General Ducato for camper conversion

[BigBert]

Hi After previously owning Transits and currently a Sprinter I am considering moving over to the cream of Sevel Sud in a bid to escape the dreaded tin worm and have that extra bit of width for my next camper conversion. I believe since 2007 these all have fully galvanised bodies just wondering how well these are holding up?

I have a few mates with vans who dont rate the FIAT and claim it is too soft for van duties and I've read they still have gearbox problems Although I dont expect to do more than about 15k miles a year and always under the speed limit so maybe its ruggedness is less relevant in my case?

I will probably be looking at models between 2010 and 2014, Any nuggets of wisdom on which year is best or which to avoid and why would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
BigBert

 

[Peter James]

From what I have heard, twenty or so years ago Mercedes decide their products were over engineered and decided to concentrate more on volume and profit.
Wheras Fiat had such a terrible reputation for rust they decided the only way to restore credibility was to galvanise the whole bodyshell.
Now I am seeing Ducato/Boxer/Relay resisting rust better than Sprinters.
And yet VW/Mecedes dealers won't give discount to private buyers because they still expect you to pay their high prices for the badge.
My own X2/50 is ten years old and I can't see a speck of rust on the bodyshell. Even where holes have been drilled - apparently the zinc galvanising works like the zinc sacrificial anodes you see bolted to the steel hulls of boats.

 

[BigBert]

Hi Peter, I totally agree with you about Mercedes cutting quality in a bid to increase volume. It would appear to me they intentionally painted them so thin they reduced the expected life span by half. I had a mate with a old 1987 model that, up till he finally got rid of it last year, looked in better shape than most 2007 ones and he used it daily as a work van.

Perhaps the quality of the galvanising is down to who is doing it. I must admit there do not seem to be many Ducato/Boxer/Relay vans round my way but I havent noticed any rusty ones while on my travels yet I have seen plenty Audis round my way with rusty arches and door bottoms. So good to know the FIATs are holding up.