Introduction - new T7 beach owner

[ashc]

Hi,

After selling our 79' Bay Window we are now owners of a 2026 T7 Beach camper and so signing up here as a new member and planning to sign up for VIP membership.

Unfortunately, its already on the first warranty repair - apparently, from what I've been told this afternoon, an interesting variation on a common theme (leisure battery issues). This will be confirmed as fixed or not tomorrow and also the reason - fingers crossed!

Ash

 

[stoobthealien]

Welcome from a fellow T7 Beach owner - sorry to hear about your issues - I thought it was only early models affected! What was it doing?

 

[ashc]

Thank you!

The issue was that the leisure battery would charge from hook-up, but not from the engine. The monitoring viewed from the control panel was all working and consistent with the engine charging not working as were battery voltage measurements. The dealer has now fixed this and the explanation, which is a bit vague, suggests physically unbolted cables in the engine side supply. So, an 'assembly' issue rather than actual component fault.

There is a back-story which might relate to this... The van was a pre-reg vehicle that had been at the dealer for 3 months, but with less than 20 miles done. When we viewed it, with 24hrs notice, the leisure battery was flat, control panel dead and also a near flat engine battery. We nearly walked away, but we made a deal and they 'sorted' this before we picked it up. It's possible that they, not the factory, did something silly, but I can't prove it and don't assert that. Anyway, sorted... hopefully.

I'm also sceptic about the background drain on the leisure battery being a little high compared to what should be achievable, but will need to monitor that over time. The dealer already suggested the VW spec is "quite wide" so getting that sorted under warranty feels like a road to nowhere anyway unless the issue was very significant (and it isn't to be fair).

Looking forward to some trips now!

 

[stoobthealien]

Thank you!

The issue was that the leisure battery would charge from hook-up, but not from the engine. The monitoring viewed from the control panel was all working and consistent with the engine charging not working as were battery voltage measurements. The dealer has now fixed this and the explanation, which is a bit vague, suggests physically unbolted cables in the engine side supply. So, an 'assembly' issue rather than actual component fault.

There is a back-story which might relate to this... The van was a pre-reg vehicle that had been at the dealer for 3 months, but with less than 20 miles done. When we viewed it, with 24hrs notice, the leisure battery was flat, control panel dead and also a near flat engine battery. We nearly walked away, but we made a deal and they 'sorted' this before we picked it up. It's possible that they, not the factory, did something silly, but I can't prove it and don't assert that. Anyway, sorted... hopefully.

I'm also sceptic about the background drain on the leisure battery being a little high compared to what should be achievable, but will need to monitor that over time. The dealer already suggested the VW spec is "quite wide" so getting that sorted under warranty feels like a road to nowhere anyway unless the issue was very significant (and it isn't to be fair).

Looking forward to some trips now!

Took ours to a festival this weekend - big fridge in the heat did use a lot of battery but a sneaky 5 minute engine start on day 2 sorted it out

 

[Gasflash]

Hey fellow T7 Beach camper owner! We’ve had ours since December and my wife and I and dog have enjoyed and endured a week in the outer Hebrides. It poured down and the wind was akin to October in England BUT the van held up perfectly. Loved it. I see a lot of posts saying the new Multivan variant ain’t a patch on the 6.1, which I have owned in the past, but I have to and will disagree that this is not a weekend warrior but a true outdoor icon that embodies the freedom #vanlife is all about. Enjoy!

 

[Paul Burgess]

Hi there, I’ve been thinking about a Beach. I’ve just sold my T6.1 and am sure at some point the bug will bite again! I wanted a T7 Ocean but it’s so compromised in the downstairs sleeping and kitchen unit takes up so much room for what is essentially a single gas hob and a fridge. I like the idea of the gas hob at the rear. I would remove the middle of the rear seats and put a fridge there. We’re worried about how it would function as a camper without a water tank / sink, and would we realistically use the rear cooking area which in colder or wet weather might not be much fun. Can Beach owners reassure and describe a little how you use the van and have equipped it to to overcome the lack of Ocean kitchen? TIA

 

[Chriskend]

Hi there, I’ve been thinking about a Beach. I’ve just sold my T6.1 and am sure at some point the bug will bite again! I wanted a T7 Ocean but it’s so compromised in the downstairs sleeping and kitchen unit takes up so much room for what is essentially a single gas hob and a fridge. I like the idea of the gas hob at the rear. I would remove the middle of the rear seats and put a fridge there. We’re worried about how it would function as a camper without a water tank / sink, and would we realistically use the rear cooking area which in colder or wet weather might not be much fun. Can Beach owners reassure and describe a little how you use the van and have equipped it to to overcome the lack of Ocean kitchen? TIA

We run an ocean and can honestly say it’s spot on, I think your last remark is telling “overcome the lack of ocean kitchen” there is a compromise between space and function and it seems you would prefer the latter, buy an ocean or a coast.

