Hi from a Duetto owner

by Digby Sun Mar 09, 2014 9:04 pm

I've just joined in order to seek advice on bodywork repairs to our '96 Duetto. I live in the Welsh marches and have had the van for 9 nine years, mostly making trips to the Welsh coast and Snowdonia - so handy and unspoilt. We've gone over to France a few times and also made a trip to northern Spain on the Santander ferry, which we're doing again this summer.
Our Duetto has had a few changes to make things easier. We took out the single travel jump seat to make more room and with some changes to the cushions and adding a support panel that goes between the driver's seat and the bed when it's out, we now use the bed as a 4' x 6' from the drivers side. This leaves a decent gap between the bed and the sliding door to get dressed etc and access to the back (with the jump seat out of the way) meaning the bed doesn't get in the way so much when it's out.
I've changed all the spotlights to LED and after chucking the basket in the locker under the bench behind the drivers seat, I've put 2 more leisure batteries at the back of that locker, against the outside, between the drivers seat and the water heater. They sit end to end leaving plenty of room to store screens. Obviously I had to remove the bed to do this, and I made an access hatch under the bench seat to get at the new battery compartment. Having replaced the original leisure battery at the same time, we got 270Ah leisure capacity and are well able to survive a week or more wild camping without the lights going out or the heater giving up. So as to keep them well charged, I also upgraded the alternator to a 95 amp.
On the gas side, a few years ago we put the spare wheel on the back door and put a 40 litre LPG tank in it's place and that has worked well ever since, so no more getting up in the middle of a cold night to change the cylinder over. An LPG tank full last for months and doesn't cost much more than a 3.9kg cylinder. In 2012 we had a major overhaul done on the Propex heater and replaced the fridge. Now everything's working well. With the water tank so small, we tend not to use the shower and rely on site showers instead, or improvise when wild camping.
The series 5 transit mechanics have been brilliant and we've really had no problems. The engine recently passed 100,000 miles. The only serious mechanics in 9 years other than routine maintenance, have been cam belt replacement and back axle replacement - neither too difficult. Happy camping.