2017 Winnebago Cambria 30J look/ test drive

[oldsarge]

I looked at and drove a 2017 Itasca Cambria and needed some reviews out there. Here is what I found out, 136000 MSRP, final price 106k, Pros : Great rear storage, easy to drive,full body paint, NAVI, side and rear cameras, separate shower from bath. Cons, No oven, turning radius not good, Low profile unit not sure if I would bottom out or bad in snow. No power seat for driver or passenger. Anyone who has this unit , I am wandering if any of the cons I mentioned has been an issue. Or any others I should be award of.

[Bumpyroad]

which is why a macerator system should have a grey water bypass.
bumpy

[Dusty_R]

You can put a pencil behind the switch to hold the pump on while pumping out the gray water tank.

On our 2015 Spirt 27Q gray tank drain there is a Tee after the slide valve. The pump goes into the side of the Tee, and the other end has a screw in plug. I replaced that plug with a reducer bushing, and put a 3/4" PVC street Ell in the bushing. Then a garden hose adaptor, then a garden hose valve and cap.
The gray water drains a little slow that way put that's OK. It don't need the pump.

Dusty

[ol__yeller]

Ours is a 2008 Aspect 26A. It has 44K miles on it. As for build quality, I think it stands up there with the better built RVs. I love having a fiberglass roof. We did have a small leak at the slide which was easily repaired. The slide for the pantry and the clamping mechanism for the U shaped table were designed by engineers from the Rube Goldberg academy. On your model they are likely different. My wife says she is happy we don't have an oven and likes having the drawers instead. This is because she doesn't do the cooking and I do. One of these days, I'm going to have to take a step into the 21st century and learn how to use the convection oven. Ours also has the loose cap mounts another poster mentioned which are not a big deal to repair yourself once you remove the TV. WB is great about supplying parts even for an older rig like ours.

I have read from others who have built a 2" riser which installs under the driver's seat using 2X2 metal box channel It bolts to the seat bottom and the top of the seat base. Of course it isn't adjustable but it will raise the seat some. You could use 1X1 if you didn't want that much lift. Obviously this doesn't solve the lack of "power" seats.

Things we like are the very comfortable U shaped dinette, the quality cabinetry, the nice mattress, The size of the tanks, and the ride with the air bags on the rear suspension. The storage is more than adequate. Ours came with almost every option including full body paint and double pane windows. Ours is the perfect size for the 2 of us and our elderly beagle. We moved up to this after 2 TTs which we also enjoyed very much.

[JC435]

We have a 2015 Aspect (basically the same as the Cambria). It's the 27K model. We really do like the layout and the positives are: good dinette area, good interior storage, walk-around bed, driver/passenger seats swivel, good placement of TV's, ample closet space in bedroom, great storage in the "trunk", power awning with LED lights, outdoor speakers, auto-leveling system.

The things we don't like, including items we had to have fixed under warranty: my main gripe in the design is the gray water sewer uses a pump in lieu of gravity. It takes about 5 minutes to pump out a full gray tank and I have to stand there a hold the switch. Also, I don't like the fact that the black water tank is larger than the gray water tank. That makes no sense to me. We also had to have several leaks fixed after several days of rain. The caulking in the shower had to be redone. The XM antenna came loose, and the Rand McNally GPS card had to be replaced. Finally, the trunk latches were attached by a "gel" that was not adequate to keep them in place.

Overall, we're happy with our unit, but just glad all of these items were covered under the warranty.

[PghBob]

How is the Occupant & Cargo Carrying Capacity (OCCC)?

[DrewE]

I don't think any class C has anything like a good turning radius. They're all varying degrees of bad. Class A's are generally more maneuverable. I think tractor trailer trucks are probably also more maneuverable on the whole.

While many disagree, I like having a (gas) oven in my RV. (Admittedly, I'll like it a lot more after I repair it so it doesn't leak gas from the control valve.) I suspect the majority of people rarely if ever use the oven, though, so it's very common for it to be omitted in modern RVs. A grill can serve as an oven for many purposes.

I would not consider factory navigation a particular positive. Frequently they have a rather clunky user interface, and map updates are expensive. A smart phone or standalone GPS unit are at least as good and usually less expensive. The built in system does look a little cleaner on the dashboard, though.

[tatest]

I've never used my RV oven (11 years) and would rather have storage space; I'm always using the oven at home, but doesn't match my RV lifestyle. Does it have microwave convection oven? Those have largely replaced the gas oven in smaller RVs.

Power seats? At 5'5" I've always been able to get a good seat position with the manual adjustments, particularly in trucks and vans. In vehicles only I drive, adjust once and forget it. Shared with wife, she moved only forward. My 4'10" daughter with 6'2" husband, she needs power seats, and "driver memory" helps a lot resetting everything.

