora en toda la gama del grupo VW.

Nos ha tocado la china ;-)

 

[bob_summers]

Muchas gracias por tu bienvenida, estamos muy ilusionados con el pisito con ruedas,….
Lo de la puerta eléctrica, parece ser un misterio, es imposible que nadie lo sepa ,… pero bueno, igual tengo que esperar más de ocho meses para enterarme,….

lo de la puerta, admito q no controlo cómo funciona pero entiendo q el motor ‘close assist’ solamente ayuda en el últimos centímetros de su recorrido. Imagino q no chupa nada de batería!

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Mucho gusto.
I have the electric door. I am afraid you cannot turn it off.
I have had ours for 13 years and it is useful. Our van was bought used so I didn't specify the door but I quite like it.
It only really has one significant disadvantage, it makes a beeping safety noise when closing which always feels loud at night.

 

[WonderlandTwo]

Mucho gusto.
I have the electric door. I am afraid you cannot turn it off.
I have had ours for 13 years and it is useful. Our van was bought used so I didn't specify the door but I quite like it.
It only really has one significant disadvantage, it makes a beeping safety noise when closing which always feels loud at night.

:-( …. Many thanks Lambeth for your clear answer !

 

[WonderlandTwo]

lo de la puerta, admito q no controlo cómo funciona pero entiendo q el motor ‘close assist’ solamente ayuda en el últimos centímetros de su recorrido. Imagino q no chupa nada de batería!

Ok Bob, eso espero, muchas gracias por tu respuesta!

 

[scabrero]

Hola,

bienvenidos! Que dura va a ser la espera… Animo!

Creo que puedo solucionaros vuestras dudas. La puerta con cierre asistido eléctrico no es lo mismo que la puerta eléctrica. La puerta es manual y tienes que empujarla con la mano para cerrarla, pero no tienes que empujarla fuerte, únicamente lo justo para que "enganche" el cierre y la asistencia eléctrica la acaba de cerrar. Digamos que no la desplaza en horizontal, sino que simplemente la aprieta hacia adentro. No se puede desactivar pero tampoco hace falta, si la empujas con suficiente fuerza la asistencia eléctrica no actúa.

Respecto a la placa solar de todo lo que he visto la empresa que más me convence es Campertek. Instalan placas Solara de perfil bajo que apenas levantan unos milímetros y dejan la instalación muy limpia, sin cables a la vista (https://campertek.es/vw-electricidad).

 

[vmaxkiddy]

First of all, thank you so much for accepting us into the group.
We are a senior Spanish couple who have just bought our first Campervan, a VW California T6.1 Ocean, which will be delivered to us next July / August 2022, we hope !!

We are very excited, we rented a California last summer for a month around Europe, and it was an unforgettable experience, a dream that we had been waiting for a long time came true.
To debut, we want to ask you two questions, we think they are easy ones for a group with so much experience, as you are ;-)

- Here are the first one. The Ocean model in Spain comes with the electric aid power slide side door as standard, our question is, if it can be deactivated in some way and can be used manually without any problem? The idea is to avoid problems and save energy. Curiously, the vw salesman diden’t know how to answer it.
- The second one, is that we want to install solar panels on the roof, but, they do not have to exceed the 1.99 m in high that the California is, since it would not fit into our garage. Many people have recommended the ones from the Calisolar Company in Switzerland (320Wp), is there any other company that installs this type of reliable and fully guaranteed solar panels in Europe?
To begin with, these are our doubts.
Thank you all very much for the patience, that you are going to have with us.

All the best from Madrid and see you soon!

Marisa & Agustín.

There’s a thread that suggests the T6.1 Cali is over 2.0m high. I don’t know what the outcome was.

6.1 Cali height, over 2m

A couple of members have just measured their 6.1 Cali Oceans at between 2.03m and 2.04 m at the rear, with a difference front to rear at the door sill and side body line of 40-50 mm. This is higher than previous Calis. Have other 6.1 owners, Ocean or Beach, seen this? This video shows the...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[bob_summers]

There’s a thread that suggests the T6.1 Cali is over 2.0m high. I don’t know what the outcome was.

