Buying 2019 Era 70X

HandsomeBob · 06-01-2021, 04:01 PM

Hey guys, my wife and I are thinking of purchasing a 2019 Era 70X with 9000 miles. Inside is perfect. It does have a solar panel, don't know if that it's standard.

I was wondering if there are things I need to look for when we do our final walk-through.

In addition, what should I be looking for in the solar system? I don't know the specs on that. I will update when I get that info.

Thank You Guys!

-Bob

RV-Travelers · 06-02-2021, 12:33 PM

Every unit probably has different issues. Here are a few we've encountered with our 2016 Era 70A, also purchased with about 9K miles and 2 years old.

Hinges pulling out of several doors (bathroom, overhead storage)
Refrigerator door hinge broke rendering refrigerator unusable until it was fixed
Backup camera failed (water leak), replaced
Battery solenoid failed (located under passenger seat), coach batteries not charging, replaced
Broken plastic fuse holder, no power to front TV, replaced
Mirror pulling loose from bathroom wall, reattached
Over The Air TV antenna system failure due to bad switch in cabinet under rear A/V system, replaced
In-dash Rand McNally GPS failure due to bad SD card, replaced card
Replaced crumbling rubber radio antenna on roof
Bathroom vent gasket replacement
Roof vent fan cover sticking, wouldn't open (originally thought the gearbox on the fan had failed, but it was just the seal sticking to the fan cover)

We managed to fix all of the above ourselves.

There are probably a few things I've forgotten. We have also had our Era in for multiple recalls - air bags, overhead storage compartment, emissions upgrade, maybe one or two others. There is currently an open recall on a rear-wheel speed sensor affecting the electronic stability control system, waiting on parts. So check for open recalls.

Fortunately the MB chassis and drive-train has been solid so far. The local MB dealer did break a rear window when they were backing it up at the dealership, delayed a trip by a day, but no way to plan for that.

And fortunately so far none of the major systems (AC, heat, inverter, etc.) have failed; that said, we have used them very little.

Best advice I have is to assume nothing. Test everything, and I mean everything, even if the owner or dealer is giving you dirty looks. Once you hand over the payment all of the problems become yours to deal with.

In spite of all of the above we enjoy traveling in our Era.

HandsomeBob · 06-02-2021, 12:59 PM

Thank you for sharing your experience with Era 70. This is extremely helpful! I'm really happy to hear that no major problems and that the Mercedes chassis, motor and trans have zero issues.

In regards to your Mercedes maintenance. Does that come included or is that a package you buy from a dealer?

Thanks again!

Bob

RV-Travelers · 06-02-2021, 03:46 PM

When we bought our Era it was about 2 years old and had 1 year left on the 3-year / 36K Mercedes-Benz warranty (I believe the drivetrain is actually 60K miles, don't remember the time limit).

About a month before the 3-year/36K warranty ran out we took it to the local MB dealer and they did a multi-point inspection for free. They didn't find anything wrong at that time. I would recommend doing that - if they catch anything it might save you some $.

Recalls are of course handled for free by the appropriate parties (MB or Winnebago).

RV-Travelers · 06-02-2021, 03:48 PM

I forgot to mention that when MB broke one of the rear windows it was in the shop for a recall, not any paid maintenance.

KitsapEra · 06-02-2021, 09:51 PM

We have a 2018 Era 70M that was bought used about a year ago. Original owners only put about a 1000 miles and one trip on it, then let it sit for about a year before consigning it back at the dealer. The 70M was the heaviest and most complicated of the Era models - it has both a slide out and power murphy bed. And also a full, dry bath. So there are even more things to fail than normal.

The first issue we had I should have caught during the walk-thru. The shower leaked from one of the connections to the shower control valve. I ran the shower during the walk-thru but neglected to step outside and look under the van. It took me two attempts to fix it, working in a very tight space - entirely thru the cut out in the shower wall that is for the shower control valve. The issue was a compression fitting which pulled apart when any stress was put on it. How RV manufacturers think that compression fittings in an RV are acceptable is beyond me. They have basically zero mechanical strength.

