Adventurer opinions????

MuckSavage · 02-04-2008, 11:53 AM

DW & I are looking to upgrade from our current Class C to a Class A. DW loves friend's Phaeton, but I finally convinced her of the sad truth. We currently have 16k miles on our current MH in 5 years of ownership. Our situation won't change anytime soon, so our usage will remain the same (one weekend a month, one road trip vaca per year) Surely our usage won't be worthy of a DP. This weekend we looked at a Winnebago Adventurer 38T we liked it alot & will be going to look at a 38J this coming weekend. On paper, we like the 38J floorplan better. My traveling compainons are; DW, 2 labs, & towing a Jeep Cherokee. How do you like the basement air? Does the solar work well? Anything else you'd like to share is certainly appreciated. Thanks in Advance!

Thanks in advance for your replies!

MuckSavage · 02-04-2008, 11:53 AM

DW & I are looking to upgrade from our current Class C to a Class A. DW loves friend's Phaeton, but I finally convinced her of the sad truth. We currently have 16k miles on our current MH in 5 years of ownership. Our situation won't change anytime soon, so our usage will remain the same (one weekend a month, one road trip vaca per year) Surely our usage won't be worthy of a DP. This weekend we looked at a Winnebago Adventurer 38T we liked it alot & will be going to look at a 38J this coming weekend. On paper, we like the 38J floorplan better. My traveling compainons are; DW, 2 labs, & towing a Jeep Cherokee. How do you like the basement air? Does the solar work well? Anything else you'd like to share is certainly appreciated. Thanks in Advance!

Thanks in advance for your replies!

AFChap · 02-04-2008, 02:45 PM

The Adventurer is a great coach ...I believe I am correct in saying that it is the #1 seller in the entire RV industry. We think our basement air is great. The solar panel is really too small to be of any consequence.

comp-time · 02-04-2008, 02:51 PM

Last fall we traded for our second Adventurer. Our new one is a 35A and we like it very much. Opposing slide makes for a lot of room. We have had very good luck with Winnebago Adventurer and would recommend it highly. We like gas for various reasons but mostly dollars in purchase price, maintenance and now the difference in fuel price of diesel as opposed to gas. I would highly recommend the Workhorse 24 chassis. It is standard on 37 and 38 foot models and an option on the 35A. Due to the three slides on the 35A, it should be standard their also. I have over 2900 lbs CCC on mine and a friend with a W22 only has 980 CCC on his 35A. Basement Air is Great!!! The solar panel is only 15 WATTS and is only for a top-off on the batteries. Not much use otherwise. The adventurer is the top of the line gas model and has a lot of extras and is very comfortable. I think you are making a good choice.

Mark Bento · 02-04-2008, 02:53 PM

DW and I have a 2000 Adventurer 35U and love it. I like the basement air as it keeps the roof line clean. the solar is ok but I really can't find what it is to do as my house batt do go dead I know that I am going to have to replace them this season we purchased ours used in 05 and have used it every summer as wife and kids like to workampe so I drive the unit to the campground were they are going to work set it up and then come back home so I can work and then on my days off I drive up and spend the time with them they love it.

Mark and Joanne

Fakrwee · 02-04-2008, 03:01 PM

Ditto what AFChap say's.

We have the Suncruiser by Itasca which is the same as the Adventure and are extremely happy with it.

Quality is great and have had only minor problems which dealer has fixed. Winnebago even approved a fix on the slideout after warranty. We have 21,000 mi. on it and it rides solid. Very few noises.

Having had roof top and basement air I prefer basement air conditioning. Less noise and more efficient. The other added feature is the heat pump which works down to 35 F. It's a milder form of heat than the furnace and more comfortable. It also saves on Propane.

Take them out for a test drive and you'll feel the difference.

Good luck.
Tom

Petro · 02-04-2008, 03:22 PM

MuckSavage;

Welcome to the forum & the Winnebago Industries Owner's Forum. My previous coach was a 97 Adventure. We liked it a lot and wanted another Winnebago when we were ready to update. Our present Chieftain has the basement air and we are very happy with it. I don't depend on the solar panel for charging anything. The Adventure replaced the Chieftain as the top of the line gas coach. I believe Winnebago makes great motor homes and I believe you will appreciate the Adventure.

Post often and keep us informed on your upgrade. Don't be afraid to ask questions as we have a gold mine of experiences here to help you. Our members are most happy to answer questions.

