T7 Coast diesel heater.

[Californication69]

Interesting conversation with Trischian in Edinburgh VW.
She stated the beach does not come with a night heater unless you specify the £1600 continuous heater.

Any body else have some firsthand experience.
?

The Volvo xc60 warranty is up soon and I need 6 seats.
So California Beach 2.0 tdi shall be ordered.
Starlight blue.
Standard 16” wheels
Heated seats
Heated steering wheel and assist thing ?
Basic parking (rear cam & sensors)
Sliding Windows in both doors.
Towbar
The pcp deal is nice with £4.5k cont.
And 4.9% almost as low as a new mortgage rate !

 

[thehoggmeister]

I was under the impression that all UK vans had the night heater. The heating situation is further complicated by the option of a cab diesel heater as well. I am sure others will clarify.

Worth phoning other dealers about stock and availability as we found that Edinburgh van centre was ordering from factory. We got a great deal on one from Swansway in Preston but the California branch is now Liverpool. They always have loads of vans on order. They also tend to order all the vans with an electric towbar. We got great service from them and they even fully tested the battery by running the fridge at my request and make sure nothing gets handed over without having all software updates carried out. We got the train down and they even sent a taxi for us from the station.

We have since used the Edinburgh servicing centre for a couple of minor warranty issues and they are really good. They got all the servicing staff from the now closed Loanhead van centre who ran a California rental business so are knowledgeable about camper vans.

 

[Californication69]

Jack at Liverpool confirmed you have to spec the £1800 heater on a beach to have the continuous night heater.

 

[stoobthealien]

Jack at Liverpool confirmed you have to spec the £1800 heater on a beach to have the continuous night heater.

He is wrong - I have a beach (bought from Liverpool - not Jack!) with no option and can 100% guarantee I have a continuous night heater

 

[Californication69]

He is wrong - I have a beach (bought from Liverpool - not Jack!) with no option and can 100% guarantee I have a continuous night heater

What colour did you have ?
And who did you purchase from at Liverpool ?
Can you set the heater on the app ?
And do you have a diesel ?
Thanks !

 

[stoobthealien]

What colour did you have ?
And who did you purchase from at Liverpool ?
Can you set the heater on the app ?
And do you have a diesel ?
Thanks !

I bought it from Oscar in Florida beach blue with a black roof and yes it's a diesel. You can indeed set the heater on the app but bear in mind it's Bluetooth so you need to reasonably close to do so. I have it parked on my drive and can do it from my front windows but it's not super reliable. You can of course pre set it for a heat up time from the car or app when you're in the car

 

[Californication69]

Makes no sense paying £1820 for a rf dongal and the additional engine heater then !
I wonder why two dealers have told me otherwise.
I shall write to VW HO and ask.

Cali looks great at night in that colour.
Where did you get the individual lights from ?

 

[Californication69]

Update from VW Customer care

Dear Bill

I hope this email finds you well.

Thank you for reaching out and for taking the time to contact us ahead of placing your new vehicle order. I appreciate how important it is to have absolute clarity on the specification before proceeding, and I am happy to confirm the position in writing.

According to the official Volkswagen California brochure (Issued 01, April 2026), the Volkswagen California Beach Camper T7 2.0 TDI is standard-equipped with a fuel?fired auxiliary heater for the living and passenger compartments. This heater provides overnight heating and is designed for use during camping, equivalent to the continuous diesel night heater you previously had on your California Ocean models. Heating is controlled via the camper control system within the vehicle.

This is confirmed in the brochure on page 15, under the section titled “Camping equipment – California Beach Camper”, where “Fuel?fired parking heater” is listed as standard equipment.

The optional parking heater package is a separate upgrade and is detailed on page 30 of the brochure. This option adds:

- Engine and coolant pre?heating

- Windscreen defrosting functionality

- Remote radio?frequency key operation

This optional package is not required in order to obtain overnight diesel heating. It is only necessary if engine pre?warming and remote operation are specifically desired.

In summary, if your requirement is solely for a diesel night heater for continuous overnight heating, no additional option needs to be specified on a California Beach Camper T7 2.0 TDI.

As the requested information has now been confirmed, I will close the case on our end. Following case closure, you may also receive a short survey focused solely on my performance. I would be very grateful if you could complete this, as it helps me ensure that I continue to provide the best possible customer service.

I trust this provides the written confirmation you were looking for. Please feel free to contact me again should you require any further clarification or assistance with your order.

