Opinions on the Winnebago View/Itasca Navion?

i think you have seen this http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28214910/gotomsg/28230848.cfm#28230848

dean likes the 24 w/ rear twins, and the split floorplan would allow one to be up while other sleeps.

about what should one pay a dealer as one of those 'good deals' you noted?

Good... I love the small size and the interiors.
Bad... Too big to take one around to see the sights, but too small to drag a toad.
Ugly... Have you ever been behind one on the road? Ewww.

I almost bought one. 24G. Loved the rear slide with the bed, effectively making it three feet or so longer. Lots of outside storage and nice tank capacities, very open little coach. We bought a Phoenix Cruiser instead.

Why? Service on the MB chassis. We just go too many places in the West where it is just too far between MB places that can service those things for our uses. That was the deciding factor so if you can handle that and not having the ability to pull a toad or much of one because of the specs, go for it. There is a Ford or Chevy place in every county seat in the country. That was the bottom of the line.

Now, I know that is a controverisal statement and a lot of folks on these forums have the MB and love it and have no problems whatsoever, so jut personal choice.

We are in the same family with the Mercedes Sprinter based Winnebago Via "P"...it's just a tad bit larger. I somewhat disagree with the bad above. We only tow occasionally because the Via will go anywhere a large van will go with more comfort. We do tow a Chevy Sonic with no problems when we desire\need to. Some will say it is difficult to find a Mercedes dealer to work on these RVs and they are more expensive. We have a dealer 30 miles from us but haven't needed them in our 10,480 miles. While there are more Ford and Chevy dealers, most of them don't have tall enough service bays to work on RVs. I did the first service myself for ~$100...and that includes 13 qts of oil. My wife would not drive our previous TT but enjoys driving this also. All-in-all, I can't say enough good things about the Mercedes diesel engine & chassis and the Winnebago coach. Good luck!

Norman

pasusan wrote:
Good... I love the small size and the interiors.
Bad... Too big to take one around to see the sights, but too small to drag a toad.
Ugly... Have you ever been behind one on the road? Ewww.

i was thinking about addressing it being 1' taller than the PC 2552, another rear twin dean likes. that height/width is the eewww effect, but it gives basement storage.

i would like to know fair price of PC2552 and winnie view 24 v to make a better call.

neschultz wrote:
While there are more Ford and Chevy dealers, most of them don't have tall enough service bays to work on RVs.
Norman

WORD.

We have an '08 View, and can therefore tell you *accurate* information gleaned from actual use. First -- you can indeed tow a toad. IIRC, 3.5k lbs. capacity for earlier models, and 5k lbs. for later models. But why would you want to? A View/Navion is small enough to get anywhere there is a road and adequate height clearance. We go everywhere in ours, so we have no problems to "see the sights". On long trips we sightsee during the bulk of the day, and go to a state park for the evening and next morning. Then, it's off to the next destination. On weekend trips we go to a state park and just stay for the entire weekend. No need for a toad there either.

Our View has had no problems of any type. Only normal maintenance has been performed by one of several auto mechanic shops nearby (I change the oil myself). As parts are readily available, maintenance costs are not any more than what we would spend on a Ford or Chevy. Many auto mechanic shops can perform normal maintenance on these things. If you are worried about not being nearby an MB dealer in the event of a major breakdown, you can get towing insurance that is obligated to take you to a place that can handle your needs.

We have not had any problems with any of the house systems either. Not a surprise to us, as there are two other Winnebago motorhomes in our family, and none of them have ever had any major problems. Winnebago knows how to build a motorhome, and they do a very good job of it.

I really like driving our MH. It handles* and rides better than the Fords and Chevys that we tried. Also quicker too. You will most likely be surprised at how quick they are. We get anywhere between 13.5 and 15.5 mpg, depending of course on how fast we are going. I could probably get more if I drove with a lighter foot, but mileage is not something I give any thought to. After all, we did not buy it because of it's fuel efficiency. Any passengers you might carry will really like the space on the front passenger side. Not only can a front passenger put both feet side-by-side flat on the floor, there is a great expanse of floor space in the cab. And a great amount of headroom too, just in case you wear an extra-tall hat.

*one thing we did change was the rear swaybar. The View does sway side-to-side easily when making a low-speed turn onto a roadbed of a different height such as entering or leaving a parking lot. A thicker swaybar makes a noticeable difference, and is worth your time to investigate should you get a View. No, one does not *need* to get one, but it was worth our time to do so. Changing them out requires the removal/replacement of ten bolts (two brackets with four bolts ea., and a bolt at each end). Takes about 15 minutes.....

We have the View 24H, our first motorhome and are so happy with it we can hardly stand it. I do all the maintenance on it so far including oil change. We have had one house battery die at 32 deg and the chassis battery died of age. Other than that I can see the awning will need replacing in about a year. So far all the problems have been little.

This is good news. I'm looking at most short B+ rigs, be it a Coachmen Prism, a Navion, a FR Solera, or similar. The FR and Coachmen may take some work for the rough edges, while the Winnebago is definitely a step ahead in build quality as well as documentation. What I want to find is a model with the Onan diesel genset as oppose to the LP gas ones. The reason for this is that I live in Texas, and the diesel would provide a lot more run time. I'm also hoping for a model with the 3.0 V6 since it has more oomph, especially if I hit hilly terrain.

I don't know how agile it is, but I plan to run toadless and deal with it. If I really have to, I'll rent a car in the destination town. For some festivals, I will be towing a cargo trailer meant for solar power and additional storage.

As for service, I live fairly near a very good M-B place in Georgetown, and a good Freightliner Sprinter place.

Towing, most rigs can do 5000 pounds, or more accurately 500 pounds on the hitch. Not awesome, but good enough.

pasusan wrote:

too small to drag a toad.

False