RVs, as low as they look, have a lot more ground clearance than most cars, even ersatz SUVs. Clearance problems are usually with the rear overhang, I just watch my aproaches.

On snow, it is a matter of driving skill. Winters in Michigan in the 1950s, we used our 14,000 pound rear drive wrecker to get to and retrieve cars from snowbanks and snow filled ditches, but we did put chains on it when things got icy. Now, with everybody FWD or AWD, I guess expectations have changed, but all those local delivery trucks have same drive configuration and similar weight to a C, and UPS doesn't let the snow stop their service.

[tjfogelberg]

For my money, the Minnie Winnie Spirit line is a better bang for the buck. See my post re the 31G.

[Route_66_mermai]

I purchased the 2015 30J last June new. We like it a lot however many things have needed to be replaced. As far as bottoming out I had 2 small wheels installed on back that keep it from hitting when backing down a steep incline like the driveway I keep it in. I researched for a long time before buying this rig. The lower profile is a good feature to have because of tree limbs etc. The storage in the back is great! Make sure you are near a good winnie dealer that is an authorized shop for repairs because all the items I had replaced or repaired while traveling did cost me money for labor. So far I had the air cond/heat pump replaced, a new board in the furnace, the transfer switch was not connected tightly enough so it blew and burned up. My largest slide leaks sometimes and still cannot figure out what the problem is. The dealer I purchased from I do not trust and will not have them work on it. Until I can get an appt with an authorized dealer to really fix the slide we just deal with it. The hot water heater is a screwy thing and never really gives even temperatures when showering. The way all of the instant Hot water heaters are from what I have learned.

On a positive note...I was expecting things to go wrong so I was not shocked. I bought this because I like the layout and it is the smallest design out there that has everything I wanted. The very large microwave is a convection oven also so not sure what your concern is. Expect that things will break and be screwy in RV's and you will not be miserable. Even with all the issues I still think the layout is great. I am short so i had the dealer I purchased from make the driver's seat electric. You cannot spin it around to face the back when you do that but to me it was worth it or I cannot see over the steering wheel. At least with Winnebago you can get the parts needed to make fixes, with many other companies they come and go so you are out of luck if they go out of business. My first MH was a Chinook...best in the biz at the time...lifetime warranty on the body...very high end expensive great company reputation for 30 years...they want out of business a few weeks after i bought a new one! So although I loved that little rig and had it for 10 years...I made sure to buy from a company that has been around a long time so fixing whatever you need is possible at least this time around. You are bouncing a house around on crappy USA roads so things just break. Things break on million dollar RV's too so just remember that you can lay down and take a nap if you get stuck. Oh yeah...my new mattress makes the Cambria a great place to sleep! Finally! Will never go back to anything but a real mattress again...makes all the difference in how you feel when traveling long distances and spending a lot of time in the RV. Good luck to you! Keep your sense of humor turned on high and make friends with all the best repair people while on the road!

[klutchdust]

I have an 09 and purchased from original owner with 19K on odometer for half price of new . This is my first 'C' having had TT before. Like everything else they require maintenance . I find the quality of the build to be pretty decent. . One thing is the mounting of the nose cone to the roof of the original chassis is sketchy. I have recurring problems with the brackets either breaking or mostly coming loose from their mounting surface. The build uses most name brand appliances so they are what they are. Cabinets are good. A few minor issues. Their wiring underneath looks good as well as plumbing. Other than chasing the occasional squeak I like this rig and would purchase another one. Mine gets 8.5 average MPG over the last 15K miles.

[oldsarge]

Bumpy, I agree somewhat on oven, always had one but I guess I can get over that but for that kind of money I would want it. Would use it too. What I meant by power seats. I would like to move up or down. Its a nice option to have. Body paint. Better than clear coat or decals. For Gbopp, the over all quality was there. A few rattles and rolls but we just took off in it and didn't secure it all or look over every detail when pulling out of lot. In fact the sales guy left the back trunk up as we pulled out. I was wandering why people were beeping at me. lol

[gbopp]

What was the overall quality of the Itasca?

There were a couple posts lately about the poor quality of some new rigs, Winnebago was mentioned.

Any lights loose or hanging down, doors and drawers not fitting properly, knobs missing, flaws in the exterior paint, etc.?

I'm just curious about the general quality.

[Bumpyroad]

no oven?? I ordered my chieftain with the convection/microwave and dumped the oven. full body paint, if your ego requires it spend the $6,000. my tacoma limited does not have a power seat and I just set it to where I want it once and forget it. passenger power seat, why?
bumpy