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Old 09-11-2016, 09:01 PM   #1
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2015 Vista 27N - One year old report

I purchased a 2015 Vista 27N one year ago and am happy to say after using about 180 days and driving it 16,000 miles I have had no system failures

Thought I would post as most of us that have good experiences with our RVs never post anything like those that are reporting problems do.

That said, for those considering buying a new Winnebago here is what I have resolved over the past year, to give those buying new some idea of the quantity and severity of issues I have dealt with myself, saving trips to a dealer and lost time waiting for dealer repairs and lost use time of the RV:

- Water tank drain valve would not open - resolution was to replace it
- Water connections under kitchen sink leaked - resolution was to tighten them
- Water connections near water pump leaked - resolution was to replace the crimped connectors with stainless steel hose clamps
- Shower leaked into basement compartment below it - resolution was to silicone the shower to wall seams and the shower to base pan seams
- Water intrusion in passenger side basement compartments - resolution was adjust the latches to close the doors tighter and to better seal the ends facing front and back, and to seal the cable entry hole for the wires leading to the inverter
- About 30 fasteners not set tight at factory in various spots - resolution was to tighten them
- Wiring harness under RV not attached to the frame brackets in various spots and was hanging down - resolution was to cable tie them to the frame to locate it properly
- Refrigerator would not run reliably on LP gas - resolution was to adjust a slightly bent burner mounting bracket so the spark gap was corrected
- Roof where curved down into top of sides had hair line cracks - resolution was to have the Winnebago recall executed which covered the areas with the cracks with Eternabond tape
- Center range burner did not have clean flame due to a plastic spacer in the range top burner assembly melting - resolution was Atwood sent me several replacement spacers - replacement has held up so far
- Bathroom fan was noisy - resolution was to accept the one Winnebago chose for this RV's bathroom is total junk and replace it with a good MaxxAir with 10 speeds, remote, and a rain sensor
- Kitchen fan had a bad bearing and and whined - resolution was to replace with a good MaxxAir with 10 speeds, remote, and a rain sensor
- Plastic trim in front of and behind the passenger side slideout not properly adhered to coach sidewall and slid down - resolution was to re-adhere them with adhesive caulk
- Heat shield along exhaust pipe under center of RV made banging noise when parked when wind blowing across the coach. Resolution was to better attach it to the frame so that wind could not move it enough to bang against anything

Have had one warranty dealer repair - to replace bedroom double pane window that had a broken seal

Unresolved issues:
- Recurring Knock Sensor Fault Code - still trying to get a Ford dealer to FIX the problem and not just reset the Fault Code and send me on my way
- Horrible rattle on passenger side around the door area
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Old 09-14-2016, 01:04 PM   #2
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Randy,

Could you post a before and after picture of this one...

- Roof where curved down into top of sides had hair line cracks - resolution was to have the Winnebago recall executed which covered the areas with the cracks with Eternabond tape

Thanks
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Old 09-14-2016, 04:09 PM   #3
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PowerCat:

Our door area rattle turned out to be the latch. It has a "partly latched" position and a "fully latched" position. Ours rattled badly whenever fully latched. The tighter the door, the more noise it made. Unlatch the door to the outer position as diagnostic to find the rattle. Then experiment with different Nader Bolt positions.

Our friend's 27 N did the same thing.

Pull a few of the screws - nearest the wall - holding the internal shower dome in place. Ours were nearly rusted through from condensation. We caught it before the Luan was too badly damaged - I don't know what the fix is?
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Old 09-14-2016, 09:33 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by danhannah View Post
PowerCat:

Our door area rattle turned out to be the latch. It has a "partly latched" position and a "fully latched" position. Ours rattled badly whenever fully latched. The tighter the door, the more noise it made. Unlatch the door to the outer position as diagnostic to find the rattle. Then experiment with different Nader Bolt positions.

Our friend's 27 N did the same thing.

Pull a few of the screws - nearest the wall - holding the internal shower dome in place. Ours were nearly rusted through from condensation. We caught it before the Luan was too badly damaged - I don't know what the fix is?
Thanks for the contribution to this thread. I checked and some but not all of the same low side screws are showing corrosion on my 2015 Vista 27N, too, it's been about 18 months since mine was manufactured. Think I am going to remove the internal dome and seal all the gaps in that ceiling hole where air can get in, then replace all the screws that were corroding wth stainless steel ones.

