Leaking Tribute Forums

oldenstar

As we know the weather has been making up for lost time over the last week or so. We were snug as bugs in our 550 down at the C &CC site at Bodmin, listening to the rain hammering down.
No problem until we set off when SWMBO discovered that her seat belt was sopping wet Crying or Very sad

No wet anywhere else but the seat belt channel was obviously very wet.
I assume that when Kerrs fitted the awning and removed the roof bar to do so they failed to seal it all adequately.
It is now booked in on Monday to be sorted. I am planning a lone trip to Newbury this weekend, staying two nights at Devizes, so I hope no further leaks appear as the forecast is less than promising.
Incidentally another bad mark for Kerrs is that my Phantom tracker, all paid for was NOT fitted when I collected the van, though they omitted to tell me this. It will be fitted on Monday, but I don't know what the insurers would say should anything happen.
Paul

Billy_De_Kid

Hi Oldenstar,

Try not to get it wet again until its fixed, I have had experience of this on coaches, if you get water in the insulation in the roof and wall and seal it up it keeps condensing without been able to dry out causing corrosion, smells and electrical problems. If we get a coach in thats been leaking we have to take of the panels, once the leak is fixed, to dry it out and prevent this, manufacturers corrosion warranty is void if we don't.

Another poster says that the rail should fit back on with the Tribute 550 awning kit. I have asked my dealer about my 650 (which is due any week...) and have been told the same. I would be interested to hear if this is not the case please.

How much was the tracker please and did it make a cost saving on the insurance?

oldenstar

Hi Mr de Kid (or may I call you Billy)
Not much chance of keeping it out of the rain anyway. It won't go in the garage, so I might as well use it. I will however mention your points to the dealers so it is noted. I suppose I could put my dehumidifier in for a day or so when I get it back.
I will also ask about the possibility of refitting the roof bar after the posts mentioning other dealers views.
The Phantom costs £399, or £499 for the proactive version which I am having, plus £99 annual subscription.
With the £399 version you call them if it disappears, then they track it. With the £499 version they track the vehicle all the time, and contact you if any suspicious movements occur.
There is definitely a big insurance saving with it as they have a 99% recovery rate, but I can't give you a figure.
Suffice to say my premium with Safeguard is around £296, with a full no-claims record. As this includes cover, including full AA support, in both the UK and Europe I am well pleased.
HTH
Paul

Otto-de-froste

I can confirm that fitting a Fiamma Roll Out does not require removal of the roof rail; at least if it's done by Danum - a very professional job (in silver too)

Collected it on Wednesday evening, and drove it back to Chesterfield on A1 M18 and M1 via Sheffield Parkway.
It goes well - really well, and very quiet.

Alas all is not perfect - The pre-delivery work by the Fiat Dealer in Doncaster was very shabby, and I have had to tighten up a lot of screws, put cab trim back and have a number of breakages to plastics that should have been picked up, especially as the breakages were probably caused by them.
The passenger seat bolts had not been tightened on the runners causing the seat to rock; sorted it myself.
Mind you - our Bessacarr suffered from the same problem.

Danum are keen to help, but I think I'll wait till we come back from holiday. It's not put me off them, but I've never found a Fiat dealer that I could say I have any confidence in.

Bed making is a bit of a scrabble, but we are short enough to lie across the width of the van.
Storage is pretty tight, and we will need to do some lateral thinking when it comes to packing.

But - what a cool machine - you just want to drive it.

Are we the first in UK to get a 650?

O de f

Sue_ann

Hello Otto,
I am interested in upgrading from my VW and was thinking of the Trigano Tribute 550. I have spoken to a couple of dealers on the phone but not seen one yet. I live "up North" and would use Danum I guess but I was interested in your comments about the poor work done by the Fiat Dealer, do you mean Danum or Fiat uk please? What sort of work do they have to do to a new vehicle that can cause these problems ? I do not like the idea of spending £30000 and not get a perfect product.

