Newbie owner of 93 Winnebago Vector Motorhome

[benhamliz]

I am delighted to join this community as a newbie owner of a 1993 Winnebago Vector Motorhome. I have lots to learn!
Lizzy B

 

[Eagle5]

Hi Lizzy,
What I like best about this vintage of Class A is the inclusion of a driver's door. I have never understood why they were deleted from the modern Class As. Once in a Blue Moon, the main door latching mechanism has gone afoul, and folks with only one door have had to do a little acrobatics to get out of their Class A. It is always good to have at least two doors.
Which floor plan do you have; the 33RQ, the 37RW, or the 35RQPusher?
https://www.winnebago.com/brochure-archive?year=1993&model=Vectra
With no slide-outs, that is one less thing to go wrong. Are you the second owner?
Welcome to the forum.
Eagle5

 

[benhamliz]

Hi Eagle5,
I love having a drivers door! My motorhome is a 35RQ model with a Cummings pusher engine that has 67,000 miles. The coach is in good shape but there is lots of rust around the compartments. I will have the roof recovered after a power wash.The generator is not working at the moment (a new solenoid has been installed) so I need to deal with that. Also my biggest concern is the horizontal propane tank which is permanently installed.It and the fittings are looking pretty old.I am advised that it is probably still ok and not to mess with it. But I am not sure where to go to get it checked and new hoses etc installed.Any advice on this issue would be greatly appreciated

 

[benhamliz]

Forgot to advise that I am the 3rd owner

 

[Eagle5]

I would assume that somebody in your area must service propane tanks on motorhomes. I found this as the first hit in Google:
https://www.themotorcoachstore.com/--rv-propane-safety
So many folks are in Florida with motorhomes, so maybe somebody else could chime-in here too?
Your rig sounds so low-mileage at just 67,000; sorry about the rust issues. Being just the third owner of a twenty-nine year old Class A means the other two owners kept it for a long time. I'm sure others have mentioned it, but you should also assure your batteries are fresh and that the tires are still safe (not cracked sidewalls or aged-out.) I guess a lot of that goes without saying. Yes, go through it and get it all refurbished, but it really sounds like a great rig.
Thanks, Eagle5

 

[benhamliz]

Thanks Eagle5...funnily after totally losing power, new batteries were installed today and power is back! The batteries that were replaced were Feb and May 2021 but must have been bad. Also I just put 7 new tires on the MH.
The upgrading will continue now with the generator and propane tank.
I have been looking online too .Seems like Camping world in Ft Pierce 11/2 hrs north of me may be able to do.I have found that some RV businesses do not want to take on an old MH

 

[DGRBRUV]

Hi Lizzie, We also have a 1993 Winnebago, but ours is a Brave with a 6.2L diesel motor. We live in Wales (UK) I will look out for any items you may post. Enjoy your vintage RV. We have had ours for 18years now. Cheers Ian

 

[Morich]

Twop thoughts on the batteries and propane may help. On the propane, when you have the tank filled, ask them to look at the date and I think that is a factor on mobile tanks, so perhaps also on permanent mount? The guys who fill tanks may also have folks in mind who do things like change the valves and hoses, so we often go to the places which are less "special" shops for RV as it seems to work better if the place just does propane!
It seems like different folks have different thoughts on working on Rv and someseem to think it very special while others have done propane on lots of differewnt types and see nothing different to bother them. Some calling around after searching for propane or liquified gas may turn up some good places.

The sad story on batteries is often that they are not old, just abused to death!
Without doing something to make sure All the batteries, both start and coach are kept charged, there are slow drains on both sections which make the batteries run down while the RV is setting, either on a sales lot or stored.
When a batery is run too low and left for too long it does lots of damage, which make mean a three year battery goes bad in hal that time.

So the big point is to keep those small drains from killing your battery! Radio presets can kill the start battery and safety items like propane and CO detectors are NOT cut off by the coach battery disconnect, so stay alert and make some system to either totally disconnect them or to keep a small charge going to them.

I might guess that most used Rv that set on lots will be sold with half dead batteries as they make no effort to keep them charged!

 

[DGRBRUV]

Good advice Morich

 

[BCam]

On the propane, when you have the tank filled, ask them to look at the date and I think that is a factor on mobile tanks, so perhaps also on permanent mount? The guys who fill tanks may also have folks in mind who do things like change the valves and hoses, so we often go to the places which are less "special" shops for RV as it seems to work better if the place just does propane!

Unless things were different in 1993, permanently mounted propane tanks are ASME certified and don't require periodic recertification like portable tanks, which are DOT certified:

https://www.rvtravel.com/how-often-...equired,qualify for periodic re-certification.

Nonetheless it should be checked out if there's any doubt as to its condition.

I agree with Morich about going to a propane shop rather than an RV shop.

 

[creativepart]

One other thing Lizzy - it is unfortunately true that many dealerships don't want to work on a 28 year old motorhome but, you'll find that independent mobile RV techs are usually happy to come to you and work on your RV. And, while they are there they are fountains of information about every part of your vehicle home.

Lastly, you should be careful with dealers for service. Most will make you wait a couple of months to get an appointment, and then keep your RV a month or more and possibly not ever do the work you request. Also, there are a great many RVers that feel Camping World's service record is less than adequate.

Of course, not everyone feels this way or shares that experience. But just be aware of these opinions being commonly shared.

 

[Morich]

Have to also agree on the Camping World experience and if it is like we found here in Central Texas, poorly run/organized.
We wants leveling jacks installed and we had them on other RV and had definite ideas of what we wanted installed but some questions if it was possible, so we spent a good deal of time toalking to the person we thought was in charge of service, went over where the pumps and all the small parts would be installed and took almost an hour to reach what we felt was a workable and agreeable setup.
Nobody told the folks who did the work! When we went to pick it up, they told us they had never installed a system on a Class C and they never did it the way agreed! We were stuck with a new RV with stuff in all the places we did not want them!
Talking and get a plan is a waste with them!
For chassis/engine work, we go to a real mechanic at a real automotive shop.
For oil/ tire work we go to those who do that or someplace simple as Wal-mart with a large enough bay , etc.
For RV specific work, I DIY almost all but if needing more special knowledge, mobile repair is often the better bet! Texas laws are too "business friendly" to risk put it in a dealer shop where there are special laws to avoid any type of liability on lots of things.

 

[BCam]

I wholeheartedly agree with creativepart and Morich.