# Volkswagen California



## rft

I've seen a 2006 California for sale and it looks the business. Is it really built by VW themselves? Anyone got one? Recommended? Hugely expensive when new and I guess build quality must shine through.

Thanks


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## CaGreg

I spent a couple of hours in one recently with a friend who had bought it in Feb this year and as we have a VW Autosleeper Topaz it was interesting to see the differences. There were certainly pros and cons for both and there were different needs we both had too.
What I liked about the California?

1. It wasn't white and didn't look obviously like a camper van. 

2. It had an external locker at the back which is very useful.

3. It had a handy little area in the back lift up door to store two folding beach chairs. Very clever.

4. It had a diesel heating system that seemed very effecient with computerised timing system that could be set to different times even when not in the van. (If you know what I mean)

5. The flooring seemed to be rubber or something similar easy to clean.

6. Making up the bed in the living area seemed straightforward tho I didn't see it being done just had the explanation of it.

What I did not like about it.

1. It lacked the comfort of the Autosleeper with all washable surfaces and not a bit of soft fabric anywhere.

2. No bathroom of any description. Topaz had loo shower and sink.

3. The cooker and sink in kitchen are very close and very difficult to do anything with water while the rings are lit.

4. The fridge is tiny and accessed from the top rather than a conventional door as in Topaz.

5. The elevating roof looked like it is made of canvas and I wondered how well insulated it would be if it had to be used in the winter. 

6. Not sure if it had a grill but I don't remember seeing one. 

These are just some of the points that I noticed and I hope they can be of some help. The Topaz doesn't have aircon either not sure about the California.

Happy hunting



Catherine


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## 1302

Yes, does look the business, but I also wasnt keen on the rubber flooring, it made it look 'clinical', ans as for the fridge 8O , obviously didnt get a womans view for this :wink: 

Alison


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## 105314

Yes they are made by VW unlike most conversions they are on a Caravel base. It is transfered to the California unit to be fitted out and have the roof fitted, all in Hanover Germany
On my second California SE, they are the business, had this one since Sept 06 cant say enough good things about it. You will have to get used to being stopped and asked questions wherever you stop. this one is off road grey I though it would allow me to keep a low profile when parked up but it looks so good everyone wants to look inside.
174bhp goes a treat at 100mph if required more if you need it. I travaled to ipswitch and back last weekend with 5 adults and luggage, had cruise set at 70mph for most of the trip and it returned 40.8mpg. not bad at all.
I swapped a large M/H for my first California, best thing I ever did no regrets at all.
Will give you a full brief when I get a bit more time, let me know if you want anything specific.
Dave


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## rft

Thanks everyone, very useful replies as ever.


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## 105314

There are many excellent elevating roofs on the market and the VW T5 is by far the best there is, however the California is the Rolls Royce it is I think the only factory manufactured van and this shows in the design of every part and every detail. It was designed by professional design departments with a multi national car producing budget. The off side opening door is often criticised but I find this a real benefit, it allows the drivers seat to be fully extended, if you are on the tall side this is a must.
The Topaz is a very nice van but it is a high top. The California is an elevating roof and to compare like for like is a bit unfair, if you need a shower or fixed loo then you are unlikely to find this in any elevating roof, however I think that the benefits are many. 
4 good size beds
Far more uses than any other motor home
Height barriers
Fuel economy 
Car like driving
Stop off in any village and enjoy France without worry 
Days out
Pick nicks
Zero parking problems
Low price ferries
No need for a second car
Use it as a people carrier, van or car
If you decide to go for an elevating roof then everything else is a compromise. First you will need a car boot sale to dispose of all the crap you have accumulated over the years in your motor home, you won’t miss any of it. Then start afresh with things that you really need and will use every trip. 
Yes it is a very nice van.
Dave


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## Texas

Have a word with 'Smilo' he's got a California and has recently completed an exstensive tour of Europe.

You could visit his website;

http://www.10000things.org.uk/chamsterdam.htm

where he has his trip documented.


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## rft

This is the ebay item I bid on - unfortunately is was £13 short of winning!

