Did you know that there are things at Ikea that fit so perfectly in the Cali that you think they could be original VW accessories? 😅
That’s partly how I feel and that’s why I’d like to share it with you 😊
Seat covers
We were not convinced by the covers from DriveDressy or Ukatex, or whatever they are all called, for various reasons.
I have tried many variants with sheets, towels or pads, but none of them were really satisfactory either…
I just want to be able to protect the delicate seats without too much effort and, ideally, throw the cover in the washing machine!
The motifs – which change from time to time – are debatable 😅 but the price is unbeatable in my eyes!
I can protect every seat or the bench for just ten euros!
The only optimization that is necessary: holes have to be made for the headrests… I simply poked them in with scissors in the right place and even without sewing them over, they don’t come out of the washing machine ruffled 😎👍
PS: before you ask, 😉 but it’s not from Ikea… 🤭
The headrests have a cap on and the armrests have knee socks without heels 😬
Footrest
I’m not exactly short, but I think the seats are quite high…
The cushion can be placed in different positions and offers – in my opinion – a little more comfort when driving ☺️
Cell phone holder
We needed a bracket for the landing gear display so that we could always keep an eye on the air pressures while driving…
And I have a captain sitting next to me who can’t leave his control center on his cell phone unobserved 🤭
I’m not a fan of cell phones at the wheel, so I had to get creative with the utensils we had on board to get my hands back on the wheel immediately, where they belong 🤷♀️
A small felt strip on the inside keeps the hook and device in place even on gravel roads! 👍
Waste garbage can on the glove compartment
No words needed 😊 A breakfast bag serves as a bin liner.
Light in the cab
It has always bothered me that the cab is so dark when you drive in the dark, there is no indirect lighting and no Ambielight…
I had already told Maddin to re-code the footwell lighting so that it would light up when we were driving… but what can I say! It is and remains just a Crafter 😅
The difficulty here was to find something that didn’t look completely stupid, didn’t dazzle and somehow got power, and not even right through the cab 😅
It’s not a pearl, but somehow the little one is cute and serves its purpose 😊
It is held in place with an adhesive pad, you can’t see it directly and the cable can be attached if required 👍
Beverage crate
We are real heavy drinkers 😅
After a few hours of driving, a few liters can go through 🤭
But where do you always store the good drinks?
So what I have already cleared drinks in this car from Hü to Hot… 🥴 and above all stored in such a way that you can also pick up supplies while driving…
Well, apart from that, the box is also really practical for other things that you need to have to hand on the go, such as snacks, a camera or whatever you have to do while driving that you don’t want to drive through the car at every bend 😬
We turn the seats every time we arrive and of course I don’t feel like putting everything away every time, so I made the box a head shorter…
I have made the following modification:
Cut off approx. 20 centimeters (height of the handbrake) from the top edge of the crate. A thin wooden panel is concealed under the fabric…
Slide the cut-off piece of crate onto the bottom part of the crate. This makes it double-walled and even more stable.
The edge of the bottom part of the box is now on the inside and is not very attractive… so I simply lined it with fabric. In my case, it was two promotional tea towels 😂 whatever you have lying around 😅
Someone who knows how to use a sewing machine will certainly be able to do it nicely 😅 but it’s enough for us 😝
The box is stuck between the handbrake and the seat frame, towards the front it stands in front of the edge of the rubber floor mat, even after 15 thousand kilometers it has not even moved away on its own ☺️
Tray
Here, for example, I think to myself: are these original accessories? 😱🤔
Look how perfectly this tray fits into the shelf! No, it’s from Ikea… 😂 But it’s just made for it, disappears almost invisibly and doesn’t take up any space! 😍
Not only if you want to take something out with you, but also great to use while driving.
We don’t have seatbelts in the back, so we prepare our snacks on our laps with our seatbelts fastened… the tray is not only a good table, but also good protection so that I don’t have to vacuum the entire cab on arrival… 😇
Cutlery tray
Just fits perfectly in the drawer 👍
You only have to press the corner of the catch in a little, but that’s exactly what keeps it in place 😊
Laundry basket for the 680
I allow myself the luxury of leaving with an empty wardrobe and coming home with an empty wardrobe… and why? Because there is this laundry basket at Ikea that fits perfectly in the lower part of the closet in the 680.
