Rapido i1090 A Class query

[Al n Val]

Very nice, I bought my 8066df from Simpsons tried dealing with Brownhills but just to expensive so had any work done at Spinneys at Holmes Chapel eg Hab service at Brownhills £400.00 ish Spinney £160 ish, labour rate was £100.00hr at Brownhills, was £60.00hr at Spinneys but dont quote me may have gone up a bit. Bill

thanks Bill

thankfully it comes with the first 2 hab checks and the first 2 year Fiat cab service included so i’m covered for 2 years at least then i’ll look at Spinney or others.

BTW. has anyone opted for the 5 years Fiat warranty, it’s an extra 2 years on top of the included 3 years with it being a UK registered moho.

If so do you think it’s worth having at an extra circa £860

Al

 

[Lenny HB]

I have 240w on the Comanche but looking at about 300w with Victron Smart controller. I’ll also be having a Victron DC to DC charger fitted as well.

If it has a smart alternator it should have a B2B

 

[Al n Val]

If it has a smart alternator it should have a B2B

it has Lenny but I understand the B2B is a much lower output unless told otherwise

 

[Al n Val]

I am not saying Rapidos are great, but when we win the lottery I will update to a new one from our 10 series. Probably the best van we have ever owned

that’s very encouraging, we’ve looked at other A Class marques, Burstner, Cathargo, Hymer and Frankia and this Rapido for us just oozed quality. I know you have to live with something to get to know it and we are looking forward to doing exactly that.

I just hope it lives up to its first impressions

Al

 

[Ditcha]

thanks Bill

thankfully it comes with the first 2 hab checks and the first 2 year Fiat cab service included so i’m covered for 2 years at least then i’ll look at Spinney or others.

BTW. has anyone opted for the 5 years Fiat warranty, it’s an extra 2 years on top of the included 3 years with it being a UK registered moho.

If so do you think it’s worth having at an extra circa £860

Al

Think you find it's only 2yrs Al we took the extra 3yrs so total of 5yrs but that includes break down cover for 5yrs so makes it more palatable, but you know if anything mechanical goes wrong your covered.

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[Podney]

Wow,lovely van,congratulations!
Welcome to the wonderful world of Rapido!!!

 

[Al n Val]

Think you find it's only 2yrs Al we took the extra 3yrs so total of 5yrs but that includes break down cover for 5yrs so makes it more palatable, but you know if anything mechanical goes wrong your covered.

Ah! i’ll stand being corrected but when i purchased the Comanche brand new, from memory, page 37 of the Fiat handbook (I think) says 2 years for vehicles registered in europe and 3 for UK registered vehicles.

Either way it makes sense for this expense of vehicle to have it covered so that’s probably what i’ll do

thanks

Al

 

[Al n Val]

Wow,lovely van,congratulations!
Welcome to the wonderful world of Rapido!!!

Thank you

 

[Ditcha]

Ah! i’ll stand being corrected but when i purchased the Comanche brand new, from memory, page 37 of the Fiat handbook (I think) says 2 years for vehicles registered in europe and 3 for UK registered vehicles.

Either way it makes sense for this expense of vehicle to have it covered so that’s probably what i’ll do

thanks

Al

It's wether or not it's been imported by Fiat UK, with the comanche being built in the UK the base vehicle would have been bought through Fiat UK so you would have had 3yrs then.

 

[Al n Val]

It's wether or not it's been imported by Fiat UK, with the comanche being built in the UK the base vehicle would have been bought through Fiat UK so you would have had 3yrs then.

OK, I think your correct thinking back

Am i right in thinking that if i purchase the extra 3 years warranty, that will include breakdown and transport to a Fiat dealership anywhere in europe to effect repairs. If so will the warranty cover absolutely everything on the Fiat cab unit as well do you know

thanks Al

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[GMLS]

Gone and done it

View attachment 550130

Nice. We've just gone for the new 854F as just the 2 of use now so the Burstner is up for sale and the wait until April begins
We would have bought another Burstner if they still did a rear lounge option but we thought the quality of the demonstrator we saw was pretty good, so yours will be exceptional.

