Option: Wooden/plastic floor

[Meerkat1234]

Looks nice, but very expensive. Are there any alternatives that Cali owners have seen/purchased, with muddy boots and dogs in mind.

 

[T6 CFO]

Looks nice, but very expensive. Are there any alternatives that Cali owners have seen/purchased, with muddy boots and dogs in mind.

Quite popular are removable rugs. High quality ones are quite thin, don’t foul the sliding drawers and are washable. Or something cheaper and more disposable.

Mine is a Turtle Mat. Search will find other options on the forum.

Mike

 

[T6 CFO]

This hasn’t been posted for a while so good time for a refresh:-

I use Tapatalk for the forum and can search within that or there is a search facility on the website.

I keep a shortcut on my desktop for the following :-

site:vwcaliforniaclub.com

You can then just add the term you want and it will search the web prioritising the club.

So for this example:-

site:vwcaliforniaclub.com turtle mat

Finds amongst others:-

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/this-week-ive-bought-________-for-my-cali.17067/page-9

Perhaps a bit of a long thread for this example but you get my drift.. Post 166 for the turtle mat
Mike

 

[MattBW]

My old van has a basic vinyl floor but it looks so much nicer than the Cali plastic floor in my beach. I know that slidepods now have the CNC setup for fitting rails into vans that don't have them. Could probably cut something for the Cali too if you asked?

 

[GrannyJen]

I never specced it but I think the wood-effect for in the Cali is just about the very best option I have experienced.

That knobbly plastic surface of T5 was excruciating every time I had to get on my knees for something, was dreadful to keep clean and every alternative I tried to cover it over presented it's own problems. I tried rugs, QTM fitted, domestic carpet, vinyl .......

Now, a quick 5 minute wipe over with a damp cloth followed by an anti-bacterial wipe and it's done, just needs my sheepskin rug putting down to wiggle my toes on.

 

[Meerkat1234]

All these Turtle mats - do they "fit" the floor properly around the rails, or just lie over them? And can the Bandrup folding carpet be washed? Looking for comfort, easy cleaning, something suitable for dogs and us. Trying to separate out the great looks of it, because the price keeps pinching hard. GrannyJen - all very tempting and I can see the advantages of what you wrote, just wish it wasn't so expensive.

 

[GrannyJen]

All these Turtle mats - do they "fit" the floor properly around the rails, or just lie over them? And can the Bandrup folding carpet be washed? Looking for comfort, easy cleaning, something suitable for dogs and us. Trying to separate out the great looks of it, because the price keeps pinching hard. GrannyJen - all very tempting and I can see the advantages of what you wrote, just wish it wasn't so expensive.

I'm not trying to sell it, only give my personal experience ...

But:

I tried off the peg floor mats, most of them are dotted around my house now, more trouble than they were worth in terms of constantly rolling up, getting in the way, slipping etc etc ... I have probably spent over £60 on them. Best I had were off a company that allowed me to specify size, so I had one that fitted exactly between the rails. Amazing how much spilt or dropped on the floor either side of that mat

Tailored floor mats: Great looking when just cleaned, terrible looking 5 minutes after being just cleaned, dog hairs almost impossible to lift off with anything but damp sponge: Cost? Can't remember but over £100

My carpet man doing me a deal on lining my floor: Great. Same problem as QTM plus added bonus of buggeration in that the bench seat drawer kept catching on them. Cost free in exchange for lots of cups of tea and my own personal hotline to the Samaritans for when they were driving me nuts.

Vinyl: Only an experiment having consulted our forum-resident floor covering professional. Struggled with the knobbly floor, slipping, etc.

As I have now, Sheepskin rug: Only of toe-wiggle value, lovely to have, gorgeous, but doesn't cover the floor and the exposed floor areas are guaranteed to get all the stains and spills on them.

Every day I was camping I would clean the floor, as I do now: Some days it took me 5 minutes, some days an hour, some days as long as it took for the carpet to dry. Now? Average 5-10 minutes.

I don't know what it costs as an option now, it came with my van but if I had to specify it I would not have blinked.

