Would anyone consider a 'California' self-build to beat the high prices at the moment?

[Bellcrew]

The term "self build" implies doing it yourself. That might be an interesting project for some but not for me I'm afraid. I don't have the facilities, or the patience to complete such a monumental task. Years ago possibly but not anymore. These days I would rather buy an oven ready job or not bother.

If you get someone else to do the conversion then it will work out expensive. So expensive I suspect that it would be better to either scrap the idea or wait and save up the extra for the genuine article. Then there's the resale value. A "self build" Cali might seem like a good idea but will the considerable costs involved in buying and converting be realised when you come to sell it? A genuine Cali will hold or maybe even increase it's value. I doubt if the same could be said for a self build.

The provenance and condition of the donor parts would also concern me. Were they removed from a vehilcle that had been written off or stolen? If it's the former, are the parts twisted, cracked or damaged? You may not discover any faults until you come to fit them. If they were from a stolen/recovered write off then fine. But if the stolen parts have come straight from a red hot Cali how would you know? You would definitely need proof of origin.

Finally there's the fit and finish. Having an eye for detail, anything that isn't just right would constantly annoy me. So any "self build" would have to be of impeccable quality or for me at least, it would be a non starter.

So in short, it's not something I would ever consider.

Up at Milford today, a T5 conversion with a California badge fitted on the tailgate was parked up.
The sliding door was fitted on the nearside, it had a GRP roof, black bumpers etc so probably not really a Cali, £30 for a badge is obviously the easiest way to join the club.

 

[2into1]

I'm personally very happy that companies like Kernow exist. If I needed by kitchen replacing, or my roof needed a big repair, I'd rather trust it to them than a 'Cali Specialist Main Dealer'.
That's not knocking the individuals in those garages, just reflecting the fact they'd likely be doing the job for the first time, vs Kernow where this is a main part of their business.

 

[Borris]

Up at Milford today, a T5 conversion with a California badge fitted on the tailgate was parked up.
The sliding door was fitted on the nearside, it had a GRP roof, black bumpers etc so probably not really a Cali, £30 for a badge is obviously the easiest way to join the club.

Well he/she could have saved £30 since you don't need to own a Cali to be a member.

If it suits the owner then that's all that matters.

 

[Algor]

No I wouldnt - I think by introducing the "budget" Coast to the UK which you could price at £50k brand new they have reduced the large price gap between a Cali & a conversion, capturing the market that maybe would have been tempted by a cheaper conversion.

I understand your point but I doubt you can buy a Coast for £50k. With a list price of £57,727 without any options then even with a hefty discount £50k would be ambitious.

 

[Borris]

Comparing a brand new Cali to the OP's example: "a 5yr old camper on the road for less than £40k", wouldn't be a fair comparison. Surely the cost comparison should be against a 5yr old California. That would narrow the gap considerably. Check out the prices being asked for 2016 Calis and they are usually more expensive but not by that much. By the time you've added window blinds, a parking heater and front swivel cab seats you're probably talking about similar money. Also, unlike many donor vans and mini buses, most real Californias haven't led hard lives and most have modest mileage.

Given the choice, I know what I would do . It would be either the five year old cali or wait until I could find that little extra cash.

 

[PeteS]

I guess the it comes down to what diy skills you have. It is not particularly hard to fit out a camper van. There will also be a bracket / fixings missing that you will need to source and these could prove difficult and but expensive than you think. If you are going down the Cali route the the sliding door on the drivers side might be difficult to get in the UK. On the plus side you will know where all the plugs, connectors etc are so repairs should be easy.
A friend on mine converted an old van into a camper. It was a hi top so he did not have to add the pop top roof. The van had a hard life but was sound and had a second battery added. The van cost £3k. The conversion is a two berth with a shower and bathroom at the far end. It has solar panels and two storage batteries coupled to a 2kw inverter. The bed cannot not be used for as a seat when travelling as it is not approved. It will need a respray at some point. The whole conversion cost £5k so for under £10k he has a van that he can go away in when allowed. Ok it is not up to Cali standards but for getting away it is great.

