1997 Warrior vs 1997 29RQ Brave

[micd]

If they are still available we will be looking at both a Winnebago Warrior and a 29RQ Brave. Both are 1997. Any thoughts on pros and cons for these two models? Which one was the higher version originally? Any known problems that we should be on the lookout for?

We looked at a 1992 Itasca today and loved the quality. Were hoping to see the same high quality in these two models.

Any owners of any of these three models/coaches that would like to provide advice, endorsement, warnings?

Thanks!
Michelle

[cbeierl]

Here are the brochures from the Winnebago site for both of these models: 97 Brave 97 Warrior .

[Clay L]

I had a 1996 30 foot Warrior. The Brave is the higher model.
I liked it well enough to stay with Winnebago when I bought a new coach in 2004.

[micd]

Thanks Chris and Clay. I'm hoping they are both still available and we can set up appts to take a look at them.

I really like the floor plan on the shorter Warrior. The Brave has a driver side door which could be useful. And being a higher model may have other enhancements that we don't yet know about.

Cheers!
Michelle

[micd]

Unfortunately the Brave is sold. Still waiting to hear on the Warrior...

[Clay L]

One thing on the Warrior, on mine the cable TV input was hard to find. It was in the service bay on the left side of the ceiling of the compartment.
It had an aluminum roof which was fine - I prefer aluminum or fiberglass over the rubber like materials. We lived full time in it for about a year before we got our Sightseer in 2004.

Mine had the P30 Chevy chassis with the 454 engine. I had to replace the fan clutch and it had a broken exhaust manifold bolt - both pretty common occurrences. Other than that I don't recall any problems. Got 7 mpg pulling my 3200 pound Honda Accord.

Again that's pretty typical - if you keep good records. Folks that don't will claim all sorts of higher MPG. None of them have ever shown me actual records of say 5000 miles consumption.

[micd]

Clay,

I did see a Brave today (different than the original one I was trying to see) but it was in bad shape and smelled. However I currently have a call in on a 2002 Sightseer but am not sure it is avail. because I found it on another site but am not seeing it on the dealer's sight. Anyways, any advice on the Sightseer? The one I see on-line does not have a sofa which is the floor plan that I prefer.

Thanks!
Michelle

[Clay L]

If you go here http://www.winnebagoind.com/products...-Brave-bro.pdfyou can see info and specs for the 2001 Sightseers.

One of the neat things about Winnebago is you can download wiring diagrams and plumbing diagrams from their web site plus get past model year brochures.
My Sightseer is on a W20 chassis which is different than the shorter chassis you are looking at and I don't know much about them.

[micd]

Clay,

I can't tell you how impressed I was to see the diagrams, repair info and even original brochures on this forum. I've been using the brochures quite a bit to evaluate the units before I go see them. We've decided to only look at used Itascas and Winnebagos because of all this info that my husband can use to do alot of the needed fixes.

Were having good fun with the search. There is a unit that looks quite promising a couple of hours away but today I'm likely to look at two 1997 Itasca Suncruisers (one with slide, one without) on dealer lots and I have an e-mail in on a 1998 Suncruiser off of Craig's list. Hopefully that is available also. One thing odd in the 1998 brochure is that it is the first one I've seen where it says select appliances are tied down with steel. The other brochures I've read (other years) have all said all appliances were tied down with steel. We'll have to see what that is about when I see the unit.

Thanks again!
Michelle

[tderonne]

What's your budget? If it's withing reach, I'd recommend you try to find a coach on the '99 or newer Ford chassis (F53). There were lots of improvements done to the Ford chassis that year. Workhorse followed a couple years later with the W series. (Wasn't unto '06 that the P chassis went away).

That would also probably get you to a coach with slides. Again, budget is probably going to dictate that.

Of course, I'd take nice, clean, and cared for over anything else....


And we love our 31'7" length. Definitely stuff out there around 30'. Biggest problem we had looking short was that anything under 30' didn't have a couch AND dinette. Seemed you had to give up one or the other, something we didn't want to do.

