penny56 Posted June 18, 2013 Share Posted June 18, 2013 Can anyone offer any comments about or advice on the Rapido 990 MHV on a 3 litre Mercedes chassis? We would be really interested to hear of any experience that anyone has of this motorhome or a similar one. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Cannot answer on the Mercedes engineering side, but I am happy with the internal construction and durability of the fittings together with the external shell. Had two Rapidos (Fiat) and nothing too much has fallen off *-) Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penny56 Posted June 20, 2013 Author Share Posted June 20, 2013 Thanks very much for your helpful reply. We too have always had a Fiat and it have been really pleased with it. The MH we are looking at is on a 3 litre Merc and we have no experience of the Mercedes at all. Does anyone know whether it accelerates ok with a 5t motorhome? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Why don't you test drive it....not then sort of thing to buy blind based on Internet research.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Bry Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 We have no experience of a Rapido 990.However we do have a m/home on a Mercedes 416 chasis, 4 wheels on back axle and it has a Sprintshift auto box.We have had m/homes on different vehicle bases. Fiat's & Peugeot's in the main.This is the 1st Mercedes base vehicle we have had, and we are totally happy with it. We use it on a regular basis, for both short breaks and also touring abroad. Mainly tour Germany and it has not missed a beat.It also has good all round performance, no worries about driving on either country roads or motorways. sometimes I forget I am driving a largish van.That's our personal experience, others may have had a different experience with a Merc vehicle.Hope our view has been of use to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penny56 Posted June 21, 2013 Author Share Posted June 21, 2013 Thanks Thai Bry, that is really helpful. You can't beat talking to other motorhomes to get an honest opinion. .....And Judge Mental....ouch..... We would not consider buying a motorhome without test driving it however we are potentially spending an awful lot of hard earned money and a it's a very long drive to look at the vehicle, so a bit of Internet research seems like a very sensible approach to us. We love this forum and the generous help and advice given by other motorhomes. We also love all the lively discussion topics and friendly banter - thanks folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penny56 Posted June 21, 2013 Author Share Posted June 21, 2013 Hi Thai Bry, Is your motorhome on a new (ish) Mercedes? I only ask because yesterday a delivery driver told me that the engine computer on the new Mercedes is too clever by half. Apparently it is causing all sorts of problems by being over sensitive and coming up with error messages that can then only be cleared by a mechanic at the Merc garage with a key - he said that his screen washer fluid ran out and the van threw up an error message but didn't indicate what the problem was. He had to take his van to the nearest Merc dealer to have the problem diagnosed and have the error message cleared - he said that the older Merc. he had previously was 'spot on' and in his old van he would have worked out the washer fluid had run out when he pressed the button and no water came out! This would be a real nuisance if it happened in the middle of France and has put us off the newer Merc but we have consistently heard good things about the older models. We would be interested to know if anyone else has experienced this problem. Thanks again for your advice, it's very much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Bry Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 penny56 - 2013-06-21 8:41 AMHi Thai Bry,Is your motorhome on a new (ish) Mercedes? I only ask because yesterday a delivery driver told me that the engine computer on the new Mercedes is too clever by half. Apparently it is causing all sorts of problems by being over sensitive and coming up with error messages that can then only be cleared by a mechanic at the Merc garage with a key - he said that his screen washer fluid ran out and the van threw up an error message but didn't indicate what the problem was. He had to take his van to the nearest Merc dealer to have the problem diagnosed and have the error message cleared - he said that the older Merc. he had previously was 'spot on' and in his old van he would have worked out the washer fluid had run out when he pressed the button and no water came out! This would be a real nuisance if it happened in the middle of France and has put us off the newer Merc but we have consistently heard good things about the older models. We would be interested to know if anyone else has experienced this problem.Thanks again for your advice, it's very much appreciated.Hi PennyOur Merc was bought brand new in 2008, so technically it is not the new model which was launched recently.It is the 5 pot engine which local Merc garage says is no longer made, but they considered to be the best balanced engine they had in that range.Not too many electronic gizzmos on it. i.e. if it was out of windscreen fluid there is light that comes on in the instrument panel, thats all. There are a few extra warning lights on ours such as the ESP. Also warning alarm that comes on if the step is still deployed when you start the engine, but i can retract the step from the drivers seat. You say its a long way to see the vehicle, looking at your location, tells me it could be at a dealers or is it a private sale?Hope the above is of use to you. Happy to be of further help if I can, you can send me an e mail to my private e mail address rather than the forum e mail one, I can then answer any further questions if i am nit on the forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penny56 Posted June 22, 2013 Author Share Posted June 22, 2013 Thanks very much Thai Bry, that is really helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1942 tony Posted July 4, 2013 Share Posted July 4, 2013 hello, i own a model 990mhv on 3lt merc plus auto g/box 5 ton chassis,if you would like any info please contact me via phone at 01977 703374 . had lots of problems with rapido but still like it a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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