Considering a Vista 29V and have questions

[LindsyB]

Hello all,

I am a newbie here as we currently own a 5th wheel. We have actually put a deposit on a 2023 Vista 29V. It has everything we are looking for - King bed, 2 AC units, full body paint, we like the layout, fit, finishes, etc. However, and I guess this might be a dealbreaker esp to hubby, we are left with a OCCC of just under 1400 lbs.

We aren’t terribly skinny folks and have 2 dogs and if we fill the water we aren’t left with much. Are there any 29V owners out there that make it work? Anything we can do? I really like this MH but don’t want to be unsafe and we can still back out if we need to.

Any feedback is appreciated.

[Morich]

I'm no help on the load question but I might point to some info that you could look over on details of the RV before buying?

I like to look for any small points in designs that I may not like and Winnebago does give us a really great tool for looking at what they have given us. And we can do it without going to the dealer or crawling around as they have an interacitve parts setup that lets us looks from all different angles and zoom in to really search out small points that we could never spot in person! Have you ever wished you could Look through walls?
https://catalog3d.winnebagoind.com/menu/Parts.htm

I did a bit of looking for things I might not like and found very few. The inside layout looks good for what we like. One is that the bed doesn't stick out in the heat or cold and we have found we like that for more uniform temps while sleeping as well as less noise than on slides.

Second big thing if you do any cold weather use is the water lines and where they run. Lines on the outer walls tend to freeze quicker! But the only place this RV has lines close to the outside is the wet bay and if needed a light bulb there may be plenty to avoid freeze.
Two small points that I might want to look at are how the black tank drains are operated. There seems to be two different pull handles shown, so possibly there were two designs, so which does your unit have and are they both easy to use?
Drawings are not always foolproof and looking may tell a different story but one shows where it looks pretty awkward if it is not at the outlet? Do you have to go inside to open the black water drain? Maybe worth a check?

Click these snips to get a better view or go direct!


Only other point I might question is an outside sink and what to do for winterizing the pump under it. Do we go with blowing it out or just add pink? It seems to have to pump water uphill to drain the sink so some question about getting all the water out of the pump??

Seems the heat ducts running front to back will likely leak a fair amount of heat down to any plumbing, so the major parts of lines look good.

But then that is looking really hard for things to pick on, so my ideas from this distance are not really big things if it looks good close up!

[Eagle5]

Originally Posted by LindsyB

Hello all,

... we are left with a OCCC of just under 1400 lbs.

Hi Lindsy,
I see on the Winnebago Site that there is an option for:
SumoSprings® suspension enhancement
I wonder if that would increase your load carrying capability? Maybe call Winnebago to ask?
Welcome to the forum.
Eagle5

[dkoldman]

Is this the Adventurer? I would love to see the yellow sticker.

We have 2019 29ve and our OCCC is 2005lbs. We don't need that much. My guess is we actually use 1200 - 1300 lbs with two normal people. In fact, we recently weighed, and by playing with the gas level and about 1/3 tank of fresh water we can get down to about 800#. I was playing with this to see if we could get an extra 1200lbs for our GCW if we wanted to carry a 6,000# toad and still be under GCWR of 23,000

With that said I wonder what you have that is 700lbs heavier? I have Sumo Springs & Safe t plus that we added but would be consuming against our 2,005 OCCC. We have 2 ACs, 5500 Gen, outdoor kitchen w/Fridge and 3 TVs. I also have a spare time that I added so another 75lbs against our OCCC. You can add a net 50# increase for 2 AGM batteries we added for House as we dump the OEM NAPA FLA batteries.

Ask them can you get it weighed before purchase at a nearby Cat Scale is what I would do. Hopefully you are not really at 16,600lbs empty

[Noah4448]

We have a 2019 Vista 29VE with an outdoor kitchen, A/C 50 amp generator, and queen bed and have an overweight issue also. Here is what we did.
1. Tricked out the suspension. I'll post what we did later.
2. Removed the bed over the driver.
3. Removed the 4 hub caps.
4. Swapped out lead acid for lithium.
5. Carry spare tire (for Alaska,) Kayak, and 100 pounds of weights in our Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk tow.
6. Go with 2/3 fuel and 1/3 fresh water and empty grey and black tanks.
7. Over-inflate all tires to 88 pounds.

With two adults (320 pounds,) a 45-pound dog, and clothing/stuff/food for 100-day 12,200-mile trip to Alaska, most of the trip we were about 400 pounds overweight at 18,400. Jeep was underweight at 4,950 pounds. We checked several times. We didn't sweat the 2.2% overweight. Note we didn't boondock. Boondocking with full fresh tank adds another 30 gal times 8 pounds plus 20 gal of fuel at 7 pounds for a total add of 380 pounds for another 2.2% overweight (all approximate.) In my opinion, 5% overweight is no big deal.

If you do cold weather, I did a test see separate Vista 29VE post on results.

Also did a post about travelling with dogs.

We love our Vista and have done over 44,000 miles of trips. We are not full time just travel a lot when we do go.