[micd]

Hi Tim,

This would be our first RV so were not wanting to spend alot. I think up to about 20K. However that being said were seeing wonderful units in the 10K range. I would love to find something from an original owner with records etc as when there are none were assuming the worst and that alot of engine maintenance etc would need to be done. I love it when the wood floors have replaced the carpet and they have already taken the old curtains out which seem to be dirty and smelly. Right now were trying do decide on how much we want to compromise off our ideal. Ideally we would like:

• Winnebago or Itasca
• Under 30 ft (the smaller the better)
• No sofa, just the dinette
• Walk around bed (on a least two sides)
• No smoking unit (this is a requirement)
• No slide (its just the two of us and I don't want to pay to maintain a slide)
• Shower with a dome top (Surprisingly the 1992 and 1993 Itasca have only 6 ft of clearance in the shower and a fabric ceiling which means neither of us can stand to shower in it. We would need a shower stool.)

I appreciate the info on the Ford Chassis. One of the dealers I talked to said look for the Chevy in the 1990s and the Ford in 2000 and beyond so I appreciate your confirming the information.

If we can get our ideal than I could see us keeping it for a long time and just improving it with good replacement seats, wood floor, blind replacement and upgrading things as they go bad. Pretty soon we would be in the vintage forum :-)

Cheers!
Michelle

[TerryDean]

So Michelle, what did end up getting? I'm looking at the same kind of comparisons for us

Thanks!
Terry

[micd]

Hi Terry,

We got a nice clean 1994 Winnebago Brave 29RQ. It is not a basement model (hence fewer steps to go up to get in so I like that) but we just took a 10 day trip in it and put all that we wanted in but still didn't fill it so I think the storage will be OK with us. I loved the floor plan. Especially the corner sink as it gives me a good amount of counter space. The walk around portion of the bed is a bit tight however. I wouldn't mind if they had spent an extra three inches here.

I would have loved to have gotten a more recent and/or upgraded with more features model but after looking at a bunch I decided to pull the trigger on this one as it was only $10K, had no roof leaks at all and no musty smell like many that we saw. I was afraid if I waited much longer I would miss out on several good trip opportunities this summer.

Here are some pics on my RV blog. The first post has the most interior pictures of the RV.
1994 Brave 29RQ RV

Pretty much everything we looked at needed new tires and this one did also. I also put new Bilstein shocks all around, replaced the fuel pump to the generator (broke 10 minutes after I paid for it - hadn't even left the sellers house yet), replaced the starting solenoid (it broke on our second trip), drained and refilled the brake fluid, had an exhaust leak near the catalytic converter fixed and will be having the steering stabilizer replaced when it comes in. We had to have two alignments done. It drove like a dream when we bought it but the alignment that was done when the tires and shocks were put on was horrible so we had to have it redone on the road. Our one outstanding fix item is to try and get a gasoline smell in the engine area cleared up. Two shops have looked at it but so far no one can find it. I sure hope it doesn't cost alot to fix. We didn't smell this when we looked at it so may have caused it with our dirt road trip into the national forest. However it may have been present and the reason the previous owner sold. Hard to tell.

The hydraulic jacks and cruise control weren't working on it when we bought it and after having two mechanics shops look at those also they still aren't working.

I was worried about getting a wide-body and after white knuckling it through Yellowstone I'm glad I didn't. Alot of people coming the other way were over the double yellow line. I was happy to be a few inches narrower and able to squeeze on over.

A couple other pluses for this unit included what appears to be a high quality (latex?) foam mattress and the area for our dog crates to be installed and fastened down by seat belts. Originally the dogs wanted to ride on the bed but now they are happy to ride in the crates and I feel better with them safely locked in there just in case of a hard brake or an accident.

The front chairs, while comfortable, are not the type I wanted. I wanted to get ones with high back so I could lean my head back to rest it. If we end up keeping the motorhome for more than a year I will likely try to replace them. I would also have liked power mirrors. But one can't have everything...

Cheers!
Michelle