 

[Al n Val]

Nice. We just gone for the new 854F as just the 2 of use now so the Burstner is up for sale and the wait until April begins

there’s only 2 of us but I just like having the internal space and we’ve been spoilt with the Comanche tbh

Lovely van though your 854F, I hope you enjoy it as much as your Burstner

 

[Ditcha]

OK, I think your correct thinking back

Am i right in thinking that if i purchase the extra 3 years warranty, that will include breakdown and transport to a Fiat dealership anywhere in europe to effect repairs. If so will the warranty cover absolutely everything on the Fiat cab unit as well do you know

thanks Al

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[zac]

We have the Rapido 10000dfh comfamatic from new (2017) and its been fantastic, few issue's but nothing major. For info we had the E&P levelling fitted as soon we purchased it and Mick said the Air suspension was not needed. I drove it straight from Brownhills to SAP in Doncaster and then to taunton to Vanbitz for the alarm/solar/invertor to be fitted. I think yours is the newer version to ours. We had an Autotrail Delaware before this one and the Rapido's are in a different league all together you will not be disappointed.

We took out our main table as its just way to big for the 2 of us and made getting past it very awkward, i had a table made up by a local carpenter which is much better and it bolted onto the same fittings so can be moved back and forth and left and right like the original.

Congrats on the new purchase anyway.

 

[Al n Val]

We have the Rapido 10000dfh comfamatic from new (2017) and its been fantastic, few issue's but nothing major. For info we had the E&P levelling fitted as soon we purchased it and Mick said the Air suspension was not needed. I drove it straight from Brownhills to SAP in Doncaster and then to taunton to Vanbitz for the alarm/solar/invertor to be fitted. I think yours is the newer version to ours. We had an Autotrail Delaware before this one and the Rapido's are in a different league all together you will not be disappointed.

We took out our main table as its just way to big for the 2 of us and made getting past it very awkward, i had a table made up by a local carpenter which is much better and it bolted onto the same fittings so can be moved back and forth and left and right like the original.

Congrats on the new purchase anyway.

Was their any reason why you didn’t have Mick fit the solar and inverter? and if I may ask how much solar have you had fitted by Eddie and which controller has been used?

The table in this one actually folds on half, I get what you say regarding being awkward getting past but when folded and slid over to the passenger side it leaves quite a gap to get past.

We’ll try it out initially and see what and where we can change things if necessary

Thanks for the congrats btw, really looking forward to getting it and going on the first outing

Al

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[zac]

Was their any reason why you didn’t have Mick fit the solar and inverter? and if I may ask how much solar have you had fitted by Eddie and which controller has been used?

The table in this one actually folds on half, I get what you say regarding being awkward getting past but when folded and slid over to the passenger side it leaves quite a gap to get past.

We’ll try it out initially and see what and where we can change things if necessary

Thanks for the congrats btw, really looking forward to getting it and going on the first outing

Al

At the time i didn't realise they did anything else and i would certainly recommend them to anyone based on my experience and after sales support. We had 150w solar fitted to ours which is more than enough with 2 x 100ah lithium batteries, the controller was a victron mppt. We had a pure sinewave inverter fitted as well which is useful as it controls all the sockets in the motorhome when switched on.

Looks as though yours has had quite a few upgrades from ours which is nice, lithium is now standard along with iNet system which is very handy according to the specs.

 

[Al n Val]

At the time i didn't realise they did anything else and i would certainly recommend them to anyone based on my experience and after sales support. We had 150w solar fitted to ours which is more than enough with 2 x 100ah lithium batteries, the controller was a victron mppt. We had a pure sinewave inverter fitted as well which is useful as it controls all the sockets in the motorhome when switched on.

Looks as though yours has had quite a few upgrades from ours which is nice, lithium is now standard along with iNet system which is very handy according to the specs.

Thanks for the info

Do you or anyone know which alarm/tracker its been fitted with, the info i'm getting from Brownhills is

Sentinel Thatcham Alarm (Cat 1) and Thatcham Tracker (Cat 6) inc 1 Year Subscription for motorhomes over 7 metres. This means you will have an app which will allow you to track the position of the vehicle.

 

[zac]

Can't help with that I am afraid as I never went for their alarm as I knew which alarm I wanted based on the previous motorhome ie Growled Alarm from vanbitz.

