Thinking about a camper - looking for some help!

Hi all!

I've been thinking about taking the plunge and getting a camper for a while. I've got no real experience (and would likely rent one first) although have done lots of 'traditional' camping. The plan would be to do some touring around Scotland, trips to Europe and some weekends away in the UK (we are Essex based).

I was originally thinking about the fully kitted out Ocean, but I'm now looking at the Beach for the bigger bed. I'm 6ft 4 so wondering if anyone has any insight they can share on the comfort of the sleeping arrangements for a couple in an Ocean?

Also, one thing my wife needs convincing of is the toilet/shower situation! Are there any (semi) elegant solutions for the Cali?

Thanks!

David

Take cover…!!!
This is gonna get ugly

A Cali will only manage a porta-potti - something like this, but there are endless variations depending on your preferences for chemicals or "eco".



Basically take it out and use it ...

You could buy a toilet tent ...



.. to get a bit more privacy.

Some conversions have a fixed toilet but I have a Cali Ocean so couldn't say which van conversions offer this.

... and being short of stature I can't comment on the bed length either .... the length will be the same AFAIK, just the width in a Beach is better downstairs.

We tend not to sleep downstairs as it gets a bit stuffy.

I figured that would be the best solution.

In terms of bed - length will be fine but thinking more about how narrow it is. ‘Upstairs’ is 120 wide whereas standard double is 140 and a king 150?

davidrose1989 said:

Hi all!

I've been thinking about taking the plunge and getting a camper for a while. I've got no real experience (and would likely rent one first) although have done lots of 'traditional' camping. The plan would be to do some touring around Scotland, trips to Europe and some weekends away in the UK (we are Essex based).

I was originally thinking about the fully kitted out Ocean, but I'm now looking at the Beach for the bigger bed. I'm 6ft 4 so wondering if anyone has any insight they can share on the comfort of the sleeping arrangements for a couple in an Ocean?

Also, one thing my wife needs convincing of is the toilet/shower situation! Are there any (semi) elegant solutions for the Cali?

Thanks!

David

Click to expand...

1. Are you a fair weather camper or All year round?
2. Are you into Non-Campsite camping?
3. Is the vehicle going to be just used for camping or for “ everyday “ use?

Your height is not a problem. Your girth maybe.

WelshGas said:

1. Are you a fair weather camper or All year round?
2. Are you into Non-Campsite camping?
3. Is the vehicle going to be just used for camping or for “ everyday “ use?

Your height is not a problem. Your girth maybe.

Click to expand...

Let’s say I’m all year round (I do a lot of astrophotography and the best months are often in the winter!) but my wife perhaps not so much.

Yes, non-campsite camping I would think as much or perhaps more than at campsites.

Currently unsure on this. Perhaps every day, perhaps not.

davidrose1989 said:

Let’s say I’m all year round (I do a lot of astrophotography and the best months are often in the winter!) but my wife perhaps not so much.

Yes, non-campsite camping I would think as much or perhaps more than at campsites.

Currently unsure on this. Perhaps every day, perhaps not.

Click to expand...

Well, when I was a Nordkapp, Norway , in a horizontal blizzard and -7c I was very grateful to be able to cook my evening meal etc: in the comfort of my SE/Ocean.
Wildcamping is a little more difficult , but possible, in a Beach compared to a full camper.
I use my California SE, precursor to the Ocean, as an everyday vehicle.

I suggest you hire both variants, in winter, to determine which fits your needs the most.

Cue Amarillo with stories of driving three times round the world in a Beach with just a 12v kettle !

davidrose1989 said:

Let’s say I’m all year round (I do a lot of astrophotography and the best months are often in the winter!) but my wife perhaps not so much.

Yes, non-campsite camping I would think as much or perhaps more than at campsites.

Currently unsure on this. Perhaps every day, perhaps not.

Click to expand...

Some others that use a California for Photography.

1.9m tall, so 6’ 2” and a bit. No trouble sleeping upstairs. If I stretch I can touch the end canvass but I have to try. I find it very comfortable.

