Placed our order for 2014 Era - can't wait!

trukeeper

New member
We placed our order for a 2014 Era the first of November. We were originally told the RV would be ready to pick up around the first or second week of December. We found out a week ago that our schedule has slipped and it will be early January before our Era will be ready. Fine with me, we had no travel plans over the holidays anyway, so better it sits up in Iowa rather than my driveway until after New Years! The really good news (I think) is the reason for the delay; apparently, the factory is switching over to the 2014 Mercedes Sprinter chassis which has caused all the current orders to slip. so it seems my 2014 Era will be a 2014 through and through. Having said that, however, what does that really mean? All I know is the 2014 have a different grill and the shifter knob has the Mercedes star on it.. beyond that, not sure. Does anyone know what, if any, upgrades/enhancements/etc. have been incorporated into the new Sprinter chassis? I've also heard some rumors that Winnebago may be putting in a few mid-model year improvements themselves, but don't have any details yet. Does anybody out there have an Era built on the new 2014 Chassis? This will be our first Sprinter (In fact, it is our first RV!!!). Any useful hints and tips from anyone out there? I am particularly interested in what kind of accessories/supplies/equipment I MUST get right away to support this new toy. I've already started reading these blogs and got lots of good information and look forward to learning more as we enter this new phase in our lives.
 

sailquik

Well-known member
trukeeper,
See if you can get the VIN# for the Cab/Chassis they are going to build your RV on.
Send me the VIN# and a valid email address (via PM above) and I will pull the data card for that chassis so you can
see all of the things that went into building the Chassis in Germany.
Lots of new things for the 2014
The whole front end is different......new standard 4 cylinder 2.1 liter dual stage turbo (OM-651) engine....7 speed transmission
The optional OM-642/5 speed is still there, so the RV up fitter may be using that engine and trans.
First thing you need is a Scan Gauge II so you can learn to drive your new RV efficiently in a manner that will keep it running trouble
free for many miles/years.
Roger
 

bofusfly

New member
Congratulations trukeeper. Yours will definitely be a 2014 chassis. We ordered our ERA 70A Sep. 14th and it is enroute to the dealer for delivery tomorrow. We received the VIN 2 weeks ago and were very pleasantly surprised to find an "E" rather than a "D" for the year code. Enjoy, Terry
 

bobojay

New member
Hi neighbor. Congrats on the 2014 chassis. Winnie is also in the process of moving production to a new plant closer to Forest City, which is BADLY needed for space. Yours will probably not come out of that plant.
The 2014 Sprinter has some upgrades safety wise that are good of course, and I know for a fact that the 70X model is getting a sliding screen door inside the side slider which makes me envious. Don't know what other "upgrades" their doing on the coach save for maybe?? a tankless water heater? That's a considerably more expensive piece than the standard Atwood model though. Winnebago sometimes makes mid year minor changes to their units, all for the better.
Unless you are headed south for the winter, there's really nothing you will need until after you get home and can think about it.

A suggestion of a few things to get if you just have to spend some $$$ though.

One of these for sure, http://www.bestconverter.com/SSP-30-30-Amp-Portable-Surge-Protector_p_507.html not necessarily from these guys. Shop around online for one.
A couple others are a 15/20 amp to 30 amp converter plug and a 50 amp to 30 amp plug. The 15 amp and 50 amp ends would be the male end. Sometimes your power pedestal at campgrounds or home(s) you plug into don't have a 30 amp working plug so you use the converter(s) to make a working setup. You should really never plug into a less than 20 amp circuit anywhere, but if you are not going to run the coach air you should be ok on a 15.

Remember the Sprinter is not a regular vehicle unless you have previous experience with a Mercedes diesel. It takes a special oil and you definitely want to stick with OEM or Mann or Hengst filters. BEWARE of eastern European or Chinese made filters for sure. I buy all my Mann oil filters and the proper spec oil, (do my own maintenance), on Amazon at excellent prices.

More folks will speak up here that own 70A's I'm sure....
 

trukeeper

New member
Sailquik, I will look you up once I get the VIN number. Terry, we ordered our 70A on November 1, have not received the VIN yet, but hope to soon. Currently looking at early January for delivery. When you pick up your 70A, Terry, POST SOME PICS!! I'm really anxious to see how the new chassis looks. Bobojay, thanks for the info. I haven't forgotten your offer to meet up, just been hectic with Thanksgiving coming and my better half preparing for her (well deserved) retirement. I believe your comment regarding the screen door applies equally to the 70A, hopefully, Terry will confirm this as soon as he get's his 70A tomorrow. Going back to your suggestions regarding the converter plugs et. al. I was at Walmart this evening and looking at their stuff, they had various Campco brand 30-50AMP and 15/30 AMP adapters. I recall they looked alot like the surge protector you mentioned (i.e. a plug, about 6" cable, and another plug). So you are saying the 15/30 converter plug would be female on the 30amp side and male on the 15 map side? as for the 30/50amp converter, the 50amp side is male and the 30amp side is female, correct? (i.e. the 30amp end is always female and the "other" end is male, right?) Another thing I noticed at walmart were these inline water filters... I'm guessing these would be good things to have as well? (yes, I am really a newbie on this stuff)... Thanks for the input... keep it coming!!
 

bofusfly

New member
trukeeper, looks like my delivery has been pushed back a couple of days due to travel conditions between Iowa and me here in North Georgia. I'll keep you posted and will also get some pics of the 13/14 differences when it arrives. Terry
 

bobojay

New member
The 15 and 50 amp converters are female on the 30amp (coach) end. The blue water filters are a good idea. I filter ALL the water that goes in the coach, even from home. Not for drinking purposes, but to keep the junk out of the pump and water system in the coach. Campgrounds are notorious for dirty, i.e. sand, dirt etc, in their water systems. We don't drink the coach water, we carry bottled for drinking, cooking etc. Some folks use Brita pitchers. The water filter you get with your coach is very expensive to replace yearly, so we never hook it in. Speaking of water, another item you'll need is a water pressure regulator for your water hose. RV's can't take more than about 40-50lbs of water pressure when hooked up, they blow lines and crack fittings.