Thank you for contacting Volkswagen UK.

Kind regards
???????

Anwar Raubenheimer Customer Relations Advisor

T: 0800 7834 909 E: customercare@vwcv.co.uk Volkswagen UK Volkswagen Group United Kingdom Yeomans Drive Blakelands Milton Keynes MK14 5AN www.volkswagen.co.uk

 

[sidepod]

Perhaps one small caveat to the above.

If you order the optional “parking heater package” as detailed in the last paragraph then, the remote key operation will likely also work with your night heater, set-up conditions permitting.

 

[Californication69]

Perhaps one small caveat to the above.

If you order the optional “parking heater package” as detailed in the last paragraph then, the remote key operation will likely also work with your night heater, set-up conditions permitting.

Correct, but I’d rather have £1820 less on the PCP for an RF fob.
TBH !

 

[Gomes]

I bought it from Oscar in Florida beach blue with a black roof and yes it's a diesel. You can indeed set the heater on the app but bear in mind it's Bluetooth so you need to reasonably close to do so. I have it parked on my drive and can do it from my front windows but it's not super reliable. You can of course pre set it for a heat up time from the car or app when you're in the car

View attachment 146044

Hi there, many thanks for confirming that the standard air heater can be set via app (bluetooth). I am about to order a T7 beach (tour) and here in Slovakia this heater is not a standard equipment. It costs 2´050€ (code 7VC). If i would decide for the "Camper parking heater for continuous operation and parking heater for windshield defrosting with radio remote control", would costs 3´500€. Just out of curiosity, how noisy it is the heater while running during the night? (I face some sleeping issues )

 

[Californication69]

Hi there, many thanks for confirming that the standard air heater can be set via app (bluetooth). I am about to order a T7 beach (tour) and here in Slovakia this heater is not a standard equipment. It costs 2´050€ (code 7VC). If i would decide for the "Camper parking heater for continuous operation and parking heater for windshield defrosting with radio remote control", would costs 3´500€. Just out of curiosity, how noisy it is the heater while running during the night? (I face some sleeping issues )

Just had an interesting conversation with Bradley at Breeze.
I trust this guy implicitly.

He said to scrap the 3 way climate control as it’s constantly fighting with the front and spec the £1820 parking heater.
This gives you more control of the diesel parking / camping heater, also it works for more than 2 hours.

The standed night heater only works for 2 hours then stops.
So apologies to the lady at Edinburgh and Jack at Liverpool who both stated the standard camping heater only works for 2 hours to take the cold off.
Then you have to keep activating it all night.
And only a couple of settings.

Good to know !

 

[larrylamb]

Just had an interesting conversation with Bradley at Breeze.
I trust this guy implicitly.

He said to scrap the 3 way climate control as it’s constantly fighting with the front and spec the £1820 parking heater.
This gives you more control of the diesel parking / camping heater, also it works for more than 2 hours.

The standed night heater only works for 2 hours then stops.
So apologies to the lady at Edinburgh and Jack at Liverpool who both stated the standard camping heater only works for 2 hours to take the cold off.
Then you have to keep activating it all night.
And only a couple of settings.

Good to know !

This video might help with the getaround for continuous heat.

 

[stoobthealien]

Just had an interesting conversation with Bradley at Breeze.
I trust this guy implicitly.

He said to scrap the 3 way climate control as it’s constantly fighting with the front and spec the £1820 parking heater.
This gives you more control of the diesel parking / camping heater, also it works for more than 2 hours.

The standed night heater only works for 2 hours then stops.
So apologies to the lady at Edinburgh and Jack at Liverpool who both stated the standard camping heater only works for 2 hours to take the cold off.
Then you have to keep activating it all night.
And only a couple of settings.

Good to know !

It seems crazy that the dealers are so confused about this. I would have understood if it was before they had any in stock but they can literally go to any Cali they have on the forecourt, set it to continuous and see that it runs perfectly well for a very long time on a thermostatic basis.

I went for the climatronic as I wanted to be able to set a temperature in c when I'm driving like I've had for years - the basic beach set-up doesn't let you do that. I've not noticed any "fighting" between the front and the back but I normally have them synced anyway

 

[Californication69]

It seems crazy that the dealers are so confused about this. I would have understood if it was before they had any in stock but they can literally go to any Cali they have on the forecourt, set it to continuous and see that it runs perfectly well for a very long time on a thermostatic basis.

