Pushing the envelope - stretching Cali's room to te limit

[motacyclist]

That would never work for me. It’s always full of dirty dishes...
That’s reminds me, still need an empty out from the weekend

If it’s just cups we wipe them with a kitchen towel and put them back. Anything more goes into the collapsible bowl ready to wash.

 

[Eber123]

Good afternoon,

I love these posts - a fantastic way to get ideas of how to save space or do things better.



Super!

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[marchugo]

A small step for man, a giant step for ...

This little plastic step comes in handy for several situations: getting in the van for people with difficult legs; washing the solar modules; deicing the wind screen; as a side table for drinks; comfortable seating when changing the wheels, etc.

The folded step stowes away easily wherever you want in the Cali: next to the bench, in the big drawer, behind the drivers chair or in the rear "cellar".

I found it in a local DIY shop (Gamma) for 6 euros.

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

 

[Bellcrew]

A small step for man, a giant step for ...

This little plastic step comes in handy for several situations: getting in the van for people with difficult legs; washing the solar modules; deicing the wind screen; as a side table for drinks; comfortable seating when changing the wheels, etc.

The folded step stowes away easily wherever you want in the Cali: next to the bench, in the big drawer, behind the drivers chair or in the rear "cellar".

I found it in a local DIY shop (Gamma) for 6 euros.

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

View attachment 44474

View attachment 44475

We also use one of these steps on the turned drivers seat to access the top bed

 

[Barbara]

A small step for man, a giant step for ...

This little plastic step comes in handy for several situations: getting in the van for people with difficult legs; washing the solar modules; deicing the wind screen; as a side table for drinks; comfortable seating when changing the wheels, etc.

The folded step stowes away easily wherever you want in the Cali: next to the bench, in the big drawer, behind the drivers chair or in the rear "cellar".

I found it in a local DIY shop (Gamma) for 6 euros.

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

View attachment 44474

View attachment 44475

I use mine to reach the rear blind, put up my nearside ( that is UK nearside) awing and clean the screen. I made a bag for mine.

 

[calimera]

We use small step as a foot stool .

 

[marchugo]

2totheloo

This morning we were walking around on the biggest Dutch camper van show in Utrecht. More or less bored I looked at YAVWCC. But what was this? I was surprised when the folks from Tonke conversions showed their new invention.
Have a look.

Marc.

 

[marchugo]

No, it wasn't a plasma screen hidden in the real teak floor.

 

[marchugo]

And it was not an underground safe... Nor a bird watching chair...

 

[Alform]

Bog in a board

 

[marchugo]

Beam me up Scotty, it's a loo!

All the competitors can take their coat. Portapotti? Too big. Bog in a bag? Not stable (for men). I sat down on it. and it was stable, even for me. It rests against a front chair.

Brilliant idea, no patent yet.
They are working on bio degradable bags.

And the folks at Tonke
did some research: according to them a Cali loo is on average only used 4 times a year.
I would like to open a questionaire here: do you you it more often (or less?).

Oh, the green thing is the (plastic) lid against smell... You can see the bag with the real thing underneath.

Relieved regards from Amsterdam,

Marc

 

[marchugo]

Solar on a walking stick

In need of power for our e-bikes, I mounted a 120 Watt solar panel on four diabolo rubber feet. Diabolos are used on surf boards to mount the mast. They can bow in all directions.

The rubbers are screwed into the roof rails with 6M nuts and bolts, and give a freedom in four directions for the panel. Even with the roof up, you can always point them towards the sun.

As in our Cali all things have at least double functions, I keep the panel high with a mountain walking stick. If windy, the panel is lowered, of course.

On this nice small camping in Limburg, between the apple trees, the upright position of the panel doubled the power from 3 Ampere (flat) to 6.1 Ampere, even with some clouds in the air.

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

 

[marchugo]

Some impressions from the California show at our dealer (1)

This morning we have visited the yearly California show at our dealer VW Campercentrum in Amersfoort, Netherlands. Although there were no novelties to see this year (apart from the Gran California) I'd like to share some observations and pictures that could interest the Cali fans.