I think my main noise source was the connection point between the privacy screen mounted on the inside of the screen door frame and the screen door frame making noise as things flexed. Was able to stop that noise with some shimming.
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Old 09-16-2016, 03:32 AM   #5
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Could you give me some more detail on the problem and fix with the shower dome. I don't think I have a problem there on my 2014 Vista 30T, but it may pay me to check as mine is probably similar to yours.

Pete
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Old 09-16-2016, 02:27 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter27C View Post
Could you give me some more detail on the problem and fix with the shower dome. I don't think I have a problem there on my 2014 Vista 30T, but it may pay me to check as mine is probably similar to yours.

Pete
When I got the lower dome off and inspected there the evidence was that the condensation between lower and upper dome was minimal but that it was enough to make the spongy soft padded ceiling material (a factory option equipped on my 2015 27N) absorb some water and make it slightly damp that made it to a couple of the lower dome retaining screw locations. There was not enough condensation to discolor the celing material. Apparently there is something in the foam or that padded material that can generate a galvanic reaction with the zinc plated screws and trigger corrosion of the zinc plated steel screws.

There was no evidence of any leak anywhere on the upper cover. Resolution, took about 1 hour:

1. I cleaned the small amount of dirt, dust, sawdust off the lower dome and inside of the upper dome.

2. I cleaned the sides of the skylight cutout removing small amount of residue left from the cutout tool.

3. I applied white contact paper to the sides of the cutout to cover it all the way around. This will prevent any future condensation from getting into the padded ceiling material. This also made the two foam panel seams on the wall side and center side of the ceiling cutout that appeared like they might not have been totally air tight, air tight. Was thinking this might have been the moisture source and hoping I minimized or eliminated it.

= = = = =

The white contact paper also improved the skylight appearance. Now I see a solid white background all the way around above the lower dome rather than the roof material cutout like before.
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Old 09-16-2016, 02:27 PM   #7
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Yes a little more detail. The shower has an inner dome and an outer dome. The outer dome is screwed down to the roof, and the seam is covered with a large bead of self leveling sealant. (My friend's 27n has twice the sealant on all roof seams, both width and depth, so I was cheated a little on that workmanship!)

The inside dome is screwed to the ceiling of the bathroom. All of the driver's side (lower, outboard) screws were rusted on inspection.

I thought it was shower condensation, but today I got on the roof with a hose, and found a REALLY SMALL area of the sealant not adhering well to the outer dome. Less than one inch long. That was the cause of the whole problem.

The Luan plywood, the roof, and the headliner foam and the vinyl are all such a cheap and ****** weathering system, that any small amount of water does major damage, if not caught very soon.

I still love my 27n, but geez that roof system is WEAK!

Is this enough detail? Let me know...
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Old 09-16-2016, 02:35 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by danhannah View Post
Yes a little more detail. The shower has an inner dome and an outer dome. The outer dome is screwed down to the roof, and the seam is covered with a large bead of self leveling sealant. (My friend's 27n has twice the sealant on all roof seams, both width and depth, so I was cheated a little on that workmanship!)

The inside dome is screwed to the ceiling of the bathroom. All of the driver's side (lower, outboard) screws were rusted on inspection.

I thought it was shower condensation, but today I got on the roof with a hose, and found a REALLY SMALL area of the sealant not adhering well to the outer dome. Less than one inch long. That was the cause of the whole problem.

The Luan plywood, the roof, and the headliner foam and the vinyl are all such a cheap and ****** weathering system, that any small amount of water does major damage, if not caught very soon.

I still love my 27n, but geez that roof system is WEAK!

