Howdy all Winnie owners. My wife and I are new Winnie owners in AZ and took delivery of a 2022 2801BHS at the beginning of this month. We just returned from our first trip and found the Winnie to be quite an upgrade from our 2006 TrailManor 3124kb (and the large pop-up before that). I really enjoyed having a mostly walk-around queen bed, separate wardrobes, more holding tank capacity than you can shake a stick at, a screen door, power awning, full LEDs, and a foot flush toilet. As for what I don't particularly care for:
- The wood veneer trim around the top of the dinette's back cushion split before we took delivery of the trailer. I need to open this up and replace the veneer before it tears the vinyl covering.
- Similarly, another portion of this trim (along the leading edge of the dinette seat) is pulling away from seat structure.
- Our slideout scratched the vinyl floor (and put a small puncture in it) on the bathroom side (not sure how that is possible given the slide does not touch the floor when pulled in fully).
- Because we added a mattress topper to the QB, the shocks are not strong enough to support the bed in the open position
- The heater vent (under the entertainment unit) is just a raw HVAC duct
- The only other heater ducts for the main space are in the end of the QB and in the bathroom floor. (The latter makes the bathroom too toasty if the door is not left open)
- There is separation between the wall and the left-side "basement" (passthrough) structure in the bedroom, such that when the passthrough door is open, you can clearly see light/see down into the basement from in the bedroom
- There is separation between the door-side wall and aluminum trim on the outside of the camper (at the front cap). This is significant enough that I don't want to wash the trailer out of concern I might get water in the wall
- Our water heater stopped working on Thanksgiving day and my attempts to troubleshoot/resolve proved futile. It was not helped by the abysmal internet/cell service at the campground. (Oh, and I had taken the manuals out of the camper to perform some unrelated discovery before our trip... failed to put them back in)
- We picked up a nail on the way home... tires only have <500 miles on them and at least one will need to be replaced (nail is in edge between sidewall and tread).
- Speakers (internal/external)are underpowered
.... and, the icing on this cake:
- The dealership put a big scratch in the camper after we purchased it but before we took delivery! The scratch started at the rear of the trailer (on the door-side, and extended forward across the bedroom emergency window). They scratched the gel coat and window.
enough of the complaining now... it really is a good trailer and, if I can get the aforementioned issues address, it will be a great one.
towing observations: We did get pushed around a bit while towing on I10. This was mostly while being passed by Semis. But, the Andersen hitch did a phenomenal job of restoring the rig each time it happened. I was also able to lessen the effects of Semi turbulence by favoring the edge of my lane during an overtake event. To be sure, my "rig" did move when overtaken by larger vehicles, but it quickly restored and did not "sway.' The Andersen also excelled in keeping the trailer from porpoising, an event that NEVER occurred during that trip regardless of abrupt elevation changes (bumps, small hills, railroad crossings, etc). At no time during the trip did I feel uncomfortable towing with this setup. Save a few "passing" events, where I accelerated to 72, I stayed at 65 or less, as conditions warranted.
upgrades/mods:
- LevelMate Pro. I HIGHLY recommend this product and found it to be quite useful in site selection/setup.
- Andersen levellers (x2) Super easy to level (side-to-side) and chock wheels. Simply put them infront of (or behind) both tires (on the "low" side of the camper) and roll forward (backward) until level.
- X-Chocks. (x2) These work as designed to help stabilize the trailer. I use them in addition to traditional wheel chocks.
- 30ft RhinoFlex Sewer hose and attachments (10ft from rear holding dump to Wye connector) and 20ft (2x 10ft sections) from front holding dump to Wye connector)
- RhinoFlex sewer hose cleanout. This worked quite well as well and was possibly one of the best camper upgrades I've purchased, yet
Questions:
- What are the little barrel plugs in the ends of the awning arm?
- Any good prices on the Voyager observation camera setup?
- Has anyone had success getting side cameras to work in that setup (similar to the Furion Vision S)?
- Any chance Jensen as a Blueray option in that form factor?
- Ronald & Lisa S.