Am I making a mistake?

Cobraguy

New member
I am picking up my new 2018 Itasca 24D in Ohio next week and bringing it home to NC. I frankly have spent too much time on this and other sites and getting concerned about new product quality control and where I can get warranty work done 8 hours from my purchase dealer. 1. Am I overly concerned about having a punch list that might be above my “pay grade” and 2. If I need warranty assistance is there a reputable Winnebago dealer in NC? Can some one talk me off the ledge?
 
If I were to do it over again, I would prepare to spend time (not a few minutes, but overnight) in the unit testing everything that can be tested, and go over everything that can be gone over.

Make sure the generator works, fridge works, slides work, fill the fresh water tank and take a shower looking for leaks around the shower, under the shower, any lines running to the shower, check tire pressures THE NEXT MORNING so that it can reveal the slow leak caused by a screw from the factory, drive it on the highway listening for nasty sounds, and on and on. The items above in italics are some I had, plus some more minor ones. The fridge and leaks were nasty experiences.

I would not take delivery until these items were fixed, or you will go to the end of the line waiting for the repairs. Repairs will be done faster if they don't have your money.
 

Roger D

2016 Winnebago Navion 24J
First of all, I love our motorhome and am very pleased with the purchase! My wife and I purchased our 2016 24J in Houston TX and then drove it back to Sarasota Florida. It was 1 week beyond it's factory warranty period and only had 7000 miles on it.

We had a trip planned to California, but decided to go back to Florida first, and get use to the new home. It proved to be a wise move. On the way back to Sarasota we discovered the QD3200 diesel generator had 3 error messages show up (short circuit, low oil, etc). Then we discovered the R/R inner wheel steel valve stem had a slow leak.

We also found the corner bed to be firmer than our liking (Froli to the rescue). The microwave/convection oven did not work on convection (3 year factory wrrty). There was also a crimp in the LP gas regulator hose (it was too long for the space it occupied) and the LP appliances did not have full output (recall). There were other minor problems that I found and some I took care of before my second trip.

I am an engineer, and I left that profession to operate a Corvette restoration/collision/mechanical repair shop. I have now retired from that and find travelling the USA to be my next career.

To answer "Am I making a mistake" I respond with: Spend plenty of time with your unit. Bring clothes that your get dirty in. Do everything that LeakyGasket suggests. Do arrange to spend a night or two (or three) in the Ohio city where you are purchasing the unit.

Relax, your home is in a beautiful state to take some short trips before the "big one".
 

Moosemanj

New member
I can not agree more with the above comments. We spend a night on the dealer delivery site and then three in the park next store. We found several things that we did not notice on initial night, nothing major, but they took the unit in first thing Monday morning and made them right. We still found a few more minor issues in out next few weekends, but nothing that can’t wait to get corrected. I scheduled a return visit with the dealer 6 hours away next month. Called and made that appointment last week. I had an amazing salesman that has handled all the scheduling with the service manager. I am enjoying the hell out of my 18 VJ.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Wine Country

Active member
No mistake, you will have issues. On my VG, the inside tires had screws and no air. It took some time to fix. You will find air pressure hard to check, Borg Valve are a must. Weigh your View with full fuel and make a note. Get the front end aligned. If you read this thread, you may want to add Fox Shocks to the rear. Stuff the dealer may not set up are smoke and propane detector. Start the generator. Turn on the AC, water heater on both gas and AC. Ask to fill the water tank and check for leaks. Turn on lights, radio,refer, nav if you have it, TV's. Run the slide, in and out. Check the doors, cabinets.
Given the distance, camp near or on the lot and cook, sleep and run everthing.
 

CGKMGK

Member
We purchased our 17 View G from Lichtsinn in Forest City, Iowa. The dealership is a mile from the Winnie factory. Our PDI was conducted inside a huge heated delivery bay with our sales rep and a technician and they went over every aspect of the rig with us for an hour and a half.

Following the delivery, we stayed at the dealership and hooked up to one of their water and electric sites for two days to check everything and drive it to be sure everything was OK. We turned everything on and pushed every button and switch, used every appliance and got familiar with every component in the rig before leaving to drive home to NC.

The biggest advantage we had was that the rig only had 37 miles on it when we picked it up and we were the ones to properly break in the engine. You never know how these things are driven from the factory to the dealers and breaking in a new engine is more than just hitting the highway and setting the cruise on 70 mph.

So, as the other folks here have suggested, before heading home, stay in the rig. If you can't hook up at the dealer, find a campground nearby and stay a couple days to test every aspect of the coach and take detail notes and photos of anything that may not be right. That's the only way you will have a comfort level that all is well and you can head back home to NC.

Good luck with your delivery and hope it goes well for ya.
 

