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Old 01-28-2020, 11:44 AM   #1
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Picking up an 2018 Vista lx35f

Picking up an 2018 Vista LX35F.

Any advice? First time RV owners and will be spending most of its time at race tracks,due to my son racing motorcycles. Looks like the fourm is helpful so always glad to see that.

Any must haves to get before i leave the dealer tomorrow?

Thanks
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Old 01-28-2020, 12:28 PM   #2
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Good sewer hose that can go 15 or 20 feet with 90 degree elbow at the discharge end, something like a Camco 20' Rhinoflex. They'll give you a 10' hunk of junk with no elbow for free with the RV.

Camco Sidewinder RV sewer hose support or similar (required at many campgrounds)

Camco RhinoFLEX 6-in-1 Sewer Cleanout Plug Wrench with Easy Grip Handle- Easily Loosen Any RV Dump Station Cap with Universal Design, 3" or 4" Male and Female Sewer Cleanout Plugs (39755) - For those times that the person who camped before you put the plug in so tight that you can't get it free with your hands alone

RV Plug Adapter to adapt your 50A Plug to a 30A Plug, use to plug into a 30A RV outlet
RV Plug Adapter to adapt 30A plug to 15A Plug, use both to plug into a standard outlet

RV Surge Guard 35550 Hardwire Model - 50 Amp, Installs in the back of the basement bay the power cord comes out in-line in the shore cable (may have to have dealer install it if you are not electrically handy) Will protect electrical items in the RV from surge / under-volt / over-volt damage. Will protect from mis-wired RV outlets. Winnebago does not build this protection into the Vistas.
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Old 01-28-2020, 04:12 PM   #3
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Make darn sure the slides go fully in and out and run them a few times. Slides should never be stopped mid-way or the motors can get out of sync. The only exception is if you forgot to move something and the slide is going to hit it or you hear a weird noise or something. They probably are electric so they will be loud but they should run smoothly with no jerking and most importantly both sides should move evenly. If one side is dropping back and catching up, something is wrong.

We looked at a brand new 2019 Vista LX35F last year and a brand new Adventurer 35F and they both had slide problems. Both were with the rear bed slide for some reason. One side would go out and the other would not. The Vista jammed the slide against the wall and could not be moved again. The salesperson stopped the Adventurer slide before it jammed. ALWAYS have someone watching the slide to assure it is moving evenly and you did not forget to move something, unless you can fully see it yourself, of course.

I agree on the electrical protection system also. I use the hard-wired Progressive Industries EMS-HW50C unit https://www.progressiveindustries.net/ems-hw50c

Also take it for a good test drive and note how it drives. The 2019 Vista LX 35F was a total wallowing hog and required constant steering wheel movement just to keep it in the lane. That could easily have been just it needing a good front end alignment but again, it was brand new and had about 260 miles on it.

Bottom line: Write up ALL defects no matter how small and get them on record. Do not trust the dealer's pre-delivery inspection. If at all possible, spend the time and go through every switch and system yourself at their facility until you know how it works and that it works. It will take you all day or more. Before you leave, ask, ask, ask, ask questions.

Start building yourself a tool bag to carry along and every time you need a tool, go to Harbor Freight and buy it for the bag. You don't need high-quality tools for these things because the use will be infrequent.

What kind of warranty are you getting on the unit? I'm guessing a 2018 is used?

If you've never driven a long vehicle with a tail swing, watch these videos. They could will save you from having an accident.





There are YouTube videos on just about anything you may want to learn.
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Old 01-29-2020, 04:18 AM   #4
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Plan a check out trip that is close to the RV dealership before going on any fun trips. That will allow you to get any problems/questions out of the way before you start enjoying the RV.

The Vista's are built on Ford F53 chassis. It is highly likely that you will want to make some suspension mods to improve the handling of the coach. Spend some time here and especially read up on the CHF:

Ford Motorhome Chassis Forum - iRV2 Forums

Cheap Handling Fix - iRV2 Forums
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Old 01-29-2020, 08:50 AM   #5
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Check EVERY function during PDI.

