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

[Kayleigh]

Small gas valve saves us when the R907 bottle is empty

View attachment 122444

Today I added a small copper gas valve to the Cali repertoire. It fits in the 500 gram gas cans (propane/butane), that we always carry in the van for the gas grill.

Now we can use the cans as a backup for when the blue R907 butane bottle is exhausted sooner than we expected. It saves us the room and the 4 kilogram of the spare Campingaz bottle.

View attachment 122445

The valve is suitable for containers with a EN 417 connection. The outgoing end of the valve has an outlet of 3/8 inch (left handed thread), and connects to the Cali gas pressure regulator (not on the picture here).

View attachment 122446

https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B001HXM0XO/

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

Not sure I would leave that attached when not in use…

 

[edocali]

Small gas valve saves us when the R907 bottle is empty

View attachment 122444

Marc.

Thanks Marc, I ordered one too now

 

[Lee.Van.Cleef]

Small gas valve saves us when the R907 bottle is empty

View attachment 122444

Today I added a small copper gas valve to the Cali repertoire. It fits in the 500 gram gas cans (propane/butane), that we always carry in the van for the gas grill.

Now we can use the cans as a backup for when the blue R907 butane bottle is exhausted sooner than we expected. It saves us the room and the 4 kilogram of the spare Campingaz bottle.

View attachment 122445

The valve is suitable for containers with a EN 417 connection. The outgoing end of the valve has an outlet of 3/8 inch (left handed thread), and connects to the Cali gas pressure regulator (not on the picture here).

View attachment 122446

https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B001HXM0XO/

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

It seems like the 901 is discontinued (in the UK at least), so this might offer an alternative to carrying a large 904 or 907 as as a spare or for a 2nd stove, but with the flexibility to swap between bottles:
Campingaz Twin Connection with Gas Pressure Regulator for Campingaz Gas Stoves, Twin Connection for EasyClic Gas Cartridges CV 300 & CV 470 Plus as well as Gas Bottles R904 & R907 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BRY4TBF1?tag=unique09f-21

 

[KGCali]

It seems like the 901 is discontinued (in the UK at least), so this might offer an alternative to carrying a large 904 or 907 as as a spare or for a 2nd stove, but with the flexibility to swap between bottles:
Campingaz Twin Connection with Gas Pressure Regulator for Campingaz Gas Stoves, Twin Connection for EasyClic Gas Cartridges CV 300 & CV 470 Plus as well as Gas Bottles R904 & R907 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BRY4TBF1?tag=unique09f-21

Will that fit in the Cali, looks like the valve will hit the wall?

 

[Lee.Van.Cleef]

Will that fit in the Cali, looks like the valve will hit the wall?

View attachment 122496

Probably not. But if you're using an outside cooker you could choose to use smaller gas bottles but with the option of using the 904/907 in the gas compartment as backup should you so wish.

 

[marchugo]

Can't find the dimensions of the twin valve, but I'd guess the knob stands out too much for the gas bun.
Plus: it has no screw thread to connect to the Cali gas hose.

Marc.

 

[marchugo]

YAVA: yet another valve adapter for threadless gas bottles

Today I've added a YAVA (yet another valve adapter) to my collection: a Jeebel valve converter for the threadless click bayonet connection on Campingaz CV bottles, and on handworker bottles that you find in every DIY store.

The underside has the bayonet connector, at the upsite there's a thread EN 417 for a gas hose.
10 euros on Amazone.nl.

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

Small gas valve saves us when the R907 bottle is empty

View attachment 122444

Today I added a small copper gas valve to the Cali repertoire. It fits in the 500 gram gas cans (propane/butane), that we always carry in the van for the gas grill.

Now we can use the cans as a backup for when the blue R907 butane bottle is exhausted sooner than we expected. It saves us the room and the 4 kilogram of the spare Campingaz bottle.

View attachment 122445

The valve is suitable for containers with a EN 417 connection. The outgoing end of the valve has an outlet of 3/8 inch (left handed thread), and connects to the Cali gas pressure regulator (not on the picture here).

View attachment 122446

https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B001HXM0XO/

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

 

[edocali]

Darn, I couldn’t resist and ordered one of these too !!!

YAVA: yet another valve adapter for threadless gas bottles

Today I've added a YAVA (yet another valve adapter) to my collection: a Jeebel valve converter for the threadless click bayonet connection on Campingaz CV bottles, and on handworker bottles that you find in every DIY store.

