What have you done with your California today?

[Stu@rt]

Went out side to wash it, decided no point it will only get dirty again. So fitted the the brandrup middle carpets & scotchgarded the whole interior.View attachment 73027View attachment 73029

Can I ask how many cans you used? When you say whole interior? Did you do the fitted carpets, headlining etc?

 

[andyinluton]

4 large cans, did all carpets & seats + back of front seats + headlining.
2 coats everywhere + a third coat on the drivers seat & front foot wells just to finish the can off. Haven’t done the boot carpets yet.

Not put anything on the mattresses or the roof lining.

 

[BeachLife]

Opened everything up for the first time since taking delivery last Monday to check it all works then sat on a deck chair and admired it. Measured the boot. Then went inside for a cuppa. So glad to have made this decision I am flipping chomping at the bit to go somewhere properly!!!

 

[Scorf]

Nice ride out to get the 1st Interim check & oil change done today, carried out by Listers of Droitwich..... 10600 miles & 23 months old, part of the 2 free service package available when purchased in March 19.......all ship shape & working fine, great service by Dan & the team there

 

[Stu@rt]

4 large cans, did all carpets & seats + back of front seats + headlining.
2 coats everywhere + a third coat on the drivers seat & front foot wells just to finish the can off. Haven’t done the boot carpets yet.

Not put anything on the mattresses or the roof lining.

Many thanks

 

[Algor]

Went out side to wash it, decided no point it will only get dirty again. So fitted the the brandrup middle carpets & scotchgarded the whole interior.View attachment 73027View attachment 73029

Carpet looks great. Was it straight forward to fit?

 

[andyinluton]

Yes, there is a plastic strip with Velcro that slides under the door opening trim to keep it in place. So 10mins in total to fit.

It’s Amazing how much quieter the van is with carpet everywhere. I’ve done the boot and lined the under bench draw as well. All makes it feel less echoing and much more cosy car like.

Centre carpet now has a £20 universal rubber boot mat over it - tend to keep that in this time of year when the dog seems to be muddy all the time & we are not camping.

 

[bigmac77]

Hi would you recommend the ceramic coating, I'm thinking if doing when I eventually get delivery of my Cali

My Cali was a showroom model, purchased Dec 19 and it had been washed by the dealership, I have never seen so many swirls. Despite hardly using it last year I managed to sustain a couple of scratches. It had a stage 2 polish, this was the majority of the work, then the ceramic coating. The Cali now looks like it should have when I bought it. As for the ceramic glaze it is early days but so far I’m very happy. If looked after it can last up to three years, care simply requires fortnightly washing.

 

[kurienp]

Breakfast parked up outside the Greenham Commons Control tower - after a nice morning walk.

 

[RobertCalifornia]

It’s going to dip to -1C tonight, but the kids have persuaded me that they cannot wait until it gets warmer to try sleeping out in the California. We used the levelling system and some chocks (easier than I expected) to deal with the hill outside the house. Warmed it up for 15 minutes with the auxiliary heater (will be interested to see how much diesel that uses). Put the blinds up/down - impressed with the magnetic ones, as the sucker cups we had for our Bongo were hopeless. The kids are sleeping happily upstairs (for now!) and I am trying out downstairs (less comfy but maybe a little warmer). Just hoping that their bladders last the night - I may regret not laying out for a portapotti!

 

[andyinluton]

Warmed it up for 15 minutes with the auxiliary heater (will be interested to see how much diesel that uses).

Uses naff all diesel, why not keep it on slow setting all night?

 

[RobertCalifornia]

Uses naff all diesel, why not keep it on slow setting all night?

Wish I’d seen this before I went to sleep - daughter’s bladder didn’t last the night so just did a dash inside. Heater now on!

 

[Amarillo]

Service, MOT and annual wash.

Two minor warranty items
- broken spring on grab handle above front passenger door.
- water ingress into the tailgate, high rear brake light replaced; solar panels wiring blamed!!!
No quibble on the factory extended warranty.

3rd of 4 services in the service package. Garage claim I have used all four. Apparently my first service carried out in Spain, for which I paid, has been logged as a pre-paid service...

