Where do you keep your cali ?

[BeagleMum]

They are such a special vehicle, I'll probably be the same in 2 years. I've only had the van 8 days and it's fantastic, a real game changer for us

It’s great you are delighted with yours.
We waited years before we got this Cali, maybe that makes us appreciate it more?
Don’t think we will ever lose the buzz we get each time we look at it.

 

[Eber123]

We’ve had our 2 years, still get excited just looking at it! I still look out at it first thing in the morning last thing at night and if I wake in the middle of the night!

Hello,

I always mentioned to my VW dealer that a VW California is so much more than a camper van.

I can't even put my finger on it why this is the case, is it the high price? Is it the more time one has to spend with the camper (in comparison to a car)? Is it that the California can be used in so many, many different ways? Is it that we accept the compromises and learn to live with it? Is it that people who like camping are different to beginn with ? Is it because people stop us on the car park and talk and admire the California?

I don't know. Maybe in my more mature age I start a kind of delayed midlife criisis. Every few month I think what could I change, amend or add to the California?

Coming back where the camper is parked. I am so glad that the van is parked in front of the sitting room (at the moment I am just 3 m away from him, sitting on the couch watching TV). Here I feel it is very save. Beside issues of dirt and rain no problem.

I see more the problem when out and about. Especailly in a lonley forest car park, while we are on a hike. It is that bad, that sometimes I can not enjoy the walk until we are back (stupid I know). When we are allowed to leave home again I will add the Pandora Immobilizer (I prefer that to Ghost2) to the van.

If the California gets stohlen, that means it is the end of the camping area. The insurance won't give me enough money to purchase a decent replacment (far away from a new one). I believe I would get EUR 45.000 and a new California Ocean is about EUR 74.000 (or so) in Ireland. I don't have the money to get the difference from my pocket.

So safety of the camper van is important (at home or out and about), especially at the moment when those vehicles are on high demand.

Save California,
Eberhard

 

[Kayleigh]

I’m in a similar situation to @clarinetbcn , we live in a flat in the centre of San Sebastián, few places have their own parking and it’s mainly pedestrian streets so my van lives 15m walk away. The new van will live in a rented garage though, even if that means a bike ride to get it. Around here, touch parking is the norm, ie you just reverse til you hear a crunch. I’m not precious lol but the Cali will live underground

Ahh San Sebastián! What an absolutely lovely place to live..

 

[sapto]

Here: covered, with air circulation easy to get to, safe and even wall socket to top up the batteries. Actually we also got our octavia in the same place.

This would be nice tooOur California in the left.

 

[Joker 1299]

Garages are for motorbikes and camping gear. The drive of our 1970’s house is too narrow for modern vehicles, so it sits happily on the road outside. Guarded by the two dogs

 

[SarahW82]

Out on the road. Have always hated it but we love our house and don’t have a drive so it is what it is. It’s also the opposite side of the road, and fairly busy so we rely on the local car wash (in normal times) and it isn’t so easy to fiddle around with accessories and general tinkering without drawing lots of attention. Also bumps the insurance right up. I make it sound like a nightmare, it really isn’t, still feels like a privilege!

We get our new Cali in April (all being well). I’ve only spoken to one company so far for insurance quotes (Comfort, as recommended on here) & was alarmed to hear they don’t cover it being kept on the road but like you we have no drive. Who do you insure with please?

 

[Doug Curran]

I’m in a similar situation to @clarinetbcn , we live in a flat in the centre of San Sebastián, few places have their own parking and it’s mainly pedestrian streets so my van lives 15m walk away. The new van will live in a rented garage though, even if that means a bike ride to get it. Around here, touch parking is the norm, ie you just reverse til you hear a crunch. I’m not precious lol but the Cali will live underground

Was in San Sebastian, fall of 2019, wonderful walking city and fantastic food, but getting the rental Kangoo parked anywhere near the centre was a nightmare. Ultimately did the same as Bob and took a good walk and left the car until leaving town.

 

[Elmo3]

Elmo is kept in here:

 

[dartmoordingoe]

Not expensive. I found a large space with plenty of room to maneuver in the Olympic Village that was built for the 1992 Barcelona games. Back then it was the fashion for every new flat to have it's own parking space, but nearly 30 years later many people who live in Barcelona have given up having a private car because public transport is excellent and driving a car in the city is slow, aggravating and expensive. The result is that in the Olympic Village there is a glut of cheap parking spaces for rent.

My neighborhood is beautiful, sunny (my ancient flat now runs on solar power), and it's 15 min. walking from the opera house where I worked for 25 years.

What a joy to work there !!!

Our Cali arrives in April. Mixture of locked garage and drive. Locked garage very tight so we leave the little VW up across the front of the drive

 

[bob_summers]

Was in San Sebastian, fall of 2019, wonderful walking city and fantastic food, but getting the rental Kangoo parked anywhere near the centre was a nightmare. Ultimately did the same as Bob and took a good walk and left the car until leaving town.

Most spaces covered by my residents permit are shared with paid parking. So coming home from a morning in the hills on a Sunday lunchtime, there’s no chance of parking anywhere near my house - haven’t got the patience to do laps of the centre til one comes available (my niece will spend 30 mins looking!) so I just accept I’ll be walking!