You could certainly organize it so that the dirty laundry gradually takes the place of the clean laundry, but I don’t feel like always rearranging and the space is enough 😊
Small modification so that the cupboard closes:
The upper rods have to be bent down a little in the middle, which can easily be done by hand.
And there’s another advantage: if you need to visit a washing machine when you’re out and about, you have a laundry basket ready to carry the laundry back and forth 😊
Universal bag
Very practical, everything can go in there… there are no limits to the ideas!
On longer trips, the laundry basket isn’t big enough for the dirty laundry… it’s then transferred to one of these bags and disappears into the trunk, bang gone 😜
And Maddin was like: “What Zack, gone?! Now I’ve got this on my cheek!”
🤭😇 Him outside, me inside! 😊
We always have our DryRobes with us, even in summer… and they’re quite bulky 😅 they’re lost somewhere in the trunk in one of these bags, but they’re always there if necessary!
☝️ Having is better than needing! 😎
Now comes the frequent drinker problem again… Pledge 🙄
We have one of these bags under the bed and when we arrive at the supermarket, the empties – actually it should be called empties – are immediately to hand 👍.
Bathroom waste garbage can
There’s always garbage in the bathroom and I don’t think there’s anyone who doesn’t have a garbage can in their bathroom at home… 🤷♀️
And since we switched to ToniToi, there’s no more paper in the toilet ☝️
New dry separation toilet for our Grand California – Toni Toi Open
What again?! …some of our loyal readers will certainly think at this point. As far as first correct, we had decided in December 2022 for
So once again I had to come up with an idea of how to fit a garbage can in this tiny wet room…
ZölvieGyver was out and about at Ikea 😂🙈
Two suction cups and a repurposed storage container have been transformed into a garbage can that fits a five-liter bin liner perfectly 🥳
The slim fit is super space-saving, so it never gets in the way and can be removed before showering with just one movement 👍
Shower
Showering in Cali is really no wellness, no question…
But it works and makes us independent, our greatest luxury 🥹
The suction cups from Ikea make our lives easier and ensure that the bathroom is not completely flooded after a shower.
The basket serves as storage for the curtain and as a shelf for the shower gel.
In this case, the towel rail is a shower curtain holder 😉
The curtain is slightly modified, slightly shortened and has a hole for the hose at the height of the tap.
And the shower head holder only comes out of the cabinet for showering ☺️
Towels out, carpet out, trash can out…
And everything back in again after cleaning 🤯
The worst thing about showering is definitely the clearing… 🙈🙄
Another tip on the side:
A clothespin on the hose will help you not to go mad because the hose keeps slipping in 😬
680 waste garbage can
We use the cupboard that is missing in the 600 for our garbage cans…
I can reach the bin in the cupboard and can also take the whole bin out to either open it completely or take it out with me.
There are two buckets so that I also have the option of separating them.
I think it’s good that I have a bin for every situation and don’t just have a loose bin liner dangling somewhere.
I also have two drinking water canisters in there, as well as a medium and a small one from the Ikea boxes…
You could also talk about wasted space, but as I said, it’s enough for us! ☺️
Outdoor shower backup
The space can certainly be used more optimally, but somehow it was there from the beginning and what can I say… it will stay there forever or something like that… you can already tell from the name: the “backup” has already saved our asses twice as far as the broken outdoor shower is concerned 😅🙏
Suction hook
The all-rounder 😜
Holds almost anywhere and carries all kinds of…
Hanging boxes and hooks
I think this is already widespread and self-explanatory ☺️😉
Hanging bag
The bag is simply fastened with two press studs, for various small items…
Rubber hook
Really practical for simply fixing something 😅
Are used from time to time for all sorts of things 👍
You may have noticed that I hate tidying up… 😅 yeah right, like the plague! 🤭
For me, it’s important that everything is stored where I need it and that everything is simply practical. After all, I’m on vacation! 😜
That’s why I’m so happy to have found so much great help at Ikea!
I’m sure there are many more ideas, this is just a small selection of things that we use and like.
Maybe I was able to inspire one or the other a little 😉
Have fun with the Schoppen! 🥳
