Wheels (1 Viewer)

[peter marshall]

Hi
I have just had my Bessacarr E480 serviced at a Fiat Main Dealers, one of the things I mentioned was an Intermittent noise on the rear brakes, sounds a bit like a stone trapped in there somewhere, they told me its impossible to remove the back wheels due to the body design, (I don't believe that for a moment) I phoned Glossop Caravans where I bought it they said a load of rubbish, just wondering if anybody has experienced this. Pete :Sad::Sad:

Don't want to be stuck with a flat somewhere.

 

[barrybus]

Had that problem today,my Swift 630 needed new rear tyres and the only way to remove them is to deflate them.Even with them flat the fitter still struggled to get them off.Oh and he had to deflate the new ones to get them back on.

 

[Phill D]

how do ya do that by the side of the road . oh:

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[hilldweller]

they told me its impossible to remove the back wheels due to the body design.

Could it be as simple as they jacked up the axle rather jack up the chassis and let the wheel hang down ?

Surely not !

 

[pappajohn]

easy....jack under the chassis, not the axle.

raise chassis and wheel will drop on suspension.


tyre fitters...i've sh!t 'em. oh:

Mmm. Brian beat me to it

 

[vwalan]

started off at a main fiat dealer .
usual one is the body jack isnt high enough to lift it properly when the tyre is flat . then you cant get the new one on . .ok with original van .

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[hilldweller]

Mmm. Brian beat me to it

Photo finish

 

[barrybus]

My wheels

No such luck as it being that simple.On mine the the top of the tyre is about 2in above the skirt no sorry I meant the top of the wheel trim. The guy that did it for me was well up for it and it was jacked up on the right places .He even jacked up both sides to try and get extra hight.He said that it was a problem because it was an Al-co chassis.I was there I watched him struggle he definitely wasn't acting for my benefit. Barry

 

[Phill D]

Could it be as simple as they jacked up the axle rather jack up the chassis and let the wheel hang down ?

Surely not !

oh: I HAD ASSUMED ( ass of u and Me ) that they would jack at the jacking points but you and papajohn are probably right:thumb:

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[pappajohn]

Photo finish

Brians post 19:26
my post 19:27

beat me by a head

 

[pappajohn]

oh: I HAD ASSUMED ( ass of u and Me ) that they would jack at the jacking points but you and papajohn are probably right:thumb:

under the axle is far faster as you only need an inch lift to clear the ground, compared to 8 or 10" under the chassis while the suspension drops and the wheel lifts....unless its an Alko chassis where the axle is rigid to the chassis and both lift together...same as jacking under the axle.

Alko chassis shouldnt be jacked under the chassis rails....only near the strongest point, below the axle mounting point.

 

[peter marshall]

Hi
I have just had my Bessacarr E480 serviced at a Fiat Main Dealers, one of the things I mentioned was an Intermittent noise on the rear brakes, sounds a bit like a stone trapped in there somewhere, they told me its impossible to remove the back wheels due to the body design, (I don't believe that for a moment) I phoned Glossop Caravans where I bought it they said a load of rubbish, just wondering if anybody has experienced this. Pete :Sad::Sad:

Don't want to be stuck with a flat somewhere.

Update on the above, I have been contacted by Swift, who are aware of this and are issuing a recall to rectify the problem, don't know how and when but I feel sure it will be resolved. Pete

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[peter marshall]

Update on the above, I have been contacted by Swift, who are aware of this and are issuing a recall to rectify the problem, don't know how and when but I feel sure it will be resolved. Pete

Ps
I was told the wheels can be removed but with difficulty, so I am now waiting for the solution. Pete

 

[Brian and Jo]

Had that problem today,my Swift 630 needed new rear tyres and the only way to remove them is to deflate them.Even with them flat the fitter still struggled to get them off.Oh and he had to deflate the new ones to get them back on.

without actually seeing the vechicle i would say that the fitter would have had it jacked in the wrong position.sometimes with motorhomes we will use 2 jacks,1 to higher the body to make it easier to remove the wheel.sometimes its just down to common sense
brian

 

[rolandrat]

It will be interesting to know how Swift are going to resolve the rear wheel removal problem. Are they going to modify the wheel arch trims or cut a lump away? It makes you wonder what sort of body designers they employ, it's a bit late once the body has been bolted to the chassis. It's always wise to do a dummy tyre change at home to familiarise yourself with what you will actually need or if any problems might arise like we have just read about. It looks like Swift have a lot of homework to do and many owners are going to be faced with a similar problem. Some years ago Lunar changed over from building on Alko chassis to the standard Fiat chassis and in their wisdom carried on using the original floor base, I was one who bought one not knowing. I once lifted the nearside bunk to see my drive through a hole in the floor. All the wheel arch area had been rubbed away on both sides and the wiring loom totally destroyed. It had to be returned to Lunar for the floor to be trimmed and new wheel arches fitted. It was returned in brand new condition. I considered myself to be very lucky.

