Is the Grand California a success?

[Jay20cali]

Congrats on the new van. Cracking colour and love those Black Steels.
Have a look at the Vandermoon site. Loads of interesting stuff.

Manufacturer of caravaning furniture | VanDerMoon.com

www.vandermoon.com

Tactic vans for other magnetic stuff.

Tactic Engineering - Magnetic Mounts & Accessories for Vehicles

The original magnetic mount since 2020. Invented in Switzerland, trusted worldwide. Installs in seconds with no drilling, no damage, no compromise. Shipping to Europe is now VAT included.

www.tacticvans.com

Rear racks.

Upgrade your van for the Ultimate Adventure with Dutch van Parts

Find what fits your journey. We provide everything you need to build the most rugged-looking campervan. Shop now at Dutch van Parts

dutchvanparts.com

What plans do you have…?

Thankyou
I’m waiting on the wheels ,delta klassic b rugged soon as I have a price for them?
Also lots of van der moon stuff going in it’s great stuff isn’t it .
ill check out the other links much appreciated.
We’re not having a fixed toilet/shower room in this van we never used it in our Sven just number 1s in the middle of the night. We never used the shower ,we’re are however having a rear external shower in it as we did in the westy we used that a lot there great .sideways bed with pods ,
A rib bed
And a composting trelino toilet this time.
Loved the westy but I don’t think we need the big box shower room and chemical toilet this time taking up a lot of space

Congrats on the new van. Cracking colour and love those Black Steels.
Have a look at the Vandermoon site. Loads of interesting stuff.

Manufacturer of caravaning furniture | VanDerMoon.com

www.vandermoon.com

Tactic vans for other magnetic stuff.

Tactic Engineering - Magnetic Mounts & Accessories for Vehicles

The original magnetic mount since 2020. Invented in Switzerland, trusted worldwide. Installs in seconds with no drilling, no damage, no compromise. Shipping to Europe is now VAT included.

www.tacticvans.com

Rear racks.

Upgrade your van for the Ultimate Adventure with Dutch van Parts

Find what fits your journey. We provide everything you need to build the most rugged-looking campervan. Shop now at Dutch van Parts

dutchvanparts.com

What plans do you have…?

 

[soulstyledevon]

Klassics are nice wheels, but I’d keep them steelies…
I’m the same as you. Had the Merc for just over a year, we’ve never used the shower once.

It’s a tough one, it takes up a lot of internal space and the van layout could be better without it.
But it is handy having that permanent toilet space and drying area.

I’d be interested to hear back from you a year from now, to see which works best for you.
It’s possibly something I would try next. Quite fancy building my own van, especially with the price of conversions.

 

[The Merle]

Thankyou
I’m waiting on the wheels ,delta klassic b rugged soon as I have a price for them?
Also lots of van der moon stuff going in it’s great stuff isn’t it .
ill check out the other links much appreciated.
We’re not having a fixed toilet/shower room in this van we never used it in our Sven just number 1s in the middle of the night. We never used the shower ,we’re are however having a rear external shower in it as we did in the westy we used that a lot there great .sideways bed with pods ,
A rib bed
And a composting trelino toilet this time.
Loved the westy but I don’t think we need the big box shower room and chemical toilet this time taking up a lot of space

I wouldn’t bother with trelino, I had a trobolo and they both have a design floor with the urine bottle. Nightmare to empty due to lid being in the middle of a rectangle bottle (rubbish at pouring out). Sold mine and built my own out of a yeti bucket/with lid and eco ver 40 wash bottle fits nicely, with small separate bin area for toilet paper and then 30l bag for poo then saw dust (petsathome).
Way cheaper good height to sit on and having the separate compartment in bucket for loo paper beats all them ones on the market.

