Cali Alternative

davidandjoan · May 11, 2022

Having spent the last 3 weeks touring The Western Isle in Scotland we are missing a dedicated toilet compartment in our Cali.
We have been browsing alternatives that do not involve going significantly bigger.
Does anyone know whether in the Westfalia Club Joker the toilet door must remain open to allow access to the kitchen?

Wildcamper · May 11, 2022

We have a toilet in our LWB Autohaus conversion, so not a California. Very happy.

Mr T · May 11, 2022

davidandjoan said:
Having spent the last 3 weeks touring The Western Isle in Scotland we are missing a dedicated toilet compartment in our Cali.
We have been browsing alternatives that do not involve going significantly bigger.
Does anyone know whether in the Westfalia Club Joker the toilet door must remain open to allow access to the kitchen?

@4x4 joker Should be able to help with this question.

The Blue Merle · May 11, 2022

davidandjoan said:
Having spent the last 3 weeks touring The Western Isle in Scotland we are missing a dedicated toilet compartment in our Cali.
We have been browsing alternatives that do not involve going significantly bigger.
Does anyone know whether in the Westfalia Club Joker the toilet door must remain open to allow access to the kitchen?

The toilet doors are two bi folding type what shut together with a magnet.
I leave mine open, with the tie backs but you can overlap them inwards against loo and still access kitchen sink/area no probs.
If I remember I’ll take a pic tomorrow.
If you are anywhere near burgess hill Rob at campersales has a couple of 2nd hand ones for sale I’m sure if you give them a call they would be happy to show you round one.
Great vans but you need to be a bit more organised loads of storage but no big boot to fill like most vans.

davidandjoan · May 12, 2022

Wildcamper said:
We have a toilet in our LWB Autohaus conversion, so not a California. Very happy.

Thank you. We will have a look at that

Wildcamper · May 12, 2022

davidandjoan said:
Thank you. We will have a look at that

Call Autohaus, speak to Tony or Chris. You will be looking at their Camelot range. Plenty of info. on their website. Might be quite a long wait if interested in ordering.

davidandjoan · May 12, 2022

4x4 joker said:
The toilet doors are two bi folding type what shut together with a magnet.
I leave mine open, with the tie backs but you can overlap them inwards against loo and still access kitchen sink/area no probs.
If I remember I’ll take a pic tomorrow.
If you are anywhere near burgess hill Rob at campersales has a couple of 2nd hand ones for sale I’m sure if you give them a call they would be happy to show you round one.
Great vans but you need to be a bit more organised loads of storage but no big boot to fill like most vans.

Thank you. A picture would be great.
We are in Scotland so I think we have a bit to travel to see one.
We like the idea of the high-top and still being able to sleep ‘upstairs’ as we call it.

The Blue Merle · May 12, 2022

davidandjoan said:
Having spent the last 3 weeks touring The Western Isle in Scotland we are missing a dedicated toilet compartment in our Cali.
We have been browsing alternatives that do not involve going significantly bigger.
Does anyone know whether in the Westfalia Club Joker the toilet door must remain open to allow access to the kitchen?

You wouldn’t want to drive with the doors like that unless you fit some Velcro, plenty of room to access kitchen.

Haves1979 · May 12, 2022

We came across one of these at a campsite recently:

Eliseo

Whether sports activities, a weekend break or your summer holidays – the Eliseo campervan is the perfect companion on any adventure. Discover it now!

www.buerstner.com

Webbah_in_Switzerland · May 12, 2022

@4x4 joker , I'm eagerly awaiting delivery of my 2020 Club Joker 4motion in Starlight Blue. Having a ton of offroad mods being installed which will take them a month with all the approvals required (Switzerland). Can't wait! Air Suspension (Goldschmidt and not VB after careful analysis as it can weigh the vehicle at any time using pressure in the air suspension), Black Rhino Arches wheels, BFG Ko2's, Bravo Snorkel, Underbody protection plates, Hill sliders and Victron inverter with 200AH of lithium batteries/170w solar between the roof vents. Super stoked and can't wait! This is a similar build in the photo of what I'm doing, but again mine is in Starlight Blue and I don't want the graphic decals on the sides.

I'm curious, how deep is the rear storage on the left side? It appears to go much deeper but I can't find the dimensions anywhere.

The Blue Merle · May 12, 2022

Webbah_in_Switzerland said:
@4x4 joker , I'm eagerly awaiting delivery of my 2020 Club Joker 4motion in Starlight Blue. Having a ton of offroad mods being installed which will take them a month with all the approvals required (Switzerland). Can't wait! Air Suspension (Goldschmidt and not VB after careful analysis as it can weigh the vehicle at any time using pressure in the air suspension), Black Rhino Arches wheels, BFG Ko2's, Bravo Snorkel, Underbody protection plates, Hill sliders and Victron inverter with 200AH of lithium batteries/170w solar between the roof vents. Super stoked and can't wait! This is a similar build in the photo of what I'm doing, but again mine is in Starlight Blue and I don't want the graphic decals on the sides.

