Community Forums

MurseCole · 07-25-2017, 04:36 PM

Hello,

I am looking at a 2003 Winnebago Adventurer 36' that seems to be well taken care of but I have a couple questions.

There is one water spot on the ceiling by the corner of the living room slide. Seller says that he didn't put the slide out all the way and leaked once. I have looked at 2 other Winnebagos of the same year and they all seem to leak at that spot. Should I be concerned or is replacing the seal enough?

This model uses hydraulics to extend and retract the slides. When putting them out, I noticed once the slide is extended all the way, the hydraulics system will still make noise. I am only familiar with my father-in-laws MH (Damon Daybreak) which uses electric motors for the slides that cut out when the slide is fully extended.

Any thoughts greatly appreciated. I don't want to buy something that I will immediately have lots of problems with.

okcnewbie · 07-25-2017, 04:39 PM

You're right to be concerned about both issues. Hopefully a few people can tell you how to alleviate the issues..... (or tell you to run away)

AKIQPilot · 07-25-2017, 11:47 PM

We have a 2002 Itasca Suncruiser 35U. It isn't the same floorplan as the adventurer you are looking at but it has very similar systems. We've owned the 35U since 2005 so I'm pretty familiar with the systems.

My guess is your Adventurer has an HWH hydraulic system for the leveling jacks and slides. These were some of the better hydraulic systems available in Class A coaches of that era. They do encounter trouble periodically but most everything is fairly simple and can be fixed without a huge expense. There are several folks here on the forum that can offer expert advice on troubleshooting the HWH leveling and slide systems.

As far as the slides go, there is no stop mechanism that tells the hyd system that the slide has been fully extended or retracted. You, the operator, have to make that decision and lift your finger off the button. When the slide gets to the end of it's travel the wall will seal up against the side of the coach and the hydraulic system will begin pressuring up. When you let off the button the pressured up fluid returns to the tank and it does make a sound as the fluid releases back from the system. This sound only lasts about 1 second.

As far as the roof stains go. Over the years we have been on several very rainy camping trips. In the last couple of years we have had maybe 3 occasions where water got under the slide awning and made it's way down into the ceiling of the slide. A close inspection of the awning reveals that the fabric is deteriorating and very small holes are developing. Light rain seems to flow right over the holes with no issues but heavy rain seems to sag the awning enough to allow the water to drip through.

If your stains are actually in the main ceiling I would look closely at the roof in the area of the stain. Once these coaches get to be about 10 years they need annual inspections and sometimes annual maintenance. the amount of sun and weather the roof is exposed to will determine how much maintenance is really needed.

Fletcher0077 · 08-03-2017, 12:18 AM

HWH slides and jacks work great. Best system IMHO. Only problem I'v had is a broken line. Pulled it out and had a local shop build a new one. Manual says hold switch engaged 2-3 sec. after opening or closing. Pump stops when you let off.

I had MH in north west OR for 8 yrs. Slides in and out during many, many hard windy rain storms. No leaks top or side of slides. I'd check that out close ...seals, cover, etc.

Wind shield will/may leak. Many posts on Irv2 regarding that.
Double pane windows lose their seal get foggy. Problem with many MH's. If you see that have seller repair. big cost.

If Workhorse find out if brake recall has been done.

We like our MH and plan on keeping it. Less problems than new ones I read about. All MH require continued maintenance and repair. I try to catch my issues early and do my own maintenance.

Oh, check out the AC. Have them run it for an hour. Many posts on Irv2 regarding basement air also. Ours works and we like it.

70ChevelleSS · 08-04-2017, 07:25 AM

We have a 2003 Adventurer 35U. There is a small dark area on the ceiling at the rear corner of the main slide out. It doesn't look like water stain to me, more like dirt. It's like dust and dirt coming in. I can't say for sure what it is that's just what it looks like to me.