Winnebago 2201DS Review (a little long!)
Winnebago Minnie 2201DS Maiden Voyage!
We just got back from our "shakedown trip" with our Winnebago Minnie 2201DS travel trailer. We took a short trip down the road for 3 nights at American Wilderness Campground in Grafton, Ohio. After owning a 29' Sunline TR-280 trailer for 10 years, this was our first trip in our smaller (26'9" overall length) Minnie. Since the Winnebago Towable line is only in it's second year, I thought a little review might be of interest!
Overall impression is that we like the trailer very much and it will serve our needs. Spending some time in the trailer has confirmed our opinion that the fit and finish is pretty good and a lot better than we saw on many others, but with a higher price on the Minnie, one should expect a better product.
Pros:
1. Outside kitchen is really nice. I cooked a steak dinner with the Weber Q set up near the two burner stove where we boiled some potatoes. The sink was handy to have for wiping up a few spills and clean-up. The bar fridge would have been nice, but see the "Cons".
2. Gotta love the electric awning! Those weren't around when we bought the Sunline, so it's so nice to just hit the switch and watch it work!
3. As anticipated, double wardrobe and cabinet space in bathroom is great. Plenty of room to store linens, clothes, etc. Sink area with countertop space and spacious medicine cabinet is a huge improvement over what we had in the Sunline.
4. U shaped dinette will meet our needs for indoor seating/dining. We added a office style desk chair from Sam's for 1 additional comfy seat along with a very light stuffed "ball" footrest from Target. The chair can be transported on its side on the floor in front of the bathroom door with plenty of room for the slideout to retract. And, you can walk past the chair to get to the bathroom.
5. For two very hot days, the AC kept us nice and cool the ducted system kept the inside temps pretty even from front to rear. On the third morning, it was quite cool, and a check of the furnace proved that it will do the trick. Be warned...initial start and burn-off of furnace paint or whatever triggered the smoke alarm! You would think the dealer would have done this when they did their set-up/testing.
6. The galley as expected....good 3 burner stove, standard Dometic fridge, microwave oven. Once I took the kitchen faucet off and tightened a loose nut, the faucet worked beautifully! With the pantry cabinet, storage is adequate...a little challenging compared to what we had in the Sunline, but good for a smaller trailer.
7. Having the swing around TV is great for watching TV from dinette or bedroom.
8. Towing with 5.7 Tundra/Equalizer 4 Pt. hitch is just a pleasure. The truck isn't being strained, and I can definitely feel the difference compared to 8K+ Sunline.
Cons:
1. Mattress - As to be expected, the mattress was terrible, unless you like sleeping on a board, and we had 2 egg crate foamies on top of it. After one night of less than great sleep, we headed to Sam's Club and bought a full size mattress which would fit on the platform built for a short queen. DW and I are used to having a full (did the same thing in the Sunline) and buying a full mattress is much less costly than ordering a short queen!
2. Bar fridge in outside kitchen was DOA. Winnebago really bought lousy fridges. The thermostat control is located at the back of the unit near the compressor. To access the on/off/thermostat control, you have to remove a access panel in the wardrobe and reach down to either plug/unplug the unit or use the control. Seriously...what idiot decided to do this. Since there is an electrical outlet in the outdoor kitchen, why not have the fridge plug into it, or put the dedicated fridge outlet where it would be accessible??
On the positive note, one email to Winnebago, and they've ordered a new unit and hope to have it when we have an outside ladder installed at the factory in a little over a week.
3. AC unit is a little bit noisier than what we had on the Sunline. The unit is located midway of the kitchen/dinette area, so it's most bothersome when trying to watch the television. When you're on the bed, it's not a problem.
4. 25 gallon holding tanks for gray and black water are a little limiting. I knew this when we bought the trailer, but as we're over 60, we tend to seek out full hook-up camp sites. I had to use the blue tote once. And....as expected.....the tank gauges aren't reliable, especially the black tank gauge which was reading 3/4 full when it wasn't anywhere close to that.
5. A few more electrical outlets would have been nice, especially in the following areas:
1. Next to the left side of the bed. I plan to add a reading light, so I'' probably have to figure a way to run a line from the outlet by the right side of the bed.
2. Dinette area. Only outlet is on the center of the front panel of the slide-out along the floor. Why not put an outlet on one of the side walls to make it more convenient for plugging in a toaster, computer, fan, etc.?
And, that's really the only cons we've discovered so far.
Bottom line: The Winnebago 2201DS is working out very well for us and we're pleased with the quality and the customer service we're getting from Winnebago Towables. If you're looking at travel trailers, I suggest you look at the Winnebago line and make your own comparison. Updates to follow as we spend more time on the road and enjoying our travels!!