I'm curious, how deep is the rear storage on the left side? It appears to go much deeper but I can't find the dimensions anywhere.

View attachment 92930

View attachment 92931

View attachment 92932

View attachment 92933

Blimey you done well to find a 170w to fit in the gap! I’ve got a solbian 118 on order, should of been here 3wks ago!
What make have you gone for?
Busy making frame for it at mo.

I’m slowly going similar look have some wheel arch extenders and bonnet guard going on next.

The hess gear is amazing, and local for you (lucky bugger), just missed out on the hess set up on eBay couldn’t get to the price they wanted.
So will still with home made one from old joker. (Added pic of homemade bike box/snowboard holder which works as a ladder too).

I’m still undecided on lithium so will be interested in what you think and how many days you get off grid.

When did you place your order, mine was June 2020 and arrived beginning of April.

If you didn’t order the naff table and chair set then front runner chairs fit great in the back (see pic).

Webbah_in_Switzerland · May 12, 2022

4x4 joker said:
Blimey you done well to find a 170w to fit in the gap! I’ve got a solbian 118 on order, should of been here 3wks ago!
What make have you gone for?
Busy making frame for it at mo.

I’m slowly going similar look have some wheel arch extenders and bonnet guard going on next.

The hess gear is amazing, and local for you (lucky bugger), just missed out on the hess set up on eBay couldn’t get to the price they wanted.
So will still with home made one from old joker. (Added pic of homemade bike box/snowboard holder which works as a ladder too).

I’m still undecided on lithium so will be interested in what you think and how many days you get off grid.

When did you place your order, mine was June 2020 and arrived beginning of April.

If you didn’t order the naff table and chair set then front runner chairs fit great in the back (see pic)

I bought a mildly used one they had in stock with 16K Km's (10K Miles), but wanted them to do all the offroad conversions for me before delivery as they've done quite a few of these and know what works and what doesn't. I'm not sure what brand the panels are just yet, but apparently 2*85 watt panels that have enough flex to flush mount and be invisible from a side view. I could have added a panel in the front as well, but it would have been visible and I preferred to have a clean look. With 200AH of Lithium they claim I can get 3-4 days easily and the solar wasn't even necessary. They will install a charge booster so the alternator will charge them up quickly with any driving. I prefer to have some solar nonetheless for piece of mind. Happy to send some photos once I take delivery.

I can also help you out with any items from Hess as they are 15 minutes from me. I know Roger quite well.

I do have the chairs/table kit with the CJ, but will ditch the chairs. That's why I'm interested in the depth of the lower storage area on the left when empty. Curious what I can stuff in there as far as length is concerned.

The Blue Merle · May 12, 2022

I had two 55w panels stuck on my old van and they failed within 18mths, had to replace them with two new sunpower ones.
The problem with sticking is they over heat as there’s no air flow, that’s why I’m doing this frame over the indent in roof for them to breath.
Solbian panels come with 5yr guarantee too (so fingers crossed all good).
Have also bought a portable 100w fold out panel if needed.
Old van managed 4/5days off grid no probs, but it will depend on how much you run heater. Nearly always switch off heater when sleeping unless it’s very cold.

Hess will ship to uk but prices are very expensive so still undecided if I want to replace my set up.

I can measure the boot for you later.

Webbah_in_Switzerland · May 12, 2022

4x4 joker said:
I had two 55w panels stuck on my old van and they failed within 18mths, had to replace them with two new sunpower ones.
The problem with sticking is they over heat as there’s no air flow, that’s why I’m doing this frame over the indent in roof for them to breath.
Solbian panels come with 5yr guarantee too (so fingers crossed all good).
Have also bought a portable 100w fold out panel if needed.
Old van managed 4/5days off grid no probs, but it will depend on how much you run heater. Nearly always switch off heater when sleeping unless it’s very cold.

Hess will ship to uk but prices are very expensive so still undecided if I want to replace my set up.

I can measure the boot for you later.

Thank you, indeed they will be installing a small frame as well with a 1-2 cm gap for air. If anything fails at least I got it all from the main dealer and he will cover it under warranty.

The Blue Merle · May 12, 2022

Webbah_in_Switzerland said:
Thank you, indeed they will be installing a small frame as well with a 1-2 cm gap for air. If anything fails at least I got it all from the main dealer and he will cover it under warranty.

