Winnebago - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Travelin Duo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Winnebago

Old Snipe · RV-Dreams Family Member

I do not have a Winnebago DP, I do have a 2003 Winnebago Adventurer that we purchased new. I currently have 43K miles on my MH.

I would not hesitate to buy another WB product that had a floorplan I liked. I have had absolutley terrific service from my dealer and the few problems that I had were immediatly approved by WB for warranty repairs.

You can't go wrong with a WB. Just be aware that every RV will have some bugs and need tweaking and adjustments. It is part of the RVing lifestyle.

Best Regards!

jmayleben · RV-Dreams Community Member

I would agree completely with Paul.� My wife and I have a 2001 Adventurer with about 50,000 miles and it has performed very well.� I would buy another WB in a NY minute if I was in the market for another unit. We bought ours used from a private party and the only problems we have had have been user inflicted...
John.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

Gas Winnebago owners seem to be uniformily happy. For diesels they only make low end ones and the verdict is mixed. The DPs are not known for having much basement storage between basement air conditioning and their small storage that comes out with the slide.

Tiffen has a very high reputation, check TiffinRVNetwork.com for info.

-- Edited by bjoyce at 17:10, 2007-01-29

Papparazzi · RV-Dreams Community Member

We have a 2001 Winnebago Journey 32T DP which they stopped making this year. We bought it two years ago used, with 24,000 miles on it and have loved it. Since we were not full-timing we liked the fact that it was not too big and allowed us to get into many places that the 40 footers can't get into. (I once pulled into a Taco Bell parking lot at lunch time and was able to navigate in and out with out a problem. Do that with the 40 footer :) Also we are heading down to Key West in April and staying at one of the Florida State parks which have now placed a 32ft restriction on the camp sites in the Keys (according to the website).

We also liked the side aisle layout with the enclosed bathroom and while the basement air does take away storage underneath it has the benefit of not trailing black streaks down the side of the RV like the roof mounted ones do.

The longest we have stayed in it at one time is six weeks and it is a little tight for full-timing but there are a lot of folks out there full-timing in much smaller RVs. As a matter of fact we are going to be moving into it again and full-timing for the rest of the year beginning in April so we will see how long before it becomes too "cozy" and whether we move to a bigger unit. (I was just at the Tampa Super RV show and whle I don't know much about the Alpha See YA they had one of the best floor plans I have seen.

I would probably buy another Winnebago, they have been around for a long time and have a pretty high customer sat rating.

We rented a Gasser before buying the DP and I can tell you that I love the DP and have no desire to own a gasser (not enough space or time to get into that discussion which can become a holy war between the fans of each).

Ron and Pat

2001 Winnebago Journey 32T with 2006 Honda CRV Toad

Travelin Duo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks to all
We were a little disappointed to hear that the Winnebago DP was on the low end, but I am not sure what that means. Maybe you could help us out there with your thoughts on that.
Also name some DP Motor Homes for fulltiming that you know have good reputations.

Seems the gas owners love them, and you love your 32 foot DP.
Thanks for your import very much also.
Guess it will all depend on what we find, and the floor plans.

Also still not totally closed to the idea of a 5th wheel.
Like I said before....the 5th wheel has us concerned because of the size truck you need to pull it....when you want a 38 foot to live in full time. THe heavy ones seem to require a big truck.
Boy...this is harder than we thought to come to final decisions.
But it is so great hearing everyones opinions and thoughts.
Really helps, and thanks again.

Papparazzi · RV-Dreams Community Member

I am not sure what constitutes low-end and by who's standards this is determined or the criteria but you can't buy a Winnebago now that has an MSRP under $200K. Our Journey had an MSRP of around $160K in 2001 and it has the same Freightliner XC chasis, Cummins Diesel, Allison Transmission and Onan Generator as the "high-end" Motorhomes. You can get in an HR Neptune DP for under $150K if you want and there are a few others.

