New Winnebago Vista owner

[Dsteele]

Hello,

Been rving for 17 years. We just bought a Winnebago Vista 29VE. This one has many more bells and whistles and I am finding it rather confusing. That is why I reaching out to different forums. Glad to have found this one.

We are from Vermont and will be heading out this month on our first trip across the USA with our new Winnebago 29VE.

 

[Bones2003]

Hi and welcome to the forum! There is lots of good help here. Enjoy your new Vista. Ours has been great.

 

[sundog964]

Welcome, we love our Vista 29V. There are so many things to know, and I'm still learning after a year.

 

[Dsteele]

Thank you for the welcomes

I would like to get help with my leveling system. Where would I post to get help with that system?

 

[sundog964]

Probably in the running gear section. Or the class a section.

 

[Blastvalve]

Congrats on the new rig and welcome to the forum! Great forum, lots of good people here. I own a 2015 Vista, what are you trying to learn on the leveling system?

Always good to see another VT’er, I’m in the Burlington area but went to LSC.

 

[dkoldman]

Hello,

Been rving for 17 years. We just bought a Winnebago Vista 29VE. This one has many more bells and whistles and I am finding it rather confusing. That is why I reaching out to different forums. Glad to have found this one.

We are from Vermont and will be heading out this month on our first trip across the USA with our new Winnebago 29VE.

Congratulations

Welcome, we love our Vista 29V. There are so many things to know, and I'm still learning after a year.

Me too, I almost bought a Thor because it was cheaper, but I am so glad that I got the 29ve. We are very pleased, but I am constantly learning something.

I would like to get help with my leveling system. Where would I post to get help with that system?

It is your thread you could state the nature of your question, it is best to find the right group to get more that may help and for others that may be seeking same info.

Not knowing your question and not wanting to sound trite; but the leveling system kind of confused me too. It didn't make sense to me until one day at home on a very level surface I got the manual out and just read it slowly and doing it as I read. After an hour or two, it all came together.

I don't have to use it that much, so I keep the manual in the coach

 

[Dsteele]

Leveling

Congrats on the new rig and welcome to the forum! Great forum, lots of good people here. I own a 2015 Vista, what are you trying to learn on the leveling system?

Always good to see another VT’er, I’m in the Burlington area but went to LSC.

I have not even camped in it yet and I am having issues with the Leveling system. The Auto level feature is not working. It was working and then just stopped after I topped off the tank with ATF. Now it is just giving an error code which is the left light center light and the right light. The manual says it is Failure Mode. Can't seem to get it working again. I also zeroed out the level system but that did not help. I am at a loss. I was on the phone all day with the manufacture of the leveling system which is Power Gear. They thought it was because of low voltage but I went and bought a multimeter and the voltage was fine. I can manually level the RV so I don't think it is harness problem. The manufacture said it might be a pressure problem with the pump. So I will need to get it pressure tested. I am camping this weekend so we will see if that changes anything since my driveway is not completely level. I am at this time at a loss as to what might be the real problem. Just does not feel that great that I already am having an issue and I have not even had it out yet.

 

[dkoldman]

I have not even camped in it yet and I am having issues with the Leveling system. The Auto level feature is not working. It was working and then just stopped after I topped off the tank with ATF. Now it is just giving an error code which is the left light center light and the right light. The manual says it is Failure Mode. Can't seem to get it working again. I also zeroed out the level system but that did not help. I am at a loss. I was on the phone all day with the manufacture of the leveling system which is Power Gear. They thought it was because of low voltage but I went and bought a multimeter and the voltage was fine. I can manually level the RV so I don't think it is harness problem. The manufacture said it might be a pressure problem with the pump. So I will need to get it pressure tested. I am camping this weekend so we will see if that changes anything since my driveway is not completely level. I am at this time at a loss as to what might be the real problem. Just does not feel that great that I already am having an issue and I have not even had it out yet.

I was going to ask what it actually does? I know it is not working, but what happens, or if nothing happens other than the failure lights?

Then I see where you have talked with Power Gear; so that may eliminate things I would check.

I never got any failure codes, but there have been times that it would not auto level. I moved the coach around and then it auto level with no issues. So I concluded that it must have a way of knowing if it can safely level or not? I don't think that condition will give you an error code.

I have never reset zero, but I have used wooden blocks under jacks that I made out of 2 X 12s to help when I was on dirt on wanted to reduce the length a jack or two had to extend.

 

[Wyatt-WO]

Since I no longer employ then auto level, I’ve had no issues (we do not have the same system).
Auto level consistently over compensates, and raises the rig too high.
Get comfortable with the manual level, and let go of the auto system.
Who knows what variable may fix your situation, but since you’re s admittedly new to this system, it could be user error.
Invest in one of these. It will make leveling a cinch…

 

[Blastvalve]

That’s definitely frustrating, especially if it worked before. Like others I use manual a lot as Auto tends to get you pretty high in the air by the time you are level, but on sites that start pretty flat it’s nice to just pull in, hit the button and be done.

