VW Grand California
Discussion
Hello - my wife and I are in the market for a nearly new Grand California. Does anyone have experience of these, any views or comments? I'm aware that there are alternatives such as the Knaus Boxlife 600 and conversions based on the Crafter, but we like the little features of the GC such as the table & chairs in the rear doors.
Any feedback will be appreciated.
Any feedback will be appreciated.
I'd recommend that site as well (I'm a California owner). As for the Grand California I would personally assess exactly what you want from a van and look around at all the different convertors, there are lots of different variations that are arguably much better than the Grand California. Is the Eriba Car available in the UK (I'm based in Germany)?
I have a Boxdrive 600 and its great. I did look at the GC but I just couldn't live with all that white plastic internally.
Otherwise there is not much between them. In fact I think the physical van/roof is exactly the same on both vans.
Otherwise there is not much between them. In fact I think the physical van/roof is exactly the same on both vans.
Edited by springfan62 on Friday 7th February 08:50
There's a YouTuber called Chris Sloanes who ran a Grand California for a while. He's replaced it with a motorhome now, but he had some good content on living with the van and the issues he faced. Might be worth looking through some of his older videos. He had a lot of snagging and problems which is fairly common across a lot of campervans, but he found the VW main dealers were hopeless at resolving. It might factor into your decision or not.
We had a look at a nearly new one at VW in Newcastle when we had a Transporter and were looking for something bigger. It was very expensive as they all are, but we didn't feel it offered enough for the money. Layout wise, it sort of worked for us and the drop-down child bed is a good use of space. I don't think they used the space as well as some alternatives though. The table storage is nice, and it had some good features but neither of us could get past the forehead looks and after our terrible engine reliability experiences with our Transporter, it's put us off VW.
I prefer the Swift Trekker X which has a better layout/use of space for us but we're all different.
We had a look at a nearly new one at VW in Newcastle when we had a Transporter and were looking for something bigger. It was very expensive as they all are, but we didn't feel it offered enough for the money. Layout wise, it sort of worked for us and the drop-down child bed is a good use of space. I don't think they used the space as well as some alternatives though. The table storage is nice, and it had some good features but neither of us could get past the forehead looks and after our terrible engine reliability experiences with our Transporter, it's put us off VW.
I prefer the Swift Trekker X which has a better layout/use of space for us but we're all different.
toon10 said:
There's a YouTuber called Chris Sloanes who ran a Grand California for a while. He's replaced it with a motorhome now, but he had some good content on living with the van and the issues he faced. Might be worth looking through some of his older videos. He had a lot of snagging and problems which is fairly common across a lot of campervans, but he found the VW main dealers were hopeless at resolving. It might factor into your decision or not.
He's spent a fortune on his replacement moho since buying it too!However, I wouldn't consider a Cali or Grand Cali either.
We have a GC 680.
First thing to consider is what size van do you want. We have a dog so wanted a bit more room and there's only two of us so no need for the extra beds in a 600. The kitchen area is bit longer too, and we also have a wardrobe.
We also wanted a longitudinal bed which is much easier to get in/out of as you don't need to climb over your partner.
Down sides to the 680 is the length which makes the turning circle poor and parking more difficult. Depending on your licence, being over 3.5t (3.88) may be an issue too
Ours has lots of nice options: Heated seats and windscreen, heated leather steering wheel, solar, plus quite a few more. I've also fitted a Gaslow refillable gas cylinder, which is very useful for euro trips, and I can fit a Calor one in too if necessary alongside.
They are comfortable to drive, with a driving position like an suv rather than a van.
Biggest issue for GC owners is the limited leisure lead battery at just 95Ah, which means about 24 hours off grid only before needing charging. It's not easy/cheap to upgrade either. We have a Bluetti portable power supply to extend off grid.
The VWcalifornia forum website is very useful.
First thing to consider is what size van do you want. We have a dog so wanted a bit more room and there's only two of us so no need for the extra beds in a 600. The kitchen area is bit longer too, and we also have a wardrobe.
We also wanted a longitudinal bed which is much easier to get in/out of as you don't need to climb over your partner.
Down sides to the 680 is the length which makes the turning circle poor and parking more difficult. Depending on your licence, being over 3.5t (3.88) may be an issue too
Ours has lots of nice options: Heated seats and windscreen, heated leather steering wheel, solar, plus quite a few more. I've also fitted a Gaslow refillable gas cylinder, which is very useful for euro trips, and I can fit a Calor one in too if necessary alongside.
They are comfortable to drive, with a driving position like an suv rather than a van.
Biggest issue for GC owners is the limited leisure lead battery at just 95Ah, which means about 24 hours off grid only before needing charging. It's not easy/cheap to upgrade either. We have a Bluetti portable power supply to extend off grid.
The VWcalifornia forum website is very useful.
