Any Southwind 37C Owners Here?

[RovinOn]

My wife and I just purchased one (05) and I thought I'd see if any other owners would share their experience. So far we love it and will be doing our shakedown cruise this coming weekend!


Regards,
RovinOn..........

[Avalondanes]

I did have a 2005 Pace Arrow 37C. Same floorplan as the Southwind, just more upgrades as standard on the PA. Mine was on a Workhorse with 8.1 L GM engine, Allison 5 speed. Top of line unit. Many miles of enjoyment. I needed more towing so I upgraded to a Revolution on a Spartan chassis (15000 verses 5000)

[RovinOn]

Avalondanes,,, Thanks for the heads up, We had it on its Maiden Voyage this weekend,,,Overly impressed and not a thing to complain about!

Regards,
RovinOn..............

[jagage46]

I also purchased a 06 Pace Arrow 37c about a month ago. I was really looking for a 35G but the deal on this was so good I took it. Now I'm glad I got this instead. It was only titled for two years (but built in 05) and 14,000 miles but I still had the engine and generator serviced, put in a new chassis battery, and had the roof cleaned and resealed. The coach also leans a little on the right side because of the weight of the two slides on that side. Fleetwood is putting a spacer between the back axle and spring to raise that corner to correct it. We did camp a couple of nights in it and really enjoy our new coach. I can't wait until next year when we will both be retired and can spend the winter on the road. We drove 900 miles pulling our car on a tow dolly to get home. Sometimes the coach would steer straight and sometimes it would want to wander. I had the alignment checked and it was right on. I'm hoping that by correcting the lean it will steer straight with less effort. Have you pulled a towed behind yours, and how does it handle? Good Luck with your new Southwind.
jim g

[lcsmith6922]

I own a SW 37C I bought new in April 2004. Now has 24,000 miles and we still love the MH and it's floorplan. Last fall we did a post-retirement 7000 mile/66 day coast-to-coast trip towing our 2008 Honda CRV and it performed almost flawlessly. Have had only minor problems that have been easily fixed. Currently plan to keep it a few more years.

Slumpy

[jagage46]

Way to go Slumpy. Sounds like you had a great trip. I can't wait till its my turn to do a trip like that. Does your coach ever want to drift going down the road? Maybe I just need to get use to it, but it sure requires a lot of attention sometimes to keep it between the lines.

[RovinOn]

jim,,, Haven't owned it long enough to notice any problems, I know even with the kitchen slide it does not lean going down the road.
Maybe that was noticed at new and corrected? I know that it does handle real well on the open highway and have driven it both loaded and unloaded.
How do you tow?, I'm undecided whether to do it with a dolly or flat tow. But I'm looking into towing my wifes Saturn Aura.
My father in law tows a Tracker on a dolly. He pulls it with a Hurricane 32 footer.
Slumpy sounds like it was a good trip, my wife and I are looking to do the same.
My coach is an 05 but built in October of 04. I'm hoping this one gets me through retirement,,,but then you never know!

Regards....
RovinOn

[jagage46]

RovinOn ,
I only towed once (900 miles) with a tow dolly to get my car home after picking up the RV. Towing four down seems to be the preferred method, so I am looking for a used car that can be flat towed. I wondered if the tow dolly was causing some of my steering problems. One thing I didn't like about it was the dolly wheels seemed to be wider than the RV, so I would get distracted watching them in the side mirrors to see where they were in relation to the lines on the road. I think if you have a small car flat towed, you should not be aware it is back there. Your Saturn can be flat towed and would make a real nice towed for you. It sounds like you have a real nice RV. I'm sure it will do you a good job. As I said earlier, we were looking for a 35G but now that we have the 37C I think it is a much roomier and better floor plan. Is this your first RV? It is for me. I think we are both in for some new and exciting adventures down the road. Catch you later.
jim g

[lcsmith6922]

Other than driving on windy days here in the Mojave Desert, my 37C does not lean and tracks with very little wander. very easy to drive even towing.

All 4 down is the only way to go.

Slumpy

[RovinOn]

jim, This is our second coach. Our first one was a used 90 Bounder 34S. We got started with this one about 4 years ago and it served us well. That is why I stayed in the Fleetwood line. When we started looking a new or newer coaches I started looking at the Bounder line again, until I saw this Southwind. Figured for the price and deal I got, it was the way to go.

Regards,
RovinOn

[alfred417]

We have spent a great deal of time in oue '05-37c and love the inside. I hate the electric hookup outside. Stupid wa to connect, but I solved the problem, made up a short cord the I leve attached. I've added front and rear stabilizer bars and a safe-t steering cylinder. My wife just sits back and guides this baby down the road.
I am ver glad to know there are other 2005-37C, southwinders out there. I've never seen another one since we bought ours. I was beginning to think ver few were made. THANKS FOR THE THREAT
FRED

[RovinOn]

Fred.....Glad to hear from another Southwind owner!
I too find that hooking up the shore line to be somewhat of a pain, and have been considering doing exactly as you have done. My Bounders shore cord was permanently wired and in its electrical compatment, only had to spool it out and plug it in. I have been considering that also but there is no room to store the cord in that tiny space. A tail piece like what you have done would be the answer though. What a difference between 50 and 30 amp makes.

On a side note,,, Maybe we need to form a Southwinders club the same as they have done with the Bounders!

Regards,
Craig / RovinOn

[jagage46]

Hello Fred,
I see you are new here also. I have the 06 Pace Arrow 37C. I think about the only differences between our models is color and carpet. That is a good idea for the electrical hookup. I will have to look into that. I'm having my suspension adjusted now, but I'm skeptical if it will improve the steering to the degree I want. Also, I'm very interested to know how your steering was before and what products you used and (if its not too personal) how much they cost. It sounds like your 37C handles the way I would like mine to.

jim g

[BaileyJ]

Hello to All,
We brought our 06 Southwind 37C almost 2 years ago. This is coach #7 and will be our last gasser. We were strongly considering an ALFA See Ya, but were scared off with the AC vs desert issue. We just glanced inside this one, looked at the price on the window, and that was it. This is our first fulltiming coach and it is working well for us.
I must say I was a bit disappointed with Fleetwood quality?, design, and attention to detail. Other dislikes? The black hood. Having the basement storage attached to the slides reduces their size and prevents access in smaller rv sites. Had one slide incident (cleaned and reset relay to fix). The awning is not attached to the awning rail but is instead mounted to the roof. This resulted in a considerable leak, but was an easy fix. The awning is almost parallel to the ground and so high up that it only works around noon . We have 22.5 tires so there is no room for a spare. Inside there is lots of wasted space and odd size/shaped cabinets and more. The wire baskets are the biggest culprits.
I consider most of these issues minor because I have addressed most of them. Bottom line is WE LOVE THIS COACH and plan to own it for a while. It is good to hear from other owners of this unique floorplan. I'm going to modify my electrical hook up right now!
I'll share my mods with any of you if interested.
James and Renee