Mel B Posted May 7, 2010 Share Posted May 7, 2010 Derek Uzzell - 2010-05-05 9:29 AM MEL B My 2005 Hobby also has pre-cabling for a tow bar (though the wiring doesn't dangle!) It only dangles a little .... well flops a bit really, not massively droopy or dangly! :D ... It might be worth you checking how easy it is to remove your Chausson's cab seats + swivel mechanisms, just in case you have to. The Hobby's swivels were held on by a mixture of Torx 30 and 40 fastenings and they were TIGHT. Will do - I'll get hubby to have a shuftie. If you envisage ever carrying out a DIY wheel change using the Ford-supplied equipment, check the Ford Transit manual for advice. You may well find that changing a rear wheel requires a special alloy 'block' to be placed beneath the jack to gain the necessary lifting height. On FWD Transit-based motorhomes this Ford-supplied block used to be stored within the standard spare wheel, but I don't know what happens when the vehicle comes without a spare wheel. I can't change the Hobby's rear wheels using the method recommended in the Transit manual as the Hobby's double rear springs prevent this. Your Chausson may be OK, but you'd be wise to confirm this. Good news on this score, at the weekend we managed to pick up at nice bright red 6 tonne bottle jack for £7 ... he was sat on the grass some 50ft away from his stall so we were haggling via hand signals, he wanted £10 originally but with frantic finger waggling (no rude gestures!) I got it to £8 ... eventually he returned and I then managed to barter him down to £7 as it was getting late and he wanted his lunch!!! :-D Might take a nice chunk of wood which I've got in our workshop though to go with it to be safe ... :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 8, 2010 Share Posted May 8, 2010 The VOSA comment about Relays/Boxers is interesting as it has come up before on this forum. See http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=18044&posts=18 and it's touched on in the Fiat-related ukcampsites thread I referred to earlier. I believe the 'assister' unit fitted to SEVEL vehicles is less extreme length-wise than the Transit one, so, on a FWD Transit-based coachbuilt motorhome (even an empty one), the assister is likely to be in continuous contact with the rear axle, whereas the shorter unit on empty SEVEL motorhomes may well retain sufficient clearance to satisfy a MOT-tester who takes an intransigent view of the bump-stop rule. It's possible that Reikiman has now managed to obtain a new MOT-test certificate from another test station, either by removing the assisters/bump stops or by finding a test station that takes a less black-or-white attitude to these units. If that's the case, then PM-ing Brian for the name of his VOSA contact and presenting VOSA's helpful statement to the Ford MOT-testing station that first tested the motorhome (and to Mr John Moss the senior MOT tester at Chadderton) might convince them that a refund of the original test fee would be appropriate. If that didn't work, then I suggest Reikiman insists that a warranty claim be submitted to Ford. Reikiman's AutoRoller is built on a special FWD Transit chassis provided by Ford only to motorhome manufacturers and the 'bump stops' that are being quibbled over are original unmodified Ford parts. If Reikiman's Ford dealership is claiming that the vehicle is unable to pass the UK's MOT-test because of a suspension-related 'fault' then, logically, rectification of such a 'fault' should be within the terms of the 3-year warranty that applies to all Ford Transits sold 'first retail' in the UK. This tactic should at least provoke some sort of reaction from Ford. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 8, 2010 Share Posted May 8, 2010 Good idea. In my initial contacts with Ford UK, their first reaction was to deny all knowledge of the platform cab variant of their chassis, as it is not sold in UK. They took a bit of persuading that a) their name is Ford, and b) the pan-national warranty given by Ford extends to platform cab variants, whether or not they are sold by Ford UK!Somewhere around 0.5/10 for responsiveness and customer focus, and about 12/10 for not invented here! A warranty claim seems richly deserved. Pillocks! :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 Regarding SEVEL-based (Citroen/Fiat/Peugeot) motorhomes, I came across an article ("Smooth Running") by John Wickersham in MMM December 2008 showing examples of bump-stops/assisters fitted to these vehicles' rear suspension. One photo (page 176) shows a unit that looks pretty similar to the Ford Transit part that's causing Reikiman MOT-test problems. This appears to be fitted to a reasonably recent Fiat chassis, but prior to the current X/250 version. Another photo (page 173) has a different design of 'bump stop', said to be fitted to a compact Swift Sundance (probably quite an elderly one), and, if anything was going to provoke a bump-stop-related MOT-test failure, you'd think this unit would do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Pan Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 I've just picked up this thread. I took my 2007 Ford/Hobby to my local Nationwide Autocentre for the first MOT 3 weeks ago, it passed without any comment about 'bump stops'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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