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Beach vs Caravelle?

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NeilMiles

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2
My initial search for a Kombi to convert to a camper has led me to a California (would rather get a ‘proper’ one than a converted one as it is the same cost) but then back to a caravelle.

I have two kids under 2 so camping isn’t on the agenda so much now but I want the option as they grown. My thoughts were to run the caravelle without the middle seats and the bench pulled forward in to the kombi position to give load space and then if I need extra seats I can pop the swivels in the back row when needed. Thus giving me a large 5 seater.

I would then need to get a pop top fitted at some point and awning rail. I always prefer cooking in the awning so not having a ‘full’ kitchen on board all the time is preferable and we can then sleep two up and two down.

The Beach with the full width rear bed and two additional seats seems to have done all the work for me!

The biggest downside I can see is that the Beach still only have one sliding door which isn’t on the ‘kerb’ side whereas the caravelle has double sliders (electric on the exec model).

Question is can I pull the bed forward into the 2nd row as a seat and put the singles in the 3rd row? Access to the 3rd row would be via the tailgate bus as I said, it would be infrequent and the seats swivel so you could get into them rear facing and then spin around

Or should I stick with a velle and get a 2nd hand California roof fitted for circa £5-6k

Cheers,
Neil
 
Question is can I pull the bed forward into the 2nd row as a seat and put the singles in the 3rd row? Access to the 3rd row would be via the tailgate bus as I said, it would be infrequent and the seats swivel so you could get into them rear facing and then spin around

Not sure I entirely get this. But I don't see a reason why the individual seats shouldn't be behind the bench seat, but I think you'ld have to lift out the entire bench (& judging by the weight of the individual seats this would be really heavy), and then put the seats in.

A better option might be to have it configured as a 5 seater, and only put the 2 middle seats in when you need them. They are reasonably easy to put in & out, but quite heavy.
 
NeilMiles said:
My initial search for a Kombi to convert to a camper has led me to a California (would rather get a ‘proper’ one than a converted one as it is the same cost) but then back to a caravelle.

I have two kids under 2 so camping isn’t on the agenda so much now but I want the option as they grown. My thoughts were to run the caravelle without the middle seats and the bench pulled forward in to the kombi position to give load space and then if I need extra seats I can pop the swivels in the back row when needed. Thus giving me a large 5 seater.

I would then need to get a pop top fitted at some point and awning rail. I always prefer cooking in the awning so not having a ‘full’ kitchen on board all the time is preferable and we can then sleep two up and two down.

The Beach with the full width rear bed and two additional seats seems to have done all the work for me!

The biggest downside I can see is that the Beach still only have one sliding door which isn’t on the ‘kerb’ side whereas the caravelle has double sliders (electric on the exec model).

Question is can I pull the bed forward into the 2nd row as a seat and put the singles in the 3rd row? Access to the 3rd row would be via the tailgate bus as I said, it would be infrequent and the seats swivel so you could get into them rear facing and then spin around




Or should I stick with a velle and get a 2nd hand California roof fitted for circa £5-6k

Cheers,
Neil


I would say the Beaches biggest advantage is the one sliding door even if it is on the wrong side.

This is my second Multivan style VW and camping is nicer and warmer and cosier with the one door.

Beach and Velle very different. The Beach is a European Multivan Startline with a pop top


James
 
Hi Neil,

I have a 7 year old girl to worry about and having the single door on my side of the vehicle means that I can get out and safely manage her exit from the vehicle, even if it is the wrong side for the kerb.

Regarding your question about the single seats behind the bench seat, only issue here is that to remove them you would first need to take out the bench seat... which is a two/three person job.

The seats would not be able to be put in from the boot area.
 
I have a 7 year old girl to worry about and having the single door on my side of the vehicle means that I can get out and safely manage her exit from the vehicle, even if it is the wrong side for the kerb.

I frequently just use the ability to walk through from the rear, and drivers side, to have everyone exit via the passenger door, if it is a busy road.It's easy, and designed for this.
 
Re 2 >3 3>2 - I see what you mean but I have never tried this config .... would be worth getting a dealer to show you. Worth checking if you fold or swivel the individual middle seat at the back of the van if they may have issues with clearance on the wheelarch covers. I kind of agree that you would be more likely to take the middle seats in and out as the rear seat slides so easily back and forth. The rear seat is not as bad to take out as you might imagine but defo a two person job. I think you would probably need to run with the flex board out the van to aid access through the boot but it might work nicely if not camping much.