The differences come in with all the upgrades such as the $10K Paint job, the high end countertops and Marble tile, the HD Plasma TVs etc. It all comes down to what you want in the coach. I did not want to spend $300K-500K for a higher end coach that loses 30-40% of it's value as soon as it rolls off the lot. I was looking for a Motorhome that was well built (which the Journey is), a company with a solid reputation (none better than Winnebago), and that provided a comfortable living space with good interior amenities and decent appliances.

Now with that said, would I like to own a Blue Bird or any of the Motorhomes custom built on a Prevost ???? You, betcha ... but my frugal side (aka none as Pat) keeps me in check.

It all comes down to what you can afford and what is important to you. I could care less about the $10K paint job, it looks nice but I'd give you $0 for it when you trade it in. Motorhomes are like cars, and boats ... they depreciate fast, are expensive to maintain and are not investments!!!! no matter what the salesman tells you :) But I still love cars, boats and Motohomes .... it's a sickness ...

Get a copy of the Motorhome Magazine RV Buyers guide and search out a lot of forums to seek out others for their experience as you are doing here. Go to RV shows (more than one) and stay out of any Coach that says Prevost on the Coach (unless you have big $$$$$). If you start going into the high end coaches you may never be satisfied with a lesser one.

That is just my opinion .. for what's it's worth

Ron

mikeway · RV-Dreams Family Member

Definitions of low end are interesting. I guess I wonder where the 200k Ultimate or the 130K Journey belong. Friends, who are members of WIT, the owner's group are every pleased with theirs. Itasca motor homes are virtually the same units as the Winnies.

I see many, many Phaetons on the road and I have heard nothing but good about Tiffin's service.

Mike

Travelin Duo · RV-Dreams Family Member

We went on the site you (bjoyce) gave on the toads discussion, but we did not see the VW on the 2004 list....for towable cars for 2004.
I left a question there last night, but I am still confused about where and when to leave these questions, but I think I've got it now.
On that one I guess you only leave your comments on what was originally asked, but because I was asking about the toad...I thought it was ok to ask one of my own.
Most likely I was wrong about that.
Sorry folks....
I have a 2004 standard VW beetle convertible Turbo as my little fun car, and I wanted to use it for our toad instead of my husbands big SUV.
She is dark Navy blue and I call her Bluebell.....
I had a beetle in college, and I wanted another to relive those fun days.
I am back in my second childhood and loving it.
She has been so much fun.
Now I am so disappointed ...is there another place that may have a list ?
Hope Bluebell is towable.
Help !
Thank you.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

Winnebago no longer makes the Ultimate, it was a nice coach on a Spartan chassis. The Vectra is not as high end, at least a friend who hates his tells me so.

Freightliner, Spartan and Roadmaster (Monaco brands) all come optioned as the manufacturer asks for. That two motorhomes are on a Freightliner doesn't tell you much, compare the specs for a Tiffin Allegro Bus to the Alfa See Ya Founder addition, they are optioned very differently.

Compare wall thickness and insulation. Higher end normally is thicker and better insulated. There are other comparisons you can make. Are the cabinets real wood or veneer? Veneer will wear off quickly full-timing. There are many overpriced motorhomes, but there are features that count.

Brands are hard to get a good answer on because people who have them will defend their expensive investment to the hilt. Lots of people just won't say anythin about brands, they don't want the hate mail for even the most trivial criticism.

bago40 · RV-Dreams Family Member

WOW! I can see that buying a rig really is a personal decision, like buying a house I guess. Part of it is what you're used to. I have moved around guite a bit in my life both in and out of an RV. I confess I'm a Winne fan. I Have met only one person who purchased a Winne or Itasca and was not satisfied in the end. Both with the coach and the manufacturer service. I went to the RV show in Tampa this year and if I were to purchase a new rig it would be a Winnebago or Itasca 38 - 40 footer. My 1997 Vectra drives good and I'm happy with the emenities and comfort of the coach. It is not a DP though but a good unit. I went to the Tampa RV show in Jan. this year and I see they have made some improvements on their DPs for 2007.

-- Edited by bago40 at 22:39, 2007-03-27