Any experience with Winnebago adding features at the factory

n5pht · 04-12-2014, 11:57 AM

We are thinking about a trip to Forrest City. I will ask them also but wondered if anyone has experience with getting them to add automatic levelers. I have the Minnie Winnie 31KP and it did not come with levelers. I checked into the Big Foot and they want about $4000 for them and it would add only about 200 pounds. But I may head to Iowa for warranty work - don't know yet - and thought about asking them about adding autolevelers.

aauummm · 04-12-2014, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by n5pht

We are thinking about a trip to Forrest City. I will ask them also but wondered if anyone has experience with getting them to add automatic levelers. I have the Minnie Winnie 31KP and it did not come with levelers. I checked into the Big Foot and they want about $4000 for them and it would add only about 200 pounds. But I may head to Iowa for warranty work - don't know yet - and thought about asking them about adding autolevelers.

I'm sure that they can and will do it. I would call them and get an appointment and include that with any other warranty work. Winnebago adds levelers to thousands of new motorhomes that they build.

DancinCampers · 04-12-2014, 12:40 PM

We had them replace our shower door with the new sliding style. Also added a Winegard Traveler.
I'm sure they will be happy to cash your check.

Hikerdogs · 04-12-2014, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by n5pht

We are thinking about a trip to Forrest City. I will ask them also but wondered if anyone has experience with getting them to add automatic levelers. I have the Minnie Winnie 31KP and it did not come with levelers. I checked into the Big Foot and they want about $4000 for them and it would add only about 200 pounds. But I may head to Iowa for warranty work - don't know yet - and thought about asking them about adding autolevelers.

I'm sure Winnebago will be more than happy to accommodate your request. However I'm betting the cost will be similar to the quote you got from the Bigfoot dealer.

Friends of ours just purchased a 2014 Impulse Silver. It didn't come with leveling jacks either. They did some research and decided to have an HWH system installed at the HWH factory in Moscow IA. The quote they got from HWH was almost to the penny the same as the quote from Winnebago. They researched other brands and decided on HWH because they could be installed at the factory. If any additional parts or modifications were needed they were already at the source. There wouldn't be any additional time needed to contact the factory to determine what parts would be needed and how to get them to a dealer.

Ray,IN · 04-12-2014, 09:09 PM

If you're going to make a factory service center appointment, do it now. I called the last week of March and got an appt. for April 7, their appointment book was wide open according to the appt. desk guy; but he said it will change quickly with warmer weather.

TeJay · 04-12-2014, 11:05 PM

We ordered out 2014 Vista 30T and wanted a few things different. The color of the leatherette upholstery was not a color that we liked but the Itasca line did have a darker brown that we did like. We paid a $300 deviation fee to have that done. Here was the real kicker. The Vista comes with MCD day night shades in all but the windshield. They wouldn't even add it. So we had already decided to add them later but i sure didn't want the lousy sun visors that are usually put into MH's Even if they were going to install them I'd take them out but it would leave the holes.

Our experience was that they always came down no mater how tight you made them. So we asked that they not put them in. We paid a $50 deviation fee to NOT have them installed.

TeJay

Hikerdogs · 04-13-2014, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeJay

We ordered out 2014 Vista 30T and wanted a few things different. The color of the leatherette upholstery was not a color that we liked but the Itasca line did have a darker brown that we did like. We paid a $300 deviation fee to have that done. Here was the real kicker. The Vista comes with MCD day night shades in all but the windshield. They wouldn't even add it. So we had already decided to add them later but i sure didn't want the lousy sun visors that are usually put into MH's Even if they were going to install them I'd take them out but it would leave the holes.

Our experience was that they always came down no mater how tight you made them. So we asked that they not put them in. We paid a $50 deviation fee to NOT have them installed.

TeJay

You may want to reconsider your decision. We have the 1 piece MCD shade(s) on the windshield. As the primary driver I like them. My wife however is several inches shorter than I am. By the time I lower the shade enough to block the sun for her I'm either looking through it or leaning over trying to look under it.

She would prefer the old style sun visors that are independently adjustable. I like the simplicity of pushing a button to adjust the shade. It's a lot harder for the driver to adjust the old style visors when traveling down the road. The new shades on the other hand have some drawbacks if the driver and the co pilot are different heights.

TeJay · 04-13-2014, 12:41 PM

It's already done. We got the coach last August and had the MCD shades installed in February. My DW and I are about the same height so the different height issue isn't a problem. Also the guy that installed the shades didn't exactly know how to adjust the shades lowest driving position. I tried after we got to FL but didn't succeed.

