Vista 26P 11.5K mile Shakedown Cruise

papa peter · 07-11-2012, 09:23 AM

Just returned from our 11,500 mile 12 week shakedown cruise with our new 2012 Vista 26P. Visited 28 States and 4 Canadian Provinces. Traveled from California to Virginia with lots of side trips, up the New England Coast and into the Canadian Atlantic Provinces. The 26P handled the trip great

Just dropped it off at my local dealer with a hit list of about 12 items but none of those were deal breakers. Minor issues and all the major components worked as advertised

Only disappointment was visiting Forest City, Iowa at the wrong time of the year ... right in the middle of the annual WIT Grand National Rally and the 4th of July. Was hoping for a tour of the factory and have some of the items on my hit list looked at but alas ... next time.

**macnut** · 07-11-2012, 12:51 PM

I have the 26HE and also just retuned from my shakedown cruise (1 state and 200 miles! :-). We also found a few minor things, like 2 of the drawers sticking, and a lock outside hard to operate...but all of major systems worked like a charm. Love Winnebago quality! Congrats on your purchase and may you have many years of great adventures in it!

rream · 07-11-2012, 02:01 PM

Wow great "shakedown cruise" - you really racked up some miles

Postflight · 07-11-2012, 07:32 PM

Just purchased a 06 Itasca Sunova 26P, Love it EXCEPT, it has a major heat problem under/behind the kitchen sink and bathroom sink. They are next to each other. I have found that I have a "MotorAid Heater". Well, my water heater is putting out 200 degree water, and it so hot I am afraid it is going to come apart. Is there anyway to turn it down or better yet, OFF?

Mr_D · 07-11-2012, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Postflight

Just purchased a 06 Itasca Sunova 26P, Love it EXCEPT, it has a major heat problem under/behind the kitchen sink and bathroom sink. They are next to each other. I have found that I have a "MotorAid Heater". Well, my water heater is putting out 200 degree water, and it so hot I am afraid it is going to come apart. Is there anyway to turn it down or better yet, OFF?

There should be a shut off valve in the cooling system tie in. There is on ours. And yes, we do have to be careful when we first stop as the water is very hot at about 180°, same as the coolant temp.

VSPA · 07-11-2012, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by papa peter

Just returned from our 11,500 mile 12 week shakedown cruise with our new 2012 Vista 26P. .....

Think I'm envious! Currently we are only able to take short trips and at the rate we're going it will take about 8 to ten years to get that amount of milage on our 26P, but we have always been more into short trips than long ones. Only complaint I've had with mine is the latch release on the living area chair. It's come lose twice since we bought it.

papa peter · 07-12-2012, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mustang652

Think I'm envious! Currently we are only able to take short trips and at the rate we're going it will take about 8 to ten years to get that amount of mileage on our 26P, but we have always been more into short trips than long ones. Only complaint I've had with mine is the latch release on the living area chair. It's come lose twice since we bought it.

What kind of latch release do you have for the living area chair? Mine is the one that has the bracket that is screwed down into the floor. For the most part we had no itinerary on our trip. We often decided which direction and where we would head that morning

Sightseer33 · 07-12-2012, 10:01 AM

Great to hear. Have had three sightseers. All great !

VSPA · 07-12-2012, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by papa peter

What kind of latch release do you have for the living area chair? Mine is the one that has the bracket that is screwed down into the floor. For the most part we had no itinerary on our trip. We often decided which direction and where we would head that morning

The movement of the chair in our unit is controlled by two plastic levers, one to make it slide forward and one, the broken one, controls the swivel action and the cable screws to the base of the chair where it attaches to the swivel. Even the first technition commented that it was a poor design at best and he'd had problems with it in several units. As I've previously posted, I'm giving consideration to removing the entire chair and it's base and replacing it with a free standing RV recliner and finding something to replace or cover the hole that removing the base would leave in the carpet. Just got to work that into the budget.