Iveco Mobilvetta Icaro S10 (1 Viewer)

[spinone]

Hi,

Does anyone have any experience of the Iveco Mobilvetta Icaro S10?

It has the exact layout I'm after but can't find anything out about the build quality. I know the Italians can sometimes concetrate more on form rather than function!

I imagine fuel comsumption and servicing costs are going to be very high as they're based on a rear wheel drive truck but could do with knowing for definite.

Also, is the emptying of the toilet going to be a problem as, I believe, they don't have a cassette like caravans do.

Any help gratefully received.

Thanks

 

[dazzer]

Cant comment on the converter but the Iveco base is a great bit of kit.

We have 3 Iveco vans for work and work them VERY VERY hard, they are reliable comfortable and a good workhorse (a hell of a lot better then the Merc Sprinters we used to have!!!).

Service costs are comparable to a Transit but you do need to keep the brakes well looked after as they seize up very quickly if neglected. We have ours in for a brake service every 4 months which seems a bit excessive but saves us money in the long term as we are not forking out for brake parts every year :thumb:

The Ivecos are a commercial vehicle built on a minimum spec 5 tonne chassis, they are not to be confused with Fiats and the like, if you want to drive round in a van that drives like a car, buy the Fiat but if you want a tough hard working base vehicle, get the Iveco, one of ours has just done 185k miles and is loaded up to the hilt every single day, it still drives superbly and the fuel economy is not bad either:thumb:

 

[jafeica7]

mobilvetta

hi i have had a iveco mobilvetta topdriver 70 c class 51 plate the mobilvetta build quality is very good as for the truck the iveco 2.8 diesels are renault based ie renault parts engine drive train etc the only thing i had problems with the camper part was the italian electrics! step was always breaking down same with the charging system having said that i would buy another if i had the chance and the money.. the ex wife and tax man ending with most of it hence my old hymer is now my pride and joy!

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[nemu]

I had a Icaro S10 from new bought it in 2000

had some issues when it was new but most of these should have been sorted out at factory or at the pre-delivery inspection & once they were sorted out it was fine

great van drove as though on rails - so stable compared to previous campers
& the 122bhp van provided me enough power to drive at 70mph unless going up hills

great on grass only got stuck once in a very boggy field (got stuck more times than I wish to remember in my fiats which is why i went for rear wheel drive)

also it had a hefty payload as it was plated at 4200kg GVW - so important if taking family & toys with you!

I think I got about 18mpg - & tended to drive about 65mph most of the time
Iveco chassis proved to be very reliable, very reasonable to service & very good on tyres (much cheaper than Ducato tyres)

conversion furniture was top quality woods & proper veneers not like todays cheap paper thin photo prints,

roof rack was the best I ever had it was properly fixed into channels in the van roof capping & therefore not drilled through the roof

it was so flexible as we started off taking the 3 teenagers with us but then it was just the 2 of us
but it also allowed me to take my father, father in law, brother in law & friends on trips to French battle fields - swallowed them all up comfortably

It was so good we kept it for 8 years! & 65000 miles

And the toilet was great no emptying every other day like a cassette, we could go all week with the family & only empty it when leaving to come home
( tended not to use chemicals so in the summer it could niff a bit especially when driving with the drivers window open for some reason - assumed this was something to do with its external vent - so in the summer I would empty it more often) I tended to use just a big bucket to empty it if there was no manhole to empty contents down into


PS. Laika did a very similar conversion theirs came as an Aclass in LHD (well at least initially) & the coachbuilt in LHD or RHD

coachbuilt Laika was a Ecovip 2i here's an example & check out the extra pics Link Removed
A-class was a Ecovip 200i

 

[gazz]

i am another iveco fan,

i have an older one, 1997 square shape one, went for that for the simple engine that will run on anything, and the older vans were wider than newer ones (even tho i made a coachbuilt, i still didnt want a massive differance from the cab to the body and have to use mirrors on the ends of broom sticks

the iveco is italian, so electrics are their weakness, on the older iveco's at least there's a rats nest of connectors behind the wiper motor, it pays to pull each one appart, spray it with contact cleaner and put them together again every couple of years,

the engines are pretty bullet proof, unless your me that is, 2 weeks after buying my van it decided to eat number 4 exhaust valve, 3 grand for the engine to be remanufactured later, and all was well, the engine should outlast the chassis.

as has been mentioned, the chassis is the same be it a 2.8 tonner or the 5.9 tonner, i.e. it's very strong and built to take all the abuse an italian van driver can throw at it, this also means it's pretty easy to have the weight uprated if needed, i went from a 3.5 to a 4.5 tonner and had to change the rear springs (ok, i also had to change the back axle as i had a single rear wheel model, and needed twin rear wheels, but most are twin rear wheels anyway)

everything is big on these vans, the brake discs are the size of wheels on most car derived vans, the prop shaft is the type you'd find on a 10 ton truck, the rear wheel bearings are rather large, being about 6 inches long by about a 7 inch diamiter, and cost 100 quid each from iveco.

and that brings the biggest problem, for general mantinance items, iveco can be as cheap as the aftermarket stuff, i.e. filters, brake pads etc,
but need something specific to the vehicle, and your into 'sit down whilst we tell you the price' territory, a throttle cable for my van was 65 quid 7 years ago, tho it is the thickness of a clutch cable on most other vans,

if you use an iveco main dealer, some charge in excess of £150 an hour,

but they are very sure footed, dont spin the wheels when pulling off a muddy field and it'll drive like you have tracks on the back, the 3.5 tonners can tow 3 tons, ideal if you fancy towing a rangerover on an A-frame

my mechanical engined iveco will run on owt remotely flamable, right now i'm running on cheap bio diesel, i have no problems starting in the cold, i know of loads of people who run the hdi engined ivecos on straight veg oil, they use a twin tank system to start up and shut down on diesel, as the veg oil will solidify in the lines untill it's warmed up,

but as far as the base vehicle goes, as long as no electrical problems as with any italian vehicle, you shouldent go wrong,
plus you can get parts for them all over europe with ease.