FAP

Doors for caravans and motorhomes, FAP reaches out to a new market

The company has been in business for over 50 years. It is the benchmark for locks and plastic components for the RV sector and has recently decided to put its know-how at the service of doors, as well

Being successfully able to combine tradition and innovation is undoubtedly a distinguishing feature of FAP, the Italian company with a high degree of specialisation in locks and components for the recreational vehicle sector. FAP has been making plastic components for over 50 years and has achieved a leading position in Europe in the supply of locks and handles for the caravan and motorhome living entrance doors and other accessories, such as plugs and water fillers. This experience has allows the company to acquire a great deal of know-how and a design capability that few others can claim. “Several years ago, most of our motorhome manufacturer customers installed our locks independently in their production chains,” said Lapo Ermini, General Manager of FAP. “The situation evolved over the years and we started selling our locks to door manufacturers, who then supplied the turnkey product to motorhome manufacturers. So, we set up an R&D department to support door manufacturers to offer superior, increasingly innovative and customised locks and to help them solve problems arising from the door/lock unit as a whole. We have gained a very high level of knowhow that we now want to put at the service of the industry.” The drive to do better and better has also led the company to focus more recently on the production of doors. In particular, research and development focused on living entrance doors of motorhomes and caravans and the driver door of motorhomes. “We do not want to change the rules of the game. We will continue to provide our time-honoured product range to our customers. After all, locks are, and will always be, our core business”, added Massimo Ermini, president of FAP.

“We believe that the market is large enough to accept the entry of a new supplier who brings a wealth of experience recognised by all markets.”

The living entrance door range

The FAP doors for motorhomes have a very special profile that minimises the part visible from the outside for an extremely pleasing flush appearance. The doors have a transparent window with a pleated blackout curtain. On the inside, the aluminium handle is well integrated into the thermoformed design and includes a detachable integrated dustbin. The standard door has a two-point lock and hinges have little impact on the overall appearance of the door. The FAP living entrance doors come in three standard sizes and production can be customised to specifications. The shock-absorbing arm allows the door to open easily up to 90 degrees. It also implements a soft opening feature that secures the door in the open position. This means that the door opened even quite forcefully without worrying about it slamming into the body or bouncing back. The overall weight of about 19 kilograms is in line with similar products on the market. FAP has designed special doors for caravans (whole or in two halves, with or without a window). The thermoformed interior also includes a detachable dustbin.

The motorhome driver door

The range also includes a driver door for motorhomes. The door has concealed hinges and a two-point lock. Its thickness is less than 50 millimetres in the upper part. This provides more available space for outfitters and makes it possible to extend the height-adjustable bed over the cab by a few centimetres. It weighs about 20 kilograms. “We will be presenting a motorhome cab door with an electric power-assisted lock at the Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf. This means that it will be sufficient to approach the door to the cabin and the lock will pull the door after the first click to close it securely. The frame around the cabin door of a motorhome is a highly stressed part. Manufacturers often have to reinforce the door stop with wooden cores or other materials. This will no longer be necessary with our automatic soft-close system”, Lapo Ermini added.

The value of experience

“We have equipped our factory for the production of doors also by creating a test chamber using high-pressure water nozzles for weatherstrips, windows and structures” Lapo Ermini concluded. “Our products are made by an expert company with many years of experience in the development of door solutions for motorhomes and caravans”.

Motorhome driver door

The special doors for caravans

Living entrance doors