Transitioning to Full-Time Living in a 2002 Winnebago Adventurer 32V

[Waddel_Force_One]

Greetings All!

This, is our 2002 Winnebago, we purchased her in a private sale here in Arizona in December of 2025. We are currently in a bit of a rough patch in life, and needed to switch to full time RV'ing on a restricted budget. So, most of my extant savings, we landed on our new home for 2026.

She is a fairly well loved home, with 90k miles, and a lot of QoL upgrades inside her. Problems do in fact, exist, but they have been relatively minor since we moved in full time. This is our home as of January 1st, 2026, and it is QUITE the adjustment for sure.
I live here with my Wife, and our 3 kids, all in elementary school still.
We look forward to glamor posts, and a fair few repair advise threads. Here's to 2026!

 

[Eagle5]

Greetings Waddel_Force_One,
She looks to be in good shape for 24 years old.
Welcome to the forum.
Eagle5
P.S. Great moniker!

 

[Waddel_Force_One]

Thanks. We enjoy her. She's made 2 trips to Camp Verde and we'll be in CO this summer.
The only issues she had when we bought her was the Front Vent Fans stopped working facing the driver seat.
The Driver Window No longer Rolls Down
And the gas line pressure is lower than we would like it to be. (Water Heater, Fridge, Cooking) Pick 1, cant do all 3.

 

[Waterbug]

Water/condensation in your propane system can cause your problem. It builds up over time, so would not be unusual in a system as old as yours. The water freezes and clogs lines and regulators. You don't need to be in freezing weather for the condition to occur. As propane goes from a liquid to a gas, it expands and causes a refrigeration effect, just like freon and other gasses. The solution is to purge the propane system. Since you are dealing with an explosive gas, it should only be performed by a qualified individual. You don't want an explosion or fire anywhere near your new to you RV.

 

[Waddel_Force_One]

Good to know. I will have that done when its refill time. She's at about 1/2 tank right now.

 

[boydcable]

Water/condensation in your propane system can cause your problem. It builds up over time, so would not be unusual in a system as old as yours. The water freezes and clogs lines and regulators. You don't need to be in freezing weather for the condition to occur. As propane goes from a liquid to a gas, it expands and causes a refrigeration effect, just like freon and other gasses. The solution is to purge the propane system. Since you are dealing with an explosive gas, it should only be performed by a qualified individual. You don't want an explosion or fire anywhere near your new to you RV.

Good to know. I will have that done when its refill time. She's at about 1/2 tank right now.

I had a similar problem with my 42E Journey. Propane company pumped some kind of alcohol into the tank at fill up time. So far problem solved.

 

[boydcable]

I had a similar problem with my 42E Journey. Propane company pumped some kind of alcohol into the tank at fill up time. So far problem solved. Dry methyl alcohol.

 

[NASCARUSS1953]

Looks in great shape...Ceiling is awesome. Garage kept I assume..
Good luck.....

 

[Morich]

This water question might be one to simply call a couple propane dealers and ask. There may be something as simple as taking it by and letting them add something as they fill the tank.
Way back in history, I worked with lots of smallish ( 6-12 KW?) generators on trailers that used propane for safety and there were times when we ad trouble and telling the supply folks let them run the trailer by for some attention that fixed the problem.
No idea what or how but it seemed to be a routine thing for folks who knew the drill!

If it is a problem and you would like an early fix, rather than waiting, phone calls may be the cheap/quicker fix?

 

[rblebaron]

This water question might be one to simply call a couple propane dealers and ask. There may be something as simple as taking it by and letting them add something as they fill the tank.
Way back in history, I worked with lots of smallish ( 6-12 KW?) generators on trailers that used propane for safety and there were times when we ad trouble and telling the supply folks let them run the trailer by for some attention that fixed the problem.
No idea what or how but it seemed to be a routine thing for folks who knew the drill!

If it is a problem and you would like an early fix, rather than waiting, phone calls may be the cheap/quicker fix?

 

[SBRSBB]

Greetings All!

