37F Floor plan

[Bodark]

We are considering moving from our toy hauler to a Class A. We both love the 37F floor plan and the more I look at Winnebago the better I like the apparent quality. However, I'm concerned about the size of the 37F and its’ V10 engine.

I can't find anything on the Winnebago web site about cargo capacity. They do list gross weight and gross combined weight. Do any of you have experience with this floor plan or a similarly heavy class A pulling a toad with the V10? We love the mountains and I'm thinking we may want to consider a diesel even though we would have to go with an older model to afford it. Thank you in advance for any information you can give.

 

[Tomandjimmy]

We are considering moving from our toy hauler to a Class A. We both love the 37F floor plan and the more I look at Winnebago the better I like the apparent quality. However, I'm concerned about the size of the 37F and its’ V10 engine.

I can't find anything on the Winnebago web site about cargo capacity. They do list gross weight and gross combined weight. Do any of you have experience with this floor plan or a similarly heavy class A pulling a toad with the V10? We love the mountains and I'm thinking we may want to consider a diesel even though we would have to go with an older model to afford it. Thank you in advance for any information you can give.

Afternoon! I dont know if this will help but it might give you a little insight. We have a Monaco Riptide 35 ' with a V-10. Last spring we went to Toas and Santa Fe. The engine struggled in the mountains. Our conversations shifted to "the next purchase will be a deisel pusher". Oh, and we were not towing. Food for thought.

 

[garykk]

WE have the 2012 model and came from a 5th wheel with a 3500 Silverado Dually. I did find that the storage was different, being less in the inside than the 5th wheel but the outside storage was more than enough. Towing a Jeep wrangler is no problem but with the Ford V-10 it takes some getting used to. The engine is a high rever and the first time we hit a steep hill while in cruise it sure got my attention!!!But I did get used to it. It will slow on steep hills and will not keep the speed my dually did but overall we are very pleased with the Vista gasser and we have been through some pretty steep country...... The MPG is not all that great, ranging from 6.5 to 7.5 usually but the dually I had did not get much better and with the cost of diesel compared with regular gas, the cost evens out..
AS said, my driving style had to change for the gasser, using cruise only on relatively flat terrain and kicking it off on hills works pretty good to keep the revs down and the tow haul works pretty good on descents as well.....All in all, we would not go back to a 5th wheel, the convenience of the class A far outweighs the 5th wheel.
I did notice that the 2014 Vista now has a pantry, it appears WB cut down the size of the 1/2 bath to accommodate it.
Would a diesel be better on steep grades? Depends on the engine I guess. I have passed pushers on grades but then again i have been passed by them as well. I think the slowest we have been on a steep incline was about 40 mph. We travel about 3-4 months out of the year and did not think the extra cost of a pusher would be worth it. If we were fulltiming it again, a pusher would be a better option but for the miles we put on a year, we'll stick to the Vista...
Hope this helps..

 

[edgray]

If you type 37F into the forum search box you will discovery several threads on the subject, like this one: http://www.irv2.com/forums/f101/itasca-suncruiser-37f-questions-136854.html

As you can see by my signature, mine is on a W-24 Workhorse so I can't properly answer your questions specific to the Ford V-10. I'll be happy to help you with any coach -related questions you may have. Ed

 

[Bodark]

Thank you, all, for the feedback. This is what I was hoping for. garykk, you mentioned two things that I have wondered about but didn't mention in my post. I have wondered how the tow-haul works on the V10 as it's really great on the diesel on descents. Also, the fact that all DPs are not created equal. I too have seen some of them struggle on grades.

edgray, thank you for mentioning the search. I will do that and see what I can find on other threads. Also, thank you for the comments on the coach. We have not yet seen one with the slides in and that is a concern for my wife. She wants to be able to access bathroom and kitchen with all slides in. We found the 37F at an RV show. It was a 2013 year model and of course on the Ford chassis. PPL has a 2010 listed with very low miles on the Workhorse chassis. I would not mind a slightly used one but can't get anyone to talk to me at the new PPL location. I have called twice and the two sales people there are always busy.

I am starting to get a picture of this being a choice between performance, especially hill climbing, and the convenience of an A class. We may have to decide if 40 MPH up hill is really that big of a drawback. The fuel economy that was mentioned doesn't bother me because I'm only getting 8 to 8.5 MPG pulling the beast we have now.

 

[edgray]

Thank you, all, for the feedback. This is what I was hoping for. garykk, you mentioned two things that I have wondered about but didn't mention in my post. I have wondered how the tow-haul works on the V10 as it's really great on the diesel on descents. Also, the fact that all DPs are not created equal. I too have seen some of them struggle on grades.

edgray, thank you for mentioning the search. I will do that and see what I can find on other threads. Also, thank you for the comments on the coach. We have not yet seen one with the slides in and that is a concern for my wife. She wants to be able to access bathroom and kitchen with all slides in. We found the 37F at an RV show. It was a 2013 year model and of course on the Ford chassis. PPL has a 2010 listed with very low miles on the Workhorse chassis. I would not mind a slightly used one but can't get anyone to talk to me at the new PPL location. I have called twice and the two sales people there are always busy.

I am starting to get a picture of this being a choice between performance, especially hill climbing, and the convenience of an A class. We may have to decide if 40 MPH up hill is really that big of a drawback. The fuel economy that was mentioned doesn't bother me because I'm only getting 8 to 8.5 MPG pulling the beast we have now.

With all slides in for travel your wife will still be able to access the front "1/2 bath", the kitchen, and open the refer and pantry, but you'll need to crawl across the bed to reach the full bath in rear. The clothes drawers and closets won't open due to the bed against them. We have not found these things to be an issue. A walk from the front seats to the kitchen is not difficult, but I do wish the dinning table didn't stick out as far as it does. I don't know about this aisle if you have the booth instead of table and chairs with TV against the wall. In short, we like ours with 25K on the ODO, so far.

If you buy any model year after the 2010, you won't have to deal with the basement A/C, which is a good thing IMO. Unfortunately, 2010 was the last year for the Workhorse chassis, so all newer will be F53 and have roof airs. I think the 2011 and newer also got a bigger rectangular shower. Ed

 

[garykk]

I think the suncruiser has the "big" shower like ours,love it, can actually move around in it...
The tow-haul is similar to the tow/haul on our dually and it has the engine brake when engaged

 

[bronk]

We have a 38' Damon Challenger on the Ford chassis. It has 3 slides, with one being almost a full-wall configuration. We have been VERY satisfied with the Ford drivetrain, and with pulling a Jeep Wrangler, have not experienced any difficulties with lack of power, over-heating or such. The engine gets some getting used to, especially when using the cruise. I only use it (cruise) on flat terrain, but do utilize the TOW/HAUL feature to avoid downshifts on moderate grades. T/H works great as a brake for steep downhill applications. Overall, I give the entire package an A for putting a great and proven powerplant in a great coach. Diesels have their advantages, but initial price and the cost of fuel/maintenance are not 3 that come to mind.

Bronk