Goodbye...

[n2zon]

...to our 2006 Winnebago Adventurer 34WK.


Overall, it's been good to us. We bought it in 1997. It never actually stranded us (but it tried!). It survived many a family camping trip, but as vacation time and money are limited when you have kids, it never actually toured.


It was our second MH. The first taught us how to seal up the roof. The Winnie taught us to fix 'most everything else over time.


Everything still works except the genset (needs a carb cleaning) and the rooftop AC units (beyond repair due to age, need to be replaced). Depending on wind and terrain, we always got 6.5 - 8.5 MPG. A toad makes no difference in mileage but makes it harder to get up big hills at anywhere near the speed limit.


Considering its age and how much we have used it, it has held up very well inside. The upholstery looks used, but that's all. Nothing is threadbare, no holes, no burns. Not on the driver's seat, passenger seat, couch, dinette, or chair. Everything opens and closes. There's some staining in the bedroom from a roof leak; one of the rubber washers on the AC unit rotted away, and water got in through the screw hole in heavy rain. (This one was a bit hard to find!) The carpet is almost worn out but not close to threadbare just yet.



Due to age, things are starting to happen that I fear will become progressively less convenient to fix. Last year, I replaced two drawer slides, the air helper spring tubing, rebuilt the door, replaced the furnace control board, and readjusted the brake light switch.


When the time comes to empty a coach one has had for a long time, it's just astonishing how much stuff you've managed to cram into it! Most (but by no means all) of that stuff will go into the new coach.



Prepped to make its last journey with us as owners, it still looks pretty good. Plenty of life left in it for someone who doesn't mind working on it every year, but I want to tour and a DP is in the near future for us.


It tried to strand us twice. The first time was when the Otto Park system failed on the Long Island Expressway in heavy traffic. You can't even notice when the parking brake comes on when you're moving, until the smell of burning brakes reaches your nose. I disconnected the system under the coach on an off ramp when it cooled enough to be near it. The drum was bright red hot when I pulled over.


The second time was when the throttle cable broke on a different highway. I was able to splice it with cable clamps and nylon cord, which let me get the coach up to speed enough to engage the cruise control and drive it home.


We'll miss it, kind of. But hopefully, not for long as we use our new-to-us DP to finally tour!

[inbogie]

hmmm, how did you buy an 06 in 1997?

[georgelesley]

Originally Posted by inbogie

hmmm, how did you buy an 06 in 1997?

+1??

[n2zon]

Originally Posted by inbogie

hmmm, how did you buy an 06 in 1997?

LOL! The new-to-us coach is an '06. Guess I have 2006 on the brain. The Winnie is a '96. Tried to correct above, but the Edit option is gone now.

[georgelesley]

Thanks for sorting it out for us. Hope you enjoy your new to you coach!

[n2zon]

Originally Posted by georgelesley

Thanks for sorting it out for us. Hope you enjoy your new to you coach!

I'd be dishonest if I did not admit some trepidation. It's an entirely different beast, with completely different systems. The Winnie is "the devil I know," so to speak. If it treats us half as well as the Winnie, I'll be very happy with it!

[edgray]

Originally Posted by n2zon

.......
Overall, it's been good to us. We bought it in 1997. It never actually stranded us (but it tried!). It survived many a family camping trip, but as vacation time and money are limited when you have kids, it never actually toured.


It was our second MH. The first taught us how to seal up the roof. The Winnie taught us to fix 'most everything else over time.


Everything still works except the genset (needs a carb cleaning) and the rooftop AC units (beyond repair due to age, need to be replaced). Depending on wind and terrain, we always got 6.5 - 8.5 MPG. A toad makes no difference in mileage but makes it harder to get up big hills at anywhere near the speed limit.

Considering its age and how much we have used it, it has held up very well inside. The upholstery looks used, but that's all. Nothing is threadbare, no holes, no burns. Not on the driver's seat, passenger seat, couch, dinette, or chair. Everything opens and closes. There's some staining in the bedroom from a roof leak; one of the rubber washers on the AC unit rotted away, and water got in through the screw hole in heavy rain. (This one was a bit hard to find!) The carpet is almost worn out but not close to threadbare just yet.

Due to age, things are starting to happen that I fear will become progressively less convenient to fix. Last year, I replaced two drawer slides, the air helper spring tubing, rebuilt the door, replaced the furnace control board, and readjusted the brake light switch.


When the time comes to empty a coach one has had for a long time, it's just astonishing how much stuff you've managed to cram into it! Most (but by no means all) of that stuff will go into the new coach.

Prepped to make its last journey with us as owners, it still looks pretty good. Plenty of life left in it for someone who doesn't mind working on it every year, but I want to tour and a DP is in the near future for us.


It tried to strand us twice. The first time was when the Otto Park system failed on the Long Island Expressway in heavy traffic. You can't even notice when the parking brake comes on when you're moving, until the smell of burning brakes reaches your nose. I disconnected the system under the coach on an off ramp when it cooled enough to be near it. The drum was bright red hot when I pulled over.


The second time was when the throttle cable broke on a different highway. I was able to splice it with cable clamps and nylon cord, which let me get the coach up to speed enough to engage the cruise control and drive it home.


