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Maybe not exciting for most already on here but I finally picked up my GC680 after much gnashing of teeth and worry about it being the right thing after reading about so many problems on the interwebs, at least I am eyes open.
Spec not quite what I would have ordered but having been told 14-16months for a new one (if things go well) and used ones being hens teeth, the conversions I looked at not available untilQ4 2023 or early 2024 I decided to commit to a) find out if I can live with a 7m van (I thought I would not be able to go bigger than 6m) and b) cope with 'only' 2wd and try to get some adventure in now.
Picked up on Friday, away by Saturday, first couldn't get any gas as local suppliers will only swop a bottle not sell a new one, so we got quite cold Sat night! Yes I wanted the diesel E heating. Then the field was steep and a touch damp...manoeuvring to put the van in the right place resulted in the 2wd van on low rolling resistance conti's spinning on the upslope (rural Yorkshire) and immediate head wobbles for not getting 4wd.. (yes I will fit some General Grabber AT3s as soon as they arrive!)
We won't mention the no facilities site (of a friends 40th party) entrance was barely wider than the van, lined with cut trees and sticky outy branches on the inside of a super tight turns with a dry stone on the outside of the corner for good measure, oh and entrance through granite posts.... all the assist systems, park, lane, Mayfair and everything else its fitted with, around the van went off in a two tone cacophony making me feel like Maverick in Top Gun caught in missile lock by the entire 'hostile' air force. Thank god for big mirrors. It was clear, 30 yards into the hairpin tree tunnel I was going to have to reverse back out onto the the narrow dry stone wall lined road again. I made it out (big mirrors) and went in through the out entrance, still tight but more manageable. I think the Sprinter 360 view might have been handy in this situation.
At this point I was clearly having doubts but knew this 'test' was what I needed to find out if its right for us. We laughed a lot.
On the positive side, I loved going to the facilities in the middle of the night as it was cold, we had a nice cup of tea just before bed, which meant it was inevitable at my age, but it was a beautiful thing not waking up my wife or walking across the campsite amongst the revellers and braving the weekend old portaloo, I had a gentle smile of relief(sic) and smugness.
It did 32mpg, gobsmacked I was, thats close to my Beach, despite the big hills and narrow lanes. Apart from trying to get the measure of the turning radius and where my nearside front corner is it was surprisingly easy to get around b roads and small villages. Not sure how much easier a 6m van is with 0.8m less wheelbase but this was ok.
Yes I need a shower sucker (anyone got a link or recommendation for this heinous VW omission on the GC680), some gas, a proper topper; we have some Raskalfs from the Ocean/Beach which were fine for a nights sleep but leave a 12in gap in the middle of the nice big bed which meant a good nights sleep (if a little cool) but needs sorting, definitely need a smaller table. likely Calicap if I can't find a UK one that stows next to the passenger seats, probably an Ecoflow /Jackary/Bluetti as I don't want to do too much modification of extra electrics during warranty but we will be off hookup quite a bit and it doesn't have solar (I can see the leisure going down already with the fridge even though its a new one) , maybe I'll be brave enough for an ecotree LifePO4, a waste tank warmer..and all the other super useful tricks tips from the fine folk on this site. I need to adjust a couple of the airline cupboards (hinges) to reduce the rattling. Oh and a spare wheel and bike carrier.
I hope we don't have the tap issue, but I know the emergency fixes, but I will try and get a replacement anyway under the technical note/fix as it seems very weak compare to the bathroom shower head (new version and new pump looked good on an insta I saw earlier, I think the pump was a reich KTW C DVGW W270). Maybe we can just buy and fit it if the dealers won't play ball.
So really looking forward to getting out in it, finding out if it's for me at this size in the long term. I can't imagine it being much tighter than the weekends soiree and I didn't freak so hopeful
Little piccy on the drive.
Oh one last thing, it was funny when I got home, parked on the drive and blocked out all the light like a solar eclipse in front of the lounge window (parked next to the Beach) my (16 and 18yr old) kids inside apparently say to my wife 'Jesus, thats HUGE, does Dad know he's bought an RV', My wife laughed so hard I thought I might need to give her gas and air
Thanks to all who have replied to my sometimes inane questions on here and I hope to see you out in the wild soon.
