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All good things ... (goodbye to our Cali)

ChrisandPenney52

ChrisandPenney52

VIP Member
Messages
491
Location
Oxfordshire
Vehicle
Cali now sold
After ten years (and pretty much a day one member of this forum when Martin and Kevin first set it up) we have swapped our much loved 2008 California 2.5 SE 130 for a Rapido Dreamer D55.

We had spent a lot of time at campervan shows over the past few years, initially just having fun comparing Californias with other T5/6-based vans, but lately spending more time considering what our fall-back would be if we could no longer clamber into the lovely roof bed.

We have always been fair-weather campers, and most of our camping has been done in benign climates. In our Cali we have travelled north to Durness, south to Granada, east to Prague and west to Portugal and NW Spain. We have also visited Corsica, driven to the Baltic coast, toured the VW Factory and Museum, and spent time in most parts of France and the Pyrenees and Alps. Our last long trip was to the German Alps.

For us the best use of the Cali has always been for outdoor living in the sunshine. And we’ve always been wimps and stuck to commercial campsites.

So, continuing travel restrictions, and the desire to be able to camp comfortably in more northerly latitudes out of season, have driven us to something a bit bigger and more cosseting. Permanent bed and an on-board shower and loo, backed up by solar panels and a much larger gas and water supply, and diesel and electric heating, should keep us mobile and independent and extend our season.

We originally wanted to stick to 5.5 metres. There are some great compact designs, but in the end these felt too cramped. So we sucked it up and accepted 6 metres as OK.

Our first trip was, thankfully, an affirmation of our decision, with plummeting temperatures, forty mile-an-hour winds at a site with all the facilities closed. Definitely Cali roof-down weather. Since then a couple more trips haven’t changed our minds.

In the best of all worlds we’d have kept our Cali too. Besides being a great camper, it was our mobile picnic table, sailing and walking support vehicle, load carrier and good friend. But we didn’t have the space, and for convenience at a time when selling is hampered by social distancing, we decided to take the hit and PX it. But we got a price we are happy with so all is good.

We will miss our Cali, and I think especially the compactness and anonymity of our silver van on the road, the ability to park almost anywhere, and fifty years of heritage. But this next step was always part of the game plan, and we’re just implementing it a few years early.

Thank you to everyone on the forum for the knowledge you’ve shared to help us when something needed fixing, and for some of the really useful discussions we’ve had. Thank you too to the moderators who do a stunning job of setting the tone and keeping us in order. I was never brave enough to step forward for this. I’ll continue to lurk if I could, as this is a very friendly and grown-up forum with good advice and interesting tales about all sorts of things, camping and non-camping.

I’ve left plenty of California Club cards dotted around our old Cali, so I hope the forum will soon have a new member to welcome. And if you see the driver of a Fiat Ducato camper forgetting himself and sheepishly waving at you, it will probably be me.
 
I had a good look around a Fiat Ducato on Skye and then a different one in North Uist. Both bought a couple of years old and cheaper than couple of year old Calis. I was VERY impressed. I think your moving on is a good one. Good luck.
 
What a wonderful story to tell, so honest and objective. I hope you stay on the forum as we always enjoy knowledge and experience from members ‘who have been there’.
 
Good luck in the future you 2 I still remember the second ever meet in the pub car park all them years ago. I would love to see a picture of the new van
 
@ChrisandPenney52

Thank you.

I think when I first joined this forum you were one of the first to greet me and always there to offer sensible and pertinent advice. I wish you will in the future and please spill the beans, pics of the van please!!!!

Jen xxx
 
Sounds like we’re a (fair) few months behind you on exactly the same path - 2012 Ocean SE 140 was handed over to the dealer last weekend for them to sell it on under brokerage, with our replacement Dreamer D55 due in July 2021.

A bit longer without a campervan than we wanted (spec change on the Dreamer shifted the due date out from April to July), but being fair weather users mainly focused round summer festivals and trips to France, Spain and Portugal we could see we’d probably make minimal use of the Cali between now and February. And the psychological barrier of 100,000 miles fast approaching (gut feeling is sell close to but under 100k rather than over that to get a better price). That plus it feeling like a sellers market (how can prices be so high!?!)

Like you, we’ve loved the Cali life and found the forum a hugely knowledgeable and friendly resource, and will miss it - not found anything approaching it for Rapido vans, and will continue to lurk here to remind ourselves what we had, how good it was and what we are now missing out on.