 

[Gina-B]

It's raining heavily outside and I feel almost guilty about my brand new Cali being out there but sadly we don't have a garage. I somehow imagine all you cali owners having large double garages with your cali safety tucked in there along with you vintage car collections (probably something to do with the price tag of a cali) So it would be interesting to know where you keep your cali !

Cali on order. I have a small house, no vintage vehicles and no garage so it'll be kept on the drive. I'm therefore buying all the security I can afford!

 

[Lewis]

We get our new Cali in April (all being well). I’ve only spoken to one company so far for insurance quotes (Comfort, as recommended on here) & was alarmed to hear they don’t cover it being kept on the road but like you we have no drive. Who do you insure with please?

I’m with Safeguard. They were expensive to start with but I’ve got the price down over time.

 

[Hask]

In the garden on block paving, behind a five bar gate. I put ‘other’ as it’s not really a driveway...

 

[Jandy61]

We are going to install a car port similar to this pic, the posts area just on one side, not full protection, but keeps the worst of the elements and leaf debris from landing on our new van, your post reminds me, I need to get preparing the garden for the installation...



you can specify how far the roof projects out, and the length, etc, also, we will have tall fenceing down the same side as the posts, this will give extra shelter, leaving easy access to the sliding and drivers door on the other side

 

[apreading]

Do any of you worry that when the van is not there for a weekend, everyone knows you are away and the house is empty?

Mine is parked in a locked gated area down the side of my work building where it cant really be seen and I have CCTV. This is in part because I dont have room in the garage and the drive is full now the kids are grown and we have 4 cars there, but actually I read alot of people with caravans and motorhomes keep them on secure compounds away from home anyway to be more discreet.

 

[BeagleMum]

Do any of you worry that when the van is not there for a weekend, everyone knows you are away and the house is empty?

Mine is parked in a locked gated area down the side of my work building where it cant really be seen and I have CCTV. This is in part because I dont have room in the garage and the drive is full now the kids are grown and we have 4 cars there, but actually I read alot of people with caravans and motorhomes keep them on secure compounds away from home anyway to be more discreet.

No we don’t because for us that would just spoil the time we are away. We are security conscious in general, but once you have taken all the precautions you can, what will be, will be, we believe you need to relax and enjoy life whilst you can.
We don’t use a secure compound as we like the convenience of the Cali being at home.
We have good friends who keep a caravan on a Gold rated compound, said caravan was unfortunately still stolen.

 

[Vinczz]

It was not easy to find but found a large (3,40m width) indoor parking at 2km from home. It's ok as I don't use the van every day. I join the parking with the brompton which is a perfect combination or I take my usual car and do a swap.

 

[Ladymuck]

Do any of you worry that when the van is not there for a weekend, everyone knows you are away and the house is empty?

Mine is parked in a locked gated area down the side of my work building where it cant really be seen and I have CCTV. This is in part because I dont have room in the garage and the drive is full now the kids are grown and we have 4 cars there, but actually I read alot of people with caravans and motorhomes keep them on secure compounds away from home anyway to be more discreet.

Don't give me more things to worry about ! To be honest the only thing worth stealing at my house is the cali, so if we have gone away in it, I hope no one would bother

 

[Joker 1299]

Do any of you worry that when the van is not there for a weekend, everyone knows you are away and the house is empty?

Mine is parked in a locked gated area down the side of my work building where it cant really be seen and I have CCTV. This is in part because I dont have room in the garage and the drive is full now the kids are grown and we have 4 cars there, but actually I read alot of people with caravans and motorhomes keep them on secure compounds away from home anyway to be more discreet.

No, because mine is a daily driver (well it would be in normal times) so if it’s not there, it doesn’t mean I’m not coming back.

 

[WelshGas]

Do any of you worry that when the van is not there for a weekend, everyone knows you are away and the house is empty?

Mine is parked in a locked gated area down the side of my work building where it cant really be seen and I have CCTV. This is in part because I dont have room in the garage and the drive is full now the kids are grown and we have 4 cars there, but actually I read alot of people with caravans and motorhomes keep them on secure compounds away from home anyway to be more discreet.

They do, and then bring them around to the house to load up before going away.

 

[Vagophile]

Mine is parked in a locked gated area down the side of my work building where it cant really be seen and I have CCTV. This is in part because I dont have room in the garage and the drive is full now the kids are grown and we have 4 cars there, but actually I read alot of people with caravans and motorhomes keep them on secure compounds away from home anyway to be more discreet.

A little off topic, but that's me. Lots of modern houses (and some in historic areas) have covenants against parking motorhomes or caravans outside. Mine does. A California ducks under this restriction.
When I owned a 7m motorhome, it was parked on a CASSOA Gold storage site three miles from home and I just parked my car in the space when I took the motorhome out. The secure parking attracted a significant reduction in insurance premium.
As circumstances changed, I bought the Cali to be able to park it at home without contravening the covenant and make excursions at the drop of a hat. I have waited a year so far to find out if that will be successful!
Regarding visibility, Google Earth has opened up a whole new theft area. I can even identify the make of some of my friends motorhomes and how to access them from the GE images.

 

[AlisonM]

Ours is parked in the garage, have to fold the mirrors in to get through the door. I don’t think a thief would like to reverse it out!