david1949 Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 Hi all i have a Hymer Van Silverline 562 on a Ford Transit and would like to downsize to a Rapido 600FF on a Fiat. But before i do and as i am not mechanically minded i need help First myTransit is 2.2 a 140 BHP engine and the Rapido has a Fiat 130 BHP engine that to me is 10 BHP less my Transit is a good hill climber and drives well i'm not up and down the gear box all the time so regards driving it i'm very happy with it. So what i would like to know is the Fiat 130 BHP engine a hill climber or have you to change gear every time you see a hill would it drive as well as my Transit. About 13 years i changed my motorhome and was so unhappy with it my hand was naver of the gear stick it wooden pull you out of bed bad buy i only kept it for 6 months so i don't want to end up in the same situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 Stating the blindingly obvious - have you test driven a van similar to the one you are considering buying? If yes - what was your impression and if no - perhaps that should be your priority as performance is subjective and what is slow for one person is adequate for another and even quite quick for another. Doing some research will help as the engine output factor that is far more relevant than BHP in a motorhome is torque and the higher the torque output and the lower the revs at which full torque is developed the better able to pull will be the vehicle - assuming gear rations, gross vehicle weight and wind resistance are broadly similar - so back to a good long test drive to ascertain if it works for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david1949 Posted July 2, 2014 Author Share Posted July 2, 2014 Yes i have had a test drive but a short test drive is a lot different from from doing a 100 mile run on all types of roads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 Personally I would want at least a half hour test drive on as many sorts of roads as possible in the area before forking out mega grands worth of my pension lump sum on any vehicle! What were your impressions on a short test drive compared with your own van when driven unladen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 You could try: https://www.fiatcamper.com/product/your_ideal_engine Answer a few simple questions and Fiat tell you what engine you should buy. I have the 130 on a 3.5 ton Hymer and it works fine for me although I liked the Austin Allegro and Morris Marina! I know a few owners with the 150 and they seem very satisfied with that. What will suit you will, not surprisingly, depend on your driving style and where you are likely to tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 The 130 Fiat is in my opinion much better than the Ford, it is a very good responsive engine and will haul a 3500kg fully loaded Motorhome with power to spare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 A Rapido 600FF is a fair bit shorter than a Hymer Van 562 but will be much the same weight in running order (around 2900kg). Besides 10 less maximum horsepower, the Fiat 130 motor is down on maximum torque compared to the Ford 140 powerplant (Fiat=320Nm, Ford= 350Nm). Logically, then it should be anticipated that a Rapido 600FF with the 130 motor will have less ultimate performance than a Van 562 with the 140 motor. Having said that, it's unlikely that a buyer of a Rapido 600FF with the 130 motor (a 150bhp motor is an option) would consider its on-road performance inadequate or that the amount of gear-changing required woud be much different from what's needed with the Hymer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvin marvin Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 david1949 - 2014-07-02 7:58 PM Hi all i have a Hymer Van Silverline 562 on a Ford Transit and would like to downsize to a Rapido 600FF on a Fiat. But before i do and as i am not mechanically minded i need help First myTransit is 2.2 a 140 BHP engine and the Rapido has a Fiat 130 BHP engine that to me is 10 BHP less my Transit is a good hill climber and drives well i'm not up and down the gear box all the time so regards driving it i'm very happy with it. So what i would like to know is the Fiat 130 BHP engine a hill climber or have you to change gear every time you see a hill would it drive as well as my Transit. About 13 years i changed my motorhome and was so unhappy with it my hand was naver of the gear stick it wooden pull you out of bed bad buy i only kept it for 6 months so i don't want to end up in the same situation. I'm in similar position, only looking to change from Fiat to Ford, just fed up with the regularly niggling, (generally) electrical faults. Off thread, does your van have a transverse or twin single beds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david1949 Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 starvin marvin - 2014-07-03 11:17 AM Yes it do it has transverse or twin single beds and 6.59m long with garage 2.2 /140BHP. david1949 - 2014-07-02 7:58 PM Hi all i have a Hymer Van Silverline 562 on a Ford Transit and would like to downsize to a Rapido 600FF on a Fiat. But before i do and as i am not mechanically minded i need help First myTransit is 2.2 a 140 BHP engine and the Rapido has a Fiat 130 BHP engine that to me is 10 BHP less my Transit is a good hill climber and drives well i'm not up and down the gear box all the time so regards driving it i'm very happy with it. So what i would like to know is the Fiat 130 BHP engine a hill climber or have you to change gear every time you see a hill would it drive as well as my Transit. About 13 years i changed my motorhome and was so unhappy with it my hand was naver of the gear stick it wooden pull you out of bed bad buy i only kept it for 6 months so i don't want to end up in the same situation. I'm in similar position, only looking to change from Fiat to Ford, just fed up with the regularly niggling, (generally) electrical faults. Off thread, does your van have a transverse or twin single beds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 starvin marvin - 2014-07-03 11:17 AM I'm in similar position, only looking to change from Fiat to Ford, just fed up with the regularly niggling, (generally) electrical faults. Google "transits electrical faults" ;-)....................They're not without their own issues :-|.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 We used to have a Chausson Flash 04 5.99m coachbuilt with a Ford Mk 7 base and 2.2 140bhp engine (previous to that we had a Rimor Sailer 645TC 7.14m coachbuilt on a Ford Mk 6 with a 2.4 140 bhp engine) and currently have an Autocruise Accent 6.00m panel van conversion based on the Fiat X250 2.3 140bhp. The Ford Mk 6 (floor mounted gear lever) was definitely improved on with the Mk 7 (dash mounted gear lever) as it was more refined although hubby did find he got shoulder ache sometimes as it was FWD so the steering was heavier than the Mk 6 which was RWD. The Fiat by comparison though is more car like to drive and quieter, it is also less tiring as the steering is much better weighted so no arm/shoulder ache, and the clutch is lighter. The Ford Mk7 definitely tramped away without a care in the world, probably a little bit better than the Fiat does, but that wasn't until we'd got a lot of miles on it (around 20k) so the Fiat may improve as we get nearer 20k as we're only at 13k at the moment, it could also be partly due to the fact that it was a lighter vehicle overall than our PVC by about 200kg so was always hauling less (it had a payload of 700kg as opposed to the PVC with 500kg). You really do need to have a very good test drive to see what you think but overall I doubt if you'll notice the difference in oomph at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Mel B - 2014-07-12 12:15 AM............currently have an Autocruise Accent 6.00m panel van conversion based on the Fiat X250 2.3 140bhp.................. Forgive me Mel but, just in the interests of clarity, I think you mean 130ps (or possibly 150) for your Fiat? This seems to have relevance for the OP's original question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.