Why a Cali

[neil shone]

Morning all, i have been a user of Calis an caravelles over many years. These were lease cars and now i am circling an actual purchase, with a significant portion of my own money! Unfortunately i will spec a new one as i am a complete child and will have all of the toys! I really wish VW did a LWB cali(space for a loo), over the last few yrs we have been looking at "proper" campers but i dont want an additional vehicle/over height/PITA driving and we have come to the conclusion that half the van = twice the fun! My moral dilemma is........... van and conversion or Cali? I am leaning to a Cali, just gathering opinions to make me feel better about the decision!

 

[pjduffill]

I went through the same conundrum. The conclusion i came to was:

The conversions i looked at all came to more than the cali
my wife said (Completely detached from my buying process) why would you buy a vw van, give it to someone to cut holes for windows and cut the roof off! Could not argue with her logic. So currently awaiting cali ocean with lots of vw spec extras.

 

[Sad]

The largest majority of people on here have been through the same process of conversion vs Cali. There's no right or wrong answer, you need to get what works for you.
For us, much like @pjduffill, we like the idea of rolling into just about any VW van centre for the van and camper side issues...

 

[B16 JOG]

Oooh! This could be a thorny subject!!!
There are pros and cons to each, so it is a personal consideration.

We went for Cali as we like the “original factory fitted” aspect. Ours is a family car. That’s doesn’t mean that further down the line (post kids) I wouldn’t convert a van to my spec!

 

[Meoncoast]

Why not.

i have been a user of Calis an caravelles over many years.

So you know the Cali, perhaps you need to look at the non-Cali campervan to compare with what you already know.

 

[Velma's Dad]

If you really hanker after a LWB so you can have loo space, are you considering the Westfalia Club Joker? (You'd have to go from a pop-top to a high-top of course).

I love the Club Joker concept and could see ourselves going that way next time.

 

[Sad]

are you considering the Westfalia Club Joker? (You'd have to go from a pop-top to a high-top of course).

I thought you could still get the loo in the club joker city?

 

[Velma's Dad]

I thought you could still get the loo in the club joker city?

Yes I believe so (not actually seen one) but the Club Joker City is on the SWB platform (5m overall length) so everything must be pretty cramped. The standard Club Joker (with high top) is LWB/5.3m.

[EDIT] Maye not so bad after all loo-space wise on the City (ie SWB) version, here's the floorplan. I'd like to see one 'in the flesh' though. A downside versus a Cali would be the lack of storage space for camping gear/general gubbins at the back, although we don't carry awnings etc and you could always add one of those 'bum bag' external rear stowage systems for long trips.

 

[MattC]

There are LWB conversions with built-in cassette toilet and a pop-top - I have one

I looked at a Cali but ended up going with a conversion from Jerba. They're one of a handful of UK converters who are registered VW Body Builder partners, which pretty much does away with the fear of "giving someone a VW van to cut the roof off". Here's what I wrote on a similar thread last year about reaching my decision... (btw, I'm not sure if the VED position is now the same as it was for us when we bought in 2018)

"We looked at the Cali but chose to go with a brand new Jerba conversion because several aspects suited our intended use better. We prefer to stay off-grid as much as possible so chose the 4-seat layout with a rear kitchen and onboard cassette toilet - we can comfortably do 3 nights "wild" before we need services for our water and loo, and with a solar panel we virtually never take a hook-up pitch.
We chose a Wallas diesel-powered combined hob/heater, so we have no gas cylinder onboard, and no potential issues with ferries/tunnels or different cylinders in different countries - as long as we have diesel in the vehicle's tank we can cook and keep warm.
We still have 4 beds including a 150kg rated roof bed for 2 adults, and a choice of 2 singles or a double downstairs.
Jerba produce their own elevating roof. The roof canvas is cotton Ventile so it doesn't suffer from condensation, and all the vents are fully proof against Scottish midgies.
There are a lot of other nice little touches. Jerba aren't big on bling (although you can spec it to a fair extent if you really want) but they do produce very practical campervans.

Because the conversion was done on a new T6 window-van it counts as a "2-stage build" and so it's registered from new with DVLA as a "VW Jerba Sanna", body type Motor Caravan, but since the emissions are unknown because the conversion has altered the VW factory figures, it gets a taxation class of Private Light Goods and therefore pays £265 VED per year.
The 3-year VW Warranty is completely unaffected by the conversion (I took the 5 year / 80k miles extended warranty), and there's a 2-year warranty on the Jerba conversion work."

And as I said on that thread, in the end it's all about personal preferences and requirements, and what compromises you can live with. If a Cali feels right then go for it, but if not then good alternatives to get just what you want do exist.

 

[neil shone]

thankyou all for the info, the VED is something i hadnt considered

 

[Steve&Bev]

I have used many converted vans which all looked the part but were compromised in some way. The California has superior quality (T6 not 6.1) layout & functionality.

 

[Wildcamper]

This is recurring topic. In the end it comes down to "what works for you", and you alone. Californias are great, no question. Good conversions are great (but cheap conversions are just that - often cheap and nasty). For us the California just did not work, as mentioned on here in past threads. So in 2018 we went new T6 150, DSG, LWB and had it converted to our spec by an approved VW converter with all warranties intact plus 3 year conversion warranty. It ticks our boxes but it won't tick everyone's. Decide what boxes you want ticked and then purchase as close to that as you can get, but whatever you do "don't buy a cheap conversion", that you will regret. On resale value, in my experience a good conversion holds up as well as a California - there are those that disagree, so be it.