The underside has the bayonet connector, at the upsite there's a thread EN 417 for a gas hose.
10 euros on Amazone.nl.

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

View attachment 122842

 

[marchugo]

CORRECTION: in my latest post on the gas valve adapter, the first picture (the green adapter) is wrong. The right adapter is on the second picture, with the Campingaz CV bottle (this adapter costs twice as much: 20 euros).

The green one is meant for butane bottles with a very small valve, like this:



Regards, Marc.

 

[edocali]

CORRECTION: in my latest post on the gas valve adapter, the first picture (the green adapter) is wrong. The right adapter is on the second picture, with the Campingaz CV bottle (this adapter costs twice as much: 20 euros).

The green one is meant for butane bottles with a very small valve, like this:

View attachment 122963

Regards, Marc.

Oh well mine has shipped.
If it’s wrong that’ll be YAAR (yet another Amazon return)

 

[MCEv (Moxie)]

Making room for real relax armchairs in the tail gate

Being literally tired of the VW camping chairs, I made room in the tail gate for two alternative lazy armchairs, model Crespo Compact II from Spain, which we found in the German webshop of Fritz Berger for 2 x 99,95 euro. Weight only 2 x 3,5 kilo.

View attachment 82570
The alternative armchairs in the tailgate.

The packing size per chair is folded up 91 x 64 x 5 CM, so it's clear two chairs are too thick to fit in the chair pocket in the rear. So the inner VW chair mounts had to be removed. The dismantling and assembly was done in 15 minutes:

- Take out the original chairs.

- Dismantle the loop handle (2 x Torx screws). The handle stays off, we hardly used it anyway.

- The chair pocket stays.

- Now remove the two foam chair mounts: by pressing down the top with both hands, 2 x 2 plastic stopping plugs (left and right) spring free; of course they tend to disappear in the grass. Then pull the foam mounts out, forcefully.

- Now dismantle the plastic center holder (2 x Torx screws). This cannot be done without destroying the plastic eye below (cut through with pliers). Without destroying it is also possible, but that is a major operation (the entire chair pocket then has to be dismantled). Wasn't important to me, the holder can still be placed back later.

- Slide the stacked armchairs in the box. Unfortunately, this is a little laborious, but it fits exactly to the millimeter! Push it back and forth a little more, after some wiggling the zipper closes effortlessly. The chairs don't rattle while driving, they sit tight:


View attachment 82571
The stacked alternative armchairs.

Some more pictures with details:

View attachment 82572
Permanently removed from the Cali: the foam mounts, the handle and the center holder. I'm still looking for the screws...

View attachment 82573

The plastic center holder, with the cut eye downside right.



View attachment 82574
The chairs are secured by winding a piece of velcro around the plastic rod in the top, and pulling them up. This prevents them from sinking down due to their weight and damaging the zipper. Of course you can also use the holder of the removed handle for winding the velcro.

Finally i protected the now exposed wiper motor with a thick piece of styrofoam.

A warning though: as i can easily lift the two stacked chairs into the compartment, Mrs. marchugo wasn't amused. She's the smaller of us, and couldn't push them in. And of course when unloading, she was attacked by two falling chairs.

The chair has a sliding headrest and the backrest can be changed in seven positions. We were very pleased with them during a week long trip in Holland.
Like the VW chairs, they don't have a nasty aluminum bar directly under your thighs, which adds to their comfort.


View attachment 82575



Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

HI , same here wrt comfort of original chairs . I am also looking at Crespo , but can only locate Crespo AL/213 Compact . it has almost same measurement 91.5 x 64 x 5 (is yours 91 or 91.5 ?)

would you be able to confirm measurements or whether chairs are indeed the same?

much appreciated

Marc

 

[marchugo]

Hi Marc,

Just went out between showers: the AL 213 here is 90,5 CM x 64,0 CM x 5,0 CM.

In the lenght you have more than 10 CM extra wiggling room in the tailgate, so that's no problem.

The height of 5 CM however is crucial: 2 x 5 CM just fits when the two chairs are stowed upon each other. But here too you have room of some MM's.

The 64 CM width are crucial too: the chairs just fit in the tailgate room. The hard plastic arm rests are rather unforgiving, but they fit.

Be carefull not to press the chairs with too much force into the chair bag, as deep inside you could damage the windshield washer and some electronic things. Better put a small buffer there (cell foam).

To prevent damage to the zippers, I lashed the seats with a strap.

BTW, don't know if the tailgate of your Cali 6.1 has other measures than our 5.1.

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.