Itasca, Navion (2012)

[Ed L.]

Have purchased a new Navion, Would like to talk to any owners about units. Traded a 36' diesel pusher (Merridian) for this unit. We are downsizing . Used the prior unit to stay in one location for last 8 winters. We now want to do more traveling with the smaller unit. Any suggestions or help in any way with new unit would be appreciated.

[Ed L.]

We have traded a Meridian with a Flex Steel sofa that makes into a queen bed. This bed is very comfortable. Our new unit will be a 2012 navion and has a blow-up bed in the sofa. We are very concerned if the unit will be comfortable for sleeping??? Could anyone give us some input on this bed and how you feel it is for comfort??? Would some sort of cover (like Memory Foam) help, or is this not necessary??? Thanks, Ed L.

[Ed L.]

Have 2012 Navion. Sized down from a 36' Meridian. Any help with storage ideas would be appreciated.... The unit has a comfort sofa sleeper with a self-inflating mattress. We are concerned about the comfort of the air mattress next to a flex steel that was in our Meridian. Any comments would be appreciated..... anyone that has a Navion if you would give us your impression of the unit, that would be nice also. Thanks in advance for help!!! Ed L.

[SeeTheUSA]

A great online resource in the View/Navion Yahoo Group . . . good place to learn, ask, etc. Find here:

View-Navion : Winnebago's Skinnie-Winnies

[Rolesaurus]

We have a 2012 Navion iQ that we have travelled from Windsor, Ontario to Palo Alto, California, where we presently are. We have also downsized from a 35 ft. class A (Bounder) MH and have found storage space to be a bit of a concern. We choose the Navion iQ over the other Navions because of the Queensized bed that pushes out in the rear of the MH and for the fact that it was more aerodynamic than the Navions and Winnebago Views with the bunk over the cab. We have not used the inflatable bed on fold out sofa, but find the pedestal table to be wobbly and , overal, a nuisance to use. (When we return home, there will be some plans to remove the "sofabed" entirely and a small dinette constructed in its place. -Since only my wife and I use the MH, we would prefer a permanent dinette with storage under the seat cushions.)
For external storage we have installed a trailer hitch cargo carrier basket and mounted a large lockable "Tuff Storage" box. We keep a diesel fuel (yellow) container, extra 30 amp electrical cable, water hoses, toolbox and two tripod stabilisers in it.. The small storage area under the bed is used for two lawn chairs, laundry bag(s), auto safety kit and other small items.
All in all, we are pleased with the Navion and the 6 cylinder diesel engine. Over approximately 3200 miles, we have a rough estimate of 15 miles per gallon compared to the 6 or 7 mpg we got on the class A MH.
We have purchased a Scan Guage from Auto Zone in California and I will be monitoring the mileage closely on our return trip.
The only caveat of the diesel engine other than the fact that diesel fuel is more expensive than gasoline, is that not all stations have diesel fuel as we discovered after pulling in to fuel up.
We will be doing much more camping and exploring with this MH because of the ease of handling on two lane roads which we were hesitant to travel with the class A.

[go6car]

We have an air mattress in our couch in our trailer and everyone who has slept on it has raved about it. It's this model: Premier Comfort Plus @ AeroBed

Two things about air mattresses - 1) the brand you have/get really does make a difference (in other words you get what you pay for); and 2) they do develop slow leaks after a while. We got 3 years out of ours before needing a replacement.

Also make sure you measure the actual mattress, itself. Our advertised "queen" was really a "full" sized one, and that will matter to be able to fit, inflated, in the actual couch frame.

If you have a local Bed, Bath & Beyond store, you can find these particular aerobeds if you ever need a quick replacement. (Also helps if you have one of their 20% off coupons, which I think you can get online).

The best part about the one we have is that whomever is sleeping on it can inflate/deflate it to their particular comfort level. None of our guests has ever felt that they needed any other pads on top of it (it comes with a generic mattress pad) to increase comfort.

Hope this helps!