Community Forums

evilkevin · 07-02-2017, 06:40 AM

We will be picking up our new 2017 1710 in two weeks. I have been trying to read all that I can about the Drop but as mentioned above, it has no dedicated place in the forum.
We are moving up from a signatour teardrop, standing up and having a potty will be great as well as not having to share a bed with our 6yo. Any suggestions on what to ask, look into and be aware of when receiving the camper?
Happy to say the day we were shopping for a camper it had been raining so we have already seen a leak that will be fixed prior to getting it, I also noticed that screen door didn't stay latched. That will be fixed too.
Since the Drop is essentially the rpod would the screened room from the rpod fit the Drop?

spo-vegas · 07-05-2017, 12:09 AM

Congrats, evilkevin!

Your dealer should do a walkthrough with you when you receive your Drop. This is standard practice among RV dealers, but the content and duration (and therefore quality) of the walkthrough can vary dramatically. The Drop is a lower-priced RV, but has all the standard systems that come on much bigger rigs. As such, you shouldn't get an abbreviated walkthrough just because it's a lower price-point RV. If you feel short-changed at all on your walkthrough, you should address it with you dealer immediately, even if you have to go over the head of the salesperson you worked with. It's not a hard sell to politely explain that your walkthrough didn't answer all of your questions and that you think you need a little more information in order to be comfortable with the operation of your trailer. Both Winnebago and your dealer are interested in your satisfaction, as it relates to brand loyalty and repeat business, but way more importantly, referrals (both brand and dealership).

From my own experience with my walkthrough (which I thought was really good, overall), the one subject that I should have pressed for more information on was the process and specific details for winterizing and de-winterizing the trailer. I ended up learning a lot of this through the school of hard knocks and the internet, which is unfortunate and not ideal, from my customer satisfaction perspective. For instance: I asked the walthrough technician how to access my 12V water pump. He looked around and couldn't figure out, on the spot, how to get to it. I told him it was okay, that I would dig into it. What I should have said, is that I need him to use his dealership's internal knowledge base to get me an answer as a condition of taking posession.

The Drop is "essentially an rpod" in general form and floorplan only. The two are manufactured by distinctly different entities that are competing against each other and have no affiliation, that I am aware of. Consequently, specific features may vary. You bought the one that has some significant advantages, in terms of overall quality of construction, in my humble (and admittedly biased) opinion. With all this said, I don't know for 100% sure, but I am at least 99.9% sure that the screened room from the rpod won't fit the Drop.

I hope this helps and that you have a blast with your new Drop!

evilkevin · 07-06-2017, 07:56 PM

Thank you for the reply. I read of your unfortunate circumstance, we are going stay overnight in the delivery lot to make sure that we know what we are doing. If a question arises I will ask in the morning. They dealer has power hookups but not water so we can learn a lot of things before we leave the dealer. I will be persistent in asking lots of questions.

It is a bit of information overload in trying to understand TT's. We never used levelers for our teardrop, do you use them with your Drop?

spo-vegas · 07-07-2017, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by evilkevin

Thank you for the reply. I read of your unfortunate circumstance, we are going stay overnight in the delivery lot to make sure that we know what we are doing. If a question arises I will ask in the morning. They dealer has power hookups but not water so we can learn a lot of things before we leave the dealer. I will be persistent in asking lots of questions.

It is a bit of information overload in trying to understand TT's. We never used levelers for our teardrop, do you use them with your Drop?

Very cool that your dealer gives you the opportunity to stay overnight in the delivery lot. I think it will serve you well.

Yeah, a bit of a learning curve for us as well, moving up from a tent trailer. But the systems on the Drop are great, and you will really appreciate and command them, once you understand them. Just be patient and take small bites.

By "levelers" do you mean under-tire spacers to level the trailer from side to side? If so, then yes, you will be a much happier camper if you take a few minutes to get your trailer somewhat close to level. I spent an hour in my driveway getting the trailer level, both side to side and front to back. When it was level, I installed adhesive bubble levels on the front curbside corner, per the attached photo. They make it much easier and quicker to dial in an acceptable level when I get to a campsite.

For under-tire spacers, I just use chunks of dimensional lumber and plywood, as opposed to the fancy plastic systems that they sell at retail RV sites.

evilkevin · 07-07-2017, 06:18 AM

Spo-Vegas, thank you for the prolific and thorough posts on the Winnie Drop. My family and I look forward to many trips with this camper.

spo-vegas · 07-07-2017, 09:47 PM

Cool.

