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Old 02-25-2015, 12:05 PM   #1
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GEN Impression of Winnebago??

Winnebago has come out w/a new toyhauler for 2016 named the SPYDER and I am going to go look at it nxt weekend, can y'all please provide your honest feedback on the general overall rep of Winnebago good & bad.... thanks
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Old 02-26-2015, 10:15 AM   #2
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Our experience of our 2004 Vectra has been first class and when we decide to upgrade to a newer model we will not hesitate to buy another Winnie. Hope this helps your decision
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Old 02-26-2015, 03:18 PM   #3
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meseahunt,
In my opinion, for what ever it's worth, is that Winne and Itasca are very good coaches. The build quality is on par for the money. I, and a few others on here, were at the last GNR in Forrest City IA at the Winnebago factory site and, got a chance to do one-on-one with factory assemblers, on the assembly line for brand new coaches. In watching them be assembled, and talking with those who did the work, it was apparent to me that, there seems to be a real caring for the work they did.

Now, of course you're going to have flaws. It's inevitable. Anything man made will develop a flaw, sooner or later. It's how many flaws, in a given amount of time, that effect the quality and longevity. There's some un-happy Winne folks out there due to issues that either developed up procurement of their new coach immediately or, they started having issues as time went on but, were not happy about how the issues were resolved.

But, on the other hand, there's a whole ton of happy Winne and Itasca fans out there. Freightliner supplies most of the power train chassis for diesel units and Ford, for the gas driven units. As for the trailer side, I didn't enquire about who supplies frames etc. for those.

We've had our '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the C-7 330HP CAT now for almost, 4 years (man time flies) and, while I've done some serious repairs on the big beast, I still claim it's an outstanding coach. The repairs have been primarily on vendor supplied items. Things like, rams from HWH, Kwikee gear box for the steps at the door, a water valve for the Thetford supplied toilet and more.

As for any repairs to the coach, I did have to rebuild one drawer that simply came apart. No biggie. I glued and screwed it back together and, it's been fixed now for almost 4 years. The interior of our outside cabinets are plenty large enough for everything I need to stow. The wood quality of the interior cabinets is great. The fit and finish of all of slides, carpet, seals, and more, is great. Would I buy another Winne or Itasca, sure, not a problem.
Scott
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Old 02-26-2015, 03:35 PM   #4
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I've owned 3 Winnebago products. A 2000 Eurovan Camper, a 1998 Rialta, and a 1988 Super Chief. Camper was great. Rialta was a bad decision on a number of counts. The Super Chief was over 20 years old and beat up when I bought it, but I liked the layout, storage. They should build a new one of these (no slides). I would have no problems buying a new Winnebago. I have looked at their current mid level units and just have not seen a floor plan that works for me.
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Old 02-26-2015, 05:09 PM   #5
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Very happy with our 2008 Itasca, the few problems so far are with vendor supplied items. Would I buy another one, yes.
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Old 02-26-2015, 05:34 PM   #6
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The newer coaches are having QC issues. I always buy used so I have no control over getting them addressed. If you buy new make certain EVERYTHING is correct. Check the finish work closely. Have below good quality woodwork replace before you take delivery. Test all of the systems several times on the lot. There have been many slide issues as of late.

This Meridian has a fantastic electrical system. We are now on 30A service. I have noticed that the inverter will assist when needed. I have seen it supply up to 17A when the heat pumps were pulling 28A. Got to have coffee in the morning and the Energy Management System makes it happen and we stay warm too. The residential refrigerator is fantastic.

We were at my son's home camping with a 50A service. I didn't realize that the power had failed in the area until the generator started to run the A/C.

Overall we love the coach. It is not perfect but it is home. Would we buy another Winnebago product? There is a good chance but I am hopping this is our last coach. At our age it should out live us.

Rick Y
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Old 02-26-2015, 05:53 PM   #7
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We have experienced the quality issue and have had no complaints.

Our dealer and Winnebago have been fantastic.