Is this enough detail? Let me know...
Thanks! Looks like I need to do what you did and make sure I don't have a similar small area on the wall side of the skylight that is not water tight. I do know that when I replaced the bathroom vent I found large areas of the type of the lap sealant that WBGO applied to the roof fiberglass gelcoat just had not stuck well it would lift right off the gelcoat without any effort in many places. Looked like on my unit that they might not have prepped the roof to get it dust free before applying the sealant around the vents and skylight. Another theory is that my unit was manufactured in the winter months perhaps they don't keep the part of the factory where the roof lap sealant is applied warm enough to be above the minimum application temperature that the product requires to adhere properly.
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Old 09-16-2016, 05:03 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by powercat_ras View Post
Thanks! Looks like I need to do what you did and make sure I don't have a similar small area on the wall side of the skylight that is not water tight. I do know that when I replaced the bathroom vent I found large areas of the type of the lap sealant that WBGO applied to the roof fiberglass gelcoat just had not stuck well it would lift right off the gelcoat without any effort in many places. Looked like on my unit that they might not have prepped the roof to get it dust free before applying the sealant around the vents and skylight. Another theory is that my unit was manufactured in the winter months perhaps they don't keep the part of the factory where the roof lap sealant is applied warm enough to be above the minimum application temperature that the product requires to adhere properly.
Just finished checking the lap sealant around the skylight and sure enough, the factory worker did not apply enough sealant on the wall side of the skylight, likely he did not lean over so he could see well enough what he was doing on that side and left a low thin area right against the skylight where water would pool and find its way thru any tiny gap in the waterproofing. Fillled the low area in with more sealant after cleaning. Thanks again for your sharing, you likely saved me a expensive future repair ! !
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Old 09-20-2016, 11:09 AM   #10
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PowerCat -

That's the same place mine was leaking! I has done a fair amount of damage in the two years since it was built.
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Old 10-08-2016, 11:29 PM   #11
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2016 Sunstar LX 27N

I just purchased (my second Winnebago) a 2016 Sunstar LX 27N and I'm glad to hear positive things about it. On my ride home I got the unit over 60 MPH and there is a bad shake. I plan to call Winnebago and try and get them to spring for a wheel balance. I also have a terrible wind noise from the driver's side window. Passenger side is fine. The noise is so bad my wife and I can't carry on a conversation.

Thanks for your post. I'll certainly keep an eye out for condensation and the other issues you have had.

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Old 10-12-2016, 11:59 AM   #12
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RMCLIN,

There are 4 or 5 slots under the window glass outside the rig which are for water drainage. If these are not covered with the special plugs, then there is huge wind noise.

I used black electricians tape for a while before I located and ordered the correct plugs. It worked very well.

Those side windows are awful as far as noise. Another common problem is that they don't latch very well, and that can create some noise.

Use electrician's tape as a diagnostic tool to find out where your noise is coming from, by taping up cracks until you find the offending area..

I also read on here somewhere that the outside mirrors can cause a lot of wind noise, and with a small adjustment in angle that goes away. I didn't have that problem.

Best of luck!
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Old 10-13-2016, 04:06 AM   #13
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Air noise

Looked for the slots under the window on the drivers side and sure enough the covers for the weep holes were missing. The passenger side was fine. Called Winnebago and described the problem and they are sending replacements. Thanks for the help.
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Old 10-13-2016, 09:47 PM   #14
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Hey powercat check this out I had a rattle or clunking noise buy the door too the clunking noise ended up being the led weight for the pull down faucet stuffed some carpet back there to stop it and i think the rattle is the screen door going to adjust the door to close tighter and see if That does it 2016 vistalx 27n . I to have had many issues with mine lots of stripped screws and what not but a couple major ones we had fixed luckily the drive train has been perfect so happy with ford not so with winnebago but love the coach .
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Old 08-02-2018, 09:25 AM   #15
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Thanks to everyone for posting initial problems with their Vistas.Our 2018 27PE only has 2000 miles and 15 nights on it so far and since dealers are too busy and too far away to fix minor issues we have been doing it. Mostly fastener issues, too cheap and too short mostly. Interior window shades and valences falling off and installed backwards. Exterior basement door hinges and silver screws are rusting, have not adressed yet. All the systems and Ford parts are running fine but last trip out noticed a rear jack leaking some fluid. This one bothers me has anyone else seen this before? Also even though you all seem handy and are fixing most problems, have you documented them to someone high enough at Winnebago who might actually care about their poor assembly process? This poor workmanship will not get better until someone realizes it is an issue. If you have found the right contact, please let me know.
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Old 08-02-2018, 02:36 PM   #16
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It has now been 3 years 7 months since my coach was built by Winnebago in December, 2014. To add to the thread here are some additional things that have happened that fellow Vista owners should look out for ...