6.1 Cali height, over 2m

A couple of members have just measured their 6.1 Cali Oceans at between 2.03m and 2.04 m at the rear, with a difference front to rear at the door sill and side body line of 40-50 mm. This is higher than previous Calis. Have other 6.1 owners, Ocean or Beach, seen this? This video shows the...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

The one I measured at the dealer was 2.03m, a 0km T6.1 Ocean with standard steel wheels. When the springs are bedded in, with a full tank of diesel and four people, I’m sure it’s under 2m.
It’s not a dealbreaker for me, but the beauty of my T5 (non california) is that it goes under many - not all - of the 1.9m barriers they usually have at beaches in SW France, and some 1.9m underground car parks.
It’s a pity to lose that ability, but not the end of the world.

 

[WonderlandTwo]

Hola,

bienvenidos! Que dura va a ser la espera… Animo!

Creo que puedo solucionaros vuestras dudas. La puerta con cierre asistido eléctrico no es lo mismo que la puerta eléctrica. La puerta es manual y tienes que empujarla con la mano para cerrarla, pero no tienes que empujarla fuerte, únicamente lo justo para que "enganche" el cierre y la asistencia eléctrica la acaba de cerrar. Digamos que no la desplaza en horizontal, sino que simplemente la aprieta hacia adentro. No se puede desactivar pero tampoco hace falta, si la empujas con suficiente fuerza la asistencia eléctrica no actúa.

Respecto a la placa solar de todo lo que he visto la empresa que más me convence es Campertek. Instalan placas Solara de perfil bajo que apenas levantan unos milímetros y dejan la instalación muy limpia, sin cables a la vista (https://campertek.es/vw-electricidad).

Muchas gracias por la bienvenida, las aclaraciones y los consejos.
un saludo y ya te contaré cuando nos la entregan !!

 

[Ollie Pollard]

First of all, thank you so much for accepting us into the group.
We are a senior Spanish couple who have just bought our first Campervan, a VW California T6.1 Ocean, which will be delivered to us next July / August 2022, we hope !!

We are very excited, we rented a California last summer for a month around Europe, and it was an unforgettable experience, a dream that we had been waiting for a long time came true.
To debut, we want to ask you two questions, we think they are easy ones for a group with so much experience, as you are ;-)

- Here are the first one. The Ocean model in Spain comes with the electric aid power slide side door as standard, our question is, if it can be deactivated in some way and can be used manually without any problem? The idea is to avoid problems and save energy. Curiously, the vw salesman diden’t know how to answer it.
- The second one, is that we want to install solar panels on the roof, but, they do not have to exceed the 1.99 m in high that the California is, since it would not fit into our garage. Many people have recommended the ones from the Calisolar Company in Switzerland (320Wp), is there any other company that installs this type of reliable and fully guaranteed solar panels in Europe?
To begin with, these are our doubts.
Thank you all very much for the patience, that you are going to have with us.

All the best from Madrid and see you soon!

Marisa & Agustín.

Hi there! I hope you are still enjoying your VW Cali… I actually wanted to ask you a separate question. How and with who did you insure your Cali? I am looking to sell my 2005 VW Cali to a couple in Spain and they are struggling to find insurance companies that will cover them. Any suggestions really appreciated! Ollie

 

[Betsycalifornia]

My 4 motion with solar panels from Roger is still 1.99mtrs. Same as from new in 2023.
I'm also sure I can make the electric door manual, caveat, I’ve been wrong a few times in 63 years, there’s a button on the dash I convinced myself. I’ll check once it arrives home. it’s away getting its bellows wet.
update. I can make the door a manual opening by pressing the off button in the picture. Tried it last night. No beeps, no motors. Manual only.
6.1 ocean.