View/Navion talk/questions

[Neugrin]

Hi all
Wife and I moved to a Navion from a 35' 5th wheel
We absolutely love it. Life is much easier
We have done 4 trips out; long weekends.
I think we will need a toad for long stays.
Your thoughts?
Steve and Kathy from Illinois

[SocioSam]

We are looking seriously at a View 24G or 24V. Anyone have comments on the pros or cons of either model?

[monik7]

Originally Posted by SocioSam

We are looking seriously at a View 24G or 24V. Anyone have comments on the pros or cons of either model?

I love my Navion iQ 24G.
Sandi

[paisleydale]

Just got home from a 2040 mile trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton NP. We traveled on secondary roads when we could. Always drove 60 to 65 mph and up to 70 on the free-ways. Many hills up and down but the slow travel around Yellowstone and Grand Teton NPs helped with the mileage, driving 35-45 with lots of stops and starts. Very pleased with our mileage, hand calculated 16.03. We always ran the dash air, we had several windy days and the wind never came from the rear. The only problem we had was the refrigerator would not operate on LP while traveling but it would run great on 12 volt while traveling, and since we did not have hookups it ran on LP while parked. Have to talk to the dealer about this. We love the MH so much better for us than the 35' 5th wheel, can't wait to go again. Where is a good place to buy engine oil? I got worried and bought 2 quarts form the Dodge dealer in Twin Falls, ID $19.50 - ouch!! Also can anything be done about the wobble while following an 18 wheeler? We do love it, great MH!

[Pgustaf249]

Originally Posted by newviewguy

Lee,

You must be excited about the new View. Did I hear that they moved the DEF tank up under the hood??

What does DEF stand for?

[Pgustaf249]

Originally Posted by La.Paul

Just brought home my new navion 24m. Drove it 400 miles from Springfield, mo, to my house, even with 20 mph winds, and Ozark mountain roads, what a joy to drive! Took 9 hours, got about 14 mpg on mountain roads, 15mpg on 140 miles of flat road, but winds were headwinds for most part. Look forward to sharing experiences on this forum/thread.

I'm very interested to hear your opinion of sleeping on the air mattress when you unfold the sofa into a bed. How doe sit compare to a traditional mattress?

[monik7]

Originally Posted by Pgustaf249

What does DEF stand for?

Diesel Emission Fluid
Sandi

[Tuckerman]

Hi, just found this thread. Also have major issues in connecting with that other site!

We have a 2011 Navion J and am setting up a 2010 Honda Fit (automatic) as a toad. Doing all the research now and, as many will appreciate, it is not easy. Winnebago manual says no more than 4 inch drop receiver and no surge brakes. Height difference I am dealing with, or probably any compact car, is about 6 inches between our hitch receiver and base plate attachment. How does one resolve that if limited to a 4 hitch drop?? On the Yahoo group there seems to be many who tow the Fit with Blue Ox and Roadmaster and somehow, not sure how, they deal with the drop issue. I can't seem to post a Q to that board so if there are any Navion/View owners here with some great advice I am all ears. Demco tow bars have the ability to flip up and down and have a built in angle and so they seem to be able to get my tow bar to level. However I prefer the look of the Blue Ox base plate.

I have left a Q with Winnebago tech on the surge brake prohibition. According to ReadyBrute Elite who produce a tow bar with an integrated braking system, Winnebago is the only manufacturer with such a prohibition. It would seem to me, as a non techie, that NO braking system would provide instantaneous braking so that inevitably there will be some forward movement of the tow bar under braking. What's wrong with taking advantage of this? (Though I could be dead wrong of course.)

I would appreciate any insights on towing from fellow Navion/View owners.

Thanks

John and Margo
2011 Navion J
North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

[VestaDave]

Originally Posted by Tuckerman

Hi, just found this thread. Also have major issues in connecting with that other site!

We have a 2011 Navion J and am setting up a 2010 Honda Fit (automatic) as a toad. Doing all the research now and, as many will appreciate, it is not easy. Winnebago manual says no more than 4 inch drop receiver and no surge brakes. Height difference I am dealing with, or probably any compact car, is about 6 inches between our hitch receiver and base plate attachment. How does one resolve that if limited to a 4 hitch drop?? On the Yahoo group there seems to be many who tow the Fit with Blue Ox and Roadmaster and somehow, not sure how, they deal with the drop issue. I can't seem to post a Q to that board so if there are any Navion/View owners here with some great advice I am all ears. Demco tow bars have the ability to flip up and down and have a built in angle and so they seem to be able to get my tow bar to level. However I prefer the look of the Blue Ox base plate.

I have left a Q with Winnebago tech on the surge brake prohibition. According to ReadyBrute Elite who produce a tow bar with an integrated braking system, Winnebago is the only manufacturer with such a prohibition. It would seem to me, as a non techie, that NO braking system would provide instantaneous braking so that inevitably there will be some forward movement of the tow bar under braking. What's wrong with taking advantage of this? (Though I could be dead wrong of course.)

