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Old 10-19-2012, 09:49 PM   #1
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Smile Wondering if Winnebago was a mistake...

YIKES! I’ve been reading through the Winnebago posts and now I am a little more nervous about the coach I purchased in August after reading some of the threads.

I purchased a 2002 Winnebago Journey DL, thought I got a pretty good deal on it for $55K and 44K miles. Had it a couple of weeks, scrubbed it all down inside and out including carpeting. Packed it up and headed out on a 6 week journey to Washington and Oregon.

I expected to find some minor issues, basically simple cosmetic needs more than anything. I didn’t have any major problems on the trip, and actually was very pleased with the purchased even with my LONG LIST of minor fixes I created along the way that needed to have repaired when we returned home.
We quickly noticed once we hit Washington State the door picked up a squeaky noise that would drive even crickets to another planet. Then a Semi passed me and kicked a rock to the windshield and gave it a nice sized rock chip. By the time I reached my Uncle’s place in Port Orchard (four hours later) the rock chip became a couple of cracks.

Now, after reading posts here I am going to do a little investigation before the window is replaced! I did notice when we got home and the rain came and went the first night, the next morning I went out to the RV to start cleaning it out and found water on the dash and determined the windshield was leaking. Had no idea it could possibly be rusted as well, so like I said I am going to go investigating this matter.

We noticed the Holding tanks and LP panel monitor does not reflect the actual levels of the tanks, and my guess was that the tanks had inside slime or something going on and I figured I would use some bleach and hot water flushes a few times to see if that would improve the readings. However, when the LP monitor light told us the tank was empty when we just filled it, I decided to let the Service center check out the panel first. I will still keep looking for a cleaner to use in the tanks or settle on the bleach and hot water method.

We noticed the back of the RV would be super hot at night while the front part was cold. So I used a small ceramic heater on the second trip we took to North Dakota and thank goodness I grew up there and had the knowledge to never trust winter in the Dakotas. It was pretty cold a couple nights, did not have frozen pipes inside but the hoses did freeze outside and the sun cleared them within a few hours. I had placed the t-stat problem on the list for repairs to the service department so I’ll be interested in seeing what they come up with. I noticed the t-stat was tricky because I had to push it all the way to the left and then the right and then back to the heat and fine edge it left a bit to get the furnace to come on. This has me thinking it is t-stat problem.

Aside from this, the other problem I noticed on the trip is that the leveling system seems to be slow to retract. If I pushed the “store” button I’d still have to spend 15 minutes holding buttons to get all the jacks up. I was thinking this along with a few other issues were more of a “previous owner lack of maintenance” then anything else.

Overall, I am happy with the Coach. I took it in to RV America last week to have them service everything on my LONG LIST. The windshield has to be replaced; thank goodness my insurance will cover it less my deductible and RVA told me it would not leak again THEY WILL GUARENTEE THEIR WORK, thanks to this forum I will be TUNED IN to this issue.

I decided rather than let my husband tinker around with anything this time; I would take it in for service and get all my complaints addressed. I want it road ready for the next journey that is planned for December.

It does have white carpeting, and I would rather have a better carpet in the coach so I am considering have it replaced next month. Does anyone on this forum have any tips for me on this matter? Keep in mind, I am a woman and I do like that soft plush carpeting but I also know with the slides that may not be possible???

Also, does anyone know where I might find some new pleated drapes for the front of the coach? The current ones are white, and look horrible (IMO) and I am also thinking of changing them out before the next voyage.

Thank you all for any assistance you are able to provide, I’ve been out of the RVing for about 16 years and just getting back into it again with a new hubby. Bought this coach because I did not like the gas power Pace Arrow and this one is a diesel and one that I DRIVE!!!

