Ford Transit 2.0 TD 130 HP 2018 year

Jul 22, 2019
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Hi folk, Looking for feed back please on performance of this chassis / running gear used in Roller Team Builds as well as many other makes.
How reliable are these vehicles and in particular keen to received comments from owners who have driven these vehicles into 50 - 75,000 KM plus. Compared to Fiat Ducato which is the better vehicle please?
The 130 HP is not high in engine torque for 6 speed Auto at 3.500 KM max weight.
What motor is used in the motorhomes in 2018 as I find Ford had 3 motors used at that time. Was there a better motor out of the three?
Many thanks folk. Hope you can help me with some guidance as I have been offered 1 with 37,000 KM and currently due to our lock down I am unable to view and or test drive prior to placing a hold deposit while we get through the virus situation.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Hello Riki,

As I am sure you know, all the vehicles you have mentioned are fundamentally commercial base units, so for information about reliability you would get a lot of information from commercial sites.

I'm sure there will be many motorhomers who will have personal experiences, but its most likely they will be about just one vehicle rather than a spread of current vehicles. Be wary about reports on forums, as its human nature to write about faults, but not when things work properly, so you are likely to see more negative views than positives, and that might give in inappropriate bias for or against certain models.

I strongly suggest you do not place any sort of deposit on a motorhome until you have had the opportunity to fully inspect it first. If you are still interested, just as with caravans it is sensible to have it independently checked by professional (there are several independent mobile caravan & motorhome service engineers) who should give you an unbiased review of the vehicle - Money well spent if it picks up on any issue that is not obvious to an inexperienced purchaser.

No honest seller will object to you having it independently inspected, If they do object, it should be a warning they may be trying to hide something.

If there is anything that does concern you (or the professional) I'd suggest look elsewhere, becasue there will be plenty of examples on the market.
 
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Jul 22, 2019
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Hello Riki,

As I am sure you know, all the vehicles you have mentioned are fundamentally commercial base units, so for information about reliability you would get a lot of information from commercial sites.

I'm sure there will be many motorhomers who will have personal experiences, but its most likely they will be about just one vehicle rather than a spread of current vehicles. Be wary about reports on forums, as its human nature to write about faults, but not when things work properly, so you are likely to see more negative views than positives, and that might give in inappropriate bias for or against certain models.

I strongly suggest you do not place any sort of deposit on a motorhome until you have had the opportunity to fully inspect it first. If you are still interested, just as with caravans it is sensible to have it independently checked by professional (there are several independent mobile caravan & motorhome service engineers) who should give you an unbiased review of the vehicle - Money well spent if it picks up on any issue that is not obvious to an inexperienced purchaser.

No honest seller will object to you having it independently inspected, If they do object, it should be a warning they may be trying to hide something.

If there is anything that does concern you (or the professional) I'd suggest look elsewhere, becasue there will be plenty of examples on the market.
Hello Many thanks for your well advised comments. Your are so right thou, we have to be careful with general comments and or complaints on many forums albeit the posters are often well intended.
We will have an independent mechanical assessment completed if buying used regardless of Km's traveled.

I have lost touch with the modern vehicles and their proven performance issues good and bad. The other issue not helping us older folk, is the modern vesicles are not an easy fix by ourselves anymore.
Very much appreciate your kind help and I trust some others may like to comment from ownership experience etc.
Kind regards
John
 
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Whether this is relevant or not we were involved with a recently divorced friend choosing a campervan for herself. Involved three very long days at the NEC and a lot of research. Eventually settled on a Benimar Tessoro which is Ford Transit based. One of the deciding factors was that the Transit has a 170 BHP engine whereas the Peugeot/Citroën are 130 to 150 BHP (180 for the rare 3.0 litre and the chassis Ford supply to the coach builders is designed specifically for the purpose, not just a standard chassis/cab off the production line.
 
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Jul 22, 2019
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Hello
Tuningdrew
Thanks for your comments and help.
The motor specs finally were made available to me and your correct the Ford has the higher Torque . 3 different motors used down under.

However we have a holding deposit of a Dethleffs 2018 on a Fiat Chassis 6 speed Auto 130 HP motor. Only traveled 17,K M. As soon as we are free from lock down ( another 2 weeks for us oldies) we will; travel 70 KM to view and test drive etc etc and finalize the deal or no deal. The Fiats are extremely popular down here as they are in UK and Europe. Reading the Fiat spec sheet today it states they too have specs to motorhome requirements. Often nice sales words to attract us all I am sure.
Motorhomes are sell well at present with a number of deals down off site etc so we needed to move quickly
Cheers
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Hi again,
In your last comment you hint that your not in the UK.
Whilst my previous comments do stand, I think you should also bear in mind that reliability information about EU models may be different to other parts of the globe, as different specifications may apply to suit local regulations, and many manufacturer's may use more local assembly plants, and their products may be built with different levels of care.

Go carefully
 
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Jul 22, 2019
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Hello
ProfJohnL
The Dethliffs range of caravans and motorhomes are imported direct from manufacture New or UK Europe in used state.
Been in NZ for a long time and some of the manufactures dealers I know personally.
I was involved in Tour and city bus manufacturing for many years and in the later we moved into motorhomes etc Much of that industry in NZ has changed due mainly to access to Europe and many manufactures who can put their builds on the yard in NZ for a fraction of a typical NZ or Australian build cost.
From my reading I see Dethliffs do have a spec for Europe and a different one for UK etc . I have seen these differences also when reviewing some used vehicles on offer both in NZ and the UK so your point is spot on and again appreciated thanks.
All the best.
 
Oct 12, 2016
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The different spec may also be due to the side of the vehicle the habitation door is on. Typically European vehicles and Caravans have had the door on the right side of the vehicle viewed from behind whereas UK manufactured vehicles doors are on the left.
 
Jul 22, 2019
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Hi Tuningdrew. Yes that's certainly one of the changes for both caravans and motorhome's imported from Europe to NZ. So we have many with habitation doors on the drivers side. The one we are looking at has the door on the drivers side. Way back in the early days of such vehicles being imported us Kiwis argued about the door being on the wrong side. Now it is well accepted.
I did a registration search yesterday which told me what I needed to check along with a lot of other interesting detail. Just over 1680 of the exact model imported to date and our's is 681st Import. Shipped in from Italy and first registered in the world with 251 KM on it 30th August 2018.
All the very best and stay well.
 

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