I'm new around here

[TASpinner]

Hello,

I picked up my first Winnebago in 2016, a 2000 Adventurer 35U that I brought out of a seven year slumber off the road. The PO's were full timers: one passed, and it sat until the other passed. It only had 40,000 miles, bought for $10,000, and with $3500 in parts and tires as well as a lot of personal labor, we made her first trip about a month after purchase.

My wife and I are empty nesters, but still working. We take the rig out on vacations and occasionally weekends. I do nearly all of my own work, and this rig keeps me busy. I'm here, hoping to find help with that maintenance, and learn from the experience of others. We seem to break something every time we go out. Apparently this isn't unusual based on conversations with others that drove older RV's. I would love to have something newer, but I wanted to try this before committing to a much more expensive purchase.

I'm also looking for ideas to bump up the sleeping capacity a bit. She has the optional table and chairs instead of dinette, so she only sleeps 3 or 4. We are social people, taking friends, adult children, and grandchildren out. Our last hybrid trailer slept 7 or 8, but was not comfortable for someone of my age.

-TASpinner

[T00lman]

There is a ton of good advice both here and IrV2. I do most of my own work also and pick up some great tips on these two sites. Hint- use the Google Search window at the top of the page for best results. It has been said “The only thing that works on an RV is the owner”! Good luck.

[TASpinner]

Originally Posted by T00lman

There is a ton of good advice both here and IrV2. I do most of my own work also and pick up some great tips on these two sites. Hint- use the Google Search window at the top of the page for best results. It has been said “The only thing that works on an RV is the owner”! Good luck.

One encounter stood out. I was in an Autozone parking lot temporarily wiring in a boat lamp to replace an entire corner light assembly that had fallen off on the freeway. I chatted with a woman that told me that watching me work with duct tape and electrician's tape brought back memories of her own RV experiences.

I will check out IrV2 a well.

Thanks!

[T00lman]

I always carry Gorilla Tape with me, both clear and black. Also J-B Weld.

[TASpinner]

Thanks! I wasn't even aware Gorilla tape was available in clear.

[BobC]

Keep an eye out for hydraulic leaks. HWH had a problem with defective hoses in the early 2000s which develop leaks around the ferrules where the fittings are swaged on to the hoses. I've had to replace several of my front slide hoses (one I did myself) on my 2002 35U.

[TASpinner]

Originally Posted by BobC

Keep an eye out for hydraulic leaks. HWH had a problem with defective hoses in the early 2000s which develop leaks around the ferrules where the fittings are swaged on to the hoses. I've had to replace several of my front slide hoses (one I did myself) on my 2002 35U.

Thanks. What do I watch for? Will I see fluid on the ground, my inside floor, low fluid?

[T00lman]

You will know your fluid is low when you hit a bump and your “Jacks Down” alarm goes off!

[BobC]

Originally Posted by TASpinner

Thanks. What do I watch for? Will I see fluid on the ground, my inside floor, low fluid?

If you have a problem there will be fluid on the ground, at the hose connections and on the frame near the connections since it sprays under pressure. In addition the connections to the pump (under the hood, passenger side, down low) and the cylinders, there's a synchronizing cylinder for the front slide mounted to the left hand frame member about in the middle of the slide front-to-back. It has three hoses attached to it. The connections to the front slide cylinders (two hoses each) are in the two storage bays that line up with the slide's front and back on the curb side.

The jacks should be obvious and I haven't yet dealt with the bedroom slide so I can't be specific other than it

All connections should be dry. If you find one that's wet around the threads, you can try tightening, cleaning and drying it and check later. The hose leaks I had were around the fittings where they're swaged on to the hose. Mid-hose leaks or ruptures are more rare.

You'll see that most of the hoses are much longer than might seem necessary and they're flaked back and forth and bundled up to take up the slack. This is by design since pairs of hoses need to be the same length to maintain balanced forces.

If you find any signs of leakage, send me a PM and I can help you further.

Here's a video that shows what's involved:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHs3o3RmYhY

And, here's a link to some info from HWH:

https://www.hwhcorp.com/winnebago2017_diagrams.html

[Jim_HiTek]

I have a '02 Journey and after looking at the brochure for your rig, I see they are nearly twins except I have a diesel. I also have the HWH hydraulic system for 4 jacks and 2 slides. First thing I did after I bought the rig (with 70K on it) was to add ATF Stop Leak to the hydraulic tank. Don't know if that made any difference but I've not developed any leaks in the hoses or connections so far. I think of using it as preventative maintenance.

