Renegade Villagio thoughts?

[JimGraves]

To all Villagio owners out there.

Any one know of a link out on the Internet on how to load data into the Villagio GPS system?

Jim
15 QRS
Boulder, CO

[Grn_Mtn_Boy]

Karyl:
My bathroom door has a magnate catch and strap. Seems to be holding. You might consider adding a second magnate catch for added holding power. You guys need to get off the road in these storms! Add my congrats to Jim and his new Villagio. Still happy with ours.
Len

[Karyl McC]

Len,
Ours is a strap that is affixed to the wall behind the door and then attaches by way of a snap to a snap that in on the door itself. The snap is not a magnet and It just will NOT stay snapped and to snap it, you have to push really hard and hold the door in place from behind while you attempt to snap. Heavy duty magnets would definitely be an improvement. I will tell Jim what you have. It was doing OK, but apparently gave out while he was headed cross country.
Yes, the weather he traveled in was terrible...he chose that route because it was further south than I-40 and he thought he would be well south of the winter weather... nope!
:-)

[Karyl McC]

Originally Posted by JimGraves

To all Villagio owners out there.

Any one know of a link out on the Internet on how to load data into the Villagio GPS system?

Jim
15 QRS
Boulder, CO

Jim,
My husband (also a 'Jim') figured out something. He may have called tech support but I'm not sure. He is traveling right now but I will call hiim tomorrow and ask what he did.
I do recall that it was frustrating and had something to do with memory size???
Maybe not.
ANyway, I will find out what he did and let you know in the next day or so.
Karyl

16 HAB
NC

[leber8tr]

We just experienced very cold winter "camping" in our Villagio. The outside air temperature ranged from 17° to 34° over a period of one week. I didn't know what to expect since this was our first time overnighting in the RV at these temperatures. This is what I did. I cleared all the water lines and water heater of all fluids. I dumped a half gallon of 50/50 environmentally friendly anti-freeze in each grey/black water tank. I poured a cup of anti-freeze in the shower, vanity sink and kitchen sink traps. Our water needs were supplied by two gallons of water stored in plastic jugs. I also kept a quart spray bottle of water near by.
We were connected to 30 amp shore power. Inside the RV, I placed a stand-up electric powered oil filled radiator type heater. This unit was plugged into the AC outlet and the temperature was set at 70°. This unit kept the interior relatively warm. I had the LP Gas heater's thermostat set at 73° and this unit would operate once every few hours. The Interior of the RV was comfortable. I had an electric blanket on the bed. That made sleeping very comfortable. The big problem was use of the toilet. I would use the toilet and use the spray bottle to spray down and clean the bowl. It was easy, clean and efficient. Our week living like this worked out very nicely and was comfortable. The one incident that occurred was the slide-out's cover and retracting roller got covered by snow and ice. The roller caps on either side of the roller became jammed with ice. This prevented the retraction of the slide. I ended up staying a few extra days. I had to wait for the ice to sublimate off the cover and roller end caps.

[Grn_Mtn_Boy]

You could flush the toilette with potable antifreeze. I had a similar experience with the slide topper. I pulled up a picnic table next to the slide. Climbed up and had my wife retract the slide a few inches at a time. I brushed the snow and ice off at each pause. After a few minutes, all buttoned up and ready to go.

If you stay wet, run the LP heater. That will keep the wet bay warm. I put a trouble light in the dump valve compartment. Keep the tank heaters on. Keep the water heater emptied. I've been OK like this down to 20 degrees.

[Karyl McC]

Husband Jim was in eastern Oregon a few weeks ago visiting family. He was there about 4 nights and it got down to -3 degrees. (yes that is MINUS 3) He was plugged into his Mom's outside outlet.. regular 15 amp with adapter. He kept tank heaters on. Kept LP heater at 50. Had fresh water and water in black and gray tanks. He also traveled NC to OR as southern a route as possible but did travel through that blizzard a few weeks ago going out.
I should also say here that we had the electric tankless WH removed and had an LP 6 gal WH installed, which he kept ON the entire time so it would not freeze.
While he was there he did not sleep in it, but did sleep in it while going NC to OR and then home.
There were only 2 problems he encountered and they are being rectified right now by our RV guy..
When he went to replenish the fresh water for his trip home, the water poured out as though a break in the line. Turns out the Water Filter behind the fresh water inlet was what froze. We didn't even know there WAS one! No one told us and hadn't seen it on specs. So that is being replaced and the area is being insulated better and our RV guy is running a duct into that area from the LP heater as well as adding a heating pad around it, which will work in conjunction with the tank heaters.
The other problem Jim encountered is that the floors are not well insulated and the water in the dog's bowl froze overnight! It was sitting on a sherpa type pad and still froze!! We aren't sure what the fix for floor insulation will be.
As for windows, I quilt and I may make some fitted quilted and insulated window covers for extreme temps. (there is a quilt batting called Insulbrite that is used for kitchen pads, etc that should work well.) SO we may try that.
Extreme Heat around windows can be just as bad... we had to be in Las Vegas in July for a conference I was attending for 4 days as we were en route to OR for vacation and it was MISERABLE! AC running full bore and interior temp high 80s. We ended up using all our aluminum foil on the windows...worked GREAT and allowed to AC to catch up with the exterior heat. This was not in the Villagio, but in another Sprinter chassis C that we had then, but we will always carry extra wide heavy duty aluminum foil for this purpose. It worked!


