He sure is isn't he! He's definitely the brains behind the operation! Hopefully he doesn't realise this, ditch us and go solo!! 😜 Thank you so much for your support

You'll have to keep a close eye on him to make sure he doesn't steal the show ;)

That's awesome! How exciting!

Definitely do it, you won't regret it :-)

Thanks for watching Phillip :-)

Thanks for joining us and thanks for watching. Yeah we are just the other side of Southampton. 👍

That sounds fantastic! We'd love to do that! Maybe we should retire early too 😁

Thank you so much for watching :-)

Ditto :-)

Thanks for watching. You guys definitely win the "best name for a motorhome" award! :-)

Thank you very much for watching, all the shots of us talking in this video were filmed on the iPhone 7 plus. It's a great camera, struggles a little in low light but all other times it is brilliant. The best from the iPhone 7 plus is unlocked using a £10 app called Filmic Pro. It allows you to adjust the exposure and other features that are otherwise locked on the built in camera app. The final shot of bentley on the beach is filmed with my DJI Mavic Pro Drone. The G7X is brilliant but I don't believe it has an external microphone input which I have found is vital for outdoor shots on a campsite with even the slightest wind.

I was devastated when we sold the XC60! Excellent choice on the V50! We had an R design too. 👍

It's pretty good I think. Expect around 45mpg on a god run, driven sensibly.

Thats going to be a brilliant trip! Especially when you get into Devon and Cornwall! Make sure you add the South Downs to your list of places to visit. Also a lovely part of the South Coast. Thank you very much for watching :-)

Hi Gill and Bill, sure the South Downs was included in our route.. We will enter around Pulborough and exit somewhere around Winchester. Yes we are looking forward to this trip..And the VW is the perfect traveller for us. We are now orientating for small camp sites, we usually stay for one or max two nights and hop to the next. So suggestions are welcome :-) Cheers.... Frans...

I have doubts about your names... I know the dog's name Bentley ... LOL...

Ha ha not quite the right names... it's Shaun and Lizzy but yeah you're right with Bentley :-)

Oepsssss.... :-))

Oh how exciting! I bet you can't wait!!

Fantastic! How exciting! I bet you can't wait!

That’s great to hear. Enjoy your awesome adventures when it arrives

We specced the wind out awning from the factory. This is not the 4motion, unfortunately you can't spec the 4motion with the DSG gearbox in the 150PS engine, you have to have a manual. So if you want DSG and 4motion you have to have the 204PS engine making it a very big jump in price. Thank you for watching :-)

It's fine, we always try and find a space away from other cars but I've always done that because I don't trust other drivers. At least if somebody does park too close to us we can still get in through the sliding door.

Thank you for watching :-) There isn't much I wish I had ordered... I really love the look of the front of the California with the LED upgrade lights but I'm still unsure whether I could actually justify the cost of them. We didn't add a huge amount to ours as it's already an expensive vehicle. We have the standard stereo so I may have upgraded that slightly. I wouldn't necessarily go all out on the sat nav but maybe upgrade to the slightly bigger screen. The multifunction steering wheel is picked by most people but I can't say I really miss it, it's not too far to turn the stereo up and down. Good luck with your order, you'll love it! :-)

Hi, I believe you need to remove the optional seat when you want to make up the lower bed so ideally you'd have to take an awning with you so you have somewhere to store the seat when sleeping but plenty of people do that. Maybe also look into the California Beach where you have a three seater bench at the back and also a larger bed when it's made into one. You could then have a "slidepod" in the rear section for all your cooking needs? Both options are very cool though and would give you plenty of space.

CaliforniaCamping Thanks for getting back to me so soon I will look into the beach and the slidepod idea see how it works out and I will let you know.

How do you find the dsg gearbox did you drive the manual aswell.Im test driving one soon and not sure which to choose.This will be my daily driver so maybe auto is the way to go I'm not sure.

We think the auto is the most important option. It makes it so relaxing to drive. Definitely give it a try

Thanks will definitely try it out so and let you know how I get on.