But things change, and 8 years of Cali use and 100k miles meant we knew what our requirements were for our replacement campervan (but can you really replace a California ?) - a fixed bed, onboard loo and shower, hot water.
And what our compromises were - 5m long becomes 6m; 2m high becomes 2.6m; no rear view mirror (! my biggest worry / concern); less power (I’m expecting the Fiat 140 to deliver less than the VW 140), less of a car-like driving experience, more van-like; more limited access to - well - lots of places.

Good luck in your new ventures, and we’ll keep an eye out for you when we get back on the road ... in 9 months time.
 
Enjoy guys
We’re going down the 6mtr van route for the 3rd time.
Have had many California’s since 08 and been a member on and off from the start too,
Hope you appreciate the self contained any weather camping with no putting the roof down in a storm,it definitely is a breath of fresh air that side of things .
Enjoy
 
Here are a couple of pictures. Nothing to get the heart racing but hopefully it works as a package. On one the pictures was taken at Hook Farm site at Uplyme just outside of Lyme Regis, which I can certainly recommendEEFA9ED8-0A01-45F9-AA24-C69311B7764A.jpeg49CAC3BC-16D5-4C33-A463-C300C33649B6.jpeg
 
Good luck in the future you 2 I still remember the second ever meet in the pub car park all them years ago. I would love to see a picture of the new van
Absolutely. About half a dozen of us. Pictures posted
 
Sounds like we’re a (fair) few months behind you on exactly the same path - 2012 Ocean SE 140 was handed over to the dealer last weekend for them to sell it on under brokerage, with our replacement Dreamer D55 due in July 2021.

A bit longer without a campervan than we wanted (spec change on the Dreamer shifted the due date out from April to July), but being fair weather users mainly focused round summer festivals and trips to France, Spain and Portugal we could see we’d probably make minimal use of the Cali between now and February. And the psychological barrier of 100,000 miles fast approaching (gut feeling is sell close to but under 100k rather than over that to get a better price). That plus it feeling like a sellers market (how can prices be so high!?!)

Like you, we’ve loved the Cali life and found the forum a hugely knowledgeable and friendly resource, and will miss it - not found anything approaching it for Rapido vans, and will continue to lurk here to remind ourselves what we had, how good it was and what we are now missing out on.

But things change, and 8 years of Cali use and 100k miles meant we knew what our requirements were for our replacement campervan (but can you really replace a California ?) - a fixed bed, onboard loo and shower, hot water.
And what our compromises were - 5m long becomes 6m; 2m high becomes 2.6m; no rear view mirror (! my biggest worry / concern); less power (I’m expecting the Fiat 140 to deliver less than the VW 140), less of a car-like driving experience, more van-like; more limited access to - well - lots of places.

Good luck in your new ventures, and we’ll keep an eye out for you when we get back on the road ... in 9 months time.
We took one that was in the showrooms, and, yes, were quoted at least April for a custom order. Ours is a Fun Exclusive which is the lower spec end. The ‘Select’ range has swisher furnishings but we were happy with our choice. Dreamer forums as such are non-existent, but The Rapido Owners Group on Facebook is friendly and has several Dreamer owners. Happy to chat further if you want to PM me
 
We took one that was in the showrooms, and, yes, were quoted at least April for a custom order. Ours is a Fun Exclusive which is the lower spec end. The ‘Select’ range has swisher furnishings but we were happy with our choice. Dreamer forums as such are non-existent, but The Rapido Owners Group on Facebook is friendly and has several Dreamer owners. Happy to chat further if you want to PM me

We’ve gone for the Select - main reason was to get the Iron Grey (Cali of 8 years is/was white so just wanted a bit of a change); the other differences are nice but minimal and not must-haves, but will accept and enjoy them.

Thanks for the pointer to the Facebook group - looks like they have a slightly different approach to their forum - split into closed membership forum only open to owners and an open forum for non-owners. Have signed up to the ‘interest’ forum; a while to go before I can join you in the ‘owners club’ ;-)

Will definitely take up your kind offer of a PM chat !
 
After ten years (and pretty much a day one member of this forum when Martin and Kevin first set it up) we have swapped our much loved 2008 California 2.5 SE 130 for a Rapido Dreamer D55.

We had spent a lot of time at campervan shows over the past few years, initially just having fun comparing Californias with other T5/6-based vans, but lately spending more time considering what our fall-back would be if we could no longer clamber into the lovely roof bed.

We have always been fair-weather campers, and most of our camping has been done in benign climates. In our Cali we have travelled north to Durness, south to Granada, east to Prague and west to Portugal and NW Spain. We have also visited Corsica, driven to the Baltic coast, toured the VW Factory and Museum, and spent time in most parts of France and the Pyrenees and Alps. Our last long trip was to the German Alps.