Look forward to seeing your setup all sounds excellent are hess doing the extras?

Webbah_in_Switzerland · May 12, 2022

4x4 joker said:
Look forward to seeing your setup all sounds excellent are hess doing the extras?

No, the dealer (Auto LaRocca) is doing all the installations. Some Hess parts, but the suspension is Goldschmidt and not VB and Hess only sells and installs VB Air. The dealer does 2-3 offroad builds a month and is very highly praised for that in Switzerland if buying new/used.

The Blue Merle · May 12, 2022

Webbah_in_Switzerland said:
No, the dealer (Auto LaRocca) is doing all the installations. Some Hess parts, but the suspension is Goldschmidt and not VB and Hess only sells and installs VB Air. The dealer does 2-3 offroad builds a month and is very highly praised for that in Switzerland if buying new/used.

So boot 700- 750mm is longest section
Shortest is 510- 560mm (lower measurement is wooded boot area but you get a bit extra to play with).
Height 175mm but this changes in places as there’s metal supports in boot.

Had BFGs on my old joker fuel takes a massive hit on top of it being hightop prob av 24mpg. Great tyres they are very long wearing (excellent life) really tough (no punchers in 3yrs).
I’m trying Michelin latitude cross M/S 235/55/17 a lot quieter, should be better on mileage. Don’t look as good been off road on gravel and muddy fields all good so far but undecided if I prefer BFGs (cost of fuel at mo is swaying me to Michelin).

Webbah_in_Switzerland · May 12, 2022

4x4 joker said:
So boot 700- 750mm is longest section
Shortest is 510- 560mm (lower measurement is wooded boot area but you get a bit extra to play with).
Height 175mm but this changes in places as there’s metal supports in boot.

Had BFGs on my old joker fuel takes a massive hit on top of it being hightop prob av 24mpg. Great tyres they are very long wearing (excellent life) really tough (no punchers in 3yrs).
I’m trying Michelin latitude cross M/S 235/55/17 a lot quieter, should be better on mileage. Don’t look as good been off road on gravel and muddy fields all good so far but undecided if I prefer BFGs (cost of fuel at mo is swaying me to Michelin).

Excellent, thank you! I have BFG's on my Marco Polo right now and know how they sound. I'm truly going to be using this overlanding/offroad for some surfing trips in Portugal, Spain and the south of France. And perhaps up in Scandinavia next year. I love the BFG's for the reasons you mentioned and also the fact that they are all season so I can just simply rotate them once a year or so and be done with it. If noise is your concern the dealer has been seeing great results with the Pirelli Scorpion ATT's and they also do a bit better with the fuel. I might buy a set of those if things get really bad with fuel prices in the future.

They have one for sale now (at a crazy price but it will sell) with those tires so you can have a look:

https://www.autoscout24.ch/de/d/vw-t61-wohnmobil-2021-neues-fahrzeug-mit-tageszulassung?vehid=9517690&accountid=60537&backurl=%2Fwohnmobile%2Fvw%3Fmake%3D82%26sort%3Dprice_desc%26vehtyp%3D70&make=82&vehtyp=70&eventLabel=vehiclePosition%3A3%20%7C%20sortingOption%3Aprice_desc&packageName=member%3Aas24_professional&sortingPosition=3

The Blue Merle · May 12, 2022

Nope I switched for fuel mpg mainly, never found noise an issue you get use to that. I had them for off road use and was fed up with getting punchers in normal tyres.
The correct tyre size also swayed me as my BFGs were 225/65/17.
That’s a close up of Michelin still pretty chunky

The Blue Merle · May 12, 2022

I’ve added yoga/garage floor mats adds extra insulation on floor and protects it.
Right at the end of roof bed in the nose is a place that can cold spot so worth adding insulation in there and don’t stuff roof area full of gear need good air flow.
Rear tailgate will want insulating as it’s just a crap transporter one, stuffed mine full and then silver foiled it.
Spent winter 2019 in Switzerland in my old joker and Scotland winter camping is just as cold, van worked very well just needs a bit extra insulation.
If you ditch the dodgy cutlery tray and get something better.
A cali ocean outdoor table will fit in sliding door with a very small mod if you decide you don’t want that massive internal table.
You may recognise that place

Webbah_in_Switzerland · May 12, 2022

4x4 joker said:
I’ve added yoga/garage floor mats adds extra insulation on floor and protects it.
Right at the end of roof bed in the nose is a place that can cold spot so worth adding insulation in there and don’t stuff roof area full of gear need good air flow.
Rear tailgate will want insulating as it’s just a crap transporter one, stuffed mine full and then silver foiled it.
Spent winter 2019 in Switzerland in my old joker and Scotland winter camping is just as cold, van worked very well just needs a bit extra insulation.
If you ditch the dodgy cutlery tray and get something better.
A cali ocean outdoor table will fit in sliding door with a very small mod if you decide you don’t want that massive internal table.
You may recognise that place

Wow, thank you for all the tips! I really appreciate it.

