Fingers Crossed with our first Class A 2017 Adventurer 38Q

[DrRuter]

We just purchased a 2017 Winnie 38q in Phoenix Arizona and live in SE Indiana. On Wednesday we fly into Phoenix and will drive home our first Class A. We have previously owned travel trailers and most recently a 41’ fifth wheel. Any suggestions anyone can give us for traveling 1700 miles back home over 4 days with our first motorhome would be greatly appreciated.

[be happy]

From your post you are experienced RVers it looks like. To me one of the differences between 5th wheel and MH was getting used to driving a large "bill board". Both passing trucks and wind will want to move the MH from side to side. For me one of the best parts of the MH was seeing the country through the large windshield and just taking my time.

Good Luck and enjoy the ride

[Morich]

Picking up an RV can be a really big help ----if we ask the right questions and sometimes we have to "force" the sales folks to come up with answers that they may not know.
Keep in mind it is their JOB to know the product they are selling. Many want to skip over tellling us what we are buying exactly!
No need to accept answers like RV are all the same! EVERY RV may be slightly different than the next, so they should be willing and able to show you things when you ask.
I suggest going in withe right timing, so that you and the dealer should have plenty of time to do a really good walk through without rushing at 4:30 to close a 5!

Ask specifics like where and how ius the water left. Is it winterized and where are the valves. Since we all now carry a video camera on the hip, Take lots of short videos while they point out valves and switches for things.
I don't know is not an acceptable answer! Somebody around here should know and it IS their JOB, so if they expect to be paid, why not ask them to work for it?
No need to be disagreeable but then the grocer should not expect to sell you rotten meat, so why RV dealers?

On the trip, I suggest doing campgrounds with water and electric as a way to work into any questions more slowly. The motorhome wILL have numerous smallish points that can show up as something bIG, so having good electric and water can avoid many of those small points like run down battteries, etc.

Keep the owners manual handy and read lots, study lots, but try not to stress if things seem wrong. Being experienced likely will help if you want to wander around the campground to "stretch " and possibly ask a few friendly questions???

Try to arrive in daylight to sort those early setup questions.

Tons of info online from Winnebago here:
https://www.winnebago.com/

Look under the owners tab as a step into a deep well of info not provided by lots of other brands.
And the group is always standing by for the when the manual totally confuses us or slides by too quickly!

Enjoy the trek!

[creativepart]

Hi and welcome!

I have a 2017 Adventurer as well but the slightly smaller 37F floor plan and I’ve owned mine since new.

Before picking up your motorhome you should be aware of two essential things… batteries and tires.

A 2017 is now 6-yrs old. If the original batteries and tires are still installed they really should be replaced.

If you have an RV (AC/LP) fridge you have two house batteries and one chassis battery. If you have a residential fridge then you have 4-house batteries and one chassis battery. Like mine I’m pretty sure yours came from the factory with a typical Ford truck chassis battery under the 2nd step in the entry way. The house batteries are likely 12v NAPA Commercial Deep Cycle AGMs. However, since your motorhome has had previous owners who knows what batteries you have now so all bets are off. But the house batteries will be of most concern. Dig into that issue before accepting the Coach.

The house batteries are 12v Group 31 size, 100-amp hour and wired in parallel if original. You want robust, deep cycle not engine starting batteries. If you have only two they likely live under that second step next to the chassis battery. But the are totally separate banks. If you have four they are in a tray in a basement compartment.

Also be aware if you have 4-batteries and a residential fridge you also have a 2,000 watt inverter. If you have 2-batteries then you have a 1,000 watt inverter. You may or may not have a solar panel. It was a factory option.

Tires on a motorhome are more important. They age out before wearing out. A blown front tire at highway speed “can” lead to a rollover deadly crash. The tires are usually older than the motorhome because with a 2017 coach you probably have a 2016 chassis. So your tires are likely 7-yrs old. You need to look at the DOT date codes to know for sure.

My 2017 has a 2016 chassis and the tires were early 2016 date coded. They looked to be in perfect condition with 38,000 mi on them but I replaced them at the end of 2022.

The general rule is to replace them between 5-8 years based on the date codes. Some say they can wait longer but as I mentioned a blow out can be fatal. New tires will cost between $3000 and $4000. So you should be getting dates codes from the dealer now, before you pick up the RV. If they are original it would be best to discuss getting a discount on the purchase price to pay for new tires or having the dealer replace them at his cost.

Dealers know all about this stuff, but they hope you don’t and will count on you not pressuring them on these things, especially tires. Tired batteries will not kill you. A typical dealer response is that the tires look great have only x,000 mi on them and it’s an old wives tale that the need to be replaced. Trust me, check the internet and see for yourself.

