Automatic Duo

[peterfowden]

Hi we have just got an automatic Duo + the prototype A12DUO has anyone any knowledge of its history.
We believe it was owned by roma from 96 til 99 then Freeborn and 2 private owners.
Think it is the earliest Duo reg sept 96.
Trying to find out about auto box was it fitted by Roma (as an experiment)
seems to work nice. Think it's from a Citroen Xantia .
Any info about it would be very interesting and appreciated.
Thanks
Peter Fowden

[peterholden]

Autobox Romahomes are like hens teeth and so you have been lucky. I presume the engine is the 1.9 XUD and so the box could be out of any peugeot or citroen with the same engine. A few years ago when we were in France we were on a campsite and there were 2 duos, (not together), one had been fitted with an aftermarket turbo by TB turbos in Lancaster and the other had been fitted with a 2.3 diesel.

The 1.9 XUD is a the same series engine as in your old C15. These engines came in various guises and some had turbos and some didn't. A bit technical but the 1.9XUD turbo has different (stronger) con rods and different pistons to change the compression ratio but I don't know any details.

It might be useful if you could give some feedback for others that might like to consider such a conversion.

[peterfowden]

Auto Berlingo

Hi Peter,
yes the auto box is 4 speed and seems to work nicely.
It is the 1.9 diesel xud series engine and I was told they think it's a xantia box.
I don't know why a auto box was never an option for the Roma's.
Trying to find out if mine was a trial one regarding the auto by Romahome
or if a previous owner had it done.
Had a slight panic the other day as I'd left it in neutral and it would't start.
Luckily I spotted what I had done before calling the RAC. Would have felt a fool...
It takes a little time to get used to driving it with the auto a little slow on the take off and you have to be a little heavier on the right foot than usual to get it moving through the gears but very nice for lazy easy driving.
Regards
Peter Fowden

[peterholden]

The Berelingo cars and vans were never offered with an auto box. Years ago someone used to advertise fitting it as an after-market extra but I cannot remember wh.

Peter

[peterfowden]

Auomatic Berlingo With Cruise Control

We've just got back from our longest trip so far in our Duo+. 650mls in 2 days down to Poole in Dorset and across to Worthing and back upto Manchester. Really enjoyed Poole and district felt like a different country all the boats / watercraft from windsurfers /dinghys to seacat ferries.
Lovely bays towards Bornmouth some with cheap parking, just pull up at the side of road. Sea wall 3ft high infront .Benches to sit on or just look out of Motorhome and watch the world go by.
Very impressed with Duo with auto box (xantia) and cruise control Cruise uk from Bradford.
On the motorway just set cruise at 65mph and auto box /cruise does the rest. Easy to cover the miles and got about 45mpg with the econo cruise.
When you come to a steep bit you can just leave it to the van it will lose about 5mph before changing down itself or if you blip the accelerator it changes down straight away.
Going down to Ant for a full service soon a mere 150mls each way will seem a doddle (touch wood)

[peterholden]

Glad you enjoyed your trip.

Cruise Control is brilliant.

The XUD engine in yours is much more economical than the DW8 in ours, both car and romahome struggle to do more than 40 mpg no matter how we drive them.

Peter

[peterfowden]

Thanks for that Peter.
I won't pretend it's fast our XUD 1905 diesel but it does the job and is economical.
I presume it is less complicated regarding electronics etc so might be reliable and if repairs are needed cheaper to sort out.
You can actually hear the sat nav at motorway speeds unlike our C15 with the 1769 XUD engine.

[peterholden]

Not a lot of electronics although the romahome has more than the car because it is 7 years newer but the DW8 is based on the XUD with some mods to the head and the injection system and a reduction in capacity to 1868cc. However for some inexplicable reason improving emissions increases fuel consumption, where is the logic in that.

Years ago we used to have a Maestro 2L turbo diesel, went like stink but averaged 60mpg at 70 on the motorway - this engine was scrapped because they couldn't make it meet the emissions.

Peter

[peterfowden]

So much for progress then as you say Peter.
Improve emissions but use more fuel . Not exactly greener engines then and worse for our pockets too.