What have you bought for your Cali today :-)

[DaNish]

We too went for the drawer from Calicap.de. It is the 80 cm version so the back seat is 2-3 cm further forward than standard. There is a cross support under the drawer, close to the back of the van, but it is secured in the rails close to the seat.
We bought some nice euro boxes too, but made at slight mistake. Since the drawer extends further than the shelf, then the seatbelt guide on the left hand of the back seat is over the drawer, when the bed is made. So at that point there is much less space for a box than under the rest of shelf. So one of the boxes does not fit. But otherwise it is a really nice setup and suits our needs well. The idea with the 2 boxes on top of each other is boots and shoes in the bottom and rain gear in the top. Wet clothes do not drain in the boots and muddy boots do not touch the jackets and trousers.

 

[Anthony Murphy]

Good evening,

I wanted to arrange better access to the full boot space so I got the drawer from CaliCap, Germany.

View attachment 36080

Today I went almost to Galway to get the best set of Euro boxes to make most of the space:
View attachment 36081

The drawer was easily installed and looks great. I decided to leave the board on the lower settings, which will have an influence on boot space. I got 6x Euro boxes 400x300x290 and 4x Euro boxes 300x200x120, which I believe gets most out of the available space.
When we are out and about the left 2x boxes will be replaced with 2x of the smaller boxes and (hold on now..) a microwave. .

Regards,
Eberhard

Can the rear cigarette lighter be used in the boot when the drawer is pushed in.

 

[Eber123]

Good afternoon,

Before I ordered the CaliDrawer I tested on which level I would most likely leave the bed shelf. The upper position would give more room in the boot (for example to lower boxes on top of each other). When I tried this the shelf is higher than the rest of the bed, I thought that it is really uncomfortable.

So I left the bed shelf on the lower settings. Now the bed is comfortable, but it is not so high. I believe it is ok for our belongings, but Monday when I went shopping a big Cola bottle won't fit upright under the shelf .
Beside that I think I like the setup. It works well and looks tidy. The real test will come when we go away for a weekend.

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[Romke]

Before I ordered the CaliDrawer I tested on which level I would most likely leave the bed shelf. The upper position would give more room in the boot (for example to lower boxes on top of each other). When I tried this the shelf is higher than the rest of the bed, I thought that it is really uncomfortable.

You can get a mattress that works with the shelf in its high position:
https://shop.vwcamper.de/schlafkomfort/200/calibed-prestige-ocean

We have an earlier version of this mattress and are very happy with it.

 

[SimonB]

We bought our Cali a sheltaPod. Having had a chance to properly look at the sheltaPod that @Speleo62 have when we were at the Devon Meet a couple of months ago I ordered one for our Cali.
It arrived the other day and we tried it out yesterday. Our town garden isn't big enough to put it up so we went to the Downs not far from here.
Being as everyone is a bit wary of travelling folk around here at present we thought it might be better to use a car rather than the Cali to try it with. It is made to fit to most types of vehicles. Here are a few pictures. Look forward to trying it out properly on a campsite soon. It was our first attempt at putting it up and we made a few mistakes, but having the bag 20% bigger makes it far easier to get things back into it afterwards.

It is much more spacious than I expected and lets a lot more light into the Cali than a conventional awning. Made for warm summer evenings I expect, perhaps not as good for cold winter evenings, but we will try it out and see.

 

[Volkywagen]

OEM engine cover came today. Why the hell these vans don’t come with one from new is beyond me.
Has reduced engine noise in the cab a little.

 

[motacyclist]

OEM engine cover came today. Why the hell these vans don’t come with one from new is beyond me.
Has reduced engine noise in the cab a little.

Bit puzzled, what is it they don't come with?

I didn't think engine noise was a problem, but I'm probably a bit Mutt & Jeff

 

[DaNish]

You can get a mattress that works with the shelf in its high position:
https://shop.vwcamper.de/schlafkomfort/200/calibed-prestige-ocean

We have an earlier version of this mattress and are very happy with it.

We have that mattress too and have the shelf in the high position. Gives 38 cm space between the drawer and the shelf.

 

[DaNish]

Can the rear cigarette lighter be used in the boot when the drawer is pushed in.

I guess not, since I am not able to see it I do not remember where it should be located, but if it is less than 8 cm above the floor it will be covered.

