Buying T7 California Beach Camper

[MickyBlue]

I thought you slid the kitchen outwards to use it? If that’s the case how can you have a gas dropout unless there is one in the kitchen and one in the floor which align when the kitchen unit is slid back.
I wonder how the T6.1 Beach camper with the pullout gas hob manage?

Burner does slide out but the gas locker is in the front of the cabinet with the regulator & pipe to the slide out tray in the back

I bet the 6.1 dropout goes through the floor or sill between the floor & outer body skin?
However I’ve never looked where the gas bottle is on one of those

 

[thatsnotmynaim]

Not sure tbh, may be to do with where the gas bottle is rather than the job, I think the guy that commented it said as per the caddy

 

[thatsnotmynaim]

Burner does slide out but the gas locker is in the front of the cabinet with the regulator & pipe to the slide out tray in the back

I bet the 6.1 dropout goes through the floor or sill between the floor & outer body skin?
However I’ve never looked where the gas bottle is on one of those

Our 6.1 had the gas in the far rear left corner,

 

[stoobthealien]

I need to have a close look at an actual van in the flesh. JCT600 Hull are the nearest dealer to me.
I will have to contact then & see if they have one yet

I've just been to see one onsite at VW commercial in Newcastle - the kitchen very much looked like one unit with gas pipes etc all inside it

 

[MickyBlue]

I've just been to see one onsite at VW commercial in Newcastle - the kitchen very much looked like one unit with gas pipes etc all inside it

Thx TBH I have completely given up on the T7 beach now due to the battery issues etc, as I was most interested in the PHEV 4motion version.

I will be sticking with the gas-less converted T6.1 diesel we currently have for the foreseeable future. I simply don’t trust VWCV Corp to get this right anytime soon

 

[2haw]

Thx TBH I have completely given up on the T7 beach now due to the battery issues etc, as I was most interested in the PHEV 4motion version.

I will be sticking with the gas-less converted T6.1 diesel we currently have for the foreseeable future. I simply don’t trust VWCV Corp to get this right anytime soon

I drove a T7 1.5 Hybrid (250 odd hp 4motion) Ocean today and was a little disappointed to be honest. I was expecting it to be quick but found it sluggish on the dual carriageway compared to my T6.1 204…

Way better at slow speeds around town though. A few photos of the Beach interior to satisfy the thread title.

 

[MickyBlue]

Crikey that bit at the back of the roof bed board/roof bellows looks like an afterthought??

Seems a right mess without either a ceiling panel or roof locker

 

[2haw]

Crikey that bit at the back of the roof bed board/roof bellows looks like an afterthought??

Seems a right mess without either a ceiling panel or roof locker


View attachment 139571

There is a roof panel but they’ve added a net to increase storage. Doesn’t look the best though.

 

[burton61]

I wouldn't call the T7 Phev sluggish.

Did it have the high voltage battery charged and what driving profile did you have selected? eco/ comfort/ sports etc?

Having driven 6.1 diesel and tested the T7 Phev and T7 diesel back to back on a long drive the T7 Phev is far and away the best drive and it shifts some when you put your foot down even in normal comfort mode. It made the T7 diesel feel much slower to pick up speed.

If you run the high voltage battery right down the 1.5tsi if fine to drive but I might call that a little sluggish in comparison to full high voltage battery and 1.5tsi together.

 

[2haw]

I wouldn't call the T7 Phev sluggish.

Did it have the high voltage battery charged and what driving profile did you have selected? eco/ comfort/ sports etc?

Having driven 6.1 diesel and tested the T7 Phev and T7 diesel back to back on a long drive the T7 Phev is far and away the best drive and it shifts some when you put your foot down even in normal comfort mode. It made the T7 diesel feel much slower to pick up speed.

If you run the high voltage battery right down the 1.5tsi if fine to drive but I might call that a little sluggish in comparison to full high voltage battery and 1.5tsi together.

In all honesty, I have no clue what setting it was in. I just put my foot down and was expecting more. Pick up between approx 50-70 mph didn’t feel as good as my T6.1

 

[dripster]

Blimey this is a faff if you want to keep 5 seats and camp? We often use five seats to go out for the day when four of us are away camping with friends so would always prefer to have the extra seat available. Also takes up a load of room at night. Why couldn't the centre seat fold like the others?!

