Looking for Outlook owners

[RonE]

We bought a 2009 Winnebago Outlook 29b. And it's hard to find Outlook owners. I don't know why I'm looking for them. Maybe to just see what they found that needs fixing or just updates they done that make it theirs. We love our Outlook it's 29.9 feet long. And drives like a car. I've installed new coach batteries yesterday. Which after 6 months of ownership isn't bad so far. We moved in to travel fulltime in our retirement. Who is out there that would speak up and share with us? I look forward to see or talk about the Outlook or any Winnebago Class C owners. Thanks in advance from one old guy to you.

[GHPOULSEN]

RON


WE BOUGHT A 2010 Winnie OUTLOOK 29b NEW AND HAVE LOVED AND MODIFIED IT A BIT. LOVE EVERYTHING BUT DRIVING LONG TRIPS CAN BE TIRING. RIGHT NOW AM REALLY FRUSTRATED WITH FINDING OUT WHERE AND HOW I CAN CLEAN OR GREASE THE PADS THAT SUPPORT OUR SLIDE IN LIVING ROOM. IT RUBS HARD AND HANGS UP HALF WAY OUT AND I AM CAPABLE BUT FOR THE LIFE OF ME I CAN'T FIGURE HOW TO GET TO THOSE PADS. ANY IDEAS? GEORGE POULSEN [email protected]

[RonE]

George I emailed you sorry I could help with the pads. But I'd like to hear what modifications you have done. Maybe I can learn something new to do. And thank you for getting back on my thread. Outlook owners should be everywhere but I haven't found any but you so far. You'd think as many as they had sold I could find more here.

[GHPOULSEN]

Regarding slider rubbing grunching and stopping on way out .


Glad to know I’m not the only one out here�� I’m 78 and physically and mentally capable to repair most anything my body will still let me do but this one has me faked out a bit. It grinds pretty badly on way out. I understand it is mechanical screwdrive that makes some of the noise, but the grinding grunching sound is definitely coming from the unit where it rubs over the “door” sill on the way out. I have researched a lot and even called Winnebago customer service and they are totally useless with remarks like, “well they made a lot of different rams units to move the slide out and we don’t know exactly which one they used on your unit, or how they installed it, so we’d recommend getting a real mechanic”. Kind of an idiot treatment.

Last year I started to pursue this and I found the mfr name of the single 4” steel tube with screwdrive somewhere if I can remember where I put it (have to look in RV). It was not HWH who makes the jacking computer and gear. This is different like a garage door drive screw in a tube is and not hydraulic. Its also a bit more tender because we only have one tube in middle to move whole room perfectly square on way out. I believe two Teflon type pads at each end of the sill allow it to slide over them on its flat metal bottom rather than most who seem to have two drive points or tubes to keep it square. I also found measurements from that mfr for adjusting the steel ram tube up and down (its pretty precise). But it involves getting under unit upside down with a really hefty muscled arm (mine isn’t strong enough) or power torque wrench and adjusting two different attachment points to the frame and to the outside edge of the room to the correct measurement from the bottom of the unit. The inside attachment point is in under the unit between the frame and the outside is visible by just looking under the room while out. The idea is that the inner one is a bit higher and the outer one is a bit lower so the slider kind of angles downward as it moves out. (My take is that with a few years age the room or the mechanism holding the room up, has sunk just a tiny bit and is letting the whole weight of the room drag across the sill on the way out. I have considered just taking some Kentucky windage and a wrench to the outside attaching point and just screwing the room outside face maybe ¼” higher than it is to see if it will take the pressure off the bottom of the room. It’s a big black attaching plate under there and hard to miss. I think it has a lock nut on the top of its plate to loosen it and then you can screw the bolt in to raise it a bit. (Am now thinking why I didn’t just do this last year, because two days ago my wife found the unit will only go half way out and stops unless we really give it a heave to carry it out or in).

Of interest, I can get outside while she pushes button and I can lift hard on outside edge of room and it stops grinding and will go out all the way. But I was probably lifting about 75-100# in my estimation. Probably just enough to get it to take weight off the sill edge or pads if they are there.

Cannot remember where I got the idea that there are Teflon pads and somewhere someone said they are easy to replace. I have not been able to see them even with pulling down the grommet across bottom of room protecting the sill, but I think they are right in there.

I have shot silicone and other slide grease in along that bottom rubber grommet hoping to hit the pads if they are there. You can also “see” the shiny polish marks on bottom of slider where it is dragging across pads of some type in there. It is possible that the pads can somehow be accessed from the two lower corners of the room inside, while slider is out. (Makes sense but haven’t seen it) but that’s where the answers are because I believe they are dry, dry, dry or scraped and need to be replaced. Maybe adjusting the room upward a bit will solve the whole issue too��. Gosh my units just not that old or that used 17,000 miles and only camps about 4x per year and always under cover. These should be in perfect condition.

