Where do the teens sleep?

cosmiccampers · Jun 29, 2020

Excuse the many questions but newbies here. We are a family of four with a new Beach but the kids are a bit older 12 & 14. We’re heading for our 1st night away in a couple of weeks (local incase it all goes wrong!) and they seem keen to sleep upstairs but I’m not so sure it’ll work out. We’re taking a pop up 3 man as a storage / precaution but am a bit worried about them sleeping separately from the van.
If 4 in the van doesn’t work we’ll be looking at an attached awning, but not too big, longer term. Any tips / thoughts?
Ps I’m not giving up my comfy bed downstairs

Swiss Cheese · Jun 29, 2020

We have girls 14 & 16, they've always slept upstairs. Also got a pop-up tent for gear overflow which helps make it all work if you feel the need to tidy up the campsite at night or make sure stuff is out of the weather.

An-j · Jun 29, 2020

Congratulations on your new beach! Our kids are 7 and 11, so a little younger. While we would love to travel light, we have found an awning is pretty much essential......I have just bought an inner bedroom tent for ours and some SIMs that pack up nice and small. So, we have flexibility to sleep in there.
For us, having the awning gives us space in the evenings if needed. If we can sit outside on nice sunny evenings that’s great, but if it rains or gets dark early we have found the awning space useful. I also tend to wake up much earlier than everyone else, so it gives me somewhere to sit and have a cup of tea while everyone else snores!
That’s the great thing about the beach - it adapts easily to different uses. We are still learning and changing how we use it. If I take one child away, the two of us can travel light, but with the four of us taking awnings etc works better. I do envy those who can manage without!

Louis II · Jun 29, 2020

Mine are now 12 & 15, for short stays or if we are moving about they both sleep up top.
For a longer stay in one place I have a driveaway awning with bedroom pod and an air mattress.
I did buy a small tent incase they couldn't tolerate each other on shorter stays but never needed it so don't bother taking it any more.
Best way to make 4 work in a Cali is minimal stuff otherwise you spend half your time moving it around & tripping up over each other. I have a rule of only bedding + the kids clothes bag on the back shelf + everything else in the boot / cupboards & drawers when we set off.

Perfectos · Jun 29, 2020

cosmiccampers said:
Excuse the many questions but newbies here. We are a family of four with a new Beach but the kids are a bit older 12 & 14. We’re heading for our 1st night away in a couple of weeks (local incase it all goes wrong!) and they seem keen to sleep upstairs but I’m not so sure it’ll work out. We’re taking a pop up 3 man as a storage / precaution but am a bit worried about them sleeping separately from the van.
If 4 in the van doesn’t work we’ll be looking at an attached awning, but not too big, longer term. Any tips / thoughts?
Ps I’m not giving up my comfy bed downstairs

Hi Cosmic

Congrats, stress not, four up in a Cali B no problemo.

Kids up top, my teens love it, they can earwig on Mrs P and my conversations, peek out the side windows and generally have a great time, it becomes their den during the day if they want to escape to somewhere out of site (as teenagers do).

Take the tent for your first trip
See how you get on

I have various set ups for varying durations and predictable weather conditions, you will work out what suits you and the fam.

Regarding sleeping remotely to the van, onsites this should be no problem, use the wind out awning to “connect” the two spaces.

Simple tarps and bungee balls further the enclosed / adjoined feeling and can provide extra storage space etc.

Here is a photo on my set up for a warm climate

Perfectos · Jun 29, 2020

Cold / rain

Perfectos · Jun 29, 2020

Details of the tarp at the end of the thread below,
Bungee balls readily available from multi coloured auction site or camping gear shops

Picking our beach up on Friday

Hi Everyone, CorkyCali crew here (Shaun, Julia and Baby Stella). We are picking our California Beach up on Friday and we are super excited to start our campervan adventures as a family. We are based in Liverpool so will be looking to take advantage of any hidden gems on the northwest, Wales...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

McGons · Jun 29, 2020

We have a boy and girl, 16 and 11. Me and daughter sleep at the top, husband and son downstairs. We’ve just bought a small awning for extra space when it’s raining, we camp in the lakes mostly and need space for bike stuff and wet kit, but could possibly sleep in it. The other option we’ve been talking about is a small pop up tent next to the van like you’ve said. I think the kids would be fine in it.

bvddobb · Jun 29, 2020

With us: kids always in a pop-up tent next to the van. Us in the top bed. We leave the ‘lounge’ downstairs intact as much as we can, hate the hassle of re-arranging everything around all the time.

Also, we are travellers, not stay-campers (then we would have bought a caravan, not a Cali) so we cannot bother with setup of awnings, drive-away tents, complete outdoor kitchens etc. as shown above. Too much hassle.

Upon arrival we pop up the roof, put the bedding up, swivel the seats, and in the mean time the kids have set up their tent. 10 min. max, done. Next morning kids pull down their tent while one of us prepares breakfast, bedding is aired while we eat, bedding in the back, roof down, seats swivelled, and on our way again! Max 1 hour, altogether.

So many Cali-owners, so many ways of using them!

WelshGas · Jun 29, 2020

Teenagers sleep wherever they want.

Perfectos · Jun 29, 2020

bvddobb said:
With us: kids always in a pop-up tent next to the van. Us in the top bed. We leave the ‘lounge’ downstairs intact as much as we can, hate the hassle of re-arranging everything around all the time.

Also, we are travellers, not stay-campers (then we would have bought a caravan, not a Cali) so we cannot bother with setup of awnings, drive-away tents, complete outdoor kitchens etc. as shown above. Too much hassle.

Upon arrival we pop up the roof, put the bedding up, swivel the seats, and in the mean time the kids have set up their tent. 10 min. max, done. Next morning kids pull down their tent while one of us prepares breakfast, bedding is aired while we eat, bedding in the back, roof down, seats swivelled, and on our way again! Max 1 hour, altogether.

So many Cali-owners, so many ways of using them!

That’s fine if your staying only one night, if your staying three weeks it’s a different story !

As you say different strokes for different folks

bvddobb · Jun 29, 2020

Perfectos said:
That’s fine if your staying only one night, if your staying three weeks it’s a different story !

As you say different strokes for different folks

Indeed! But like we said, we are never staying 3 weeks in one place. Hardly ever 3 nights in a row!

If that was our kind of holiday we would never have bought the Cali, but a (fold out?) caravan (one can buy 3 for the price of 1 Cali) or sooner rent a cottage or stay in a hotel.

bvddobb · Jun 29, 2020

WelshGas said:
Teenagers sleep wherever they want.

That’s OK for the teenagers, but not necessarily for us... We don’t need them in the same room as ourselves

BrugseB · Jun 29, 2020

Don't forget the weather factor... one week rainy Sweden with our two girls "upstairs" was quite a challenge

in the former pop up Cali, once all your stuff is getting wet you're glad to get shelter for a night in a cabin on the campsite! Now we have an awing if we stay more than 1 night, for cooking and luggage.