 

[Paul1]

Hi,

After selling our 79' Bay Window we are now owners of a 2026 T7 Beach camper and so signing up here as a new member and planning to sign up for VIP membership.

Unfortunately, its already on the first warranty repair - apparently, from what I've been told this afternoon, an interesting variation on a common theme (leisure battery issues). This will be confirmed as fixed or not tomorrow and also the reason - fingers crossed!

Ash

Hi. Would you mind telling what dealership you dealt with please

 

[ashc]

Hi. Would you mind telling what dealership you dealt with please

Hi,
The dealership was VW Group 1 Norwich. Given they fixed the issue at first complaint, I take that as a win. No dealership (for any brand) is perfect, so I wouldn't suggest this experience ranks as an "avoid" because they all have their bad days... I've been down the road of trying different garages in search of perfect service before and its errm... hard to find.

As to experiences since fixed - all good now. Whatever the parasitic drain is, its not a factor for camping anyway. Just need to keep an eye on hooking-up if the van is not used for some time.

When camping, as mentioned above by others, you can charge very quickly from the engine if you do drain down from whatever you are using.

 

[Californication69]

If you do go for a beach.
Tick the 3zone climatic control.
Without it, the rear passengers can suffer heat exhaustion which we found out recently and I had to make 3 stops on a 40 minute journey with my two grandsons.
It was awful.

 

[ashc]

Hi there, I’ve been thinking about a Beach. I’ve just sold my T6.1 and am sure at some point the bug will bite again! I wanted a T7 Ocean but it’s so compromised in the downstairs sleeping and kitchen unit takes up so much room for what is essentially a single gas hob and a fridge. I like the idea of the gas hob at the rear. I would remove the middle of the rear seats and put a fridge there. We’re worried about how it would function as a camper without a water tank / sink, and would we realistically use the rear cooking area which in colder or wet weather might not be much fun. Can Beach owners reassure and describe a little how you use the van and have equipped it to to overcome the lack of Ocean kitchen? TIA

Hi,
For us, a decent width bed downstairs is important, so it had to be Beach. The setup is somewhat similar to our old Bay Window, which had a full width rock-n-roll bed, although somehow we had room for a cooker unit inside that too...

The only workable arrangement with the Beach for us is to leave the middle seat at home when camping. The other thing, because of the length of the rear seats when folded flat is that the bed is very long and there's not a lot of room left with it down even without the middle seat facing backwards thing. At this size of vehicle its always a compromise.

As for the tailgate kitchen, the storage unit is good (as is storage throughout) and the hob basic but solid. If there is hook-up we take a kettle and an air fryer or small BBQ and don't use the hob much.

For water, we didn't have a tank on our Bay either so nothing new for us. We've relied on 8L Collapz for drinking water and have one of those pump-up Hozelock showers for bits and bobs. Otherwise, campsite facilities.

Before taking the plunge with the Beach we rented one for a weekend from Breeze and then also a 6 metre Fiat van conversion for comparison. One was A LOT better in terms of quality and driving and the other had advantages when static - you can guess which was which : )

At the end, we wanted something that could do both practical use and camping with a full-width bed and a T7 Beach was the answer.

 

[ashc]

If you do go for a beach.
Tick the 3zone climatic control.
Without it, the rear passengers can suffer heat exhaustion which we found out recently and I had to make 3 stops on a 40 minute journey with my two grandsons.
It was awful.

We've found (not having that either) the best thing is to turn off the Rear system altogether to avoid the fan from the right rear vent pushing warm air (there is a Rear menu under CLIMA) and turn-up the front A/C correspondingly. This seems workable so far.

 

[Paul1]

Hi,
The dealership was VW Group 1 Norwich. Given they fixed the issue at first complaint, I take that as a win. No dealership (for any brand) is perfect, so I wouldn't suggest this experience ranks as an "avoid" because they all have their bad days... I've been down the road of trying different garages in search of perfect service before and its errm... hard to find.

As to experiences since fixed - all good now. Whatever the parasitic drain is, its not a factor for camping anyway. Just need to keep an eye on hooking-up if the van is not used for some time.

When camping, as mentioned above by others, you can charge very quickly from the engine if you do drain down from whatever you are using.

Hi, so far I’ve been pleased with the service at VW Colchester but the one to avoid in my experience is VW Chelmsford

 

[stoobthealien]

We use a Stanley water barrel - solid and because it's insulated keeps the water fresh. The hob is well protected by the tailgate in the rain but if it's windy then it's a right pain. We tend to use a small camping stove if set up for a while