Upgrading to motorhome

[Jay20cali]

I think white is the only colour that does that justice.
It looks like a upmarket Mediterranean apartment
That in grey would look like a Birmingham high rise I think clarkson would agree

 

[westfalia]

I was, still am, very impressed with the Grand Canyon

Yes i agree, its impressive.

I know it’s white but I would be tempted to upgrade to something like this. It appears to have the everything one would need. View attachment 59463

You can call me a dick, but i wouldn't mind camping in that

 

[Jodalo]

Yes i agree, its impressive.

You can call me a dick, but i wouldn't mind camping in that

You would certainly have a good view of the toilet block.

 

[larrylamb]

It would be the Sven hedin for me gj ,
but the Grand Canyon is similar and stunning.
I just like westys the quality is stunning being fully winterised with the underfloor heating is just luxurious.

We hired a Westfalia Columbus, the under floor heating, blown heating and hot water system were fantastic. Very nice for the colder months.

 

[Legin]

I have considered it. After numerous conversations with owners past and present concluded its a Cali or nothing. The most comment was it was too big so I sold it. Im a long time caravaner and wouldnt go back to that. The restrictions of movement and spoilt driving experience mean a car and hotels wins the day for me. The only caveat is if you are truly nomadic and travel a lot. Im not and I dont.
The marginal option is a 5.4m meter van with shower and bog but the seating is poor in most of them.

 

[T6Beach]

I certainly would not be spending £50k plus on another diesel vehicle when restrictions are only going to get worse over the coming years.

 

[Jester]

I certainly would not be spending £50k plus on another diesel vehicle when restrictions are only going to get worse over the coming years.

 

[Jester]

Hi, T6 Beach.
Interesting, so what would you replace yours with say in 2/3 years time?

 

[Karlos]

I know it’s white but I would be tempted to upgrade to something like this. It appears to have the everything one would need. View attachment 59463

It was a pig to drive.

 

[Bellcrew]

Hi, T6 Beach.
Interesting, so what would you replace yours with say in 2/3 years time?

It will be interesting to see how many vehicle dealers/manufactures will still be in business in the near future with enough capital to develop mass electric and alternative fuelled vehicles. The PCP system is going to be hammered by this emergency, will the public have enough purchasing power to buy them even if they are viable.

 

[Jay20cali]

Yes i agree, its impressive.

You can call me a dick, but i wouldn't mind camping in that
[/QUOTE

We hired a Westfalia Columbus, the under floor heating, blown heating and hot water system were fantastic. Very nice for the colder months.

They certainly are .
we owned a columbus 601d from new It was definitely one of the best campers we ever had the pleasure to own.as well as the California but the Fiat quality wasn’t the best .this was the only let down.
It will be a hard sad day when I have to let the cali go to a new home.

 

[soulstyledevon]

I have considered it. After numerous conversations with owners past and present concluded its a Cali or nothing. The most comment was it was too big so I sold it. Im a long time caravaner and wouldnt go back to that. The restrictions of movement and spoilt driving experience mean a car and hotels wins the day for me. The only caveat is if you are truly nomadic and travel a lot. Im not and I dont.
The marginal option is a 5.4m meter van with shower and bog but the seating is poor in most of them.

We have in the past. Pre-booked 3-4 hotels we wanted to stay at and used the Cali for the odd nights in between.
It’s a great balance between the freedom of the van and some luxury in between.
The Cali didn’t look out of place in a nice hotel car park either...

 

[russho]

Just bought a Auto trail Tribute T669, will sell the Cali in a month or so, want to use the 669 first, see how it goes. Had cali for over 10years

 

[Grr]

Anyone considering upgrading to a motorhome? we have decided we need more room and a bathroom mainly to extend our season to all year round especially in Europe ( once borders reopen)

Before we get the usual replies about size etc.. I am asking if anyone is considering it? I'm NOT asking people to compare the Cali with a Motorhome as we know there is a compromise with both which has already been done to death on here.

Hi, we've made the jump and have sold our Cali and seriously considered a motorhome/ campervan/grand cali and after many many months of searching decided that motorhomes are poorly assembled/built when compared to a Cali. After 12 months of searching have gone to the dark side and ordered a Fifth wheel Inos caravan. Expensive but when compared to what's on the market a great option to benefit from all year holidaying. The decision on why to change was that our teenagers are growing at a rate of knots and we wanted to camp all year round meaning that even kicking the boys out to a tent to sleep there was not enough room for us all to sit in the van. Have loved the cali but wanted more versatility for all year round adventure with the family.

 

[KWT]

Just traded ours in after 9 years for a 7.5m big white. Yes the cali was a great little run around and have camped in it all seasons in the alps. For us it's just far too small now for our needs. Dont think we would have another one.

 

[calicasas]

Anyone considering upgrading to a motorhome? we have decided we need more room and a bathroom mainly to extend our season to all year round especially in Europe ( once borders reopen)

Before we get the usual replies about size etc.. I am asking if anyone is considering it? I'm NOT asking people to compare the Cali with a Motorhome as we know there is a compromise with both which has already been done to death on here.