Each to our own but I don't think anything, other perhaps than rear bench seat covers, has occupied my Cali-mind more and taken more time up experimenting and trying to find the best solution.

 

[Meerkat1234]

Thank you ever so much for that GrannyJen, really useful insight. This will be our very first Cali and we just don't know how we'll be in it yet, e.g. spills, dog hair, our daily regime to keep it all tidy and so on. It's nearly £450 as an option, so no small item money wise. May I ask, how do you cope with dog hair on your sheepskin rug? What do you lay down for your dog to lie on when it's in the van?

Now, you've raised the subject of seat covers, another non-VW-option consideration we're trying to work through. Expensive too, and we hear we should get them from day 1. What solution did you find?

 

[GrannyJen]

Thank you ever so much for that GrannyJen, really useful insight. This will be our very first Cali and we just don't know how we'll be in it yet, e.g. spills, dog hair, our daily regime to keep it all tidy and so on. It's nearly £450 as an option, so no small item money wise. May I ask, how do you cope with dog hair on your sheepskin rug? What do you lay down for your dog to lie on when it's in the van?

Now, you've raised the subject of seat covers, another non-VW-option consideration we're trying to work through. Expensive too, and we hear we should get them from day 1. What solution did you find?

Dog hair: I have a very hairy mutt and a not so hairy mutt: When we travel hairy mutt is on the back seat standing or lying on an old blanket that at night folds onto the lower bed to make his bed. A blanket is quite good for trapping dog hair and can be shaken out afterwards to good effect. Less hairy mutt, who is a bit old now, travels on the floor with her own personal sheepskin rug. I love sheepskins. Mud and dirt can be just left to dry and brushed or shaken off after drying. They can also be popped into the washing machine when we get home. All last winter we sploshed and splashed through rain and mud and the Cali survived.

Now I m free of carpet dog hairs on the floor are no problem. Those that do get on to the seat fabric are easily brushed off (one of these neatly fits into the drivers door side pocket fitted to the drivers seat plinth).

Seat covers: I had inka seat covers fitted on day 1 for Albert, my first Cali. Took them off round about day 10. Couldn't stand them. Like sitting on a polythene bag and besides my Cali is my home from home and as I don't have covers on my seats at home why should I have them on my Cali?

I tried fitted covers but for the expense, and again for the time consumed putting on and taking off, I binned the idea. I also found myself getting as precious about the covers as I do about the seats so now I don't bother. When travelling I throw a nice, brightly coloured, microfibre towel over the rear seats squab, protects against anyone or anything jumping in without thinking or careless placing of items on the back seat, and for the front seats a small towel to protect them from the dogs should we (rarely) leave them in the van. I quite like the splash of burnt orange in the back and microfibre takes no time at all to wash and dry. Towel and sheepskin Combo can just about be seen here

 

[motacyclist]

We had Inca waterproof seat covers fitted on our previous Cali, so the new owner has brand new seats while we sat on something like polythene the whole time, as Jen says. We just do something similar to Jen now on our new one and enjoy the Alcantara!

We also have the "wooden" floor and can confirm it is much easier to clean. At present we have a door mat thingy to wipe our feet on; maybe Jen's sheepskin idea would be better and just keep an old newspaper handy if we come back with wet muddy feet.

 

[DaNish]

I decided on the "wooden" floor based on recommendation from Jen, and we are very happy with it. So much easier to clean than the standard floor on the rental we had before deciding to buy.
For the seats, we use a fleece blanket for the back seat while camping and otherwise no covers. We are 2 grown-ups and no dog. And we have a few sheepskin for the feet on a cold day or for the camping chairs to give some comfort. Very versatile use.

 

[Juliette ryan]

I use an off cut of vinyl and it’s perfect - we tend to sleep upstairs but if downstairs bed need just lift out and roll up and put under the van.
Have a very hairy dog. We put his bed in a small hippo bag with one side cut down and the remaining sides rolled down. Stops the hair getting everywhere. Just back from SW France and took me no time to hoover out.

