Community Forums

Grn_Mtn_Boy · 07-06-2015, 05:40 PM

Posted some photos of the central vac mod here:

central vac addition from dirt devil ona 2015 Renegade Villagio - iRV2.com RV Photo Gallery

Karyl McC · 07-12-2015, 05:37 AM

Len,
Thanks for the pictures of vac. I really want that. From my point of view that is a lifesaver!
We went to the RV shop yesterday to check on the progress and they were very concerned about the struts and the storage compartment doors. There is nothing but foam inside the doors and nothing to screw the struts into except the thin metal on the underside of the doors. They are going to put a metal plate against the door and screw the strut into that but said that was really "just a patch" because it didn't fix the problem. They expect we will have a similar problem with the others at some point. They actually said that new doors with at least a piece of plywood to reinforce where the strut connects is what is needed for a true FIX. Also said the struts are too strong for the lightweight doors and that is part of the problem. They can adjust the strut but it may not allow the door to fully open and hold up. SO not sure what is going to happen there.
Regarding the tankless WH, we have decided to just replace it with an LP/Electric tank WH. He said we could sell the tankless one (eBay or whatever) and defray some of the cost. Truth be told, had we been aware that it was tankless WH, we would have ordered instead of buying on the lot. (Of the 3 floorplans we looked at, they all had regular except this one and we got jumbled up with all the lists and didn't notice.)
Know anybody that wants a barely used Tankless Water Heater? :-)

Grn_Mtn_Boy · 07-13-2015, 06:16 AM

I'm going thru my list of obnoxious friends to find a buyer for you. I should think a metal plate glued on behind the strut mount would do the trick. I had trouble with the strut under the door, kind of cheesey and pulls out. Reinforced it as well as I could. You have to hang on on a windy day or the door will yank the strut out. Give me a report when he gets the wh done. I may do mine. I think replacing it makes sense. The new wh will have a different cover, probably need to be painted to match.

Karyl McC · 07-25-2015, 07:26 AM

We are going by our RV repair guy today to see if he has had a chance to replace the water heater. We think totally worth the cost. He did get approval from Renegade to repair door (gotta have approval to get paid for the warranty work!) He put a metal plate onto the underside of the door where the strut attaches and then reattached the strut. I have a feeling this will be an ongoing problem until all the struts/doors are reinforced. Which will be one at a time as they go, I guess. The worst part of that is that the strut has to be totally removed or the door won't shut. We were camping at the beach when this happened and the compartment was the one we store fresh water hoses and elec equipment, so was the first one Jim opened.. Gave us some tense moments until he got the strut out.. we couldn't go home until it was removed because the door wouldn't shut.. Also, we hope our awning is fixed... we had high wind and rain one night (unexpected) and the sensor worked as it should...retracted the awning.. but now the awning only goes out about 2 or 3 feet and sometimes it retracts when it gets to that point...
I have to say that our RV guy has found Renegade very easy to work with. We are extremely pleased about that. Had a Fleetwood once and it was like pulling teeth to get them to approve anything in a timely manner..

funpilot · 09-01-2015, 10:12 AM

I just sold a trailer that I had installed the Truma tankless water heater. It had none of the problems you discuss here. From a dead cold, I got hot water in less than 15 seconds, did not have any unusual temp fluctuations if I varied the flow, etc. In the summer, I got hot water in less than 5 seconds from a fresh start.

I see a number of 2014 used Villagios for sale. Is there any issue here any one can comment on?

Grn_Mtn_Boy · 09-02-2015, 03:02 AM

funpilot:
What happens to the Truma if you drive off with water in it and it is 20 degrees outside. Did you leave the flame lit while driving down the road? Was there some other freeze protection provided? That is the only issue I have with my tankless WH.
Still like my Villagio.

Karyl McC · 09-02-2015, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by funpilot

I just sold a trailer that I had installed the Truma tankless water heater. It had none of the problems you discuss here. From a dead cold, I got hot water in less than 15 seconds, did not have any unusual temp fluctuations if I varied the flow, etc. In the summer, I got hot water in less than 5 seconds from a fresh start.

I see a number of 2014 used Villagios for sale. Is there any issue here any one can comment on?

I have no idea why there are used ones for sale. We love ours. Got the hot water heater replaced to a tank one that runs on both LP/Electric (not under warranty.) Only problem we have had, really. (And may have been user error.)

We have had 2 other motorhomes on Sprinter chassis (a "B" and a "C"), but our last was a "B+" on a Ford 350 chassis...SO hard to drive!! I am so glad we are back with a SPrinter.

