Getting a VW California for weekends with young kids

[JMGSinging]

We have two little boys DS4 and DS1. DH and I are thinking to buy a new VW California for weekend trips mostly in the UK whenever the weather forecast is good. We might use it for a couple of tours in France/Italy when the kids are older, but will continue to have holidays abroad if it’s over a week with flights/hotels. I heard that there is a long lead time for new van delivery. Just trying to gauge if weekend camping trips with two young kids is a good idea? How old do I have to wait for DS1 to become until we order the campervan? Thanks

Crafter conversions are becoming popular. Still a VW but with more space. Cooler than a motorhome but it depends what you want. We are doing our own conversion so it will be exactly how I want it.

Thanks for the advice. How old were your kids when you got the campervan? As mine are 4 and 1 at the moment, I wonder how the sleeping arrangements would work for us. But it will mainly be used for weekend breaks so I don’t think we will sleep in the van for more than 2 nights in a row. If we do get one, I’d like to get a new factory fit too, for all the warranty etc, and will use as the second vehicle for longer drives, instead of town driving.

@JMGSinging older but when we got it I wished we'd got it when they were younger! Personally if we'd had it when the kids were 1 & 4 I think we would have had an adult + a child in each of the beds. That's what we did tent camping when they were small. And then move to the the two kids in together upstairs when they're a bit bigger. But I think you'll also find it brilliant for day trips, and everyday family stuff. And as I said unlike a car it will depreciate very little if at all so an asset. I am sure you won't regret it.

(Unless as one poster has said you have a third child - because they seat and sleep 4. So it would be a highly impractical vehicle for a family of 5!)

It is a big investment though so I would recommend seeing different ones in person and test driving them. There are lots of forums and facebook groups for owners that I read at length weighing up pros and cons of models so you can decide what is the priority for you.

I'm not sure it will be as spontaneous as you think it will. We had a van for a few years but we had to plan and book pitches months in advance. If you wait until a sunny weekend you'll not find anywhere to pitch up in summer when you'll actually want to go.

Hmm quite a few of our friends got vans. They’ve all bar one quietly sold them - pretty much all their teens hate them and flatly refuse to go on van holidays. Who wants to be crammed up close with your parents on a campsite!

When mine were little we bought a vw transporter van and had it professionally converted to my own design in order to sleep 5. Loved it, nothing can beat a pitch right next to the beach overlooking St tropez bay🤩

Came into its own for day trips when you could take their friends with you (designed to have 9 seat belted seats with cooker and sink under the seats) and sit with the side door open eating fish and chips overlooking the sea or lake with the ability to brew up. My last VW lasted 25 years so I think I got my money's worth. Just invested in another brand new one which I'll be kitting out for solo trips now I'm single and retired. (although have caught one of my sons looking at it enviously )😂

Ps I do use it as an every day vehicle though, love the high driving position.

Ha @Mossstitch my grown son is eying ours. He spent one night in it locally and fell in love. Fortunately his wife hates camping of any kind!

We have a T6 van van with two rows of seats, not a camper, and a couple of tents. It's DH's work vehicle and great for days out and holidays, and stacking with bikes and camping equipment.

Camping stuff is ready packed in plastic stacking crates in the garage. DH work stuff in a different set of crates. Easy enough to swap out. It's a bit more flexible for us than a camper van,

Annoyingly, although it's shorter than a VW Passat, one of the ferry companies classes it as a commercial vehicle.

If you are only a sunny weather campervanner and only do campsites with electric hookup and showers. There are so many places to camp in the countryside which don't get booked up. We meet up with friends all year round.

I’m very sure we won’t have any more babies! Definitely done with two 😂That’s how I imagined we will sleep in the early years too. As long as the campervan is used more than our current second car, which probably gets used less than 10 times a year, it’ll be worthwhile for us.

That’s why I’m thinking to get it when the kids are young and loving the novelty of camping and nature adventures. I don’t think we want to be stuck in the van with two teens in the night either 😅

It's perfect for younger kids. There are loads of certified locations all over the country that don't get booked up. We also joined both the caravan club and the camping and caravan club. They have local meets which are very cheap and family friendly.

@JMGSinging better than that, I predict it will become your preferred "first car"! Hope you have lots of fun in it and make lots of memories.

