Death by Campervan Tailgate!!!
Having recently returned to motor caravanning in a Randger campervan, I fear for my safety when I have to open the tailgate to access the "boot".
The Randger 499 is based on a Fiat Talento van and has a large, heavy tailgate. When I bought the van, it already had a Fiamma bike rack fitted. The factory fitted tailgate struts were a match for the combined weight of tailgate and (empty) bike rack.
Not being a cyclist, I decided to mount a Fiamma Ultrabox 360 on the bike rack and quickly found that the combined weight of tailgate, bike rack and (empty) Fiamma box was more than the gas struts could cope with. Opening the tailgate required a serious amount of grunt and, once opened, had to be held open manually, so that accessing the contents of the boot became a two man job.
Now, I'm sure that other campervanners who have models with a tailgate will have encountered the same problem and, like me, will have initially considered upgrading the tailgate gas struts, a workable solution for vans based on a VW transporter. Apparently not so for a Fiat Talento, which is all the more surprising considering that the Talento is the same vehicle as a Renault Trafic, Vauxhall Vivaro and probably a few other vans which roll off the same production line with different badges.
I will happily share my low cost, Heath Robinson solution with anyone who wants it and has a Lidl floor mop, a decorators pole, some Terry clips and a few screws, but if anyone out there has found a more elegant remedy, I'm all ears.