Thanks for all the comments. We did look at the Knaus and I’ve seen Chris’ GC video on YouTube - eyes open about potential issues! Eriba car doesn’t seem to be arriving in the UK until June from what I can find.
We’ve now seen and reserved a demonstrator GC 600. It’s on the 3.88t chassis but we’re old enough for that not to be an issue, and it has the solar “collector” on the roof which should help a bit with the leisure battery. Funnily enough it’s the same 2-tone grey/silver at the 680 above.
Can’t wait now to get off on some adventures!
We’ve now seen and reserved a demonstrator GC 600. It’s on the 3.88t chassis but we’re old enough for that not to be an issue, and it has the solar “collector” on the roof which should help a bit with the leisure battery. Funnily enough it’s the same 2-tone grey/silver at the 680 above.
Can’t wait now to get off on some adventures!
We've used it (an AC180P) stand alone so far but intend plugging it into EHU. I've also just fitted a Bluetti Charger 1, which will charge the portable supply from the alternator whilst driving. We have solar panels for charging the portable supply too, but may not need those so much now we have the charger 1.
If on site hook up we can obviously plug the portable supply into mains for charging it back up as well.
If on site hook up we can obviously plug the portable supply into mains for charging it back up as well.
Yes, researched it a lot. Every battery supplier I contacted recommended not to replace the leisure battery with lithium in it's current location under the bonnet.
Our van is still under warranty and we don't want to go down the route of having another installer fit something that could affect it should we need to claim.
There is a company near Hamburg who can install a system which maintains the VW warranty, but a complete system is 9-10k euros!
Our van is still under warranty and we don't want to go down the route of having another installer fit something that could affect it should we need to claim.
There is a company near Hamburg who can install a system which maintains the VW warranty, but a complete system is 9-10k euros!
murray said:
We’ve got a 680 which we’ve done around 17k miles in after having a T6 California. Must have options imo are solar and diesel heating in lieu of gas heating.
Thanks Murray. What's the advantage of diesel heating vs. gas? We don't plan to be off grid too much but I've seen a few vans with the aux. heater option and would be interested to know the benefits.It means that you will always have ‘fuel’ for the heater and hot water as you’ve always got diesel. You just use the gas for cooking so it lasts a very long time. Also, you only need one gas canister rather than two so you get a bit extra storage space. If you travel abroad it’s not easy to swop the canisters over as they use a different system on the continent.
Can only echo a number of the comments here.
I bought a Knaus BoxDrive 600XL after viewing the GC600 and not getting on with either the overcab/lounge bed, which was too small for my growing pre-teen and the aesthetics of the dentist waiting room white panelling/cupboards. I was also a little sceptical of the build/fit-out given VW were effectively learning on the job with these. The California is quite different in the fact it is a lot less complicated and these are taking a lot of motorhome technology that's not previously been used by them.
I have been super-happy with the Knaus and served me well over the 22months & 10.5k I've owned it. The MAN / Crafter is a super base vehicle and I'm really going to miss it. Only selling in order to buy a motorhome with 5 seatbelts due to growing family.
I would also support the diesel heating option. The Knaus had it as only available heating option (incl. electric hookup) and it's been a gamechanger only using gas for cooking. I've had a 907 calorgas bottle in there for nearly two years and still got c. 20% remaining and I've had well over 100 nights in it.
I think if you're buying a GC600 now, most of the niggles will have been ironed out. I'm sure some of the things like the frost protection valve dropping the boiler was also user error in a number of cases - people coming from Cali's and used to running them cold overnight not realising you need to keep the van warm. But worth a look at the other options too........especially given the fact a lot of these things are knocking on the door of 100k these days.
I bought a Knaus BoxDrive 600XL after viewing the GC600 and not getting on with either the overcab/lounge bed, which was too small for my growing pre-teen and the aesthetics of the dentist waiting room white panelling/cupboards. I was also a little sceptical of the build/fit-out given VW were effectively learning on the job with these. The California is quite different in the fact it is a lot less complicated and these are taking a lot of motorhome technology that's not previously been used by them.
I have been super-happy with the Knaus and served me well over the 22months & 10.5k I've owned it. The MAN / Crafter is a super base vehicle and I'm really going to miss it. Only selling in order to buy a motorhome with 5 seatbelts due to growing family.
I would also support the diesel heating option. The Knaus had it as only available heating option (incl. electric hookup) and it's been a gamechanger only using gas for cooking. I've had a 907 calorgas bottle in there for nearly two years and still got c. 20% remaining and I've had well over 100 nights in it.
I think if you're buying a GC600 now, most of the niggles will have been ironed out. I'm sure some of the things like the frost protection valve dropping the boiler was also user error in a number of cases - people coming from Cali's and used to running them cold overnight not realising you need to keep the van warm. But worth a look at the other options too........especially given the fact a lot of these things are knocking on the door of 100k these days.
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