Don’t sign any purchase agreement until you know everything works, nothing is missing and you’ve gone for a test drive. They’ll tell you it’s ok to sign now and let them fix stuff later but there are thousands of stories of owners that have found that’s not true.

Plan to camp in it the day you pick it up for a few days near the dealership so you can find issues for them to fix. Don’t just put it in storage until the next race day. A few months from now you’ll find them not willing to accommodate your repairs in a timely fashion.

Don’t let the F&I person at the dealership sell you anything. They will try to tack on a lot of stuff you don’t need or want. Just like at a car dealership. All of that stuff is a rip off or is rip off pricing. Foremost of those is “extended warranty”. Dealers mark those up as much as 300% over what you can buy one for. It’s their number one goal to sell you one of those.

If you want an extended service contract buy it separately not from the dealership.
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Old 01-30-2020, 08:13 AM   #6
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Thanks for all the tips. P.D.I went very well. explained everything and I recorded it so I can go if I need to. We found the roof exhaust fan didnt work. There tech stayed late to try and fix it but it needs replaced so I got it in writing that they will replace it at no charge. Over all very pleased with our dealer SO FAR. Drove it home last night and unfortunately we will not be able to use for atleast a month or 2. Small chance we get to get away one weekend before that but its not looking good. I thought it drove well, one minor squeek from the microwave bottom, should be an easy fixed and I cruised 70mph for our hr drive home no issues. Excited to be at the race track with heat, a/c, showers, and nice comfy bed.
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Old 01-30-2020, 08:43 AM   #7
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Good to hear.

FYI, many if not most drivers of large Class A's will cringe when they hear of someone driving at 70 MPH.
  • The stopping distance of a 20,000+ lb vehicle is far longer than a car or an SUV.

  • Gas Class A's just have plain old disc brakes, not air brakes like diesel pusher motorhomes.

  • These things, being much taller and much wider than even large consumer trucks, are nowhere near as maneuverable in an emergency situation and there really is no such thing as an evasive lane change. If you attempt a quick lane change at high speed you likely will lose control and/or roll the motorhome.

    The primary evasive maneuver is to keep a lot of stopping distance in front of you, always keep an eye far down the road looking for stopping or slowing traffic, and applying heavy braking in a straight line only.

  • Many if not most motorhomes do not have a steel "crash cage" around the driving compartment. Fortunately for you and your family, I think Winnebago has always provided a steel cage.

  • If you decide to tow a car on a dolly or flat tow (all four wheels on the ground) many are limited to 65 MPH or less.

  • If you have a steer tire failure (either of the two front tires) the motorhome will dart towards the direction of the failed tire and can cross a lane before you regain control. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER hit the brakes if you have a rapid tire failure. You WILL lose control.

    For this reason, many of us including me are completely paranoid about proper tire pressures and spent hundreds of dollars to add a Tire Pressure Monitoring System, something that has been standard on cars for many years. If you're lucky the TPMS will alert you to a tire losing air before you experience a lack of control. It obviously cannot alert you if you have a rapid blowout due to road debris or similar.

    But if the tire failure is one of the rear duals the TPMS may be your only notice. Tires on these things typically are loaded almost to their maximum capacity so if one of the rear duals is low or flat then the tire next to it is handling 100% of that side's load instead of 50%. Yes, that is bad.

    FWIW, I use this one but there are several other types: https://www.technorv.com/tst-cap-sys...to-12-sensors/
I'd wager that most people drive their large motorhomes in the 60 to 65 range with 62 being an oft-mentioned number. That's why we drive in either the far right-hand lane or the second from the right-hand lane if there are frequent exit and entry ramps even when the speed limit is 70. Your vehicle is big and people usually will notice you going slower.

