View & Navion owners - Would you buy again?

[TN VIEWer]

Great choice smaller slide for our piece of mind also. Twin beds good for us also as I get up several times a night and don't have to bother wife or Sadie (beloved cocker spaniel) sleeps tight up against wife.still having option of largest bed option of the View floor plans by converting to king with center cushions deployed . Enjoy your 24V as we sure are.

[gliderpilot]

My wife and I also picked the 24V.

The twin beds are awesome, and with the option
to make it a super size king bed is really nice!!!!!

[DicknPat]

This thread has been an interesting read as we determine if a View/Navion is a fit for us. The only one I have been around is my sister's 2018 V. We are currently in a 38' Class A (what we thought we always wanted) & definitely going to downsize ASAP....lot of room & storage, but just plain more than we want or need.

I have been following another forum about View/ Navions, but 80-90% of the posts are negative, filled with complaints to a point if you believed half of the posts you'd never want to even consider a V/N. Recently the Forum Moderator jumped in, asking more happy customers to jump in and share good experiences to assure potential buyers that these are actually decent RVs. Good for him....forums can become dominated by negativism if allowed to.

This forum seems to be a nice balance of both. Good Job Winnie Owners!!

[Phil G.]

Originally Posted by DMA

15NJ Profile Humphrey.
43K miles and just put new Michelins with Dually Borg stems on and replaced the Continentals. Also had the front end aligned and the Michelins rebalanced by balancing while on the vehicle. Took a little vibration out from the original Discount Tire balancing job.
Smoother, quieter, less stiff feeling ride with the Michelins.
The Borgs are a great addition. Much easier to check pressures and air up if required. Guess I could put the simulators back on now but actually I have no intention Of doing that.
Last trip? Northern MI and UP. Never tire of the Big Mac Bridge crossing.
Next trip? Nova Scotia and Maine in September.

Also working towards getting setup to tow. Including a new vehicle. But that's another story for another Thread.

We have a Winnebago "genuine original 24V" -> a 24 foot Itasca Class C built on the optional Ford E450 chassis. Some years ago I switched out the stock Michelin Load Range E LT225/75R16 M&S tires that came on it to the newest Load Range E LT215/85R16 M&S2 Defender tires.

For the Defender LT tires Michelin changed the material composition of the sidewalls, so I'm hoping that this change will eliminate the premature sidewall cracking that was common with their original LT M&S tires. Also, by changing to the 215 size I gained some additional ground clearance because a 215 tire is taller (larger diameter) than the 225 tires that came on it.

P.S. the last time I saw the Big Mac Bridge I was going under it on a cruise boat to Chicago!

[Winterbagoal]

Originally Posted by DicknPat

This thread has been an interesting read as we determine if a View/Navion is a fit for us. The only one I have been around is my sister's 2018 V. We are currently in a 38' Class A (what we thought we always wanted) & definitely going to downsize ASAP....lot of room & storage, but just plain more than we want or need.

We know that feeling. See my signature. We weren't in a 38 footer but the Sunstar was just too much coach. Most of the rest of it was OK but we upsized a bit too much from the Roadtrek. Same reasons as you.

[SarahW]

Originally Posted by DicknPat

This thread has been an interesting read as we determine if a View/Navion is a fit for us. The only one I have been around is my sister's 2018 V. We are currently in a 38' Class A (what we thought we always wanted) & definitely going to downsize ASAP....lot of room & storage, but just plain more than we want or need.

I have been following another forum about View/ Navions, but 80-90% of the posts are negative, filled with complaints to a point if you believed half of the posts you'd never want to even consider a V/N. Recently the Forum Moderator jumped in, asking more happy customers to jump in and share good experiences to assure potential buyers that these are actually decent RVs. Good for him....forums can become dominated by negativism if allowed to.

This forum seems to be a nice balance of both. Good Job Winnie Owners!!

