Newbie....hello everyone !! 2022 Vista 35U.

[SLOWLANE-WO]

We just sold our 44' motoryacht and have purchased a brand new 2022 Winnebago Vista 35U. First timers now preparing to see the country, and life on the flip side.
Looking forward to making new friends, gathering knowledge and ideas from fellow RVrs, and contributing the best we can.
Drive safe everyone.
Cheers !!

 

[unclescratch]

Welcome Aboard! I have been RVing for 30 years, in tents, travel trailers, 5th wheels and now a Winnebago Class A. There is a learning curve as you may expect, but 'all' these RV forums are a tremendous help. Happy Trails to you.

 

[BCam]

Congratulations, you've chosen what's considered by many to be one of the best floor plans that Winnebago's ever produced. My 35U is twenty years old. One improvement they've made with your's is to move the TV from over the windshield to across from the couch. This is on my list for a future mod.

You'll learn a lot simply by checking out the new posts every day or so. There's a lot to learn and most topics aren't model-specific.

Have fun.

 

[Podivin]

Welcome.
We made that same change (though our boat was only 38'). You'll find that much of what you know about boats will transfer nicely to an RV, with a few surprises along the way that are very different. Grey tanks, for instance. I assume your boat didn't have one and that grey water just went directly overboard. Now you have to think about how much water you're using before you fill the grey tank, rather than only being concerned about how much fresh water is in the tank. (and I suspect the RV has a much smaller fresh water tank than your boat did).
Another big-ish difference is that the boat is built from the ground up as one piece, with one 12 volt system (perhaps with a 'split' if you had twin engines and their alternators charged different batteries) and a 120 volt system. The RV is built on a truck chassis. So you have two 12 volt systems (chassis and house) and a 120 volt system. They are all separate, but they all intersect for charging/powering the 12 volt systems. For ME, it helps to think of it as 'the house' and 'the truck' (or 'the truck that lives under my RV'). When you're looking at a 12 volt 'thing' you have to have it clear in your head if that's part of the truck, or part of the house, it makes chasing issues easier if you do that.
For all that the planet is mostly water, there are many more places to go in an RV than in a boat - or at least many more places to go that you can get to in a week or so.
Welcome to shore.

 

[SLOWLANE-WO]

Thank you all for the welcome replies. We have joined Harvest Host and Boondockers. Will trial RV Life. Any other groups to consider?

 

[BCam]

I forgot to mention, we're former boaters as well. The last boat we had was a 30' Catalina sailboat that we sold in 2014.

 

[creativepart]

Here.
Another boater. I had a 31' Irwin Citation on Canyon Lake here in the Texas Hill Country. I started with a 14' Hobie Cat, then a Catalina 22 then the Irwin.

The thing about RVing that's like boats is... they take constant work and there is always something to do, maintain or fix. That and they both take considerable funds to keep floating/running.

If you're planning on dry camping / boondocking and you have a residential fridge you should look at upgrading your electrical systems before you go.

 

[SLOWLANE-WO]

ya...boatin and RVn similar i gotta believe..marina like RV park, and anchoring out like boondocking i'm guessing.
All good fun..

I'm jus now studying front stabilizer systems? The SuperSteer seems like most popular on YouTube? But wow !! Kinda expensive for whats basically a horizontally mounted shock absorber?

 

[creativepart]

I'm jus now studying front stabilizer systems? The SuperSteer seems like most popular on YouTube? But wow !! Kinda expensive for whats basically a horizontally mounted shock absorber?

SuperSteer is most popular. I went with a Roadmaster RSS. I'm not sure why I chose that one. Just a rebel I guess.

The steering stabilizer was the most effective driving aid I've added. And I've added the following:

Front/Rear Sumo Springs
Additional Rear Roadmaster Sway bar
Koni FSD Shocks all around

 

[SLOWLANE-WO]

which color Sumo did you get? I'm guessin we both have same GVWR?

 

[creativepart]

which color Sumo did you get? I'm guessin we both have same GVWR?

I've got the 24,000lb chassis. I think they are black? They are the ones for 24k to 26K F53 chassis.

My GCWR is 30K. It looks like yours is 26K. 2017 was the last year they built the Adventurer on the 24K or 26K chassis. In 2019 they renamed the Vista LX as an Adventurer and the max chassis is 22K. This applies to the 35U Vista as well.

I buy all of my parts in advance online and take them to my shop for installation. I use an independent RV shop in San Antonio. They charge a little less per hour if you let them supply the parts, but they mark up the parts 30% so it works out better if I supply them.

 

[creativepart]

I've tested my coach extensively with and without the Sumos. I had them installed and went 20K miles. I had them removed and drove 5K miles and I've just recently had them reinstalled and driven another 2k miles.

Here's what I've learned. They make the ride harsher. Definitely. BUT... they help quite a bit with body control, especially body lean in corners and curves.

But if you find your ride hard right now - Sumos don't soften things out at all. In fact, nothing I've tried softens the dump truck harsh ride of the F53 chassis.

 

[SLOWLANE-WO]

cool.. my 35U is 24k with 22.5"
thx a bunch for your input. I was wondering if maybe the heavier duty yellow was the way to go but I think I will choose the black as well? And probably only install on fronts for time being? Do a little at a time.
Cheers

 

[creativepart]

cool.. my 35U is 24k with 22.5"
thx a bunch for your input. I was wondering if maybe the heavier duty yellow was the way to go but I think I will choose the black as well? And probably only install on fronts for time being? Do a little at a time.
Cheers

Some suspension shops that specialize in RV upgrades suggest using lighter leaf springs with the Sumos - some truck shops remove one leaf.

The Sumos are really helper springs and they help stiffen the leaf spring. I know a number of folks have tried air bags instead of Sumos but that's just trading air for neoprene or whatever the Sumos are made of.

The only REAL suspension improvement is to replace the entire suspension with LiquidSprings. But that costs $20,000 to do front and rear. Some factories are offering the LiquidSpring suspension as an OEM option. That allows folks to finance the extra cost. But still $20,000. Ford should have changed the suspension to independent front with coil springs and also changed to coil springs on the rear solid axle in 2020 when they changed from the V10 to the V8.