Rapido Le Randonneur 870F

[RagmusII]

Can anyone please tell me what the MIRO of this motorhome should be in standard form. Rapido UK say they don't know and Rapido in France have not responded to my three emails asking this question. I took it over a weighbridge with a full tank of diesel and everything else empty and it came out at 3380kg. Its plated MTPLM is 3500kg. Can someone please be more helpful than Rapido

[Randonneur]

Rapido are probably on holiday at the moment.

[RagmusII]

Thanks, will try again next week

[Jontee]

Holidays last for the whole of August,try in September

[Brian Kirby]

RagmusII - 2010-08-14 10:47 PM Can anyone please tell me what the MIRO of this motorhome should be in standard form. Rapido UK say they don't know and Rapido in France have not responded to my three emails asking this question. I took it over a weighbridge with a full tank of diesel and everything else empty and it came out at 3380kg. Its plated MTPLM is 3500kg. Can someone please be more helpful than Rapido

Seems they were made 2001/2.  The 2002 catalogue from Rapido's archive gives MAM (PTAC) 3,500kg and MIRO (Poids a vide) of 3220.  Some payload!  With fitted options, it seems your weighbridge is probably not far wrong.  See here: http://tinyurl.com/39f2to8  Have you checked what the VIN plate says about the axle loadings?  These should give a clue as to what the chassis really is.

Rapido state that the van is on a maxi chassis.  That may mean it can be re-plated to back 3850kg, having been downplated by Rapido to 3,500kg, because at that time French drivers could not drive vehicles heavier than 3,500kg, unless they held a full HGV licence.  If you give the VIN to a Fiat commercial dealer or authorised workshop, they may be able to tell you whether the chassis is up to the heavier specification.  If it is, reinstating its original rating should be fairly straightforward, but you would need to check and verify that inadequate tyres have not since been fitted.  It may be that SV Tech can tell you what the chassis is, but I'd be a bit inclined to get the answer, initially, from Fiat, so that you have the authorised version first. 

You will get some advantage from re-plating even if the chassis is a 3,500kg MAM chassis, but how much practical advantage that may gain is open to doubt, because even if the MAM is increased, the individual axle limits are much more expensive to upgrade, and without this being done (but subject to what the VIN plate says), the practical gain is not that great.

Good luck.

[derekfaeberwick]

 I'm pretty sure that there will be plenty axle weight tolerance if, and it's a big if, you don't get an increase on axle weights as well as gross weight.

  Running with such a small payload then probably you would benefit from an increase to 3,880kg which is likely to be the max without physical alterations.

  If you passed your car test after 1997 then you will need a LGV licence though.

[RagmusII]

Thank you Brian. Your information was most helpful so replating seems that way to go if possible. We (my wife and I) had our first weekend away in the motorhome and really enjoyed it. Just want to get the weights right.

 

Thanks again,

 

Kind regards,

 

Ian & Pam (AKA Ragmus II)

[derekfaeberwick]

Have a look here, it's quite simple to follow and highlights the pitfalls as well as the advantages of upping your gross weight in non jargon talk.

http://www.svtech.co.uk/motorhomes.html

[RagmusII]

Thanks for the info I will pursue the link for the procedure for replating. The current challenge is with the DVLA as although I passed my driving test in 1969 on returning to the UK 4 years ago after living in Australia for a while the DVLA have only given me a B licence. Ironic really as in Australia I had a HGV licence and drove 12 tonne fire engines.

Who said retirement was boring?

[Wingpete]

I am similary situated regarding the PHGV licence and DVLA who have removed it from the renewed licence. Now have to take another medical for fitness to drive, which has not changed in the past 3 years, when I had my first age related licence renewed. I also drove fire engines of all kinds, but as a much younger man than I want to be today !

[JohnsCrossMotorHomes]

Be warned it is a nightmare getting the C1 back if you have diabetes or any form of angiopasty (stents)

 

I have two stents in my groin for the blood supply to my legs, got the heart and blood pressure of a twenty year old, but not the libido! :'(

 

Cut a long story short it took me eight months to get it back, if you want to communicate with DVLA forget the phone, useless, use email and they answer back very quickly

 

Peter

[tonyishuk]

RagmusII - 2010-08-14 10:47 PM

 

Can anyone please tell me what the MIRO of this motorhome should be in standard form. Rapido UK say they don't know

 

Rapido UK seem to be Brownhills (Bless'm) If you are in the south of the country try Wokingham Motorhomes. They have always been very helpful to me on obscure Rapido questions I manage to raise with them.

 

http://www.rapidomotorhomes.com/html/contact_us.html

 

Rgds