We just got back from our "shakedown trip" with our Winnebago Minnie 2201DS travel trailer. We took a short trip down the road for 3 nights at American Wilderness Campground in Grafton, Ohio. After owning a 29' Sunline TR-280 trailer for 10 years, this was our first trip in our smaller (26'9" overall length) Minnie. Since the Winnebago Towable line is only in it's second year, I thought a little review might be of interest!
Overall impression is that we like the trailer very much and it will serve our needs. Spending some time in the trailer has confirmed our opinion that the fit and finish is pretty good and a lot better than we saw on many others, but with a higher price on the Minnie, one should expect a better product.
Pros:
1. Outside kitchen is really nice. I cooked a steak dinner with the Weber Q set up near the two burner stove where we boiled some potatoes. The sink was handy to have for wiping up a few spills and clean-up. The bar fridge would have been nice, but see the "Cons".
2. Gotta love the electric awning! Those weren't around when we bought the Sunline, so it's so nice to just hit the switch and watch it work!
3. As anticipated, double wardrobe and cabinet space in bathroom is great. Plenty of room to store linens, clothes, etc. Sink area with countertop space and spacious medicine cabinet is a huge improvement over what we had in the Sunline.
4. U shaped dinette will meet our needs for indoor seating/dining. We added a office style desk chair from Sam's for 1 additional comfy seat along with a very light stuffed "ball" footrest from Target. The chair can be transported on its side on the floor in front of the bathroom door with plenty of room for the slideout to retract. And, you can walk past the chair to get to the bathroom.
5. For two very hot days, the AC kept us nice and cool the ducted system kept the inside temps pretty even from front to rear. On the third morning, it was quite cool, and a check of the furnace proved that it will do the trick. Be warned...initial start and burn-off of furnace paint or whatever triggered the smoke alarm! You would think the dealer would have done this when they did their set-up/testing.
6. The galley as expected....good 3 burner stove, standard Dometic fridge, microwave oven. Once I took the kitchen faucet off and tightened a loose nut, the faucet worked beautifully! With the pantry cabinet, storage is adequate...a little challenging compared to what we had in the Sunline, but good for a smaller trailer.
7. Having the swing around TV is great for watching TV from dinette or bedroom.
8. Towing with 5.7 Tundra/Equalizer 4 Pt. hitch is just a pleasure. The truck isn't being strained, and I can definitely feel the difference compared to 8K+ Sunline.
Cons:
1. Mattress - As to be expected, the mattress was terrible, unless you like sleeping on a board, and we had 2 egg crate foamies on top of it. After one night of less than great sleep, we headed to Sam's Club and bought a full size mattress which would fit on the platform built for a short queen. DW and I are used to having a full (did the same thing in the Sunline) and buying a full mattress is much less costly than ordering a short queen!
2. Bar fridge in outside kitchen was DOA. Winnebago really bought lousy fridges. The thermostat control is located at the back of the unit near the compressor. To access the on/off/thermostat control, you have to remove a access panel in the wardrobe and reach down to either plug/unplug the unit or use the control. Seriously...what idiot decided to do this. Since there is an electrical outlet in the outdoor kitchen, why not have the fridge plug into it, or put the dedicated fridge outlet where it would be accessible??
On the positive note, one email to Winnebago, and they've ordered a new unit and hope to have it when we have an outside ladder installed at the factory in a little over a week.
3. AC unit is a little bit noisier than what we had on the Sunline. The unit is located midway of the kitchen/dinette area, so it's most bothersome when trying to watch the television. When you're on the bed, it's not a problem.
4. 25 gallon holding tanks for gray and black water are a little limiting. I knew this when we bought the trailer, but as we're over 60, we tend to seek out full hook-up camp sites. I had to use the blue tote once. And....as expected.....the tank gauges aren't reliable, especially the black tank gauge which was reading 3/4 full when it wasn't anywhere close to that.
5. A few more electrical outlets would have been nice, especially in the following areas:
1. Next to the left side of the bed. I plan to add a reading light, so I'' probably have to figure a way to run a line from the outlet by the right side of the bed.
2. Dinette area. Only outlet is on the center of the front panel of the slide-out along the floor. Why not put an outlet on one of the side walls to make it more convenient for plugging in a toaster, computer, fan, etc.?
And, that's really the only cons we've discovered so far.
Bottom line: The Winnebago 2201DS is working out very well for us and we're pleased with the quality and the customer service we're getting from Winnebago Towables. If you're looking at travel trailers, I suggest you look at the Winnebago line and make your own comparison. Updates to follow as we spend more time on the road and enjoying our travels!!
