Itasca Ellipse/Winnebago Tour

[tmandoug1]

DW and I are down to three and we would like (if you have time) one pro and one con on the Ellipse/Tour.


Thanks for your time and input,

Doug and Renee

[Steve COH]

Pro: As 42 foot class A diesel pushers go, they are a decent value.

Con: Still the cost is a pretty good chunk of change. Price of admission, I guess.

Additional pros: Residential refrigerator, tag axle stability, aqua hot heat, Cummins power, and Freightliner chassis.

Additional cons: Sometimes a finicky folding bed and finicky Whirlpool microwave.

[majfrizz]

Pro: Value for the money. Winnebago overall. This is our 2nd.


Con: Some of the color patterns inside could be better.

[Gordon Dewald]

We really like our Tour. Cannot give you just one pro as it would take several days to come to a decision on the one to post.

Pros: comfortable, quiet, well appointed, great support and service, residential fridge, aqua hot, all electric.

Cons: have to be careful when wiping induction burner not to turn it on.

[jerichorick]

I have the little sister to the QD. Pro: great electrical systems with the 6 AGM's, 2800 w pure sine wave inverter and the residential refrig. Many, many more pluses.

Cons: QD. We bought used. There are still several quality issues that we have chosen to live with and repair when they become too bad. The crown molding is of very poor quality. I have had to repair the bottoms of the upper cabinets because they started to drop down.

A used QD, 2011 or newer, is a great choice. (Predigests because of floor plan. Our layout is so functional, comfortable for us and storage room is fantastic.) But be aware of the quality of the assembly and get it corrected before you drive away.

Rick Y

[tnteacherguy]

Doug and Renee,

One pro and one con...PM me if you want to discuss at length. My wife and I are fulltime now and not regretting our decisions.

Pro. Love the QD floor plan. Works perfect for us. Although it is only 10% of the square footage of the house we sold, we rarely feel uncomfortable.

Con. We worry that our family room slide is going to fail. It has been repaired three times. It has never failed at a disasterous time. But, nonetheless, caused two unscheduled service visits (both were only 1 day repairs).

[RVThere]

Don't know if you're looking new or used. We have a 2007 Tour 40TD with almost 70k miles.

PRO: Layout. Functions with slides in or out.

CON: Serpentine belts. Been through 3 as one snapped, once alternator seized, and once AC compressor seized. Now keep spares.

Many other PRO's as we've put off getting a new coach as this one works so well for us. Sitting in it now in the FL Keys!

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by tnteacherguy

Doug and Renee,

One pro and one con...PM me if you want to discuss at length. My wife and I are fulltime now and not regretting our decisions.

Pro. Love the QD floor plan. Works perfect for us. Although it is only 10% of the square footage of the house we sold, we rarely feel uncomfortable.

Con. We worry that our family room slide is going to fail. It has been repaired three times. It has never failed at a disasterous time. But, nonetheless, caused two unscheduled service visits (both were only 1 day repairs).

I have read of the slide issues with the later year coaches. Sorry you are in that position. My coach has PowerGear brand slide mechanics. These have a better reliability record than the Lippert (?spelling) brand that Winnebago went to and you may have. PowerGear still has its own issues but I have not had a problem in the almost 2 years it has been with us. I had slide issues on my last coach, enough problems overall to want to trade to this one. I only buy used.

If the op does a search on this topic I am certain he will get a great education.

Besides the slide, if that were not an issue, how has the coach been to you? Is the slide still an issue?

Rick Y

[tnteacherguy]

Besides the slide we've been very happy.
We had a transfer switch gradually fail at the same time as a slide. So, that was only one trip to the shop. I had a slide lock switch fail but, bypassed it and eventually replaced it when convenient.

We love the amount of storage. We didn't need/want the outside frig/freezer so I removed it to increase storage capacity. Removed the slide shelf as well.

I would probably buy another one if necessary. I'm keeping this one until at least 2023 otherwise.

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by tnteacherguy

Besides the slide we've been very happy.
We had a transfer switch gradually fail at the same time as a slide. So, that was only one trip to the shop. I had a slide lock switch fail but, bypassed it and eventually replaced it when convenient.

We love the amount of storage. We didn't need/want the outside frig/freezer so I removed it to increase storage capacity. Removed the slide shelf as well.

I would probably buy another one if necessary. I'm keeping this one until at least 2023 otherwise.