Secondly, the generators on these things need "exercised" at least once a month. That usually means running the generator under a load, usually both air conditioners or other heavy electrical load, for at least a half hour. Otherwise the generator can experience a premature failure.

HTH,
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Old 01-30-2020, 11:13 AM   #8
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Well, a lot of scary posts here, so I'll let you know I have a 2019 Sustar LX 35F (I think it's the same thing as yours) and I have had only one issue with it. The controller for the LP water heater was defective. It was a known recall and I got a dinosaur board. I don't think the coach rides bad at all in it's stock configuration. Compared to my last class C it's a dream. I haven't done a thing to the suspension etc. Last Spring we drove from MA to FL and it was all good. Enjoy, and don't fix it if it aint broken.
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Old 01-30-2020, 12:47 PM   #9
NXR
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Sorry if I came across as scary. It was not intended that way. The Original Poster started this was his first Class A and he likes to go to races. I have no idea what his experience is so I figured I’d post some stuff in case he was unaware.

He may be a race car driver and fully experienced in DIY and driving emergencies or he may not.

BTW, what is “race car” spelled backwards?
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Old 01-30-2020, 02:44 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blueridge-fl View Post
Plan a check out trip that is close to the RV dealership before going on any fun trips. That will allow you to get any problems/questions out of the way before you start enjoying the RV.

The Vista's are built on Ford F53 chassis. It is highly likely that you will want to make some suspension mods to improve the handling of the coach. Spend some time here and especially read up on the CHF:

Ford Motorhome Chassis Forum - iRV2 Forums

Cheap Handling Fix - iRV2 Forums
Just so all are aware, my 2019 (which might be a 2018 F53 chassis, not certain, build date was August) is not a candidate for the CHF. It has an anti-sway bar with two position holes for the link, and the linkage is already in the outer position. Maybe that is why there are less complaints with the new ones??? Mine seems fine.
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Old 01-30-2020, 04:11 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NXR View Post
Sorry if I came across as scary. It was not intended that way. The Original Poster started this was his first Class A and he likes to go to races. I have no idea what his experience is so I figured I’d post some stuff in case he was unaware.

He may be a race car driver and fully experienced in DIY and driving emergencies or he may not.

BTW, what is “race car” spelled backwards?
FWIW, I thought it was good info.
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Old 01-30-2020, 04:47 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by steved28 View Post
Just so all are aware, my 2019 (which might be a 2018 F53 chassis, not certain, build date was August) is not a candidate for the CHF. It has an anti-sway bar with two position holes for the link, and the linkage is already in the outer position. Maybe that is why there are less complaints with the new ones??? Mine seems fine.
The outer position is the OEM position. The inner position is the CHF position.

The CHF discussion starts here: Cheap Handling Fix - iRV2 Forums and is almost 250 pages and ten years so far.

I tried to do a Cliff's Notes version of my reading of the entire thread over several days and missed one item, the rear sway having splined bolts on the later models.

Cheap Handling Fix - Page 415 - iRV2 Forums

The biggest issue people hit is that simply moving the bolts on the front sway bar can cause the tires to lift off the ground two or three inches sooner than otherwise.

A retired auto teacher on that thread, TeJay, has been building a set of heavy steel extension plates to remedy that. Essentially you remove the link from the sway bar and bolt his plates to the link and then to the sway bar. That also keeps the angle of the sway bar the same as it was when it's in the OEM position. TeJay charges about $60 for a pair of plates and bolts delivered.
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Old 01-31-2020, 06:56 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NXR View Post
The outer position is the OEM position. The inner position is the CHF position.

The CHF discussion starts here: Cheap Handling Fix - iRV2 Forums and is almost 250 pages and ten years so far.

I tried to do a Cliff's Notes version of my reading of the entire thread over several days and missed one item, the rear sway having splined bolts on the later models.

