# Rapido niggles



## whistlinggypsy

Hi all the rapido owners, i collect my shiny new 985F this friday from brownhills and i was having a look in the Rapido posts and was a little concerned about a couple of problems relating to the Rapido.

One was a frequent mention of hairline cracks in the bathroom floor, is this a common problem with this manufacturer, we had 4 new bathroom floors in our swift royale, so i would not want to go that route again.

The rear light cluster water ingress also seems to be a common problem.

The battery box cracking anyone know the cause, is it vibration, weight of battery, how long does it take to appear?

From the positive vibes i got from the posts i think we have made a good choice with just a few niggles, but then is that not par for any m/h, i have yet to find one that has not got some teething problems as the final quality inspection at the manufacturer and the PDI at the dealers leaves a lot to be desired no matter what make/model it is.

Looking forward to our next 85000 mile of nearly trouble free m/hing, that is what we got with our fiat/swift 630, only one major fault apart from bathroom floor, and "yes" you guessed, the failure of 5th gear down in spain on our maiden voyage, took fiat at cartegena 5 weeks for a replacement.

Bob


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## RobinHood

I have a 983F, and some of the points you have referred to probably came from my postings.

I do have one major niggle outstanding. Brownhills are being a bit slow, but do have the issue in hand (I have seen the paperwork and correspondence with Rapido). This is the issue of gel-coat cracking in the main front moulding. I have had such cracks in two previous vans, and they are easily repairable if they are done properly, so I'm reasonably relaxed. I would say, however, that I've seen similar in the new display models at Newark, so I would suggest you inspect with care. Look all along the join of the front panel to the side panel (where the guttering runs), and also at the points where the bumper is attached to the front panel.

If/when this is remedied correctly, I will be very happy with the choice. This is my 8th van, and the best so far. So far had nearly 50 nights away over the winter period, somewhat more than we have managed before, much of it on the back of it being a good choice.

For info, I'll set out other issues I've had (all bar one reasonably easily fixed).

On collection, the engine coolant level was low. on topping up, it dropped again (several times). It then stabilised. The rear heating unit fitted by Rapido means that the coolant needs topping up above Fiat factory levels (greater capacity), and I suspect there may have been a bit of an airlock. All OK for months now. (It was on the low mark, so probably should have been caught at PDI).

One of the locks on the rear garage door wouldn't lock (PDI again). On removal and dismantling it was wrongly assembled, and I fixed it myself.

On the first longish trip away, it became obvious that the rear heater wasn't working. The blower was inoperative. With a multi-meter and a fair amount of panel removal I fixed this myself. The control relay and wiring were completely detached behind the front footwell panel. Something that should have been obvious in the PDI and was a pig to fix.

The charger was faulty on mine. It would cut in and do a first cycle of charging (ten hours or so), but when it then cut out, it would not cut back in even if the battery was being depleted (Switching off and on would manually start it, however). Fixed by Brownhills replacing the unit. Not surprised it wasn't found on PDI as it requires a day or so for it to become apparent.

The pre-drilled two ports in the wardrobe roof on mine started to leak after a month or so. They have been resealed. 

Both the above were dealt with responsively by Brownhills.

The rear light clusters are continental handed, and fitted upside down to meet the UK lighting regulation (altering the position of the reversing and fog lamps). This is annoying, since Hella do a UK version (they are simply assembled the other way round). Rapido thus leave the drain on the top, and nowhere for the resulting water ingress to go. I would suggest at least sealing the top (as it is in a prime position for letting water in) and I would consider drilling a drain hole in the bottom.

I believe the battery holder was subject to a recall, and that new vehicles have a revised unit (I'm also not sure that this applied to A-class units, my holder is metal- some of the non-A-class ones were 'plastic'). 

I've also had 2 cracked shower trays in the past (one was a Swift Royale, fixed under warranty). I noted that a number of used Rapidos had the same issue (I always check how well used versions wear before committing). This was one of the reasons I went for the 983 rather than the 985 (It has a solid bathroom floor with a separate shower - I also didn't like the plastic circular overlay to the shower tray in the 985). The dinette is also slightly more spacious in the 983.

In use the vehicle drives like a dream. The handbrake is a bit odd, but this appear to be the case with many of the versions with rear discs. I didn't like the routing of the handbrake cable directly beneath the handbrake, however (routed through a Chassis member, and chafeing - so I re-routed it round). 

I'm pretty sure it comes as standard with the lower 5th gear, which makes it very flexible (my previous van had the same gearbox but without this ratio, and it feels much different. 

I had what appeared to be a very annoying 'squeaky floor', but in fact it was the water tank retaining bracket rubbing on the dinette panelling as you walked past! Judicious minor bending fixed that. 

One habitation door hinge screw worked loose, and has been retightened by me.

If you're using in winter, I'd recommend a set of windscreen insulating screens (It's a big area). Silverscreens (J&R) off the shelf work for me. 

6-months on (gel-coat repairs pending). I'm very happy with my choice. I know there are a few things above, but every one of my vans has had niggles, if they're fixed reasonably easily, I can live with it.