 

[rosalan]

I bought my present van from Brownhills, fully knowing their past history. From the outset they have demonstrated to me the highest standards of professionalism. Every addition we required was fitted as it should be. Their after sales warranty was backed up by a guarantee that owing partly to Covid they continued to honour two years beyond that initially described. On the few occasions when things have not worked as expected, a phone call from home or overseas was answered by someone who demonstrated a full understanding of my motorhome and left me worry free. Would I buy again from Brownhills; absolutely.
Several years ago I know they had dreadful backup to many queries re engineering and other problems, I have spoken to several people who were tarnished by frankly poor service. This is no longer true based on my own experience.
They are not the cheapest dealer for after warranty work I believe but I cannot fault the standard of their workmanship and customer relations.

 

[Al n Val]

Just an update

So we picked the van up on 5th Jan, well actually we slept in it at Brownhills over night to try to familiarise ourselves, the handover was very extensive but that much to take in most of it went in one ear and out t’other.

Next morning we had an “on the house breakfast” before setting off straight to SAP in Doncaster, I actually drove it on trade plates as it’s not being registered until March 1st so it’ll be on a 22 plate.

So far the EP levellers with the new touchscreen controller and new front suspension has been fitted, 450 watts of solar with Victron MPPT controller, Victron 30a dc to dc charger, Gandel 3kw inverter with auto change over relay, battery master, Truma Aventa aircon and it’s already got Inet fitted so I can remotely control that and the Alde heating.

Can’t wait now for March 1st and start using it, we’ll probably stop in the UK for a week or so to make sure it’s all working and to get my head around it before pointing it south, it’s been hinted we may go to Croatia or over that way as it’ll be out first venture heading east rather than southwest.

On a different note, has anyone with an i1090 got a wind out awning, if so which size have you gone for as I’ve been recommended a 5.5 mtr one, also anyone got a 12v motorised one and any downsides to it.

Al

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[Lenny HB]

we took quite a few but the ones on the Rapido website look much nicer



the one we have purchased has more or less every factory extra you can choose, all the packs have been fitted and a few more added extras on top

I’ll be having a word with Mick at SAP regarding air suspension as well and now looking at Solar.

I have 240w on the Comanche but looking at about 300w with Victron Smart controller. I’ll also be having a Victron DC to DC charger fitted as well.

Surprisingly their is physically no room on the roof to have another 85cm dish installed so that will be sold if the Comanche doesn’t sell privately. With streaming I doubt the dish will be missed, or that’s what i’m hoping.

I’ve just been thinking as well, you fill the Gaslow system on the drivers side and diesel on the other, what’s that about

Apart from Alde heating everywhere there is a Webasto diesel heater which is plumbed into the main diesel tank, I think it’s mounted somewhere underneath as wel,l rather than inside the hab area, much better hopefully.

We’ve never had Alde heating but heard good things about it so something else to look forward to.

Another little feature, we find a switch just below the sink area at the side of the pull out cupboard, this operates the internal central locking of all the cupboards and draws, how posh is that lol.

Can’t wait to get it now if i’m honest and test it all out

Al

Sounds nice, hope you enjoy it.
Just wondering why needed the Victron B2B normally if the van has a smart alternator the converter fits a B2B.
I take it you have Lithium with a 3k inverter.

 

[Al n Val]

Sounds nice, hope you enjoy it.
Just wondering why needed the Victron B2B normally if the van has a smart alternator the converter fits a B2B.
I take it you have Lithium with a 3k inverter.

Hi Lenny

I'm just belt n braces regards the B2B , I took it off the Comanche as its only a few months old so fitting it back onto the new van

The Rapido has dual Lithiums already fitted so good to go but if I’m honest the inverter will only get used when we are not on ehu and using the missus’s low wattage hair dryer, toaster and kettle brought from the Comanche which worked fine using the inverter.

I need to get the 2 operations I’m waiting for behind me first though before venturing out

 

[Andreac]

Al n val

Can I ask why the delay between purchasing the van in October and collecting in January, the reason being we have purchased an 896F from Brownhills last November but due to no CoC being available we will not be able to collect the van until the end of February beginning of March (that is assuming that the CoC will be available then)

 

[Al n Val]

Al n val

Can I ask why the delay between purchasing the van in October and collecting in January, the reason being we have purchased an 896F from Brownhills last November but due to no CoC being available we will not be able to collect the van until the end of February beginning of March (that is assuming that the CoC will be available then)

hi Andrea
we sealed the deal in October and put down a deposit in the understanding that I didn’t want it until 2022 so it was registered in 2022, we had the Comanche so weren’t without a motorhome.

it was arranged that the first available day would be Jan 5th after the christmas break would be the day, i’ve since had news that i’m needing 2 operations in early 2022 so asked Brownhills if I paid for it inc the px on Jan 5th, so took it to SAP to get all the work done on it, that would give me time to get it done in time for March 1st to get it on a 22 plate whilst waiting for the op’s.