[ElmondTX1]

Originally Posted by LindsyB

Hello all,

I am a newbie here as we currently own a 5th wheel. We have actually put a deposit on a 2023 Vista 29V. It has everything we are looking for - King bed, 2 AC units, full body paint, we like the layout, fit, finishes, etc. However, and I guess this might be a dealbreaker esp to hubby, we are left with a OCCC of just under 1400 lbs.

We aren’t terribly skinny folks and have 2 dogs and if we fill the water we aren’t left with much. Are there any 29V owners out there that make it work? Anything we can do? I really like this MH but don’t want to be unsafe and we can still back out if we need to.

Any feedback is appreciated.

If on a Ford chassis make sure their is a Ford dealer in your area. None in Houston area. We had to drive 80 miles to have warranty service. Then waited 5 months for parts on national back order.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by ElmondTX1

If on a Ford chassis make sure their is a Ford dealer in your area. None in Houston area. We had to drive 80 miles to have warranty service. Then waited 5 months for parts on national back order.

Can I ask what was wrong? We bought new and after 4 years (knock on wood) we have yet to have need for a Ford dealer warranty work. I did once take to take Ford Commercial Truck Center 20 miles away to put on the Safe T Plus; but they could not get the U bolts off. They said they were afraid they may break them. They said the U bolts were NOT a Ford stock part; so they wanted to fabricate new U - bolts just in case they broke at and additional cost of $500 above the Safe T Plus install cost. When I declined they charged me a $150 min labor fee to basically tell me they could not do the work

I would later go a regular spring shop who took the U bolts off and installed the Safe T Plus bracket I needed for $75. I then mounted and adjusted the Safe T Plus bar my self.

Now having a Winnebago dealer dealer nearby 35 miles for us was certainly needed. I have a Mobile Tech guy since WBGO warranty expired and he come to the house. I try to have him do something at least once a year to keep the relationship.

[ElmondTX1]

On the way home from the dealership the check engine light came on. Lost ABS, Trak and Cruise. First trip to dealership after waiting 6 weeks they replaced the wheel sensors. Did not work. Took it back They had to back order the wheel hub with sensors. Drove home. Waited 5 months for parts. Drove back, they installed hub and that solved the problem. Left dealership and 5 miles down the road the check engine light came on. Drove back to dealership. Now the problem is the catalysis. Only 4500 miles on MH. They had me buy a fuel additive. Did that drove 80 miles home. Went to our camping resort approximately 80 miles from home and later returned home. Check engine light still on. I was told light will not go out on it's own so need to get it checked with a code reader which can turn off the light. By the way I spent months talking to Ford and they could care less their in no Ford dealers in Houston.
I added a Steer Safe to our MH and it works great. Had one on our previous Fleetwood Discovery.
We have a mobile tech that comes to our camping resort.

[Morich]

Originally Posted by ElmondTX1

On the way home from the dealership the check engine light came on. Lost ABS, Trak and Cruise. First trip to dealership after waiting 6 weeks they replaced the wheel sensors. Did not work. Took it back They had to back order the wheel hub with sensors. Drove home. Waited 5 months for parts. Drove back, they installed hub and that solved the problem. Left dealership and 5 miles down the road the check engine light came on. Drove back to dealership. Now the problem is the catalysis. Only 4500 miles on MH. They had me buy a fuel additive. Did that drove 80 miles home. Went to our camping resort approximately 80 miles from home and later returned home. Check engine light still on. I was told light will not go out on it's own so need to get it checked with a code reader which can turn off the light. By the way I spent months talking to Ford and they could care less their in no Ford dealers in Houston.
I added a Steer Safe to our MH and it works great. Had one on our previous Fleetwood Discovery.
We have a mobile tech that comes to our camping resort.

The thing with Ford dealers in Texas may be a local or state thing??
My family has been Ford for a long time and we have several who worked Ford in Missouri, but when we had trouble with a Ford Focus intermitant crank, we could not get it fixed. After vast amount of time waiting and letting them keeps it for a week or more, three different dealers came back to saying they needed to change the battery! Of course that was one item NOT covered by the extended warrenty! Their batteries were also in the near $200 range, so we passed on that idea.
We found it no longer practical to deal with them in a "business friendly" state and sold the car!
Too much growth making for too few real good techs?

[Noah4448]

I have received good service (routine) from my local (6 miles) dealer. Then they stopped working on RVs. (They were not cheap.)
Now I go 10 miles to another Ford truck service center. I got good service and again not cheap. All servicing was routine.

I did have the battery go bad after 3 months. Ford replaced it for free.

My Vista has 44k. I have been careful to change the oil and filter every 5k with one exception. On the road, I have completed 3 of the oil changes, no big deal except for finding a place to recycle the oil. I carry all the tools needed to change except a pan which I buy each time or mooch off of a friend.

