Rapido 600FF motorhome

[Stewart Hendry]

Hi all, If there is anyone out there who has owned one of these vans can you please advise how you found it for storage and quality. Obviously it is only a small van (6metres) but there is a 630kg payload.

 

Many thanks

 

 

[sandalwood]

We own 776ff, no problem with weight. We fully packed ( I suitcase in garage for Madam) 90% water, had it weighed with us both in it, 40 kgs left. She advised do not carry full tank water. I would put your suggested things in ( like the wife) go to council weighing station and have it weighed. Our did front axle, back axle all on and gave us weight. France is notorious for weighing MH if over LARGE fine. Good luck

[Keithl]

Sandalwood,

 

I have edited your post for you, but for info you have 30 minutes after posting to edit your own post.

 

Keith (assistant mod).

[Stewart Hendry]

Thanks for your reply. I was hoping that someone who has a 600ff could let e know their experiences in getting all the stuff we carry into such a small space. The payload is not an issue but thanks again for your info.

Regards, Stewart

[Brian Kirby]

Stewart, the problem you are presenting lies with accommodating the stuff you carry. Our problem is that none of us knows what stuff you carry, so we can't offer you much help!

 

I don't have a similar van to the 600FF, so can't answer factually about it, but it was a somewhat quirky van with apparently limited storage space but a fair payload. It seems it didn't catch on, as it was only introduced in 2014 and is no longer on offer, having apparently been supplanted by the 604. That being the case, I suspect you may not find another owner that readily.

 

If you haven't yet seen a 600FF "in the flesh" it might be worth doing so, and giving it a thorough appraisal, before getting too excited about buying! Rapido quality is general well regarded, though I get the impression that there may have been issues with the electrically lowered/elevated bed on this model.

[Stewart Hendry]

Thank you Brian. The van is a long way from our base and last night I received lots more pics from the seller which confirms my feelings that the storage is too limited. We have looked at the 604 hoping it was comparable but it isn't.

We swapped from motorhoming to caravan some 6 years ago but are now looking at switching again so the hunt is now on for something suitable. The quest will keep us occupied for sometim.

 

Thanks again, Stewart

[veletron]

Hi

 

I looked at these a few times down at highbridge. Nice van, well build, lovely lounge, but yes, limited storage. The issue is that the lockers on the under-led section have to be small so the bed can be lowered, and so that you cannot overload the bed lowering mechanism. The toilet/shower was great, but there was no wardrobe to speak of, as the bathroom wardrobe opened into the external vertical storage hatch.

 

Externally, the vertical ski locker was great, but squeezing in a mix of long and short items (eg external front screen, water carrier, outdoor chairs) less than easy due to its vertical nature.

 

In the kitchen, full height fridge, but the oven robbed serious space and left me wondering where all the grub would go.

 

There are several other marques doing a similar layout with the vertical 'ski locker'. Check out the Benimar Mileo 202 - better storage and manages to retain most of a 'wardrobe', but no spare wheel. Also the Chausson flash/welcome 510 (ruled out, no oven), roller team T-Line 590 (MMM reviewed this) Burstner Ixeo 640, and the older 'time' models, and swift escape 614.

 

I looked at most of these - thought the Benimar was the best bet, did not think much of the build quality of either the Chasson or roller-team, the Burstner was too expensive, and the swift had by big no-no - underslung fresh tanks. The benimar had the best spec, best price and best build quality of the sub 45K options. On the swift, benimar and rollerteam, the external locker was IIRC) compromised by the internal wardrobe.

 

In the end I decided that the whole 'only bed is a drop down bed' was not for me - it did not enable too folks in the van to goto bed at different times or even to get away from one-another!

 

If you can find one, take a look at the Rapido 643 - this was last manufactured in 2014, its 6.5M with a good sized double over a garage, L-shaped kitchen, decent sized fridge, separate shower/toilet either side of the isle, good storage and 3'rd berth in the lounge. Its also available with a drop down lounge single bed. I liked this, flew down to Highbridge from Scotland with the aim of buying it. Unfortunately, the previous owners had not looked after it (bits hanging off, holes in the floor), and dealer was unwilling to do what I considered a reasonable deal based on condition. It was only a year old, but looked older. Walked away. I thought this to be a good van with very few compromises - the lounge was small, but certainly bigger than the half dinette in todays fixed bed van conversions - if it had not been for the failure to do the deal/poorly looked after nature of the van, I would have bought it. 650FF is the closest new equiv, rapido seems to have given up on transverse doubles over garages which is a shame.

 

Ultimately, I had to ask myself 'why a coachbuilt' - with all the hassles it would create parking and getting down the end of the narrow glens I love to visit - went and bought another PVC (again from highbridge) Campereve 643 (Rapido V55). Its been great, but would not suit folks that spend alot of time in their van - I go places with the view to abandoning the van during daylight hours to go cycling/walking.

 

Nigel

 

[Stewart Hendry]

Thank you so much for taking the time to do such a comprehensive reply which has given me much food for thought.

 

The search goes on taking note of your guidance.

 

Kind regards

 

[Derek Uzzell]

If you want a new Rapido that’s short (sub-6m) and has a reasonable amount of storage you’d probably need to choose the 803F A-class model.

 

http://www.rapido-motorhome.co.uk/motorhome_a-class_serie-8f_803f.chtml

 

Even then I’m not sure how the model would ‘work’ in practice - especially the strange hinge-down washbasin in the toilet compartment.

 

Rapido has a long history of slightly weird design, where novel models are introduced (often with great acclaim in motorhome magazines) but are then discontinued by Rapido not long afterwards. I assume that either they don’t sell well or the designers come up with some even more bloody-minded ideas to try!