 

[The Merle]

I never specced it but I think the wood-effect for in the Cali is just about the very best option I have experienced.

That knobbly plastic surface of T5 was excruciating every time I had to get on my knees for something, was dreadful to keep clean and every alternative I tried to cover it over presented it's own problems. I tried rugs, QTM fitted, domestic carpet, vinyl .......

Now, a quick 5 minute wipe over with a damp cloth followed by an anti-bacterial wipe and it's done, just needs my sheepskin rug putting down to wiggle my toes on.

does that posh floor run into the boot area too, or is it the same as the old one?

 

[Juliette ryan]

Separate piece for boot. The dark grey looks quite smart but it really is just a piece of Lino at £11.99 a square metre

 

[motacyclist]

does that posh floor run into the boot area too

Yes

 

[Maudalina]

Looks nice, but very expensive. Are there any alternatives that Cali owners have seen/purchased, with muddy boots and dogs in mind.

I bought a cheaper

Quite popular are removable rugs. High quality ones are quite thin, don’t foul the sliding drawers and are washable. Or something cheaper and more disposable.

Mine is a Turtle Mat. Search will find other options on the forum.

Mike

I love Turtle Mats but bought a large cheaper version & cut it to size for main area & got some for from & cut them in. Works a treat with the dogs (& my muddy feet) - quick brush or shake if out touring & wash & tumble dry when home.

 

[stringers]

Is this still an option? Can't see it in the configurator..

 

[DavidofHook]

We had a good quality made to measure for the purpose mat which only made pulling the bed a Charles Atlas job. So we made a careful purchase of two small stripey mats from Wilko, cheap but not nasty, they are exactly the right width and reach almost from the door to the kitchen. We junked the expensive carpet and the Wilkos can be lifted out shaken and put back in no time. And it is easy for Mrs D of H to roll the bed forward for the night and she just puts one mat on the other. Big advantage, I can go to the toilet block knowing that she can do the bed without strain and I won't have to come back and help a cross person

 

[Verity]

I just got some cheap cotton rugs (one was too small, so I lay 2 side by side) from The Range. Yes, they sometimes catch on the drawer, but how much of a problem is it just to push them back when opening the drawer? They roll up easily for when we use the downstairs bed, they are nice bright colours and stop the grey floor getting covered in crud, plus stop the floor rails getting grit in. The wood effect floor wasn't available when we ordered our van, but I probably would've gone for that, then covered it up with rugs for the above reasons! The rugs can be shaken out as and when, and bunged in the washing machine if we have a muddy trip.

 

[stringers]

I think I left my invisibility cloak on!

 

[GrannyJen]

I think I left my invisibility cloak on!

Possibly no answer because no one has one

The configurator seems to have a mind of it's own. With many of these "Now you see them, now you don't" options it's best asking a dealer what the latest is.

 

[Wobble’s Mum]

I think I left my invisibility cloak on!

Ha ha no one knew the answer, that’s all.

It’s not on the configurator but it is in the options brochure.

I tried to order it today, mostly going on @GrannyJen’s experience and the fact that I hate the bobbly floor, Cif, and scrubbing brushes! Plus it looks good.

Sadly, it isn’t an option anymore and was removed in February for UK customers.

 

[GrannyJen]

Ha ha no one knew the answer, that’s all.

It’s not on the configurator but it is in the options brochure.

I tried to order it today, mostly going on @GrannyJen’s experience and the fact that I hate the bobbly floor, Cif, and scrubbing brushes! Plus it looks good.

Sadly, it isn’t an option anymore and was removed in February for UK customers.

Good grief!

Made it by two months! (Picked Alfie up end of November last year)....

 

[stringers]

Ahh, thanks for that, I had an SE couple of years ago & the bobbly floor bits were perpetually dirty, I would definitely go for this option now (If it was available!)

 

[Lewis]

Would be great to see a fitted vinyl mat for the entire rear cabin as an aftermarket option. Maybe something the forum shop could consider? I bet plenty of us would be interested in buying one