I have kids and the van is used on school runs etc and it would clearly be great if it had two opening doors but half the time I end up pulling up on the wrong side of the road anyhow, so far not too much of an issue.

Steve,
 
Hi Neil,

It's easy to get people out from the front if it's a busy road, plus pulling out from the wrong side is easier in a van as you look over most other vehicles.

The multiflex board in the back is useful kept in as it provides a load shelf and cover and can slide and be shortened/halved if you want to slide the bench right back. The problem with having the bench forward in 2-3-2 would be that the bench would have to be very far forward and the gap to get through to the back would be small, whereas with 2-2-3 or 2-1-3 as I have it (I only have one spare seat) there's a ton of room to move people around, buckle kids in, have a disco etc.

I run our Beach as a daily driver with a 7 and 5 year old, with the spare seat mostly out, and the bench backwards and forwards constantly for big boot, picnic space, whatever... Bar the fact that I need to sometimes need to slide the multiflex board and whizz out the boosters (seat belts pass through a guide) to slide the seat it's a doddle.
 
I've got a 7 seater Beach. I've never taken the 3-seat bench out but if it comes out the same slots as the middle singles then I guess you could put the singles in first, slide them back and put the bench in. I don't think I would though. I'd just leave it as a 2-2-3 or 2-3-boot with the singles out.

I thought the door on the wrong side was going to be a pain but in reality it rarely is. Often I can park on the wrong side and if not it just means I get out first and manage the passengers out when safe.The fact the door slides rather than swings open helps. If your passengers are small/slim they can go between the front seats and out the passengers door.

I too really wanted a multivan/caravelle first and camper second and ended up going for the Beach as I preferred a factory fitted roof - I thought it would be better quality, better supported longer term and worth more on re-sale than a retro-fit. (I think Cali's depreciate slower than Velles too don't they?)

As said elsewhere, the multiflex board is actually a real boon as it effectively doubles the boot space - you can get loads on the bottom and then the same again on the multiflex board/shelf.
 
Thanks all.
I guess the best option is 2+3+ nothing with or without the multi in and then push it back and add the singles if needed which at this stage will be rare.
Door seems a concern but you all seem to be ok with it.
Choice will be between factory roof or two doors and higher spec
I'm buying used so there is more choice of caravelles and the exec spec appeals
Roof is around £3.5k fitted.
3000 mike caravelle exec £28k. Beach is around the same money for the age (£30k).
Local dealer has a couple of caravelles to go and play with.
 
NeilMiles said:
Thanks all.
I guess the best option is 2+3+ nothing with or without the multi in and then push it back and add the singles if needed which at this stage will be rare.
Door seems a concern but you all seem to be ok with it.
Choice will be between factory roof or two doors and higher spec
I'm buying used so there is more choice of caravelles and the exec spec appeals
Roof is around £3.5k fitted.
3000 mike caravelle exec £28k. Beach is around the same money for the age (£30k).
Local dealer has a couple of caravelles to go and play with.

The Velle will always be better value for money on paper, if it is toys and specs you're after. It will also be more refined.

VW do expect you to pay for the Beach concept, and it is a personal choice whether that appeals or not. There's no right and wrong answer, just personal choice.

The Beach for me is factory standard and has more character, that said, before my Beach I looked at buying a couple of Velles, one was even specced up like a camper, so the original owner had selected a sleep pack, parking heater, swivel seats etc...

The problem is the Beach feels like a very different model and for me, it just has a something the Velle doesn't have. The Velle is a lovely vehicle, refined and as you say get an exec spec for 28k and that's great value. There's even a 2011 Edition 25 for sale as well, how about that with a pop top?

I don't think you can compare the Beach and Velle, but I do see what you are saying.

I love the lineage of the Beach, it's Westy Multivan roots, it has a lot of appeal for me.