The automatic stop feature is currently not set for the shades. I will have to take some time and set it. So as we travel I can lower either shade as far as I want to and I know that's dangerous but once I set it I don't adjust while driving just in case it did malfunction and lower all the way. If I do adjust I pull over in a rest area. I will set the shades before we make another trip.

It specifically says in the instructions if you mess up a setting you have to restart from the beginning and that's what the guy at CW did not do when he was trying to set the lowest driving height.

TeJay

bobmac · 04-13-2014, 01:44 PM

Paul:
I would call and get prices from Winnebago Customer service, Lichtsinns RV in Forest City and the HWH Service dept. I would also ask HWH if they have a local distributor/installer near you who could do the job. I'm sure you will be glad you investigated alternatives. I base that observation on how much they quoted me to install MCD shades - a job I ended up doing in 3 hours myself saving hundreds.

JeffAndMaria · 09-14-2014, 08:55 AM

We're thinking about ordering a new Minnie Winnie 31KP.

The 31KP has a 60" wide Sofa/Bed (with no room to spare). However, it also has the over-cab bed and the dinette conversion. That's plethora of beds and we haven't (yet) found any variety of sofa in a Winnebago that suits us comfort-wise.

We're thinking about one of the following:
1. Have them just leave the sofa/bed out and figure out how to get an aftermarket recliner or dual recliner through the door(!) and installed.
2. Ask Winnebago to put one of their own recliners (single, or dual if they make one that will fit in 60") in place of the sofa bed. (Not a published option in the brochure.)

Option 1 makes me nervous. The problem with Option 2 (assuming they will even do this) is: until I sit in a recliner I don't know if it will be comfortable for me.

I guess I could go sit in some recliners in random Winnebagos at a local dealer, but I've found that the Winnebago furniture with the same branding varies in random ways and they don't put exact model numbers on anything (that I've been able to find).

Is there some official Winnebago brochure with detailed specs and model numbers of all the furniture they will install in anything? Any other tips for us?

P.S. We're also hoping we can get a factory installed automatic leveling system. I presume they wouldn't be willing to do that if it violated the weight limits or whatever.

aauummm · 09-14-2014, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffAndMaria

We're thinking about ordering a new Minnie Winnie 31KP.

The 31KP has a 60" wide Sofa/Bed (with no room to spare). However, it also has the over-cab bed and the dinette conversion. That's plethora of beds and we haven't (yet) found any variety of sofa in a Winnebago that suits us comfort-wise.

We're thinking about one of the following:
1. Have them just leave the sofa/bed out and figure out how to get an aftermarket recliner or dual recliner through the door(!) and installed.
2. Ask Winnebago to put one of their own recliners (single, or dual if they make one that will fit in 60") in place of the sofa bed. (Not a published option in the brochure.)

Option 1 makes me nervous. The problem with Option 2 (assuming they will even do this) is: until I sit in a recliner I don't know if it will be comfortable for me.

I guess I could go sit in some recliners in random Winnebagos at a local dealer, but I've found that the Winnebago furniture with the same branding varies in random ways and they don't put exact model numbers on anything (that I've been able to find).

Is there some official Winnebago brochure with detailed specs and model numbers of all the furniture they will install in anything? Any other tips for us?

P.S. We're also hoping we can get a factory installed automatic leveling system. I presume they wouldn't be willing to do that if it violated the weight limits or whatever.

I would order it through Lichtsinn RV right there in Forrest City. They will work with you to do any modifications that you want. I'm sure that they will install recliners for you and let you try them out first. Good luck!

Winnebago, Itasca, Era New - Used Motorhomes for Sale, Iowa RV Dealer - Lichtsinn Motors

Hikerdogs · 09-14-2014, 11:27 AM

The first thing I would do is call Winnebago Service Administration @ 1 (800)-537-1885. Ask to talk to someone about special ordering options.

When we decided to order a 2013 Adventurer we asked about ordering non-standard options. We were referred to the Winnebago Service Administration people in Forest City IA. They suggested we tour several coaches with the options we wanted then present the list to the selling dealer. We setup an appointment with a Winnebago rep to tour some coaches at the factory. He told us we could order any option available on any other Winnebago product as long as it would physically fit into the model we ordered.

When we went to the dealer we had the model numbers of the non-standard options we wanted and presented the list to the salesman. He in turn called his area rep to see if they could be installed in the coach we were ordering. It took a couple days for the rep to get back that they could be installed and the prices.

We ordered the coach with the options. Much to our surprise when the coach came in the dealer only charged us their cost for the non-standard items, not the full retail.