[ElmondTX1]

Originally Posted by Morich

The thing with Ford dealers in Texas may be a local or state thing??
My family has been Ford for a long time and we have several who worked Ford in Missouri, but when we had trouble with a Ford Focus intermitant crank, we could not get it fixed. After vast amount of time waiting and letting them keeps it for a week or more, three different dealers came back to saying they needed to change the battery! Of course that was one item NOT covered by the extended warrenty! Their batteries were also in the near $200 range, so we passed on that idea.
We found it no longer practical to deal with them in a "business friendly" state and sold the car!
Too much growth making for too few real good techs?

Not a State thing but Dealership. 3 dealerships that are commercial dealership have capability and have shop and lift claim they work on Class A motorhomes. If you call them, they don't. One told me they are to much trouble. Makes you want to buy a MH with a Ford chassis.

[LindsyB]

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

We did ask about a local Ford dealer and the RV dealer said that they there is one that they work with so I think we should be all set there.

Noah - I’m curious what you did with your suspension. We do have the Sumo Springs option on the unit but I’d be interested to see what else you did.

As far as batteries - we would like to switch to Lithium as well. Was it a straight swap or what else needed to be changed?

Glad to hear that those of you that have the Vista 29V love them!

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by ElmondTX1

Not a State thing but Dealership. 3 dealerships that are commercial dealership have capability and have shop and lift claim they work on Class A motorhomes. If you call them, they don't. One told me they are to much trouble. Makes you want to buy a MH with a Ford chassis.

A few years back, I saw a Ford Dealership that had no less than 4 RVs parked by Service dept while passing by. I later called and they said they don't work on RVs

If you still have Ford warranty it is nice to know where you may go. About a year ago, I spoke with Ford's Motorhome Assistance Center 800-444-3311 to clarify / correct the start date of my Ford Warranty. If I had an issue, I would call them first to document the concern and have them tell me which Ford Dealer to take it too. I have heard of people towing a broken down RV to nearest Ford dealer only to find out the dealer will not work on it.

Start now find you a good mobile tech.

[Noah4448]

1. To enable towing my 2019 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk (I installed.)
Tow bar RM-676 $1125 (RM= RoadMaster)
Base plate RM 521451-5 $15
Brake RM-9400 $1275
Diodes TR118821 $45.32 (TR= Tow Ready)
Stop light RM 751471 $38.43
Charger RM-156-25
Shield RM-4700 $449 (Rock Shield)

2. Cover C18031TK Tan $290 (Jeep Cover.)
3. Suspension:
a. Front and rear sway bars.
b. Roadmaster Reflex Steering Stabilizer for Class A Motor Homes Item # RM-RSSA
c. Front and Rear SumoSprings.
4. TireMinder Tire pressure monitor.
5. Two Battle Born 100Ah 12volt LiFePO4 Lithium batteries with Intelipower charger pendant to use with the PD9200 converter and Redarc In-Vehicle BCDC Battery Charger - Dual Input - DC to DC - 12V/24V - 40 Amp (To control battery charging while driving)
6. Magnum Auto Generator Start ME-AGS-N (starts generator if batteries get low or temperature gets high for boondoggling with dogs. I installed.
7. Victron Energy BMV-712 Smart Battery Monitor (Grey)
8. ATT MarCELL Remote Temperature, Humidity & Power Monitor to warn if RV is heating up (dog) while we are not in RV.
9. Acuva UV Arrow to purify water. Installed under the sink with help from my plumber (not expensive RV mechanic.) At the same time the plumber modified/enhanced hot and cold water PEX pipe tubing with flexible steel tubing to reduce strain on PEX tubing when slider goes in and out. One of the plastic T fittings broke due to the stain. He also replaced it with a metal fitting.
10. Fridge Defend to protect the refrigerator.
11. XM radio receiver.
12. Garmin RV 780 GPS RV Navigator.
13. Garmin InReach for inexpensive satellite text communications when no cell (For Alaska and ALCAN)
14. WeBoost RV65 to pull in a very weak cell signal for internet.
15. AeroGarden Harvest XL for fresh herbs while traveling (secured with Velcro behind dinette.)
16. Rev-A-Shelf 448-BC-6C 6 Inch Pull-Out Kitchen Cabinet Storage Organizer Spice Rack w/3 Adjustable Sliding Wood Shelves, Chrome Rails, & 100lb Capacity 6.5 inches wide. Better organization of pantry near the refrigerator.

TireMinder is the most IMPORTANT

[Noah4448]

Originally Posted by LindsyB

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

As far as batteries - we would like to switch to Lithium as well. Was it a straight swap or what else needed to be changed?

The batteries fit right in. But I did a lot of research on what would happen to the Lithium batteries while driving. Some said no problem. Some said get an isolator. I chose to go with the Redarc In-Vehicle BCDC Battery Charger - Dual Input - DC to DC - 12V/24V - 40 Amp to control battery charging while driving as the safest solution. The Redarc unit also has a solar charging controller for use while driving and/or while stopped. I have not used that feature yet. You also need the pendant while stopped.

Get the Lithium batteries with the heating pads if you plan on being on the road in weather below 28 degrees.