I wish the Villagio was better insulated for temp extremes, although I know it was not designed for that. We travel at odd times of the year, so we will learn as we go... This is to be our retirement RV and we plan on keeping THIS one forever..

Also, we had our RV guy put in a dimmer beside the main cabin light switch. He was able to incorporate it into one switchplate that looks just like the original. The original on/off switch is there and beside it the sliding dimmer. Love it and looks like original equipment.


ONe quick question... our Villagio (we have 2016 HAB) didn't have decorative backsplash in galley area as some of them have. I really want to add this and we are discussing what material to use. Those of you that have backsplashes: What material?? ceramic or glass time with regular grouting?? What is in yours? Thanks!

Karyl McClellan
NC
2016 Villagio HAB

[Grn_Mtn_Boy]

Karyl, our Villagio has the decorative back-splash. It is not a tile, but a simple printed plastic skin that is about 16 inches high. Looks good, stays put and doesn't weigh anything. I would caution against a real back-splash. You might need something more solid to attach it to, it would add weight, and with all the bouncing around, would have to be secured very well. I question whether there is enough room behind the range to add a cement board, grout and tile. You might call Renegade and ask them if they can send you a piece of the plastic they use. Might find something at Home Depot.
Have you added the central vac yet? Love that thing, works so well.
My tankless water heater is finally settling down and working like it should after having it serviced at LaMesa in Albequerque. Kudos to the service techs there. Got my fingers crossed. I added the Nissan Versa as a toad a month ago. Been working great, the car kind of grows on you. Has anyone else noticed that the hitch on the chassis tilts down?
Have an occasional leak in the shower surround. Anyone else?

[Karyl McC]

We have looked at the decorative self adhesive interlocking plastic panels at Lowe's. "Smart Tile". Found NOTHING at HD the day we looked. However there are multiple colors on the Smart Tile website and also decorative strips that can go across the top or wherever to give a finished look. I almost ordered some the day I made that post, but was waiting to see replies about tile. I'm glad to hear yours does NOT have actual tile! We were worried about the effect of road vibration on glass tiles and grout. Also the PITA installation.. So I will proceed with the Smart Tile order! WE are going to put some in the bathroom behind the sink and also a 6 or 8" strip along the long countertop in the living area as an accent. We have a small R-Pod that we got last Sept for camping with our grandsons and I put some up in the galley there...very easy to install and kind of fun to do.
As to leak in shower surround, no we have not, but where exactly are you referring to? WHere is your leak?? Oops. I stand corrected. Jim says we have had one time where there was a small bit of water in the bathroom floor, but only once, and none since then.
Glad your tankless WH is doing well. Good RV techs are worth their weight in gold! We are still very pleased that we switched to the LP/Electric WH with tank. WE boondock a lot and we need to run it on LP during those times. Our tankless was only electric.

One problem we have had is with the heat thermostat. It does great on electric heat but when we used gas and would set it to, say, 50 degrees to prevent freezing or just to keep a bit of warmth at night, after a couple of heat cycles it would reset itself to 72, and would run until it reached that temp. Not good. Jim contacted Renegade and they sent us a new thermostat, but that didn't do anything, apparently not the problem. SO when our RV tech was checking it out, he discovered that there was improper grounding (of something..please don't ask me!) and now it is working great.

I have to throw out here that Renegade is the easiest company to deal with that we have ever had!!! They are quick to respond, quick to fix, and let us take our Villagio for warranty work to our favorite RV tech place.... 5 minutes away. Our dealer is 2 hours away. This has made such a difference to us. WE LOVE RENEGADE !!!
Purchasing this Villagio was our best RV purchase ever. This is our 4th and FINAL! (2 PleasureWays --an '07 Plateau & a '14 Pursuit -- and a Fleetwood Pulse/Sprinter-Chassis C)
Renegade is the BEST!!

[Grn_Mtn_Boy]

I haven't pinpointed where the shower leak is, but I suspect somewhere along the sides. Doesn't seem to leak when the shower head points straight toward the door. No problems with the heat. You know that when the LP heat runs and completes it's cycle, the fan continues to run to expel the remaining heat. This may cause attained temp to go a few degrees above called temp. Glad you have had good experience with Renegade. I too have no issues with them. Previously had a Tiffin, and Renegade seems as good as Tiffin, which says a lot.

[glenbaker]

Just found this thread as we've discovered a 25HAB for what looks like a decent price locally, and darn it my wife is running out and buying the thing.