Hi this is filmed at Hayling Island near Portsmouth

Perfect... I'm so pleased you tow a caravan as well as I've always wanted the excuse to buy a caravan but we have felt that it would be overkill. Now you have shown us that it isn't! :-) Unfortunately we will be on our honeymoon during Busfest otherwise we would have loved to go. Thank you so much for watching

not overkill at all, ours is the 140bhp and tows like a dream, its not for everybody i know but gives 100% flexibilty for longer stays we only have the caravan because we had it before the camper. . have fun on your honeymoon and congratulations.

Thanks for watching, we don't have an issue with it being on the "wrong" side. We just park the van front in first. I know some people have had issues at some campsites where certain wardens have been picky but we haven't had any problems yet. It could cause a problem if you were letting passengers out the back all the time at school runs for example but you can easily climb through to the front and out the passenger door if required.

Thanks. The government has decided to add a premium tax to all vehicles over £40,000. This means that those vehicles command more tax the day you drive it out of the showroom and then an additional £310 a year for the first 5 years. This is for all vehicles registered after 1st April 2017. It gets a bit complicated but here's a link that will explain it far better than I can... www.whatcar.com/advice/buying/ved-car-tax-changes-in-2017-what-do-i-need-to-know/

Cheers....will go and have a look..

Hi! Thanks for watching and I’m so glad you’ve found it so inspiring! The video for our dog ramp is here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gZ2qYNafpp6ZgGw.html Hope that’s helpful. 😊

A Bus And Beyond - Thanx :-)

Hi, thank you so much for watching our videos. www.kamperhire.co.uk hire out VW Californias, it's not exactly local to you but if you incorporated a break to France or the south coast then it could work. Also a lot of the VW Van Centres that sell VW California's give you the opportunity to hire one but they don't have all the camping equipment included, it's just the van. We placed a deposit on one and they then lent us one for free for a few days.

Perfect about 90 mins from us - completely within range. Many thanks for the link...

they take dogs too!

It was so funny to watch! Poor pooch! Thank you so much for your support guys. :-)

Thank you so so much for watching our videos. I just did a google currency conversion so it doesn't take into account the correct taxes etc but if it was the same price as here in Blighty it would be around £82000 Canadian Dollars according to google.

thank you for doing the conversion...I did not even think of that lol and wow $82,000 Canadian Dollars eek. I didn't think it would be that expensive. Well, Im sure it would be worth it though. Thanks again for looking it up for me. Also, I did watch a few other videos of yours...great stuff, great KZfaq Channel

The bongo is awesome, one of my mates had one! We’d never rule out a van but at this time for us the Cali was perfect. Bongo is super cool though 😁👍

Kevin Douglass Hi Kevin, Thanks for your question! Yes we do have a porta-loo for the night time. Yes you can definitely go away for longer periods in one! Obviously you don't have a shower on board so it would be a good idea to stay at campsites that do. We have a diesel heating system on board that keeps the top bed lovely and warm in winter. It's brilliant. Very good system. Though I would recommend a Cali-Topper for the winter months which just adds another canvas layer over the pop-top.

OR a Cali-cozy which adds another layer inside the pop-top!

Thanks so much for your kind words David. :-)

Thanks for watching 😁

Oh that's really exciting! I bet you can't wait!

It's no problem at all. If we have to we just park the other way at campsites.

We really need to get back to Wareham, we love it there! There will definitely be lots of videos from Europe. Thanks again for watching :-)

Mark Pullinger

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. We both work for Air Traffic Control. ✈️

Ah thanks. The VW works as a nice weekender then. Keep up the good work!

You have no basis for this

Thank you for watching our videos. There isn't any space under the bed I'm afraid as it has a drawer fitted under there.

Oh ok, thanks very much :) We watched your vids for ages last night and really love all the info. and tips from your experiences. We don't own one yet but sometimes borrow my in-laws small motorhome and love it! Thinking of saving for a SWB campervan and will start looking at some to appreciate the differences. So many out there - but esp. loving the Cali. Thank you again very much xx

You can get some VW conversions which have a different style of bed and they would have space underneath for a small to medium sized dog. You'd have to try a few out and see which works best for you. Thanks again for watching. We really appreciate the support.