 

[WelshGas]

It’s going to dip to -1C tonight, but the kids have persuaded me that they cannot wait until it gets warmer to try sleeping out in the California. We used the levelling system and some chocks (easier than I expected) to deal with the hill outside the house. Warmed it up for 15 minutes with the auxiliary heater (will be interested to see how much diesel that uses). Put the blinds up/down - impressed with the magnetic ones, as the sucker cups we had for our Bongo were hopeless. The kids are sleeping happily upstairs (for now!) and I am trying out downstairs (less comfy but maybe a little warmer). Just hoping that their bladders last the night - I may regret not laying out for a portapotti!

On full power continuously the Parking Heater uses 0.3L/hr. BUT you'll never run it at that setting continuously so about 0.1L/hr or less. Very frugal.
Maximum I've run it for was 5 days continuously varying the Temp Level from 2 - 5. Fuel gauge didn't move.

 

[WelshGas]

Hi @Amarillo, does your solar panel cabling run through the rubber bush and is where the water got in? Any idea what the solution is? I'm sure there'll be a number of us on the forum getting a little nervous right now.

Don't worry. The fact that the Dealership replaced the High Level Brake Light means they didn't believe there own excuse. They'll try anything to avoid a warranty claim.

 

[Amarillo]

Hi @Amarillo, does your solar panel cabling run through the rubber bush and is where the water got in? Any idea what the solution is? I'm sure there'll be a number of us on the forum getting a little nervous right now.

It is difficult for me to understand how the solar panel cabling could be responsible for water ingress. The cable runs off the roof and into a small incision in the underside of the loom between tailgate and boot.

Note that the garage replaced the tailgate light without quibble under warranty, and the tailgate light is a known problem.

I shall just wait until the next heavy rain to see if the issue is fixed. If not, I will closely examine my wiring once more to see if it might be possible that it is causing water to pool and drain through the incision.

 

[WelshGas]

It is difficult for me to understand how the solar panel cabling could be responsible for water ingress. The cable runs off the roof and into a small incision in the underside of the loom between tailgate and boot.

Note that the garage replaced the tailgate light without quibble under warranty, and the tailgate light is a known problem.

I shall just wait until the next heavy rain to see if the issue is fixed. If not, I will closely examine my wiring once more to see if it might be possible that it is causing water to pool and drain through the incision.

I have a loop of wire going down the side of the tailgate, about 6" before going upwards to the tailgate corrugated boot and through a small incision that is stretched around the wire, rather than being loose around the wire.

 

[Palm]

no matter who or what is to blame, it can be sealed with Liquid Tape from Performix, it is a liquid that solidifies and can be used as electrical tape. I have used it to seal connections on HF antennas and it works well over time.

 

[Rams66]

Went out side to wash it, decided no point it will only get dirty again. So fitted the the brandrup middle carpets & scotchgarded the whole interior.View attachment 73027View attachment 73029

Do you mind sharing where you got the carpets and which one you bought please? Thx

 

[andyinluton]

Do you mind sharing where you got the carpets and which one you bought please? Thx

They are Brandrup, bought from Campervan bits, using Vip discount from here. They are palladium colour so match exactly the vw carpet fitted to the front of the van. As with all brandrup stuff the colour match & the fit is excellent.

Make sure you get T6.1 version though as they are different to the T6 ones

 

[Rams66]

They are Brandrup, bought from Campervan bits, using Vip discount from here. They are palladium colour so match exactly the vw carpet fitted to the front of the van. As with all brandrup stuff the colour match & the fit is excellent.

Make sure you get T6.1 version though as they are different to the T6 ones

Cool, thanks

 

[Hamish S]

Breakfast parked up outside the Greenham Commons Control tower - after a nice morning walk.

View attachment 73088

Had a cup of coffee there last week.

 

[Swiss Cheese]

Went out in -7°C and cooked bacon sarnies for lunch, which were then eaten in the van with a cup of tea and the heating on! Followed by a walk in the snow, and then another cuppa and heating to get warm.

 

[Wogga]

Well at long last a dry warm‘ish day, the first since I picked the van up and got a chance to do things I couldn’t do on collectio due to torrential horizontal rain. First time I have had the roof up, seats turned, heating tested fully.... toasty. Did a bit of snagging offside sliding door window not opening fixed, cooker tested no ignition Piezo loose fixed. Drawers fitted and IKEA rail fitted.

 

[Bartleby]

IKEA rail fitted.

View attachment 73810

Sorry if I've missed it but what's this called? The nearest I can find is Sunnersta but the fittings don't look right, have you made those yourself?