Hunt for a California

For those of you who have never had a Campervan or Motorhome, you’ll never understand it, but for those who have, you’ll know just what I mean when I say:

“I miss having a vehicle I can sleep in!”

That’s the only way I can express it.

It’s been 5months since I sold my Motorhome Carrie the Concorde and nigh on 2yrs since selling my Partner’s VW T6 Westfalia KeplerOne. The sale of both was a relief in different ways, but when one went, there was the backup of having the other. Now having a couple of cars on the drive with no camping vehicle has given me itchy feet to get out camping.

I was already feeling this when a couple of weeks ago we were out for a walk with the kids when I saw a T6 California loaded with kids & walking gear and all of them sitting there for a mid afternoon cuppa before heading out on another lap of the forest. My other half looked at me and we both thought the same thing - what a cool base for family day trips. Seed was sown.

Now obviously Mrs Spuff is a level headed lady who appreciated the idea of the Cali but went no further in her head. I, however, have been consumed by the idea.

i won’t bore you all with the ins and outs, other than to say I’ve done lots of research about them, downsides, upsides, price points, resale values, new values etc. And where I’ve landed is that if we pull the trigger, it will be on a brand new, factory order, fully optioned, 5-seat Ocean with 199bhp DSG on the “new” T6.1. Drive the Deal are offering 7-9% off list price which makes it more affordable than a lot more than are on the dealers forecourts currently since the waiting list is c. 12months.

So this weekend I’ve convinced Mrs Spuff that we go with the kids to Kettering where they have both a T6 and T6.1 in stock, to have a fiddle with them and get a feel for if this could be a worthy replacement for the X5 as a daily and day van/occasional overnighter which will sate my appetite for adventure, utility and fun but also somewhat in driving pleasure (that’s the bit I’m worried about).

If so then it’s £1k to secure a build slot and a long wait! I’ll keep you posted.

 

Christ, I thought you meant a Ferrari California when I saw the thread title!

 

No, no one-upmanship going on here!

 

God that would have been funny! Good luck with shopping this weekend, somehow I'm confident you'll find what you want - for the time being anyway!

 

Interesting Sean. I thought I had something in my head that you’d been entertaining campers over the years. I’ve also looked at the vans you mentioned but discounted them on the basis that 1) they’re not very subtle, 2) hugely expensive for non-OE and 3) don’t have the option for 5 seats.

Ironically I may have been a little unfair to the Cali in the past; particularly when we ran the KeplerOne since we were bowled over by the onboard toilet facilities and mini-Motorhome feel at the time.

Theres no getting away from it, the Cali is compromised in lots of ways. However for what I think I (and we as a family) want for a vehicle now, it may well actually be perfect.

We thought when we sold the Concorde that we would be back in a big A class Motorhome in 5yrs when the kids are older. But with the benefit of time and separation, we’ve realised that we actually don’t want to be tied to a third vehicle that we feel compelled to use, at the expense of potentially going on long haul holidays and having £150k+ tied up in it.

What we want to be doing is weekend trips to the coast, mountain biking weekends in Thetford or Epping Forest and days out walking with the kids. Then once or twice a year me taking one or other of the kids for a night away camping or me doing a boys mountain biking trip to the Lakes for a weekend of camping & riding. Certainly not the long two week trips we used to do to the Continent or NC500.

So on the basis of all of that, it doesn’t need huge amounts of space or utility - it’s somewhere in which to shelter if the weather turns on a forest and walk, somewhere to change before and after a ride, somewhere to have a cuppa/lunch during a long day out and somewhere where if I’m feeling like a child again, I Park up on my drive and can clamber into the roof for a cheeky camping trip without going anywhere!

The other thing to count in the Cali favour-

- horrendously expensive but I can get one new with a 5yr warranty which avoids all the hassle I’ve had of running older vehicles
- it’s only as long as the X5 and shorter than 2m so can pretty much go anywhere a car can go
- you can spec it with a removable fifth seat which means it can grow with the family (which is the intention)
- driving the previous Kepler T6 was actually pretty good fun. Seating is a bit higher than an SUV which gives you great visibility and the DSG box is pretty smooth. We had 150bhp in ours which was brisk so 200bhp should be plenty.

Im excited about prodding one for real on Saturday!

