View/Navion talk/questions

[SocioSam]

We ordered ours. Went through the list that we wanted then sent it to dealers for bids. Lichtsinn was best with 22% discount. Also, we got diesel so we got to break it in as they are a mile from factory. Didn't want some young person towing his car while driving 80mph to Cincinnati or Nashville.

[smiller]

Originally Posted by Wdbeadles

View & Navion appear to run the 3500 Chassis which has a 5k # towing capacity. Other body's appear to use the 2500 Chassis which is only a 3500 # tow capacity.

I was told stiffer frame & suspension in rear.

Go to FACEBOOK View / Navion for easier discussions. Dave ;-)

Of course the 3500 frame is built stronger than the 2500, but View/Navions are all built on a 3500 cab/chassis and they are all the same from MB as ordered by Winnebago for all View/Navions, so any View/Navion of a similar vintage will have the same frame and suspension regardless of what someone might have told you.

The View/Navion has either a 3500 or 5000 lb. tow rating depending on the year. I was only pointing out that when a Sprinter of any year is loaded to max. gross weight (as they usually are when ready for the road) then towing capacity will not be limited by tow rating but rather GCWR (the maximum allowed weight of the towing and towed vehicle combined), and this is less than 5000 lbs. If the vehicle is lightly loaded then you can achieve the full 'tow rating', but as noted in the real world a lightly loaded Sprinter Class C is pretty unusual, they're almost always near maxed out.

[Honwing]

Love our 2013 Navion IQ 24G we picked up at camping world in Portland, ore 3 months ago. It had only 4,800 miles on it and came fully optioned. Picked it up for $43,000 under new list which my DW and I felt was a great price. We live in Woodland, Washington and will retire in 1 year and plan to travel half the time. Taken five 3 day trips so far and have not had a single issue requiring any repair. 17.2 mpg to Long Beach, wa and back. Added Tailgater--- works great-- love the rear queen slide out and the quality of the couch in general. Outfitted a 96 Ford Ranger for our Toad.

[Donut lover]

Originally Posted by SgtSaunders6

Thanks for this info. My wife and I are planning for retirement this coming July 2015 and interested in a NAVION/VIEW. We live in Washington near Seattle.. and wondering if it's worth traveling to IOWA. Do you get a really great deal to make it worth the trip?

SgtSaunders6, I ordered a 2015 View 24m here in San Diego, Ca (the M has the toilet in the rear and a sofa sleeper in the cabin behind the driver) I ordered it with many options including full body paint and diesel generator. The total was $130,000. I got it for $100,000. I don't know if that's good or bad compared to anyone else, but it should give you a basis to work from. It will arrive in SD 12/10 and be delivered to me about 12/17

[Brian.Karen]

Originally Posted by Silver bike

If you want to play the radio on your trip home I suggest using the rear one as the quality of the front speakers sucks

2013 Navion IQ24G: +1 on the front speakers,(cheep sound system overall.) also with the cruise set at 75 the ambient noise in the front compartment is uncomfortable and you may need earplugs. Also the stove top hood vent outside rubber flap has to be silenced with a rag or foam stuffed in outside vent. at 60 or above this will drive you insane and then there is the banging behind the drivers ear from the slide-out helper SPRINGS that hit the wall when you drive over bumps that adds to your driving enjoyment. Such a nice high performance rig sourounded with cheep American quality.

[Headingout]

How do the other rigs like the 2015 Coachmen Prism 24G compare to the View and Navion? Seems like there are several like Thor, Coachman, etc.

[Brian.Karen]

Originally Posted by Headingout

How do the other rigs like the 2015 Coachmen Prism 24G compare to the View and Navion? Seems like there are several like Thor, Coachman, etc.