This spring when I took it out of storage I discovered that we had very low propane pressure. I ended up tracing this to the low-pressure regulator (there are two, high and low pressure). I actually got there by process of elimination which meant that I also have a new high pressure regulator in place now also. While doing this I figured out the LP plumbing and added a length of LP hose and a pressure gauge to an unused outlet on the LP manifold. So at least now I know what pressure I have. I also now carry a spare high pressure LP regulator ;-)

The display on the house computer system also died. After calling the manufacturer of it (not Winnie) they quickly guided me to a simple fix - turns out that there is a Li battery on the back of the circuit board. Remove the display from the cabinet, flip over and there it is. Now we also carry a spare battery.

Last trip out the murphy bed failed to go all the way up a couple of times. That was really scary as we were boondocking deep in the Oregon back country and you can't close the slide unless the bed is up. Fortunately, after several tries it went back up. Got home and started messing with it. Called Winnie and the best they could do was send me the mechanical drawings. At least now I know how it works. I *think* I traced the issue to a longer than necessary drive belt. The belt is clamped to the bed frame, and there was about a foot of extra belt hanging loose after the clamp. It looks like as the bed pivoted up, the end of the excess belt could actually get entangled in the mechanism raising the bed. I've tied it off for now.

And yes, the cabinet hinges are stronger than the material that the screws are screwed into for some of the cabinet doors. This necessitated using larger screws, set in 5 minute epoxy. All that expensive "yacht grade" cabinetry is still really particle board on the inside, and that won't hold screws under heavy vibration and load.

The fancy Rand McNally GPS system that replaces the stock MB one has some weird power sensitivity. It appears that if the engine battery is at all below 12V, it doesn't boot up on engine start, even after the engine is running and cranking out 14.5V. Throwing the switch to power it off the house batteries has always cured the problem. So I tend to just leave set to house power when traveling, that way it isn't having to restart each time we stop and start again. It has a very slow boot-up and you can't use the backup camera until it boots. Before I figured this all out I also went and bought a cheap wireless backup camera from Amazon and installed that, so now I have redundancy in that area. Oh, and it also crashed frequently when we first got it. Again, contacting the manufacturer of the unit (not Winnie) got me a s/w update and instructions how to flash the memory in the thing. That improved the boot-up time and reduced the frequency of crashes (from many times a day to maybe once a day).

I think that is about it. The MB component has in 6k miles, been flawless. But hey, that's about 1/50 the Sprinter's expected lifespan. All in all, we are still happy with it, but I'm also happy that I am now a *retired* engineer, and therefore have the time for a second job as an unpaid RV tech. There is no question that these vehicles are very complex, very compact, systems on wheels. If you are going to keep one in good running order, you should either be handy, or have a good dealer close by and be willing to spend the $$ there. I suspect that goes for pretty much any RV, but this Era is our only experience with anything other than a very simple, stone-age pop-up camper we had years ago.

Good Luck,

dm

RV-Travelers · 06-03-2021, 06:36 AM

KitsapEra, thanks for the detailed notes on the issues you've encountered. Of particular interest is the house computer system display issue. I'll keep a mental note of that for the eventual battery failure, assuming ours is the same or similar. How were you able to remove the display to get to the battery? Ours is mounted in front of the wardrobe area, perhaps we can get to it from inside the wardrobe.

I'm glad we have the "simpler" 70A model. It sounds like the 70M adds a whole lot more complexity to an already complex vehicle.

KitsapEra · 06-03-2021, 08:12 AM

There are (on ours) 4 small screws in the bezel around the display. You simply remove them and you can pop the display out. The only issues I think you escape with the 70A would be the murphy bed. All my comments about screws pulling out of hinges, LP regulator, plumbing, etc, still apply.

RV-Travelers · 06-03-2021, 08:56 AM

Thanks for the info on the display panel.

I realize the 70M and 70A are mostly the same, but the slide and Murphy bed are additional complexities we decided we didn't want to deal with.

CGLAKE · 06-06-2021, 07:53 PM

I’ve owned both the X and A models. If it’s going to be just two people, I’d recommend the A. More space storage space. More comfortable sleeping. As others posted, there are always issues. I’ve purchased extended warranties for both, and have come out ahead. The trick is get one that’s reasonable. I got a Good Sam three year policy for $1,500. I liked both.