It has been over 20 years since VW offered a camper van for sale in the US market. Americans have looked on with envy as VW has continued to evolve it’s camper in Europe: The “California”. A naming choice I found ironic and slightly insulting.
Being a US Eurovan (T4) camper owner and former Vanagon (T3) Westfalia camper owner; I’ve had a love and history with these vans most of my adult life. So when the opportunity came for me to rent a modern California camper in Scandinavia for a couple of weeks I had to do it.
Envious but hoping for the self-discipline to be objective I dug into the differences – here’s what I found:
The Van:
The van itself (a T6.1 chassis) was a clear winner. 4-cylinder 2.0L turbo diesel engine, 7 speed auto trans, and many modern features: digital dash, Apple Car-Play, dynamic cruise control, soft-close features for both the rear lift-gate and the sliding door (bravo: VW finally solved their sliding door problems). Missing were lane departure warnings and blind-spot monitoring but this van was approx 4 years old – likely the newer vans have these features too. Generally I’d say Americans can rest easy: the VW van has evolved very well over the last 20 years.
The Camper:
Things get tricky comparing VW’s campers here in the US since our Eurovans were camperized by Winnebago – whereas all other vans in all other markets got their official treatment either by VW directly or through a partnership with Westfalia. The Winnebago conversion, sold exclusively in the north-American market from 1995 to 2003, is an anomaly on the world-stage.
There is a lot to a camper conversion and little things really matter. It’s also important to consider what the actual intended use of the camper is/was understanding that certain differences speak to regional or market differences. Specifically the Winnebago conversion was performed by a US company creating a camper for the US market – a very targeted effort.
The 2020 California that I rented was a VW (in-house) camper-conversion of the T6.1 chassis; here’s what I found …
The Pop Top:
Probably the most significant part of these camper conversions is the pop top. The California’s top is a winner: power operated / built in roof-rack rails / self-folding tent canvas / and an upper mattress with ‘Froli’-like mattress springs. The top seals well and the bed’s sleep quality improvement is amazing. Unfortunately the top lift controls are not very intuitive: the central camper control system is a blight on this camper.
The roof’s upright supports go to the outer ends of the top – a big deal for roof integrity if you’re loading anything on your roof (a controversial problem with the Winnebago). The top does not have a vent or vent-fan but instead has permanent vent holes with bug screens in the upper sides of the tent canopy – this must create a stronger/less leaky roof but at the expense of a large thermal loss in the top. The bad: when the upper bunk is lifted you have no overhead storage; a compromise most knowledgeable pop-top camper owners would struggle to accept. There is also no front luggage rack on the top of the van above the passenger and driver’s seats but, in my experience, this won’t really be missed. Finally this top, like most camper-van tops, contains no insulation whereas the Winnebago’s has a nice Styrofoam insulation layer. BUT this lack of insulation has an advantage: a lower profile roof making the van’s overall height more compatible with small garages.
The Galley:
1995 US-Spec VW Eurovan Camper (northern BC near the Yukon boarder - summer 2025)
The Rear and Overhead Cabinets:
Rear Cabinet Closed
Rear Cabinet Open
Like the galley the materials here are nice and the doors, etc are well thought out. The whole things feels like cabinetry in a commercial aircraft. The overhead cabinet is a nice addition that the Winnebago conversion lost from the Westfalia designs. The California’s rear/overbed cabinet is a lot smaller in volume than the Vanagon’s. Unfortunately the Vanagon campers lost this space if the van came with air conditioning.
The Overhead Cabinet Makes it’s Return!
Access to the closet from the front / another Vanagon-camper restored feature.
Spice Rack / Window Blind.. Why not?
The Winnebago-Eurovan’s storage-space, due to the longer wheel-base van, wins against the California. That said the California’s cabinets are well-thought out and offer a respectable amount of storage that is a close second. Ultimately what actually matters is how well the space lends itself to the camping experience … Having personally camped in all 3 vans I speak from experience when I say the Winnebago wins. Honestly I think this advantage is the reason the Eurovan still has a strong following.