For us the best use of the Cali has always been for outdoor living in the sunshine. And we’ve always been wimps and stuck to commercial campsites.

So, continuing travel restrictions, and the desire to be able to camp comfortably in more northerly latitudes out of season, have driven us to something a bit bigger and more cosseting. Permanent bed and an on-board shower and loo, backed up by solar panels and a much larger gas and water supply, and diesel and electric heating, should keep us mobile and independent and extend our season.

We originally wanted to stick to 5.5 metres. There are some great compact designs, but in the end these felt too cramped. So we sucked it up and accepted 6 metres as OK.

Our first trip was, thankfully, an affirmation of our decision, with plummeting temperatures, forty mile-an-hour winds at a site with all the facilities closed. Definitely Cali roof-down weather. Since then a couple more trips haven’t changed our minds.

In the best of all worlds we’d have kept our Cali too. Besides being a great camper, it was our mobile picnic table, sailing and walking support vehicle, load carrier and good friend. But we didn’t have the space, and for convenience at a time when selling is hampered by social distancing, we decided to take the hit and PX it. But we got a price we are happy with so all is good.

We will miss our Cali, and I think especially the compactness and anonymity of our silver van on the road, the ability to park almost anywhere, and fifty years of heritage. But this next step was always part of the game plan, and we’re just implementing it a few years early.

Thank you to everyone on the forum for the knowledge you’ve shared to help us when something needed fixing, and for some of the really useful discussions we’ve had. Thank you too to the moderators who do a stunning job of setting the tone and keeping us in order. I was never brave enough to step forward for this. I’ll continue to lurk if I could, as this is a very friendly and grown-up forum with good advice and interesting tales about all sorts of things, camping and non-camping.

I’ve left plenty of California Club cards dotted around our old Cali, so I hope the forum will soon have a new member to welcome. And if you see the driver of a Fiat Ducato camper forgetting himself and sheepishly waving at you, it will probably be me.
I think sadly we are heading in the same direction, having bought our new Cali Ocean last September ready for the adventures then Covid hit us, so our van still not done 2k yet and we have found the limited facilities offered on sites now has made us want to change our van for a 6 metre van with on board toilet and shower.
 
Congratulations new van looks fab - sometimes we're just ready for a change arent we - loved reading your post - wishing you lots more wonderful adventures :)
 
After ten years (and pretty much a day one member of this forum when Martin and Kevin first set it up) we have swapped our much loved 2008 California 2.5 SE 130 for a Rapido Dreamer D55.

We had spent a lot of time at campervan shows over the past few years, initially just having fun comparing Californias with other T5/6-based vans, but lately spending more time considering what our fall-back would be if we could no longer clamber into the lovely roof bed.

We have always been fair-weather campers, and most of our camping has been done in benign climates. In our Cali we have travelled north to Durness, south to Granada, east to Prague and west to Portugal and NW Spain. We have also visited Corsica, driven to the Baltic coast, toured the VW Factory and Museum, and spent time in most parts of France and the Pyrenees and Alps. Our last long trip was to the German Alps.

For us the best use of the Cali has always been for outdoor living in the sunshine. And we’ve always been wimps and stuck to commercial campsites.

So, continuing travel restrictions, and the desire to be able to camp comfortably in more northerly latitudes out of season, have driven us to something a bit bigger and more cosseting. Permanent bed and an on-board shower and loo, backed up by solar panels and a much larger gas and water supply, and diesel and electric heating, should keep us mobile and independent and extend our season.

We originally wanted to stick to 5.5 metres. There are some great compact designs, but in the end these felt too cramped. So we sucked it up and accepted 6 metres as OK.

Our first trip was, thankfully, an affirmation of our decision, with plummeting temperatures, forty mile-an-hour winds at a site with all the facilities closed. Definitely Cali roof-down weather. Since then a couple more trips haven’t changed our minds.

In the best of all worlds we’d have kept our Cali too. Besides being a great camper, it was our mobile picnic table, sailing and walking support vehicle, load carrier and good friend. But we didn’t have the space, and for convenience at a time when selling is hampered by social distancing, we decided to take the hit and PX it. But we got a price we are happy with so all is good.

We will miss our Cali, and I think especially the compactness and anonymity of our silver van on the road, the ability to park almost anywhere, and fifty years of heritage. But this next step was always part of the game plan, and we’re just implementing it a few years early.