T1 on show in the Amersfoort garage

Talking to the staff, we learned that VW have no plans for an electric long haul California in the coming years. It will be diesel in the next years on the Cali front.
Although VW studied hydrogen engines intensively, they think this will not be a viable alternative in the short term for the company (and for the customers), mainly because of lack of infrastructure.
Sales of new Calis are faltering since dieselgate, we heard. Consumers are confused and uncertain, because of all the alarming news and because governments in Europe still do not have a clear common policy on Co2, nitrogen and small particulate matter. Buyers are deterred by the continuously changing emission standards, e.g. will diesel 6D-temp still be allowed after 2020?

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

 

[marchugo]

Some impressions from the California show at our dealer (2)

At the Cali show in Amersfoort we had a look at the new ignition knob for the Cali gas hob. It is indeed much more silent than the popping sound of the original push button, that echoos around the whole of the camping. The price is a bit hefty though: 165 euro, inclusive installation.


Silent spark ignition.


Herbs window

For those T5 owners looking for an aftermarket seasoning sliding window (locomotive windows: Bob's your uncle for 59,50 euro:





And the well known waste bin behind the left front chair, for 24,95 euro:


Plastic waste bin.

Tambour defense

Many a cloth is entangled in the tambour sliding door of the ward robe. This ugly aluminum protector ensures peace at the clothing front. It is to be installed inside the ward robe, so you don't see it. I don't remember the price.


Ward robe protector.

Marc.

 

[marchugo]

Some impressions from the California show at our dealer (3)

Tucked away somewhere in the back of the dealers garage, we found this beauty of a T3 bus, fully cut open at the side. A peek at the odometer learned that the van was victimized early in its life: 116 KM.




From behind:


And the left side:




And what's in it for the wife? This was 1965. How things can change over the years:



Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

 

[Hotel California]

The T3 @Campercentrum was a demo from the Westfalia factory .
When we were there last september it was parked in the rear showroom with the 2nd hand Calis . Seems they moved it now . I was told it would go up the attic next to the T1 but they need a crane or forklift to put it up there so it would take some time.

We are not going to the show this weekend as i think not much new to see ....we just been in september .

 

[Meoncoast]

Beam me up Scotty, it's a loo!

I thought it was a cooker ring

 

[Sandyvan]

Some impressions from the California show at our dealer (3)

Tucked away somewhere in the back of the dealers garage, we found this beauty of a T3 bus, fully cut open at the side. A peek at the odometer learned that the van was victimized early in its life: 116 KM.

View attachment 52174


From behind:
View attachment 52175

And the left side:
View attachment 52176



And what's in it for the wife? This was 1965. How things can change over the years:
View attachment 52177


Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

What a waste, having said that my mates a body man and he could fix it.

 

[Hotel California]

What a waste, having said that my mates a body man and he could fix it.

As i said , it was not a waste , it was preped that way by Westfalia to show how the camper works and how all is build in . To show the concept to the people , guess back then it was quite a new evolution in campers .

 

[Sandyvan]

As i said , it was not a waste , it was preped that way by Westfalia to show how the camper works and how all is build in . To show the concept to the people , guess back then it was quite a new evolution in campers .

Back then indeed, but now a solid body and low mileage could be deemed a waste by some.

 

[Karlos]

I presume you place a bucket under it, It doesn't look very sturdy. Did you sit on it or is it more for hovering over?

 

[Karlos]

I presume you place a bucket under it, It doesn't look very sturdy. Did you sit on it or is it more for hovering over?

Sorry this was re the lift out bog, I really should ensure I have got to the last post when adding a comment.

 

[marchugo]

Cooling the fridge with a fan


Last summer in the South of France the Danfoss fridge in our T5.1 decided to stop working, because the temperature outside was 42 Celsius. I decided to install a small ventilator beneath the refrigerator, to pull out the hot air from the space under the compressor.

