Windsor Rapid Owners

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.