2020 Winnebago View

[Pritchettbv]

I will be picking up my 2020 Winnebago View next week and I’m both apprehensive and excited. I’m not new to the RV lifestyle. I’ll be trading in my 2012 27” Thor Chateau Citation. I am new to diesel and solar, both my new rig will have. Are there pieces of advice that you all can share with me about these aspects that are new to me and any other advice about the View that might be specific to brand or model?

Thank you in advance.

[johninsd]

Wear gloves when you pump diesel - otherwise it can take days to wear off your hands.

[dosxx]

Sign up with TSD logistics for their fleet fuel card. You can check their Facebook page for reviews.

https://www.tsdlogistics.com/services/fuel-program/

The discounts are amazing...think average of 50c a gallon. Some times a litle less, sometime more!

Must use at truck stops (Loves gives the best discount) and go through the trucker lanes. Discount will not apply anywhere else. (Flying J/Pilot, Petro and T&A for sure give discounts but Love's is the best!)

[luvlabs]

Join the View/Navion Facebook page for lots of owner information.

Sit down and read your manuals. Winnebago does a really good job of publishing a manual that is specific to your coach. Mercedes manuals are a good read also but there are lots of options that don't apply to your model chassis.

The Mercedes diesel is easy - put fuel in it, drive it like crazy, don't idle it for long periods, and do the maintenance every 20,000 miles. And if you get diesel on your hands - soap and water work great.

[KanzKran]

Originally Posted by johninsd

Wear gloves when you pump diesel - otherwise it can take days to wear off your hands.

I keep a box of them in the van. They go on sale all the time for a lot less, but they're cheap even at 8 cents a piece. And you only need one for fueling.

https://www.harborfreight.com/5-mil-...lue-68497.html

One 2-1/2 gallon jug of DEF is good for about 3000 miles. Super frugal on DEF. I go down to Florida or south Texas and back with the DEF tank showing 3/4 tank, and adding 2-1/2 gallons brings it back to 3/4 tank. If you haven't been following the 'bad DEF' threads here, do be aware that some skunks have bough Walmart branded DEF, drained it into their vehicle, refilled with water, and returned the jug for refund. Check the seal on the jug before leaving the store. It's not the money - it's the bad things that'll happen if you fill your DEF tank with tap water.

The fuel gauge alarms at 1/4 tank, which is kinda high to warn about low fuel, but nothing bad happens. Just something to be aware of.

The sway bar in the back might be too light. Lotta folks upgrade to the Helwig, though I don't know how effective that is with the 2019 and up Sprinters. I measured my OEM sway bar yesterday, and it's 1.25" diameter. The Helwig I believe is 1.50" diameter, which makes it nearly twice as stiff in torsion as the original. There's one in my Amazon shopping cart, waiting for my birthday. And warm weather, as I'm not going out in the snow to replace a sway bar.

That's all that comes to mind right away.

Oh, and as someone else said, drive it like you stole it. Don't idle it or baby it excessively. And try to avoid B20 fuel, if you can.

[Camper Ken]

My local Mercedes service advisor recommended changing oil & filter every two years since in my case it could be 8-10 years before I put 20,000 miles on mine. We do frequent short camping trips spring through fall, but don't put a lot of miles on annually. I spoke with 2 other independent shops who work on Sprinter vans and they agreed. Imaging what your oil might look like after 8-10 years.

[Coffie Drink]

Mercedes recommend service is 2 years from start or 20 k miles. Then 1 year 20 k. You have a service reminder that comes on, use that. The brakes need a flush at 2 years, fuel filter is 20 k miles . Mercedes dealers do a service A and B.

[Flarpswitch]

We are on our second Sprintabago. What we have learned is to never leave town without a complete set of tools. You will have to finish up what the factory failed to do. After about a year, you will catch up with the poor workmanship from the factory and start on the normal wear and tear.

[rarebear.nm]

Get a real handle on the GVWR and the OCCC rating.

[Pritchettbv]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I really appreciate it.

The Facebook page has some good posts on it.

I think that I’ll look into taking a class on electricity. My current rig, 27’ Thor Citation has me confused enough. Adding solar might put me over the edge if I don’t learn it quickly.

[Travelino]

With regard to the DEF tank, our local Mercedes dealer said it is best to keep the DEF tank full. DEF tends to corrode on the sensors inside the tank, so the sensors for the full position, and I guess the next level down, if left without DEF liquid covering them for a period of time, will malfunction so even though you might fill the tank later on, the sensors won't detect that it is full. He suggested topping DEF off every 3rd fill up. Personally, my take would be that it depends on how many miles I put on it in a given amount of time. I don't think its a problem if you drive long distances in shorter periods of time, then fill it up, but I suspect storing it for a while when the top sensor is not in liquid could result in a problem. I topped mine off before winter storage. Apparently the DEF will eventually dissolve any solid after a period of time, but maybe not.


So if you're driving say 3,000 miles within a few weeks period, I don't see why you can't do that before filling it back up.

[SteveNSue]

Drive it like you stole it is good advice but be warned that sometimes you can get a little wheel spin that will cause a warning light on the dash. With wheel spin the computer senses a failure and shows the light and turns off the cruise control and keeps it locked off until reset.


If it is a temporary problem, like racing down an on ramp and getting wheel slip, that can be reset by pulling over and stopping the engine for a minute or two and then restarting.



We experienced it twice. First while driving in a strong cross wind on a flat highway, and second, going down an on ramp that was in poor shape with uneven surfaces.

[SteveNSue]

A second thought came to mind. If you have Vanco Continental tires you might consider changing them for Michelin. The Vanco tires ran smooth but didn't have the grip in wet conditions and wore quickly. I pulled the steering tires after 1000 miles as a precaution measure and replaced the rear tires soon afterwards. Kept the front two as spares to carry (one only at a time) and sold the rear tires. They had worn 1/3 of the way in about 9,000 miles.

My front Michelin tires still look brand new (23,000 miles) and work great in heavy rain.

[Mel556180]

Does anyone know if the 2020 View is on a Mercedes-Benz 2500 or 3500 chassis?