Next will be to talk my husband into the Vacuum modification!

leber8tr · 09-03-2015, 12:54 AM

We just turned 20,000+ miles on our 2014 Villagio (HAB) and we love, love, love this vehicle. As I write this, we are on week 5 of a 7week trip that has taken us from Eastern North Carolina across and through rugged terrain in the U.S. To the most spectacular vistas on Vancouver Island and the Canada National Parks located in the Northern Rockies. Where ever we stop for the night, be it at a five star resort or a Walmart parking lot, we have our super comfortable condo on wheels. This RV is definitely worth what we paid for it. It is a pleasure to drive, set up for the night and Re-stow for the next adventure the next morning. Today we ended up driving 3 hours on unpaved roads in Southern Alberta which allowed us to see a part of Canada that is just not comfortable to drive with many other vehicles. By the way, the instant hot water heater has worked great for us.

funpilot · 09-03-2015, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grn_Mtn_Boy

funpilot:
What happens to the Truma if you drive off with water in it and it is 20 degrees outside. Did you leave the flame lit while driving down the road? Was there some other freeze protection provided? That is the only issue I have with my tankless WH.
Still like my Villagio.

The Truma website claims that the unit I had has an anti-freeze protection. Because the amount of water that is in it can be drained very quickly, I would do that. I just never experienced the conditions you asked about to be more precise. I called the Truma folks several times before buying and they were always quite responsive so I would suggest that you do that.

Truma AquaGo® provides instant hot water while on the road

funpilot · 09-03-2015, 06:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leber8tr

We just turned 20,000+ miles on our 2014 Villagio (HAB) and we love, love, love this vehicle. As I write this, we are on week 5 of a 7week trip that has taken us from Eastern North Carolina across and through rugged terrain in the U.S. To the most spectacular vistas on Vancouver Island and the Canada National Parks located in the Northern Rockies. Where ever we stop for the night, be it at a five star resort or a Walmart parking lot, we have our super comfortable condo on wheels. This RV is definitely worth what we paid for it. It is a pleasure to drive, set up for the night and Re-stow for the next adventure the next morning. Today we ended up driving 3 hours on unpaved roads in Southern Alberta which allowed us to see a part of Canada that is just not comfortable to drive with many other vehicles. By the way, the instant hot water heater has worked great for us.

Nice report !!

JimGraves · 11-14-2015, 08:40 AM

I am also considering going with a Villagio in preference to a View or Navion.

I had seen them and researched them on line and found three (two HABs and one QRS) for 99K but at quite some distance away.

Today I stopped at an RV place about 20 miles away to look at a 2008 Navion Gas model (low mileage) and they had a new Villagio RBS which did not have a sticker on it yet but I assume the MSRP is in the $130 range.

Do y'all believe that Villagio HAB or QRS can be picked up under 100K?

Salesman today said he thought the RBS (with the bath in the back) actually provided more floor space than any of the other models. Did anyone else have that impression?

JimGraves · 11-14-2015, 08:44 AM

I know from reading the Navion/View forum owners of those unit detest their GPS with Randy McNally, find it more than a bit cranky (lots of repairs) and they seem unimpressed with the quality of the radio in the Infotainment Center. For those of you already driving a Villagio how do you like your GPS and Radio in the console? Any issues with vision? Lots of View/Navion owners report glare issues, including with the back up camera. How is the Villagio there?

JimGraves · 12-31-2015, 09:50 PM

Thought I should let folks know I moved on the Villagio. I picked up my 2015 QRS in San Diego just before Christmas and drove it straight through (with a three day hideout from Goliath while the storm dumped snow and ice on central Texas) to Arkansas.

So far not a single problem outside of my being swamped as a first time owner by the number of systems I had to learn in a hurry.

For example I learned the location of the Master Battery Disconnect the hard way when I sat down the first time on the retractable steps and leaned back against the bulkhead.

For the life of me I couldn't remember for a couple of hours why I didn't have any power back in the chassis section! Was on the verge of making a pleading call to the guy who did the walk-through and admitting my faux pas when I finally figured out what was going on.

No mechanical issues at all and the 2,000 mile drive went without a hitch. Only disconcerting note was the necessity to really keep an eye out for closing semis as the push to the side from the slipstream combined with the gusting winds from the Goliath storm keep me on my toes for a couple of days.

Will probably do at least another 2,000 over the next month as I continue the learn-the-ropes journey back to my home base in Colorado.

Karyl McC · 01-01-2016, 07:18 AM

Congratulations, Jim, on your new Villagio!
We still love ours. We had a dimmer switch installed for the main cabin lights and I'm getting ready to put some tiles up for a decorative backsplash in the kitchen and bath.
My husband currently has the Villagio in Oregon...his Mom is having health issues and he went out for a few weeks to help... but he drove NC to OR on I-20 through that terrible weather in Texas last week... torrential rain and then blizzard. The Villagio performed without issue. Tank heaters perfect, no problems. And he even drove through all that bad weather...slow at 20-30 mph..made me crazy but prayers work!.. No problem with driving through ..he had chains he had purchased but ended not putting them on.
We are more than happy with this rig! This is our 4th Class B-C and this is truly the best ever.

Oh. Jim did have one small problem while he was en route. We have the HAB model and the bathroom door is held open with a snap and strap system. The snap gave way on his way to OR so we need to figure something else out. ANyone have any ideas? He actually bought a $4 rubber doorstop at Walmart that worked great, except the dog (longhaired dachsund) found it, pulled it from underneath the door, and decided it was a chew toy while they were going down the road. hahaahha!