I have also tried to find access to the black tube screwdrive for greasing from underneath and cannot find the access. I think I saw something that said there is an access port way in toward the middle of the camper on driver side or top. I think both the large slide and the bedroom slide mechanism should be greased but access is hard to find.

I will look to find the mfr data on that screwdrive and post it here but I recall it just gives general mounting data and does not address how Winnie mounted it and with what. I will try to post this long diatribe on the Winnie website for “Outlook” and see if maybe we can find some others with Outlooks who are interested in solutions. Years ago I posted a new Chatgroup on the web for our Chinook Glacier and it really started a following of a lot of people who had issues but no solutions until we started solving them as a group.

This could also be one of those crazy solutions that requires removing the slider to get to the pads, but I hope not.

I was also told to try some of the Winnie parts houses in Iowa near the factory yesterday on the idea that most parts guys know a whole lot and will know if there are Teflon pads or whatever, from their own IPBs and can be a big help. Anyone know these?

Of interest for research is that I think the Aspen and another 30’ Winnie (Vxxxx?) that year or so had the same slide mechanism and there may be a lot more info out there but under different keywords

All other things considered I have an appt with a local Camping World this Saturday here in Fort Worth, Tx to see if their “mechanic” can lube and diagnose any better than I can. If he can then its gonna’ be worth every penny of it, but I’m not getting my hopes up too much.

I’ll post this.

Keep in touch by email or thru the Winnie forum if you get anywhere at all or can add to our knowledge base. It has to be solved.


Thanks,

George Poulsen
Southlake, Texas
[email protected]

[GHPOULSEN]

PS [More] on slide grabbing on Outlook 29B. Just paid good money to learn about my stupidity on easing the slide grabbing issue. Turns out there are in fact two Teflon type pads that the slide rides on when going out and in and they wear until they allow room to bind with the edge of the opening. The actual location of the adjusting screw/bolt is just inside the two lower cabinets under the slide on the outside (just never looked) and they are just inside the cabinet if you get down and look up just inside the cabinet hinge. They can be adjusted upward to account for wear. You only need a slight 1/2 turn or so at a time and need to count to be sure you do not get the room off balance on one side or the other. Also need to apply a dry slide lubricant between the bottom of the metal floor and the Teflon pads (slide a straw with dry lube between the rubber gasket and the room floor where you see the rubbing marks on the bottom of the metal and give good spray squirts. George

[youracman]

Since Ron was looking for any mods/improvements folks have done to their Outlooks, I thought I would try to post one I did a little over a year ago. If my post comes out OK (specifically picture additions) I have another I'll add later.

BTW- I enjoyed your well-written post re your slideout issue, George. Mine's a power gear (elec with 2 sets of tubes and 2 motors with the "DigiSync system) and I lube it twice per season with dry lube and keep my fingers crossed. I really "lay it on" in the area where the teflon "wear pucks" are located. Oh, and if my rig ain't level, that slide isn't coming out (or "in".)

This mod is simple enough and one a lot of RVers do; namely, add a chassis (Ford, in my case) battery disconnect switch for use when the V-10 is not going to be run for awhile ( e.g. in storage .) The first switch I tried did not work well at all for me so I went with the old-fashioned knife switch type (got it from Amazon.) I don't seem to have much luck inserting pics in the text body..... they usually show up at the bottom. Anyway, this switch was a nice, simple design that was poorly executed. (Hecho in Mexico, actually.) The brass clips that the knife engages to connect or disconnect the ground cable were cocked on the bronze body due to interference at the milled/cast slot on the bronze body ... so I disassembled the switch and relieved the interference with my Dremel tool..... then reassembled the switch. This interference is depicted on the (exaggerated) sketch I made. Once relieved, the clips made full contact with the bronze body..... it was about 10% contact before.

The switch worked great for about a year and then the clips became loose and started to rotate as I moved the knife. I applied a thin line of JB Weld along the edges using a toothpick (it shows up shiny black in the picture) and the switch is now rock solid.

On my rig, the parasitic loads will take the battery down surprisingly fast ..... the disconnect sure solves that problem...... and it is on my "before you leave the storage lot" checklist.

I just finished installing a "Trik L Start" unit on my rig. I decided to do a "preemtive strike" on the coach battery disconnect solenoid and the boost solenoid as they were 11 years old ..... and with my luck they would belly up out in nowhere's-ville. 'Twas a good time to install the Trik L Start. Not real great access like the disconnect sw was but my 86-yr-old bones got through it OK....... so I will document it soon, hoping it will help others.

