Winnebago Era 70a
Giving some thought to a 2014 Era 70a. Very interested in the opinion of current/former owners. The good, the bad and the ugly. Thanks ed
Forum Discussion
We've got 10k miles on ours since last April. So far really loving the coach, with a few small reservations like the others have said.
Everything in the coach is 12 volt except the microwave & coach AC. So if you want to run any 120v stuff, (while not plugged in or running genset), you need an inverter. I bought a small 400 watt one at Harbor Freight and installed a 12v outlet under the countertop in the galley.
The price on these ERA's can't be beat for a brand new off the lot unit.
+1 on what georgelesley says above on his items. +1000 on what he says about the optional expensive GPS unit. It's junk. Have fooled with a 2014 unit also and the folks that bought it say the same about the new one.
I've looked at a 2014 up close on a 2014 Sprinter chassis and Winnebago has made some nice alterations and a couple subtractions on them.
The '14's have a much shorter above the roof coach AC unit on them which looks nice. And they are now installing a quality multi stage Progressive Dynamics converter/charger in them so your coach batteries won't get boiled out. Also the graphics are way less gaudy on the '14's.
Winnebago is now ordering Sprinters without the fog lights and deleting the inside the sliding door grab handle. The lights, meh....the grab handle is a necessity for us.
Either year, '13 or '14, you will work on multiple rattle issues. Also I took all the drawers, cubbies etc out and put insulation in where feasible. Tie wrapped wiring to clean that mess up too.
Not having a macerator is a plus in my book.
We also took out the bed wedge because it won't get used and are using that space as a closet.
As far as the Sprinter goes. Where we live, the Kansas City area, the service sucks. We have 1 MB, and 1 Freightliner Sprinter dealer here. Neither is a shop I would recommend, especially the MB store, (MB made them become a Sprinter dealer, they didn't want them). You can take your Sprinter to either brand store for service, IF they are a Sprinter dealer. On the road, just be aware that Sprinter stores are few and far between. Both of the Sprinters we've had, a 2008 & this '13, have had service issues requiring multiple visits.
We'd do another one in a heartbeat, with reservations about the Sprinter, but wouldn't order the optional $$$ dash GPS unit for sure.
Everything in the coach is 12 volt except the microwave & coach AC. So if you want to run any 120v stuff, (while not plugged in or running genset), you need an inverter. I bought a small 400 watt one at Harbor Freight and installed a 12v outlet under the countertop in the galley.
The price on these ERA's can't be beat for a brand new off the lot unit.
+1 on what georgelesley says above on his items. +1000 on what he says about the optional expensive GPS unit. It's junk. Have fooled with a 2014 unit also and the folks that bought it say the same about the new one.
I've looked at a 2014 up close on a 2014 Sprinter chassis and Winnebago has made some nice alterations and a couple subtractions on them.
The '14's have a much shorter above the roof coach AC unit on them which looks nice. And they are now installing a quality multi stage Progressive Dynamics converter/charger in them so your coach batteries won't get boiled out. Also the graphics are way less gaudy on the '14's.
Winnebago is now ordering Sprinters without the fog lights and deleting the inside the sliding door grab handle. The lights, meh....the grab handle is a necessity for us.
Either year, '13 or '14, you will work on multiple rattle issues. Also I took all the drawers, cubbies etc out and put insulation in where feasible. Tie wrapped wiring to clean that mess up too.
Not having a macerator is a plus in my book.
We also took out the bed wedge because it won't get used and are using that space as a closet.
As far as the Sprinter goes. Where we live, the Kansas City area, the service sucks. We have 1 MB, and 1 Freightliner Sprinter dealer here. Neither is a shop I would recommend, especially the MB store, (MB made them become a Sprinter dealer, they didn't want them). You can take your Sprinter to either brand store for service, IF they are a Sprinter dealer. On the road, just be aware that Sprinter stores are few and far between. Both of the Sprinters we've had, a 2008 & this '13, have had service issues requiring multiple visits.
We'd do another one in a heartbeat, with reservations about the Sprinter, but wouldn't order the optional $$$ dash GPS unit for sure.
