Hello from St Petersburg, FL

[ensiv]

I am Skip, my wife is Sara, and we have 3 kids (ages 7, 5 and 21 months) with a 4th on the way in February and of course our ferocious licker, Samson, a Jack Russell. Together we have less than zero experience rv'ing but are so looking forward to the new adventure it will bring.

I will keep this post short and sweet and bore you with our story in the next one.


We are currently looking at buying a 2010 Winnebago Vista 32K with less than 2000 miles. I have put a deposit on it but have not finalized the negotiations which should conclude this weekend when the salesman returns from vacation.

I was fairly confident this was the motorhome we would finally purchase...that is until I read some posts on this website.

I have read some scary stories ranging from severe rust to complete corrosion/rotting of components on the chassis. Also read that Winnebago is not that great with customer service. The salesman also tells us that Winnebago is like the Volvo of automobiles.

Can anyone share their experiences with Winnebago in general and also specifically to this model year and model?

Can anyone also share their experiences with Lazy Days pre and post sale? All the RV's seem to be priced based on what Lazy Days offers to the buyer and not what the actual unit is worth.

Thank you in advance for any and all help you can provide.

[ensiv]

As I said I will now bore those of you that are interested in how we got to this point.

We have been lurking the rv lots and shows for the past 2 years trying to learn about the brands, models and how they will fit our growing family.

When we started our search at the RV Show at the Tampa Fairgrounds in 2010 we had not a clue about what we wanted and started at the fifth wheels. The salesman quickly pointed out the problem of traveling to the different destinations crammed in a pickup truck...so he directed us to the motorized section, specifically the Class C's.

After two days at the show we finally settled on two Class C models, the Forest River Forester 3011DS or Fleetwood Jamboree 31N. I don't like buying brand new if I can avoid it so we started searching the use market and quickly found one of these models was a new model for 2010, therefore nothing used yet, and there wasn't much used for the other model.

About a year ago we went to Lazy Days to look at this Class C with a full length kitchen counter top which I thought would be great for the kids. Turned out this was a limited built tailgating model that had certainly been used for that purpose, often.

That same trip turned out to not be a total loss because we were introduced to a used Class A bunkhouse model which I didn't know existed. Evidently there were no bunkhouse models at the RV Show the year prior and therefore did not know they existed so never researched them. Well Lazy Days and I could not come to terms on the Class A and if you haven't figured it out yet I am a patient man who likes to research what he is buying and have no issue waiting for the right deal to come along.

About 4 weeks ago I got a post card in the mail for Camping World of Bartow having a sale at the Raymond James Stadium so the whole family loaded up and went shopping. When we arrived it was explained to us that the marketing department for Camping World screwed up and this was not a sale but an inventory blowout. The only problem was the inventory looked like it was used after Hurricane Katrina or something. They only had one bunkhouse at the event and it was severely whooped and WAY overpriced.

This past weekend we once got another postcard and ventured to Camping World of Tampa. Evidently Camping World just purchased this RV lot and again it was an existing inventory blowout. They only had 2 bunkhouse models and turns out one of them was the exact unit that was at Raymond James Stadium. They also didn't have any salesman intent on selling anything that day so we left and made one quick stop at Bates but was back on the road in less than 5 minutes when they didn't have any bunkhouse units.

Which brings us to a stop by Lazy Days again to inquire about their inventory. Of course anyone who knows Lazy Days also knows you can't just walk the lot and look at the units without a salesman escorting you. We were lucky this time to get a good salesman that was not arrogant or pushy.





As an additional note: I discovered IRV2 earlier this year while researching what would be needed to make our Ford Expedition toad capable. Found out it can be done and just what is needed thanks to this website as well as all kinds of other information. This website is definitely information rich and a true value to a newbie like me. Thank you to all that contribute.

[MSHappyCampers]

Hi Skip & Sara! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad to have you join the group! I don't know anything about Winnies so can't be of help there. Good luck on getting a good one! Have fun & God bless!

[ensiv]

Thank you for the welcome!

[historyljc]

Hi Skip, welcome to the forum. We bought our motorhome from Lazy Days. Our salesman was Greg Raczynski. Ask for him, I think you'll like him.

[ensiv]

Thank you history!



I guess I made my story too long. Was hoping to get more responses on the reputation of a Winnebago.