 

Have you seen these?

https://www.vanlifebuilds.com/

Similar wait times but you design your own.

 

Some interesting ideas there Sean.

You mention the Kepler. It is indeed rare and virtually impossible to get hold of in the U.K. currently, however I have to confess we didn’t hugely gel with ours over time. The build quality was a bit suspect. In the pursuit of weight saving but nice appearance some of the materials we very much style over substance. We had a few electrical gremlins and although it packed a huge amount into a small space, it was neither a Campervan or a Motorhome and being the LWB it was just that bit too long for car parks. As regards seating, the rear seats were too small for kiddies seats and wouldn’t support them properly either so never felt comfortable carrying my daughter around in the back.

I think they’re a very good van for two people. But I wouldn’t want to own one outside of warranty. The famed Westfalia build quality has ceased to exist since the French bought them (now under Rapido ownership).

The thing the Cali does is give ISOFIX fittings for kids seats and the ability to spec an additional single, detachable swivel seat, also with ISOFIX which makes it a 5 seater. Few if any of the self build or conversion companies offer a 5seat option.

Id love something like the Grand California and would be willing to deal with the day to day compromises. But given they’re also only 4 seaters only, it doesn’t work. Hard to ignore though when you can pick one up for a similar price to a fully loaded brand new Cali.

Anyway, as time goes on and we edge towards Saturday, I’m getting excited and nervous in equal measure. Excited because this could really be something which ticks all the boxes. Nervous because if it isn’t all I think it could be, I’m resigned to not having a camper/means of escape (escapism) for a long time to come.

 

Thanks for your thoughts there @Simon5705 . I did have it in mind that you had a Motorhome so pleased also for your input.

 

So by way of update:

We spent about 2hrs pouring over a used T6.1 Ocean at VW Kettering on Saturday. The kids loved it, no two ways about it. Older one loved climbing up into the roof bed, younger one happy just to potter continuously between the cab and rear bench.

And amongst the adults, we loved it too. The biggest surprise was just how big it felt in comparison to both our impressions and also the reality of being in it. We realised that the Kepler had so much wasted space with a small corridor and even narrower kitchen, where in the Cali by doing away with the corridor you have a decent sized and very comfy bench seat plus a decent size of kitchen.

Fittings were incredibly well screwed together and the rock and roll bed is inspired compared to the disastrous cushion infill affair we experienced with the Kepler. We loved the quality of the dash, all the neat storage solutions but also how compact the van was on the outside.

This particular van was never going to feature with me though - £74k for a 3owner 18months old van. Had a decently hard life already with marks on the cabinets and interior trim. On top of that, at £74k it was pretty much identical price wise to what I could get on a new one through Drive the Deal.

We came away fully convinced of the Cali Ocean with no need to look elsewhere. Even Mrs Spuff who was pretty reserved and cynical about it is now fully on board and even prepared to commit financially herself to find the right van.

Problem now is how to go about doing it. All the T6.1 vans are priced so close to new that it makes no sense buying one in this climate. New ones have a 12-18m waiting list and lots of options which aren’t available due to shortages. We also would spec it to the gills if we went down this route which is silly even with the DtheD discount.

So we’ve settled on a late T6 Ocean (2018/2019) which whilst inflated value wise they are probably the sweet spot of age vs cost. It hardly seems worth spending another £15-20k for the facelifted cab, slightly darker roof bellows and different cabinet doors. Fundamentally it’s the same vehicle and drivetrain underneath.

After spending a bit of time talking to some pretty poor and bull crap spouting VW dealers, I’ve settled on two vans to pursue.

First one is for sale on VW Cali Classifieds only. Have a chat with the chap later tonight. Not a huge fan of the colour but the extras are interesting and potentially even more interesting if it’s a one owner example.

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/classi...-sale-with-many-extras/vw-t6-california-ocean

Second one is from a prestige Indy. Pretty much fully loaded. Not a fan necessarily of black on the Cali but aside from towbar, has everything (including the fifth seat we want) included and looks to have been prepared well. Advantage with this would be a px route for the X5 given it’s in line with their other stock. Price I think is competitive for the current market. Have a chat in about half an hour.

https://www.speedsgx.co.uk/vehicle/...hamshire-4423ed04-0c92-4719-b50f-c42f39dc4035

Watch this space.