I’m seeing 2 consultants tomorrow and thursday this week so i’m hopeful i’ll be sorted very soon, a double hernia and a new total right hip replacement I'm looking forward to not.

BTW what does CoC mean

 

[Andreac]

Thanks for your reply. The CoC is the Certificate of Conformity - without this Brownhills can't register it with the DVLA. Really frustrating just hoping it does come through for end Feb. Just can't really understand why it didn't come with the van. Believe its dealer wide on a mark 8 cab. Hope the ops go ok. Thanks again.

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[Ditcha]

On a different note, has anyone with an i1090 got a wind out awning, if so which size have you gone for as I’ve been recommended a 5.5 mtr one, also anyone got a 12v motorised one and any downsides to it.

Al

Hi Al,
Exciting times all those manuals you will have to read it's the best bit.
Re motorised awning I would go with Thule as they have a better motor than Fiamma as they us 12v and Thule use 240v Nice shutter tube motors much better and stronger.You have your inverter so no problems powering it when off grid.
I fitted the kit onto our manual Thule but not much of a price difference to purchase already with motor.

 

[Al n Val]

Hi Al,
Exciting times all those manuals you will have to read it's the best bit.
Re motorised awning I would go with Thule as they have a better motor than Fiamma as they us 12v and Thule use 240v Nice shutter tube motors much better and stronger.You have your inverter so no problems powering it when off grid.
I fitted the kit onto our manual Thule but not much of a price difference to purchase already with motor.

Hi Dave

I didn’t know that so good advice, thanks and it’s something I’ll look into

Staying with the awning, I was told that if it’s fitted by Brownhills, SAP, Thule or whoever, if they don’t use the supplied by Rapido adhesive which only has a shelf life of 4 weeks, then Rapido will render the motorhomes warranty as being voided.

Has anyone else heard this, is it true or just scaremongering and from a legality POV is it actually enforceable does anyone know.
Al

 

[Ditcha]

Thule supply fitting kits for most vans think this is the one for yours looks like it could be bonded.

Thule Omnistor awning adapter Rapido Distinvtion Roof 4,50m | Gimeg

With a good awning you can relax in the shade next to your camper or caravan. Thule offers a wide range of adapters for perfect mounting of the Omnistor awnings. This adapter for the Rapido Distinction camper can be used to mount a series 6 Thule awning on the roof of a motorhome. Awning...

www.gimeg.nl

 

[Al n Val]

So carrying on with the wind out awning scenario, i'm having fitted a motorised 5mtr Thule awning.

question for you lot

i've got a Kampa AIR Pro 390 XXL blowup awning which usually slides into the Thule wind out awning rail and then I used to wind it back in manually, the motor on the new awning is a 12v one, do you think this motor will cope with pulling the weight of the awning, obviously we'll try to take to weight off the awning rail as it retracts by lifting the Kampa awning up but this ageing body of mine tbh is knackered .

What do you guys n gals think, is it doable or am I wasting my time

Al

 

[Ditcha]

So carrying on with the wind out awning scenario, i'm having fitted a motorised 5mtr Thule awning.

question for you lot

i've got a Kampa AIR Pro 390 XXL blowup awning which usually slides into the Thule wind out awning rail and then I used to wind it back in manually, the motor on the new awning is a 12v one, do you think this motor will cope with pulling the weight of the awning, obviously we'll try to take to weight off the awning rail as it retracts by lifting the Kampa awning up but this ageing body of mine tbh is knackered .

What do you guys n gals think, is it doable or am I wasting my time

Al

AL I would go for the 9200 or 8000 series on larger awning with 230v motor ( roller shutter tube motor) you get a hand remote control were you have full control over opening and closing, not sure about the 12v version but think they just have a rocker switch to open and close not a remote.

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