 

[Volkywagen]

Bit puzzled, what is it they don't come with?

I didn't think engine noise was a problem, but I'm probably a bit Mutt & Jeff

This cover....
Or am I one of a few that didn’t get one from new

 

[motacyclist]

View attachment 36336
This cover....
Or am I one of a few that didn’t get one from new

No, ours ain’t got one of those, just a mess under the bonnet! Should we have got one as standard?

 

[Loz]

No, not anymore, they get hot enough as it is..

 

[Volkywagen]

Be reet. Winter is coming

 

[Ocean Spirit]

On a slightly different note (and yeah I know this isn't the right section )

But despite reasonable daily milage with out short journeys I suffer from the sludge oil build up in the filler tube but I cleaned it at the start of the good weather and it hasn't returned yet.
Prior to this spell I cleaned a build up away 3 times since December.

 

[Volkywagen]

Higher Sumer temps with engine hotter will help keep the condensate in the engine at bay. It will probably come back when it gets cooler or when you change the oil. Is your coolant level staying the same?!
I drove to south Spain and back in May, the sludge disappeared and hasn’t come back yet.

 

[Ocean Spirit]

Higher Sumer temps with engine hotter will help keep the condensate in the engine at bay. It will probably come back when it gets cooler or when you change the oil. Is your coolant level staying the same?!
I drove to south Spain and back in May, the sludge disappeared and hasn’t come back yet.

I haven't check for a couple of months but prior to that even with the build up of sludge I think the oil level stayed at the top of the dip stick reading. I find dip sticks a bit hit and miss the longer and more flexible they are to be honest. The Cali T6 version is not amongst the best no matter how long I leave the oil to settle.

 

[Kingsley]

We just completed the NC 500 via Orkney

 

[Sandyvan]

View attachment 36373 We just completed the NC 500 via Orkney

Did you buy or make the plaque ?

 

[Kingsley]

It’s just a sticker on top of a Highland Park coaster. It could make a good plaque though.

 

[Volkywagen]

I haven't check for a couple of months but prior to that even with the build up of sludge I think the oil level stayed at the top of the dip stick reading. I find dip sticks a bit hit and miss the longer and more flexible they are to be honest. The Cali T6 version is not amongst the best no matter how long I leave the oil to settle.

My neighbour has a caravelle with the same engine. Hardly uses it. He wiped out the sludge with a cloth and it didn’t come back.
Always check oil when van parked on flat surface, left overnight is possible, if not three hours is ok. Dip once, wipe, and re dip to check. Oil can sometimes collect in the dipstick housing and give a false reading.

 

[Speleo62]

We bought our Cali a sheltaPod. Having had a chance to properly look at the sheltaPod that @Speleo62 have when we were at the Devon Meet a couple of months ago I ordered one for our Cali.
It arrived the other day and we tried it out yesterday. Our town garden isn't big enough to put it up so we went to the Downs not far from here.
Being as everyone is a bit wary of travelling folk around here at present we thought it might be better to use a car rather than the Cali to try it with. It is made to fit to most types of vehicles. Here are a few pictures. Look forward to trying it out properly on a campsite soon. It was our first attempt at putting it up and we made a few mistakes, but having the bag 20% bigger makes it far easier to get things back into it afterwards.
View attachment 36328 View attachment 36329 View attachment 36330 View attachment 36331
It is much more spacious than I expected and lets a lot more light into the Cali than a conventional awning. Made for warm summer evenings I expect, perhaps not as good for cold winter evenings, but we will try it out and see.

Looking good @SimonB tip for putting up, put door in before completing pegging out, we have found that we can’t get it in properly or it won’t do up Definitely a summer awning. It can stand high winds to a degree but it needs all guys used (as we found out in Lake Garda!!)

 

[Sandyvan]

It’s just a sticker on top of a Highland Park coaster. It could make a good plaque though.

Can I asked where you bought the sticker please.

 

[oryx white]

Table napkins!! To keep food off the upholstery … and, er, clothes of course.

 

[Actionwave]

A nice shelf for above the hob....very handy indeed. A ladder to get up top instead of the kids standing on seats, carpets for him as well QTM with VIP code......

 

[Kingsley]

Can I asked where you bought the sticker please.

I bought it at the Sango Sands site in Durness