I had a couple items to address and could not get into a local dealer for several months. I called our dealer (Lichtsinn) and was asked when it was convenient for us to get in. We were taken in the day we agreed on.

The Lichtsinn tech found a couple additional issues we were not aware of. One was a noise in the leveling system. The issue was diagnosed and new jacks was the remedy. Winnebago parts did not have them in stock so the jacks were pulled from the production line.

Any questions about the coach are answered quickly by whoever we ask whether it be our dealer, or Winnebago service whether I contact them by telephone or email.

Well done Lichtsinn and Winnebago.
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Old 02-26-2015, 06:23 PM   #8
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This is our second WGO MH....first one was a 2010 View which had very few issues. This coach has many issues...some small but QC is really lacking. I have a punch list of 35 items...that is really terrible! Some small items i.e., loose floor molding, to what I think are major items like water system leaks.
We have an appt in Forest City in July to get these issues worked out.
I think WGO has some of the best floor plans and best value for your money but the QC on this high end gas MH is very poor!
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Old 02-26-2015, 07:05 PM   #9
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We are four year owners of a 'Previously Adventured' 2005 Vectra. It has been a reliable and solid motorhome for us. We, too, were at GNR last year and were quite impressed with the factory and the team of employees there at Winnebago. It really makes a difference when you know that the emplooyees really and truly do believe in the product that they are building.

\ken
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Old 02-27-2015, 04:43 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FLman2 View Post
Very happy with our 2008 Itasca, the few problems so far are with vendor supplied items. Would I buy another one, yes.
And most RV manufacturers use the same vendors to supply them for the RVs they are assembling. So you could have the same problems with different brand RVs. Some manufacturers use higher quality items, but also charge more for their products.
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Old 02-27-2015, 12:03 PM   #11
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We have a 2014 Winnebago View, Mercedes Sprinter Chasis-27k miles. I would buy another Winnebago, actually, I would be afraid to buy anything else.

We have not had it back for repairs. I have made my own adjustments, as necessary (minor).

We had the Mercedes Chasis in for a Check Engine Light issue. I change my own Oil, and have had the tires rotated twice, alignment once, and that is it.
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Old 02-27-2015, 01:12 PM   #12
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I see that this is a travel trailer you are considering. I dont have any experience with them, but have owned 3 winnebago motorhomes and have been pleased with all, and would not hesitate to buy a 4th. I would love for them to build a toyhauler motorhome. That may make me look into #4.
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Old 02-27-2015, 02:06 PM   #13
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thank you all for your comments so far.....
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Old 02-28-2015, 06:37 AM   #14
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Our 06 Itasca Horizon is our first Winnebago product and the one thing that impresses me the most is it's solid construction. The interior fit and finish is absolutely awesome! I have had to replace and/or repair a few wear-n-tear items but nothing major. My only big complaint regarding construction is the way WGO used epoxy to bond the engine and hood hinge/latch assemblies to the fiberglass body. But overall you will find that WGO is at the top of its class.
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Old 03-01-2015, 09:11 AM   #15
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We were the third owners of our 2004 Sightseer 30B so I expected some issues. Overall we are extremely pleased with the coach. This is our second winter in the SW Arizona desert with a mix of dry camping and parks camping. We have spend as much as two weeks in the desert so rely on the coach a lot. Winnebago factory has done a great job of answering questions for us newbies and this forum has been a god sent. Had to address some handling issues at first to correct excessive steering wheel play that I missed as we tested in strong cross winds but the Camping World dealer did address the generator issues we found before purchase-new carb.
We would buy another Winnie but not sure would go new. Let someone else work out the bugs. I have told friends lets face it you have a house that you are driving down the road so everything gets shaken and stirred so it is not surprising that things work loose.
We are still learning and thank the folks on this forum for the help we have gotten. The Workhorse infamous parking brake has not been fun-quit at a tire dealer that knew nothing about it-but got it released and to a shop that did so now have spare parts.
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