2007 Trigano Tribute 550 & 650 Snagging List Forums

Sunny_boy

For new people browsing this forum who are thinking of purchasing the new Trigano Tribute 550 and 650 and are looking for feedback on it , as I was, this is what I have picked up over the last month from posts:

Just to Summarise then from post of people who have the new Tributes and these are not necessarily my personal view:

One owner felt that the interior quality/ finish of his new motorhome was on par with a "contractors portacabin".

Front swivel seats will not swivel with the hand brake on.

Many people will not fit on to the toilet due to the lack of space in the WC cubicle, especially the 650

Shower cubicle access on the 650 is near impossible due to the narrow door.

over cab cupboard unaccessible.

Lounge seats and sofa far too high making them uncomfy to sit on as your feet do not touch the ground ( bit like humpty dumpty)

you may or may not get spot lights

the rear ladder is for decoration as its too flimsy to climb up, loose in some cases.

double bed max person height of 5ft 10ish

single beds use front swivel seats which is not liked by many.

lack of rear window on 650 ( was there on the pre-production)

No Air Conditioning and is not an option, expensive retro fit.

can not fit multi directional tv ariel where its supposed to go as fridge is in the way

Carpets are dangerous

That only leaves the fridge, freezer and cooker which you do not get much of on the 550.

Have I missed anything ?

This I feel is very disappointing and is far more than a snagging list and requires major surgery to put right.

For goodness sake CI / Trigano get your act together.

Hope this helps but I recommend you make your own decision by going and testing one.

vyene

After just 7 weeks we decided to get rid of our new 650. Mainly because seats were so high and very uncomfortable. Your points about the loo are right and we only used the shower room to store bedding. Very expensive mistake but enough was enough.

fridgeman

oooooh dear !,that covers some of it, i though i had done well with my IH as a p/x, but i,am begining to wonder, the bed box on mine is comming to bits [650], i,am going to take it to a private company and have it beefed up with a steel version ,frame that is, on the whole the van is exellent,the appliances and fittings are good quality but the screwing together and fitting must have been done by the muppets ! Evil or Very Mad

LAZZA

Hi all
We have had our 650 for about 3 months now,and yes we have had a few problems ,Most of which we have overcome.I think no matter how much you spend on a new van you will be very lucky to find a van with no problems at all.I have had two brand new vans before my Tribute,both were well known coachbuilt,both of these vans had signs of damp on there first habitation service,they also had faults with build quality,all of which were put right under warrantee.In my opinion all of the manufactures need a good kick up the backside,to make sure all of these niggles are sorted before the customer gets them.
We still love our Tribute and hope to keep it for a long time.
Cheers Lazza Laughing

Otto-de-froste

Have to admit I was the one who compared fit out to a portacabin. Not the best comparison, but to clarify a little more I had come from a Bessacarr E445 which had nice looking furniture. The Trigano seemed a little less domestic in appearance, but that applies to a lot of vans.
In retrospect the cabinet work is proving to be hard wearing, and since it's mostly ply wood as opposed to the papier mache cabinets used in some more upmarket vans it is really quite robust.
*Front swivel seats will not swivel with the hand brake on.
Ours will

*Many people will not fit on to the toilet due to the lack of space in the WC cubicle, especially the 650
We manage and we are definitely well upholstered

*Shower cubicle access on the 650 is near impossible due to the narrow door.
It's a two berth van we tend not to use the loo together so it's no problem to us

*over cab cupboard unaccessible.
we get 2 sleeping bags in

*Lounge seats and sofa far too high making them uncomfy to sit on as your feet do not touch the ground ( bit like humpty dumpty)

*you may or may not get spot lights
we did, and those who don't should ask for them

*the rear ladder is for decoration as its too flimsy to climb up, loose in some cases.
I wouldn't send the wife up there without proper training in any case, but we do accept it a s decor only

*double bed max person height of 5ft 10ish
no shorter than the dinette on our previous Bessacarr