I went for the climatronic as I wanted to be able to set a temperature in c when I'm driving like I've had for years - the basic beach set-up doesn't let you do that. I've not noticed any "fighting" between the front and the back but I normally have them synced anyway

It’s really frustrating.
I’ll ring Norwich California site and see if they have any more insight.
Just weird how 3 dealers are saying you have to have the £1820 parking heater for the overnight heater to work correctly !

 

[stoobthealien]

It’s really frustrating.
I’ll ring Norwich California site and see if they have any more insight.
Just weird how 3 dealers are saying you have to have the £1820 parking heater for the overnight heater to work correctly !

I agree - I gave up asking and went with the experience of people on here who had ordered without the option! The continuous option can easily be seen on the control panel too

 

[Californication69]

I agree - I gave up asking and went with the experience of people on here who had ordered without the option! The continuous option can easily be seen on the control panel too

Neil at Norwich says it needs the additional heater to operate continuously.
Against what VW Customer care says.
Crazy times when dealers make you spec an engine parking heater in addition to the already given diesel camping heater.

 

[pluc99]

The Volvo xc60 warranty is up soon and I need 6 seats.

Can you get 6 seats in the UK version of the Beach Camper?

 

[Californication69]

Can you get 6 seats in the UK version of the Beach Camper?

Yes, someone on here has added a 6th seat and registered it as having 6 seats with DVLA.
It would only be a couple of times a year, but if the kids had 5 kids, then we would have to take the defender and rent a small village

 

[larrylamb]

Neil at Norwich says it needs the additional heater to operate continuously.
Against what VW Customer care says.
Crazy times when dealers make you spec an engine parking heater in addition to the already given diesel camping heater.

I wouldn't believe a VW salesperson for technical or spec advice. Imagine how many different answers you would get ringing round all the dealers. Did my video link not answer the question??

 

[stoobthealien]

Yes, someone on here has added a 6th seat and registered it as having 6 seats with DVLA.
It would only be a couple of times a year, but if the kids had 5 kids, then we would have to take the defender and rent a small village

That would be me! You need to find a multivan middle seat (not the side ones as they don't normally come with seatbelts), correct your v5 and declare it to your insurance (cost me £20 a year more) but it works and it fits. You have to remove the rear mattress and left board though so it's really just for non camping use

 

[Californication69]

I wouldn't believe a VW salesperson for technical or spec advice. Imagine how many different answers you would get ringing round all the dealers. Did my video link not answer the question??

It did answer my question sir, but that’s the thing, I’m ringing all the dealers and they are all saying the same thing.
The sales people are saying order it with the £1820 parking heater.
But
VW themselves say don’t.
And I have it in writing on email from VW stating I don’t need to order the £1820 heater to get overnight heating.

So: shall I order it without the parking heater and if it comes then reject the vehicle if it comes with a 180 minute only heater ?

This is the route I’m going to take.
Saving £1820 is another £40 off the PCP.
Which brings it down to £576 a month which is pretty nice.
I don’t need the rf fob, and don’t need the engine heater for pre warming in -40°C climate.

 

[WelshGas]

It did answer my question sir, but that’s the thing, I’m ringing all the dealers and they are all saying the same thing.
The sales people are saying order it with the £1820 parking heater.
But
VW themselves say don’t.
And I have it in writing on email from VW stating I don’t need to order the £1820 heater to get overnight heating.

So: shall I order it without the parking heater and if it comes then reject the vehicle if it comes with a 180 minute only heater ?

This is the route I’m going to take.
Saving £1820 is another £40 off the PCP.
Which brings it down to £576 a month which is pretty nice.
I don’t need the rf fob, and don’t need the engine heater for pre warming in -40°C climate.

Of course the Sales people will say order the £1820 option, bigger sale bonus and more Dealer profit. VW UK Customer Service don't have these incentives.

 

[Californication69]

Very true.
Brad just found me an indium grey beach at the German port with everything on my options list. Plus 4 more.
I’ve put the deposit down and ordered as Cba waiting another 4 months.

 

[larrylamb]

This thread seems to confirm "basic" diesel Beach comes with the overnight heater that can be set to continuous operation. (as "Stoob" says above)

Another Parking Heater Discussion (sorry!)

I've read a few discussions on this point but there doesn't seem to be a definitive answer and I was hoping that someone might be able to confirm on their T7. For the base spec beach the brochure says "Fuel-fired parking heater and fuel-powered auxiliary heater" - I read that as 100% as it...

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