Considering buying a 2005 Adventurer 38G

[doversport]

I am considering purchase of a 2005 Adventurer 38G. Seems a nice unit, well thought out and well constructed. Any tips / experiences of things I should be wary of? Common failures etc? It is on a workhorse chassis.

[fun 33V]

We bought our 2005 four years ago it's been a great unit easy to work on parts availability is great Oemys,brazels,have pretty much what you'll need have looked at newer models but found nothing yet that I would consider trading in on good luck on your search.

[Bumps]

We have a 2005 Winnebago (not an Adventurer) and find the Winnebago customer service team to be great help when you have questions. They treat you like you just purchased a brand new model. We've never regretted buying an older unit. \ken

[StevenNSteph]

Common problems on the larger adventurer series are

1) Split AC duct work behind the rear cap
2) Leaking windshields (improper seals and leaking running light seals)
3) Windshield wiper connections that get wet and the windshield wipers say on all the time.
4) Leaking windows in heavy rain
5) Burnt spark plug wires due to poor circulation or wire harnesses that fail

Other things to consider

Weight balance issues. It's very easy to go over the rear axle weight.
The large overhang from the real axle causes more tail swing (just something to be aware of) and if you tow you are much more likely to scrap going up or down driveways.
The basement AC some hate it some love it. Personally ours has worked flawlessly but we have never had the coach in greater than 95 degree heat.

Good things about the line

Adventurer series is a pretty rock solid line
Access to Winnebago's archives and part supplies
Chevy 8.1 coupled to the awesome Allison 2100 tranmission
Awesome floor-plans that focused on function and liveability

As a parting note my current coach is my 6th and we bought it for full-timing because it had the best floor-plan and hit all of our must have and really want to have check lists.

[edgray]

Originally Posted by doversport

I am considering purchase of a 2005 Adventurer 38G. Seems a nice unit, well thought out and well constructed. Any tips / experiences of things I should be wary of? Common failures etc? It is on a workhorse chassis.

Good coach. If the chassis is a W24 (sixth vin character "A") you should have no worries. However, you will want to VERIFY that the Bosch Brake recall has been completed if it is on the W22 chassis (sixth vin character "6") because they were recalled to replace the defective calipers Bosch supplied. Ed

[pegi]

I am a new owner of a 2004 Winnebago Adventurer 38 G and I am in love with it. I was not looking at this brand, size, nor so many features. I feel like I got the deal of the year. People notice the rig and comment about how nice it is. We have had minimal issues. Most things my guy watched a you tube video on how to fix. The dash by the driver on ours lifts up to reveal the fuses. I strongly feel we bought a good quality product and may even become lifetime Winnebago fans.

[DriVer]

I have a 2003 38G with over 100,000 miles indicated.


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[tbomn]

I have an '03 Adventurer 38G and we love it. The floor plan works great for us, the engine/chassis has been rock solid, and the fit and finish is very good. In 2010 we took it back to the factory and had the entire outside refurbished, new awnings, slide covers, full body paint, and new mirrors. The inside has been refurbished to almost new. The TV systems have completely been upgraded to full HD flat screen TV's, new DVD players, new wiring, and a Winegard HD automatic satellite system on the roof. We have an almost new coach by doing this because we weren't able to find a coach that we liked as well as this one and we plan to keep this one for a long time.

[DriVer]

We loved our 38G at first sight.


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[monarchman53]

Joe, Nice paint job! Love it ;-)

[StevenNSteph]

Originally Posted by tbomn

In 2010 we took it back to the factory and had the . . . full body paint

I know you had other work done but I was wondering how did the cost of the paint job at Winnebago compare to other paint shops?

[John Hilley]

My wife liked the 38G floor plan. She was constantly looking on line at them and when she found a low mileage, 2003 unit at a fair price she bought it. We hadn't really planned on buying at the time but we did. We were in Arizona and it was in Houston, TX. Drove over picked it up and we each drove a motor home back to North Dakota. Our 99 Brave is equipped to take our quadriplegic son on trips. We were going to move the equipment, but decided to just keep both motor homes. We love the 38G with all the room in the bedroom area and find that the size and layout suit us perfectly. Our handles fine and is affected little by wind or passing semis. Ours is on the F53 chassis.

I have a problem with the pipe from black tank to dump valve. The hole in the compartment is too tight and wore a small slot in the top of the pipe. I stopped at Forest City to get it fixed. They said they could guaranty that it wouldn't cost more than $700 but may be only $400. The price I had in my head was $300, so will be doing that myself soon. Even if it takes a full day, $700/day is pretty good pay.

[tbomn]

The paint was done by CDI Paint. It is at the factory location and they work with/for the Winnebago factory. The cost was much less than other shops, and was done in conjunction with the factory replacements of other things that I had the factory do. The complete exterior restoration by CDI was $12,000, the entire project I had done was just under $15,000. Much cheaper than other estimates we had that ran from $17,500 to over $20,000. This is CDI's website... Motorhome painting, RV painting, custom paint, race vehicles