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11-02-2015, 06:34 AM
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#1
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Winnebago Camper
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 10
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Faucet choice
We own a 2015 Minnie Winnie and are wondering why the engineers chose to use plastic faucets in the galley and head. Is this choice because of cost concerns or weight conerns? If it is because of cost we will replace them. If it is weight concerns then the decision is tougher.
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Mike & Linda
Winnebago 25B Minnie Winnie
Homeport: Highland Village, TX
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11-02-2015, 06:59 AM
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#2
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Winnebago Camper
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Southern NM
Posts: 24
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I would think 10lbs of facets would hardly be a concern to the weight factor of your RV
They are plastic because they are cheap asses
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2005 Tiffin Allegro Bay 37DB
W22 Workhorse Chassis 8.1 Flat Towing a 82 Jeep CJ7
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11-02-2015, 07:01 AM
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#3
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Winnebago Camper
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 31
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Have a nice one in the kitchen area on our 27N and a cheap plastic one in the bath. I replaced the plastic one with a nice one from Home Depot. a couple of pounds isn't going to make any difference.... they are probably being cheap.
David
2013 vista 27N
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11-02-2015, 10:46 AM
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#4
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Winnebago Master
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Palisade CO
Posts: 895
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It's cost.
I replaced all the faucets in mine with quality ones from Home Depot.
I used a Moen with a pull out sprayer wand in the kitchen.
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Clay WA5NMR - Ex Snowbird - 1 year, Ex Full timer for 11 years - 2004 Winnebago Sightseer 35N Workhorse chassis. Honda Accord toad.
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11-02-2015, 05:43 PM
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#5
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Winnebago Owner
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Brighton, MI
Posts: 145
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Cost, a faucet doesn't weigh that much, plastic or metal. If your MH can't handle the extra weight of a metal faucet you're already overloaded.
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11-04-2015, 06:35 AM
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#6
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Winnebago Master
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,080
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It's definitely due to cost, not weight. Keep in mind the Minnie Winnie is the least expensive class C motorhome built by Winnebago. With a starting price point of slightly over $70,000.00 it isn't going to have the same amenities as a more expensive model.
The next model up Aspect) starts at $107,000.00. As the price increases so does the number and the quality of the amenities. It's hard to make a price point and still make a profit if you equip all models with the same amenities regardless of price.
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Hikerdogs
2013 Adventurer 32H
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11-04-2015, 06:44 AM
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#7
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Winnebago Owner
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Jamestown, NM
Posts: 94
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I read this thread with interest a few days ago since my faucet fixtures are plastic.
Yesterday, I was browsing in Camping World's store with this thread in mind and noticed that the faucet fixtures they were selling were all plastic except for one.
Must be the "in" thing for RVs these days.
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2015 Winnebago Minnie Winnie 22R
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog is too dark to read." - Groucho Marx
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11-04-2015, 06:57 AM
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#8
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Winnebago Camper
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Florida
Posts: 35
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The concerning fact is........ if they cut cost where its noticeable......where else have they cut costs where its NOT noticeable ???
Just had my kitchen faucet replaced under warrantee. It dripped from day ONE. First they tried just replacing the " cartridge " ....no luck. Second attempt was to replace the entire faucet ....it seams fine NOW ( I hope ).
I bet they didn't save any money on the original cost cutting $$ on that faucet.
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2023 Winnebago ERA 70A 4X4
2011 Honda FIT Sport ..... our toad
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11-04-2015, 12:03 PM
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#9
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Winnebago Camper
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 10
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After owning several boats over the years and most were equipped with plastic faucets. The rationale in the marine industry was: corrosion and weight (especially in sailboats).
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Mike & Linda
Winnebago 25B Minnie Winnie
Homeport: Highland Village, TX
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11-04-2015, 12:11 PM
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#10
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Winnebago Watcher
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Central PA
Posts: 1
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So I'll take the devil's advocate position. Yes, RV's can be (are often) cheaply built. However, weight is an undeniable factor - the chassis / axles can only carry so much. Manufacturers use plastic and other lightweight components not because in and of themselves, each component matters all that much (weight wise), but because when you add it all up, it can be significant weight savings.
On a lighter duty chassis rig, this is more critical than a heavy duty chassis bus, of course. If you want to have capacity left over on that lighter chassis for humans and all of their stuff, you'd better be adding up weight savings wherever you can. FWIW...
EDIT - to piggyback on Hikerdogs above, it IS cost related - a less-expensive, lighter weight chassis carries less. So the mfg uses lighter materials. Not necessarily because they want to charge you for an expensive faucet and give you a cheap one to make more money. If you put top-drawer, sticks and bricks grade stuff on my E450 chassis (faucets, sinks, windows, solid wood cabinets, no lauan, etc.) I'll wager it would be way overloaded. As it is, we have to be very careful not to overload the axles now. They are building to a price point, and that is tightly intertwined with weight & capacity.
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Steve & Carol
2000 Jayco 3230K Designer
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11-04-2015, 05:04 PM
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#11
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Winnebago Camper
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 9
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My Vista has the plastic ones in the bathrooms, thought about replacing them, but they work well, water comes out the same as a metal one.
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2015 Winnebago Vista 35b
1983 Jeep CJ 8 Scrambler
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11-04-2015, 05:17 PM
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#12
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Winnie-Wise
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 301
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So long as they work properly and do not corrode what would the problem be. Plastic now days seems to be the coming trend. With the new plastics durability is not an issue.
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Gordon and Janet
Tour 42QD/inTech Stacker
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11-05-2015, 12:41 PM
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#13
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Winnebago Camper
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Posts: 9
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I currently restoring a 1986 Chieftain 27RT and it has plastic faucets and fittings. Judging from the material and construction choices overall, the designers seem to have had both weight and cost in mind. They did things the cheapest way possible whenever they could. This is why the carpeting is under the walls and fixtures, it was laid in before any interior construction was done because it was the fastest, least labor intensive way to do it. The wall panels were laminated with wall paper before being installed, again to save labor. The interior is constructed of 1x2 lumber stapled together with luan sheets glued on top (known as a "torsion box"). Light and strong, but with the quality of an Ikea table. The only place where cost seemed to outweigh weight is the cabinet doors which are all solid wood and add up to being heavier than alternatives which would have cost more to construct.
Installing a plastic faucet fits the "lighter + cheaper" theme. It's the one place, however, that really feels like they were being cheap. It even makes the plastic sink that goes with it seem really cheap, which I don't think I would have thought about had the faucet not been so cheap.
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