Thanks much for any suggestions or help, and Happy Traveling to Everyone!
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Old 10-19-2012, 11:51 PM   #2
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Sounds like you got a good deal, but like any MH, new or older, things happen. The windshield can happen to the newest vehicle. The monitors and sensors on most MHs, except for the newest, are notorious for getting dirt, grim, paper, grease, etc. The propane sensor may have just worn out or be disconnected.
Really none of the problems you listed make your purchase less worthwhile than you probably anticipated.
For Winnebago parts I have been pleased with: Lichtsinn Motors - Iowa RV Parts - Iowa RV Accessories - Located in Forest City, Iowa
You might also contact the WIT Club (Winnebago Itasca Travelers). It is a public club for Winnebago product owners (Think FMCA or Good Sam) and they have loads of really helpful members who can be reached on-line or at meeting.
(by the way, I belong to all three above mentioned clubs...even though I'm not active in any, I just enjoy the conversation)
If you have the HWH jacks, the return to storage is very slow. The upward motion is created by the springs and the springs do wear...I just had all the springs replaced this summer and the jacks work so much better now. I find a little WD40 also helps.
My wife has been talking of replacing the carpet also, I think she wants a lot more vinyl. We will be going to an FMCA rally in Indio in January and I hope that some of the RV decorators will have displays there.
I'm not into that kind of work myself.
Best to you and yours. Happy Trails.
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Old 10-20-2012, 08:46 AM   #3
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Thanks Kalynzoo for the reply. I do agree that I got a pretty good deal on the coach. I spent several months RV shopping at the dealers and what I found around here were they were pretty dirty, and scratched up. I decided one night to check out CL and found this coach. I didn't buy sight on seen, I still spent a couple of weeks looking at other private owners coaches, and even went back to a couple of dealers before settling on this Winnebago. My LONG LIST is I pretty well view has "normal wear" and figured the best time to have them all addressed is when I prepared it for winter. I told the shop no hurry, take someone else who is ready to head south first as I will not be ready to head out until the end of December. Doing so earned me a call from the Service Manager who informed he'd have the coach winterized right away and then in a couple of weeks pull it in and have a tech start going through it AND he'd save me some money for waiting which is cool.

I'm going to visit a custom drapery shop within the next couple of weeks and see what it would cost me to have the front drapes made and compare prices, the dealer told me Winneabgo was about $400 or so.

Carpeting is a must as I woke up today thinking I just have to get that dingy white stuff out of there. Planning on checking with Home Depot on this. They have that carpet that is made to resist wear and stains and I have it in my home and spilling bleach on it does not affect it at all.

As with anything, we have to take care of the item or the lifespan will not be as long. So over all, I believe once I get all of my little rattles fixed and get the drapes and carpeting replaced I will have an awesome coach. If I look hard I might be able to find about 5 wood dings throughout the coach and that is what impressed me. The coach was well cared for, I am the 3rd owner and I think the last owner didn't worry to much about the small stuff like I do. I plan to use it alot as I love traveling so I figured get it all fixed up and be happy and maintain it well it should last me at least another 50K or more in miles then it will be time to get a new one as I will likely want a change.