After 250+ nights, never slept downstairs.

We have a T6.1 Ocean, I am 6 foot 2 and sleep upstairs in great comfort and my wife sleeps downstairs. The downstairs bed of an Ocean is narrower than a Beach of course and the T6.1 is also shorter. If you plan to sleep together, it's upstairs or a Coast and that comes back to what you want from a camper. If you are used to Camping in a tent, a van is pure luxury, if you are used to hotels. a van is torture. We LOVE our van and it's given us so much more than we had imagined. Hire one, see how you get on and I hope California life suits you.

The downstairs Beach bed is gigantic.

I think that having sides rather than a drop makes the bed’s usable width greater.

This probably works for the Ocean’s narrow 112cm bed too.

We almost exclusively wild camp. Almost every single time we use the kitchen for cooking (unless it’s the morning/during the day and the weather permits), as it’s not always possible to cook outside (particularly if you’re trying to be covert!). Wouldn’t be able to do without it, to be honest. However, we do not use it as a daily driver (purely leisure only). I think a Beach lends itself better to be a daily driver. It’s up to you and what you intend to use it for. I’d do what @WelshGas suggests and rent both variants (perhaps start with the SE/Ocean first, if you intend to wild/winter camp) and see which best fits your lifestyle.

Depending on what you want to spend and how you'll use it, both can work. We have a Beach, but have also invested in various bits of additional kit that mean when we want we can cook and have a sink in the van, but there's no doubt that the ease of the full Ocean/Coast kitchen set up takes some beating when go on an impromptu weekend away and it's raining every day..

Personally I wouldn't swap the versatility for convenience of the full camper installation, but you'll find just as many with the opposite opinion.

If you decide to look at a Beach, be aware that the bed in the Tour version with the 3 seat bench is higher and not flat, so you can’t sit up in bed with the roof down - good to know as you are 6ft 4. However, the VW comfort mattress makes the bed flat and the Tour does offer great flexibility for carrying more passengers (up to 7).

The Beach Camper uses a similar bench seat to the Ocean. It also has a pullout stove in the near side panel of the passenger area and a large storage box alongside the bench.

Beach will give you a bigger bed v Ocean; There are various removable kitchen pods available that will give you twin hob, sink & running water. Beach only has one leisure battery (Ocean has 2), but if you fit a couple of solar panels on the roof you should never need an electric hook up.

3 seat bench allows to to seat 5 people, (7 if you add 2 removable seats) gives you a lot of storage options especially when combined with a sliding boot tray , decent fridge & eurocrates; 2 seat Beach has less storage underneath, a flatter bed but downside is that rear seats are not as shaped/comfy for passengers - shares same bed design as the Ocean.

Beach also has a simple manual roof so you can avoid some of the issues that might occur with the electric roof.

Can’t comment on using a portapotti inside the van as prefer not to sh&t where we eat & sleep.
If you need an onboard toilet and shower then would look at something like a Hymer Grand Canyon instead, or Ford Nugget + if you just need a toilet; Campersales (Burgess Hill) normally has a range on site which is great for comparing pros & cons of different sized vans.

We love the practicality of the Ocean kitchenette and fridge. Used soo many times.
Unbeatable for wild camping where making a campsite outside the van is not an option.
As well as aires stopovers.
Also great as an impromptu restaurant in a scenic stop.
I also use the kitchenette a lot when using the ocean as a mobile office. Coffee and lunch.

If you instead plan to stay in campsites then cooking inside is inconvenient when the weather is nice.

As for the portapotty, it’s useful for #1’s at night avoiding to get out. Else we use external facilities.

I prefer to sleep upstairs, but in winter downstairs with heater is another level of comfort. Wide enough for us.

davidrose1989 said:

Hi all!

I've been thinking about taking the plunge and getting a camper for a while. I've got no real experience (and would likely rent one first) although have done lots of 'traditional' camping. The plan would be to do some touring around Scotland, trips to Europe and some weekends away in the UK (we are Essex based).

