Exciting Day - Collection of our new Camper

#motorhome #havenesse #dexterstravels #chausson #chausson640 #VWCamper #VWCalifornia #Camper
Follow us in our journey from Bristol to Poole as we pick up our brand, new van. A new chapter with new adventures.
𝗦𝗨𝗕𝗦𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗕𝗘 It really does mean a lot to a small channel, we are not looking to make money or become full-time KZbinrs but it encourages us to make more content. 🎥 We are grateful for every thumbs up 👍🏻 we receive it costs nothing to do so please let us know if you liked what you saw.
𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗨𝗦 🚐 🌎🌊☀️🚲
Hey there, we're Karen and Stuart, the travel-loving couple behind Dexter's Travels. We're passionate about exploring the UK and Europe in our motorhome, and we're excited to share our adventures with you.
We have two furry travel companions, Dexter and Delilah, who join us on all of our journeys. They love being on the road as much as we do, and they're always eager to explore new destinations with us.
As seasoned travelers, our love for adventure has led us to focus on exploring closer to home in recent years. We love nothing more than hitting the road in our motorhome, discovering new destinations and meeting new people along the way.
Through our KZbin channel, we share our travels in our motorhome, offering glimpses into the beautiful locations we visit. We hope to inspire others to take the leap and explore the world around them, whether that's in a motorhome or not.
So, join us and our four-legged travel companions, Dexter and Delilah, on our journey. Follow our adventures as we explore the beauty of the UK and Europe, one destination at a time.
Don't forget to subscribe to Dexter's Travels to stay up to date on our latest adventures!
Equipment Used
DJI Mini Pro 3
DJI Pocket 2 Creator Combo
DJI OSMO Action 1
Panasonic Lumix GX9 + Many Lenses
We use ​⁠ ND Filters on all our DJI Kit

[@JamesWilliam70]

Brilliant! The same reason i have t6.1 kombi as an adventure camper van.

[@nigel8712]

Looking forward to seeing how you get on! We too have a Cali Ocean (in our 4th year of ownership) and I've been considering changing it for a panel van conversion, but can't bring myself to do it for all the reasons you bought yours! It has a lot more useable space than you think and once you get over the lack of a fixed toilet... The adventure truely starts when you sit behind the steering wheel! Happy travels!

[@dexterstravels3491]

We are already using the Cali more than we did our Motorhome I don’t think anyone should underestimate the limitations on parking anything that doesn’t fit in a car parking space and it’s getting worse so many height barriers and restrictions out there. That said Europe is another thing is so easy there 👍

[@stevezodiac491]

You see loads of youtubers going the other way and move from a Transporter sized van to a larger panel van or a motorhome. We have watched motorhomers and the likes on camp sites and as you say they are stuck, not being able to go anywhere, because they have to take their large motorised mobile 'house' with them but can't find anywhere to park away from the camp site. There are times when that extra space is an advantage though, like school holidays, taking the grand kids or a single location, longer stays but not at the expense of mobility and freedom. There is an answer though, we have found it and you are half way there. We have a long wheel base Talento pop top lwb campervan, which is a similar size to a transporter, which as you say are brilliant ' out and about' but not very spacious inside. To remedy that, when we want the space for the occasions I have described, we have bought a second hand 4 berth fixed bed 7.5 metre caravan. We tow the caravan with the campervan when we need the extra space. The caravan is kept at a storage yard, which is an extra expense but the flexibility we now have is tremendous. You can have it all, and you don't have to compromise. The caravan was cheap at £12k, a few problems, which were cheap to fix but now a great addition to our liesure seeking. When we take the caravan now, we can just lock it up and leave it on the camp site and then go on to attractions and still have cooking and drink making facilities, fridge etc. in the campervan. We also carry a portable toilet in it as well. Every consideration catered for.

[@dexterstravels3491]

Im sure there are plenty of large motorhome owners out there that do get out & about only need to see Andy & Micheles (@ExtremeMotorhomingAdventures) channel they make us tired just watching them, but having two small dogs also limits use of bikes/long walks too. So think the Cali is a better fit for us at this time, but nothing is for every. Funny you should say about the caravan we also debated this, especially as 15 years back we had a Mazda Bongo & a folding caravan we used to tow, worked very well. We will probably buy an air awning at some point but suspect it will sit in the garage most of the time as we move around too much for all that faff 🙂

[@allanb52]

Thanks for giving us an insight into the difference between the two, we have a Vivaro and travel a lot and have thought about a motorhome. Trouble is we stay in places and most motorhome people never leave their vans, they sit and watch TV all day...and I hate that so will stick to a camper. We have had our van for 8 years and this not our first. The Vivaro drives like a car and parks like one too and awkward number twos is the only downside. Enjoy your new van.

[@OurWedding2012]

Congratulations on your new van, enjoy making new memories and come visit Scotland in it.

[@dexterstravels3491]

Thank you we love Scotland visited there a few times in our previous van and will be back for sure such a beautiful country

[@vanandcountry]

That's a nice looking van right there, love the colour. We went for the Ducato which sometimes is a bit big but obviously not as big as a full on motorhome.