This, is our 2002 Winnebago, we purchased her in a private sale here in Arizona in December of 2025. We are currently in a bit of a rough patch in life, and needed to switch to full time RV'ing on a restricted budget. So, most of my extant savings, we landed on our new home for 2026.

She is a fairly well loved home, with 90k miles, and a lot of QoL upgrades inside her. Problems do in fact, exist, but they have been relatively minor since we moved in full time. This is our home as of January 1st, 2026, and it is QUITE the adjustment for sure.
I live here with my Wife, and our 3 kids, all in elementary school still.
We look forward to glamor posts, and a fair few repair advise threads. Here's to 2026! View attachment 2409346View attachment 2409347View attachment 2409348

 

[DancinCampers]

When we traded in our 2003 33V Adventurer we had about 85K miles in 2012, so I would consider yours low mileage. I see it's on a Workhorse chassis, which worked well for us. Check your tire dates, especially if you are going to travel much. You might try placing a hot towel over your propane tank regulator to see if that helps temporarily. Then you will know if it is icing up or not. I believe you can lift the dash over the steering wheel. You should see 2 fuse blocks to the left.. The smaller one on the top was added by Winnebago and might affect your window and fans. You should be able to download the wiring and plumbing diagrams for your coach from the Winnebago Owners website. Good luck, and ask away.

 

[rblebaron]

Regarding the fans and window; anything electrical, check all fuses first. There are multiple places for the fuses including under the hood, dash below the left side and maybe other places. The fans are probably 12V so you can get a cheap tester ( $5 ) at Harbor Freight and see if you have power to the fan and then the switch.

 

[SBRSBB]

Greetings All!

This, is our 2002 Winnebago, we purchased her in a private sale here in Arizona in December of 2025. We are currently in a bit of a rough patch in life, and needed to switch to full time RV'ing on a restricted budget. So, most of my extant savings, we landed on our new home for 2026.

She is a fairly well loved home, with 90k miles, and a lot of QoL upgrades inside her. Problems do in fact, exist, but they have been relatively minor since we moved in full time. This is our home as of January 1st, 2026, and it is QUITE the adjustment for sure.
I live here with my Wife, and our 3 kids, all in elementary school still.
We look forward to glamor posts, and a fair few repair advise threads. Here's to 2026! View attachment 2409346View attachment 2409347View attachment 2409348

Welcome! I love your RV. I have a 2001 Itasca (Winnebago) Suncruiser that meets all the criteria you mentioned. New A/C, slide out pistons, front leveling jacks, generator, loads of TLC. She’s very road worthy and has much life left. Due to family issues I’ll be listing mine for sale soon. I hope to find new owners such as yourselves that will enjoy and need her for a good purpose.

 

[Morich]

On the fan question, I might pass along some info to let you store it until the time gets right to fix the smaller stuff?
The full set of wiring for RV can be found here:

Wiring Diagrams

This seems to be the correct place to get to the drawing that give some good info on how the fans are wired:

https://www.winnebago.com/Files/Files/Winnebago/Resources/Diagram/2002/02_g-ser_wire_137513.pdf

I'm not up on how these fans work but it looks like the wiring is combined? Does that mean there is a switch on each fan to control each or do they both operate together?
If I am reading right and only the left is the problem, that leads me to think it is a fan or switch problem rather than fuse or other as they seem to use the same three wires!
Guessing that means if one works, the other should as well?
So we get this info from the drawing to show what color wire ate both fans and the ID on each wire. That ID lets us go to a list Winnebago uses for small wires!

Seems to show yellow, green, and black wires to both fans!
Wire ID LE, LF, and XW to look up on this list:

https://www.winnebago.com/Files/Files/Winnebago/Resources/Diagram/electrical_guide.pdf

ID chart shows this for those three wires:

Not sure how they worked this as I see no battery at this point, just ground?? Battery for two speeds come in on LE and LF to go back to ground on XW? But if I am straight on the problem and it is only the left fan out and right is working, I might guess battery and ground path are there as far as up to the roofline and from right side, so there has to be a problem somewhere close between right and left fans?
I might guess there is a fuse panel under the dash if it lifts up?