We'll miss it, kind of. But hopefully, not for long as we use our new-to-us DP to finally tour!

CONGRATS on getting a "NTY" pusher! Your farewell tribute to the old gasser is about the most honest description I've ever read, and I hope the last trip is to a dealer who has not read it. If it is what you plan to use in a for sale by owner ad, I suggest you hire a marketing expert.

[n2zon]

Originally Posted by edgray

CONGRATS on getting a "NTY" pusher! Your farewell tribute to the old gasser is about the most honest description I've ever read, and I hope the last trip is to a dealer who has not read it. If it is what you plan to use in a for sale by owner ad, I suggest you hire a marketing expert.

We actually started the trade-in discussion with me saying, "You don't want it." I'd intended to unload it for whatever the market would bear. We were astonished when they insisted they did. I gave them a problem list, and they wanted it anyway. "OK," said we.



And, if you liked *that* description, you'll love the sign I hung on our 1991 Honda Accord a few years ago with For Sale sign:


1991 Honda Accord
~239,600 miles, $400
Runs great! (The engine is far outlasting the car.)
32mpg highway, ~25 around town, even now
Original owner (in November 1990 it looked better!)
Probably has a year or two left in it for someone willing to work on it here and there (I'm gettin' too old fer this...stuff)
Comes with an uninstalled Alpine stereo (I *think* it works but have not tested it) with iPod cable and CD changer
Faithful oil changes since new (all 31 of them)
Last 12 months: Windshield, ball joints, manifold, starter
Significant problems you can't see (anyone can see the rust!):
- Power steering inoperative (needs HP hose, pump, belt)
- Will need a left CV joint in ~5-10K miles (noisy turns)
- Small coolant leak (don't know where--put in coolant every few weeks until you find and fix it)
- No A/C (refrigerant not available, parts missing)
Smaller problems (probably a partial list):
- Cruise control usually inoperative (most often when you want it most!)
- Heater cannot be adjusted (choices are "heat on" and "heat off")
- Bad cooling fans (though one decided to start working again on its own!)
- Broken driver's side interior door handle mount
- Intermittent passenger side power shoulder belt (I think Honda will actually fix this free...if you can get it to fail at a dealer)
- External rear door handles do not return by themselves
- Worn-out 3rd gear synchro (not apparent until transmission is fully warmed up)
- Leaking front main seal (just put oil in it every few weeks until it gets to 270K and you do the timing belt...which was last done with water pump at 180K, on schedule)


Call John at xxx xxx xxxx (cell) or xxx xxx xxxx (home, where the car is)

[edgray]

Originally Posted by n2zon

......

And, if you liked *that* description, you'll love the sign I hung on our 1991 Honda Accord a few years ago with For Sale sign........

I hope I get to meet you someday. It is so rare to find a man that really "tells it like it is". I bet you sleep really good every night!

[n2zon]

Today was the Winnie's Final Journey as its owners, but it was not without incident.


First, we turned it around last night, so we could just pull out in the morning during a time when there is usually a fair bit of traffic on our road. Thusly positioned, it was poised for a fast, early departure.


Alas, it was not to be. The Winnie knew it was going out to pasture. It didn't want to leave!



After 24 years of faithful starting with every turn of the key, save for the time some enterprising mice built what I can only call a fortification inside and entirely around the circumference of the air cleaner, it would not start. Yikes! I took the doghouse cover off, took off the air cleaner top, and checked. No mice, air filter OK. I cranked the engine and didn't see fuel out of the TBI. Hmmm. Sometimes that mist is hard to see...lemme check the spark. Got a #2 Phillips out of the garage and removed the #7 plug, the easiest to reach. Cranked it over, saw spark, and...it fired right up! Let it run on 7 cylinders for about 30 seconds to warm the combustion chambers, shut it down, and it restarted. Whew!


OK, put the air cleaner top and doghouse cover back on, and got all the way to the dealer (a 2-hour drive) without further incident. It ran great all the way there, as strong and as smooth (and just as noisy) as it ever was.


After we got the walkthrough for the new coach, we transferred the stuff we'd deemed critical to keep with us from the Winnie to the Tiffin. The tech asked me to back the Winnie up, so I sat in the driver's seat for the last time.


It didn't want to start. It did, though, on the 3rd try.


Then the long-dark Check Engine light came on. It's been dark for over a decade, since the TBI fuel pressure regulator was rebuilt. The Winnie is pissed at us! "You're abandoning me," I could almost hear it sob.



You just can't make this stuff up. I told the tech and the salesman, who didn't seem to mind. I'm not sure they believed me that the light had just come on.



So today was really goodbye. All trials and tribulations aside, I hope the new coach treats us as well. Bye, Winnie. Fare thee well...

[John Hilley]

That should be a big step up in luxury and comfort

[edgray]

Originally Posted by John Hilley

That should be a big step up in luxury and comfort

X 2. Like going from a buckboard wagon to a limo.

[brokenrule]

We’re in the same boat. Shopping for a 2011/2012 Suncruiser to replace ours... but having second thoughts as the old girl is doing the job just fine.