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VW Grand California 680 | 40,000 Miles of Learning, Our Van Tour & Best Upgrades

Where We Wanda

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After nearly 3 years, almost 40,000 miles and two VW Grand Californias, we finally know what works for us. In this full VW Grand California 680 van tour, we're showing you Wanda exactly as we use her after spending 2–4 months at a time on the road — including all the upgrades, modifications and little IKEA hacks we've made along the way.

From our VB Air Suspension, Bear Lock security, Delta 4x4 wheels and external storage to our favourite kitchen, storage and camping upgrades, we take you around the whole van and explain what we've changed, what we love and what we've learned from nearly 40,000 miles of travelling.

We've also got a few more upgrades planned — including self-levelling — so this probably isn't quite the finished version of Wanda!

If you're thinking about buying a Grand California, already own one, or just love seeing how other people make their campervan work for them, we hope you'll find something useful.

And if we've missed anything you'd like to know about the van, leave us a question in the comments. We'd love to answer them — and we're planning a Q&A before our next big trip.

Thanks for watching and supporting Where We Wanda ❤️

Products & companies mentioned

Drive Dressy – seat covers and matching cab blinds - @drivedressy_official
VB Air Suspension – air suspension system
Bear Lock – gear lever security - ‪@TheftStop‬
Delta 4x4 – wheels - ‪@delta4x4offroad‬
Dutch Van Parts – rear-mounted storage system - ‪@dutchvanparts‬
VWT5 Upgrades – rear wheel/storage installation - @vwt5upgrades
Yes Campervan – table, shelving and other interior upgrades ‪@yescampervan3644‬
IKEA – various storage hacks and accessories

(None of these companies have sponsored this video; these are products and companies we've chosen, paid for and used ourselves.)

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to our van tour
00:12 40,000 miles and two Grand Californias
00:47 Exterior tour
06:56 VW Crafter cab & security
09:52 Seat covers & living area
11:26 Kitchen & storage
14:14 Rear storage & spare wheel
16:15 Garage & external storage
20:02 Control panel, batteries & solar
21:20 Kitchen storage & IKEA hacks
24:33 Bedroom & mattress upgrade
27:20 Bathroom & SOG system
28:38 Our £10 Bedfordshire campsite
30:02 The upgrades still to come
31:39 Cooking outside the van
34:06 A morning in the Bedfordshire countryside
34:37 That's us done!

#VWGrandCalifornia #GrandCalifornia680 #vanlifeuk

🙋‍♂️🙋🏻‍♀️ About Us: We are Den and Lisa, traveling full-time in our VW Grand California 680 campervan. Follow along for more of our European van life adventures!

✉️ Want to contact us?

Den & Lisa
Our email - wherewewanda@icloud.com

20 Comments

@wherewewanda Creator 1 month ago Pinned

If you’re thinking about a Grand California — or already own one — we’d love to know what you think! After nearly 40,000 miles across our two Grand Californias, these are the things that have worked brilliantly for us, the things we’ve upgraded, and the things VW got really wrong! 😂

👇 What would you change or upgrade on your van?

And if you’re looking at buying one, what’s the one thing you’d want to know before making the decision?
We’ll be keeping an eye on the comments — there might be some great ideas for our next upgrade! 😍🚐

Den & Lisa
Where We Wanda

@stevezodiac491 3 weeks ago (edited)

I also have a bear lock fitted on my manual gearbox. I used to always set it in reverse as I applied the lock. That was until our gearbox got stuck in reverse. It had to be flat bedded home, then a local mobile mechanic, took the gear box out, on our drive. He managed to unlock the gear box from reverse by moving the selector back and forth, whilst removed from the van but suggested we got the gear box checked out by a specialist. This we did and the specialist found absolutely nothing wrong with it. At the time it had covered only about 17000 miles and he said that it looked brand new inside. He flushed it out, just in case it was machine swarf but didn't find any and sealed it back up. The mobile mechanic then re-fitted the gearbox and we haven't had a problem with it since. The only thing that I think could have happened, was that the gearbox was continually in the reverse position, when the bear lock was applied. When in that position, the 'pip' in the gear box camera mechanism is continually depressed for sometimes weeks at a time, when not in use. Beneath that 'pip' is a spring and I think that spring is plasticised, when depressed continually and loses it's ability to return and thus jams the gearbox in reverse. I can't prove it but the specialist said that he has never seen a gearbox the same make and model as mine lock in reverse, ever before. This indicates that the problem is particular to my van and why I think that it was the bear lock that caused the problem, although I could be completely wrong. Now, I still use the bear lock but always put it in first gear, not reverse, without the associated reversing camera mechanism being involved, parked with an immovable object in front.