I'm hiding out from the winter and thought to pass this bit along for when you may get around to it!
I store a lot of info that I never get around to using, so I'll wish you luck on the trek??

 

[GMorgan3002]

Welcome! I have a 2002 Journey 32T, which I would think has a lot in common with your rig. I've had it 5 years now, still less than 50K miles and love it! I've done a fair amount of repairing and customization. I've replaced the TVs, replaced house batteries with a LiFePO4 battery, replaced the door locks and many other things. I'm sure you'll get a lot of useful information out here. Enjoy!

 

[Waddel_Force_One]

Looks in great shape...Ceiling is awesome. Garage kept I assume..
Good luck.....

Yes, it's been garaged whenever it was NOT being used. ,Its our intention to live in her for a year, and likely pass her own to a new owner, as, We have no other housing of any kind, as it burned down in 2024, and we still dont have a new home. After a year of living in a rental, this is it, until I can get a contract with a builder.

 

[Waddel_Force_One]

This water question might be one to simply call a couple propane dealers and ask. There may be something as simple as taking it by and letting them add something as they fill the tank.
Way back in history, I worked with lots of smallish ( 6-12 KW?) generators on trailers that used propane for safety and there were times when we ad trouble and telling the supply folks let them run the trailer by for some attention that fixed the problem.
No idea what or how but it seemed to be a routine thing for folks who knew the drill!

If it is a problem and you would like an early fix, rather than waiting, phone calls may be the cheap/quicker fix?

I will call a few and see how much they charge for a purge, starting with Uhaul.

 

[Waddel_Force_One]

On the fan question, I might pass along some info to let you store it until the time gets right to fix the smaller stuff?
The full set of wiring for RV can be found here:

Wiring Diagrams

This seems to be the correct place to get to the drawing that give some good info on how the fans are wired:

https://www.winnebago.com/Files/Files/Winnebago/Resources/Diagram/2002/02_g-ser_wire_137513.pdf

I'm not up on how these fans work but it looks like the wiring is combined? Does that mean there is a switch on each fan to control each or do they both operate together?
If I am reading right and only the left is the problem, that leads me to think it is a fan or switch problem rather than fuse or other as they seem to use the same three wires!
Guessing that means if one works, the other should as well?
So we get this info from the drawing to show what color wire ate both fans and the ID on each wire. That ID lets us go to a list Winnebago uses for small wires!
View attachment 2410355
Seems to show yellow, green, and black wires to both fans!
Wire ID LE, LF, and XW to look up on this list:

https://www.winnebago.com/Files/Files/Winnebago/Resources/Diagram/electrical_guide.pdf

ID chart shows this for those three wires:
View attachment 2410356
View attachment 2410357
Not sure how they worked this as I see no battery at this point, just ground?? Battery for two speeds come in on LE and LF to go back to ground on XW? But if I am straight on the problem and it is only the left fan out and right is working, I might guess battery and ground path are there as far as up to the roofline and from right side, so there has to be a problem somewhere close between right and left fans?
I might guess there is a fuse panel under the dash if it lifts up?

I'm hiding out from the winter and thought to pass this bit along for when you may get around to it!
I store a lot of info that I never get around to using, so I'll wish you luck on the trek??

I started her up today, as part of her weekly start up, and after she warmed up.. They turned on!! And sounded awful, and barely spun , So.... i am wondering if the motor bearings are just... ruined. Its on the list of minor things. Will get there eventually.

 

[Morich]

A thought to pass along from what I see locally? Too often here, we have folks who are not too well trained in the propane line as they deal more with renting trucks, etc. and do more paper work.
hope your area has better trained but if you get no good answer, it may be worth trying some of the full time propane dealers who may have more deep down experience. I like U-haul for rentals but the last time we did propane fills there, it scared me!

Maybe time for some spray lube on a bearing to make it last for the short term?