You should do your own thread on sold up but still a Cali lover, lots will be interested. I know I am

 

[The Merle]

Thankyou
I’m waiting on the wheels ,delta klassic b rugged soon as I have a price for them?
Also lots of van der moon stuff going in it’s great stuff isn’t it .
ill check out the other links much appreciated.
We’re not having a fixed toilet/shower room in this van we never used it in our Sven just number 1s in the middle of the night. We never used the shower ,we’re are however having a rear external shower in it as we did in the westy we used that a lot there great .sideways bed with pods ,
A rib bed
And a composting trelino toilet this time.
Loved the westy but I don’t think we need the big box shower room and chemical toilet this time taking up a lot of space

Mule sparewheel rack with ladder built in looks excellent, did ask if he could make one for my T but only small company and couldn’t.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Mule sparewheel rack with ladder built in looks excellent, did ask if he could make one for my T but only small company and couldn’t.

Any firsthand experience of the Mule kit…?
It’s very similar to Dutchvanparts.
I think the only difference I can see is:
Mule - Aluminium
DVP - Steel

 

[The Merle]

Any firsthand experience of the Mule kit…?
It’s very similar to Dutchvanparts.
I think the only difference I can see is:
Mule - Aluminium
DVP - Steel

Nope
Just liked the design, tyre platform, built in steps, room for box, cool name (Mule), and small uk business.
Unfortunately no go for my t6.1 as don’t make them for it.

 

[itsSteve]

This discussion seems to have gone wildly off topic. I can see that it's generating a lot of interest, but it's not much use to people looking for "is the GC a success?"

 

[majorminor]

nor have I driven a Fiat (Camper) van.

i owned a new ducato RV and got stuck 4 times on relatively flat earthern sites. Front wheel drive with the traction control biso is as good as "two men short" - by the time the spinning wheel brake applies it has dug its own hole.
Now have the 4 wheel drive VW and yet to get stuck.
Watch this space!

 

[Maidment_Grand]

I have just read through this whole thread as I am likely to pull the trigger on a new Grand California 600 in the next few weeks.

It seems to me that this thread has answered itself. This thread has been running for over 4 years and the latest version of the Grand has just been released based on the latest crafter version. VW still offer a right hand drive version in the UK so my assumption is it has been a success or else it would have been withdrawn from the UK by now.

I have also been shopping around and the reality for me at least (i.e. 25k deposit) is that the competition is more expensive once you factor in specification, interest rates, availability etc etc.
Add on top of that the 5 plus promise and one throat to choke in case of issues!, it seems like a very good option.

I am not blinkered, I realise it is a bit ugly but after seeing one at the weekend once your inside and open the skylights and remove the oversized table its feels very nice inside. I am aware of issues like battery life etc but I think these can be resolved in stages.

Hoping to order before the end of June unless something left field suddenly appears as an option.

 

[itsSteve]

I have just read through this whole thread as I am likely to pull the trigger on a new Grand California 600 in the next few weeks.

It seems to me that this thread has answered itself. This thread has been running for over 4 years and the latest version of the Grand has just been released based on the latest crafter version. VW still offer a right hand drive version in the UK so my assumption is it has been a success or else it would have been withdrawn from the UK by now.

I have also been shopping around and the reality for me at least (i.e. 25k deposit) is that the competition is more expensive once you factor in specification, interest rates, availability etc etc.
Add on top of that the 5 plus promise and one throat to choke in case of issues!, it seems like a very good option.

I am not blinkered, I realise it is a bit ugly but after seeing one at the weekend once your inside and open the skylights and remove the oversized table its feels very nice inside. I am aware of issues like battery life etc but I think these can be resolved in stages.

Hoping to order before the end of June unless something left field suddenly appears as an option.

 

[itsSteve]

We've had our 600 for three years now (it just sailed through its first MoT) and, yes, it's not perfect, but it's good. Solidly built and well put together, nice to drive, good support for the vehicle and conversion from the dealer (Sinclair Swansea), and, while it's not cheap, it seems remarkable value when you look at the price some converters charge, frequently with lower power engines and manual boxes. Nearly changed for a new model, but the extended VW warranties available made me reconsider

 

[SteveGC]

When you compare one to something like the Adria twin. It feels very cramped...
Then when pitted against Westfalia, as they are at a similar price point. The Grand makes no sense what so ever...