The temperature in the compartment I measured that day at 72 degrees Celsius. The fridge stops working above 55 degrees Celsius, according to the Danfoss manual. In fact the fridge is causing its own stoppage by generating heat.

The compressor space of the old T5.1 also houses the Waeco battery loader, that adds considerable more heat to the area. This loader stops working above 59 degrees Celsius, as many Cali owners might have experienced while on hook in hot summers. Later VWN moved the loader to the battery compartment at the back.

I mounted a 12 Volt DC Arctic fan F9 (9 euros) and connected it to the electro block (model number 101N0220) of the Danfoss compressor.

In the early T5 models you can easily open the 2.5 MM Torx screws of the left wall in the left closet. In later T5 versions the wall is fixed, and has a small service hatch, that is probably too small for people with big hands...

After opening the wall, you'll see the Danfoss electro block at the left, with a series of connectors from top to bottom.

The big Minus (-) connector is a switched mass, indirectly connected to the Minus pole of the leisure battery. The minus wire switches the compressor on and off.
Power is only switched on when the temperature sensor in the cool box (connectors C and T) reaches the value you that you chose in the computer unit of the Cali.
The big Plus (+) is the 12 Volt plus connector direct from the battery plus. Together they feed the fridge compressor. (the yellow D is a data wire).

Just below the big + and - you can see two other connectors, + (small plus sign ) and F (Fan). Normally these connectors are empty. They too are switched 12 Volt connections. I have used them to automatically switch on the fan only at times when the compressor is working. The small plus connector wire goes to the plus of the fan, the F wire to the minus of the fan.




A view of my provisional setup, which, I fear, is also the final setup:


The fan is pulling hot air from the compressor department. To avoid a circular air movement back into that space, I closed the gap around the grey water valve with a piece of linoleum.

With a switch I can cut off the current to the fan, just in case its sound keeps us out of sleep. Which isn't the case, I can hardly hear the fan working, even with the closet door open.

Does it help? Yes it does. On warm days the fan sucks enough warmth from under the compressor to keep the fridge going. The compressor also does start less frequently to cool the box. Although I must add, that since our solar panels we hardly use the battery loader, so there's less heat under the fridge.

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

 

[marchugo]

An extra fan inside the fridge for air circulation.


The small fan pushes down the warm air at the top of the box down along the cooling wall at the back, forcing the temperature sensor at the left to give a cooling signal to the compressor.

In our fridge I have mounted a small 12 Volt fan. It's controlled by the compressor of the fridge: if the refrigerator switches on, the fan starts blowing.

This air circulation in the coolbox enhances the spreading of the temperature. With the fan off, and the board computer on 5 Celsius, on warm days I sometimes measure 4 degrees at the bottom of the fridge and even 10 to 12 Celsius just under the lid. The difference is amazing.

With the fan on I measure between 7 to 8 degrees Celsius, depending very much on the outside temperature of course.

The fan is hanging on a small bridge, to keep the free air flow going. Velcro holds the fan at the lid.


At the backside of the fridge there is room for a small 12 Volt cable, going down to the switched compressor contacts.

The fan also helps to reduce puddles at the bottom. But of course, in daily camp life the lid is opened quite often, and moist air from outside keeps entering the cool box, building swimming pools at the bottom. You can't beat the puddles completely, is my experience. Drying out with towel paper is an ongoing job.

What helps a lot is to put some grids at the bottom and at the back side of the fridge. I cut to size two plastic painting grids from the DIY store (1 euro each). At the bottom this helps your groceries to keep their feet dry; at the back this prevents fresh vegetables from freezing onto the back wall, where the cooling element is. With the fridge filled you don't see the ugly plastic grids.


White thing on the left wall: the temperature sensor of the Cali coolbox.

The size of my fan (an Arctic F8 80 MM, 8 euro) is enough to deliver air circulation, even in a (not too fully) filled fridge. But I'm still not satisfied about this thing, because it's a bit noisy. Of course mounting a silent one is postponed until (n)ever....

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

 

[marchugo]

Keep it simple: a way of hiding your VIN (vehicle information number) with a parking disc.

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.