NYBobbo

Member
I purchased from Lichtsinn also. ALmost all of my warranty (and other) work has been done on my View was done there. I pass close enough to them in my travels every 6 months. I've had my share and then some of issues. I'd make a running list of issues between appointments and would email or call them to add them to my work order so they could make sure they had a technician with enough time and experience to do the work. I did use the factory for one major repair due to the size of the work (took a full week) while I stayed at the local hotel. I have a great relationship with Lichtsinn and they have never failed to help me out, even after warranty work.

You will have some issues, these are complex machines with multiple systems that are hand assembled to order. You will forget how to do something, push a wrong button etc. I'd suggest that you form a relationship with a good dealership that you choose (not necessarily the one you purchase from) it will pay off in the long run. I turn to the service writers or the parts department when I have problems before I post anything on the forums.

The more you use your rig during the warranty period the better - it's always better to find the weak spots while they pay for repairs :)
 

Wine Country

Active member
The first year I had issues. AC, counter in kitchen, led outside door light, Propane hose,Nav radio. I before the year was up bought a Winnebago 7 year support contract. Coachnet and a rv support company manage the contract. Now I have only had a fuse on the refrigerator that I fixed. What I liked about the contract is they will get you in I’d you need support. My dealer was too busy on my issue so Coachnet got me with Poulsbo RV near me. My dealer Roy Robinson is four months out. If I were buying from a distant dealer I would sign up early.
 
I bought a 24 D last october and have had zero issues with it so far. If physically capable, there's lots of smart people on this forum that can assist you.
 

Cobraguy

New member
I flew up to Dayton Ohio and picked up my 24D from Lewis RV yesterday. 500 miles later I am back in North Carolina. I think they are a quality operation and offed an unbeatable price. So far I haven’t found any issues. They did a good job going over everything. Time will tell and I expect some things to crop up but for now I think “The juice was worth the squeeze “.
 

Old Crows

Calypso 2014 View Profile
Cobraguy, Now that you are a proud owner ......

Weighing is a good idea. Full fuel, full propane, 10-15 gallons fresh water & outfitted & loaded for a typical road trip. Driver, loyal crew & ship's dog(s). You need to know only the "mission ready" weight. Should be less than the GVWR on the placard (driver's door sill).

GVWR - OCCC = Curb Weight OCCC is on the passenger door placard.

Being a Crow and contrarian, getting a front and rear axle weight is a worthless exercise on a Class C of Sprinter size. The weight and distribution are constantly changing, even as you drive; it is of shorter wheelbase than a 40K lb Class A and thus shorter moment arms .... F & R distribution important but not so much. (Do you see box truck owners with SWB rigs running out to do front and rear axle weights?????)

Tire pressures are very important, USE the pressure placard on the driver's door sill. Probably, 61 psi all around. No higher. You need the sidewall flex ... it is a critical part of the suspension's design. The Vancos are fine.

Views and Itascas have a high and rearward center of mass because of the "barn" added to behind the cab. This amplifies the long axis rolling motion. They have big side areas, bluff rear ends and the front is not very wind cheating. They WILL be affected by winds and bow waves from large passing vehicles. It's part of the dynamic. Before adding a lot of suspension mods, lay on about 10,000+ miles of experience using the recommended tire pressures. Then assess and add only what you may need.

Safe travels!




Alignments. Again, a contrary Crow's view is to hold off on that
 

cacaw

Well-known member
... Tire pressures are very important, USE the pressure placard on the driver's door sill. Probably, 61 psi all around. ...
If you don't feel like reading further, my rule of thumb is 63 psi as a starting point, adjusted to between 60 and 70 psi to account for measuring tires when cold and any upcoming changes in air temperature.

Here are the factors I base that on...
  • While in storage, tires can lose air at a rate of about 0-3 psi per month.
  • Tire flexing while driving and radiant heat from the sun can raise tire pressure by up to about 5 psi.
  • Every 10º change in air temperature can raise/lower tire pressure about 1-2 psi.
  • Every 5,000' increase in elevation causes a 2 psi lower reading (most gauges read the air pressure relative to atmospheric air pressure, not the absolute air pressure).
  • The safe range for our tires is probably about 57-75psi (just an educated guess) and it's more dangerous to drive on an under-inflated tire than an over-inflated tire.

All of this doesn't mean that you need a calculator to figure out how much air to put in your tires. If you use a baseline of 63 psi at sea level with air temperature around 70º and measure after driving a bit, then it's pretty easy to compensate for upcoming changes by adjusting the inflation level by 3-5 psi in either direction. For someone who's normal temperatures are closer to 50º using 61 psi as a baseline would be better.

We live at sea level and frequently drive through the 100º desert up to 10,000' elevation, where it can be quite cold. Our weight fully loaded isn't much different than our lightest traveling weight, so I don't take weight into consideration.

So, if I'm measuring air pressure before taking off on a cold 50º morning, I might start around 60 psi, knowing that tire pressure might go up to 70-75 psi in the desert but go back down to a reading of 52 psi the next morning in the mountains. That 52 psi reading would be an actual 56 psi, which would climb to 60 psi after a half-hour of driving - so that means I should drive very slowly and carefully for the first half-hour.
 
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