To be fair, I’ve not camped in one. But my impressions from the trade show looking at all these vans side by side.

I don’t agree, I’ve had both and the GC is way better than the twin on many fronts…Adria shower in particular is fussy and cramped, the head height in a GC is far superior making it feel bigger and easier to live in (spent 4 weeks in mine last September), could have done months without issue, no way could I have done that in the Twin (and I had the max version).

GC is definitely the best mainstream van conversion, only bespoke £200k plus vans are better IMHO.

Having said that, I’ve gone bigger with a Hymer Vanture S just because I want better off-road capability and more living space.

But I’d certainly have another GC if circumstances changed.

Steve

 

[Gareth Salton]

A family friend is after a camper and loves our Cali but wants something bigger and with a bathroom.

That’s easy I said, the Grand California. However once I started looking into them I got a feeling that VW might have dropped the ball on this one.

The cabin seems cramped as does the bed (600) and also the bed above the front seats too. Also just doesn’t give me the ‘glowing’ feeling that the Cali does. Seems very clinical.

This is a long way of saying, hand on heart I don’t feel comfortable recommending one to them. This family member is the type of person who’d take my advice and order one (very gung-ho, unlike me who researches everything to death!)

I’ve read the various threads about the alternatives and have to say, even though I love our California (I recommend these to anyone who’ll listen) I get the feeling that the Grand California could have been better, it seems some of the alternative Crafter builds are better thought out.

I’ve also seen some ex demos which are sticking around as opposed to Cali’s which are selling like hot cakes.

Happy to be wrong, would be great to hear some thoughts.

I have a 2 year old GC600. Bought it in march. I would not recommend them. Although the layout and spec is very good the electric system is overly complicated and the kit is unreliable. Lots of faults that seam to be recuring themes such as the fridge temperature control. The VW customer service is also appalling. Months waits for work to be done and totally impossible to get anything like straight answers to questions from “help” lines. Nice when it’s working. Crap when it’s not.

 

[Glynn]

A family friend is after a camper and loves our Cali but wants something bigger and with a bathroom.

That’s easy I said, the Grand California. However once I started looking into them I got a feeling that VW might have dropped the ball on this one.

The cabin seems cramped as does the bed (600) and also the bed above the front seats too. Also just doesn’t give me the ‘glowing’ feeling that the Cali does. Seems very clinical.

This is a long way of saying, hand on heart I don’t feel comfortable recommending one to them. This family member is the type of person who’d take my advice and order one (very gung-ho, unlike me who researches everything to death!)

I’ve read the various threads about the alternatives and have to say, even though I love our California (I recommend these to anyone who’ll listen) I get the feeling that the Grand California could have been better, it seems some of the alternative Crafter builds are better thought out.

I’ve also seen some ex demos which are sticking around as opposed to Cali’s which are selling like hot cakes.

Happy to be wrong, would be great to hear some thoughts.

Hi Everyone,
We have a GC680, on the whole we are happy with our van. However, I wish we had purchased the Hymer Free S Campus on the Mercedes Sprinter platform. This van has a great pop top roof and a ‘proper’ fridge.

 

[DMC]

I have a 2 year old GC600. Bought it in march. I would not recommend them. Although the layout and spec is very good the electric system is overly complicated and the kit is unreliable. Lots of faults that seam to be recuring themes such as the fridge temperature control. The VW customer service is also appalling. Months waits for work to be done and totally impossible to get anything like straight answers to questions from “help” lines. Nice when it’s working. Crap when it’s not.

Just to balance things out. I have a MY2023 and apart from one or two niggles, which our local van centre (JCT600 Leeds) sorted out. Ours has been brilliant. We added a couple of 150ah lithium batteries and a 1600w inverter and it is perfect. It is just a shame that VW do not even offer lithium etc as an option.