*single beds use front swivel seats which is not liked by many.
How many? They work for us, and after the first night or two you don't notice

*lack of rear window on 650 ( was there on the pre-production)
Cabinets go right up to the door - no point in having window

*No Air Conditioning and is not an option, expensive retro fit.
Air-con on our Bessacarr was costly to repair - wouldn't bother with it personally

*can not fit multi directional tv ariel where its supposed to go as fridge is in the way
we did, and it works fine

*Carpets are dangerous
Didn't get carpets, don't want carpets, floor can be cleaned in seconds

*That only leaves the fridge, freezer and cooker which you do not get much of on the 550.
our 650 fridge is much bigger than we need and the freezer holds plenty
550 fridge is smae as we had on Bessacarr

*Have I missed anything ?
Yes - it costs £30k for a cool looking, well specced van

*This I feel is very disappointing and is far more than a snagging list and requires major surgery to put right.
Disagree, having used ours in Europe and UK over last 3 months.
No major problems, just niggling little issues which in some cases I have sorted myself
Maybe we shouldn't have to, but look at reports on some or the more expensive vans.

For goodness sake CI / Trigano get your act together.

Hope this helps but I recommend you make your own decision by going and testing one.
I agree completely with you LAZZA. Nothing major has happened, and all the snagging wqorks have been put right.
Is there anything I would like to improve on in terms of quality?
Yes, a few minor rattles from window blinds, but it is a big panel van, and I've cured most by just tightening a few screws - like I did in the Bessacarr most weekends.
We like ours, and accept the design limitations - again - as we did with the Bessacarr.

Hope this helps - to put things in perspective.

triumf

hi all,
Had my 550 3 months now and done 3 thousand miles,
posatives, 30 miles to the gallon,superb turning circle, great looking,
f
fantastic drive, still havent put any oil in it yet,
negatives, a few niggles but as a keen diyer i can put up with them,
Still get buzz when i get in it,
all the best triumf,

Tribute_650

I must say I did find this post helpful at the time as it was a genuine list of OWNERS comments and not someone just taking a swipe.

I printed it out and took it with me when checking out the tribute before taking delivery and I must say I agreed with most of it. I decided that I could either live with or do something about the issues listed as they were not "Show stoppers" to me.

I have now worked through the list and tackled everything I did not like or was important to me.

To sum up, in my view the van, equipment and fittings are very high quality and better than some £40k panel van conversions we looked at. It was the putting together that let it down. I understand they are put together by people with special needs so its the quality control that in my view is to blame. I have now removed just about all the insides and re-fitted them carrying out some modifications to design problems along the way, some of which I have posted.

Two major mods have been done this week and that was to carry out Lazza's Toilet wall / door conversion ( which I hope to finish tomorrow and will post pics for anyone who is interested) and unlike you Otto both wife and I can not do without the air con so that has been fitted and with a 5 year warrantee we should not have any costly repair bills ( never had any bother with the air con in the cars over the last 20 years though).

So, if I stop remembering that I have paid some £32k for a vehicle I have had to refit and mod, I think the tribute is wonderful and loved every minute of exploring her hidden depths! Someone posted a while ago that they should have produced a Tribute self build kit, well I fully agree but it would have probably ended up taking 3 times as long to build and cost more!

fridgeman

think most of us are thinking the same, you get a lot of van for the money but by not having a good workforce to assemble them it will hurt the brand in bad publicity, i,am just going to press on and iron out the niggles to customise it to my standards, i dont mind too much paying out a bit here and there but dont want to cash it in and pay out another 15k for a van that may or may not be any better Very Happy

grumpyman

Even though I am no longer a Tribute owner this comment is 100%

fantastic drive, still haven't put any oil in it yet,
negatives, a few niggles but as a keen diyer i can put up with them,
Still get buzz when i get in it,
Probably next to the new Van I am buying it is also the most stunning visually on the road.