Handbrake too close to "door" trim.

[daventess]

I have a RHD Fiat Ducato based MH (Fleurette Wincenser), 2020 model, and my handbrake is so close to the side trim that it genuinely hurts my knuckles to use it.

I'll get a picture of it tomorrow, but is this something anyone else has suffered from? Can't find any mention of it here, so I'm guessing I might have something wrong with mine. I only know one other person with this MH (daveclare ) and he says his is fine.

The problem is there's a curved bit of trim designed, I imagine, to give a human hand space to operate the brake, but it's so tight you'd have to be a "certain ex-president" to get your hands in there comfortably.

("door" is in quotes because there is no actual door there, but in any other type of vehicle there probably would have been).

 

[Lenny HB]

Is the problem due to it being RHD whereas the drivers door on a LHD would give plenty of room.

 

[1967bowesj]

I have seen the hand brake lever be bent by it being caught in clothing as you exit the door and drop down to the ground.
Obviously you don’t have the exit door but that’s not to say it wasn’t bent before the body was fitted.
They can be straightened with a large adjustable spanner and plenty of grunting! Just don’t ask how I know!

 

[daventess]

It's hard to explain without a picture (which thanks to a nasty gout flare up I won't be able to get today afterall), but nothing seems bent or broken, it just seems like it's been designed badly. The trim looks like it was moulded that way, and the handbrake seems straight to my untrained eye and as close to the seat as it can get. I may have to see of I can get that trim off or replace it with something else...

I didn't know quite how much DIY I was signing up for when I bought my MH ...

 

[DavidG58]

I presume you have a manual gearbox? If it’s an auto just stick it in park and ignore handbrake if it’s manual , hope you find a simple fix

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[daventess]

Is the problem due to it being RHD whereas the drivers door on a LHD would give plenty of room.

I think that is the root of the problem. I just would have thought that they would have tried to solve it a little better.

 

[daventess]

I presume you have a manual gearbox? If it’s an auto just stick it in park and ignore handbrake if it’s manual , hope you find a simple fix

Yeah, manual. My original must-have was an auto box. But then heart overruled head ..

 

[MichaelT]

Deleted

 

[Lenny HB]

I think that is the root of the problem. I just would have thought that they would have tried to solve it a little better.

Could you make a cutout in the panel and make a recessed panel. Fairly easy if your internal walls are wallboard a bit more difficult if they are aluminium.

What I'm thinking is cut cut a section of wallboard reduce the foam behind it by 10 or 15mm, replace the board then fit a right angle trim around it.

Other solution is swap it for a LHD much more sensible with an A Class.

 

[Lisa]

Have you thought about a handbrake extender? Might give you clearance and a bit of movement either side….

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[Pablo19]

Have you thought about a handbrake extender? Might give you clearance and a bit of movement either side….

I was just about to post the same thing, always just too late! I know these are designed to let the seats swivel without hitting the handbrake which is common on a lot of coach builts but this could be the solution for you.

 

[BILL 875]

I have a rapido a class and could hardly use the handbrake as a narrow gap between handbrake and trim I fitted a handbrake extender best thing I ever did it's now perfect.

 

[Ode]

I have fitted the hand brake extender on my van and it works a treat,you can pull the pin and drop it down out of the way .

 

[Bazzagas]

I have fitted the hand brake extender on my van and it works a treat,you can pull the pin and drop it down out of the way .

Me too...its spot on once you get used to using it

 

[daventess]

I shall look into the extender. Once I get over my gout I will take a proper look at it. So far I've only had a "moany look", which was just enough to half see what's happening and then feel justified to moan about it

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[SpeedyDux]

I have seen the hand brake lever be bent by it being caught in clothing as you exit the door and drop down to the ground.
Obviously you don’t have the exit door but that’s not to say it wasn’t bent before the body was fitted.
They can be straightened with a large adjustable spanner and plenty of grunting! Just don’t ask how I know!

I ripped my shorts when they snagged on the handbrake lever as I was exiting the driver's door. Very amusing for the audience.

 

[Blaydon]

Hi there. We too have this problem. The hard rough plastic trim is the inside of the gas cupboard. We went to ‘TheRange’ hardware shop and got a bit of thin foam sheet. - about 90p, and stuck it on the trim so now, although it is a squash, it doesn’t hurt. I am sure a heat gun could be used to warm the plastic and then mould it round the gas bottles so creating a space for the drivers hand. Perhaps a job for another day.
What this shows me is that the handbrake is never applied in the factory- or the workers would complain.

 

[GrahamnSue]

Obviously someone thought it would be a 'pain' operating the handbrake on ours, so they removed the handbrake, fit a parking button on the dash and the electronics for it beneath the driver's seat.
A more expensive option, but so easy to use.

 

[Ducatian]

I ripped my shorts when they snagged on the handbrake lever as I was exiting the driver's door. Very amusing for the audience.

Mine didn't rip, so I was left hanging!

 

[Lenny HB]

I really don't understand why anyone would buy a RHD drive A Class just doesn't make sense to me.

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[stuartholmes]

My RHD Ducato handbrake caught on something that I suspect was the leg of a mechanic & got levered sideways to produce the problem referred to in the original question.
So I got the garage to bend it back.
Simples!!
(It's just mounted on a little L shaped bracket not a lump of solid kryptonite.)

 

[Tony50]

I have seen the hand brake lever be bent by it being caught in clothing as you exit the door and drop down to the ground.
Obviously you don’t have the exit door but that’s not to say it wasn’t bent before the body was fitted.
They can be straightened with a large adjustable spanner and plenty of grunting! Just don’t ask how I know!

Just as you say caught on my clothing , and straightened it like you said , what a stupid design

 

[Lisa]

I really don't understand why anyone would buy a RHD drive A Class just doesn't make sense to me.

I have a RHD A Class and I don’t go abroad in it. Maybe that’s why?

 

[IanBt]

I really don't understand why anyone would buy a RHD drive A Class just doesn't make sense to me.

I could just as easily say

I really don't understand why anyone would buy a LHD drive A Class just doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Lenny HB]

I could just as easily say

Simple you get a drivers door and the layout is designed around LHD and we live less than 20 miles from a channel port.

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[G-RMPS]

I have a right-hand drive one because I have to drive 1000 miles to and from the channel ports, and all the rest of the time when I'm not abroad.

I do have a left-hand drive aeroplane

 

[daventess]

I do have a left-hand drive aeroplane

Do they still fly on the wrong side of the sky in France?

 

[G-RMPS]

I don’t know. The international language of aviation is…….French in France

 

[Coolcats]

I ripped my shorts when they snagged on the handbrake lever as I was exiting the driver's door. Very amusing for the audience.

Me too, just more careful when I’m wearing shorts now.

 

[Steve-N]

I presume you have a manual gearbox? If it’s an auto just stick it in park and ignore handbrake if it’s manual , hope you find a simple fix

Don't leave in P only when parked on hills (or your ramps) it puts unnecessary strain on the gearbox