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Old 05-09-2017, 05:44 PM   #1
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Seems I am having a change of heart re Adventurer

Sort of planned more of getting a B+ or C, but I seem to love the Adventurers. I am finding many nice looking low mileage ones for sale and could buy one for the price a fairly newer used Class B+ would cost. Am looking in the $55-70k range, with size no problem, smaller 32' are nice, but nothing wrong with going bigger in same price range. Years 2007-2011 seems to be the years for that price point.

My question is, not going older and staying in that price range and lower mileage MHs, what do you feel would be the best competition for me to compare these to? I am feeling most comfortable staying away from the diesels and keeping it as simple as I can, is why I think the Chevy or Ford chassis/engine is best for me. With Winnebagos most common and Chevy/Ford service everywhere, I feel the cost and ease of repairing something would give me the most peace of mind. A newer one would relieve me of the most worry and care, no matter where I roam.

But, what did you Winnebago owners see out there that you liked or thought were a good substitute or competition for the Adventurer in price, quality, comfort, and ease?
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Old 05-09-2017, 06:31 PM   #2
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Look at Fleetwood Bounders or Southwinds
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Old 05-09-2017, 06:37 PM   #3
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If you can, look up a 2005 to 2008 38J floor plan. We love ours, and I scoured the continent for 2 years until I found one for a great price 4200 km. away! I'm still grinning ear to ear!!!!
The W24 chassis with 8.1 Chevy, Allison 6 speed and the great brakes are just icing on the cake after the fantastic floor plan!!
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Old 05-09-2017, 06:50 PM   #4
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If you can, look up a 2005 to 2008 38J floor plan. We love ours, and I scoured the continent for 2 years until I found one for a great price 4200 km. away! I'm still grinning ear to ear!!!!
The W24 chassis with 8.1 Chevy, Allison 6 speed and the great brakes are just icing on the cake after the fantastic floor plan!!
Funny you mention that floor plan. That is the one I like most too. Why aren't there more using this floor plan? About time some manufacturer wised up.
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Old 05-09-2017, 06:59 PM   #5
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Seems I am having a change of heart re Adventurer

The only thing I would compare an Adventurer to is a Newmar Canyonstar. IMHO, they are both a notch above the Allegro Open Road or Fleetwood Bounder.
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Old 05-09-2017, 09:38 PM   #6
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Our Adventurer is Great....

But! Think "Pre-2013" and stay away from the Schwintek drives on the slideouts.
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Old 05-09-2017, 10:00 PM   #7
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Funny you mention that floor plan. That is the one I like most too. Why aren't there more using this floor plan? About time some manufacturer wised up.
I'm still shaking my head in disbelief that Winny stopped making that floor plan. It is THE GREATEST IMHO (well, maybe not so humble )
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Old 05-10-2017, 08:05 AM   #8
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Keep in mind that WBGO also built the same coach branded as the Itasca Suncruiser. ONLY differences are colors and fabrics. IMO, the Workhorse W-24 chassis is the best front-engine gasser ever built, and WBGO used plenty of them under their Adventurers and Suncruisers
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Old 05-10-2017, 08:44 AM   #9
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Just looked at PPL and they have 2 '08 38j's.

and 2 '05 38J's!
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Old 05-10-2017, 11:53 AM   #10
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Im going to third the opinion of the 38J and the W24 chassis. I was sold on a quad slide diesel pusher in the 2008-2012 range. The more research I did the more i realize the expense of owning a bug DP. My wife showed me a 38j back in November. I put it at the top of the list and began my search. I found one in March and closed the deal on March 10th.

Its 7000 miles from home. We head down May 17 to pick it up. We are super excited to be in a great used Winnebago Adventurer.
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Old 05-10-2017, 11:59 AM   #11
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http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/classa/...urer-35343.htm
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Old 05-10-2017, 12:03 PM   #12
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I put it at the top of the list and began my search. I found one in March and closed the deal on March 10th.

Its 7000 miles from home. We head down May 17 to pick it up. We are super excited to be in a great used Winnebago Adventurer.
You are going to absolutely love the floor plan! The first time you put both slides out you will not be able to stop smiling!
If you regularly "Glamp" with others, your place will be the number 1 gathering spot. That's the only down side we have discovered!
Occasionally we will have 4 or 5 over to watch a movie (RV being the fav), and there is plenty of room to sit for all.
The chairs at the table are just like visiting around the table at home.
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Old 05-10-2017, 03:05 PM   #13
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Like others here, we love the 38J floor plan. BUT---check out the kitchen slide and the windshield leaks!!!!!!!! They seem almost all have problems with both. That said, they both can be fixed but you need to be aware.
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Old 05-10-2017, 05:33 PM   #14
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Like others here, we love the 38J floor plan. BUT---check out the kitchen slide and the windshield leaks!!!!!!!! They seem almost all have problems with both. That said, they both can be fixed but you need to be aware.
I'm pretty up to speed on the windshield leak issue but haven't heard about a kitchen slide issue on the 38J. Can you elaborate some of even better, provide a link or two to help me understand the problem better.

Another thing I am going to like about the 38J is the water heater is almost directly under kitchen sink and very close to the shower and bathroom sink. There will be very little water wasted down the drains waiting for warm water to show up at these fixtures. This is an important feature when dry camping and a nice feature even when hooked up to utilities.

