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Old 09-23-2013, 06:07 PM   #1
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Vista 26 HE questions

Our vista 26HE has now 2000 miles on it. We had it out for a 415 mile trip to Watertown New York from Canada. We average 8.5 m?g. I guess this will get a little better.

Just wondered what others with this same motorhome have done in upgrades. We don't like where the toilet paper dispenser is. Has anyone moved theirs to another location. I had an inverter installed for the TV. We didn't have to get a site with power and were able to watch the TV without the generator on. for several hours. The next night we used our disc player as we were camped out in Sand Banks Provincial Park . There are very few TV channels to view in the Picton Ontario area.

There was a lot of rain when camped out. We didn't have any leaks. but we did get water coming in from under the refrigerator area when we were parked at a mall. There had been a heavy rainfall when were in the mall.

I don't like the cup holder. I may try to raise it up so it is more convenient Any suggestion on that one??.
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Old 09-23-2013, 07:09 PM   #2
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Had the Vista 26P, so the only thing I can address is the mpg. That figure sounds great, I towed an '07 Focus and generally got around 7 mpg.
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Old 09-23-2013, 11:44 PM   #3
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Congrats on your 26HE! We bought ours in June of 2012 and love it! As far as mods:
1) Added HDMI cable to TV so I could hook up my iPad for watching movies.
2) Turned the MCD Solo shades into Duo shades. I ordered directly from MCD and added the solar shade myself.
3) Added solid brass dually valve stems on all six tires from duallyvalve.com. My local BigO did the install.
4) Added a tee in gas line outside for our Weber Q100 grill and another one inside for a propane heater (Camcorder Olympian Wave 3). My local RV mechanic did the install and test.
That's it so far!
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Old 09-23-2013, 11:47 PM   #4
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Oh yeah, I exchanges all the interior light bulbs for LED bulbs so we can dry camp longer. They use about 12% of the electricity the old bulbs used.
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Old 09-24-2013, 04:17 AM   #5
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We installed pleated day night shades in our 26 HE. We liked them in our B+ Trail-lite 252 DS.
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Old 09-24-2013, 10:35 AM   #6
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We have 10,000 plus on our 2013 26HE, mpg has improved to about 9.1 mpg.

I didn't care for the closeness of the two chairs, passenger and living area, so I moved the living area one back about 4 inches (width of the attaching bolt pattern). The chairs now have more room for rotating.

I attached a cabinet door type magnet to the bathroom door to hold it open for privacy when we aren't quite level.

I built a small raised shelf on the floor in the driver side wardrobe to carry more shoes.
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Old 09-25-2013, 04:30 AM   #7
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I think I will move our chair over. I contacted Winnabego about a kit to make the chair moveable, but they say that is not an option. I believe the 26P has a moveable chair. We have a bed for our dog between the captains chairs. Our dog use to lay on the couch of our trail-lit when traveling. She doesn't seem to mind laying near the engine. When she wants to goes and lays on the bed. We put a shoe shoes storage under the table. It doesn't take up too much room.
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Old 09-25-2013, 10:54 AM   #8
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I'm really enjoying this thread and hearing about the changes there have made to their 26HE...lots of great ideas!
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Old 10-04-2013, 07:02 PM   #9
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Had our Vista 26 HE out for a two day run. We do notice a lot of wind noise from the driver and passenger windows. Just wondered if anyone else has this problem and how to cure it. We are a few hours from a Winnebago dealer, so it is not too convenient to go there for warranty work.

Also had one problem getting the motorhome to Auto level. The front jacks kept lifting the wheels off the ground. So I moved the motor home forward to try and level it better. This time the leveling system worked better, but the right rear jack was not down. Tried that several times with the same results. I ended up moving to another location and the leveling system worked fine. Can anyone explain that??
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Old 10-04-2013, 07:51 PM   #10
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I'll offer more empathy than help, I'm afraid. We also have the 26HE and notice the wind noise. I am thinking this is one way Winnebago cut costs to offer the 26HE at a good price. Our windows also has a squeak, but a recall from Winnebago replaced the window channels and they no longer squeak. You may check with your dealer to see if your rig is included in the recall.

We have also had an occasional problem with the jacks. I make sure the fluid is full (check only with jacks up) and spray silicone lube on the jacks when they are down (per manual). This helps somewhat.

Also note that the auto level adjusts each jack individually, but in manual mode, you adjust 2 jacks at a time, which can sometimes lead to a jack on one side not reaching the ground.

