Beach or Ocean???

[Michael G]

Hi we have the SE which is great with 2 kids. But it'd I had to buy again I would seriously consider a beach with a manual roof and heater. We seldom cook inside only the odd fast coffee and if it is cold outside. The closet takes to much space.

 

[sapto]

Thanks all for your helpful comments.

There are four of us, my wife and ten year old boy / girl twins. So we would be using both the roof bed and sofa bed.

We are needing to replace the family car which has inspired us to look at campervans as an alternative to a normal family car. We want something that is easy to park and drive around town, which it sounds like the Cali is.

Having a campervan also open up the option of using it to go camping at weekends / holidays and get to see Europe and the UK. I can’t see us using the van for a two week holiday but may use it to drive to Spain for example, and then stay in a villa for a week and then drive back so we get the best of both worlds.

We would like to be able to have the option to make a cuppa on the side of the road but will mainly do outdoor cooking on campsites. We could also have an electric kettle when hooked up to power. So maybe a small portable kitchen and fridge is an option.

We would also want to have a drive away awning to give us options of space when camping and more sleeping options.

We will try to rent a van for a weekend to see how we get on.

Welcome Matt and family
It sounds like you already got some great plans to go for. A California is a great car to drive around town, long distance traveller or short wknd campervan - no matter Beach of Ocean and to be honest you could also do these things in a other MPV like VW Touran-Sharan or Ford Tourneo (to name just three). Just ad a driveaway awning with some sleeping compartments and you are ready to go.
However renting one/different ones for a wknd to see how you feel and go on with it is the best way to do! Keep us up to date how you decided!

Cheers

 

[2haw]

Thanks all for your helpful comments.

There are four of us, my wife and ten year old boy / girl twins. So we would be using both the roof bed and sofa bed.

We are needing to replace the family car which has inspired us to look at campervans as an alternative to a normal family car. We want something that is easy to park and drive around town, which it sounds like the Cali is.

Having a campervan also open up the option of using it to go camping at weekends / holidays and get to see Europe and the UK. I can’t see us using the van for a two week holiday but may use it to drive to Spain for example, and then stay in a villa for a week and then drive back so we get the best of both worlds.

We would like to be able to have the option to make a cuppa on the side of the road but will mainly do outdoor cooking on campsites. We could also have an electric kettle when hooked up to power. So maybe a small portable kitchen and fridge is an option.

We would also want to have a drive away awning to give us options of space when camping and more sleeping options.

We will try to rent a van for a weekend to see how we get on.

If you don't intend to sleep in it for long periods and have 10year old twins, I would recommend the Beach. With 7 seats, it's a fantastic family bus and taxi for your kids and their friends!

 

[Stuart]

Really ?
Can you boil a kettle (safely) with water from the tap, milk from the fridge/freezer
whilst choosing a shirt from the wardrobe to iron on the integrated table with a 12v iron
and lowering the electric roof with your little finger all at the same time ?

In the time it takes for the electric roof to lower I reckon I could do all that stuff and have a wee sleep

 

[Amarillo]

If you don't intend to sleep in it for long periods and have 10year old twins, I would recommend the Beach. With 7 seats, it's a fantastic family bus and taxi for your kids and their friends!

That’s why we bought the Beach. Enough space for us, our two children, a friend or two and a dog.

I hope it will be our family car for another 8 or 9 years.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Velma's Dad]

Hi we have the SE which is great with 2 kids. But it'd I had to buy again I would seriously consider a beach with a manual roof and heater. We seldom cook inside only the odd fast coffee and if it is cold outside. The closet takes to much space.

The SE works great for us with just two adults plus the mutt, but if there were more bodies to accommodate it would be too much of a squeeze for me and it would have to be a Beach.

As a daily driver, with 2 kids I can't imagine wanting to live with a vehicle that's only a 4-seater (unless you want to hoik the heavy extra 5th seat in and out). When our kids were growing up we frequently needed extra space for their friends, grandparents etc and in fact throughout those years we ran 7-seater MPVs.

 

[MattBW]

We will try to rent a van for a weekend to see how we get on.

That is a great idea and will really help you decide if its for you. Not everyone takes to the Camper life and always good to try before you buy. A beach can be slightly harder to find one to rent but they are out there and Oceans are a plenty