I would appreciate any insights on towing from fellow Navion/View owners.

Thanks

John and Margo
2011 Navion J
North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

This must be new for Winnebago because I don't recall a prohibition on surge brakes. We used the Readybrute on our 06 Navion for more than 20000 mi without incident. I wonder what this position relates to? It doesn't seem to make sense to me.

[Tuckerman]

I spoke with a Winnebago tech rep this afternoon about surge brakes and drop hitch height. On the brakes he basically reiterated the company position that does not recommend surge brakes due to the extra stress on the hitch receiver. He seemed to think that other braking systems relying on electrical signals would be a kind of instantaneous braking. I'm not so sure. I got the sense that this was a longstanding Winnebago policy, and as mentioned before the NSA staffer I talked to said Winnebago was the only company he knew of with this position.

This is an important consideration as the ReadyBrute Elite tow bar with the built in brake system would save some $1500-$2000 in additional costs (including installation) of a separate braking system.

My sense is that our experience, with a 2600 lb toad (Honda Fit) would be the same as yours, ie, no issues.

[LeeB]

Hi all.... I just got done reading the 4 pages (3 of them I was in the middle of but I didn't have my MH) I DO NOW..... Here is a rundown on our adventures.

We picked it up in April in Iowa as planed, headed east to Pennsylvania on the way the Weather Radio cut in as we were listening to a Sirius Radio Station and warned us of a Severe Thunder Storm in the area. It turned out to be ahead of us so we pulled over and let it go......

We had a very un-eventful trip and put over 5000 miles on it before we got home to California. The DEF warning light went off at about 4000 miles + or - in Roswell NM. it turned out there was a Station right there that had DEF in bulk so I filled everything up. I bought a 2 and 1/2 gallon dispenser at Wal-Mart when we got home and topped it off. I found out that the MB dealer here in my home town now services the Sprinter, so I had the oil changed just because I could and I wanted to touch bases with them and get to know them. (Awesome people and service)

We have only been out 3 times since being home, reason being we had a 7 week trip planned to go to Europe. WHICH WAS great and saw LOTS of Sprinter based MH's.

We are now back and I am excited to see thread still going....

I have a 1996 Geo Tracker with a Roadmaster tow bar set-up (with a 4 inch drop) and am using the Ready Brake...... Everything is awesome.......

[fetter007]

Originally Posted by Pgustaf249

I'm very interested to hear your opinion of sleeping on the air mattress when you unfold the sofa into a bed. How doe sit compare to a traditional mattress?

Looking to buy navion 24v. Do I want lp generator diesel?

[MutinyGuy]

Originally Posted by fetter007

Looking to buy navion 24v. Do I want lp generator diesel?

Depends...do you dry camp in areas that are hot and humid where you need to run the A/C for many hours? If so then yes get the diesel just because you have the ability to run the unit for a longer timeframe....otherwise save some money and get the lp generator....plus it does not stink like the diesel genny.

Jim

[VestaDave]

Originally Posted by MutinyGuy

Depends...do you dry camp in areas that are hot and humid where you need to run the A/C for many hours? If so then yes get the diesel just because you have the ability to run the unit for a longer timeframe....otherwise save some money and get the lp generator....plus it does not stink like the diesel genny.

Jim

We had the LP gen on ours and had no problem with it. Keep in mind that the fuel tank is relatively small ( 26 gal) as I recall so use/ access to a second fuel source in the form of the 18 gal LP tank might be an advantage.

[DaveBeadles]

What's a DEF? dave :-)

[DaveBeadles]

Just purchasing a VIEW 24G 2012. Have towed for years. Electric brakes, period. Do NOT overload, that's why we got the 24g, 5k#. Itasca Navion also 5k# towing capacity. Most other Sprinter Chassis are only 3.5K# towing capacity. You cannot have too much stopping power. Never. Be careful, send us a post card. Dave :-)

[DaveBeadles]

LP has more power. Quieter, not smelly, less cost up front. Diesel taps off your engine tank, more fuel (shut off at 25% of tank?). Happy to muddy the waters! Dave :-)

[DaveBeadles]

Got it. Diesel emission fluid.... ok, next questions folks, How often do yo need to fill? Where do you fill on a View Profile 24G? And just what does this stuff do? thanks! Dave :-)

[DaveBeadles]

We're flying to Salt Lake Monday to pick up our 'new' 2012 View Profile 24G! Woo-hoo! I've trailered all my life - this is a switch.

Do you have "must carries?" Tools, fluids, etc?

Please share your pluses & minuses you come up with.

Thanks! Dave :-)

[DaveBeadles]

Moth balls. Mice don't like... use in my 29 Ford Pickup.... Dave :-)