tonyfletcher Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Hi, I wanting any information regarding the experiences in owning and running the Rapido 9048df. I am considering this model as my next purchase and any info good or bad would be appreciated It will be a fairly new model we are considering, but not brand new. Vies on the different engine size, weights and Auto Transmission would be very welcome Cheers Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libby Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Ours is the 987M. I'm not familiar if yours is similar, but there's no snags with this one, and you will not find many in the s/h pages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinC Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Hi Tony, We purchased our Rapido 9048 towards the end of 2007. It is on the 3,500kg chassis and has the 2.3 litre (130) engine (manual gearbox). We like it very much . It is our second Rapido; we had covered over 55,000 miles in 6 and 1/2 years in the previous one virtually trouble free. Although we looked at a lot of other models, really the layout of this van and the quality of Rapido construction meant that in the end it was an easy decision to make. On the road it is easy to drive and smooth and quiet in forward gears. If you have been following the other forum threads you will know about the reversing problems. For such a substantial vehicle the fuel consumption at between 26 - 27 to the gallon when cruising at about 60 mph seems not bad, but it gets thirsty over 60 mph. Although there is plenty of power you will find that a fair amount of gear changing is needed in hilly areas. The only real disappointments have been interior lighting and payload. The problem we have with the lights is that they are not very well positioned. However they were changed in the 2008 model; maybe now improved. When I weighed the van empty soon after purchasing I found that it was about 100kg over the brochure weight (but well within the plus/minus 5% that they allow). Although we can pack everything we would normally take, and we have 2 bikes, bike rack and Fiama awning, it has meant we are too close to the max weight to consider a second leisure battery or solar panel. I assume you will be aware that the Rapido, like most modern vans, doesn't come with spare wheel/tyre. Because of the weight issue I have compromised by carrying just a spare tyre, and it fits very snug in the underfloor locker. The exterior hatches to the underfloor locker proved to be very poorly sealed against road spray; but some 5mm rubber strips quickly made them watertight. I hope that is of assistance to you; but don't hesitate to ask further questions and I'll try and help. Best of luck Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huckleberry Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Hi Tony, I also bought a 9048 in late 2007 and agree with all of Colins points. In addition I have found that in very cold weather, 0 degrees and less the heater struggles to keep the lounge area comfortably warm. The single front outlet fails to get enough heat from the rear mounted Truma unit. In contrast the kitchen area and bathroom are very warm. Shutting off the rear vents makes little difference. I am considering putting another outlet at the front but it is not easy to route it there. Truma engineers are not impressed with the way that Rapido (and most other manufacturers) fit their heaters. The lighting can be improved. The lights over the two front seats is timed out after 15 minutes. This can be over come and then there are two reasonable reading lights. The kitchen and bathroom lights can be replaced by LED's and this has improved my van. I have been unable to improve on the Rapido lounge lights (poor as they are) and am left with some unused LED's. It was worth a try. There are only two mains sockets but an extra socket is cheap and easy to get fitted. The underfloor storage is difficult to access unless you enjoy getting down on your knees. Leaks from the roof mounted aerial are not unknown ! Despite the above points I love the van and will buy another - when Fiat have sorted out the gearbox. Huckleberry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doogy Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 Hi I have a Rapido 9096F with the same lighting issue as you mention. Can you tell me how you overcame the time-out issue associated with the front seat lighting please? Doogy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 As Huckleberry says, motorhome manufacturers are often adept at installing Truma combination heaters in a manner that rides roughshod over Truma's recommendations. A small caveat - care needs to be taken when heater-vents are closed off to try to improve heat distribution. C-Series appliances have four outlets and, depending on the model of heater, either three, or all four, outlets need to be functional. If you completely close off a heater air-trunk by shutting all the vents on that trunk, there's a risk that the heater will over-heat. In theory, if a C-Series heater is installed as Truma suggest, a similar amount of heat should go down each air-trunk. Of course, if (as was originally the case with my Hobby) three of the air-trunks feed the bathroom and adjacent bedroom, and just one trunk meanders to the front living area, balancing hot air distribution will be impossible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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