 

[2haw]

I wouldn't call the T7 Phev sluggish.

Did it have the high voltage battery charged and what driving profile did you have selected? eco/ comfort/ sports etc?

Having driven 6.1 diesel and tested the T7 Phev and T7 diesel back to back on a long drive the T7 Phev is far and away the best drive and it shifts some when you put your foot down even in normal comfort mode. It made the T7 diesel feel much slower to pick up speed.

If you run the high voltage battery right down the 1.5tsi if fine to drive but I might call that a little sluggish in comparison to full high voltage battery and 1.5tsi together.

Just wondered, have you had a 204 California for comparison?

 

[Califan87]

Hi everyone, we have decided to order a T7 Beach as this suits our needs best. Having a nightmare with the heating options with different dealers saying different things. Brochure states parking and aux heaters as standard. Yet there is a £1600 aux option and £3200 parking heater option. Does anyone have a beach without either of this options that can confirm whether you can have the heater running continuously whilst parked? I am not fussed over remote control or app capability. Just want to be able to sit in the van on site and keep warm with no time limit. Thanks everyone!

 

[thatsnotmynaim]

I have the aux heater, it's the £1600 option, it only runs for a certain period (I think 30 mins) before it switches off, the pricier parking heater can run continously I think.

 

[Dassy1308]

Just ordered a Beach this week and the fuel-fired heater was my biggest concern; again like you don’t care how long it runs for or whether it’s remote controlled etc.

My local dealer expressed that all Beaches come with a fuel-fired heater as standard that (I’m guessing here) will run for 30 mins, controlled by either the Camping Panel or Driver Screen. The £1600 option comes with remote and will run for 30 mins, the £3k option comes with remote, will run forever and is programmable via app etc (again, a wild guess at this point - happy to be corrected!).

I’m picking up a stock Beach next week (from another dealer) with the £1600 option so will be able to tell you more. I agree the order process has been somewhat complicated by the Configurator not being at all accurate, dealer knowledge being a little less than comprehensive (but as a new-ish vehicle with multiple options that’s forgivable) and broker knowledge relying on dealer feedback.

Fingers crossed the van comes with what I expect, and hopefully a bit more.

 

[Califan87]

Just ordered a Beach this week and the fuel-fired heater was my biggest concern; again like you don’t care how long it runs for or whether it’s remote controlled etc.

My local dealer expressed that all Beaches come with a fuel-fired heater as standard that (I’m guessing here) will run for 30 mins, controlled by either the Camping Panel or Driver Screen. The £1600 option comes with remote and will run for 30 mins, the £3k option comes with remote, will run forever and is programmable via app etc (again, a wild guess at this point - happy to be corrected!).

I’m picking up a stock Beach next week (from another dealer) with the £1600 option so will be able to tell you more. I agree the order process has been somewhat complicated by the Configurator not being at all accurate, dealer knowledge being a little less than comprehensive (but as a new-ish vehicle with multiple options that’s forgivable) and broker knowledge relying on dealer feedback.

Fingers crossed the van comes with what I expect, and hopefully a bit more.

If you could update that would be extremely helpful as we are holding off until we know for certain what is what.

 

[stoobthealien]

If you could update that would be extremely helpful as we are holding off until we know for certain what is what.

Me too - I think they are sailing very close to the wind saying it comes with an auxiliary parking heater as standard if it only does 30 mins...

 

[burton61]

Just wondered, have you had a 204 California for comparison?

unfortunately not as that option was not available test.

 

[Aldoi]

I have the T7 Beach with neither of these options and was of the understanding the parking heater just runs continuously (albeit can only be controlled from inside or via the California app via Bluetooth) but cannot be programmed. I’ll admit though, I’ve not yet tried running for more than 30 mins.

Surely not having the ability to run continuously is an unnecessary/useless restriction on a parking heater specifically?

I can take a closer look if it would be helpful.

 

[FamCamping]

We didn’t buy any additional heating option when we were getting ours, as I finally got hold of w dealership that confirmed on 100% that the diesel heater is there as standard for continuous heating. I can confirm - it is. Used it for whole night, got cold in the pop top though, but working on a solution, there are a few. I still don’t know what the options are to be fair, I just wanted continuous heating, and this is standard