Purchase Advice Sought

[RVNeophytes2]

A dealer has a 2010 Tour in his showroom, marked down to $214,000 from $294,000 MSRP.

It has the engine, TV aligned with the length of the rig*, a half-bath, swing-out basement compartments with trays, everything we want.

But, I'm hung up on the basement AC.

You all are the experts, I'd like to hear whether you think having a Tour 40BD with basement air in the Southwest is an idiotic idea, and if the market value of this rig is jeopardized by Winn/Itasca's transition to rooftop units on current models.

I don't subscribe to Winn/Itasca bashing: they do some innovative things no one else does. Plus, it seems that at iRV2, those with the most "campfires" by their names drive these maligned rigs!


*Have you noticed that nobody seems to get the midship TV idea right? I mean, few models have a mid-cabin TV that doesn't get partially blocked when the slides are retracted.

[Cousin Ed]

We ordered our 2010 Journey MSRP 250K and paid 180K, not counting our trade. So I think the dealer has a lot of profit in that deal, especially for a two year old MH. This is our third Winnebago. We still like the basement air. We travel across the contry every year; so we have used it in all climate the USA has to offer.

[DSouthw524]

A fear I might have is that the compaartment air conditioners are not being made anymore because of low demand. Therefore the maintenance for the units may become a problem eventually.

If a catastrophic failure occurs I assume that roof top units can be added.

[Tallyrver]

In February of this year we looked at a bunch of 2010 Tours ,they were going for around 214,000 then . you should be able to get a better deal now. we bought a 2011 Journey ,it had everything the 2010's didn't have .three roof ac's , residential fridge etc. Couldn't be happier . Only thing I don't like ,well two so far..no fan in the potty room ,and the sleeper couch is a pain in the ...

Wayne

[lajuene]

we like our 2004 Vectra basement air. makes sense to have the cooling unit down below instead of in the hot sun. Also we have a lot more roof space for solar panels and satellite stuff etc. We didn't choose basement air, it just happened to be on the floorplan we liked but so far we like the quieter cooling that basement air affords.

[John612]

Hi! Good to see you people discussing this topic. Even I am looking forward to buy solar panels since people are talking much about solar energy these days and no doubt that it's the need of the hour. I asked my friends to suggest me some good brands; some of them are using Heliocol and a few all solar too. Please suggest me which one should I go for? If you have the experience of some good brands.


solar panels Florida

[RVThere]

I had a 2003 Adventurer and now a 2007 Tour both with basement air. So far, no problems with either one.

[Navy Flier]

Do not get hung up on the A/C issue. The Winnebago basement air system can be serviced or repaired by a residential shop. In fact that is what my dealer does. He calls a residential guy to do the work. You can find all kinds of opinions about the units. I think that, on the forums, we have heard from just about all of the disgruntled owners. Not a very big group out of the thousands of units out there. I am very satisfied. We have had good success with the heat pump system in 105 deg heat in Reno and 40 deg cold in Georgia.

[Pusherman]

The manufacturer of the basement airs are building them once again. They are available if they need to be replaced. RV Products / Coleman air.

[phredsee]

Don't know if you're still thinking about this deal a month later after your post, but our experience is mixed. Last summer in Las Vegas when the temps were in the 110-115 category, the interior temp was only 88-92 and very uncomfortable. Of course we were in direct sun, shades closed and dark but still fried. I have read that this is a common problem with some and for some unknown reason, not others.

I did find the duct work leading from the basement up to the roof to be in need of additional taping to better enclose the pathway and maybe that helped. You can only reach up only so far so don't know what the upper duct work condition really is.

Others have added an additional roof AC unit located midships where the current vent is located in the galley area and supposedly that really solves the problem.

In our travels where the temps are 90's and below, the basement air works very well with great air conditioning and very, very quiet.

Since yours is a much newer coach, I wouldn't think the AC basement air would be a problem but maybe someone with this year/model who has experienced the higher temps can add their experience.

Other than that, the Tour is a fantastic coach and the basement AC would not be a deal killer for me.

[rream]

No problems with our basement air here.

Time to buy would seem to be now as just got a 2012 Journey yesterday and bank interest was 4.5% for 20 years. Wow

[pameridan04]

RVNP

That price seems to be to high. Check aroound some more. It is all ready two years old.

[Tom-NC]

Hi,
WE have a basement air and really like it compared to roof air. It may be a bit noisy when you are sleeping but you get used to it.

One feature I like is that you lift up the bed and can get to the 2 replaceable filters that are for the unit. Plus it is also a heat pump in the winter providing you electric warmth in my coach.

All in all I think it is a good unit. The reason Winnebago went to the roof airs again has something to do with the EPA regulations regarding DSP units.

Good Luck and happy Rving!