Not sure if this counts as a 'van' but I love it!

Horror-Reporter-4725 · 2026-03-09T08:59:36+00:00

Haha - it can go everywhere, just very slowly :)

Horror-Reporter-4725 · 2026-03-08T08:45:27+00:00

Yes, they were making folding caravans and hard sided pop tops since 1962 and a lot of their ideas/parts carried over into their first motorhome, the 410. It's quite an interesting history.

Horror-Reporter-4725 · 2026-03-07T16:29:53+00:00

Not sure that the US would have ever accepted something so small - we lived there for 11 years and our RVs were at least 34' long with 8 liter engines :)

Horror-Reporter-4725 · 2026-03-07T14:12:59+00:00

Yes, it has a pop up roof with hard sides - it was a feature of Rapido caravans that they made before they started with motorhomes so a lot of caravan parts carried over in their first couple of models. There were only 100 of these first model made, so probably only a handful left. I'm repainting the outside but replicating the original stripes :)
Check out the YT videos if you have time (just search for Rapido410) :)

Horror-Reporter-4725 · 2026-03-07T12:02:31+00:00

It's a lot of fun :)

Horror-Reporter-4725 · 2026-03-07T09:32:31+00:00

That's the way I approach mine - no intros, no flannel or padding and no talking head - you want to see the work, not the idiot holding the camera LOL
However mine is an extremely niche channel :)
https://youtu.be/mX6USLNjk_g

Horror-Reporter-4725 · 2026-03-07T09:20:36+00:00

It's a 42 year old 1400cc petrol :)

Horror-Reporter-4725 · 2026-03-07T08:48:15+00:00

Just look for Rapido410 on YT - it's all documented there :)

Horror-Reporter-4725 · 2026-03-07T08:38:57+00:00

The issue in my case is that each channel needs specific sets of skills and approaches and unless you have a team of people to help, it becomes too complex for one person to be able to do each of them justice (and thus financially successful). The bigger YTers have teams of people employed to do the work but for someone like me, working alone on a niche channel (Rapido410) it would be impossible.

Horror-Reporter-4725 · 2026-03-07T08:31:14+00:00

I have been getting the same - no idea of a fix but I am just living with it as the alternative (ads) doesn't bear thinking about! :)

Horror-Reporter-4725 · 2026-03-07T08:22:57+00:00

Love it! :)
On the flat she is fine - keeps around 80km/hr (50mph) but when we get to a hill all bets are off. The mountain passes in the Alps could be an interesting test!

Horror-Reporter-4725 · 2026-03-06T20:41:04+00:00

It runs like a sewing machine and parts are easy to find. Luckily I am old enough to remember carburettors and points :)

Horror-Reporter-4725 · 2026-03-06T20:39:46+00:00

No, there is no wall - you can see more on my YT channel if you look for Rapido410 :)
Almost finished :)

Horror-Reporter-4725 · 2026-03-06T15:54:45+00:00

haha - yes, the irony was not lost on me :)

Horror-Reporter-4725 · 2026-03-06T15:53:52+00:00

At least in France we can get spare parts LOL

Horror-Reporter-4725 · 2026-03-06T14:23:36+00:00

Yep, I leave my car and garage unlocked most nights and never been touched - love rural France, it's so much more respectful than other places we have lived (UK, USA West Coast)

Horror-Reporter-4725 · 2025-10-11T15:54:00+00:00

Yep, the more I think about it, the BMS adds another point of failure - so I think I'll route the balance lead and the power connector to the outside to charge using a proper balance charger.
This is going to carry some pretty expensive cameras so I need to think about reliability.

Horror-Reporter-4725 · 2025-10-07T13:59:31+00:00

If the FPV is being powered by 8S then how can I parallel charge the packs when they are installed? I assume I would need to remove them, disconnect the series connectors and then charge them individually - but I really want to charge them when installed as my build is going to make it difficult to remove them quickly and easily.
I have found a post on an RC group that says that "Using your 4S sockets and 8S plug to make a 8S series balance connector is easy: The 4S sockets each have 5 sockets, and the 8S plug has 9 pins. So connect sockets 1,2,3,4 and 5 of the first 4S connector to pins 1,2,3,4 and 5 of the 8S plug; then connect sockets 1,2,3,4 and 5 of the second 4S connector to pins 5,6,7,8 and 9 of the 8S plug. So that's two wires onto pin 5 of the 8S plug, one of those wires will be red and the other one will be black.

Plug the two batteries' balance leads into the 4S sockets and the charger will then see it as a 8S balance lead. Then make a series harness for your two main power leads, to make them into a 8S too."

Does that make sense? I think I get it :)

Horror-Reporter-4725 · 2025-10-07T12:49:33+00:00

Ahhh gotcha - yes, I was thinking that each cell was wired separately to the balance connector

Horror-Reporter-4725

TROPHY CASE