170122449602


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## ojibway

Hi,
the California is fitted out by Westfalia, I believe - see http://www.dmiuk.com/ - 
We have just got a Westfalia James Cook and just find it better and better each time we use it. Like the Cal. it has a top loading fridge which seems so much more spacious than our previous full size one. It keeps the cold in better too. The bed arrangement in the Cal is so simple to make up and as a seat is very comfortable and has 3 seatbelts too.
The clinical look is what Westfalia do. All practical and very functional, nothing superfluous. I think sometimes MH manufacturers try to make their vans too homey but often use inferior materials and wood-look veneers or foils that are so thin they peel off if removing adhesive hooks or strips.
Check out the dmiuk stock list. They bring all their vans over from Germany and do a very thorough preparation of the vehicle.
The Westfalias are expensive but you get a top quality used van at a much reduced price. In the end we were willing to part with our Rapido Aclass and add £5000 for the James Cook!
Hope you find what you are looking for!
Mike


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## 112335

*vw California*

Hi, I have a california and think it was money well spent. While I was looking I found a brilliant website that might help you or provide you with information

www.thevwcalifornia.com

It should answer all of your qustions


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## martinbastow

oooh , I could go on and on about my California, but because I have to get on with other stuff ,here is just a quick summary.
Its a love afair with campervans for everyone and I`m no different . My model : Vw california 2.5 tdi 4motion 174bhp, 2004. ; the vw t5base works a dream and never complains . With the 4wd we are able to go just about everywhere on our adventures and inbetween it carries along the motorways in spain and france like an audi a6.
But the CAMPER details are not built to last, the VW camper concept seems untested, far too fussy. Although there are a couple of small items left out( light in the rear compartment for example) it has to be said that they have managed well to fill the space and consider everything on might need . BUT BUT BUT every thing is built to break. and I dont mean through rough handling:
where do we start?
1…the kitchen tap, broken in 3 places .. the swivel spout doesnt stay on anymore , the 90 turn tap is snapped on the inside circular plastic retainer , the metal connection switch fell apart , I managed to fix this micro gizmo once but the second time my luck ran out .
2..the cudboards above the water tank and gas- these have a plastic locking device that snap with the slightest catch on the retainer when opening: I have tried to fix with araldite but it snapped right away . the SLIDING cudboards are made of a multiple of vertical slats which over time separate from one another leaving a thin grey thread of rubber hanging from the broken slats. This has happened to 5 or six of the slats especially close to the sliding handle.
3… the roof cudboard above the rear compartment . A clever use of space as long as it stays up but after 50000kms it decided all of its own accord to refuse to lock shut , falling at the first bit of driving vibration.NO amount of messing about with it will get the latch to function again and therefore for the last 60000kms i have been driving with my rear view miror offering no other view than things falling out of this open cudboard.
4 The kitchen sliding window: the plastic locking system again misfunctions after a while. The supposedly clever 90degree turn that the opening force must take is simply too much for the plastic mechanism. VW dealer has tried to fix it twice and now given up.
5 the window blinds : they had a lovely neat feeling when new and are obviously a borrow from train window blinds , but again two side blinds are broken because the plastic runner within the window structure has snapped- impossible to fix without buying and installing an entire window mechanism(of course) . Also the blinds for the front window, again very niffty, sadly have a tendency to split at the top and bottom of the sliding arms. also the magnetic retaining locks fall out (of course impossible to replace)
6… The roof. simple excellent use of space and super comfortable , but the light in the roof area , which could easily have an on /off switch like a standard torch , instead has a rotory motion half egg function . It is as delicate as an egg of course , the back falls of , the mechanism doesnt function . BUT HERE IS THE WORST THING ABOUT THE ENTIRE VAN- the roof is electric and works very well , however if while your camping you use the heating or refrigerator too much then the computer above the rear view mirror instructs the lowering function to fail.. OK not the end of the world , all i have to do is use the manual lowering toggle or the reset button once the battery is up to speed.. BUT both the manual toggle and the reset are situated behind the computer panel which is heart breaking to dismantle . There is no easy button like a removable car cd player, instead you have to put 2 penknives behind the plastic fascia(which breaks of course) and wrestle the computer box out from its holding slot . the computer promptly breaks (300euros) .This has happened to me on about 15 occasions, once almost resulting in the end of my marriage ( not to the van but to my wife).I have literally been reduced to tears by the madness of this setup and how there isnt stab marks all over the dash of my van is a mystery.
7.. The reclining seat: there is a handle that facilitates the recline to bed function . again the plastic handle does not match either the force require to open the lever nor the metal cable that operates the release. Had to replace this and it still operates poorly , cant allow anyone else to operate the recliner seat because the handle will surely come off in their hand.
8…. the two tables- firstly the table in the door. fab table fab use of space but the legs are not fixed to the table in a way that last 15 uses. I have had to reinforce and restick 2 of the legs back on . Also the handle that holds the table in place in the sliding door is again plastic and has broken – and cant be replaced with out dismantling the whole door and no doubt buying a whole mechanism. I have given up on it .
The table that slides along the kitchen face again with its solitary leg and lateral movement snaps off at the slightest encouragement . Fixed 3 times, and waiting for the next.
9 The refrigerator opens on an hydraulic arm which rusts- well it would as its not stainless and is perpetually in a damp enviroment.