If you're ambition is to be more 'outdoorsy' I suggest you get into a sport or two.
Mine have grown up in the local mountain bike club and walking mountains with me and friends.
I grew up sailing and some cycling.
There's a fabulous culture for families in a lot of these sports, cycling particularly, it's so accepting and positive for families.
It gives you things to aim for, the kids get motivated to be with friends, so fewer arguments about getting out the house on a damp cold day...
I've now got one travelling the world with his bike currently, another leading the uni mountaineering club.

@OctoberandApril TBF I can't imagine people who aren't regular campers with two very small kids will be anything but fair weather campers in places with facilities.

That’s a great suggestion thank you!

There is a VW California users forum which may help you.

On here?

I grew up camping and my mother is in her eighties and still motor homes. We bought a lwb transporter that had a professional conversion no pop top. it is expensive it is used as a second vehicle. Are children are adults. I would say that we use it less than I would like as other posters said life gets in the way... my husband only likes campsites with amenities.
if we had space to store a caravan that is what we would have bought. but we love our van for day trips and we have gone to europe in it.... it is all the extras and servicing van more expensive than car,,,,

It's interesting to read all the experiences of other owners (and the pros/cons!). I have just bought an old T2, which I'm getting sorted ready for the summer. Luckily, insurance is cheap and it's MOT/tax exempt (but I have quite a bit of work that needs doing on it). I love the conversions and the Californias! My DC and I are tent campers but I'm future proofing for when I'm too old to put a tent up. DC1 wants to camp in a pup tent (rather than the big family tent we have) and DC2 will be getting to that age soon.

I wish that I did go down the camper van route when the DC were really little (I've camped with them since they were tiny), but I couldn't afford a van then.

Did you get the van in the end, @JMGSinging? We're going through this Q, kids of the same age and wonder how you've found it? TIA

I had a camper when my kids were little and it was my main car. It was superb for days out when they could have a little nap or wash up and get changed, and have their favorite things to eat. It wasn’t just about overnights although we did do that - it was more about the practicality of having a car that was big enough to get everything in, and you could just pull up and have a brew and a doze. I sold it for the same as I bought it. It had a pop top, hob and sink, and an external wrap for the roof if it was cold but the diesel heater did a really good job. I miss it.

Ten ish years ago, after similar considerations we got a SWB T6 Transporter Combi and a big tent! We borrowed a camper van and hated being so ontop of each other. The T6 was our “big car” for many years, and DH’s work van in the week. Great for flinging bikes into for a day out. We always had boxes packed for a night away. It’s recently been upgraded to a LWB Combi, which should see out DH’s working life. We plan to take out the back seats and convert it when we retire.

@JMGSinging you may find that the oppurtunities for spontaneously going away when the weather is nice dwindle significantly as your DC get older as they become commited to sports teams, orchestras etc. Do it now when they are little! Investigate nearly new vans too - About 3 months ago, our VW dealer told us that there is a 12-18 month wait for new T6s and 2-3 year wait for new Combis and California.

We always had wanted a camper but by the time we could afford it our kids were 9 and 11 and we only got a few years out of it before it became too small for them growing up/fighting over space (we didn’t want an awning and no one would have wanted to sleep out there) I wish we’d just done it asap. We’ve had a great time in it- weekends away and trips to Europe etc, love the camping community- so many young kids around so you could do it anytime as long as logistically it works for you sleeping wise.

re your youngest you can get a bed that goes across the front seats if you don’t want them sleeping in the pop top. I believe the new California have extra safety features in the pop top though to cover the gap though.

we got a conversion which was cheaper initially but we found hard to sell as conversions are more of an unknown quantity. Also, the base van - transporter t6.1 had awful suspension (as is better for carrying heavy weights) so our kids in the back got so badly car sick, which was another reason for selling it.

I wish we’d had got a California as you can rack the back seats forward so they’re not so far away from you (so easier to talk and check on the kids!- this is a rare feature in conversions), the rock and rolls beds in conversions don’t seem to have isofix, and also the californias are set up as passenger vehicles so suspension much better and more comfy ride. They also hold their value much better and much easier to sell, so if you can afford a California then go with that. Otherwise I’d only look at conversions done by camperking.