Spec not quite what I would have ordered but having been told 14-16months for a new one (if things go well) and used ones being hens teeth, the conversions I looked at not available untilQ4 2023 or early 2024 I decided to commit to a) find out if I can live with a 7m van (I thought I would not be able to go bigger than 6m) and b) cope with 'only' 2wd and try to get some adventure in now.
Picked up on Friday, away by Saturday, first couldn't get any gas as local suppliers will only swop a bottle not sell a new one, so we got quite cold Sat night! Yes I wanted the diesel E heating. Then the field was steep and a touch damp...manoeuvring to put the van in the right place resulted in the 2wd van on low rolling resistance conti's spinning on the upslope (rural Yorkshire) and immediate head wobbles for not getting 4wd.. (yes I will fit some General Grabber AT3s as soon as they arrive!)
We won't mention the no facilities site (of a friends 40th party) entrance was barely wider than the van, lined with cut trees and sticky outy branches on the inside of a super tight turns with a dry stone on the outside of the corner for good measure, oh and entrance through granite posts.... all the assist systems, park, lane, Mayfair and everything else its fitted with, around the van went off in a two tone cacophony making me feel like Maverick in Top Gun caught in missile lock by the entire 'hostile' air force. Thank god for big mirrors. It was clear, 30 yards into the hairpin tree tunnel I was going to have to reverse back out onto the the narrow dry stone wall lined road again. I made it out (big mirrors) and went in through the out entrance, still tight but more manageable. I think the Sprinter 360 view might have been handy in this situation.
At this point I was clearly having doubts but knew this 'test' was what I needed to find out if its right for us. We laughed a lot.
On the positive side, I loved going to the facilities in the middle of the night as it was cold, we had a nice cup of tea just before bed, which meant it was inevitable at my age, but it was a beautiful thing not waking up my wife or walking across the campsite amongst the revellers and braving the weekend old portaloo, I had a gentle smile of relief(sic) and smugness.
It did 32mpg, gobsmacked I was, thats close to my Beach, despite the big hills and narrow lanes. Apart from trying to get the measure of the turning radius and where my nearside front corner is it was surprisingly easy to get around b roads and small villages. Not sure how much easier a 6m van is with 0.8m less wheelbase but this was ok.
Yes I need a shower sucker (anyone got a link or recommendation for this heinous VW omission on the GC680), some gas, a proper topper; we have some Raskalfs from the Ocean/Beach which were fine for a nights sleep but leave a 12in gap in the middle of the nice big bed which meant a good nights sleep (if a little cool) but needs sorting, definitely need a smaller table. likely Calicap if I can't find a UK one that stows next to the passenger seats, probably an Ecoflow /Jackary/Bluetti as I don't want to do too much modification of extra electrics during warranty but we will be off hookup quite a bit and it doesn't have solar (I can see the leisure going down already with the fridge even though its a new one) , maybe I'll be brave enough for an ecotree LifePO4, a waste tank warmer..and all the other super useful tricks tips from the fine folk on this site. I need to adjust a couple of the airline cupboards (hinges) to reduce the rattling. Oh and a spare wheel and bike carrier.
I hope we don't have the tap issue, but I know the emergency fixes, but I will try and get a replacement anyway under the technical note/fix as it seems very weak compare to the bathroom shower head (new version and new pump looked good on an insta I saw earlier, I think the pump was a reich KTW C DVGW W270). Maybe we can just buy and fit it if the dealers won't play ball.
So really looking forward to getting out in it, finding out if it's for me at this size in the long term. I can't imagine it being much tighter than the weekends soiree and I didn't freak so hopeful
Little piccy on the drive.
Oh one last thing, it was funny when I got home, parked on the drive and blocked out all the light like a solar eclipse in front of the lounge window (parked next to the Beach) my (16 and 18yr old) kids inside apparently say to my wife 'Jesus, thats HUGE, does Dad know he's bought an RV', My wife laughed so hard I thought I might need to give her gas and air
Thanks to all who have replied to my sometimes inane questions on here and I hope to see you out in the wild soon.
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