Yes, we are considering moving up to a motorhome, for the same reasons, namely we want to extend our stays across the seasons around continental europe. We are starting to look at the grand california & the Niesmann+Bischoff SMOVE+ In the first instance..
I am lucky enough to have dual British/European citizenship so our plan will be to purchase the vehicle in Europe (most probably) this gets us around the issues with insurance..

 

[Myriam]

Anyone considering upgrading to a motorhome? we have decided we need more room and a bathroom mainly to extend our season to all year round especially in Europe ( once borders reopen)

Before we get the usual replies about size etc.. I am asking if anyone is considering it? I'm NOT asking people to compare the Cali with a Motorhome as we know there is a compromise with both which has already been done to death on here.

I was interested in a Urbano Livingstone K2, on Ducato chassis, as well. Compaired both. I felt more 'at home' and got used to the luxe of a VW. So I decided to go for the Ocean... What really kept me away, is it's height. Not possible to go in an underground parking. And in general the Cali is more sturdy and smaller, easier to get me everywhere, comfortable driving.

 

[Chris Hardern]

We have considered changing to a bigger van only because we feel we need a loo on board.

Being at an age when night visits to the loo are regular occurrences, having one in the van is preferable to trudging across a dewy campsite at 3 in the morning.

Have looked at the Grand 680 (but need a C1 license for that and have just lost it) or the Hymer Car range. There was a nice Crafter based van at Centrum VW when we visited but can't remember the model just now, possibly Westfalia.

Alan

But at 3 am, the stars are out and you might miss out on that!!

 

[TripleBee]

But at 3 am, the stars are out and you might miss out on that!!

Not if you have a roof window above your head when sleeping. Just open the blind and stare to the stars, preferably after you went to the loo.

 

[sapto]

Anyone considering upgrading to a motorhome? we have decided we need more room and a bathroom mainly to extend our season to all year round especially in Europe ( once borders reopen)

Before we get the usual replies about size etc.. I am asking if anyone is considering it? I'm NOT asking people to compare the Cali with a Motorhome as we know there is a compromise with both which has already been done to death on here.

We are from time to time scrolling through the adds or looking at some larger vans when they pass by. We love the idea of the „Poessel“ vans with pop top roof („Hymner van: https://www.hymer.com/de/de/modelle/hymer-camper-vans-fiat) or the Eriva from [mention]GrannyJen [/mention]and her sister.

What are you looking for? Or which ones are your favoutite ones?

 

[Kris Emery]

We have considered changing to a bigger van only because we feel we need a loo on board.

Being at an age when night visits to the loo are regular occurrences, having one in the van is preferable to trudging across a dewy campsite at 3 in the morning.

Have looked at the Grand 680 (but need a C1 license for that and have just lost it) or the Hymer Car range. There was a nice Crafter based van at Centrum VW when we visited but can't remember the model just now, possibly Westfalia.

Alan

As one of the midnight loo ramblers - I sympathise - we pack a Thetford and a loo tent (does as a shower tent too) for when the loo trip is too far or no loos. Prefer to use site loos when poss - maybe not with COVID-19 - but flexibility is there

 

[Karlos]

We looked at motorhome van conversions and coach built but felt construction with all that veneered chipboard wasn't what we were looking for. I had already looked at Cali's and then took Mrs K to VW after looking at lots of motorhomes and she agreed the Cali had a quality finish compared to what we had looked at previously also it wouldn't look out of place on our drive so no storage to pay for and it can pretty much go anywhere.

 

[Troglodyte]

My wife and I have a 2016 California and have thoughts of increasing in size for the same reasons as blakely, on board toilet and shower. Also plans to do a long duration tour in the future. Still like the idea.
However we paid a visit to Eastbourne and Pevensey Bay last weekend and all the car parks had 2.2 meter height barriers, or lower. It was difficult enough trying to find a car park that I felt was safe to leave the Cali, I.e. not too busy and it a nice area, so I can imagine it would be very difficult if we had a taller van. We parked up in Pevensey and watched a Hymer car come down the dead end road, only to find the height barrier was too low.
Before you change, think about these issues carefully. Where will you use it. Research where would you be able to park up, if not going to a camp site.
The great thing about the California is it’s abil to be used a a second (or first) vehicle, rather than a motor home that’s parked up on the drive when not on a trip.
For us, if we do the European long duration tour, we might change to a bigger van, but only if the trip definitely goes ahead. Even then, might stick with the Cali.

 

[Jester]

If I were not getting a GC I would seriously be looking at the Le Strada range, Mercedes platform Nova M, however no dealer in UK ?

https://www.lastrada-mobile.de/fileadmin/user_upload/downloads/Katalog_und_Preisliste/Katalog-Preise-EN.pdf

 

[HAPPY_T6_CALI]

If we ever would consider to ‘upgrade’, this would be our choice:

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