[JOMARFL (FMCA 401058)]

You'll hear good and bad about any model on this forum. Read them, take in what you have too and then make a decision based on your feelings. Have it checked out totally before you accept to buy, including any of the things you see on here, that might make you feel better. You'll have bad things go wrong with the best of coaches out there, just make sure you do your homework and once you make a decision, have fun

[Sightseer33]

Welcome! I have had three Winnie's and love them. I currently have a 2011 sightseer 33c and love it. Customer service has been outstanding on every one we owned! We changed models but stayed with the brand. I have not had a vista all mine are sightseers I had a 31, 35 and a 33 now. The bunk model is very popular. I would look at camping world in ft Myers. We got ours there and have been very happy with them. I am
Not familiar with the model you mentioned If I am understanding the rust issue it is on older models that have two piece windshield . We did not notice any on our 2004 35n that we brought new and traded for the 33c in February of this yr. As far as towing a car there are limits on weight you can tow Most gasses are limited to 5000 lbs. Lazy days service I can not say from personal experience Hope this helps !

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by ensiv

As I said I will now bore those of you that are interested in how we got to this point.

We have been lurking the rv lots and shows for the past 2 years trying to learn about the brands, models and how they will fit our growing family.

When we started our search at the RV Show at the Tampa Fairgrounds in 2010 we had not a clue about what we wanted and started at the fifth wheels. The salesman quickly pointed out the problem of traveling to the different destinations crammed in a pickup truck...so he directed us to the motorized section, specifically the Class C's.

After two days at the show we finally settled on two Class C models, the Forest River Forester 3011DS or Fleetwood Jamboree 31N. I don't like buying brand new if I can avoid it so we started searching the use market and quickly found one of these models was a new model for 2010, therefore nothing used yet, and there wasn't much used for the other model.

About a year ago we went to Lazy Days to look at this Class C with a full length kitchen counter top which I thought would be great for the kids. Turned out this was a limited built tailgating model that had certainly been used for that purpose, often.

That same trip turned out to not be a total loss because we were introduced to a used Class A bunkhouse model which I didn't know existed. Evidently there were no bunkhouse models at the RV Show the year prior and therefore did not know they existed so never researched them. Well Lazy Days and I could not come to terms on the Class A and if you haven't figured it out yet I am a patient man who likes to research what he is buying and have no issue waiting for the right deal to come along.

About 4 weeks ago I got a post card in the mail for Camping World of Bartow having a sale at the Raymond James Stadium so the whole family loaded up and went shopping. When we arrived it was explained to us that the marketing department for Camping World screwed up and this was not a sale but an inventory blowout. The only problem was the inventory looked like it was used after Hurricane Katrina or something. They only had one bunkhouse at the event and it was severely whooped and WAY overpriced.

This past weekend we once got another postcard and ventured to Camping World of Tampa. Evidently Camping World just purchased this RV lot and again it was an existing inventory blowout. They only had 2 bunkhouse models and turns out one of them was the exact unit that was at Raymond James Stadium. They also didn't have any salesman intent on selling anything that day so we left and made one quick stop at Bates but was back on the road in less than 5 minutes when they didn't have any bunkhouse units.

Which brings us to a stop by Lazy Days again to inquire about their inventory. Of course anyone who knows Lazy Days also knows you can't just walk the lot and look at the units without a salesman escorting you. We were lucky this time to get a good salesman that was not arrogant or pushy.

As an additional note: I discovered IRV2 earlier this year while researching what would be needed to make our Ford Expedition toad capable. Found out it can be done and just what is needed thanks to this website as well as all kinds of other information. This website is definitely information rich and a true value to a newbie like me. Thank you to all that contribute.

1. Winnebago builds a well engineered product and their customer service is reasonably responsive.
2. I have walked Lazy Days lot many times without being escorted by a salesman. Let them know your children are well behaved and you will make sure they won't destroy anything.
3. I have found the LD sales staff to be very professional and knowledgeable. They will of course try to maximize their profit. Do your homework and know what a reasonable price is and let them know that you know.
4. In the interest of full disclosure, I do not now own a Winnebago but I have in the past. I did purchase my last motorhome from LD and 6 years later I still consider it to have been a good decision and reasonable deal.

[ensiv]

Awesome information. Thank you all!

[ensiv]

Well I have decided to go ahead with the purchase of the 2010 Winnebago Vista 32K. Anyone have any last minute advice before closing the deal?

We do a thorough walk through and test drive on Saturday because the first time we looked at it the weather was horrible and we didn't have the car seat for the toddler.

I have called Winnebago and they only have a history of one warranty claim for a broken bolt on the jack system. Of course not much can go wrong when there is only 1940 miles on it and 1480 were from Winnebago to the dealer.

I have lots of experience in marine mechanical and 12-volt systems but not a drop of knowledge when it comes to motorhomes. Could really use some insight if there is anything I should be cautious or alert about.

Thank you in advance.

Skip