All of the comments seem fairly positive. I'm curious about one thing: some have noted that the HAB is not comfortable enough and that a topper is a good idea. One poster said that it fit perfectly above the cab. Hmm...how does that work? The unit we're getting has several rather small-ish doors into the over-cab storage area, how do you fit a mattress topper through those doors?

Any other comments from the people who have now owned these things for a while?

Thanks!

..glen

[Grn_Mtn_Boy]

Glen:
Glad you are joining the group with the Villagio. My experience is, yes, the sofa bed needs help. It lays out in three sections and each has stiff edges and sags a bit between them. We found a 3 inch memory foam mattress topper that fits well. I quit trying to store it in the overhead (used to use a vac bag) and just fold it up on the sofa seat during the day time and cover it with a throw. Improves the sofa comfort that way. I also quit using the sofa cushions and just stack a bunch of pillows for back support in the day. One section of the sofa stores upright and supports the pillows nicely.
Had this coach about a year now. Love the floor. Love the floor plan other than the sofa comfort.
I added a swivel faucet extension to the bath faucet, helps keep the stream in the sink. See my other posts regarding mods that I did (central vac, inverter/charger, cat room) I also added sprinter seat covers extra robe hooks and pull-out baskets in the storage cabinet right of the fridge.
Some features you will like in this rig:
All 12 v operation
maint free batteries
Heat pump with AC
lots of great outside lighting
diesel genny
large shower stall
lots of storage

My long range plan is to get a custom built sofa sleeper that is more usable in the daytime as well as a comfortable bed. Plan to add an awning over the sofa window.
Enjoy

[Karyl McC]

Glen,
Welcome to the Villagio group! I hope you get one and enjoy it as we do ours!

As to the comfort of the hideabed... we had been using a memory foam topper but decided it was a pain to mess with ..yes hard to get into the over cab storage, and yes, we have the small doors. Sometimes it ended up in the wardrobe. SO we changed to a fluffier "smushable" topper that would crush into the overcab easily.
But we like simple, so one night we decided to sleep with our heads towards the door instead of at the window. WOW!! What a difference!! We don't use any topper of any kind anymore! It is very comfortable that way. Must have something to do with the 3 areas of the bed. I don't know, but we don't mess with a topper at all now.
Also, in the spirit of "Keep it Simple"...as for bedding, we have used a Travasak in all of the Calss B/C motorhomes we have had (total 4 including the Villagio.) We have 3 different sizes we have accumulated over the last 8 years of RVing. They are perfect! A comfy wide sleeping bag with a long velcro-in sheet! So the sheet can be washed easily and the exterior just as needed.

As I said, this is our 4th B/C, so we have been through a few smaller ones. The Villagio offers everything that Len said above, but one thing that we found to be important is Cargo Carrying Capacity. Sprinter chassis can only carry so much. We originally had a 07 Pleasureway Plateau..put nearly 20K on her in a year, but with only the 4 wheels they had at the time, she was like a sail in a windstorm...some serious white knuckle experiences in the windy areas of outr great country! So we sold it... and then We constantly worried and weighed when we had our '08 Fleetwood Pulse (like the View/Navion.) Put about 92K on that one in 5 years, so we got really good at conserving space and weight!! But that particular Mercedes engine was a troublesome one for us and for otehrs. a real pain. So we sold it. Then went back to PleasureWay in 2014 and got a Pursuit. LOVED it!! Not on a Sprinter, (we kind of felt scared of them after the Pulse)We would still have it, but it was on a Ford E-350 chassis. Despite much effort and even having the steering tightened, there was SO much play in the steering that I never got comfortable driving it and my husband would be exhausted after a day's' drive.
We had seen the Villagio at our dealer here in NC, and had even spoken to the Renegade regional sales manager. SO after deciding the Pursuit (as beautiful as the interior was) had to GO, we traded it on the Villagio. That was MAy of 2015. We have been MORE THAN PLEASED.
Renegade was smart enough to build the Villagio with the composite cabinetry, which saves a ton of weight. and thus INCREASES the CCC, so you can actually USE the abundant storage!!

We love it! We have done some mods, as Len has. Changed tankless electric WH to LP with tank (we boondock...lots of times no electricity), added a dimmer switch to the main cabin area, added some towel hooks and rings in the bath... will be piddling around with a few other things too. Might even put in the central vac like Len did. We have longhaired dachshunds and grandsons, so we could use it! ANd lots of room for adding it.

Terribly long story short, after having other comparable units, the Villagio meets our needs better than any we have ever had. We are still 100% glad of our purchase.

[glenbaker]

Len and Karyl,

Thanks for the replies. We're slated to pick up our coach on Saturday and I'm already noodling over what mods I want to do. LED dimming seems to be an easy no-brainer, the hardest part is deciding if I want a knob or a remote

One other question: does the fold-out bed mar the floor at all? I'm wondering if I should apply some felt to the bar that sits on the floor right away, or maybe just throw a rug down before unfolding the bed.

3 more days before we get the coach and then the hard part starts: finding the time to use it!