I was originally thinking about the fully kitted out Ocean, but I'm now looking at the Beach for the bigger bed. I'm 6ft 4 so wondering if anyone has any insight they can share on the comfort of the sleeping arrangements for a couple in an Ocean?

Also, one thing my wife needs convincing of is the toilet/shower situation! Are there any (semi) elegant solutions for the Cali?

Thanks!

David

Click to expand...

I spent years changing my mind between a a Beach and a Ocean (or similar). Having hired an Ocean type conversion I bought a 2019 Beach in April - mainly because I wanted the flexibility to be able to use as a van and be able to load it up with my bike etc. Also because the bed downstairs bed is bigger.

Its been perfect - camped about 25 nights since April (always on site but quite a bit of time without electric). The weather has helped though - very easy to cook outside - but in a normal year in the UK I’d probably want a drive away awning to cook in.

Beds are huge and very comfortable.

One thing I don’t have so will probably retrofit is the parking heater.

Oh - and I have a collapsible Bivvy Loo for nighttime emergencies - number 1s only of course! It’s brilliant. Just knowing it’s there seems to be enough to not need it! It fits between the driver seat and bed.

Should have mentioned I have a portable domestic fridge too that fits neatly in the boot.

davidrose1989 said:

Hi all!

I've been thinking about taking the plunge and getting a camper for a while. I've got no real experience (and would likely rent one first) although have done lots of 'traditional' camping. The plan would be to do some touring around Scotland, trips to Europe and some weekends away in the UK (we are Essex based).

I was originally thinking about the fully kitted out Ocean, but I'm now looking at the Beach for the bigger bed. I'm 6ft 4 so wondering if anyone has any insight they can share on the comfort of the sleeping arrangements for a couple in an Ocean?

Also, one thing my wife needs convincing of is the toilet/shower situation! Are there any (semi) elegant solutions for the Cali?

Thanks!

David

Click to expand...

Hi David,

Let me first start out with a disclaimer that the following are my views and experiences of owning our Cali Ocean for the past three years. Overall, we love it but there are compromises; it is not perfect. The Cali as opposed to a conversion is a relatively known, crash tested commodity with a long history but if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. But in the Ocean as with many things, size really does matter. I am 6’1” and weigh just over 13 stone. My wife is 5’2” and of slim build. One of us snores. LOUDLY! Being a gentleman, I will not say which one of us that is…but it is not me! Such being the case, we opt to use both beds in the Cali. You will see why I mention our physical sizes later when making the bed up.

We use two double sized sleeping bags and for the downstairs bed we have a VW mattress topper. For the upstairs, we use the Sea to Summit campervan mattress. Both beds are spacious for one person and comfortable. However, getting the beds ready for the evening is a military operation. The upstairs bed is relatively simple. Inflate the mattress upon site arrival, roll the bag out when ready for bed and push the upper bunk floor up to give headroom for making the downstairs bed.

Downstairs bed. Make sure you have everything out of the cupboard storage that you might need for the night because once you pull the bench seat forward, you can’t get into the lower cupboards. Slide the bench seat all the way forward and lower the back. Crawl to the back to remove the second sleeping bag and pull the mattress topper forward. Then, unpack the second sleeping bag and roll it out over the mattress topper. Sounds simple, but it is an obstacle course especially with all the other gear in the van, the wife sitting on the front seat holding pillows and bags, etc. You’ll find that the countertop is full of “things” so all that needs to be moved….somewhere….to make a tea in the morning while lying in bed. Also, every morning you will need to make the downstairs bed to make breakfast. No matter what anyone says, it is just too difficult and another obstacle course trying to make breakfast with the bed down, downstairs.

Toilet. Storage is a premium in a Cali and all the cupboard space under the sink/cooker is occupied with shelves and drawers, so we do not have room for a toilet to be stored there. We use the Thetford 335 but leave it just behind the driver’s seat all the time. We cover it with a padded cover and use it as a seat/footstool. It sits on a piece of exercise mat to keep it from sliding around during driving. It is sufficient for us for three days but we only use it for liquids. There is relatively little privacy in a van so if you’re squeamish…. We generally turn our heads, close our eyes and laugh at the sound effects.

