What have you done with your California today?

[GrumpyGranddad]

Went to see Milton Jones at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre this evening, not in our Cali’ but we did see a White/Copper Bronze one like ours parked up. Was it a VWCC member?

 

[BeagleMum]

Went to see Milton Jones at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre this evening, not in our Cali’ but we did see a White/Copper Bronze one like ours parked up. Was it a VWCC member?

Very enjoyable day at Attingham Park. Only an hour and a half from home but Shropshire is a favourite of ours for day trips. Love the Cali as a day van it just adds a whole new dimension to the day.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Little trip yesterday to Ogmore county. The swell turned up and I got out. It’s was getting beefy late afternoon…

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Sterrett’s campsite at Symonds Yat West. Lovely colours in the trees of the Wye Valley.

 

[studioTUNGSTEN]

Collected four pullets and 100 Kg of feed, and, if you look closely, you will see that lunch was laid on the way home, yum!

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We now have a racially diverse flock: 2 x Mendlesham Ranger (brown); 2 x Mendlesham Amber (white); 2 x Mendlesham Blue (grey); 2 x Fenning Black (black).

Lovely. Remind my back garden hens who loved Yogurt the most.

 

[This Eva]

Went to see Milton Jones at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre this evening, not in our Cali’ but we did see a White/Copper Bronze one like ours parked up. Was it a VWCC member?

Not Eva. We will meet one day will be going to the NEC show next year

 

[clarinetbcn]

Canigó Peak above Perpignan, Pyrenees, France


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This was in October and you can still see the scars on my legs from having been run over by an electric stand up scooter in June.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

After a lovely river walk yesterday we’re homeward bound. Drove down the Wye Valley from Symonds Yat West to Chepstow with a stop at Tintern Abbey. Beautiful scenery.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Finished replacing the cabin filter and replaced the engine air filter by myself, super easy little jobs, so many good videos on YouTube on how to fix things on the cali / t5,

Has made a world of difference to the smell in the cabin. Before it was all musty and tabacco ish that just left my nose and throat feeling irritated. Put an aircon bomb through the system too which seemed to nuke a lot of bad smells too. Hopefully it doesn't come back.

Next thing is figuring out which inka seat covers to go for now that they've finally come down in price. And they have a new range of leatherette colours which we're so tempted to buy.

This inspired me. Our van has been a bit whiffy for years so this seems a possible diy job.
What is an air con bomb?

 

[OGII]

A day out to visit new employer ahead of a January start.

 

[willwander]

A day out to visit new employer ahead of a January start.

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Good luck with the new job

 

[Mowbotman]

Nice few days in Keswick, stop of on way home for lunch today

 

[Calimili]

Today went about making a PP335 cover, using an old t-shirt and 40x30cm piece of old jeans.
I've also placed a towel under the cover so now the disguised "Puff Chair" is also soft to sit on..

 

[Perfectos]

Not strictly my Cali

but the trees !

 

[Amarillo]

Ben’s Birthday BBQ

 

[Amarillo]

Ben’s Birthday BBQ

 

[Stu@rt]

Happy Birthday Ben

 

[Wildcamper]

Just fitted 3 90x90 12v temperature activated cooling fans to increase air flow across the refrigerator cooling vanes. Fans almost silent, activated when temperatures behind the fridge reaches 30C and air flow is now about 20cu.m per min. Last summer our fridge struggled on hot days, fingers crossed for this summer. Total cost £20 by purchasing the individual components and the logic controller.

 

[kurienp]

Just fitted 3 90x90 12v temperature activated cooling fans to increase air flow across the refrigerator cooling vanes. Fans almost silent, activated when temperatures behind the fridge reaches 30C and air flow is now about 20cu.m per min. Last summer our fridge struggled on hot days, fingers crossed for this summer. Total cost £20 by purchasing the individual components and the logic controller.

@Wildcamper , that is a great mod and one on my list. Would you be able to share details on the components and where you purchased them from please?