Hope you guys have a blast!

spo-vegas · 07-07-2017, 10:20 PM

I think the Drop is a great travel trailer, so don't get me wrong here. But there are a couple of screwy things that Winnebago cut corners and "dropped" the ball on.

One is the goofy short sewer hose tube that is installed at the back of the tongue triangle. As if sewer hose length scales with the size of the trailer. I don't really want to travel with less than a 15' hose, and I was disappointed to find that it won't come anywhere close to fitting inside the stock tube. (I have noticed that a couple of R-Pods I have looked at have tubes that run across the full width of the trailer body. Just sayin', Winnebago!)

I got under my trailer and figured out where I could mount a longer tube, and it turns out the only convenient place was just behind the axle on the 170S. This actually works out great, because it is a lot closer to the dump valve connection point. If you decide to do a similar mod, be aware that there are a lot of wires running down the frame rails and you need to be super careful when drilling mounting holes through the flange on the bottom of the rail, so that you don't create a bigger problem than you solved.

Storage tube length went from approximately 37" to 61". My 15' hose fits inside with lots of room to spare. Not sure if it will take a 20' hose. Cost was about $40. Pics are hopefully self-explanatory.

saddlesore · 07-07-2017, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by evilkevin

The dealer has power hookups but not water so we can learn a lot of things before we leave the dealer. I will be persistent in asking lots of questions.

It is a bit of information overload in trying to understand TT's.

Have them (dealer) fill the fresh water tank & just run off your 12v pump.... good way to check all (fresh/black/gray) tanks and water system for leaks...and the potty/shower as well

evilkevin · 07-08-2017, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saddlesore

Have them (dealer) fill the fresh water tank & just run off your 12v pump.... good way to check all (fresh/black/gray) tanks and water system for leaks...and the potty/shower as well

Sounds good, that's what we were looking to do.

evilkevin · 07-16-2017, 02:15 PM

Did walk through and had things explained, luckily tech noticed that the arm to open and close awning wasn't there so he went and got one. Sadly for me I did not bring a sewer hose and didn't ask about a supplied one so after our first night of camping saw one does not come with the camper. A little annoyed with myself for not asking and with Lazydays for not stating that it doesn't have one.

Glad it rained last night because leak they were supposed to fix isn't. Took it back to dealer and waited for a sales manager to state my displeasure and left it to hopefully be fixed right this time. Was told they thought it was the window being left open after someone looked at it. Apparently not, there was water in the rear driver side window sill, end of mattress(sheet more so) under window was damp and a wet spot on the wood underneath mattress.

I am frustrated that they said that a water test was done and no leak. It wasn't condensation from ac, no other window had water in sill. Glad that we were so close to dealer to take back immediately, now we wait.

Merola Gus · 07-16-2017, 02:52 PM

Hello everyone , can I works my tv in tv volts ? My plugs in side doesn't work with my battery is it normal ? Can I charge my cell phone ? If I add solar painel TV will works? We just got our Winnie drop 170 s unfortunately dealer did quickly check list and I have a lot of doubts

Jim98166 · 07-17-2017, 12:43 PM

Hi! Jim Here. Newbie to travel trailers. Just bought a 2017 WD170S and we love it.

When I bought the trailer, we had a Kia Sorento (290 HP, 258 ftlb) and an Fastway E2 Trunnion weight distribution hitch. worked awesome! But we decided to trade the Kia for an F150

because of some big vacations coming up. The F150 gives us outside storage for a generator and chairs. But the WD hitch needed a 6" drop shank on the F150. Now, the drop shank only has 5" of clearance when the trailer is level. Fastway has only 4", 8" and 12" drops. No 10" drop. Anyone towing a Winnie Drop with an F150? What hitch are you using?

I am going to try to get a hitch specialty shop to trim the drop shank and/or get them to raise the drop about 3" which would solve the waste pipe clearance issue as well.

Thoughts?

Jim98166 · 07-17-2017, 12:46 PM

Where did you get that pipe? Looks like the mounting holes are in the perfect location for the WD170S frame. I just bought a WD170S and have the same problem.
Jim - 2017 WD170S, 2017 Ford F150 2.7L V6