Cheap Handling Fix - Page 415 - iRV2 Forums

The biggest issue people hit is that simply moving the bolts on the front sway bar can cause the tires to lift off the ground two or three inches sooner than otherwise.

A retired auto teacher on that thread, TeJay, has been building a set of heavy steel extension plates to remedy that. Essentially you remove the link from the sway bar and bolt his plates to the link and then to the sway bar. That also keeps the angle of the sway bar the same as it was when it's in the OEM position. TeJay charges about $60 for a pair of plates and bolts delivered.
I used Tejay's plates and they worked great. His plates come with multiple position holes that you can use to regulate the amount of stiffness you want from the anti-sway bar. I used the original CHF hole for a couple of trips and then moved the links to the CHF+1 hole. I like the CHF+1 much better on my 2018 Vista 32YE. There is a guy (jharrel, I believe) on the same iRV2 forum that ran the numbers for the various permutations of anti-sway bar settings and a new roadmaster upgraded bar. It turns out that the CHF+1 setting on Tejay's plates is very close to the same stiffness that you get with the roadmaster bar.

And for what it is worth, I am one of those many that run between 60 and 65 mph. I have hit 70+ on occasion when conditions required it but the sweet spot for both fuel consumption and comfort on the F53 seems to be in the 60-65 range.
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Old 01-31-2020, 12:39 PM   #14
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TeJay charges about $60 for a pair of plates and bolts delivered.

Sorry I jumped the gun on the sway bar mod. I absolutely did not read the hundreds of pages on it. And when I saw I only had two holes, I thought the mod didn't pertain (they kept referring to 3 holes)
So having said that, how do you order these plates? Does he have a website?
I googled the name and it just resulted in numerous threads about it.
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Old 01-31-2020, 01:08 PM   #15
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Sorry I jumped the gun on the sway bar mod. I absolutely did not read the hundreds of pages on it. And when I saw I only had two holes, I thought the mod didn't pertain (they kept referring to 3 holes)
So having said that, how do you order these plates? Does he have a website?
I googled the name and it just resulted in numerous threads about it.
You can PM him on iRV2.
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Old 01-31-2020, 04:16 PM   #16
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You can PM him on iRV2.
Right, that's how I did it also. And since the same company runs both of these forums you can login there using the same username and password as here.
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Old 02-01-2020, 08:57 AM   #17
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All advice is good advice. I'm a first time owner. No stranger to driving big vehicles and or trailers. We own a mobile fleet repair services that works on class 8 semi tractor trailers. My son road races motorcycles at 9 yrs old and wants to keep doing going with it. The bigger the bike and bigger track means we will be traveling more and staying the weekends or longer,so we decided the class a would.be ideal to pull in and have a place be comfortable for our stay while making traveling with family comfortable.
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Old 02-03-2020, 07:27 AM   #18
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2 other items to get: 1) Roof vent hatch covers. 2) Inner dual valve extensions - preferably solid vs. braided, but braided is OK if you install a TPMS system.
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Old 02-03-2020, 08:04 AM   #19
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Agreed. I had shrouds installed above the factory vent covers. The factory covers usually are weak, flimsy and have a reputation for flying off after a few years due to UV damage or something. The shroud is a permanently attached shield that covers the existing vent cover so it can be opened even while driving and helps prevent water from coming in.

If you do have extensions and you do install TMS sensors it is highly recommended to add an extension stabilizer. That's a rubber grommet designed to fit in the outside wheel and the extension protrudes through it. It helps prevent valve extension cracking from the added weight of the TPMS sensor flexing the extension due to rotational stresses.

This one fits my 22.5" Alcoa wheels: https://www.walmart.com/ip/ALCOA-225...-392/497857298

I could not use the Alcoa metal extension because it would not fit but the rubber grommets fit perfectly.
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Old 02-03-2020, 12:49 PM   #20
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Check your skylight seal on the roof before you pull off the dealer’s lot. They are notorious for leaking.
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