I’ve got a 2015 Vista 35B, assuming I’m reading your post correctly you are looking at the 2017 lx 35B (Bunkhouse). I can’t speak to the HR piece, but can give you some feedback on the Vista. Overall the 2017 and 2015 are the same aside from some minor differences.
We’ve had ours for 4 years, believed to be second owners. We upgraded from a 2008 Sunova 35J, which is the predecessor to the Vista line in a lot of ways. Overall very happy, the coach has been solid and reliable. Ride is comfortable, my first trip with it was a 1000 mile drive to bring home from Ohio where I purchased it. Coach is “solid” on the road, minimal sway from passing vehicles. Keep in mind it’s on the Ford platform and not a diesel so set expectations accordingly. (My biggest gripe, the engine can get loud if really getting into it like on a long steep hill) Previous owner did add a steering stabilizer, can’t speak to a “before and after” on that aside to say the coach drives decently. Mpg is in line with the F-53 platform. (Mine is the 5 speed F-53, a 2017 would be on the newer 6 speed I believe)
Vista line is what I consider the “middle of the pack” from Winnie. Plenty of options, but not all the bells and whistles of their higher end coaches. Not a comment on built quality, but missing some things like lights in the storage bays, things like that.
Internally the layout works very well for our family of 4. While I have a couple real minor nitpicks on switch placements, overall the coach is well laid out and just about everything is where it should be. We have the larger fridge and can easily go 10 days feeding 4.
The bunks work well for the kids, although the lack of ladder and rails is frustrating. I fixed this with a PVC rail I made and a bunk bed ladder I found on Craigslist. The drawer under the bunk easily holds clothes for the boys with room to spare. We have the bunk bed DVD players which get a lot less use than I anticipated. I do recommend getting some fans for the bunks, with the curtains closed it can get stuffy in there. We went with a 12v USB adaptor, and a couple of USB powered fans from staples. Just enough power to move the air in there, but we do keep the curtains open on hot nights to let some A/C in there.
Master bedroom is well laid out. I wish the bedside tables were a little larger, but again, nitpick. I do recommend a mattress topper as the OEM one is typical RV, thin and hard. The wardrobe can hold a sold amount of clothes and the under bed storage is very large.
The rear bath is very well done and a HUGE win on this floorplan. On our previous coach the bath was only in the middle and it seemed like we were constantly waking the kids if nature called at 3am. Not an issue anymore. We did have an issue with the rear shower glass enclosure dripping when showering, but was able to figure it out. (It’s not the shower base, it’s the screws in the metal frame letting water in, easily fixed with some cheap rubber gaskets). Easy fix, but as typical took a bit to figure out.
Basement storage is exceptional, lots of room. The 4 waste tanks (2 black and 2 gray) give you some decent time inbetween dumps unless you just go crazy and let the water run. (admittedly with 2 preteen boys we do hit the point of dumping the rear grey pretty frequently but that’s a small price to pay for them being good about showering after their daily adventures!)
Aside from new tires and new batteries (which had just aged out) we haven’t had to make too many needed repairs. I think the list is:
Ceiling lights. Winnie used LED “puck” from ITC throughout the coach. ITC had a bad manufacturing run in late 2014 that made its way into a bunch of RVs and boats. The innards would fail causing a “strobe” effect and needed to be replaced. There is no changing the bulb, you need to swap the whole unit. I would think a 2017 should be past that issue but test the lights. If you need to replace, you can buy direct from ITC at about $25 a light.
Dash A/C. We had some issues with the Dash A/C not working due to a slow leak. A couple of gaskets had dried out, fixed and recharged.
Undercarriage rust. Our other Winnie also suffered from this, not the “car” parts, but the storage bays and other items. While this one was in a lot better shape, it still was showing some prelim signs and I spent a weekend wire brushing it all, and then sealing/coating with POR-15. Most of the spots I found seemed to be caused by rocks etc bouncing up and hitting up and hitting things while underway.
Tail lights. Winnie (and a bunch of other RV manufacturers) used a taillight assembly from Command. The unit is a poor design and prone to leaks, both inside the unit and possibly into the RV. When it leaks you will start going through bulbs from them constantly blowing out. I highly recommend pulling the units and upgrading to the Command all LED replacement. The unit is sealed 1 piece, so no internal leaks and as such you can install, seal around it and be done. Check here for some pics:
https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/...ge-356693.html
Water heater check valves. Winnie uses 2 check valves, one going into the water heater and one going out. Cheap parts, but will eventually get “crud” in them and need to be replaced. (They “sing” when you run the water). Part cheap and reasonably easy to get to.
Roof radius clear coat. I have some spots on the roof radius on one side where the clear coat is starting to fail. Very common on painted roofs across the brands, do some quick searching here and you will get a ton of hits. Still minor on mine but starting to ponder how I will fix.
Support from Winnie is excellent, the amount of documentation online is one of the best in the industry. Online parts list for every item in your specific RV, 3D drawings, wire guides, plumbing guides etc are all online for free. Winnie is also building out an App (pretty new) that is looking to incorporate RV specific info over time. (I say once you can access all the data they have online via the app it will be second to none, but it’s not quite there yet)
That’s pretty much it in 4 years. We’ve been really happy with the “Vista Bus” and would defiantly buy it again. Hope that helps, happy to answer any questions if you are looking for something specific.
Now actually off to wax mine……
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