2005 Journey 34H opinions

Gjac,
We have an '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the C-7 330HP CAT. It's an outstanding coach. It's very close in lots of ways to the 34H Journey other than its an Itasca. The fit and finish is great quality. Some worry about owning a CAT equipped coach. Well, first off, they don't break any more often than any Cummins does or, any Detroit for that matter (operated Detroits on the FD for over 30 years).
The "roof" thing is not as big a deal as some make it. Ours was 11 years old before the roof-to-gutter seals even showed signs of degradation. And even then, it was only a few feet from the front cap.
So, I removed all the old caulking/adhesive and, installed some new stuff. DONE! That was two years ago and it's been fine ever since. NO TAPE, just the correct SILICONE that was advised by folks that work on Winnes and Itascas for a living.
Anyway, we've now owned the coach for 6 years and have put 45K on the clock. Any coach will need SOME work every now and then. Some more, some less. I do all my own maintenance, inspections, brake work and more. And, speaking of brakes, ours has over 72K on the clock and the brakes are still at or above 80% or more. I don't expect to have to do any brake work for the full time of ownership.
The Journey and the Meridian are a very well known and purchased coach. I have many friends with both.
Scott

Gjac wrote:
I have not been able to find many DP's in the 34 ft range except for the 32T and 34H. The only bad thing that I found is that there is no pass tru storage bays on these units. My old gas MH has two. Storage, FW, battery power and HP to wt are important to me. Batteries can always be added so that is not a problem. Do any of the DP's in the 32-34 ft range have pass thru storage?

Keeping in the same vintage, I just checked the Newmar archives; the 2005 Kountry Star offered (2) 33' 8" models.with full pass through basements.

Even today they offer some under 35' with full basements.

You're looking for a MH with a raised rail chassis. A lot of the Winnies used straight rail chassis.

I don't think there are any with pass through, maybe the very rare 32' Country Coach, good luck finding one.

I have not been able to find many DP's in the 34 ft range except for the 32T and 34H. The only bad thing that I found is that there is no pass tru storage bays on these units. My old gas MH has two. Storage, FW, battery power and HP to wt are important to me. Batteries can always be added so that is not a problem. Do any of the DP's in the 32-34 ft range have pass thru storage?

We really like our Winnebago (ours is sister to Journey). We also have couple of known issues, but all different than in 2005 except possibly the roof. We keep the roof inspected and edge caulking in good shape.

A lot of Winnebago owners on some other forums too - IRV2.com and RVforum.net. Each of those have Winnebago owners sections.

Cat isn't going anywhere. Emissions killed their OTR business but a lot of the engines are still in service. Our last MH had a Cat, I'd buy another one in a heartbeat.

On the Winnie part, the roof deal is well known and enough of an issue that I'd look elsewhere, but that's just me.

What is the general consensus on the CAT engines since they had stopped production of their OTR engines?? Are parts still available or starting to run out??

I personally sold my CAT powered 2002 Journey and other CAT powered equipment when they stopped production and switched over to Cummins power.

rv2go wrote:
Lots of nice Winnie owners on the irv2.com Winnebago forum.
There is a bearing in the fan shaft of the basement air that can require repairs/replacement.
The duct from the basement air unit going up the rear cap can come apart.
Make sure that the dash heater/air conditioner outlets are working properly. They will default to defrost only.
Check the front and rear cap seals.
Check the roof seals that run the length of the MH.
Most likely you will want to replace the TV.
If it has a Winegard auto roof antenna, it may not work with HD TV.
I would check the HWH jacks. May be slow retracting. Especially when it cold outside. There are replacement springs that help.
Check the slideout covers. Unit that old, they may need replacing.
Make sure the maintenance on the Trany is up to date.

This is very good feedback that you posted, Thank you.

Ed C wrote:
That's a nice little pusher with plenty of HP. All Winnebagos must have their roof/wall seem checked every 6 months. We had three Winnes over 15 years and replaced the caulk in those seems for a total of about 25'. It's only a big deal if you don't do it!

If you know where the potential problem areas are ahead off time you then know what to do to fix them.

Lots of nice Winnie owners on the irv2.com Winnebago forum.
There is a bearing in the fan shaft of the basement air that can require repairs/replacement.
The duct from the basement air unit going up the rear cap can come apart.
Make sure that the dash heater/air conditioner outlets are working properly. They will default to defrost only.
Check the front and rear cap seals.
Check the roof seals that run the length of the MH.
Most likely you will want to replace the TV.
If it has a Winegard auto roof antenna, it may not work with HD TV.
I would check the HWH jacks. May be slow retracting. Especially when it cold outside. There are replacement springs that help.
Check the slideout covers. Unit that old, they may need replacing.
Make sure the maintenance on the Trany is up to date.