You might want to talk to the people at Pleasureland RV in Ramsey MN. They were more than accommodating to our requests, gave us a far better outright price, and a better trade in price for our 2001 Adventurer than the other dealers mentioned.

bobmac · 09-14-2014, 11:30 AM

I think you will find that Winnebago is very reluctant or most likely unwilling to making significant changes during production. Any changes they will make are costly as others have indicated. Your best bet is to take the Coach "as is" and purchase what you want from an RV furniture dealer. Most if no all Winnebago supplied furniture can be taken apart to get out the doors. Likewise, other RV furniture is likely to have a greater probability of being able to be installed through the limited width entry door or a window. Don't count on getting a 60" sofa from the neighborhood store in thru the doors though. You must also consider furniture depth as most is mounted in slides and obviously can't exceed the manufactured depth of the slide. You might also want to search for another RV that would meet your needs as is. Good luck,

Hikerdogs · 09-14-2014, 02:05 PM

In our case Winnebago wasn't the least bit reluctant to install non-standard options. Besides making the Winnebago and Itasca lines of motorhomes they also make totally custom coaches for everything from mobile offices for insurance companies to handicapped equipped coaches to ones used as traveling display and demonstration vehicles. If you have the time and deep enough pockets they'll make a coach to your specifications.

Keep in mind non-standard options aren't cheap. One of the things we wanted was a 6 way power passengers seat. It wasn't offered in the Adventurer in 2013, but was available in the Journey. We asked if it could be installed in an Adventurer and the answer was a resounding YES. The list price was over $1,800.00. Fortunately we were able to get it for the dealers cost which was considerably less.

There are many off the shelf pieces of furniture that will fit in a motorhome. Our 2001 Adventurer came with a lounge chair that was uncomfortable and hard to operate. We took the measurements to a local Lazy Boy store. They were able to order a standard leather wall hugger recliner that was a perfect match, right down to the base that bolted to the floor for travel.

n5pht · 09-14-2014, 02:37 PM

> We're thinking about ordering a new Minnie Winnie 31KP.

Our 31KP just got its first oil change at about 7000 miles and 50 or so campgrounds later. So we have some experience and now really enjoy the 31KP. I think it is a great choice overall.

>We're thinking about one of the following:
>1. Have them just leave the sofa/bed out and figure out how to get an aftermarket >recliner or dual recliner through the door(!) and installed.

We thought about the same and it is not impossible to find a replacement for 60 inches or less but difficult. I think getting in the door might be another story - not sure on that part (an important part). Google "Amazon love seat recliners" and you will get some hits with less than 60 inches. One was 55 inches and one was 58 inches and I think one was 60 inches in a quick search. We have just about decided to leave it alone and stay with the sofa bed as it. DW takes the sofa bed and I take the dinette for our hobbies, tv watching, etc.

>2. Ask Winnebago to put one of their own recliners (single, or dual if they make one >that will fit in 60") in place of the sofa bed. (Not a published option in the brochure.)

We spent two weeks at the factory and they seem to be accommodating but I am not sure they even make one the right size.

>Is there some official Winnebago brochure with detailed specs and model numbers of >all the furniture they will install in anything? Any other tips for us?

I have not seen one but they do have all their "parts" online but I don't know about furniture.

>P.S. We're also hoping we can get a factory installed automatic leveling system. I >presume they wouldn't be willing to do that if it violated the weight limits or >whatever.

I thought seriously about this myself and Winnebago told me, "I don't know we would have to do a lot of research." I dropped it and glad that we did. Since purchase new in March of this year we have camped in 30 places (I just counted them) and I would say that we needed leveler boards only a few times. It has (so far) amazed me how many places seem ok to just pull in and camp. I am sure I would use the levers if we had them but the $4K expense has slowed me down. Actually, the added weight (according to big foot estimate) was an additional 200 pounds so that is not bad. I may still get them installed at some point but probably not as high on my list as it first was when we bought the unit.

Glad to hear from other 31KP owners - we have met only one or two 31K owners and no 31KP owners out camping.

Candoitoo · 09-22-2014, 02:46 PM

If your going to Iowa, do yourself a favor and call HWH, Moscow, IA. I had some warranty work done there a few years ago and was so impressed with the level of qualified people and the job they did. Forest City is great for warranty work, but get estimates for adding other items. I received an estimate for $12,000 for some work I wanted done at Winnebago and ended up doing it at home (Creative Coach) in Lakeland, Fl for $8,000 and the work was absolutely first class. This is my 3rd Winnebago product over the last 12 years and I can say with certainly, that the thinking at Forest City is how much can we charge you for doing what you want. Years ago their thinking was, how can we make you happy? Cost was never a problem like it is now. Weigh your options!