It's a pity the front blinds are just suck on ones, you would have thought that a van that expensive, would have proper blinds like a Ducato has ' Remis' blinds. Also the fridge is a little naff on such an expensive van. Watch Dubventures, his ECU failed on his crafter, it was such a nightmare for him that he sold it because of lack of confidence in the vehicle's reliability.

@TerryFinn-b5v 1 month ago

Superb video. Thank you both for making and sharing. I am hoping to buy a 680 so your video is so helpful to me. Keep the videos going please. Greetings from Dublin.

@tomvalnet115 1 month ago

You both express a pleasant mood, this is the most important thing on a trip

@Louallancv40adventures 1 month ago

Thanks for sharing. Always helpful to look at how others store their stuff. Self levelling would be fab. CAMpRA Aires are growing quite a bit each week. 137 at the mo on S4S, some you can book through Aire stop but most you can’t.

@SuzanneWatters-q7j 1 month ago

Great van tour. Enjoy your trip.

@the_nomadeye 1 month ago

Great video tour of your campervan! I look forward to your upcoming content and wish you fantastic travels.
Right now, I am planning my own epic road trip—from Cabo da Roca to North Cape, with a detour through the UK—in a camperized VW Transporter. Your videos have been a true inspiration for this project!"
Best regards!

@robertmcneill9521 1 month ago

Lovely video guys. Nice and in-depth. Lovely van. We really love your seat covers. The bear lock is a great addition for security 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

@MarieChristineFrost 1 month ago

Thanks for sharing your van layout - so many excellent ideas. Happy adding , planning and touring!

@elizabethellison7922 1 month ago

Great video! We love campra aires! Questions for Q&A: what jobs did you do, how and why did you make the decision to early retire, do you have kids/pets/elderly parents to consider when being away for long road trips, what else do you do in your retirement when at home? Thank you 😊.

@RossHamilton-k5x 1 month ago

Thanks both; what a chilled delightful walk through. We have the same GC 680 and we upgraded 2 years ago from a 600 and have over 67k miles so far in both (early retirement!). Have made many of the changes you mention albeit we have a much more primitive off grid solution with solar and an Eco flow alternator charger and 2 eco flow deltas. As we travel during winter we particularly value the diesel heater and our winter pack but really liked your rear door thermal screen as the exposed metal can be cold to touch at minus 10. Wait with interest your experience of self levelling system but doubt we'd ever justify the cost for us. Looking forward to your Q and A also. Safe travels.

@SHAKEY_ADVENTURES 1 month ago

Hi guys we have the same van & love it. Happy camping 🎉

@ruthkirby9277 1 month ago

That’s an amazing van especially with the things you’ve added or changed🙂. I think the only thing that would have put me off buying one (if I had the resources!!!) would have been the smallish fridge but you have obviously found a great solution. We have a tall fridge which means we miss out on worktop space but I got so annoyed with our previous 90l one playing fridge Jenga that it was a deciding factor when we purchased our new van in June. Thanks for some useful ideas👍🏽

@chrisblunt7627 1 month ago

Hi both, thank you for sharing your recipe for risotto and the very easy way you did that. We have a Ninja speedi which I think we could achieve the same in, but hadn't considered it until seeing yours.

We made a store cupboard bean chili on our last quick trip away which was super easy. Here is the recipe:

1 can mixed beans (drained),
1 can baked beans,
1 small can chopped tomatoes,
1 tsp each of hot smoked paprika (for the kick), garlic granules, onion granules, ground cumin, salt and pepper to taste,

Simmer it all together in a pan until the sauce is thick enough and to your liking. Enjoy with rice or nachos.

@TheEscapePodUK 1 month ago

Really great video guys 🤩 packed full of really useful info 👍🏼 love the extra storage above the water tank.
But levelling legs 😯 so jealous 😤

@BillWoodington 1 month ago

Hi guys,
Great video,
We enjoyed meeting you both at Camperjam this year.
Just wanted to know about your electrics?

@lenafietst8237 1 month ago

Nice tour, well done! Which extra chairs do you use (not the normal VW chairs)?

@philiphinton6259 1 month ago

Great van tour. The thing with a steering lock is it's a visual deterrent. Hopefully just puts people off straight away, without any damage to your van

@theporkchopexpres 1 month ago

Another great informative video. I would love to hear how you filled the stupid space in the bed frame as I find it an issue also.

@losttheplotat60b37 1 month ago

Great van tour! We’ve had our Ocean since May, having never really considered VW prior to that. Never fancied a fixed bed, but have been looking at the Grand, longingly 🤣 Unfortunately, we have no drive - and no money, truth be told 🤣🤣 So, vicariously it is, then 😜

Site looks great, I think I might pootle up there, it’s probably only 30 mins from me 🙏
Love your channel, btw ☺️🙏🌸