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## whistlinggypsy

Thanks Robinhood for the comprehensive info i will look out for all the points you mention when we collect this weekend, hopefully i will have none but that is as very unlikely as i said in my post ive yet to find a m/h that was spot on when collected for 1st time.

Bob


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## Bagshanty

Thanks RH, that's a useful checklist. My 746 (purchased from the other importer, (Caravanes Rapido) who introduced Rapido to the UK) is just about 2 months old. I'll keep an eye open for those problems. My 2 batteries are in plastic cases, but with metal reinforcing straps.

We spent a long time researching before we settled on Rapido, having Autosleepers for the previous 17 years. After several outings we are now confident Rapido provide the best value for money. The internal finish is excellent.

We did get an awful noise from somewhere at certain speeds and in certain gears. I suspected this was the exhaust, and so it was. Occasionally the exhaust would rattle against the chassis. A bit of bending of a bracket sorted that.


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## camoyboy

Hi Bob,
We have owned our Rapido for over 2 years now, and are more than happy with it. (had 2 kontiki's before that) We are impressed by the overall build quality and value for money. 
We have a couple of hairline cracks in the bathroom floor, not in the shower tray, but I got fed up waiting for Brownhill's and resealed them myself. The problem seems to be that the moulding is thin on the curve from the floor up to the side,and there is no support behind.
The dinette heater pipe was not connected, and would not even reach. The previous owner only used it in the summer so probably didn't know.
One of the bed lifting gas struts failed before we got it and I did manage to get one of these from BH's on the second attempt.
All the other issues were BH related so not the fault of Rapido. We have not had any other problems. The bodywork is superb, easy to keep clean and I have no gel cracks. The only minor issue is around the tight corners on the overcab moulding, where the colour has not come through to the surface of the gel. The only bit that does not seem to be up to the standard of the rest of the van is the water system pipework.
We had a good look round at the Peterboro' show, and couldn't find anything we wanted to swap for, apart from we did quite like the Adria Vision. Not great "A" class fans, but this one did appeal. But I am sure we will stick with the Rapido for a while yet.
Maybe see you a one of the Rallies'/Shows?
Colin


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## whistlinggypsy

ta camoyboy, i'm sure now we have made the right decision , and yes we will be rallying when we get back from Norway sometime in July.

Bob


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## whistlinggypsy

Well we have got the new 985F and we are very pleased with it, the only fault so far was as RobinHood mentioned is that the rear light cluster partly filled with water on the run home so i rang B/hills and told them i will be returning too them for the cat1 alarm to be fitted and they can sort out that little problem.

We got to within 20 miles of BA/hills on the day of collection, Thurs. 18the May when the mobile rang and Jason told us not to bother coming to collect as it would not be ready for another 5 days. I told him i was 40 minutes away and to get some answers ready for me when i arrived, or get my deposit ready to return.

Well the problem was 2 fold, they could not find a 110w solar panel and they had not got the Maxiview Sat dish, the solar panel would be delivered on the following Monday they said, WHY said I surely a firm a big as this can arrange for delivery from any of the sites they own or get onto Crazy Bill @ Transliesure and he will supply one off the shelf, guess what it worked they had one delivered within 3 hours.

Right what about the Sat Dish, sorry Bob maxview say it will be at least 4 days before they have one available, sorry i said thats not my problem i told you (B/Hills) that we would be leaving for Norway in 6 days after the purchase and i was assured everything would be fitted so lets get this sorted, and don't forget the world cup is on while we are away and you would not want me too miss that would you.

Well they had a chat and came up with fitting a Oyster dish for us for £750 so i agreed although i am not a great fan of electric gear on the roof, back they came a hour later, sorry Bob we cannot get an Oyster anywhere in time so we have to wait for one. 

By now we are getting a little annoyed so I told them too sort it out pronto or we were going home and going in our beloved Swift 630 Ensigne (which we wanted to do in the first place and pick the new van up on our return). Off they went again and came back with another offer which we could not believe, they would supply and fit a Camos unit for £750 if that was ok, OK said we if we must that will be fine ( jumping up and down with glee )

It took until saturday to fit all the extra's and i have to say that after the first disappointment Brownhills bent over backwards to sort out the problems, Dean Brookes (salesman) was a gem and worked very hard to sort things out for us and to get us a very good deal not only on the new van but on the extra's as well, Jason (workshop head man) and his team worked until very late on Saturday getting everything done long after everyone else had gone home so we cannot thank them enough.

All in all we are extremely pleased with the new M/H and also by what my wife and I have called " Our Brownhills Experience" Well done to all.

P. S.

I am trying to fit the new lcd/dvd tv and the digi box in the tv locker and i want to connect them through the 12v outlet to an inverter but the 12v socket in the locker that looks like a cig lighter point is a funny size and will not accept the ones i have does anyone know what type they are or where they can be obtained, as it is bank holiday weekend and we leave tomorrow morning for a ferry at 15.00hrs in Newcastle.

Bob


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