If you are speaking with Power Gear you are definitely in the right spot.

Given you had just filled it, is it possible you overfilled things? The manual notes this fault is typically to prevent over extending the jacks, given the timing of just filling, it would be the first thing I’d check. The manual also notes to try maybe a flatter site or to cycle the power to reset the errors. (It then goes on to say start replacing things……). If you already tried after your call with PowerGear my apologies but wanted to put out there.

If you end up needing help, Hills RV in North Conway is worth the drive. I took my previous coach there at the recommendation of Winnebago for a slide issue, I’d drive the 3 hours to him again in a heartbeat. Long story short, the easy fix for him would have cost me about $2k in parts alone, he figured out what was really wrong, cost me $40 in parts and then some labor.

Let us know what you find!

 

[creativepart]

Hi and welcome!
I have a different model Class A ( Adventurer) but do have the power gear leveling system. I don’t know the answer to your problem but the only time(s) I’ve seen that left-center-right light is when I was in a place that the system could not level adequately with the “auto” function. On camping trips I’ve seen this only 2 or 3 times in 36,000 miles.

I’ve never set zero on mine, so that’s a variable that may or may not apply, I don’t know.

Have you tried the auto level somewhere other than your driveway? If not, you might consider trying that. Maybe drive to some place nearby and see if that “fixes” the issue.

My dive way is sloped some and the leveling system can’t get the front of the coach high enough to auto level. It tries and gives up with the left-center-right light. I can manually raise the front of my coach up as high as it will go and the RV is “close” to level, but not fully level.

For the first 3-yrs that’s what I did in our driveway to load/work on our RV. But every time I would retract the jacks from that position it seemed like it was putting unhealthy pressure on the front jacks due to the slope. I even saw some leaking from my left front jack, but only when I retracted the jacks. This year I decided to not even attempt to level in the driveway and just load and work on the RV on the slope. And that’s worked better.

 

[dkoldman]

I had a $50 coupon for Camping World that was about to expire so I was desperate to buy something. I bought this EZ Leveler and some RV toilet paper.

https://www.campingworld.com/rv-ez-...jacks-leveling-chocks/levels-leveling-systems

It works great and very simple to use. Sometimes if I don't need the slide out I don't even need to level if this thing says I am all green I do use the Power Gear Auto mode all the time first and it works 90% of the time. When it does not; it is one of two reasons. 1) If terrain is too unlevel; it will not level, or 2) It does level, but with one or more tires off the ground . I will then either move the coach, insert my wood blocks, or go to Manual level. Because I rarely use the Manual level, it is a PITA to remember the specifics like when I only need one inch or so; up or down on one jack. Thus the owners manual is required to be near by for me to try to use the manual mode, and I spend 15 - 20 minutes jacking around with the jacks (pun intended)

Note: On EZ lever in the link, one drawback is that you can't actually turn it off. It auto shuts itself off after5 or 10 min or so, so it is kind of strange when you put it back in the drawee it is still on. No issues with batteries though.

 

[Wyatt-WO]

Note: [/B] On EZ lever in the link, one drawback is that you can't actually turn it off. It auto shuts itself off after5 or 10 min or so, so it is kind of strange when you put it back in the drawee it is still on. No issues with batteries though.

The newer ones also have an on/off switch, but it will power down if you forget to turn it off, which I do most times.

 

[Dsteele]

Everything is working now

Thank you to everyone who posted. I took it out for my first camping venture. Lo and behold the leveling system worked perfectly! My driveway it turns out was not level enough for it to work. I now feel comfortable with this feature. It was a bit intimidating since the last 14 years I have been using leveling blocks. Sure is a nice feature.

 

[dkoldman]

The newer ones also have an on/off switch, but it will power down if you forget to turn it off, which I do most times.

Thank you to everyone who posted. I took it out for my first camping venture. Lo and behold the leveling system worked perfectly! My driveway it turns out was not level enough for it to work. I now feel comfortable with this feature. It was a bit intimidating since the last 14 years I have been using leveling blocks. Sure is a nice feature.

That was my experience. I love the the Auto Mode as I now understand what it is doing, or in some cases trying NOT to do. Go to Lowes and buy a 2X12X12 and cut some blocks. You can put one or two under the low side of your driveway and it will level just fine on it's on. I generally only go into manual mode when I specifically trying to raise a tire i.e. to remove a wheel, or maybe even to help drain a tank or something.

When I retract, I also go outside to double check when it is done just to make sure. There have been a time or two where maybe I didn't hold retract long enough and it stopped; but the red light and beeping is added safety for that.

 

[Wyatt-WO]

I also spray the shafts with silicon before retracting, if I’ve stayed anywhere for more than a few days, especially at the coast.

 

[Blastvalve]

Great news! The easy solutions are the best ones.