Again, thanks for your reply and Happy Travels to you and yours!
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Old 10-20-2012, 08:47 AM   #4
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I don't think you should become too discouraged reading the posts on this forum. I believe all of us will have trouble from time to time as parts wear out on our motorhomes. i suspect if you were to read through the other manufacturers forums similar things would be mentioned.
We have been very happy with our Winnebago notwithstanding a few minor fixes we have had to do. We also took a rock from a truck on our passenger side front window which developed into a crack. As you say insurance covers that and it can happen at any time to any vehicle.
We actually had the carpeting removed from our motorhome and installed vinyl planking which interlocks and floats on the floor similar to laminate. We did this due to the problem we always had keeping the carpet clean. Invariably at campgrounds we would unwittingly track in dirt which over time would cause the carpet to look grungy. We have been extremely happy since and find daily maintenance while on the road to be much easier now. When we sweep the floor and see what dust and dirt is swept up we realized just what was going into the carpet. The only place left with carpet is the slideout portion in the living and dining area which would not have been an easy replace. It doesn't get a lot of foot traffic though. We have noticed newer motorhomes are using less and less carpet as well.
Something to consider.
Enjoy your motorhome
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Old 10-20-2012, 09:11 AM   #5
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on an 11 yo coach i would find it hard to complain about the brand .previous owner maintanence could be more to fault than the mfr. our unit ,not a winnie is 26 months from new and still working thru some initial quality item BUT THE MFR is TAKING CARE OF BUSSINESS and if i were to buy another unit thay would be my first go to
work thru the minor crap and enjoy your RV
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Old 10-20-2012, 10:01 AM   #6
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Congrats on your Journey. We searched for several months before we came across ours and we are glad we waited. In the last year we have put 7500 relatively trouble free miles and really enjoy it. Next weekend will be a FL Keys trip. Like you, we had a leak and thought it was from the windshield. No cracks or chips and had it at the dealer several times to be checked. Reading about the rust issues we thought the worst. The previous owner had put some silicone at the top of the windshield so it was an indication there was a problem there. The dealer pressurized the inside and checked the windshield for leaks but couldn't find anything. The following weekend there was a pretty heavy rainstorm at the campground we were staying, and we ended up with a small puddle of water on the dash. It was dripping from the moulding at the top with a little running down the inside of the windshield. We took it back the following week and showed the dealer pictures we took of the puddle and drips to prove we weren't crazy. They did the pressure test again and found one of the marker lights above the windshield leaking, resealed it and all has been good. Our jacks were also slow to store, as Kaylnzoo said above the HWH jacks go up by spring tension, we have 2 on each leg, and could be weak.

Safe travels and enjoy!!

Randy and Cindy
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Old 10-20-2012, 10:25 AM   #7
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The squeak at the door is most likely the latch pin and latch. Ours did that on last rip and I had to listen to it for quite awhile till I was able to pull off the road. A small amount of grease on the pin will stop it and if you can find some, they do make a teflon cover that will slip over the pin....usually found on some autos..
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Old 10-20-2012, 10:26 AM   #8
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Don't feel like your rig is the only one. One of our HWH jacks retracts slow or not at all then last time it went right up. Go figure. The black tank reads 2/3 most of the time no matter what kind of tricks we try to clean it. Our carpet is tan and after shampooing it looks great for about a week. Two humans and two dogs see to that. Knocking on wood the windshield is OK. I did have to have the Dimensions inverter rebuilt to the tune of $500 this summer.

The nice thing about buying a littler older RV is that you get a lot of bang for the buck so we fix up the problems and enjoy.
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Old 10-20-2012, 12:09 PM   #9
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Tank level readings are a common problem with all makes of MoHo's. Next trip put about half a tank of water and a bag of ice in the tank. While you drive the ice will dislodge any TP or other build-up. The slow jack could very well be weak return springs or dry/dirty cylinders. Extend/clean and lube. If it's springs, they can be purchased on EBay for about 30 bucks a pair. There is a thread on here about how to replace them easily.
Safe travels and enjoy your new toy.
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Old 10-20-2012, 02:33 PM   #10
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Couple of price $$$ question, what is the cost to replace the windshield? And what was the cost to replace the springs on the jacks?

I have a 2001 newer to me Itasca Sucruciser, 32 V and my jacks are also very slow to work and the windshield has three chips and might start to crack.

I just replaced the original rear tires with Toyo245/70R19.5m-143 Low Profile tires, same as what the front tires were. I chose LES Schwab because they have many location along my traveled routes.

Also check/replacing all of the fluids, checking the fan belts, break inspection, front end alignment, and new Bilistine shocks.

