Where are the kombi beaches

[BrianJ]

I am the owner of a 2006 kombi beach which has done 170,000km of enjoyable travelling, but when we first owned it we would see another beach every few months or so, but where are they all now, I haven't seen one for about 2 years. Do other people still have one stored in a shed somewhere like the old 1974 models that have sprung up from nowhere to be restored. Maybe some have removed the distinctive stripe so they are no longer recognisable.

We used to have a lot of fun seeing another beach and especially on rare occasions when we could talk to the owners, but now they seem to have become extinct. If you own one respond in this thread and tell us how its going and what you think of it. We think ours is unique and fantastic, without doubt the best car I have ever bought.

Brian

[beachie1]

Still some around!

I am the owner of a 2006 kombi beach which has done 170,000km of enjoyable travelling, but when we first owned it we would see another beach every few months or so, but where are they all now, I haven't seen one for about 2 years. Do other people still have one stored in a shed somewhere like the old 1974 models that have sprung up from nowhere to be restored. Maybe some have removed the distinctive stripe so they are no longer recognisable.

We used to have a lot of fun seeing another beach and especially on rare occasions when we could talk to the owners, but now they seem to have become extinct. If you own one respond in this thread and tell us how its going and what you think of it. We think ours is unique and fantastic, without doubt the best car I have ever bought.

Brian

I owned one until 18 months ago with green stripe,90 ks only,traded on Motorhome.
It was purchased by lady from the Sunshine Coast.
I noticed a similar one on Hume Highway last week.
Regards
Beachie1

[BrianJ]

I owned one until 18 months ago with green stripe,90 ks only,traded on Motorhome.
It was purchased by lady from the Sunshine Coast.
I noticed a similar one on Hume Highway last week.
Regards
Beachie1

We use ours as our travelling campervan as well as our everyday car. There was an orange one at Caloundra but I haven't seen it for a while.

Brian

[Vandra]

I recently purchased a 2006. It has had the coloured stripes removed (I presume) and is the standard gun metal grey.

I am absolutely chuffed with all of the in's and out's the interior provides. It is an incredibly functional space that has been very thoughtfully designed.

I have seen a few 06-ish Multivans around, which seem to have the same body, but have also not spotted a Beach, or at least one with the stripes, on the road. Even before purchasing I was always quick to spot Multivans out on the road, but very very rarely spotted a beach. Most of my driving is around Melbourne and it's surrounding coastlines, although I recently did a trip up the Hume to Canberra and back. Still not a Kombi Beach in sight.

I've got a question that perhaps you guys could answer.

In between the two under seat drawers (in the rear fold down seats) is a removable plastic 'facing' that carries on the front face of the larger drawer. It is removable, presumably to fit long items (fishing rods, etc) in through the boot. In this area behind where the facing sits are some nylon material loops. -- Does anyone know if these are designed to hold the folding directors chairs that came with the van?

I'm also wondering if anyone can tell me specifically what is powered by the 2nd battery found under the passenger seat?

Thanks for your help and look forward to spotting you out on the road!

Vandra.

[BrianJ]

I recently purchased a 2006. It has had the coloured stripes removed (I presume) and is the standard gun metal grey.

I am absolutely chuffed with all of the in's and out's the interior provides. It is an incredibly functional space that has been very thoughtfully designed.

I have seen a few 06-ish Multivans around, which seem to have the same body, but have also not spotted a Beach, or at least one with the stripes, on the road. Even before purchasing I was always quick to spot Multivans out on the road, but very very rarely spotted a beach. Most of my driving is around Melbourne and it's surrounding coastlines, although I recently did a trip up the Hume to Canberra and back. Still not a Kombi Beach in sight.

I've got a question that perhaps you guys could answer.

In between the two under seat drawers (in the rear fold down seats) is a removable plastic 'facing' that carries on the front face of the larger drawer. It is removable, presumably to fit long items (fishing rods, etc) in through the boot. In this area behind where the facing sits are some nylon material loops. -- Does anyone know if these are designed to hold the folding directors chairs that came with the van?

I'm also wondering if anyone can tell me specifically what is powered by the 2nd battery found under the passenger seat?

Thanks for your help and look forward to spotting you out on the road!

Vandra.

Good to hear from another beach owner.

The directors chairs can be slid into the underbed boot from the rear on the left and the the legs get pushed up in the narrow area beside the wooden drawer.