Counting down the days now. We've owned the motorhome for 2 months and haven't even laid eyes on it yet. One more week.
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06 Winnebago Adventurer 38J Workhorse W24 Lots of motor and suspension mods in the works
02 Itasca Suncruiser 35U. Workhorse W22 w/Safe-T-Plus, Koni FSDs, UltraTrac, etc, etc.
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Old 05-10-2017, 06:00 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by AKIQPilot View Post
I'm pretty up to speed on the windshield leak issue but haven't heard about a kitchen slide issue on the 38J. Can you elaborate some of even better, provide a link or two to help me understand the problem better.

Another thing I am going to like about the 38J is the water heater is almost directly under kitchen sink and very close to the shower and bathroom sink. There will be very little water wasted down the drains waiting for warm water to show up at these fixtures. This is an important feature when dry camping and a nice feature even when hooked up to utilities.

Counting down the days now. We've owned the motorhome for 2 months and haven't even laid eyes on it yet. One more week.
I haven't heard anyone complaining about kitchen slide leaks. Ours has the single large pane windshield that has been sealed above and below the rubber trim above the WS. No leaks now. Hoping it stays that way!
Winny did a lot of things right in the design of the 38J. The short runs for the hot water are nice, I put an elbow and ball valve on the drain so it's a quick 1/4 turn and the tank is draining. I just whish the storage and power access doors would come out with the bedroom slide! I'm spoiled with the storage under the other 2 slides!
I have swapped out most of the lights with LED's. Total of 42.7 amp draw down to 4.2 amps!
Lots of other little mods as well. I'm a compulsive modifier, so it gets lots of tricked out little things!
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Old 05-10-2017, 06:31 PM   #16
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Quote:
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I haven't heard anyone complaining about kitchen slide leaks. Ours has the single large pane windshield that has been sealed above and below the rubber trim above the WS. No leaks now. Hoping it stays that way!
Winny did a lot of things right in the design of the 38J. The short runs for the hot water are nice, I put an elbow and ball valve on the drain so it's a quick 1/4 turn and the tank is draining. I just whish the storage and power access doors would come out with the bedroom slide! I'm spoiled with the storage under the other 2 slides!
I have swapped out most of the lights with LED's. Total of 42.7 amp draw down to 4.2 amps!
Lots of other little mods as well. I'm a compulsive modifier, so it gets lots of tricked out little things!
Good info UP.

Do you have a post or write up about your LED lamp swaps? Obviously the small bulb swaps to LED are simple but the bigger ceiling lights down the center of the coach may be a little more difficult. Having not even stepped into the coach I'm not sure if those bigger ceiling lights are florescent tubes or just multi bulb incandescent's. Can you obliterate a little without hyjacking the thread. A PM could always work too but I'm sure everyone would be interested in going from 42.7 amps to 4.2 amps. Hahaha
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Old 05-11-2017, 08:38 AM   #17
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I'm pretty up to speed on the windshield leak issue but haven't heard about a kitchen slide issue on the 38J. Can you elaborate some of even better, provide a link or two to help me understand the problem better.

Another thing I am going to like about the 38J is the water heater is almost directly under kitchen sink and very close to the shower and bathroom sink. There will be very little water wasted down the drains waiting for warm water to show up at these fixtures. This is an important feature when dry camping and a nice feature even when hooked up to utilities.

Counting down the days now. We've owned the motorhome for 2 months and haven't even laid eyes on it yet. One more week.

With the weight on the kitchen slide there have been problems with the HWH mechanism, mostly the nylon blocks that lift the slide. I am not good at searching on this forum so can't provide any links. I can suggest you call Three T's in Lake Havasu City. John is a wealth of info on the problem. 928-453-3040

This paint misalignment is a good clue there is a problem.
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Old 05-11-2017, 08:40 AM   #18
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OOPS! This is actually showing the slide alignment but you get the idea.
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Old 05-11-2017, 10:50 AM   #19
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+3 on the 38J model. We first saw that floor plan on a Voyager model. My wife immediately liked the plan but that RV had some issues that pointed toward a lack of maintenance. I then started searching for the 38J and found a 2005 Suncruiser that we purchased in Mar 16. We will finally be in a position to snow bird next Jan - Mar and have used it for some local trips. Last summer we had our daughter, SIL and 4 granddaughters for a 4 day weekend and that opposing slide in the living area was perfect.

Mike
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Old 05-11-2017, 10:59 AM   #20
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Quote:
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With the weight on the kitchen slide there have been problems with the HWH mechanism, mostly the nylon blocks that lift the slide. I am not good at searching on this forum so can't provide any links. I can suggest you call Three T's in Lake Havasu City. John is a wealth of info on the problem. 928-453-3040

This paint misalignment is a good clue there is a problem.
Ok roger that. I'm very familiar with the nylon blocks that keep the slides gliding on the aluminum track. My current Suncrusier has the same blocks. I will keep an eye on the paint lines and body molding alignment and crawl under the slide outs and look things over periodically. Thanks for the heads up.

Ironically, I just inspected these blocks on the Suncruiser yesterday. We use that motorhome dozens of times per year and those slides go in and out no less than 30 times each year. Slides are in perfect condition with no signs of wear.
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