My Navion has 18K Miles and is stored inside so the 2015 models my be different.
Just Looked at the Prism website and U-tube.
1. Like the outside compartment latches, Navion sometimes need a push on the ends to completely secure.
2. Like the location of generator but I would be cautious of the noise level in the main living area. That compartment on my Navion is used for things that do not need to be used at each site because it is a pain to get into with the slide out. Like tool box, air compressor, extra power cord, extra water pump, Oil/DEF/Fluids/tire repair kit. etc.
3. Rear storage is nice but is it deep enough to hold a folding lawn chair? I see storage inside under the foot of the bed that may take away from the compartments depth. Also the navion rear compartment interior has openings to the bedroom so any bugs/spiders that may be on any chairs, tables, mat's that you may store inside can and will end up in bed with you. NEED sealed compartments.
4. Outside TV, Really? If you need it.
5. Don't like the outside Water service location on Prism, See Navion's set-up.
6. Toilet paper roll should be moved and have storage in it's place.
7. Do not like control panel and switches on both models mounted low just inside the cabin door. Pain to see and use. have to stand in door way or take a knee. should be higher and back lit for ease of use.
Generally speaking now, I shopped 2.5 years for my rig and after many shows, dealership and internet research the Quality of the Winnebago line is IMHO slighter higher than the competition and that is not saying much. Quality Control is loosing out to production and sales on everything assembled in the USA. YMMV. Brian

[Geoffpruett]

Rough ride in back - not roll or sway, just harsh over strips in highway. Air bags an answer?

[Camper Ken]

We owned a 2007 Winnebago Access 31' class C for about 5 years (Ford E450 chassis), traded it in for a 2013 Newmar Bay Star 33' class A (Ford F53 chassis). We spent way too much upgrading the suspension to make it easier and more importantly, safer to drive. After 3 years we'd had enough of it. Although we really enjoyed the interior room and storage inside and out, we decided to downsize. I finally tired of the feeling after drining for 6 hours or so on the road would and we wanted a motorhome that we could go back to some of the smaller campgrounds we used to enjoy. We like state park campgrounds and USFS campgrounds, as we've never been the "RV resort" types. Two months ago, we traded the Newmar for a 2016 Itasca 24J and couldn't be happier. Yes it's smaller inside and has less storage but with a few short multi-day camp trips so far we've found we have all we really need with us, and it's a pleasure to drive compared to the prevous class A and class C. I find myself wanting to take it out for a drive just for the fun of it.

We looked closely at all four models, the V, G, M and J, and found for our needs the J offered the most interior and exterior storage. At first we thought we didn't want a corner bed, but it's been fine, plus the J model offers a nice large U shaped dinette with extendable foot rests, very comfortable! We also went with a cab over model, not for the extra sleeping capacity but for the extra room, to toss light weight items up there, jackets, a box of groceries or whatever while you're set up and stationary.

I encourage anyone who's looking for a smaller, easy to drive motorhome to consider the Winnebago View or Itasca Navion. Did I mention we're getting 16+ mpg? Twice the MPG we got in the class A with the Ford V-10.

[SocioSam]

Our first and only RV was the Winnebago G. I didn't want anything larger and would have gone with a Roadtrex or similar Class B. Wife wanted something larger - queen bed, full refrigerator, shower and toilet separate, and not have to use the kitchen sink after going to the bathroom.

After lots of research, looking at floor plans and videos, we went with the Winnebago Profile G (2014). I was a bit afraid to drive it but now have no problem. We don't tow but it is still small enough to drive for groceries, visit a museum, etc.

You mentioned storage. We are pleased with how much we have. Under the slide out bed is a large compartment - much smaller in M. Anyway we get 4 good sized folding chairs (metal not cloth), two metal folding tables, our collapsible 3-story cat condo, tent (to store stuff when camping), and more in that one compartment.

I'll confess that I tried to sabotage the entire RV thing. But I was wrong. Have loved getting back to nature and experiencing the parks in comfort. And the RV has come in very handy for other things like when we had to spend a week in Iowa moving a cousin out of his home to assisted living.