I used to carry an oztent through that space, it can be handy, but the two loops? I am not sure about and have never used them. There has been a change to the design by VW because the base part of the seat can be swung up on hinges along the front edge so you can look straight down into the drawer, but first you must remove the narrow edging that goes right along horizontally just under the forward edge of the seat base. I have done that to mine, but still don't access the drawer much this way. You may be able to work out what the loops are for if you swing the seat base up.

The secondary battery only powers the two LED lights in the rear in the original design, but I have run wiring to the back of the sliding door where I have four sockets and one runs a 32L engel fridge wuich sits on top of the wooden drawer on the engel plastic mounting base. I also have 80W folding solar panels and have upgraded the original battery to a 100A/Hr AGM deep cycle battery mounted in the same position.

Mine still has the original orange stripes, so give a wave if you see me.

Brian

[Vandra]

Thanks for the info Brian.

I will definitely give the seat base edging removal trick a try. And nice to see you putting the 2nd battery to good use.

Catch you out there on the road…

Vandra.

[ian_thom]

Hey guys
Proud beach owner-down in Canberra, gunmetal grey with stripe removed (it started to fade and chip so kinda had to)
Love the van, just thinking about some 18in wheels to jazz it up a bit, and want to get the 'Kombi beach' stencil put back on the side so I can wave to other beach legends

[mbash]

Did the Beach come in 4Motion?

Maurice

[jets]

Did the Beach come in 4Motion?

Yes they did. Pricing as at 30th June '06 was from $58,990[4 Motion].All models used the 96kW engines. The Beach was featured in the Autumn/Winter 2006 Volkswagen Magazine, now renamed Das Auto.
In July '07 the price was reduced to $53,990.
In the Summer/Autumn edition of the mag. there was no mention of the Beach in their pricing.

[petenkaz]

Still got our beach which we've had from new. Silver manual in brisbane. It's been great and recently we converted it into a 7 seater with the addition of a brand new multivan rear seat. Love it, and it was a shame that we had to take out the camping kit, but with a caravan, camper trailer and a couple of tents I think we've got our accommodation covered ok! It's towed a van half way round Australia with the kids in tow, and heaps of other holidays away before and after kids. Still able to fold back the middle seat for a quick kip after a party though! Would love a genuine multivan now, but really can't justify a new one, and don't want to take the gamble with an old DSG gearbox.

[BrianJ]

Nice to see some more happy owners.

Mine has now done 190,000km and still goes the same as when I bought it, its such and impressive van.

We will be doing a camping trip northwards through the centre of Australia first half of next year, I've only just fitted a oztrail mozzie and fly net under the side awning to try to keep the insects out.

The orange is still fully on ours, but the bonnet is all cracked and torn, but I leave it there for now as I like the uniqueness and originality of the beach model.

[StevieG]

Hand high in the Air.....YES....YEs........I have one..... I recently purchased my first VW.... and its a 2008 Yellow Beach Kombi... with all accessories intact.. two beach embroidered chairs, magnetic sun shades for all the windows..netting above the rear compartment, luggage packs that hang from the interior.... its a wonderful, machine.... It has unbelievably only 40,00kms on it. Genuine. Two wheel drive, my partner and I have just begun a journey from Perth towards Melbourne.

Must be because we are in Australia that the photo is only available upside down...!

[vwpolo]

i was looking for one for sale earlier in the year but just couldnt get the money together ... would still love one , maybe one day i will find a auto 4motion for the right price

[BrianJ]

i was looking for one for sale earlier in the year but just couldnt get the money together ... would still love one , maybe one day i will find a auto 4motion for the right price

Unfortunately they didn't make any 4motion in AUTO before the DSG gearbox was used in 2010 as there wasn't a power output for the rear drive. I also wanted a 4WD one but settled for a 2WD AUTO.

[BrianJ]

Hand high in the Air.....YES....YEs........I have one..... I recently purchased my first VW.... and its a 2008 Yellow Beach Kombi... with all accessories intact.. two beach embroidered chairs, magnetic sun shades for all the windows..netting above the rear compartment, luggage packs that hang from the interior.... its a wonderful, machine.... It has unbelievably only 40,00kms on it. Genuine. Two wheel drive, my partner and I have just begun a journey from Perth towards Melbourne.

Must be because we are in Australia that the photo is only available upside down...!

LOL, I'll have to stand on my head. I like the yellow paint, we originally sat in one at Balina but couldn't afford it then, later we bought ours as a demo for a good price, but I would have loved the yellow one and named it 'bigbird'. Its a nice drive accross the Nullabore, we did it in our van in 2010, staying at free campsites along the way.