I'm not sure I'm afraid. I imagine you'd have to use a specialist importer but I'm not sure what the rules are for importing a car in to the states. It does seem very strange that they aren't available in the states

Maybe look at a European VW dealer to get a left hand drive option.

Interesting you should ask that! We don't have anything for the sides yet however we may have found something interesting... keep your eyes peeled 😬😬😬

Yes Comfortz Leisure 3 side kit, easy to fit, we use for festivals, events when static for at least couple nights

Hey! It was the Kampa Centre in Ringwood. Best of luck in your Camper search! Thanks for subscribing!

Ahh...that one! Yes, we know it. Thanks for the reply :)

Thanks :-)

A company called Rustic Bus, though sadly I’m not sure they’re trading anymore :(

Yeah we just leave the door open when it rains! :-D

Sites with facilities. Bought a porta potti.

When we ordered we were told we would have to wait 6 months however it reduced to 3 months. A colleague of mine went to enquire at his local dealer and was told 12 months now but I'm not sure if that's accurate or not.

ok thanks

We work in air traffic control. Nothing is out of reach if you want it badly :-)

We get about 38-40mpg day to day. The automatic is brilliant and I'd highly recommend it, it makes it such a relaxing drive! You're going to have a fantastic trip in October! Enjoy :-)

Double clutch autos such as you would have here (DSG) carry no penalty in fuel consumption over a manual. They are a big advance over epicyclic automatic boxes

I know... it's such a shame they don't sell it in California! It would be the perfect place for one!

Yogi -this van would be selling like pancakes here in California USA

Tell that to our government. Get rid of the chicken tax and the van will be available in California when the next container ship arrives. We got sooooo close with TTIP.

james s I care! Thanks for subscribing!

Lizzy CaliforniaCamping thanks, over 3k subs now. Well done.. I wish i could live like that for a few or 2....

Try dropping them a message via facebook... facebook.com/GISO.uk.uk/

Oh go on... worry about the cost afterwards :-)

Guess I will have to start saving! What was the lead time like when you ordered yours?

We were told 6 months but it arrived in just over 3. Some people are having to wait ages for theirs... seems like a bit of a lottery

Also I'm assuming you're talking about vanworxs? There conversions look really good, it will be a hard choice !

Ah 6 months isn't too bad for a new motor these days!

:-)

That is such a shame. Hopefully they'll send it your way soon!

Paul Tuohy We will make the videos exactly as we see fit. The question posed was “Why did WE buy a California” and a huge part of that was because of the dog. It was our opinion and we both stick by it.

Lizzie that's just fine ! Please don't think i was being critical! I did quantify my negative with a positive to you each time. Clearly a social media comment fail by me ! You do exactly as you see fit. I love the enthusiasm and insight from your perspective. Its your gig ! Great to share a similar love. Our 1959 Canterbury Pitt conversion (Holly Bus) - (HYT 878) bought for £1500 in 1989 still wins (for us but stolen in '96) but the cali we bought this year is stunning and I need to work on Wendy to keep it! I think our Cali (Dickie Bus - DK16DKD) beats the excellent review you did on the Marco which we were considering. The electric fold down bed may seem 'first class' but the Vw version - pull strap and down - suits us fine - and you no doubt. Keep on it and I'm so sorry if my thoughts annoyed you. I get the same on social media in my job via twitter so I should know!

Paul Tuohy Hi, no worries. It’s a difficult medium to express emotion in comments. Enjoy your van and I’m glad you enjoy our videos.

keep on it Lizzy..

Do you mean a number for Volkswagen? If so I'm afraid not. Hopefully they'll call us to give us a sponsorship deal soon, then I'll have a number that I'll pass on to you ;-) Thank you so much for watching. Bentley is awesome isn't he! The best!