So what have I missed mechanically?
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Old 10-20-2012, 03:32 PM   #11
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Doit2010,
Well Sir, if you only have "Chips" in the windshield(s) then you're in luck, based on your thought processes. If you don't mind repairing chips on windshields, then your cost on that is way, way down from replacement. You can have companies come right to where the motor home is, home, camp spot etc, and you'd get most likely, a great deal if you've got more than one chip to repair. Or, some folks do it themselves. There's pretty high quality kits in many auto parts stores that work very well. That part's up to you.

If you're the kind that doesn't repair chips and wants a brand new windshield, well, they vary from rig to rig. When I had a chip in my passenger side windshield, it was close to the bottom and I as about to purchase a repair kit and fix it myself but, I was awaiting a nice day to do it and, the day I went out to purchase the kit, that "chip" had grown to a crack, right at 13" long. Well, long story short. I called "The Crack Doctor". They came to my home, took about an hour + and stop drilled that crack in two places at the end. Then, put three of their little machines on the windshield, over the cracks length and you almost can't see that crack. It has not traveled ANYMORE after they repaired it. They guarantee it not to travel.

The cost, right at $105.00 and I never had to move the coach. I was happy to pay that. The cost of the one side for our coach, a shaded, passenger side, right at $985.00!!!! And, even the repair guy told me, as well as lot of other glass folks, keep that stock windshield in as long as possible because the replacement ones are not quite the same fit and, are not as good a quality. So, you've got some choices there.
Scott
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Old 10-21-2012, 08:08 AM   #12
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The water drips on your dash...if located on right or left side is probably due to bad caulking at your roof/sidewall joint. Check it all the way to the rear of your coach.
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Old 10-21-2012, 09:17 AM   #13
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I have a 2003 Journey DL and during the test drive there was all kinds of rattles and the door squeaked. I had the dealer replace the (original) tires (we split the cost) and after the purchase the trip home was much more quiet. The squeak could be a flat spot on the tires, if your coach sat a while before you bought it. Check your tires. If the dates show they are less than 5 years old, check the inflation and drive it. If they are older than 5 years you need to look to replace them.
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Old 10-21-2012, 08:53 PM   #14
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The cost to replace the windshield is roughly $1200 for Right side only.
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Old 10-21-2012, 09:10 PM   #15
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cCngrats on your coach. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Another source for leaks that is often overlooked is the clearance lights, I don't know how many times I've found that to be the problem.
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Old 10-22-2012, 05:05 PM   #16
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If you had a FW product. You would have a lot more problems. We had 2 of those. Switched to Winnebago and have been very happy. This is our second Winny.
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Old 10-22-2012, 08:11 PM   #17
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You bought a 2002 RV not a new rig

First a forum is a place you will hear everyones troubles don't forget the many people who havd had NO problems but don't post to forums. Second you bought a 10 year old rig and it sounds like you think it should function like a new RV. Please, it ain't gonna happen. Rattles and squeaks come with houses moving down the road on todays worn out interstates. I am a Winnie owner and that is mainly because of their customer support and their practice of keeping a supply of parts for years after the model year.

Realize you did not buy a new rig and go out and enjoy what you have !!
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Old 10-23-2012, 08:19 PM   #18
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Most of the things you cited are really normal issues, Door squeaks, rock chips and such this stuff happens.

The only major issue is the water on the dash after the rain.

As for the holding tank sensors.. 90+ percent of them show the tank as partially full even when the owner knows for a fact the tank is empty.
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Old 10-24-2012, 07:30 PM   #19
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Your insurance should pay to replace the windshield. We have had 2 done.
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Old 10-25-2012, 01:06 AM   #20
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we had our 94 Winebago Vectra windshields replaced, cost about $3000. $500 ded and $500 for not covered "extra" work.. . Winebago "glues" them to a metal frame like newer cars. Others use a rubber gasket to hold it in, like older cars. Accordig the the guy they have to "grind" on the metal to get a good seal..
Thats ok, it still leaked the first time it rained. they just pumped clear silicone behind the trim to fix it.. ayway, glass aint cheap, and in motor homes, it's BIG glass..... 8-)
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