James
 
Neil,

Just to reassure you the door has never been as issue for us and we use ours as a car and have two kids (7+5) and occasionally their mates on board. For a short while, under twos could be a little more challenging as they're less capable at self loading but really you'll be fine because the size of the sliding door and the space in the back means you fling them in and then climb in right behind them, thus your backside and the door are not left wide out in the road whilst you strap them in. I don't know how campy a converted Caravelle can become but remember the Beach has blinds, a table, camping chairs in the boot, oh and a factory fitted flip-up roof ;-)

But then we're all a bit biased.
 
I currently own a Caravelle with multiflex, fiamma f45s and reimo pantry kitchen pod. I Love it but we're now on the look out for a cali beach as ours is 10 years old and decided we'd be better putting the money for roof conversion towards a newer beach as we plan to keep it until the kids have outgrown camping.

I had similar ideas to you re seat config but when we got the Caravelle, found it worked better with the single seats facing backwards in the middle position for ease of access and leg room. As others have already said you have to remove the 3 seater bench to get the singles to the rear, something I'm not keen to try because the single seats are heavy enough! We have 3 children 6 and under and have preferred to keep the younger ones on the single seats rear facing a long as possible as we feel it's much safer.

I'll miss the twin slider but mostly when we're camping in the south of France as it was lovely sleeping with a through breeze but I did feel a bit on display! It was cooler to picnic in the van with both doors open than out of the van in the shade!

Because of the size of the vehicle I tend to mostly use the drivers side sliding door when getting kids in & out as it's mostly car parks for me rather than parallel parking. I don't leave much room on the passenger's side knowing I have plenty of space to open the drivers door & get everyone out safely on the drivers side so don't think it will be a big issue going back to single slider with the beach.

We use our van a lot for camping but also day trips. Beach advantages for us are that it's ready to go as I'd struggle to manage without it whilst work being done if converting Caravelle. It's not just the roof but the little extras you might want to add as well. The beach includes leisure battery, chairs & table, blinds etc. Sounds silly but finding the right place to pack our chairs in our Caravelle was a nightmare or turning up for a picnic realising you've forgotten them is also frustrating! We were going to have sca deluxe roof, leisure battery, ehu, cali integrated table & chairs and it was going to cost about 7k so decided it wasn't worth it for us.

We're still going to hire before we buy I think as it's such a big investment & don't want to make the wrong decision.

Hope that helps.
 
syrup1971 said:
They are reasonably easy to put in & out, but quite heavy.

Having put them back in last night, I can confirm they are easy to get in and out.

Putting the metal clips back in the rails is a PITA though :-( Seriously, I think that takes me longer than putting the chairs in.
 
I have a T6 Caravelle, IMO it’s more luxurious as a car than any of the California models as no stuff on board, no pop up roof but not as good to camp with. We have a Slidepod fitted in the back and an inflatable awning. The Caravelle bench allows for a Kingsize bed so for two it is great, the 3 seater bench in the beach does the same. It’s all about the use of the vehicle most of the time? Camping get a Cali, car use = Caravelle. We love the Caravelle and you can get a LWB not available in a California?
 
I have a T6 Caravelle, IMO it’s more luxurious as a car than any of the California models as no stuff on board, no pop up roof but not as good to camp with. We have a Slidepod fitted in the back and an inflatable awning. The Caravelle bench allows for a Kingsize bed so for two it is great, the 3 seater bench in the beach does the same. It’s all about the use of the vehicle most of the time? Camping get a Cali, car use = Caravelle. We love the Caravelle and you can get a LWB not available in a California?
How do you convert the velle bench into a bed?
Still wonder why VW don’t offer a LWB Cali.
 
I went for a velle but when I then took it to the converter we were going to lose all the headlining and air con etc in the back. In the end I chopped it in for a Beach as that was essentially what I needed. Each to their own though!
 
How do you convert the velle bench into a bed?
Still wonder why VW don’t offer a LWB Cali.
Two action, one a pull handle allows the seat to tilt back to tilt position, then a. pull strap to lie it flat.
 
I went for a velle but when I then took it to the converter we were going to lose all the headlining and air con etc in the back. In the end I chopped it in for a Beach as that was essentially what I needed. Each to their own though!
Yes California beach is a.nice thing but too expensive IMO.
 
I bought a beach as it's the better option between the two. Yes the sliding door is the wrong side, but you get round it, as the kids get older they start climbing out through the passenger door anyway if needed.
Have to agree that prices are overinflated at the moment, though the residuals are better overall for a beach.
 
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