1996 duetto

Since I joined the forum yesterday I have looked at some non-Duetto Autosleepers and (online) at younger models of the Duetto and have come to the conclusion that I like the one I've got best.  

However, apart from some minor problems which could be fixed (blind rollers not working, one or two interior lights on the blink (literally), my van does have more serious problems: the main one being rust (it's a Ford Transit) in all the usual places - doors, bumpers, wheel arches, but also some in the panelling; the garage man says there is quite a bit of welding underneath though I haven't seen that myself.  

The other major issue is if I take a bend too fast (and that doesn't necessarily mean very fast - just too fast for this van) it feels as if it's going to fall over.  The garage man says that could be repaired, costing £1000.00 but, he says, if it was his van, he wouldn't bother doing repairs to it. Once when I had to brake sharpish there was a worrying noise somewhere below the drivers seat, but it seems it is just a spring that is loose and it is safe enough - maybe that is the cause of the "falling over" issue? 

Having seen some websites singing the praises of the Duetto and Ford Transits including older models I am now in a quandary  - should I replace the van I've got with the same model but one in better condition, or repair this one, which I am attached to?  For how long would repairs keep it going and how much expense is sensible?  All opinions and advice will be gratefully received!  (Sorry to ramble on!  )

Hi, personaly i would get a second opinion, it sounds like your garage man is'nt too keen on taking on the work.

Dave

At the end of the day it is your money and you know what you can afford,

The first van I looked at a Trophy had a lot of rust was told not to go down that route as once you start it`s an ever ending pay out plus off the road instead of getting out in it, much better to pay more on another van than keep battling with rust, just advice I was given and pleased I didn`t go down that route, it is up to the individual if I was in a position to do repairs myself that might be a different matter but when I have to pay for someone else to do it that becomes expensive. which I couldn`t afford.

Hope you decide what is the best way forward to you, good luck.

Best wishes,
Margaret.

PS there are lots of good vans out there, so if it was me I would weigh up the cost of having the repairs done and bearing in mind future repairs as once the worm enters it is never ending, or calling it a day and start afresh. You would get money back on yours even if only in spares, so that would help.
Margaret

We are in a similar position and as far as I can tell it is mainly the wings that need doing , our van is worth about £8000 and will still be worth the same in a few years so spending £1000 on 4 new wings is worth it as there is nothing we like that would not cost considably more. See my other thread about duetto repairs . I have sent the garage in stoke some pictures and hope to get a quote next week. 4 new wings and a new rear door cost about £300 the rest is labour .

We had our 1999 Duetto from 2004 to 2006. The rust issues were sorted and (I've just checked) it is still insured for road use. We had two new pairs of rear springs and I never noticed handling problems when one was broken.

We did have major handling issues when I renewed the tyres. A call to the new tyre manufacturers (en- route on the M6) and a call at the next service station to add 5 psi to each tyre cured the problem.

Peter Brown wrote:We had our 1999 Duetto from 2004 to 2006.  The rust issues were sorted and (I've just checked) it is still insured for road use.  

It's worth the OP bearing this in mind and i can relate a similar experience though involving a much older model! My first van was a 1993 swb Transit camper converted by Leisuredrive. I took a big gamble on it as when i bought it, it had failed it's MOT so i got it fairly cheap. Spent £500 on welding which got it through MOT and on the road. I ran that van for almost six years before selling it......for £2.5k more than i'd paid for it! That van is still registered and on the road today! 

jennyandpeter wrote:We are in a similar position and as far as I can tell it is mainly the wings that need doing , our van is worth about £8000 and will still be worth the same in a few years so spending £1000 on 4 new wings is worth it as there is nothing we like that would not cost considably more. See my other thread about duetto repairs . I have sent the garage in stoke some pictures and hope to get a quote next week. 4 new wings and a new rear door cost about £300 the rest is labour .

Glad to hear Jenny & Peter. Let me know how you go on with Ian. He will give you an estimate on that but once he see's your van will give a firm quote figure which would be fixed. He did some work on my Duetto (crack to upper edge of doors between front quarter light and window plus rusting to bottom edge of one rear door).

I'd agree with getting a second opinion, possibly combined with taking a close look yourself. My late 90's Transit was very crusty around the wheelarches and on the panel below the water heater, but went examined underneath turned out to be completely rust-free in all the structural areas - if yours is like that you would be well advised to get the cosmetics done as it should be good for many more years.

If on the other hand there is rust near to any of the suspension mounting points or on the bulkhead/inner wheel arches at the front it may well be best to move it on and accept that you may lose a bit of money on it.

Definitely check the tyre pressures - as already said, a relatively small amount of under-inflation can make the handling feel really bad. Shock absorber replacement may help as a cheap thing to try as well, before you look at replacing springs.

Thanks all for your input.  A lot of pros and cons on both sides.  On the downside of doing repairs is the fact that not only the garage man, but the man at the yard where I keep the van wouldn't even look at it to give me an estimate for rust repairs - and the yard's main business is coachwork.  I think I will take fenderbender's and mojo's advice and get another opinion from a specialist.

macvanessa wrote:Thanks all for your input.  A lot of pros and cons on both sides.  On the downside of doing repairs is the fact that not only the garage man, but the man at the yard where I keep the van wouldn't even look at it to give me an estimate for rust repairs - and the yard's main business is coachwork.  I think I will take fenderbender's and mojo's advice and get another opinion from a specialist.

Don't be put off by that. The first van i had, i took it for an MOT knowing it would fail but needing to know on what etc, they told me it was "a scrapper" and not worth going any further with it. It needed a fair bit of welding work and they didn't want the work but at least gave me the name of an independent one man business. I took it to him, he looked at the work, gave me a firm quote did the job and got it back on the road with MOT. That was 12 years ago and that van is still on the road today!

Thanks Bulletguy - that is encouraging.  There is a place in Glasgow - Motorhome Repair Centre - I will probably take it up there next month when the main motorhoming season is finished.