Shower. We use the Colapz shower in a bucket; a great little shower with sufficient power. I HATE showers where you feel like someone is.....so they need to have power. I cut a 1” thick exercise mat with 25mm holes drilled into it and place that in a Pop A Loo tent as the shower floor. The Colapz shower bucket is filled with hot water from either the site facilities or a kettle along with cold water to regulate the temperature. We have a military shower where you wet your body, turn off the pump, lather up, rinse off. The shower is nice, warm and generally cleaner and more private than the facilities, plus there is no worry about interaction with the public. More importantly, my wife loves it!

Overall, we love the Cali but it does have the compromises of marginal size inside. It is an obstacle course that never stops entertaining one of us while watching the other. If you don’t mind the larger profile, a Crafter could meet your needs better but that too has compromises. Just bear in mind, size matters in a Cali.

davidrose1989 said:

Hi all!

I've been thinking about taking the plunge and getting a camper for a while. I've got no real experience (and would likely rent one first) although have done lots of 'traditional' camping. The plan would be to do some touring around Scotland, trips to Europe and some weekends away in the UK (we are Essex based).

I was originally thinking about the fully kitted out Ocean, but I'm now looking at the Beach for the bigger bed. I'm 6ft 4 so wondering if anyone has any insight they can share on the comfort of the sleeping arrangements for a couple in an Ocean?

Also, one thing my wife needs convincing of is the toilet/shower situation! Are there any (semi) elegant solutions for the Cali?

Thanks!

David

Click to expand...

BTW....I should have mentioned that the downstairs bed is too narrow for two normal sized adults to sleep side-by-side. At least for us. We like the room to sprawl when sleeping, hence the double-sized sleeping bags.

As a 4 seat newish Beach owner I’m happy to give my advice. As a camper of many years I don’t understand the concept of cooking inside a vehicle, especially with sleeping areas adjacent and the smells remaining on the fabric. For me personally it is about being outside albeit I’ve yet to navigate a winter in the camper.

I did hire an ocean before I bought the Beach but felt I was moving things about too much. As others have said it is about individual choice but I bought an Outdoor Revolution Cayman Air recently. It works and allows plenty of space to store everything you need leaving the van for sleeping or set up for eating easily in inclement weather. I also have a tarp with 2 poles which I attach to the tent and enclose with a wind breaker giving an outside area under cover. Most tarps have built in solar lining to block out the sun.

Try it out, see what works for you. Chat to other campers, in my experience almost all are happy to show their set up and this helps to visualise your own set up before commuting to buy.

Essentials I bought this year; air fryer (hook up only) seat covers & roof topper from the shop.

Enjoy finding out what works for you and try to spend time reading threads on this group before re-posting old topics. The people on here are amazing & know everything you will ever need so I signed up for VIP membership too.

Let's start with a controversial idea - you need 50 nights a year to make your camper more than a trophy on the drive! (Absolutely no science or metrics to this statement)
Scotland is the destination for a camper. Last night we 'wild' camped; today a hill climb followed with a shower (£2 & excellent). Tonight who knows? Scotland and the islands all have loads of 'facilities' if you seek them out. Follow the yachties. Campsites too. We carry a porta potty, rarely used, trowel and collapsible bucket. Several of the ferries have showers, but not all.
The Cali has been designed for all weather mobile camping. Beautifully warm in the coldest of weather. Remarkable in drying clothes after a wet day on the hill.
If this is your sort of life style then great. Should you change your mind, then residual values don't suggest an expensive mistake.
One regret, should have got one sooner.

davidrose1989 said:

Hi all!

I've been thinking about taking the plunge and getting a camper for a while. I've got no real experience (and would likely rent one first) although have done lots of 'traditional' camping. The plan would be to do some touring around Scotland, trips to Europe and some weekends away in the UK (we are Essex based).