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[rolandrat]

Further to the above, I never did get to know who was responsible for doing the PDI.

 

[peter marshall]

Hi Roland
On this model there is no wheel arch as such, there is a continual skirt on both sides, so if their plan is to alter the skirt and install a wheel arch I don't know, but I think it would work. Pete :Sad:

Ps Just had a call from Swift to say they are arranging to alter the wheel arch's to make it easier to remove the wheels.

 

[dave newell]

This doesn't surprise me in the least and I doubt if the fitter jacked it up under the axle alone. We have a customer with a coachbuilt motorhome and it takes 40 minutes to remove both rear wheels and thast's on the lift! Procedure for his van is:

Inflate air suspension to max pressure.
Jack up rear axle to max height.
Dump air pressure from the side you don't want to remove to tilt the body.
Fully deflate tyre you wish to remove.
Remove wheel fixings.
Wrestle with wheel and wheel arch swearing freely and extensively until you get the wheel out, basically the bottom of the wheel has to go inwards under the axle.

Repeat for the other side.

Refitting is basically a reversal of this procedure.

Access first aid tin for plasters/bandages to stem the flow of blood from all the cuts you sustained.

D.

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[rolandrat]

Dave,
was that a Swift product as well? If that was the procedure in your garage what chance has an owner got or recovery guy got if the wheel has to be changed on a public highway? It looks like the manufacturer has some answers to come up with.

 

[hilldweller]

Update on the above, I have been contacted by Swift, who are aware of this and are issuing a recall to rectify the problem Pete

The mind boggles, how can a major manufacturer produce a vehicle where you can't remove the wheels ?

Then do a recall to fix this.

How do Swift survive ? From reading the forums most of their costs seem to be fixing duff vans. Wasn't a FUNster without his new one for months while they fixed it ?

The OP might care to check his floors for damp, walls for damp, hab door for fit, bed for strength --- might as well get all the problems fixed in one go.

 

[peter marshall]

The mind boggles, how can a major manufacturer produce a vehicle where you can't remove the wheels ?

Then do a recall to fix this.

How do Swift survive ? From reading the forums most of their costs seem to be fixing duff vans. Wasn't a FUNster without his new one for months while they fixed it ?

The OP might care to check his floors for damp, walls for damp, hab door for fit, bed for strength --- might as well get all the problems fixed in one go.

Hi Brian
I have just had the Hab check done all ok, door fits well cant find any faults with the van, the wheel situation came about from a Fiat Dealer at the Fiat service, I will have to wait and see what they do to fix. Pete

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[RonnieJ]

Easy fit smaller wheels simples;

 

[jhorsf]

If its a Swift I should not worry you will be able to change them through the rear floor in a few months when it rots away

 

[peter marshall]

If its a Swift I should not worry you will be able to change them through the rear floor in a few months when it rots away

I see a serious post is getting the usual daft replies :Angry:

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[peter marshall]

Easy fit smaller wheels simples;

I see a serious post is getting daft replies has usual. :Angry:

 

[jonandshell]

All motorhomes are crap unless you buy a Concorde or Niesmann + Bischoff.

Its all part of the banter on here to slag off various manufacturers!:thumb:

If you can't handle the mickey taking, then buy a rarer make so that nobody can comment on them!!!!!

Hopefully during the next 2 centuries, manufacturers will start to take note of their bad reputations and build vehicles that don't leak and you can get the wheels off!

 

[DLT]

Hi you say the model is 630 what year is it

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[jhorsf]

I see a serious post is getting the usual daft replies :Angry:

you should try getting:Angry: with Swift for making a van with wheels you cannot take off if you do not want daft replies that lighten the mood .
It would not seem so daft if you had bought a Swift that the floor rotted out of

 

[dave newell]

Dave,
was that a Swift product as well? If that was the procedure in your garage what chance has an owner got or recovery guy got if the wheel has to be changed on a public highway? It looks like the manufacturer has some answers to come up with.

No it is a Moncayo.

D.

 

[peter marshall]

All motorhomes are crap unless you buy a Concorde or Niesmann + Bischoff.

Its all part of the banter on here to slag off various manufacturers!:thumb:

If you can't handle the mickey taking, then buy a rarer make so that nobody can comment on them!!!!!

Hopefully during the next 2 centuries, manufacturers will start to take note of their bad reputations and build vehicles that don't leak and you can get the wheels off!

I had a Welcome 76 which was ok apart from the crap lounge area, are you including your Welcome in the crap comment ?

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