Thank you to everyone on the forum for the knowledge you’ve shared to help us when something needed fixing, and for some of the really useful discussions we’ve had. Thank you too to the moderators who do a stunning job of setting the tone and keeping us in order. I was never brave enough to step forward for this. I’ll continue to lurk if I could, as this is a very friendly and grown-up forum with good advice and interesting tales about all sorts of things, camping and non-camping.

I’ve left plenty of California Club cards dotted around our old Cali, so I hope the forum will soon have a new member to welcome. And if you see the driver of a Fiat Ducato camper forgetting himself and sheepishly waving at you, it will probably be me.
Hello, I liked to read your post. The club cards, we already handed out some and maybe there are members who got a card from us. We still have those club cards in our T4, ready to hand out; we got them from Martin and Kevin on our first meet and got to know the people behind this forum. Meets are fun and maybe we know you guys from a meet, I don't know. We got the cards together with a sticker - which is still on our T4 - and a VIP membership. This was about 8 years ago. Time flies and you have made a great choice: enjoy it!
Greetings
Calibusje
 
We did the same earlier this year and no regrets. Had our Cali for 5 years and travelled to 21 countries. Loved every minute. Now have a Motorhome and have to say there are many positives especially a good nights sleep. As for the club I intend staying on this site, so many good friends and our recent guest trip to the Slimbridge meet was brilliant. I won’t rule out the Grand Cali XL but have yet to see one.
 
After ten years (and pretty much a day one member of this forum when Martin and Kevin first set it up) we have swapped our much loved 2008 California 2.5 SE 130 for a Rapido Dreamer D55.

We had spent a lot of time at campervan shows over the past few years, initially just having fun comparing Californias with other T5/6-based vans, but lately spending more time considering what our fall-back would be if we could no longer clamber into the lovely roof bed.

We have always been fair-weather campers, and most of our camping has been done in benign climates. In our Cali we have travelled north to Durness, south to Granada, east to Prague and west to Portugal and NW Spain. We have also visited Corsica, driven to the Baltic coast, toured the VW Factory and Museum, and spent time in most parts of France and the Pyrenees and Alps. Our last long trip was to the German Alps.

For us the best use of the Cali has always been for outdoor living in the sunshine. And we’ve always been wimps and stuck to commercial campsites.

So, continuing travel restrictions, and the desire to be able to camp comfortably in more northerly latitudes out of season, have driven us to something a bit bigger and more cosseting. Permanent bed and an on-board shower and loo, backed up by solar panels and a much larger gas and water supply, and diesel and electric heating, should keep us mobile and independent and extend our season.

We originally wanted to stick to 5.5 metres. There are some great compact designs, but in the end these felt too cramped. So we sucked it up and accepted 6 metres as OK.

Our first trip was, thankfully, an affirmation of our decision, with plummeting temperatures, forty mile-an-hour winds at a site with all the facilities closed. Definitely Cali roof-down weather. Since then a couple more trips haven’t changed our minds.

In the best of all worlds we’d have kept our Cali too. Besides being a great camper, it was our mobile picnic table, sailing and walking support vehicle, load carrier and good friend. But we didn’t have the space, and for convenience at a time when selling is hampered by social distancing, we decided to take the hit and PX it. But we got a price we are happy with so all is good.

We will miss our Cali, and I think especially the compactness and anonymity of our silver van on the road, the ability to park almost anywhere, and fifty years of heritage. But this next step was always part of the game plan, and we’re just implementing it a few years early.

Thank you to everyone on the forum for the knowledge you’ve shared to help us when something needed fixing, and for some of the really useful discussions we’ve had. Thank you too to the moderators who do a stunning job of setting the tone and keeping us in order. I was never brave enough to step forward for this. I’ll continue to lurk if I could, as this is a very friendly and grown-up forum with good advice and interesting tales about all sorts of things, camping and non-camping.

I’ve left plenty of California Club cards dotted around our old Cali, so I hope the forum will soon have a new member to welcome. And if you see the driver of a Fiat Ducato camper forgetting himself and sheepishly waving at you, it will probably be me.
Omg wish I was this brave. we almost did the same today! Looked at a Rapido. The comfort and space looked so inviting, yet the decision is sooo difficult. Have owned our 2008 SE 2.5 4 motion for 6 years and I struggle to get up to the top bed now, so you may see a Cali owner drive past looking at you with envy All the best in your lovely Motorhome
 
Lovely valedictory post. Enjoy your new luxury-liner!
 
Great to follow such a positive thread starting with a heartfelt story. Good to accept that our needs change over time and to reflect on the importance that people, often strangers, play in our memories.
 
Great post. All the best for future adventures
 
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