[@dexterstravels3491]

Thank you yep it’s a really nice color seems to change in different light too. Your Ducato looks like a good compromise in size

[@janepooley7947]

Snap - we had a Chausson 630 for 4 years. Had VWCalifornia Coast now, for early two years….so much fun, smaller but we cope ( have 2 medium sized dogs too!)

[@dexterstravels3491]

Yep we’ve spoken before Jane we were both Coggers 😀 glad you enjoying the shift to the smaller van we already love it

[@colettebyrne]

Lovely new Camper, happy travels.

[@dexterstravels3491]

Thank you

[@JULIEGORE1]

Love following you guys, cant wait to see all your adventures. We are looking at a VW ocean next week, so feeling very excited. Would you recommend an insurance company, as very confused trying to get some quotes, is it classed as a car or a van? Appreciate your help. Many thanks xx

[@dexterstravels3491]

Thanks for following lots more to come 👍 we are insured with NFU Mutual, you need to call them it did take a good 30mins to go through everything but the cover is very good including breakdown (we didn’t need already have VW Assist) Also no insistence on a tracker to be fitted (most ask for this) they know exactly what the vehicle was and covered as a camper £373 for us. Exciting times for you we love our Cali was a big decision to move over from our motorhome but 100% the right one for us

[@michaelbennett4334]

Congratulations on the new van and thanks for sharing the video. I pick up my new California Ocean from Breeze in May/June and I'm really looking forward to it. We have downsized from a Fiat Ducato campervan for the very same reasons as you. How are you getting on with the new Ocean?

[@dexterstravels3491]

Thank you, we absolutely love it the flexibility of being able to pretty much go/park anywhere not be underestimated. We went away overnight night in it for the first time this weekend and it was great. Video hopefully coming later this week. It takes some adapting for sure but we are getting there. I would say if you think packed light and compact it’s probably still not light enough 😂 Karen found that out when she pulled out the full size black bin liners and asked where do I put this… back in the cupboard was my answer 😂 Great to hear you picked the best Cali Dealer in the UK they will look after you 👍

[@michaelbennett4334]

@@dexterstravels3491 I'm glad you are pleased with it. We wanted to explore so many places but always felt confined to the campsite. It suits some people but we want to explore and use it as much as possible. I'm sure we'll adapt well to the size as there are only the two of us. I liked the dash cam you reviewed and will give it some serious thought before we collect the van. Yes, Breeze do get good feedback on the forum and that's why we went with them.

[@andyarmitage2895]

Great van you got there I love it in Ascot Grey, we have just accepted an offer on our 2019 California Ocean as we fancy a slightly bigger van so we have a Westfalia Sven Hedin on order it is a 6m van so just over 1 metre longer than the Ocean so hopefully not too big. I will be leaving work soon and we want to get away with our lovely dog with a bit more space in the van and a fixed bed with a bathroom and hot water all that really appeals to us so we are excited. I will say that the Ocean is a fantastic van it is great to drive you will love it, funny thing is we just bought a Mini Cooper S as we needed a small car, WOW what a fun car that is to drive it goes like a rocket :) Hope you love the van as much as we did and you can run it as a daily drive but why get rid of that fab Mini :)

[@dexterstravels3491]

I think a 6mtr van is a great compromise and the Sven Hedin are very nice. The 7mtr van we had simply never fitted in a standard space without having to over hang it’s still funny getting used to being able to park almost anywhere now. Sounds like leaving work, your adventures are just beginning 😀 enjoy the Cooper amazing cars and as you say very fast. We have the 306bhp JCW fastest ever production mini thing frightens me to death 😀

[@andyarmitage2895]

@@dexterstravels3491 I will be leaving work two years early but our new boss is a vile toxic bully and life's too short! I didn't fancy any van longer than 6m and I think the Sven will be perfect sadly our Ocean is being picked up (hopefully) on Monday so we will be without a van until the Sven arrives, we have been quoted July/August fingers crossed it arrives on time. My work colleague loves Mini's and he has got a GP3 Mini with the same BHP as yours, his has no rear seats and such a firm fide he is convinced it hasn't got any suspension :)

[@dexterstravels3491]

@@andyarmitage2895 ha my bother has a collection of minis from early 60s up to a GP2 I almost bought a GP3 but we Karen didn’t think it was suitable to go shopping in 😂 good luck with the new van sounds like leaving work can’t come soon enough 👍

[@stevebennett6727]

We are part exchanging our Chausson in may for a Dreamer campervan. Can’t wait. The motorhome is 7.5 m long far too big plus the build quality of Chaussons are pretty rubbish to be honest. Ours is a 2020 fiat base. Have a Vw t5 campervan too so pretty lucky as we attend lots of Vw festivals. Loving your new campervan you won’t be disappointed 👌🏽❤️

[@dexterstravels3491]

It’s interesting you say about build quality of Chausson I don’t think they are any worse than many others the Bailey forum for example are full of complainers 😂 but… owning a VW Cali is already like night and day I went into this expecting some snagging issues but touch wood not a single issue yet. End of the day motorhomes are a mash up of a truck with a caravan on top so to be expected I guess 😀