Winnebago Vista vs. HR Admiral

[Gary RVRoamer]

Originally Posted by creativepart

I looked up the 2017 Holiday Rambler specs and it’s a diesel motorhome built on the M-340hp Freightliner chassis.

That is certainly an entry level chassis but is a diesel pusher rather than a Ford F53 gas engine up front.

So many would give the advantage to the HR. Of course, diesel has plenty of pluses and minuses to consider. Like higher fuel costs and higher maintenance costs. So you should actually drive both before deciding. Many prefer the diesel pusher.

Don't know what you looked up, but the HR Admiral is a gas-chassis coach, not a diesel. There are some other HR models that have diesel power, but the Admiral isn't one of them.

[l1v3fr33ord1]

Originally Posted by creativepart

I looked up the 2017 Holiday Rambler specs and it’s a diesel motorhome built on the M-340hp Freightliner chassis.

That is certainly an entry level chassis but is a diesel pusher rather than a Ford F53 gas engine up front.

Hmm... No Admiral listed among the 2017 HR brochures. Both the 2016 and 2018 HR Admiral brochures show the coach built on a Ford F-53 chassis, I could be incorrect.

[edit]I see Gary typed faster than I did.[/edit]

[creativepart]

Sorry, you folks are correct. I looked up the Admiral, but it showed Diplimat/Endeavor specs.

Yes, it the Admiral is a gasser. Is it the same as a Vacationer? I know that model gas HR is just a rebadged Bounder.

[l1v3fr33ord1]

My understanding from past threads/posts is that somewhere in the "teens" either Navistar or REV Group decided to build the Monaco/HR gassers using the same designs as the Fleetwood line. They put Monaco or HR "badges" on them.

In the Monaco/HR line, the Admiral was entry-level (may be one unit lower in the line-up) and the Vacationer was the next click-up. A quick look at the current "HR" line says the Vacationer model has features more like my 2008. For example, both my 2008 and the 2018 Vacationer have full-height, side-opening exterior storage compartment doors.

[Lawnarjax]

Ended up going with the Winnebago. There were two units within 100 miles of me, one unit was on consignment with PPL her in FL and the other on a small dealer lot in SE GA. The one in FL was attractive as it only had 7500 miles on it, but it was sun beaten and was not ready as the slide was non operable. The one in GA was "camp ready" according to the dealer and had 19k miles. We were driving up to NC 2 weekends in a row, once for a wedding, once for a funeral. We stopped by the dealer on the morning of the first trip and looked at the unit. It was in nice condition, no major flaws that we could see. Used not abused. We did not have time for a deep dive that morning so we discussed it over the weekend and decided to head over for an inspection on monday afternoon. We got to work and started poking around, engine, jacks, generator, water, slide, lighting and electronics all good. Roof was great, all the seals were good. We spend several hours pushing all the buttons, testing all the outlets, etc etc. Worst I could find was the slide out awning torn at the rear attach point, the shade awning was misaligned and sun beaten. Really had to be nitpicky. I pointed a few things out and the dealer immediately made a price adjustment that brought the unit significantly below NADA value. Signed the papers and drove it home that afternoon. So we decided to take it up to NC for the funeral for its shake down cruise. Pulled a bunch of stuff from the Trek, put some tools together, and lit off Thursday night. Jeep in tow, 6 people.

Now I have read about how poorly the F53 handles, and the engine noise, and tons of complaints, but this thing is a Cadillac in comparison to my Trek. I don't see what the fuss is about. There were some squeaks and rattles to run down, and there is one in particular that comes out when the roads in SC are bad, but nothing like the Trek.
The RPM's were under 2k when running 60-65 towing the jeep, and typically only downshifted once for overpasses. I think it hit 4k rpm 2-4 times in close to 20 hours round trip. I guess it's a DP vs. GAS debate, and having never ridden in a DP maybe I am jaded, but I was expecting way worse from all the complaining i read.

Anyhow the shakedown went well. Learned a lot about the rig. I had a small water leak under the bed where the water tank and pump are located. It looks like to save a buck (someone winnebago/prev owner) mixed in some white flexible hose and plastic connections with the pex near the pump, and one of the 90 degrees was peeing a small amount of water. Ripped all that out at the campground and put in pex with metal connections. Fixed the issue. Rig ran great the whole trip. The genny had 15 hours on it when we started, put 20 more on the trip and changed the oil today. We will pull out of here for a run to the AZ on 6/30. Small list of odds and ends to do, but this rig is ready to roll.

[Blastvalve]

Congrats on the new rig!!!!

My Sunova had the same tear on the rear slide cover. I “patched” it with a piece of gorilla tape that actually lasted until right before we sold it, I replaced the slide toppers then.