[Morich]

Creative brings up a good point which may be far different than prior RV.
The coach batteries will have a battery disconnect switch, likely near the door but leave it ON when using the RV.
There is a gizmo which connects the chassis/start battery and engine alternator to the coach batteries as we travel, so fell free to use all the 12VDC inside stuff you want as you drive as you will be working off the alternator!
No rundown batteries as you drive!
But when you turn off the engine, the gizmo disconnects the two groups of battery as a way to make sure you don't run ALL batteries down while camped without power.

When using lots of power like for slides or jacks, start the engine first as most things do work better and strain less if we give them good power!

[creativepart]

There is a chassis battery switch and a house battery switch in the entry stairwell both should be on any time you are doing anything but parking the coach for storage. Putting the RV away in storage both switches off.

Parking the RV for loading etc both switches on but more than a few days will run down batteries. Plug it in to some 110v if at the house loading.

If you have a residential fridge you must plug into shore power. It will run on inverter but even with fully charged batteries you have only about 10-12 hours to run the fridge on inverter. Of course with an RV fridge you run it on propane when not on shore power.

The RV has a BIM device that will connect house and chassis batteries when the engine is running to charge both banks. When parked and on shore power or generator the BIM will charge the house batteries and also only connect to the chassis battery when its voltage drops below 12.5v and your house batteries are above 12.6v. So when plugged in to outside power the BIM will automatically keep both battery banks charged as necessary.

[creativepart]

When you get a chance let us know the fridge type - RV or Residential. Then we can give you better answers about your RV.

[creativepart]

Something new to pay attention to at the PDI (Pre-Delivery Inspection) - the 2017 Adventurer came with a kind of unique TV and Home Theater system standard.

There is a HDMI Matrix in the overhead cabinet above the passenger's chair. These are kind of great and kind of a pain in the behind at the same time. They are prone to repeated problems and so many times people stop using them, or even remove them. If they disconnect them without removing the HDMI Matrix it can be quite confusing because you won't know what they've done.

IF... and it's a big IF... the PDI person at the dealership knows how to work it you should have them A) test it on ALL TVs to be sure it works and B) give you a thorough lesson on how to operate it.

Next the dash infotainment system is also somewhat problematic and some love it some hate it. I love mine, but there are dozens of posts on the internet by people wanting to rip theirs out and get rid of it.

It is an Xite GPS, Sirius/XM Satellite radio/bluetooth system. The GPS is Rand McNally and initially it offered free updates for life. Then RM went bankrupt and was sold twice and the new company says no more updates. The last map update was Oct '22. It would be good to see when the last map update was applied. Also, when the map updates are made it also updates the Xite system software. Some owners that were not tech savvy never applied any updates and this can cause the system to not work right and really be wonky. This can be why lots of people want to remove the system.

The system is updated via an SD card that you have to use in a computer and download a PC or Mac app called the RAND Dock to transfer updates to the SD card that you then insert in the "Core Unit". This core unit is also in the cabinet above the passenger seat. It's a black vented brick sized computer below the flexible LED light.

Here's the SC card update info for PC:

https://www.xsna.ca/assets/rand-mcna...22-v2.0-pc.pdf

Get the dealer to prove to you that all the functions work and to show you how to work it.

You can find some info on the system on YouTube and here's link to a manual here:

https://www.xsna.ca/assets/xsg3na_in...al_v161107.pdf

Your system was sold and supported by Riverpark Industries and you have a 10" XS3GNA model.

If you're used to Garmin or some other GPS the Rand McNally system works differently and here's a link to the manual for it:

https://www.xsna.ca/assets/randmcnal...na-manual-.pdf

[Morich]

Creative has some really good info above. However, I would like to get a call if you find a dealer that can show you the details of how things work!
I will accept that they are a very "special "person if they can get the electronic to work beyond a simple turnon!

Somewhat like the medical field? Many are still just practicing?
No offence meant! My doctor told me that!

[creativepart]

The OP is in luck buying basically the exact same motorhome as I have had for 6 years. There are a few differences between the 37F I have and the 38Q he's buying. I don't have a fireplace. And my main TV is on a Televator his is on a wall above the fireplace.

The entrance door is in a different place - so some of the basement compartments might be laid out with different items located in them. But mostly his and mine are cousins, not too distant.

Here's my 37F Floorplan, Followed by the OP's 38Q Floorplan

[Morich]

Both very nice for those who do spend lots of time in the RV. The most we ever got into was when we went the Workamper route for several years and a 97 31RQ was the biggest we wanted as it gave us what we felt was "lots of room" at the time for 2 of us for six weeks or so.
Funny how the perspective changes so much as time moves on! We sold that one when the gas prices got so out of line at $1.54 a gallon that folks would not be willing to pay that much to travel!! The gas pumps would shut down at $50 at that time and we would have to go in and get them to reset!
Wouldn't that be sweet to refill an empty tank and stay under 50-75 dollars?