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).

 

[gus-lopez]

But that's what P is for on an auto box PARK,

It would never occur to me to use that only

P doesn't disengage any thing. It pushes a steel pawl into a special gear to lock the transmission,

& a sharp tap when someone else is parking snaps it off.That is why You never do it here as it ends in tears.I always left my auto box in N or any gear rather than P when out just for that reason.

Done that a few times

As have I but fortunately beiing a lot older van with a handbrake made out of decent thick steel they do not bend you are just left hanging there

They don't use the "emergency brake" to the point it's seized up on many cars.

They give you licences & don't have any type of testing for cars or trucks in many states, along with many consider brakes a luxury,so you can't really go by anything over there.
Used to be that if you didn't apply handbrake & in to neutral every time you stopped when taking a driving test you failed.

 

[Dutch 68]

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.

LHD and an auto box Lenny

 

[Lenny HB]

LHD and an auto box Lenny

He said RHD so no drivers door.

 

[DavidG58]

He said RHD so no drivers door.

Not always

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[Lenny HB]

Not always

View attachment 946320

We know your's is a strange one David.

 

[Barriesimpson]

We know your is a strange one David.

Was that yours or you're

 

[cossie303]

Pretty much every driver in 'merica exclusively only uses Park on their auto box when they leave the vehicle. They don't use the "emergency brake" to the point it's seized up on many cars.

I am merely passing on information to try to help/inform people that Park is not an alternative to using the handbrake, people can act on the information as they see fit. I would suggest a look at Google or you tube for information before dismissing the information.

Pretty much every driver in 'merica exclusively only uses Park on their auto box when they leave the vehicle. They don't use the "emergency brake" to the point it's seized up on many cars.

 

[Puddleduck]

My Jaguar will automatically put itself in P if I don't. It will also put the handbrake on if I were to forget.

Electric Vauxhall is the same

 

[tonyidle]

Electric Vauxhall is the same

As does the Fiat 500e

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[Tony50]

No as it's a robotised manual so you should just leave it in gear or you get a warning.

Yes by all means leave it in gear , but , as long as it has no load against gears, if you have seen inside today's gearboxes you would understand wht

 

[Marie-Claire]

Our rapido has the gas locker under the drivers window and it is a tight squeeze to get fingers down the gap to push the button enough to release it

 

[mgibbons]

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.

May I ask which extender you used and how you found fitting it? The reason is that I have a 896f and am looking at an extender but struggle to see how it would be fittable given the ridiculously small gap between the edge of the handbrake and the plastic "shell" on bodywork on the right hand side. Cheers.

 

[BILL 875]

I bought it from a funster years ago, they are easy enough to fit, I bent the handbrake lever towards the middle of the van before fitting the extension to give it a bit more knuckle room also you don't have to bend down as much to release the brake.

 

[Funnymunny]

I am glad to hear that I am not the only one to have had problems. Back a few years ago I pulled into a parking spot down near Cape St Vincent in Portugal, the parking was on a bit of a slope with just a small wall before a sheer drop off the cliff of about 150 ft.
I pulled on the handbrake and as usual put it into first gear and slid out, the handbrake went straight up the leg of my shorts and I was literally hanging there.
For what seemed ages but in fact was seconds I hung there hoping my handbrake would hold then suddenly my shorts split and I fell out, the handbrake had bent quite a bit but I managed to pull it back into reasonable shape.

I honestly thought for a time that I was going over the cliff.

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[fred_jb]

The 9 speed auto on my Ducato based van forces you to put it in park as it beeps and stops you removing the ignition key until you do. I would always use the hand brake as well.