You may have another problem that's common to Winnie's of that era, rusted out front windshield framing. You'll notice puddles of dried rusty water on the dash and up on the plastic above the window inside the rig where water has leaked in. It's repairable but prevention is the key.

Also there's the problem of the excellent fiberglass roof ripping off in the wind if the sides aren't caulked carefully as required. You're suppose to inspect the caulking 2X per year.

You can find some of that stuff I've talked about at my repair blog with suggestions of some methods of prevention of problems. Note that I don't have ads, I earn no money from the blog: 02 Journey repair blog...

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Jim_HiTek

I have a '02 Journey and after looking at the brochure for your rig, I see they are nearly twins except I have a diesel. I also have the HWH hydraulic system for 4 jacks and 2 slides. First thing I did after I bought the rig (with 70K on it) was to add ATF Stop Leak to the hydraulic tank. Don't know if that made any difference but I've not developed any leaks in the hoses or connections so far. I think of using it as preventative maintenance.

You may have another problem that's common to Winnie's of that era, rusted out front windshield framing. You'll notice puddles of dried rusty water on the dash and up on the plastic above the window inside the rig where water has leaked in. It's repairable but prevention is the key.

Also there's the problem of the excellent fiberglass roof ripping off in the wind if the sides aren't caulked carefully as required. You're suppose to inspect the caulking 2X per year.

You can find some of that stuff I've talked about at my repair blog with suggestions of some methods of prevention of problems. Note that I don't have ads, I earn no money from the blog: 02 Journey repair blog...

1. According to azpete, an HWH employee who's a member of Winnieowners, stop leak isn't a good thing. Here's what he told me in a PM: "i would never recommend stop leak. it swells all the seals, not only the one that leak, but also those that don't." He's been a big help to me and other Winnieowners.

2. My MH had the windshield problem and PO had the $2,000+ fix. When I got it, it was re-occurring. I ended up removing the black rubber moulding from around the windshield along with all the silicone that another PO had applied. After re-installing the moulding, I put a 2" strip of Eternabond across the top. It's been a year and no more leaks. Even if you don't have any leaks, the Eternabond is a good preventative.

[Jim_HiTek]

Originally Posted by BobC

1. According to azpete, an HWH employee who's a member of Winnieowners, stop leak isn't a good thing. Here's what he told me in a PM: "i would never recommend stop leak. it swells all the seals, not only the one that leak, but also those that don't." He's been a big help to me and other Winnieowners.

2. My MH had the windshield problem and PO had the $2,000+ fix. When I got it, it was re-occurring. I ended up removing the black rubber moulding from around the windshield along with all the silicone that another PO had applied. After re-installing the moulding, I put a 2" strip of Eternabond across the top. It's been a year and no more leaks. Even if you don't have any leaks, the Eternabond is a good preventative.

1) Yeah, I heard AZPete didn't recommend the stop leak over a year after I installed it. I had used it in my Power Gear system for 12 years before I got the newer RV with the HWH system and it always stopped my repeating leak in the passenger's side rear jack without causing other issues. I probably should have removed that jack and had it serviced but the shop leak would hold 6 months to 2 years each time I added it.

I've had stop leak in my HWH system now since early '16 without issue so far. I respect AZPete quite a bit, but my observation is that it doesn't do much harm and can prevent seal leaks. Only observation I have made that might be related to swollen seals is in the cold, I need to wipe down the rams or spray with dry lube, or I think the book recommends WD-40 (I always look it up beforehand).

2) I use Ebond quite a bit on the roofs of the 2 RVs I've owned over the years but when it came to the windshield, I didn't have a clue about how it looked on the frame but I could see that vaguely reddish water would accumulate on the dash. So I used a stick on gutter instead above the rubber molding. This was because I didn't want to have to face the chore of removing the Ebond (or paying a shop to do it) if the rust caused a cracked windshield. Had no idea how bad the rust might be and I wasn't the original owner). So just trying to ease my work load in the case of excess rust slowly growing and cracking the glass. Over 1.8 years after installing the gutter, no cracks, and no leaks on the dash thanks to the gutter. I think both methods have merit.

[NeilV]

Originally Posted by TASpinner

Thanks. What do I watch for? Will I see fluid on the ground, my inside floor, low fluid?

On the 35U one of the problematic hoses was in the bedroom slide out which would start to stain the carpeting around the bed since the hose and ram are under the bed on top of the carpet. If you add Red ATF instead of using Clear Hydraulic Fluid you can end up with a permanently stained carpet.