Holiday Rambler Vacationer 32WBD

[mcaimh]

We are negotiating on a new (last year's model--2011) Vacationer 32wbd. It's a good price and has what we want in a new rig. I'm wondering, however, about the quality of this rig. If anyone owns one or knows about them, I'd appreciate your opinions. We did own a Winnebago Adventurer and am wondering the overall quality level between the two.

It's got the Ford V-10.

[SRT]

If I remember correctly, the new Monaco quality is better due to the parent Navistar having instituted an ISO type quality system. That is nice length Vacationer. Mine is also 32' but, alas, it is 12 years old.

[roscoesdad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcaimh We are negotiating on a new (last year's model--2011) Vacationer 32wbd. It's a good price and has what we want in a new rig. I'm wondering, however, about the quality of this rig. If anyone owns one or knows about them, I'd appreciate your opinions. We did own a Winnebago Adventurer and am wondering the overall quality level between the two. It's got the Ford V-10.

mcaimh, I want to appoligize. I was the one that suggested you post on this site asking about the quality of Holiday Rambler. I felt you would get many more responses than you got. I can only atest to the Holiday Ramblers I have owned and they are not Navstar constructed. They have been excellent MH's and I am not unhappy with the quality and service thay provided me.

ANYONE OUT THERE THAT ANSWER THE QUESTION OP SUBMITTED, PLEASE REPLY.

[JDT]

I think the lack of responses is because not many of us own any Navistar built coaches. When I think of comparing my 05 Ambassador with a new one I really don't think there is much to compare, maybe other than the chassis. That being said, our first coach was an 03 Vacationer on a Workhorse chassis. Not really the same but the build quality of the house was fine. The problem was driving it. It tended to wander quite a bit, I think due to the weight, because it was a 35 footer. New shocks and a Blue Ox TruCenter helped enough to get it sold. I only kept it 2 years. I will say the new Monaco has always been very helpful when I call for technical assistance.

[4Fun]

We purchased a 2012 Holiday Rambler Vacationer 30 SFS last fall. Altough we've only had it on two trips it has performed very well and we are pleased. The quality is good and we had an excellent experience with both our dealer and Monaco in Indiana. We only had a few issues that were taken care of in a couple of hours at the dealer. We hope to get it on the road in the next month or so for a longer trip. We've owned other Monaco products prior to this unit and have been pleased with the quality on all of them.

[mcaimh]

thanks for your responses. I did buy the coach a Vacationer 32WBD. (not sure what the wbd stands for?) We pick it up Monday. I too drove it on the freeway with a strong wind blowing and it did wander, but seems reasonable. The V-10 doesn't seem very strong, not sure how it will do up a pass with a toad

Any experience there? thanks again. Mark

[micd]

4Fun and mcaimh,

Can you post specifically the items you needed to get warranty work on so far and as you go through the year?

I am smitten with the 30sfs floor plan but we don't have a dealer in Colorado that sells them so I would have to buy remote. We do have a service center but they say they will not do the warranty work during the summer and only in the winter when they have nothing better to do.

So I'm probably on my own if I get one and need to know the severity of the problems and whether they were cosmetic things that could be put off or things that would prevent one from using the coach. My concern is that if I can't use it then I won't find most of the things that would be covered under warranty.

I am also interested in your feelings on the captain chairs comfort. We are tall (6 ft) and I'm concerned that the head rest will hit us in the shoulders or neck. Any feedback on this or on the comfort of the seat foam? Are the seats flexsteel with vinyl (ultraleather)? I've not been too impressed with the flexsteel seats I've sat in on new coaches so was wondering what type HR uses.

4Fun, what is the height of the bed from the floor? I have a short dog that will have trouble if the bed is very high.

Also if either of you is passing through Denver this summer and would like to show off your coach to a fellow rv'er I would love to see it so feel free to send me a direct message.

Thanks!
Michelle

[4Fun]

micd-

Our punch list on our 2012 Vacationer 30 SFS was very short and the items were minor.

Several drawers kept sliding open during travel. The fix was to install a second latch to each of the drawers. The full slide had one rail that needed adjustment. It was a very quick fix; took the mechanic at the dealer about 5-10 minutes. This mal-adjustment was causing a lot of noise! Now the coach is very quiet. We had several irritating rattles from componets in the coach, i.e. flat panel tv, free standing dining table, lift up extension in the galley. We used foam pipe insulation behind the flat panel tv (did this ourselves) and we used a couple of folding towels for the free standing dining table. The dealer cushioned the lift up extension.

I can't give you the height of the bed at this time. The coach is in storage.
We had a minature doxie and he would not have been able to get on the bed. If you want the exact height I can post at a latter date.

We've had many MH's and I've remarked that the seats are very soft and very comfortable. It is ultra leather. They are not Flexsteel seats. The same soft leather is on our sofa. I preferred the ultra leather on the 2012 rather than what I saw on the 2011's.

Hope that helps.

[micd]

4Fun,

Thanks! That is very encouraging. We can buy a Thor Daybreak 30FS which is basically the same floor plan locally but I'm concerned with what I see on the Thor board with respect to quality. We have way too much fun using our coach to give up a whole year trying to get things fixed.

For the bed height. Do you recall if you sit down on it or is it high enough that you feel you sort of hop on? For instance in my house if I sit on the bed my feet are still on the floor. Same with our current RV. Some of the new ones we've looked at the bed is so high that this would not be the case.

Also would you mind saying which dealer you got it from? I've got to believe that some of your good fortune with the lack of items needing fixed was due to them having a good PDI.

Thanks again!
Michelle

[4Fun]

micd-
I will leave you a PM with further information.

[johnsonjm209]

Mcaimh, 5 motorhomes, 3 of them HR's with the Ford motor/transmission pkg. Current Vacationer is 2003, 32ft w/ 47,000 miles on it. No complaints about the rv at all. The motor/xmission pkgs all pulled a Jeep GJ with ease. All that being said, I put a Safe-t-steer and a Davis tru-trac on each one and they handled quite well. (I transferred the last ones to the current one). I believe that Ford put together a better package aproximately every 3 years or so with a larger Cu.in.Dis. each time. I have absolutely no mechanical skills, and if I buy another one I will stay w/Ford, for my purposes. Good luck.

[mcaimh]

micd: We take delivery Monday. Feel free anytime to PM me if I forget your questions, I will measure the bed for you.

We bought in Quartzsite--we live in WA state nearest dealer in Oregon. Salesman says no worries--any repair facility that's easily approved can work on it--I mentioned my local private tech.

johnsonjm: have you considered any Banks products ? Improve mileage power? Not sure it's worth it.

4fun: I see the TV antenna is built in with the radio antenna? Does it get as good reception as the Winguard wind up kind that's been around forever? We like to get local TV news in the town we camp in and that winguard always worked fine--with the enhanced option.

[4Fun]

mcaimh-
Yes, we've received excellent reception.

[johnsonjm209]

Yes, I have considered the Banks package. Although feedback indicates that it improves power, I really haven't seen anyone indicating they had a significant increase in mileage. At at average of 7mpg a 10% increase in gas mileage is only .7mph and that doesn't validate the price for the Banks product for me.