Advice from new Winnebago owners?

I'm parked by another unit, and watched them change out the 50amp male and female plug. Said he had been at a camp ground where the electricity would go off and on about 3 times per day. He had to protection, and both male and female were burned very bad. He was lucky the entire unit didn't go up in flames. Breakers at park and trailer never flipped. I showed him my serge guard. We;ll see if he gets one.

northmeck0255 wrote:

rr2254545 wrote:

afrescop wrote:
A 50 amp Surge Guard surge protector. I am also waiting for a set of Hoss Pad stabilizer pads. I am certain you will come up with many more ways to spend enough to equip the new coach that it will qualify as a dependent on next year's taxes!

Yes I bought a surge guard - hardly ever use it - suggest that especially on a big purchase like this you wait until you are sure you need an item

The surge guard is some of the best money you'll ever spend. Last summer, before we had one, we narrowly averted a fire from a current surge. We lost the microwave, and would have lost the tv as well if it had been on.

This past week, at Ocean Lakes, the surge guard did its job and tripped off due to undercurrent, protecting the on board equipment.

You must make your own decision, but I will never again be without one.

Thanks for that. I sometimes get in a hurry and bypass my surge protection where I think I am safe. No more. I hope I never have a time when it kicks in but if I do it will be functional.

Cass Sumrall wrote:
Well, its here! Or at least, it is at the dealer's which is only 30 minutes from our house.

We spent a couple of hours with it right after it arrived & before cleanup & check-over by the dealer's service dept. We got to drive it for a while & although neither of has driven a MH before, we were pleased to find it drove very easily & we stayed out of trouble with those big sideview mirrors (just have to keep remembering how wide we are & how long on the turns!).

Others here have mentioned modifying the suspension because it was too rough riding. I wonder whether there may have been changes in the suspension from your earlier models? It did not feel rough to us - if anything, it was very loose & soft feeling, at least on our relatively brief local driving.

We are really amazed by the quality of the Winnebago product - the fit & finish is near perfect & so far the only thing we have found that is not right is one interior light we could not turn on. We have more checking to do on the formal inspection later this week after the service dept. goes over it. The checklists we have found on this & other forums have been very helpful.

This week I am having a 30A receptacle installed on the outside of the house where it will be sitting so we can plug it in to shore power & "camp" in it at home before we take it on the road next month. That should help acclimate our two dogs & I'm sure will add even more to our long list of "must haves" for the road.

It has been a steep learning curve with no prior MH experience & I'm sure it will be for a while, but its also fun learning all the new things we need to know. I am really glad we made the decision to do this now while we are still young enough to handle the challenge even though we are not ready to retire completely & may not for some years yet (although I at least am well past "normal" retirement age.

Thanks for all the help!

Cass & Lyn

Make sure your electrician understands this outlet is to be used for an RV. It should be 30 anps @ 120 volts, not the more common 230 volts.

So far the best advice has been to use it regularly for at least the first few weeks. If there are problems that need addressing this is the best way to find them. You don't want to find you have a problem with the water heater, television, microwave or any other item 13 months down the road. By then it will be too late.

rr2254545 wrote:

afrescop wrote:
A 50 amp Surge Guard surge protector. I am also waiting for a set of Hoss Pad stabilizer pads. I am certain you will come up with many more ways to spend enough to equip the new coach that it will qualify as a dependent on next year's taxes!

Yes I bought a surge guard - hardly ever use it - suggest that especially on a big purchase like this you wait until you are sure you need an item

The surge guard is some of the best money you'll ever spend. Last summer, before we had one, we narrowly averted a fire from a current surge. We lost the microwave, and would have lost the tv as well if it had been on.

This past week, at Ocean Lakes, the surge guard did its job and tripped off due to undercurrent, protecting the on board equipment.

You must make your own decision, but I will never again be without one.

Well, its here! Or at least, it is at the dealer's which is only 30 minutes from our house.

We spent a couple of hours with it right after it arrived & before cleanup & check-over by the dealer's service dept. We got to drive it for a while & although neither of has driven a MH before, we were pleased to find it drove very easily & we stayed out of trouble with those big sideview mirrors (just have to keep remembering how wide we are & how long on the turns!).

Others here have mentioned modifying the suspension because it was too rough riding. I wonder whether there may have been changes in the suspension from your earlier models? It did not feel rough to us - if anything, it was very loose & soft feeling, at least on our relatively brief local driving.

We are really amazed by the quality of the Winnebago product - the fit & finish is near perfect & so far the only thing we have found that is not right is one interior light we could not turn on. We have more checking to do on the formal inspection later this week after the service dept. goes over it. The checklists we have found on this & other forums have been very helpful.

This week I am having a 30A receptacle installed on the outside of the house where it will be sitting so we can plug it in to shore power & "camp" in it at home before we take it on the road next month. That should help acclimate our two dogs & I'm sure will add even more to our long list of "must haves" for the road.

It has been a steep learning curve with no prior MH experience & I'm sure it will be for a while, but its also fun learning all the new things we need to know. I am really glad we made the decision to do this now while we are still young enough to handle the challenge even though we are not ready to retire completely & may not for some years yet (although I at least am well past "normal" retirement age.

Thanks for all the help!

Cass & Lyn

RonDeb has provided the link to our discussion. The ride was too rough. We went to air ride-expensive but ride we like. Bilsteins shocks are too stiff. Koni Fsd's also improved ride. Rear track bar eliminated tail wagging. Steering stabilizer for safety and centering made tracking and driving easier. Finally moved sway bar bolts to shorter position and really tightened the overhaul coach. I now have a coach that rides and drives like a dream. For about 10 grand it was worth it. Had these been factory options I would have added them. Soon will change shift points with five star tuning. Read the thread, you will see all of our adventure and then if you want to research handling do a search fair Kelderman .

Winnebego 30W 30T and our 33C sightseer Thread


Might try going to this thread. Lots of good info on virtually the same RV as you have

This will explain the upgrades to the suspension

We took our Flip camera and taped the whole PDI and if you have questions just watch the tape again.

Good advice from others but I strongly recommend attending the Winnebago Grand National Rally. You will learn more from a week in Iowa than you can learn anyplace else. When I had a Winnebago I walked the campground and stopped and talked to every owner that had a coach like mine. You can't get better info than that. Plus, many vendors are there and a great number of seminars to help you learn about the various systems on your rig.

I had only 3 items needing repair on our 2011 Vista 35F, two of them could not be seen from the ground. I did not think of asking them to bring out a step ladder so that I could look around the top of things. Ask them if you can look at the top safely on one of their ladders as it will be much harder at home if you don't have at least a 10 foot and better yet a 12 foot ladder. Check the condition of the slide toppers, the top of the awning, and the caulking all the way around. Mine had a stretched and torn slide topper, a crack on the top of the patio light, and the roof was absolutely filthy, they took care of the topper and the light along with one other minor item, but I got stuck with the roof and it was quite a job getting it clean. Yours will be driven to the dealership in the winter so there is a good chance that it will go through sloppy conditions somewhere along the way. We are very happy with our unit, and there is no problem with the fit, finish or handling of it.

Nick