Windsor Rapid Owners
Submitted: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 at 17:01
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Member - colin J (VIC)
Hi all,
One small problem i had with my van, (a 14' 6" off road Rapid) was the locking bar attached to the handles, started to wear away the aluminium section that it fastened behind. Now I'm sure this is due to the racking of the van as i travel over tracks and taking the van into areas that my better half says it wasn't designed for. (Now there's a topic for another day! )
If this hasn't happened on your van yet, i'm sure it will in due course. The rear end of any van acts as a brace, and as ours is a door it flexes and moves even on normal cornering and bends.
Other affects of this movement can be rubbing of the canvas between the two metal end panels which on
mine started to rub off the white coating on the ceiling panel.
To prevent the bar rubbing through the aluminium section i screwed a small metal plate across the damaged area (awkward to do but being a tradie, no probs !)
In time the bar actually wore through this plate.
Now i have fitted, to the bottom left and right hand corners of the lift up panel, clasps the same as the fasteners that hold down the roof. They securley hold the panel rigid and there is no flex or lateral movement, so overall the van is far stronger. (Now even more capable to go into more radical spots, but please don't tell the missus.!!)
Hope this helps with potential probs that may arise in the future.
Regards from Col.
Reply By: Johnny boy - Wednesday, May 30, 2007 at 17:58
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 at 17:58
Hi Col , thanx for the heads up even though I may have to read your post a couple of more times to know exactly what went bung I will go out the back and suss my van ( same as yours )
P.S how did your rear bar and wheel carrier hold up as Ive been told to keep an eye out for stress fractures and lose U bolts ??
Regards J.B.
AnswerID:
243544
Follow Up By: Member - colin J (VIC) - Wednesday, May 30, 2007 at 19:33
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 at 19:33
Hi jonny boy,
Yes it probably is hard to envisage where the problem is. When you turn the two handles at the rear to open the bed out, the handles turn rods which go behind the aluminium frame of the van to hold the end panel secure. That is where the bar rubs and will cause the panel to become looser (if thats a word). This allows more dust in around the canvas and as it wears the friction becomes greater and the problem increases. Is that any clearer Ha! Dificult to explain, sorry but i'm rapt with my solution as the van now more rigid. My spare wheel is carried underneath in a cradle and have had no probs with u bolts etc. The van is built so strong and considering what i've done with it, i've had no structural problems. Looking forward to the long w/end so we can hit the road again.
Regards from Col.
FollowupID:
504483
Reply By: chips59 - Wednesday, May 30, 2007 at 23:06
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 at 23:06
Hi colin,
had the same problem with
mine,(same as yours) i folded a piece of stainless and screwed it in. its fine now. have you had any other problems with you rapid and how old is it?
AnswerID:
243644
Reply By: Johnny boy - Thursday, May 31, 2007 at 07:35
Thursday, May 31, 2007 at 07:35
Hi Col , now I get it ,but I think
mine will be ok for a while as I only just bout it in october as for your spare wheel who put it under the van you or a dealer as I was thinking of doing the same thing with a landcruiser style chain and bracket , and have you got any other handy tips as Im all ears !!!!
P.S what yr mod is your van ?
cheers
John.
AnswerID:
243671
Reply By: Member - colin J (VIC) - Thursday, May 31, 2007 at 16:52
Thursday, May 31, 2007 at 16:52
Hi Chips 59 and Jonny Boy,
The dealer supplied the cradle for the spare wheel which fits underneath my van. Looking at it, it doesn't look like a one off, and would be sure that they could be purchased through your dealer, maybe ?
I bought my van in Feb 04 and if you click on my members rig and scroll down you can read about what i've done to it.
I always looked at the van and tried to see what i'ts weakest link would be, and then tried to remedy that. It is hard to fault the van, but as i did more off road stuff i occasionally bottomed out on the rear stays so ground them off, welded a plate in a higher position and rewelded the stays back on to that. Raised them roughly 50 to 60 mm. Just about flush with the vans frame. (just enough room to be able to wind them down.
I've just fitted the hyland hitch to it as previous set up would limit i'ts off road capability.
Otherwise just a great van.
Happy holidaying, Regards from Col.
AnswerID:
243777
Follow Up By: Member - colin J (VIC) - Thursday, May 31, 2007 at 18:31
Thursday, May 31, 2007 at 18:31
Ooops i forgot something, Old age i guess,
One other modification i did was replace the 7 leaf springs with 8 leaf ones as one of my original ones bent or partly collapsed. I replaced the first with a 7 but then after another 18 months another one went so on with the eights.
Regards from Col.
FollowupID:
504683