How would you redesign the Cali interior?

[babble]

the one thing i would love and i simply cannot for the life of me understand why it isn't standard, are some opening side windows that rain doesn't come into, like on every other camper ever.

 

[bob_summers]

I’ve just put a crimp in the tailgate by slamming it shut with the awning handle in the way. Grrr! I don’t see why it needs to be long enough for a 3 year old to wind out the awning.

Shorter winding handle, please

 

[Corradobrit]

I just got back from my first proper outing in the Coast. A few things to note. It gets a lot of attention from the local Germans. Surprisingly few T6/T6.1's around this part of Germany. But there are a fair number of older gen units. I haven't purchased a 907 Calorgaz bottle yet so used the microwave powered by an EF Delta 2.

On the plus side the basic Cali architecture is fab. The sliding doors are a little stuff but I hope these will loosen up over time. The manual roof is ace. Rises authoritatively with zero sagging. The new bellows material is a huge upgrade both in weather protection and light exclusion. The fabric folding tabs (3 on each side) work great when lowering the poptop. The tabs are a little stiff but not too difficult to lockdown. Loved how the ACC works (first vehicle I#ve owned with this feature). MPG is respectable for such heavy, draggy design. I expect it improve further as the engine beds in.

The parking heater is essential. A little noisy and intrusivee to begin with but soon settles down to periodic activity on Setting 3.

No complaints with the LED lighting in the back and poptop. Plenty of options to customize the lights. The control logic though is a little incomprehensible though.

Space management is key. I bought a couple of 50L Really Useful Boxes for the trunk. Unlike the 64L there is enough space above the boxes to store the 100W bookleaf solar panel and the 3 internal Project Camper cab shades (I would count these in my top 2 purchases for the Cali so far).

On the downside. The comfort mattress sucks. Its a lot more comfy upstairs, but when wild camping the use of that area is limited. I need to get a topper for the lower bed.

Things I would change. Should have ordered double glazing. Not a huge issue but having seen the benefits of the single double glazed panel behind the spice rack it would be nice to have it on all the living area glass.

Having to reach over to lock and unlock the doors using the drivers door switch (LHD) is really a stretch. I would like a switch in the living space to make that easier.

Overall though I think the Coast with the options I selected (except the double glazing) makes this an ideal spec for me. There is nothing major that detracts from the camping experience.

Bravo VW

 

[andyinluton]

the one thing i would love and i simply cannot for the life of me understand why it isn't standard, are some opening side windows that rain doesn't come into, like on every other camper ever.

Perhaps because those top hung windows fitted to caravans & the GC can’t be opened whilst the vehicle is being driven.
There is also the small matter of security, the Cali sliding windows are not really secure, but they look like Fort Knox when compared to the usual top hung windows, they can be opened just by pulling hard on an outside corner

 

[Kenisted]

For me the wardrobe between the fridge and the backwardrobe sucks... Very difficult to reach in to ( they sell shelves aftermarket , why do VW not fit shelves standard!)
The electric/hydrolic roof is over the top , whats wrong with a manual roof ?
Less weight , less chance of failures , takes probaly less time to open to...
More pressure on the watertap ( the hose in the back on newones is a litlle plus...)
No glass tops on fride and cooker.

Just what pops in my head right now , but still happy with my 2012 Cali SE ...!

Couple of mdf shelves, why pay 250 quid for Ali ones that have half the shelf missing

 

[Nigel Herriott]

The T6.1 heater is far far quieter than the earlier ones. A quiet fan noise with a gental tick rather than sound of a helicopter taking off.

I have a new Cali (collected Dec 29th) and have had a couple of nights in it. Given what I had read on the forum I was expecting the heater to be a little noisy but it isn’t. Really quite quiet other than a little fan noise which is quite unobtrusive.

 

[The Blue Merle]

Main thing needed on such an expensive vehicle is heated steering wheel, especially when it’s on the crafter!!!!

 

[66tim99]

I have a new Cali (collected Dec 29th) and have had a couple of nights in it. Given what I had read on the forum I was expecting the heater to be a little noisy but it isn’t. Really quite quiet other than a little fan noise which is quite unobtrusive.

You could update your avatar to show which model you bought?

 

[RoB5urf]

Electronic handbrake gets my vote, plus option to remove rear headrests, why you can’t just pull them out like most car headrests. Rest of layout is just fine.

The T6 Beach headrests pull out (on the 2-seat bench version anyway). Ours stay at home because 99% of the time we don't carry passengers.

 

[WelshGas]

134 posts on this topic compared to almost 20,000 Forum members, leads me to the conclusion that VW have the design of the California about right for the majority of users.

 

[Bellesca]

Removable headrests and electric handbrake gets my vote

 

[Bellesca]

Oooh....and better headlights for night driving

 

[Kayleigh]

Oooh....and better headlights for night driving

Presume you have a Beach as well
Yes they are awful. I would recommend the Philips X-treme vision 150 bulbs. They do help a bit.

 

[andyinluton]

Removable headrests and electric handbrake gets my vote

Agree with the headrests, but electric handbrakes can be a nightmare, just the type fitted to a GC would be fine - it drops to the down position once the handbrake is applied and you have to lift it up again & let it drop to release, so never in the way to rotate the seats.

 

[edocali]

Wish list

LWB option
3 seats rear bench (Ocean)
Lower mattress support able to “disappear “ by being folded on the bench rear seat
Rotation of front seats without having to finely adjust them

 

[66tim99]

Removable headrests and electric handbrake gets my vote

I don't really like electronic handbrakes, but probably haven't had enough time with them to trust them.
But I also don't like having to let the handbrake off to turn the seat.
Would one of those '70's sports car handbrakes be better? They were sometimes on the right of the driver, next to the door, so you'd pull it up to engage, then it would sit back down towards the floor (still engaged) to allow you to exit the car. Were they called 'fly-off' handbrakes?
This would allow the handbrake to be 'on' but the handle close to the floor to allow the seat to turn.

 

[andyinluton]

Would one of those '70's sports car handbrakes be better? They were sometimes on the right of the driver, next to the door, so you'd pull it up to engage, then it would sit back down towards the floor (still engaged) to allow you to exit the car. Were they called 'fly-off' handbrakes?
This would allow the handbrake to be 'on' but the handle close to the floor to allow the seat to turn.

You mean just like the GC handbrake mentioned 2 posts earlier?

I wouldn’t have called that a fly off handbrake. My Morgan has one of them & you pull it up and press the button to lock it on. So when it’s on it’s in the up ( well pulled towards you) position.
To let it off you just pull it slightly and let it go.

 

[66tim99]

You mean just like the GC handbrake mentioned 2 posts earlier?

Apologies, missed that. Yes, sounds like what I was thinking. Could a GC mechanism be fitted to an Ocean?

 

[Arnoob]

An easier way to close the screen on the back door. As we don't allways like to remove our bicycles it is almost impossible to close this without lowering the rear bench.

 

[markusschork]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but I rant about it every evening (mostly as a joke): being able to dim the lights is great, but why does it have to get brighter before dimming down? Makes no sense to me and should be an easy fix.
That aside to the mentioned handbrake and other items