[dancogan]

We spent 10 weeks and 10,400 miles this summer traveling to Alaska and home, pulling a Honda CR-V with our Winnie View J. Our overall gas mileage was 13.9 mpg. I was very pleased with that figure, compared to past motorhomes with the Ford Triton V-10 and a DP with a 350 HP Cat engine. It was so comfortable and easy to drive that I never turned the driving over to my wife, even though she wanted to drive. It was just too much fun and very comfortable. We had ample room for food, clothing and 2 folding bicycles under the bed.

[seahenry]

We to just traded our 35K class A for a 2016 View 24V for very similar reasons.....however my led foot was at best getting 4.8 MPG in the gasser.....I would had loved to get eight MPG.....

[SocioSam]

We are getting 16 to 17 mpg but we have the Mercedes diesel.

[DMA]

We ordered a 2015.5 Navion J in September of 2014 and took delivery in December. Have the "profile" configuration, with no overhead hump version. We purchased it a year early to debug it before long trips. We really like the J floor plan both day and night . All systems work as advertised. Averaging 16 mpg. The rig handles great and much of my driving has been on two lane roads here in the mountains of east TN where we reside. Plenty of hill hauling torque up to 5000 feet. Have lots of trips lined up. 3K miles so far.

[DMA]

[DMA]

Slide In.

[Navion 24J]

We started off with a Class A 2005-06 Monoco Cayman 36' diesel pusher a few years ago and had non-thing but problems out of it, mostly electrical! Luckily I had bought an extended warranty and it covered most of the problems. Averaged about 5-6 mpg. May of just got a lemon but we don't miss it. Later we purchased a Class C 2013 Navion 24J, built on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis with the Mercedes 3.0L 6-cyl turbo diesel engine, loved it, avg 13-15 mpg. Had it for about 2 years and never had any problems, so much easier to drive, a lot less stressful to maneuver. Made a mistake and looked at some of the newer 2015 24J's and was just amazed at all the upgrades! Long story short, sold our 2013 for a great price and picked up a used 2015 one owner 24J out of Florida. Drove it back to the West coast and couldn't be more happy with it! Fuel mileage for some reason went up a little although same engine as the 2013 model. I've made a few interior changes but overall very sold on the 24J layout. Great job Winnebago Navion Itasca. It's hard to go wrong with the overall quality of inside and out of all the models of the Navion. Happy Rving

[elks]

So some of you Navion/View owners tow a car behind? I like the View's but can't see packing up daily to visit places or go shopping, then return and set up again. Also, without levelers, is this stable with little or no rocking side to side when people move inside? I'm curious about these compared to a Ford based Aspect Class C.

[SocioSam]

We don't tow behind out Winnebago View G but keep considering it. So far (2 years) we've done OK without. Last winter we were gone for 4 months. We usually park in State parks and we try to stay at places for a week or two. As we get near our destination we stop for groceries in a mall area where parking is easy. Often we see another RV or two parked and sometimes it is a Model A.

We stayed a month at one commercial park and probably unhooked 10 or 12 times. It took about 15 minutes. We take the tire covers off, pull in the awning, retract the two slides, and disconnect the water and electric. We leave our rug, chairs, tables, bikes, and a small tent where we store stuff.

Driving the View is easy and we've parked on city streets - parallel we take up two spaces.

But there are times we "wish we had a car." One such situation will be coming up in several months. After looking over our options, we are leaning toward renting a car when we get to our destination. Our spreadsheet says this is much less expensive (in this case) than towing via any method.

[DMA]

Agree with SocioSam. We have a 2015 NavionJ and the main reason we went the compact route was to avoid towing. We have two trips planned in 2016 and plan to rent a car for about 10 days in each location.
It just isn't that big a deal to disconnect and roll. I also like to have the "rig" at the end of the trail. Hang out at visitor center or downtown parking. Grab a nap, take a break, have a snack use the bathroom. I even plan on using a taxi or Uber when we go to New Orleans, Vegas or San Antonio.