Most of the "stuff", filters, adapters etc. I got at Amazon. They are having a 30day free Prime membership right now, so shipping is 2 day free if wanted. Their prices pretty much mirror WalMart, sometimes better. I like to let the UPS man do the walking. (Besides, I don't care for WalMart) Camco is a pretty good brand for everything you'll need.
 

bofusfly

New member
trukeeper, We finally got a peek at our new 70A today. It's a 2014 chassis and unfortunately there is no screen door. More pics and info after we take delivery later this week...
 

trukeeper

New member
Great Bofus, I thought that maybe you were so busy playing with your new RV you didn't have time to check the forums here. Sorry to hear there is no screen door.. I heard that the new ones would have it.. still waiting on mine.. supposed to be ready the first week of January. My only real concern at this point is that the weather holds up and we will be able to make the drive from Kansas City to Forest City to get it!!
 

bobojay

New member
My understanding is they are doing the screen door on the 70X but not the 70A. Maybe for the 2015's. I know a source to put the screen door on a 70A if you would want it, but it's VERY expensive. (We're not doing it)
Both of you guys have a safe trip up there and say hello to Ron & his crew for us.....enjoy that new building they just built

Incidentally, what color did you guys get?
 

georgelesley

New member
We are ones that had the screen door added to our 2013 ERA 70A by Advanced RV. Pricy, but top notch work. If this a RV you plan to keep a long time, well worth the $$ in our mind. If trading in a few years is a possibility, too much money. If one has it done, I would also suggest a roll up screen for the rear doors. It completely changes the way you can use the RV. You will appreciate having a screen door nearly every day of every trip. Last summer there was a thread on this forum and subject and I think it was deborah shiek that came up with a low cost way to do it with screens from Walmart. The sprinter store also sells some.
 

bobojay

New member
George you're not the only ones any more. Remember the 70A at Kansas that was pulling the enclosed bike trailer? They had their's done a few weeks ago if you didn't already know that
 

trukeeper

New member
Hey, Bob... We ordered our 70A in Brilliant Silver and the "Urban" interior. We also went ahead and ordered the new High Gloss Marbella Cherry finish on the cabinets. I keep getting mixed signals on the screen door. I was originally told that our unit would have screen doors, but now the dealer is doing a little backpedaling on that. I am beginning to suspect that in the heat of all the purchasing excitement, our salesperson might have got the 70x and 70a mixed up. In any event, I will know for sure in about a week and 1/2 when we go to pick our new baby up. It will be a disappointment if there is no screen door.. but,... well, we'll just have to wait and see.
 

bobojay

New member
I think what's happening with the screen door deal is that they are getting mixed signals from the factory about it. When we ordered ours, we made a couple non standard changes. Lichtsinn was told one thing by WGO when the order went in, but by the time it showed up, it was entirely different.
This involved some $$$ difference which Ron absorbed. Only about $200.
 
Screen Door Now Available for Sprinter Models!

New from Creative CanvasWorks, Inc. - custom fit screen door for RoadTrek Sprinter Models. For more information, please contact us at 508-990-0377, email: creativecanvasworks@verizon.net or visit our website www.creativecanvasworks.com
Creative CanvasWorks, Inc is located at 4C Silva Street, New Bedford, MA 02744
 

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bobojay

New member
Re: Screen Door Now Available for Sprinter Models!

New from Creative CanvasWorks, Inc. - custom fit screen door for RoadTrek Sprinter Models. For more information, please contact us at 508-990-0377, email: creativecanvasworks@verizon.net or visit our website www.creativecanvasworks.com
Creative CanvasWorks, Inc is located at 4C Silva Street, New Bedford, MA 02744
Looks like it might work on 'treks, but won't fit on the WGO ERA vans in this thread....
 

trukeeper

New member
Well, we finally picked up our new Winnebago 70A. Drove up to Forest City, IA to pick it up last week. Spent a full day on "orientation" and drove it back to Kansas City at the end of the week. We followed behind the worst of the cold from last week, but still had to deal with pretty miserable weather coming home... much freezing rain and sleet for the first 100 miles. The next 100 miles was cloudy, drizzly and very thick fog. Finally, south of Des Moines, all the rain and mist stopped, but stayed cold and cloudy the rest of the way. Not the most enjoyable way to try out the new ride, but we made it home safely none-the-less. First impression of the new Sprinter.... Fantastic! Smooth and quiet engine, great ride, superb handling. This is our first RV and I am not at all used to maneuvering something this large.. none-the-less, navigating downtown Kansas City during rush hour was no problem at all!! we are really looking forward to taking our first trip. Really like the new look of the 2014 chassis....
 

bobojay

New member
Good deal. Was wondering about your weather experience on the trip. Took ours out for the first time today in 6 weeks. Got the "ants in the pants to go" syndrome now....
Hollar at me if you've got any questions. Don't forget to disconnect those batteries when it's sitting for more than a couple days unless plugged in occasionally . This includes the chassis battery. Plugging in won't charge the chassis battery unless you install an extra charger to it
 

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