Don

smlranger · 02-04-2008, 03:56 PM

MuckSavage:

Ditto on Petro's welcome to the forum

. I also had a '97 Adventurer and it was 7 yrs old when we bought it and was still very solid. We moved to a Journey and am pleased with the coach and the support I have gotten from Winnebago. Also, you will find no better place than this site to get answers from great and helpful folks here.

Good luck with your selection and come back often with questions and to share your RV experiences.

Cousin Ed · 02-04-2008, 03:57 PM

We started with a 2001 Adventurer 35B and put 35,000 happy miles on it. We now have a 2005 Suncruiser 37B with about 42.000 happy miles. I also like Tiffen and Newmar, but our next one will most likely a Winnebago.......

Finhawk · 02-04-2008, 03:59 PM

I was going to upgrade to a new coach but after looking, I decided it was not worth the effort or the money. I'm completely satisfied with what I have and plan on keeping it until I can no longer do this
The Adventurer is a great rig

rvten · 02-04-2008, 04:43 PM

We had a 2001 Adventurer 35U on a W-20 chassis before down sizing to a class C. We were happy with it. Just spend less time now on the road. So we went smaller.

Nonno · 02-04-2008, 05:01 PM

MuckSavage,

Welcome to the forum. This is a great site for information, Winnebago specific or otherwise.

Our Adventurer is our 5th Winnebago product. IMO you can't go wrong with the Adventurer. Agree with others that basement air is a winner and basic solar is too small to really help. 38J is a nice floorplan

LR · 02-04-2008, 05:16 PM

We have a 2005 Adventurer 38J and we pull a Jeep Cheerokee with no problem what so ever. Plenty of power and handles very well without any after market add ons.

SCVJeff · 02-04-2008, 08:35 PM

How we arrived with a Meridian is a different story, but I spent 2 days at the Pomona RV show, and another 2 at a dealership crawling around a Dolphin, that is an excellent coach.. Until you stand it up against an Adventurer that was sitting right next to it. Everything about the Adventurer is head & shoulders above anything out there in a gas coach. We have the same basement air, and so far it works great. Love the heat pump. But at least on the Freightliner chassis, the solar is useless as it just cannot keep up with storage level parasitic drains.

NeilV · 02-05-2008, 12:46 AM

We have to 2001 35U and it is an excellant coach. The solar if you use the battery bypass has always kept the batteries from going flat when in dry storage. The newer ones may have a higher parasitic draw but on this 2001 we have not been let down yet.

Belgique · 02-05-2008, 03:15 AM

I'll be the odd man out here just to give you food for thought. Our 35U had basement air and we liked it. Our 35J has roof and we like it. We don't find that much of a noise difference, if any. The heat pump was fine but we used an oil filled radiator on chilly nights just for the quiet. What we REALLY like about roof is the huge amount of basement storage that is now available...this is huge! Some don't like roof because of the condensation dripping down the sides.

Our assessment is that either one is fine and not critical to a buy decision. But we do like the extra basement storage! JMHO. Good luck on your purchase.

NEW BERN RON · 02-06-2008, 10:48 AM

We've got the '08 37B model. We moved up from an '04 Brave. As previously stated, the basement air is great on all levels. Winnebago puts a lot of extras in their coaches and their systems are smartly laid out. As noted before, the solar does little, but it's there. We liked the 37B layout because of the desk/work area in the back. With the 'French' door and added space created by the 2 rear slides, it allows for 2 separate living areas by making the bedroom space more than just a bedroom...almost like a suite. The only modification to the coach we made was replacing all four shocks with Koni's which made an incredible difference in the ride and handling. This is our 8th coach since '95 (including diesel) and so far, it's our favorite.

AFChap · 02-06-2008, 01:46 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">8th coach since '95 </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
8 rigs in 13 years??

Wow! Any particular reason for changing so often?

ichn2go · 02-07-2008, 01:53 AM

I have had two Adventurers, both have been good coaches I would highly recommend that model. You are smart to stay away from a DP until you are ready to put some miles on it.

Look around on some online sites, there are many good used coaches out there..Let someone else do the warranty work and take the hit on depreciation, unless you just have to have a brand new coach...Good Luck and Good Miles

Finhawk · 02-07-2008, 03:14 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by ichn2go:
I have had two Adventurers, both have been good coaches I would highly recommend that model. You are smart to stay away from a DP until you are ready to put some miles on it.

Look around on some online sites, there are many good used coaches out there..Let someone else do the warranty work and take the hit on depreciation, unless you just have to have a brand new coach...Good Luck and Good Miles </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Golly, we finally agree on something