Regarding negative posts--that is the nature of product forums, no matter what the "product." People with issues jump online to express their displeasure (which sadly many times is warranted with RVs.) People with no issues who are happy with their purchase seldom take the time to post how great it is, though they usually outnumber the unhappy posters. So you just have to sift through the posts because when you see a large number of similar complaints you must realize that often times "when there's smoke, there's fire."

Not to be a Thor basher, but I'd never buy any Thor product based on the widespread complaints from Thor owners.

[Winterbagoal]

Originally Posted by Winterbagoal

We know that feeling. See my signature. We weren't in a 38 footer but the Sunstar was just too much coach. Most of the rest of it was OK but we upsized a bit too much from the Roadtrek. Same reasons as you.

Hmmmmm, signature is missing. I checked and I have one, and the box to append it when replying or posting seems to be checked.
What am I missing (except my signature)?
Ooooops, there it is.....

[DicknPat]

Originally Posted by SarahW

Regarding negative posts--that is the nature of product forums, no matter what the "product." People with issues jump online to express their displeasure (which sadly many times is warranted with RVs.) People with no issues who are happy with their purchase seldom take the time to post how great it is, though they usually outnumber the unhappy posters. So you just have to sift through the posts because when you see a large number of similar complaints you must realize that often times "when there's smoke, there's fire."

Not to be a Thor basher, but I'd never buy any Thor product based on the widespread complaints from Thor owners.

Once upon a time, when I could bend over & get back up, I was very involved in the hobby of metal detecting, participating in many MD forums, & was even an assistant moderator, so I know how product & people bashing can get out of hand. Lots of people were shown the exit, I recall...glad I wasn't the "bouncer"

[Ret.LEO]

Just like most things in life: you'll hear ten bad things to every one good one. I think this thread shows the majority of owners are very happy campers

[DicknPat]

Originally Posted by Ret.LEO

Just like most things in life: you'll hear ten bad things to every one good one. I think this thread shows the majority of owners are very happy campers

Yes, Far More positives than negatives here !! Nothing at all wrong with discussing legit issues, and trying to help others as well as yourself to solve problems. The habitual complainers soon show their true colors, so just pass on responding to them. 🙉

[Ret.LEO]

Originally Posted by DicknPat

Yes, Far More positives than negatives here !! Nothing at all wrong with discussing legit issues, and trying to help others as well as yourself to solve problems. The habitual complainers soon show their true colors, so just pass on responding to them. 🙉

If it wasn't for the two of us, two Golden Retrievers (couch potatoes) and wanting to bring a grandkid along it would be a great choice for us.
Still going to test drive one before we pull the trigger on anything just to see if they might work for us.

[TN VIEWer]

Just my thoughts on size matters, we camped several years in a larger 5th wheel but never to far from home , decided to travel more than "camp" found the day to day riggers of length and home like comforts daunting while traveling parking,setting up,fuel mileage , in and out of tight places etc. we traded up ( but shorter ) to 2018 View 24v and are loving every mile of it .Pick the floor plan(V) he he that best fits your needs and head out . Enjoy the wonders God gave us.

[Tucsontoy]

Just a quick update after over a year in our 17 24V. Yes, I have made a few modifications of which almost all of them are in my profile album. Two trips now from coast to coast. With my solar and batteries we seldom run the generator. Might be three hours on it now. I often do not even connect to anything at campgrounds other than to top of water and drain black/gray tanks. Have been towing a Prius on a dolly and have been averaging 14 mpg. Overal, very happy with this View.

[Camper Ken]

Originally Posted by Tucsontoy

Just a quick update after over a year in our 17 24V. Yes, I have made a few modifications of which almost all of them are in my profile album. Two trips now from coast to coast. With my solar and batteries we seldom run the generator. Might be three hours on it now. I often do not even connect to anything at campgrounds other than to top of water and drain black/gray tanks. Have been towing a Prius on a dolly and have been averaging 14 mpg. Overal, very happy with this View.