 

[Borris]

I guess the it comes down to what diy skills you have. It is not particularly hard to fit out a camper van. There will also be a bracket / fixings missing that you will need to source and these could prove difficult and but expensive than you think. If you are going down the Cali route the the sliding door on the drivers side might be difficult to get in the UK. On the plus side you will know where all the plugs, connectors etc are so repairs should be easy.
A friend on mine converted an old van into a camper. It was a hi top so he did not have to add the pop top roof. The van had a hard life but was sound and had a second battery added. The van cost £3k. The conversion is a two berth with a shower and bathroom at the far end. It has solar panels and two storage batteries coupled to a 2kw inverter. The bed cannot not be used for as a seat when travelling as it is not approved. It will need a respray at some point. The whole conversion cost £5k so for under £10k he has a van that he can go away in when allowed. Ok it is not up to Cali standards but for getting away it is great.

Yes, I think using the OP's example, most people with average DIY skills could probably make a reasonable job of fitting out a suitable van with genuine California interior parts. "Suitable" meaning a SWB Transporter with the slider on the o/s. However, if the van was a LWB or with the slider on N/S that's when the problems would start to mount up.

It would undoubtedly be the fitting of the pop top that would be the main issue for most DIY converters. You would need appropriate tools and somewhere undercover to work. Again, I'm sure that trying to fit a salvaged swb Cali pop top to a lwb van would be complicated but not impossible. So better to stick to a swb vehicle or go for another brand of pop top.

Many people have completed fantastic conversions to all sorts of base vehicles at low cost but most were/are "clean sheet of paper" designs built from scratch. If someone was contemplating building their own Cali with a genuine set of interior parts and pop top it would be far better IMO, to pick a base vehicle that mimics the genuine California chassis as closely as possible complete with lift up tail gate.

If such a vehicle could be found I'm guessing that many of the parts would probably just pop into place. I'm not sure if this is the case with the Transporter but it makes sense for vehicle manufacturers to build generic body components that will accomodate as many variants as possible. So if the base vehicle was for example a swb mini bus with windows, I wouldn't mind betting that under the plastic interior trim you would find various unused holes designed for fixings in other variants.

It would be an interesting project for some.

 

[Dr-Snickers]

Yes, I think using the OP's example, most people with average DIY skills could probably make a reasonable job of fitting out a suitable van with genuine California interior parts. "Suitable" meaning a SWB Transporter with the slider on the o/s. However, if the van was a LWB or with the slider on N/S that's when the problems would start to mount up.

It would undoubtedly be the fitting of the pop top that would be the main issue for most DIY converters. You would need appropriate tools and somewhere undercover to work. Again, I'm sure that trying to fit a salvaged swb Cali pop top to a lwb van would be complicated but not impossible. So better to stick to a swb vehicle or go for another brand of pop top.

Many people have completed fantastic conversions to all sorts of base vehicles at low cost but most were "clean sheet of paper" designs built from scratch. If you were contemplating building your own Cali with a genuine set of interior parts and pop top it would be far better IMO, to pick a base vehicle that mimics the genuine California chassis as closely as possible complete with lift up tail gate.

If such a vehicle could be found I'm guessing that many of the parts would probably just pop into place. I'm not sure if this is the case with the Transporter but it makes sense for vehicle manufacturers to build generic body components that will accomodate as many variants as possible. So if the base vehicle was for example a swb mini bus with windows, I wouldn't mind betting that under the plastic interior trim you would find various unused holes designed for fixings in other variants.

It would be an interesting project for some.

I have seen a few LWB vans that have had a Cali pop-top fitted rather than going for an alternative roof. Before we were serious about a Cali, I looked in to it and spoke to a few people who had done it. They didn’t do it themselves but got one of the known companies to fit.

 

[Borris]

I have seen a few LWB vans that have had a Cali pop-top fitted rather than going for an alternative roof. Before we were serious about a Cali, I looked in to it and spoke to a few people who had done it. They didn’t do it themselves but got one of the known companies to fit.

I agree. Getting a reputable company to fit the pop top would be the way to go.

I can't see that there is much difference between swb and lwb chassis forward of the rear edge of the slider. The extra length is between that rear edge and the front of the rear wheel arch. As far as I can see the main complication for the DIY converter, would be getting the rear edge of the pop top to seal against the lwb roof. It would almost certainly have a strengthening ridge and furrow body pressing contour at that point. Still clearly the professional converters have overcome that issue so it's not impossible.

IMO it would be better to stick to the swb format because the cali rear side window blind assemblies wouldn't fit the lwb window frame pressings. Also the base vehicle would be better being a very basic crew bus window van. If you used a Caravelle you would have the air conditioning ducts and lighting bars in the roof to contend with.

I must confess that converting was never something that ever crossed my mind. That's probably because I didn't start out looking for or wanting a campervan. We wanted a people carrier that we could occasionally sleep in. Hence our research started with the Caravelle.