Tuesday’s the day!

Scooter1 · Oct 27, 2023

Dear all

Hello ! I’m new to this forum and also new to campervans. My wife and I take delivery of our new California Ocean 4Motion next week and, being total novices, we are both excited and a tad apprehensive about what challenges we might face, so I’m sure we’ll have plenty of questions for the more experienced owners on this forum!. Thanks in advance

Simon

Scapa · Oct 28, 2023

Welcome to the forum Simon and to your new and exciting adventures. I see you’ve gone for the full monty a 4Motion Ocean very nice. The members love questions and sharing advice and experience so fire away any time.

Corradobrit · Oct 28, 2023

Scooter1 said:
Dear all

Hello ! I’m new to this forum and also new to campervans. My wife and I take delivery of our new California Ocean 4Motion next week and, being total novices, we are both excited and a tad apprehensive about what challenges we might face, so I’m sure we’ll have plenty of questions for the more experienced owners on this forum!. Thanks in advance

Simon

Good choice. If you have the 199PS motor you must have an earlier generation T6.1, and therefore bellows that actually work as intended for camping. Look forward to seeing the pics of the new family member.

Scooter1 · Oct 28, 2023

Corradobrit said:
Good choice. If you have the 199PS motor you must have an earlier generation T6.1, and therefore bellows that actually work as intended for camping. Look forward to seeing the pics of the new family member.

It’s the 204PS version - and after reading all about the potential leaking bellows issue on this forum, I’m feeling a tad uneasy about having invested so much. Hopefully I’ll be one of the lucky ones! . Does anyone know whether VW are taking ownership of the issue?

Corradobrit · Oct 28, 2023

Scooter1 said:
It’s the 204PS version - and after reading all about the potential leaking bellows issue on this forum, I’m feeling a tad uneasy about having invested so much. Hopefully I’ll be one of the lucky ones! . Does anyone know whether VW are taking ownership of the issue?

Ah OK, might want to change your profile description. It says 199.
Unfortunately they all leak when the outer fabric is saturated. It is not an issue of manufacturing where some work and others don't. More a design and materials problem. Best to test them immediately either in steady rain or use a hose set on sprinkler to imitate rain. Then decide if you want to reject as unfit for purpose but do so within the 30 days. VW acknowledge there is a problem but have done b*gger all so far, 6+ months later. We are still waiting for a proper fix.

Scooter1 · Oct 28, 2023

Corradobrit said:
Ah OK, might want to change your profile description. It says 199.
Unfortunately they all leak when the outer fabric is saturated. It is not an issue of manufacturing where some work and others don't. More a design and materials problem. Best to test them immediately either in steady rain or use a hose set on sprinkler to imitate rain. Then decide if you want to reject as unfit for purpose but do so within the 30 days. VW acknowledge there is a problem but have done b*gger all so far, 6+ months later. We are still waiting for a proper fix.

Oops! Profile now updated. I’d missed that, so thanks for mentioning it!

The Little Red Cali · Oct 28, 2023

Scooter1 said:
Dear all

Hello ! I’m new to this forum and also new to campervans. My wife and I take delivery of our new California Ocean 4Motion next week and, being total novices, we are both excited and a tad apprehensive about what challenges we might face, so I’m sure we’ll have plenty of questions for the more experienced owners on this forum!. Thanks in advance

Simon

Picked mine up last week. Make sure you take the Cali Checklist which is available on here, it’s invaluable. Take your time going through the handover. A good handover should take 2-3 hours. Get them to put the roof up and down. Keep the roof up if it’s raining and check for water ingress. Get them to show you the awning operation, they can be really stiff when new. Following the handover, spend a bit of time going over the van by yourself and only drive off when you are happy. Had ours over a week now and we love it, enjoy.

BeeBee · Nov 3, 2023

We found this forum and California Chris videos the ultimate educators on our Cali and how it works.
Our handover, back in 2019 took about an hour and any longer could have been totally overwhelming..
I must admit a lifetime of driving a multitude of vehicles and an attitude of ‘if all else fails, consult the manual’ did have to change a little, it’s a complex bus. This forum is just braw and never ceases to amaze me with information and advise.Every days a school day on here … lol

Polomint · Nov 3, 2023

Welcome,
Most important tip I can give, put handbrake down before turning driver’s captain seat, ours was scratched when we got it, and I have forgotten to lower it many times so take care.
Enjoy your new Cali