I've got a bunch of Dynomat and Aero stuff in my garage which both insulates and sound proofs. I will probably use that in the tailgate and wheel arches (behind the liners). Interesting about the front part of the roof bed getting a bit colder. Hess is also good at thermic protection and isolation so I'll probably just drop by them for a tip or two.

I actually work from my van daily and pick different spots with nice views for the day. Being a remote worker has it's advantages if you have a good 5G router and a nice van to "work where you park it"! ;-) That's also why I got the big Lithium 200AH batts and big inverter. They will even wire in the 2 sockets in the CJ to the inverter directly so no fussing about with additional sockets for the inverter.

Webbah_in_Switzerland · May 12, 2022

4x4 joker said:
I’ve added yoga/garage floor mats adds extra insulation on floor and protects it.
Right at the end of roof bed in the nose is a place that can cold spot so worth adding insulation in there and don’t stuff roof area full of gear need good air flow.
Rear tailgate will want insulating as it’s just a crap transporter one, stuffed mine full and then silver foiled it.
Spent winter 2019 in Switzerland in my old joker and Scotland winter camping is just as cold, van worked very well just needs a bit extra insulation.
If you ditch the dodgy cutlery tray and get something better.
A cali ocean outdoor table will fit in sliding door with a very small mod if you decide you don’t want that massive internal table.
You may recognise that place

For the summer I have problems with heat more than anything while working in the van. Sometimes I can't have the side door open, and the air flow isn't enough in peak sun. This isn't the same as a rooftop air-conditioner, but it does the job and keeps me cool enough when setup properly. My plan in the CJ is to put it on the kitchen counter and run the intake and exhaust hoses out of the kitchen upper window. Plug into the socket next to the kitchen sink. I bought the basic unit without batteries as I won't use it outside of the van for now:

ZERO BREEZE Mark 2 AC

Zero Breeze Mark 2 Battery Portable Air Conditioner, Just press the button and enjoy the cool air anywhere. Get yours at the Zero Breeze Online Store now!

www.zerobreeze.com

The Blue Merle · May 12, 2022

Perfect van for that, you won’t know yourself with all the extra space compares to Marco.
If you need even more the lower bed can be completely removed (including board) only 4 bolts very easy.
I only run 12v so much stuff is these days I don’t need mains/inverter
I’ve snapped a couple of pics for you of the boot empty

Webbah_in_Switzerland · May 12, 2022

4x4 joker said:
Perfect van for that, you won’t know yourself with all the extra space compares to Marco.
If you need even more the lower bed can be completely removed (including board) only 4 bolts very easy.
I only run 12v so much stuff is these days I don’t need mains/inverter
I’ve snapped a couple of pics for you of the boot emptyView attachment 92950 View attachment 92951

Thank you! That really helps. I'm looking forward to the extra storage and already have a cabinet maker ready to build one in place of the bottom bed for me. I also have an MFT BackBox which is also perfect as it can store quite a bit and lowers easily to open the tailgate. It's going to be a long month waiting for sure! June 13th is the estimated delivery date... tick tock!

The Blue Merle · May 12, 2022

Webbah_in_Switzerland said:
Thank you! That really helps. I'm looking forward to the extra storage and already have a cabinet maker ready to build one in place of the bottom bed for me. I also have an MFT BackBox which is also perfect as it can store quite a bit and lowers easily to open the tailgate. It's going to be a long month waiting for sure! June 13th is the estimated delivery date... tick tock!

That’s not long at all, especially if you still have the old van to use will fly by.
I had to wait 21mths for this one, again very lucky as I had my old joker.

Cali Alternative

davidandjoan

Wildcamper

Mr T

Chris

The Blue Merle

4x4 joker

davidandjoan

Wildcamper

davidandjoan

The Blue Merle

4x4 joker

Haves1979

Eliseo

Webbah_in_Switzerland

The Blue Merle

4x4 joker

Webbah_in_Switzerland

The Blue Merle

4x4 joker

Webbah_in_Switzerland

The Blue Merle

4x4 joker

Webbah_in_Switzerland

The Blue Merle

4x4 joker

Webbah_in_Switzerland

The Blue Merle

4x4 joker

The Blue Merle

4x4 joker

Webbah_in_Switzerland

Webbah_in_Switzerland

ZERO BREEZE Mark 2 AC

The Blue Merle

4x4 joker

Webbah_in_Switzerland

The Blue Merle

4x4 joker

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