 

[WelshGas]

This inspired me. Our van has been a bit whiffy for years so this seems a possible diy job.
What is an air con bomb?
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AirCon bomb. Various types, but basically, Windows closed, engine On, AirCon ON in Recycling mode and place the "Bomb" in passenger footwell, activate and vacate vehicle.

Other types are Aerosole that you spray into the Air inlet in passenger footwell with AirCon in recycle mode or into air vent below windscreen.

Basically fumigates and disinfects the airCon pipes, valves and heat/dehumidifier matrices.

 

[Wildcamper]

@Wildcamper , that is a great mod and one on my list. Would you be able to share details on the components and where you purchased them from please?

You will need a 12v supply. If from a 12v cigarette type socket then there should be no problems re warranty, if you are splicing into a convenient 12v cable you may invalidate your warranty - up to you to check.
The logic controller and fans are all available on eBay and Amazon. Search 12v fan controller, there are several that will work. I used https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/29194331...BryfiIxuBzDmpqDIz3utD5A4sBv9hyYsaAnw8EALw_wcB
Also look on YouTube, several videos on the set up.
What I did. First I do not have a California so while the wiring will work where you position your fans is something you will have to work out. I wanted one fan to run continuously and two to be modulated. Splice into the live 12v circuit. Make a second splice into the new 12v spur. Connect one fan directly into one of the live 12v feeds, this fan will run continuously, and connect the output from that fan to the negative 12v supply. Connect the second live 12v splice to a thermal switch (normally open) rated at 35C ( it will switch on at 35C). You can choose a variety of temperatures to suit your requirements, available on eBay/Amazon. Connect the output from the thermal switch to the + input on the logic controller, connect the negative of the logic controller to the negative 12v supply. I used 4 wire pwm 90mm fans for the two controlled fans and a two wire fan for the one that runs continuously. PWM means Pulse Width Modulated which means the fan speed will be a function of temperature in this application. On the logic controller only one port is PWM active so for two fans you will need a 4 wire Y splitter. Plug the splitter into the the PWM active port on the logic controller and then both fans into the outputs of the splitter. Plug the temperature probe (it comes with the logic controller) into the logic board. You will need to set up the logic controller to operate at the temperature you require, best to look at YouTube instructions as way too complicated to write down. Site the thermal switch at the hottest part of the refrigerator cooling vanes. When activated thus will open the power supply to the logic board. Site the thermal probe in the hot air flow from the refrigerator cooling system. So when you set everything up. When you plug into the 12v supply one fan will run all the time. If the thermal switch is set at 35C then once that is reached the logic controller will be powered up and the other two fans will start at low speed. As the exhaust air from the refrigerator increases in temperature the logic board thermal probe will detect it and request more power be sent to the two fans thus increasing speed and air flow. Depending on set up all three fans will likely be at full power by the time the exhaust air reaches 45C. You can change this. If cooling is efficient as the exhaust temperature drops the two fans will slow down and once below the threshold temperature will stop.
A simplified version is to do away with the logic controller and have all fans wired into the 12v supply via the thermal switch. So here once the thermal switch is activated all three fans will run at full speed until the switch closes (off). This is more noisy that running the fans via the logic controller which runs them at low speed until full power is required.

 

[kurienp]