I was originally thinking about the fully kitted out Ocean, but I'm now looking at the Beach for the bigger bed. I'm 6ft 4 so wondering if anyone has any insight they can share on the comfort of the sleeping arrangements for a couple in an Ocean?

Also, one thing my wife needs convincing of is the toilet/shower situation! Are there any (semi) elegant solutions for the Cali?

Thanks!

David

Click to expand...

Hi David
We bought our VW California Ocean (cancelled order) pretty much on a whim having retired. We both want to travel in retirement and figure that we can have a lot more short and long breaks if we challenge ourselves and buy a Campervan. We still have holidays in hotels and have two more of those in the pipeline. We ordered it in May 22 and took delivery exactly two months later in July 22. We needed another vehicle as my husbands lease car was due to go back and with residual values being good we figured that we can sell if we don’t like it! Since our purchase we’ve stayed a total of eighteen nights away in Norfolk (twice at two different campsites), New Forest (one campsite), Devon (festival - off grid with porta loos only), Canterbury (one campsite) and Bath (one campsite).
My husband is 6 foot 2 inches and I’m 5 foot 6 inches. We said from the start that we plan to sleep with him ‘upstairs’ and me ‘downstairs’. So, we equipped the bedding accordingly. The van came with a preordered bed extension and VW mattress topper (for the rock and roll downstairs bed). We have bought two 77cm 4cm duvalay mattresses (comfort pack which comes with two sets of Duvalay covers and a 4.5 and 10.5 tog duvet). We get a good nights sleep with this arrangement, but have had to adjust to being extremely tidy! I put the tea equipment out the night before and can make tea from the bed the next morning. We have a mini electric kettle. You have to put the rock and roll bed away really to have breakfast (so you can access the cupboards etc).
We have a 335 porta potti with cover (for nightime use only). It goes on a little fold up stool (also useful for climbing easily in and out of the side door). During the day it is emptied and stored in the boot. We bought a pop up tent - a complete chocolate teapot as it’s difficult to put down and more disturbing to yourselves and everyone else as you have to open the door to access it at night. That’s going to a charity shop!
Regarding the shower - again we have an unnecessary purchase of a shower bag! We’ve now decided that we need a campsite with access to showers and toilets. We have stayed ‘off grid’ at a festival - once was enough for me. Husband didn’t mind a wet wipe wash! Shower blocks have varied standards on the campsites we’ve stayed on, from the quite swish to the very basic. I’ve compromised on my standards a bit if the location of the campsite is where we want to be (eg this week’s trip to Bath - lovely site with basic showers!).
Regarding privacy - dressing/undressing and using porta potti etc, I think the blinds and dark windows in a Cali Ocean are fantastic. We mainly use the shower and toilet blocks which have separate cubicles for privacy. We are planning to buy the Thule awning attachments to give a bit more shade and privacy into the van for next summer. We want to travel light so don’t want a drive away awning. The compact space is something we have had to adjust to - it’s now okay. We haven’t yet done longer than five nights in a row in the van but we’re excited to be planning our month long trips for next year (one to Norway and one to Spain. We do plan to mix up campsite stays with some rentals or hotel nights.
We love our Ocean - it’s a fantastic vehicle to drive (two litre DSG) and easy to park. The camera offers amazing visibility.
We mainly use outdoor cooking facilities, but for day trips out having the sink, stove and fridge are amazingly useful. Looking forward to heating up soup and having tea after a long walk in the winter!

Hi I am 6´3.5’´ and find upstairs and downstairs in our ocean T6 comfortable and long enough.
We sleep upstairs usually but downstairs fine when cold/windy. We have a comfort mat downstairs and use additional thermorest mats upstairs.
Having long legs can be an issue when making the inevitable night time exit! But with practice and technique
We tend to stay on sites for the convenience of showers and loos but have 335 which is fine with a pop up tent on small sites.
Organisation and tidiness tricky in the space but should strengthen your relationship!
Never regretted our.purchase..