Impression of Vectra after a week of use.

[Warpath]

Just back from the irv2 rally where we put about 1200 miles and 10 days of living on the Vectra.

I'll start out with the chassis. As I mentioned in a past post I noticed a issue with the front end bottoming out. This occurred a number of times down to the rally and it made driving the coach a real disappoint. I know they mention that the chassis is setup at the factory but this one was defiantly over looked. When I finally got a chance to get under and do some measuring the right rear adjuster was bottomed out. (The nut was tight) So this but a load on the front right and with the front air valve on the left it would dump the air on left turns which would cause the suspension to bottom. On the way home I played with it and am getting close to getting it leveled out. (definitely aggravating though)

The 400 Cummins is great and as many of you have mentioned letting the cruise control due it's job seemed to be the ticket. I found 67/68 mph to be the sweet spot with this motor and it easily climb some pretty decent grades with out coming out of 6th.

Now on the the living area. The first night we slept in the coach was great, although I am not to sure about the sleep number bed. I like a super firm mattress and ran the control to 100, but it didn't always hold that number. My back didn't seem to like the mattress either, and I have the Nautilus Sleep system at home which is similar. I'll give it a little more time, but may replace it with a firm mattress.

I don't think I have ever owned a RV that didn't have a shower that leaked right from the start. And this one was no different. The first leak was on either end of the bottom rail of the shower. This was a easy fix with some silicon. The next leak was up at the joint where the fitting comes through the wall. Winnebago uses a creme colored trim ring which turned out to be to thick and would not allow the plastic fitting to bottom out and seal. Chucked the trim ring and that solved that problem. I guess to be totally fair I don't think this would have been caught during QC since it only would leak when hot was was run for a minute or so. But it was definitely aggravating.

Other issues; the EMS unit does not light up the first 3 items on the shed list although they do seem to work. Surround sound speakers will only work with the dash radio, but that is it. I think that is a switch issue. The ceiling fan in the lounge only works on high. I can't get the trip/tek to give any readings, went through the entire manual and still nothing. (If anyone has any ideas let me know) A few light covers that wont stay on and finally a small hydraulic leak which we think is coming from the radiator fan motor, I maybe able to fix that by tightening a loose line.

Other than those "to be expected" issues, I as well as the rest of the family really love this coach! It was a joy to live in it for the week with plenty of room for everyone.

Bill

[Warpath]

Just back from the irv2 rally where we put about 1200 miles and 10 days of living on the Vectra.

I'll start out with the chassis. As I mentioned in a past post I noticed a issue with the front end bottoming out. This occurred a number of times down to the rally and it made driving the coach a real disappoint. I know they mention that the chassis is setup at the factory but this one was defiantly over looked. When I finally got a chance to get under and do some measuring the right rear adjuster was bottomed out. (The nut was tight) So this but a load on the front right and with the front air valve on the left it would dump the air on left turns which would cause the suspension to bottom. On the way home I played with it and am getting close to getting it leveled out. (definitely aggravating though)

The 400 Cummins is great and as many of you have mentioned letting the cruise control due it's job seemed to be the ticket. I found 67/68 mph to be the sweet spot with this motor and it easily climb some pretty decent grades with out coming out of 6th.

Now on the the living area. The first night we slept in the coach was great, although I am not to sure about the sleep number bed. I like a super firm mattress and ran the control to 100, but it didn't always hold that number. My back didn't seem to like the mattress either, and I have the Nautilus Sleep system at home which is similar. I'll give it a little more time, but may replace it with a firm mattress.

I don't think I have ever owned a RV that didn't have a shower that leaked right from the start. And this one was no different. The first leak was on either end of the bottom rail of the shower. This was a easy fix with some silicon. The next leak was up at the joint where the fitting comes through the wall. Winnebago uses a creme colored trim ring which turned out to be to thick and would not allow the plastic fitting to bottom out and seal. Chucked the trim ring and that solved that problem. I guess to be totally fair I don't think this would have been caught during QC since it only would leak when hot was was run for a minute or so. But it was definitely aggravating.

Other issues; the EMS unit does not light up the first 3 items on the shed list although they do seem to work. Surround sound speakers will only work with the dash radio, but that is it. I think that is a switch issue. The ceiling fan in the lounge only works on high. I can't get the trip/tek to give any readings, went through the entire manual and still nothing. (If anyone has any ideas let me know) A few light covers that wont stay on and finally a small hydraulic leak which we think is coming from the radiator fan motor, I maybe able to fix that by tightening a loose line.

Other than those "to be expected" issues, I as well as the rest of the family really love this coach! It was a joy to live in it for the week with plenty of room for everyone.

Bill

[John_Canfield]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Warpath:
--snip--
I'll start out with the chassis. As I mentioned in a past post I noticed a issue with the front end bottoming out. --snip--
Bill </div></BLOCKQUOTE>What I do not understand is why the delivery drivers aren't forced to turn in a 'gripe' list of things that obviously need attention before the dealer signs off on the delivery. The delivery drivers aren't permitted to "live" in the coach (sleep in the bed, shower, etc.) but they certainly could have reported on something like the suspension issue.

So your year-long process of squaring the coach away begins...

[Doggievet]

When I purchased my coach, Bleakley RV in Douglasville, GA had me spend 2 nights in their parking area while I went through the Journey looking for problems, and when I found something, they repaired it. Then I took the coach on a 5-day trip and on the way home, a major problem developed with the hydraulic line (it broke), so back to Bleakley and we spent 2 more nights while they repaired the line. All the time the dealership was great to work with. So some dealers do want their customers to be satisfied.
Annie K. and Sparky the long-haired chihuahua
03 Journey DL 36LD
04 Saturn L300 W
Blue Ox and Brake Buddy

[rebelsbeach]

It was great to finally meet Bill in person and see his Vectra up close....

My first observations were the extra bedroom window, (where my sink was he has a chair) made the bedroom appear to get much more light...Was never back there,but there'd have to be more light....I also liked the larger FD style windows he has,as a result of having the table and chairs...We still would go with the dinette since we like it better,but the exta glass was nice...
I looked at his surround sound issue as I too had one...Mine was a simple "learning curve", in finding out the surround worked through L1 on the vcr/dvd...
The Prairie Fire is a beautiful color, his paint looks a LOT better than mine did...
After talking to Bill and Joe-K I wish Winnebago (and Newmar for that matter) would go away from using the simulated finish on the rims...

All in all, in fairness Winnebago still does a great job....

[CHIPPYSGT]

Warpath,

My radio didn't work with the surround sound but the TV did. Pull off the panel where the switch is that selects radio or tv. I had a wire off the back of the switch.

My Triptek works but I still haven't figured out how to set the date or time. I solved the problem by wearing a watch with a calendar in it. I've got to play with it some more but the book is confusing.

Where are all the 10 year old grandkids when you need them?

[Warpath]

Hey John, these thing are a never ending work in process. BTW love the blog on your Alaska trip.

Annie, wish I had the time to do that. The dealer did pickup a few issues right off the bat, although they didn't have the parts to fix it right away. They seem like a good group so I am not worried about getting the rig fixed up.

Bob, yeah I love those windows!

Doug, I'll check that switch out, although we do hear a clicking in the box up in the cabinet. I was able to set the time and date, and enter in trip info, but it doesn't seem to be picking up any engine details. Maybe a wire came off.

I will say this, the Silver Leaf system blows away this trip tek. I will eventually replace it with the VMS 240 CL, probably put it where the radio in the dash is now.

I have a ton of mod's lined up. First up will be the Progressive EMS surge system.

[rebelsbeach]

Hey Bill, maybe get that surge suppressor from rvupgrades...