You will need a 12v supply. If from a 12v cigarette type socket then there should be no problems re warranty, if you are splicing into a convenient 12v cable you may invalidate your warranty - up to you to check.
The logic controller and fans are all available on eBay and Amazon. Search 12v fan controller, there are several that will work. I used https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/29194331...BryfiIxuBzDmpqDIz3utD5A4sBv9hyYsaAnw8EALw_wcB
Also look on YouTube, several videos on the set up.
What I did. First I do not have a California so while the wiring will work where you position your fans is something you will have to work out. I wanted one fan to run continuously and two to be modulated. Splice into the live 12v circuit. Make a second splice into the new 12v spur. Connect one fan directly into one of the live 12v feeds, this fan will run continuously, and connect the output from that fan to the negative 12v supply. Connect the second live 12v splice to a thermal switch (normally open) rated at 35C ( it will switch on at 35C). You can choose a variety of temperatures to suit your requirements, available on eBay/Amazon. Connect the output from the thermal switch to the + input on the logic controller, connect the negative of the logic controller to the negative 12v supply. I used 4 wire pwm 90mm fans for the two controlled fans and a two wire fan for the one that runs continuously. PWM means Pulse Width Modulated which means the fan speed will be a function of temperature in this application. On the logic controller only one port is PWM active so for two fans you will need a 4 wire Y splitter. Plug the splitter into the the PWM active port on the logic controller and then both fans into the outputs of the splitter. Plug the temperature probe (it comes with the logic controller) into the logic board. You will need to set up the logic controller to operate at the temperature you require, best to look at YouTube instructions as way too complicated to write down. Site the thermal switch at the hottest part of the refrigerator cooling vanes. When activated thus will open the power supply to the logic board. Site the thermal probe in the hot air flow from the refrigerator cooling system. So when you set everything up. When you plug into the 12v supply one fan will run all the time. If the thermal switch is set at 35C then once that is reached the logic controller will be powered up and the other two fans will start at low speed. As the exhaust air from the refrigerator increases in temperature the logic board thermal probe will detect it and request more power be sent to the two fans thus increasing speed and air flow. Depending on set up all three fans will likely be at full power by the time the exhaust air reaches 45C. You can change this. If cooling is efficient as the exhaust temperature drops the two fans will slow down and once below the threshold temperature will stop.
A simplified version is to do away with the logic controller and have all fans wired into the 12v supply via the thermal switch. So here once the thermal switch is activated all three fans will run at full speed until the switch closes (off). This is more noisy that running the fans via the logic controller which runs them at low speed until full power is required.

Thank you.

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[Calimili]

Today I've loaded up my Cali for a 9 days trip. Spent hours planning the trip over NYE, booked a nice restaurant belonging to a camping site on a hill overlooking Florence, from where I could admire the fireworks at midnight down in the city, toasting with a few glasses of Prosecco. Planning to travel all the way down to Neaples, to visit Pompei , Ercolano, the Royal Palace of Caserta and spend a few days in Sorrento, enjoing the african breeze blowing northwards raising the temperatures up to 17°C during the day.
Ready to pick up my daughter at 12pm today and set off, only to read at 11:45 that Germany has declared Italy a risk area and my daughter would be subject to quarantine upon re-entering Germany . We couldn't manage to get her second shot yet, and not for lack of trying. So the trip had to be cancelled and had to offload the van.
I am pretty disappointed if not outright pi$$ed.
This is what I have done with my Cali today..

 

[CaliJo]

Fitted the upgraded plastic blind to my T5

 

[Corradobrit]

Today I've loaded up my Cali for a 9 days trip. Spent hours planning the trip over NYE, booked a nice restaurant belonging to a camping site on a hill overlooking Florence, from where I could admire the fireworks at midnight down in the city, toasting with a few glasses of Prosecco. Planning to travel all the way down to Neaples, to visit Pompei , Ercolano, the Royal Palace of Caserta and spend a few days in Sorrento, enjoing the african breeze blowing northwards raising the temperatures up to 17°C during the day.
Ready to pick up my daughter at 12pm today and set off, only to read at 11:45 that Germany has declared Italy a risk area and my daughter would be subject to quarantine upon re-entering Germany . We couldn't manage to get her second shot yet, and not for lack of trying. So the trip had to be cancelled and had to offload the van.
I am pretty disappointed if not outright pi$$ed.
This is what I have done with my Cali today..

Bummer. I have fond memories exploring the Amalfi Coast, Sorrento and Capri. Pompeii was a interesting experience too. My plans were to be in the Uk but Covid restrictions and the need to quarantine for 14 days, irrespective of my 3 jabs, on return to Germany knocked that idea on the head. There is always 2022.