Jumped into a Class A Yesterday!

[thegabrielles]

Hi all... after a LONG time and many changes to what we wanted we opted for an "older" Class A.
We bought a 2004 Winnebago Journey wkp39k. It has the Cat C7 330HP diesel Pusher with only 47K miles on it. It seems to be in really good shape inside and out but we went ahead with a 3rd party warranty since its good insurance, just in case.

So the questions are... Is there anything I should know? Maintenance I should do "no matter what" before we get to camping? It is being prepped and the DW will be out of town so we won't pick it up for a couple of weeks.

Also, what are some "must haves" for the A class? We have owned a Hybrid TT in the past so we know the basics.

[Mile_High]

Congratulations! As stated, relish in the info Winnebago provides on the website (winnebagoind.com) under Resources. I've downloaded all, including drawings, to a tablet I keep on board.

Tires - and I remember the radiator (gets oil in it from the Cat), and definately the roof as Bruce stated. Good or bad, that roof seam will bite you if you neglect it. Here is a video on how to make sure it is in good shape.
Roof Cove Maintenance

[thegabrielles]

Thank you for that advice... I will defintley check the radiators out! 8.3? Wow.... that would be great! Glad to hear it worked well for you. We cant wait to get out there!

obgraham wrote:
I had almost the same rig in a 2003 Journey. Nice solid rig. Mine averaged 8.3 mpg over the 40k miles I ran it, mostly our West, and it climbed the hills just fine.
Clean the radiator and the charge air cooler if you can get at it from inside. Simple Green in a sprayer or Dawn soap works well. That engine/rear radiator can overheat if it gets too full of crud. Make sure the oil "slobber tube" is exiting well below the radiator.
If you don't want to do it yourself, take it to a Freightliner or CAT shop.

One more thing: there is an enormous amount of info downloadable from Winnie's web site, including the full build specs and diagrams for your specific vehicle.

[obgraham]

I had almost the same rig in a 2003 Journey. Nice solid rig. Mine averaged 8.3 mpg over the 40k miles I ran it, mostly our West, and it climbed the hills just fine.
Clean the radiator and the charge air cooler if you can get at it from inside. Simple Green in a sprayer or Dawn soap works well. That engine/rear radiator can overheat if it gets too full of crud. Make sure the oil "slobber tube" is exiting well below the radiator.
If you don't want to do it yourself, take it to a Freightliner or CAT shop.

One more thing: there is an enormous amount of info downloadable from Winnie's web site, including the full build specs and diagrams for your specific vehicle.

[thegabrielles]

Thanks all! The tires were replaced in 2015, all of them. I will double check them. I am a Firefighter so safety equipment will be at the top of my list when we get it home. First trip is scheduled for a couple weeks after we get it home, about two hours from home but close enough to a Walmart if we need anything. 🙂
We kinda know what to expect so we feel we will be prepared but there is always something to forget. I bought it about 120 miles from home so I'll get a bit of miles on it before it gets to the house also. The one thing I noticed on the test drive is what I felt was an alignment issue. It wasn't pulling but felt like it was wandering a bit much, maybe it is me needing to get used to it, but they are going to verify the alignment anyway. She also felt a little underwhelming on power, but I read that is the nature of the beast even in the diesel pushers of that time. Still pulled decent to about 70mph and cruised on some decent grades... I know I will have to get used to it and learn to take my time more. I have read I should expect 7.5-8.0MPG if I keep it around 60mph... and a drastic drop above that. No more rushing on vacations for me!

[Bruce_Brown]

Congrats! Good advice listed abouvr. I'd just add be sure to check the roof to gutter seams, that's a pretty important deal with Winnies.

[Mandalay_Parr]

All good advice.
Call me for additional thoughts.
I don’t type well.

[rgatijnet1]

Good advice about the tire date codes. You should also check the date code on your CO detector. They usually expire after 5 years. On two of my coaches, the expiration date code on the CO detector could not be seen without removing the detector and looking at the back side.

[10forty2]

rgatijnet1 wrote:
Congratulations. I would first take a "trip" to a nearby campsite and stay a few days to give you a chance to experience what it is like to stay in that coach. This may expose problems with the coach or issues where you just need to educate yourself.
it will also give you a chance to see what items you need to take along on a trip.

What he said, including the Congrats!! A word of advice is to check the tire date codes to see how old they are. If more than 7-8 years old, I'd go ahead and replace them before I made a trip on it. Trust me, when we first bought ours, I took the previous owners' word for it that they had just replaced the tires a couple years before. Had a blowout and found out the tires were over 10 years old. They bought old tires and put them on......CHECK....THE....DATE....CODES!!!

[rgatijnet1]

Congratulations. I would first take a "trip" to a nearby campsite and stay a few days to give you a chance to experience what it is like to stay in that coach. This may expose problems with the coach or issues where you just need to educate yourself.
it will also give you a chance to see what items you need to take along on a trip.