Looking at the diagrams of the layout of the vans the 650 looks to have plenty of storage space compared to it's little sister the 550 but your comments have made me think that I may not be reading them correctly. Would you be kind enough to let me know what space there is for storage in the 650 and if anyone on this Tribute forum has a 550 would you be kind enough to do the same. I will get across and have a look at a dealers as soon as I can but I work most days.

On the phone I was told by 2 dealers that they had already taken delivery of 650's and 550's when I questioned about delays in supply so you may not be the first 650 if I have been told the truth.

You guys are hard to find way down here in this forum and if it was not for google I would not have found you. Someone could do to set up just a Trigano Tribute Forum or even a web site I know I would subscibe ( as I do to 2 VW sites)

grumpyman

And yet another supporter perhaps if I mention I cant find some accessory the deathly silence will end. Wink

You guys are hard to find way down here in this forum and if it was not for google I would not have found you. Someone could do to set up just a Trigano Tribute Forum or even a web site I know I would subscibe ( as I do to 2 VW sites)

grumpyman

The problem with the Awnings is that the brackets which hold the Roof Rails on prevent the awning from being fitted.If they have removed the roof rail they have removed the bolts holding the Rail and this requires to be sealed again.

oldenstar

Hi Sue_ ann et al
Back from Newbury with a now very well used and dirty 550 (filthy weather most of the time), but now even more impressed with the van.
Interestingly the leak seems to have dimished, now very slight despite torrential rain overnight at Devizes CandCC site.
Storage space is more than you would think and not really too bad. I deliberately only put in one 7kg gas cylinder so that I could get my Hook Up
cable and other bits in there for now. I will probably have a back box fitted as I think Fiamma do one to fit on vans with 2 rear doors, and then get MTH to fit two refillable gas cylinders in the gas box.
I don't know if the box will be big enough to get our two reclining sun chairs in-hope so, then that will just leave the damn awning thing that SWMBO obeyed bought to park inside along the step between cab and living area-too heavy for the back box I think.
To me the big compromise with the 550 (and 650 I suppose) is making up and taking down the bed, but the sheer manoeverability of the van in tight spaces and tight car parks more than makes up.
BTW average mpg after 1150 miles is between 31 and 32, up to over 35 in one instance.
And everyone remarks what a great looking van it is. Laughing

Still have not seen another on the road.Freeborn had one at Newbury, and now Kerrs have one in the showroom.
Paul

Otto-de-froste

Hi Sue_ann
Sorry for delay. To answer your question - I hold the Fiat dealer responsible for the damage and breakages, and also Trigano/Autotrail.

The list of breakages in the cab is:-
Front passenger seat underseat storage panel - hinge broken - panel falls open
Front passenger seat side cover over, seat belt clip and other mechanicals - one screw loose, and wrong screw completely in other hole, so cover just drops and ratlles
Front passenger seat bolts securing it to runners were so loose the seat would have probably come adrift in a collision

Other issues are Remis blind on drivers door. The frame has one screw that doesn't tighten at all and one screw missing so that the frame rattles.
The metal chequer plate covering the step up to the cab is loose and some of the screws will not tighten
The leisure battery box will not close because the battery has been incorrectly installed
Numerous plastic screw covers have fallen off or are just missing
Waterproof strip at back of sink/cooker was not long enough so the installer stretched it to fit rather than replacing it, and it looks like a dogs breakfast
Wooden side member inside overcab storage is smashed at front corner due to inappropriate choice of screw

Considering that it was suggested that a fine tooth comb PDI was being undertaken by the importers I am quite disappointed.
The van is brand new, and I expected a better delivery condition than this
I doubt I will buy new again, and it has certainly put me off the CI range.

Performance is great, the drive is a million miles from the old Ducato and fuel consumption is around 25 mpg

Not a complaint, but a suggestion: Maybe Trigano should leave the overcab storage open to make it possible to store items and retrieve them more easily.
Have found stroage overall to be better than first suspected.

Once it goes back to Danum for the bits to be put right I will review my feelings, but at this moment I am a bit frustrated.

Ask other owners first before making a decision because I might have just had a bit of bad luck.

Paul.

grumpyman

If anybody purchases