- The Ford F53 has a metal piece welded onto the chassis in the front that is used to attach a wiring harness clip to, that the low pressure AC hose from the compressor to the dash firewall evaporator goes directly past. The AC hose may have been mis-mounted so that it rubs against the flat edge of that metal piece and it WILL rub thru eventually. It took about 3 years for the mis-mounted hose to rub thru on my Vista. This is a Winnebago installed item, not a Ford F53 item.

You may want to check that out and put something around the hose to protect it in that spot or have someone loosen the AC hose to compressor connecton and rotate it so it is not going to rub against the edge of that metal piece.

- Some of your ceiling LED lights may start to flicker over time, Winnebago's supplier used an inferior LED circuit board on many units. Others have posted that they have gotten flickering lights replaced at no charge by Winnebago or directly by Winnebago's supplier. I have had 1 out of 8 flicker and replaced it myself in a few minutes.

- The wheel cover metal around the air holes have sharp edges, be sure to protect any wheel tire stem extenders passing thru those holes from rubbing on the sharp edges, this can eventually cause an air leak in them, as I learned the hard way.

- The metal brackets that the hood latches into on each side of the front cap are just glued onto the fiberglass cap with epoxy glue. The flexing from driving can weaken the bond and these brackets can fall off. On mine before one fell off it started to feel loose so if the bracket is no longer solid to the gelcoat cap take action to get it properly reattached right away!

If the bracket falls away, the hood likely will open on it's own and hit the front cap below the hood opening damaging the finish, another reason to take action before it falls off.

Take some rope or nylon strap and tie each bracket to the front structure of the F53 chassis so that if one falls off they will hang by the strap and not fall to the ground and be lost, possibliy damaging radiator, a tire, something else under the chassis, or your toad in the process.
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Old 08-09-2018, 01:55 AM   #17
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Take some rope or nylon strap and tie each bracket to the front structure of the F53 chassis so that if one falls off they will hang by the strap and not fall to the ground and be lost, possibliy damaging radiator, a tire, something else under the chassis, or your toad in the process.
Excellent idea. In a few more years, we will have these 27n units whipped into shape!

No new problems on mine - 22,000 miles so far.

(Knock on wood)
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Old 08-15-2018, 04:42 AM   #18
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I had a rattle in the door of my 2012 Sunstar 35F. I use electoral tape and wrap the latch post a couple of layers and that solved the rattle. Put one wrap and test, if still rattles wrap again normally two raps works. When worn rattle may come back so clean off old tap and start over again.
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Old 08-26-2018, 10:57 AM   #19
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We have the 2016 Vista LX 27N. Now on its third summer, we have had exactly one problem, either major or minor, and in this case major. The first summer, while camping and plugged into shore power, there was an electrical burning smell and power quit working.

The automatic transfer switch in the outside bay was still smoking when I opened that compartment. Shore power wouldn't work, but as it turned out the generator power would. But I had to cut short that trip and head back home since it was way too hot to sleep without AC, and the campground had (obviously) prohibition against using loud generators at night, and I wasn't entirely sure about the safety of using the generator through an obviously burnt-out switch. Luckily, I was only about three hours from home.

I thought I would be out the cost of getting it replaced, as I initially thought it might have been a problem with the campground's shore power that had burnt out the transfer switch, but within a week or two, I received a letter from Winnebago that the part was being recalled under warranty. (For most people, they just needed to bring the RV in to get some bolts tightened down in the switch. Obviously, they replaced it at no cost in my case.)

Oh, one minor issue: The emergency-escape screen in the rear-bedroom window keeps popping out while driving—but maybe only one trip in five, no matter the length.

I'll definitely keep this post bookmarked: A lot of the other issues seem like things that could happen. But overall, it seems like all the research I did before buying, indicating that Winnebago's were relatively reliable, turned out to be true.
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Old 08-26-2018, 08:49 PM   #20
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we just got back from the Winnebago factory for some repair work, and one of the items on our list was the rushing wind sound from around the cab windows. The problem was there was a few of the plastic weep hole covers were missing. Cab wind noise is now gone. I bought a couple of extras at the counter.


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