I'm glad to hear that overall you are happy campers. We did not get the QD because of the length. Most of the volunteer locations we go to don't accommodate rigs over 40' very well. Even though we would love the extra bath we are doing very well without it. We are very pleased with this coach. It is a good home for us and our dog.

Another feature you have that I wish we had is the 3 zone A/C. We have 2 zones and the two units in the front running at the same time put out way too much air and noise.

Happy trails, where ever they may lead.

Rick Y

[RonandBee]

Pro: It's a Winnebago

Con: Rear radiator in-lieu-of a side radiator

[ChrisKW]

We had a 2012 Tour 42QD, now a 2014 Ellipse 42QD. Agree with the previously stated pro's and con's, and agree the PowerGlide was superb for both driver and passenger slides on the earlier year Tour. Like many the "con" on the newer coaches is the Lippert slides (passenger slide repaired twice thus far). Sadly we limit the use of the passenger-side slide to keep its cycles down, and we always use travel locks now to avoid creep and stress on the slide system. That said, we love our QD!!! Simply put, the pro list is a mile long, the con list one item (slides).


Chris & Deb - North Venice, FL - 2014 Itasca Ellipse 42QD - Toad: 2014 Jeep Rubicon

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by RonandBee

Pro: It's a Winnebago

Con: Rear radiator in-lieu-of a side radiator

Are you buying the radiator location or the over all functional layout of the coach? Will you compromise for less appealing functionality to get a side mount radiator by a coach manufacture with a worse track record?

Not meant to criticize. I hope you are just wishful thinking. True, getting behind the rear radiator is a struggle for the common guy. But hopefully most of us won't have the need. I, personally, like the storage space I have gained with the radiator relocation and the loss of the basement air. I don't like the noise of the roof air but it, too, functions better in hot and cold weather.

Rick Y

[tmandoug1]

Ok so the major issue is the lippert slide?

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by tmandoug1

Ok so the major issue is the lippert slide?

Lippert now owns PowerGear/Kwikee. I hope they find a fix for you folks now. Such a beauty of a coach. Shame to be fearful when deploying the rooms.

Rick Y

[XBoater]

I am sitting here as my DW drives us home on I-95 and watch the kitchen slide bounce a bit. I see what could be an issue with the design. As the slide closes tight all the holding force is at the exterior wall there is no support under the kitchen slide floor. There should be a few rollers under the structure that extends beyond the slide box floor like under the couch corner, the cabinet that extends and the back corner. There is a lot of force generated if someone sits on the couch or leans on the edge of the kitchen counter while the slide is retracted. If the slide is retracted fully the slide is supported by the outer frame, but I have had mine loosen an inch or two underway. This puts all the force on the the Schwintek rails and little nylon wheels to hold the weight.

Has there been any issues with the new Powergear driven kitchen slide units?

[fla tom]

Originally Posted by tmandoug1

Ok so the major issue is the lippert slide?

Only the large slide the back small slide does fine, we had an unusual problem withour 2013 the front ac pored water, into the celing and then dripped into the coach, camping world most likelythe biggest problem but could not get winnebago customer service to do anything for us short of driving 20 hours to the factory and then they would see what they could do. Otherwise winnebago builds a great coach , great frame wiring etc. For the money it is ome of the best deals just be careful the dealer you buy from

[fla tom]

Originally Posted by XBoater

I am sitting here as my DW drives us home on I-95 and watch the kitchen slide bounce a bit. I see what could be an issue with the design. As the slide closes tight all the holding force is at the exterior wall there is no support under the kitchen slide floor. There should be a few rollers under the structure that extends beyond the slide box floor like under the couch corner, the cabinet that extends and the back corner. There is a lot of force generated if someone sits on the couch or leans on the edge of the kitchen counter while the slide is retracted. If the slide is retracted fully the slide is supported by the outer frame, but I have had mine loosen an inch or two underway. This puts all the force on the the Schwintek rails and little nylon wheels to hold the weight.

Has there been any issues with the new Powergear driven kitchen slide units?

The issue is the schwintek slides the powergear slide was the previous slide mechanism and were much better

[bertman]

LOVE IT!!! Would not trade it for anything else out there (including the new ones!)

[XBoater]

Originally Posted by fla tom

The issue is the schwintek slides the powergear slide was the previous slide mechanism and were much better

Actually for 2015 they no longer use the Schwintek slide mechanism, though it is similar, I assumed it is Powergear.