Cali Or Conversion - Driving Experience?

[Malcyb]

Hi,

We’re looking to get into the world of camper vans, and seriously considering getting a new California Ocean. However, we’re a bit put off by the width of the bed in the living area, which has drawn us to looking at layouts with slimmer side units offered by a few conversion companies.

My question for you all is this though... one of the things that really drew me to the Cali, as a keen driver, was the quality of the cab, and what I’ve read about the driving experience. A lot of the conversions I’ve seen have been based on basic transporters and the cab is pretty basic. If I were to go with a conversion company that allows me to spec my own donor van, will I lose anything in this regard relative to a Cali? It seems that I can spec a T6 Transporter Kombi Highline to almost the same level of equipment as a Cali, but will it be just as comfortable, and be as good, e.g. from a refinement and noise suppression perspective? I’ve read some terrible things about how noisy to travel in some van conversions are. I know it would no doubt end up just as expensive as a Cali but that wouldn’t bother us if the layout suited us better and it drove just as well.

I’m sure many of you had to make similar choices so would appreciate your experiences.

 

[Ian28]

Can’t answer your question Malcyb but I have recently gone through the same process of consideration. Opted for a new T6 Kombi Highline 4Motion with all the cab spec I wanted that I’m going to get converted.
One thing that swayed me was the ability to customise the back to a look/feel that I want - the Cali interior did nothing for me. Interested to hear what others say regards the driving experience.

 

[Roadrunner]

I went and got a Cali Beach which has a bigger bed. I did have the old Cali SE which is now the ocean and we foun dthe bed snug to sleep in. As we never used any of the stuff in the old Cali we got a Beach this time because we used a Kyam Motordome and cooked outside rather than have all the smells in the van. The fride in an Ocean is Ok but you can get one just as good to take with you which we did. I don't think getting a conversion will give you much more space and if you buy one off the shelf so to speak you will get a basic engine (102PS) and barn doors. At the end of the day its your choise but If I were you I'd get off to the NEC tomorrow and look at all the vans and see what you like best

 

[Malcyb]

I went and got a Cali Beach which has a bigger bed. I did have the old Cali SE which is now the ocean and we foun dthe bed snug to sleep in. As we never used any of the stuff in the old Cali we got a Beach this time because we used a Kyam Motordome and cooked outside rather than have all the smells in the van. The fride in an Ocean is Ok but you can get one just as good to take with you which we did. I don't think getting a conversion will give you much more space and if you buy one off the shelf so to speak you will get a basic engine (102PS) and barn doors. At the end of the day its your choise but If I were you I'd get off to the NEC tomorrow and look at all the vans and see what you like best

Hmm I guess that’s an option however I think that would rule out using it in the winter which we might like to sometimes. It seems there are a few companies that allow you flexibility to spec a van as you choose or supply your own, they’re not all like that. We’re off to the NEC on Sunday which will be intriguing...

 

[Ann3x]

Hmm I guess that’s an option however I think that would rule out using it in the winter which we might like to sometimes. It seems there are a few companies that allow you flexibility to spec a van as you choose or supply your own, they’re not all like that. We’re off to the NEC on Sunday which will be intriguing...

Or just get a heater retrofitted and buy a removable kitchen pod for a beach?

 

[Salty Spuds]

I went down the conversion route for several reasons:-
I wanted LWB
Cali door is on the wrong side
I personally ain’t a fan of the Cali interior, to me it looks very plasticky & dated, but that is purely my opinion.
We have a LWB t32 highline 4motion conversion from Dirty Weekender. It’s the van we wanted, set out as we wanted, not out of a brochure.
The only thing I’m missing is the comfort dash, but that wasn’t available at the time.

 

[Dilbert]

I went down the conversion route for several reasons:

Blimey, I was going to write exactly the same points as you @Salty Spuds !

Everybody is different. It's great to have a Base van specified as you want it and have your personal stamp on the conversion. You don't have to do the conversion yourself to achieve this. Go to a good converter like Dirty Weekenders who will listen to your needs and then recommend and tailor the build to exactly what you require.

Our T6 was our first venture into the world of campervaning. So it was a leap of faith in us knowing what we needed and trust in DW that we had it right. Would we change anything - not a thing! We have just added extras like a solar panel and ARB's as funds allow.

Enjoy the journey!

 

[Insert Coin]

Do you want high residuals or a custom van tailored to you?

And as above, I wanted lwb, slider on the correct side, full width bed, no cooking in the van and put the van through the business.

 

[Nigel W]

As salty spuds mentioned seriously consider going for an LWB, we had a standard T5.1 and when we changed to the T6 we opted for the LWB and it was one of the best things we did. That extra little length internally makes a huge difference and yet externally it drives just the same.
We bought ours from a converter and they helped us to decide on the base vehicle speciation which would suit us best.

 

[Dilbert]

seriously consider going for an LWB

Completely agree. I am always amazed at how much smaller SWB conversions look inside. With the Cali there is no choice; SWB or SWB.......