Safe travels, ed s

[GHPOULSEN]

Takes me back a few years.......... I installed a really simple battery post switch that worked extremely well for many years. I believe I bought one from JC Whitney and the others on other RVs from other sources. They are a simple bolt-on-the-battery-ground-lug type switch and almost the only thing you see is a large Green round knob about 1 1/4" diameter. By unscrewing just a turn it disconnects and by screwing back down a turn it reconnects.
Shown below and from Battery Mart or others. I always shut it all down if not used for more than a month and not on charger.

[youracman]

Hmmmm..... I don't have any idea how many folks are interested in these mods/updates but I am thinkin' that if just one or two are helped by this documentation it is worth my time. SOooooo here goes ..... (1.) A really, really simple mod to save a lot of aggravation re removing and replacing the dust cover over the Automotive and Coach DC circuit breakers that are on the back wall of one of your Outlook's storage bins and (2.) One approach to installing a "Trik L Start" (or other chassis battery maintenance device) on your Outlook.

(1.) The top picture shows the above-mentioned dust cover. (If you click on it, it should enlarge and be more legible.) The PO of my rig said he had to reset a 20 amp DC breaker under that dust cover just once and I too have had to reset it just once (never did know what caused it to trip.) What a pain to reinstall that dust cover with about half your body in the storage bin. You have to press it against the wall with one hand (over your head) while simultaneously twisting the locking devices with the other hand ...... whilst hoping you have it centered. It should at least have a lip on the box or else "ears" on the dust cover to steady it in the vertical plane, ...... but alas, it does not. So I installed it (the hard way) and then butted a piece of 1/2" thick poplar hardwood (Lowes) under it and screwed the hardwood (which I had clearance drilled in 3 places) to the wall with #12 self drilling metal screws 2-1/2 inches long (Home Depot). Scoot underneath your rig and you "should" see there is nothing to interfere with the screws. Now, I stand the dust cover on the hardwood (it's my extra hand) and tighten the fasteners........ easy.

(2.) I replaced my (working) coach battery isolation solenoid and my boost solenoid as a preemptive strike just "knowing" that these 11-year-old parts will sure as the world fail in the middle of nowhere-ville before very long. Ordered a Trik L Start to install at the same time ....... "as long as I am gonna be in there anyway". First, remove the grounds from both the chassis battery and the coach battery(s) and then remove the dust cover. Next remove the 4 ckt brkr panel screws and drop it down and let it hang out of the way (you will need to bend the wiring harness a bit.) BTW- I removed my central vac cleaner and a large plastic wire harness cover before starting all this ....... so I could have a fairly "straight shot" at the work.

The second picture down shows the boost solenoid and the third shows the coach battery isolation solenoid. Looks like new in there ........... that dust cover really does its job! (But you can bet that those copper contacts inside the solenoids that have been "banged on" for 11 yrs don't look new.) Next, remove the right and left battery terminal nuts (boost solenoid, the one on the left) to install the "ring" terminals you will have previously attached to the Trik L Start's wires. The blue wire goes on the left, the yellow wire on the right. As I recall, the nuts are 14mm; the instructions suggest using a "backup" wrench but I couldn't find one thin enough. Reinstall the nuts (9 ft-lb of torque as I recall.) (You may want to consider adding an inline fuse to the blue and yellow wires ...... I did not; they are tiny 18 gage wires that I double-insulated using shrink tubing.) Finally, connect the black (ground) wire (I attached it under one of the solenoid's mounting lugs.) Route the new wiring to suit, mount the Trik L Start; replace the breaker panel and dust cover, and you are ready for your "smoke test" ........... errrrr, uhh check out. You may want to consider altering the ring terminals as shown in the sketch (bottom pic ) and just loosen the nuts (and a solenoid mounting screw) so you can just slide the terminal(s) in between a couple of the existing lugs and torque the nuts back up.

I didn't take an "after" picture of the Trik L Start wiring on the new boost solenoid I installed ....... my bad. Guess I was just too happy to get off my 86-yr-old knees and call it done. lol

All the above "ASSumes" that most all Outlooks are the same......or at least very similar. May not be true, of course.

Safe travels.................. ed s

[Dottie2019]

We bought our 2019 25 J about 3 months ago and are loving it. I wanted to find other Outlook owners as well. Have you continued to be pleased with yours and trouble free?
We downsized from a 30’ Class A that had one problem after another for 3 years and decided to go to a Class C after an 18-wheeler near blew my hubby off the road and into a field. I was NEVER going to drive the Class A (except in a medical emergency situation), but I am LOVING driving Dottie (the Outlook).
We have had two fairly minor issues which our dealer took care of immediately.

Hope some of you will respond and share your experiences with your Outlook.

Happy New Year!
Jane