Saturday, February 28, 2015

We've Bought A New Boat........!!!!!

... but somehow it has morphed into a motorhome!!!

We have spent the last week looking at motorhomes in Burnley, Bury, Rochdale and Newark.

By Friday afternoon we had just about thrown in the towel when we came across a really nice unit at a Newark dealership.  It ticked all our boxes, they agreed to fit some extras we wanted and to drop the price to what we were happy with.

The only problem was that it had no MOT so they did not want me to test drive it - just to accept that it was all good!  I wasn't prepared to leave a deposit unless I could take it for a spin so it resulted with the van being booked for a MOT today so we had a reason to take it out on the road!

Today we travelled to Newark again and took the vehicle out for a good run ... everything worked and she drove perfectly, the result being we left a deposit and will pick up the vehicle in three weeks. The reason we have to wait is that the workshop is chockers with motorhomes being prepared for delivery!  They are really busy after last week's motorhome show.  They are servicing the van, fitting a solar panel, extra leisure battery and a TV for us.

So we are now, or will be in three weeks, the proud owners of a Rapido 996M motorhome.

It is based on a Mercedes chassis and powered by a 163hp Mercedes diesel coupled to an automatic gearbox.

It is a A class motorhome which basically means the cab is integrated into the motorhome thus maximising the  space.


It feels a lot wider in the cab than our last motorhome, probably because it is.


All the upholstery is leather, we may have to call it NB Chance!

Elaine was very happy with the galley it is very user friendly ...

Nice toilet ...

and shower ...

Looking back towards the bedroom in the stern.  There is also a double drop down bed in the bow ...

The garage is huge, which was one of our main criteria ...

Not as pretty as the old Autotrail motorhome in my opinion, but she looks good with the three pointed star on the nose ...

It is a 'gnat's cock' shorter than our last motorhome ...




Our new home! (The dogs approve too!)

9 comments:

  1. Wow! What a very cool choice. Welcome to the Rapido owners club! I bought a 115cc Yamaha delight scooter to fit in our garage for Spain this year. Enough clout for 50mph touring two up in the sun, retro cool rather than poncy, under 100kg and compact size. Rapido, as I am sure you already know have a quality fir out compared to some.

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    1. Thanks guys, it is a very neat van, I am going to look into the scooter option. We should try and make a catch date once we have it.

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  2. Looks Lovely guys congratulations, can understand you going for the motorhome option rather than a boat! The cream leather does look fab though! Enjoy!

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    1. We just miss the sun and the ocean, so the motorhome was the only choice.

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  3. You pair don't muck about when it comes to making decisions do you.... should bottle it !

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    1. It was quite a long decision process.....about ten days!

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