Only three hours on your generator in a year? As stated in the manual you should exercise you genertor once a month by running it with half load (turn on A/C or plug in a portable electric heater) for one to two hours.

I was a service advisor at a major RV service center and numerous times an owner wojld come in stating their generator wouldn't start or run properly and proudly claim "there's only a few hours on it" (and the motorhome was several years old).

You may not need to use your generator but you should keep it in good operating condition in case you do need it. Spend some time with the generator manual for the info.

Glad you like your 24V. We've had our 2016 24J for 3 years and love it.

[Coffie Drink]

I don’t use my generator one hour a month. Propane is clean vs gas. If you have a gas generator you need to run it often. Our current blend gas does not age well. I bought a duel fuel generator for home. I find running gas engines lawn mowers, you need to frail the fuel then run dry to get fuel out of the carburetor.

[Tucsontoy]

Totally agree with Coffee...

[Phil G.]

I don't understand the negativity towards use of generators at RV drycamping sites. To me they're "the sound of real independence" ... especially way out in the middle of nowhere boondock camping in cloudy, or shady, or hot conditions when solar isn't much or any help.

We use our built-in Onan generator a lot. We also carry along another little super quiet portable generator for long battery-charging runs.

Winnebago installed the gas 4KW Onan in our 24V Class C well, so it's not too loud to tolerate inside or outside when in use. We even used it nearly all night once running the A/C in order to sleep in unusually hot and humid conditions.

For an EXTREMELY quiet source of electrical power when drycamping we idle the V10 chassis engine - which is whisper quiet and vibration free. When it's idling, the big engine's stock 130A alternator can dump up to 70 amps into the coach batteries when starting out at a 50% state of charge of the batteries.

We like to have our 24V ready for any conditions or situation so that we can be spontaneous in our camping and RV exploring. Solar is nice (we don't use any), but it takes generators to be truly free as a bird in when and where you want to camp. Of course for surprise, or planned, hot weather camping in a potentially hot-box RV, a generator is priceless.

[Camper Ken]

Originally Posted by Coffie Drink

I don’t use my generator one hour a month. Propane is clean vs gas. If you have a gas generator you need to run it often. Our current blend gas does not age well. I bought a duel fuel generator for home. I find running gas engines lawn mowers, you need to frail the fuel then run dry to get fuel out of the carburetor.

With propane generators it's not so much the chance of fuel going stale in the carburetor as propane IS cleaner than gas. Still though it's good to run a propane generator occassionally to heat it up, forcing any residual moisture out of the electrical windings.

[Arcrider]

I certainly would. Traded in a 2017 Forest River Sunseeker. Had the poorest quality I've seen in an RV. The 2017 Navion 24J has high quality and with the 10,000 miles we put on it, no issues at all.

With that being said, I did add a few things (installed myself) such as: Bigfoot levelers,PROGRESSIVE INDUSTRIES HW30C, Transfer switch (so i don't have to plug generator in), Added a Truma on demand hot water heater, Triklstart, New Boost relay, Sumo springs, hellwig sway bar, Bilstein shocks, memory foam mattress, Mount for removable playmaker dish satellite, refrigerator fan, sheepskin from seat cover, 2 cameras in rear, TPMS.

[DMA]

I may have posted to this thread earlier. We are on year five of our 15.5NJ (Navion J) Profile.

50 thousand miles. We purchased it new from Shaffer in Delta, OH.
We have had a few issues, warranty and recalls. For the most part being a squeaky wheel most all of the issues have been resolved to our satisfaction.
Still need to get the passenger side air bag replaced on a recall.
Have new Michelin Defenders, Helwig Bar. Added sewer hose storage tube.

Headed for 2.5 months in AK real soon. I purchased some carry along items.
Propane regulator, solenoid, fuel filter, awning tie downs (almost lost ours).

Sometimes we tow an 18 Wrangler JL.

I suspect our next WGO will be a Revel.