Best of luck with your 26HE. Even with these minor quirks, we gave really enjoyed ours.
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Old 10-04-2013, 08:00 PM   #11
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As for the water around the refrigerator, I would recommend to ensure you find how this is happening. You saw it after a heavy rain, but it could be happening more often with lighter rain anf you are not aware a hidden area is getting wet. Over time could be damage, mold, small, etc.

The exterior vent to the refrigerator comes to mind off-hand as a possible problem aream as well as the roof vent hood.
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Old 10-05-2013, 04:00 PM   #12
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On the window noise problem, see if just releasing the locking catches helps. This was a temp fix until Winnebago replaced both windows under warranty. When ours was made, they had received a batch of bad windows.

On leveling, if the auto jacks pick up one or two wheels off the ground, lower back to the ground. Guestimate the number of boards or legos needed to fill the space the wheels were off the ground and use that number under the appropriate wheels. I use jack pads anytime I auto level so I put the same number of legos on the jack pad(s) near the offending wheels. This prevents extending the jacks to near their limits. Now re-level with the jacks, you should be able to level with all the wheels on the ground or legos. This has happened enough in our experience to be able to look at the level on our counter and know that we will need legos before I push the auto level button.

Never level and leave any wheels off the ground. The rig will only be resting on the jacks which is not that secure. Over time this will cause problems. Above info is from a service tech at my dealer.
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Old 10-05-2013, 05:12 PM   #13
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The dealer had told us that the windows had been repair, as we noticed the problem when we tried the Vista out, but we are still hearing lots of noise. There is another Winnebago dealer over an hour away. I may have to go there. Dealers in Canada sell certain models. Dealers don't carry every model, so you have to drive a long ways to get what you want.

So, you level the motor home and guess how much to put under the tires. That sounds like you have to drive onto the leveling blocks before you push the auto jack feature. Is that correct??

I thought about having some Firestone air bags installed to make the ride smoother in the Vista. The problem I see is that the auto leveling jacks could cause problems with the air bags.
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Old 10-06-2013, 06:02 AM   #14
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Sorry about that, yes, I do have to drive up on the blocks/legos before I level with this method.

Even if you just get close with blocks/legos while the axle/wheel is in the air, in the auto mode, you will still have to lower back to the ground and then re-level.

With auto levelers this appears to be part of the set-up in campgrounds with very uneven sites. Since we have purchased our Vista and experienced this situation, it's amazing how many rigs we see in campgrounds with a wheel or axle off the ground as we walk around.

As far as the windows go, before they were replaced, even with our windows locked, we could still slide them forward which shows how bad some of this lot was.

I am satisfied with the ride of the 26HE. I think I said in another post that I flew helicopters for 25 years so except on a few interstates, the ride is smooth enough.
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Old 10-06-2013, 11:01 AM   #15
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The ride in our Vista is about the same as our Trail-lite was. Our Trail-lite had a longer wheelbase. This Vista is so easy to get around in. The shorter wheelbase make it a breeze to man-over. They are smooth on some roads. There is a section around Kingston, Ontario on the 401 that will rattle anything to pieces.

I should try and get a power inverter for the refrigerator. I would like the refrigerator running on electrical power when driving on the highway. I have an inverter for our TV so we don't have to start the generator in camping areas that don't have electricity.

The other item is to relocate the toilet paper holder.
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Old 03-17-2014, 09:17 PM   #16
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MACNUT

On the LED's is there a part number? Ive talked to the local dealers and they can't really give me an answer on the correct replacement for the ceiling lights. I think OEM are either 921's or 7440's. Either way they seem stumped for the correct LED
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Old 03-17-2014, 09:19 PM   #17
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I know this the posts are older but on the mod side. I agree the cup holder in front is useless. I ended up building a console, 4 upholders and storage and desk space. Also ended up putting piano hinges on the dinette seats and partitioned those in half.
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Old 03-17-2014, 09:22 PM   #18
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For those sites that are uneven I purchased a set of plastic ramps from NAPA. The are light, 12,000 rated and cheap. They will lift the front about 6-7 inches, so no dangling wheels. With the V10 and the 26HE, there is plenty of power to back the font onto the ramps with ease.
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Old 03-17-2014, 09:53 PM   #19
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Great ideas!

OldTrooper, I bought these from amazon (6 for $40) and they work great in our 26HE

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Old 03-28-2014, 07:27 PM   #20
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Love my 2013 26 he except for the windows I seem to have an issue with the piece of aluminum that is on sliding part of the windows that is coming off on the top and bottom of the window glass anybody else have this issue . I also upgraded the single stage schumacher convertor to a powermax boondocker 4 stage
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