2003 Winnebago Minnie

[Vic65]

Hello I'm looking into purchasing a 2003 winnebago. The rv has 55,000 miles with two slides, one in the living room the other in the bedroom. The chassis is ford 450 v10.
I was wondering if I could get some pros and cons on this rig,as as a price that you would consider reasonable.

Have a great day Vic

[overdrive75]

We bought a 2003 Winnebago Minnie 29B second hand this summer. 34k miles on it when we bought it. Other than a set of tires (still had originals) and flushing the coolant system all is well. We recaulked it. We put 3,000 miles on it in the 3 months of used since we bought it. I really like the unit, really usable floor plan for us. 2 adults 2 kids and a Siberian Husky. Like an above poster said. We travel with the all the heavy stuff in the farther forward ouside storage. Keep the holding tanks empty when traveling, and fresh water full. We flat tow a 2001 Chevy Blazer 4 door. My planned upgrades are new Monroe Gas Magnum shocks all the way around, and and upgraded double din radio that can do Android Auto.

[Vic65]

Thanks for the advise, always great. I just found out that the person sold the RV this evening. If any one knows of good used rv please let me know.

[Mike_Leslie]

We have owned a 29B Winnebago Minnie for two full years. We sure do love it! We have traveled with 2, 4 and 5 people. It works. Plenty of storage overall.
We have the entertainment center over the cab. Since we took out the heavy old tv, now we have a huge storage area. We put the sofa and dinette bedding in that cupboard with room to spare!

There is plenty of clothes closet space in the rear. I hung shelves off the clothing rod. It works well.

The basement storage is tight. The sink and stove area is crowded. It is hard to get into the corner top cabinet. I use a stool. I like the narrow "pantry" next to the exit door.

I really like the floorplan but wish the stove was part of the slide out (like newer models). That said, we usually cook outside anyway.

We have it serviced regularly and have not had any serious issues. It handles well, except in heavy winds.

Mike and Leslie
2003 Winnebago 29B

[tatest]

Sounds like a model 29B, the model I have as a 2004 Itasca Spirit. Eleven years, 32,000 miles experience, picked it up a year old with 4000 miles on it.

The floor plan is useful for a couple, usable by four or five adults, the dinette sleeps children only. With two slideouts it is relatively heavy for the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of the chassis, and with a short wheelbase and long rear overhang, weight distribution has to be watched carefully to keep it from getting light on the front end. Not carrying extra people, I load my heaviest stuff in the forward bins and drive with the fresh water tanks (forward of door) full and waste tanks (behind rear axle) as empty as possible.

The short wheelbase means a tighter turning circle, but it also means that long rear end swings out pretty far; in 11 years I've tagged something with a rear corner twice, first two years of maneuvering in tight places. On the plus side, if I can back into parking spaces at the edge of a lot and put the overhang off the lot, it will fit into a space that works for a crew cab dually pickup.

For condition of the house, you need to make sure caulking of seams and openings has been maintained, so that it hasn't leaked or the fiberglass roof has not separated from the channel at the top of the sidewall. It came with slideout awnings, the original equipment awning material was know to deteriorate quickly exposed to sunlight, mine lasted about five years before peeling. A&E replaced some of these under a warranty extension.

The only significant chassis problem has been brake calipers. If not driven all the time, you can expect one or more OEM calipers to corrode during storage so that a brake won't fully release. Later model years of E-450 got a better caliper, these are used as replacements for the earlier ones. I replaced mine at six years old. Another cause of brakes sticking can be collapse of the rubber brake line to the caliper, these also have better replacement parts.

I've averaged 8.2 MPG over 32,000 miles running mid-America speed limits. You might expect to see as low as 6 MPG and as high as 11 MPG on individual fillups, depending mostly on cruising speed and interaction with winds (which are a big thing out here on the plains, 70 MPH into a 20 MPH headwind is like trying to run 90 MPH).

[pauldub]

At 13 years old, condition is probably the most important consideration. Cabover water leakage is the #1 problem to look for as well as leakage around the slides. The mileage on it is pretty typical. You can look at asking prices on craigslist to get an idea of pricing in your local area. You can also look at NADA online and look at the offerings at pplmotorhomes.com. Do you know which Winnebago model it is?

[midnightsadie]

do a google search see what shows up. look for roof leaks,find one run.