Without going to the van and looking through the special box of broken plastic parts i have stored over the last few years , I cant recall anything else. I realize its not a landrover and not to be treated like one, but my feeling after a 6year , 106000km love affair with my california , is that I wish I had bought Mercedes or westfalia. and thats what I will do next time.


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## SpeedyDux

Martinbastow,

Sorry to read your long list of woes with the camping end of your VW California. It does give the impression of sacrificing robustness for showroom appeal. 

I've had my 2002 Westfalia California T4 for 3 1/2 years, and the camping end is as solid as ever and nothing has broken off or failed (apart from senders in the fresh and waste water tanks having stopped working so the levels are guesswork). The fabrics and furniture might look less homely than an AS Trooper (or AS Topaz) but they are as solid as when Westfalia installed them 8 years ago and don't rattle. The manual elevating roof is quite heavy to push up and pull down, but it doesn't leak in heavy rain and there are no electric gubbins in the mechanism to go wrong. 

The VW end is very well equipped and the front seats very comfy on long trips, but it isn't quite such good quality as the Westy part; a few bits of VW plastic in the cab have become brittle with age and snapped off. Bit of a nuisance really. 

The main drawback is driving a VW camper that is nothing like as trendy as a Splitty or Bay Window. I expect the T5 is faster, quieter and better to drive than the old T4, but if I change I shall probably give the used T5 VW Californias a miss. 

SD


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## martinbastow

*california*

thanks for the quick reply/post. 
I am pleased to hear about the reliability of westfalia conversion kit , looking forward to swapping soon ,
Infact my plan is to convert a mercedes sprinter lwb estra high roof with westfalia interior .
as regards t5 driving- fantastic
mb


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## Andysam

Many people of the T5 forum have lamented the build quality (not facilities) of the California. Reimo conversions are well thought of.


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## martinbastow

interesting cos reimo convert the mercedes sprinter lwb van, I will look more closely at them. 
At the end of the day i have completely loved my camper van despite the annoying micky mouse build quality, more for when and where it has allowed me to go , and how it made me feel somehow in the best car on the road. 
biggest bug bear has certainly been the roof reset switch.


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## teemyob

*T5's*

My Opinion of T5's here


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## lalala

We have a T5 campervan, but not a California. We thought the bed size was far too small to use as a double, and didn't like that the back door was not accessible from the inside. We also thought that we'd get tired of having to go out of the van to get anything packed at the back, especially when the weather was bad. The T5 size suits us, though it wouldn't suit everyone.
Lala


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## davidcampervanstuff

Sorry if someone else has already clarified this but on a quick read it looks like there might be some mixing up of the T4 Westfalia California and the current (since about 2002, I think) California which are are not from Westfalia but are built entirely by VW, including the conversion, and are on the T5

Westfalia is a long-established converter which was previously owned by VW and Mercedes; VW sold it's share around 2002 and began building the T5 California itself (VW owns the California brand name).

The design and build of the domestic side of these two versions is very different; the Westfalia's are very high quality, strong and made to last; I can't speak in any depth of the VW version's ultra-modern build because I've not owned one. A friend had one and in some respects I thought the design was an improvement, particularly the wider bed and the sprung upper bed. But somehow it seemed more car than camper (to me anyway). The T4 and T5 are both superb base vehicles.

We have owned a T4 Westfalia California Coach (the pop-top version) and currently we have a Westfalia California Exclusive - which is a high-top long wheelbase version (it has a toilet compartment with washbasin - and we would never want to be without this facility again...).

Westalia no longer convert on a VW base and its recent fortunes have been mixed, it seems. It was in administration for a while but apparently now has new ownership - I would hope that once again it has a strong future ahead of it as a quality builder. Westfalia


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## wojass

no there is a great time to make conversion to a camper. I own the full t5 california camper interior with the roof if someone interesting just send me pls PM or skype wojass24


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