My 2021 Winnebago View Motor Home.

[oldcarguy]

Not sure where I should put this thread. Gotto believe this may be best.

I have owned RV's for sixty years. And have always been my preferred lifestyle of traveling. Two of the biggest benefits of a growing family are kids and pets are always welcome in your travels. And no need for pit stops for the kids. Years ago there were no seat belt rules and they could simply go to the bathroom on beckon call. The Winnebago name was synonymous with motor homes with their unique split angled slant back windshield. The first Winnebago rolled of the production line in 1966. Pictured below was their 17'  model built on a Ford pickup F350 chassis with a 300 cubic in straight six cylinder engine and three-speed transmission.

1966 Winnebago , first year model..


I purchased my first A Winnebago some fifty years ago. It was the 1974 24' long Indian model. It was on a Dodge M300 truck chassis with a 413 V8 gas engine and three-speed Touqeflite transmission. The main fuel tank was 50 gallons and the auxiliary was 22. On level roads get 12 MPG.



The 1973 oil embargo wiped out most motor home manufacturers; but Winnebago somehow survived the crisis. But in 1978 I ordered a new Pacearrow 29' class A motor home on a Dodge chassis with their 440 engine. Then I purchased a 1988 Exectutive 36' class A motor home with a Chevy 454 engine. In 1990 I purchased a new 40' Gulf Stream diesel pusher with Cummins ISC 500 cubic inch. Lastly I have a 2007 American Eagle 45' diesel pusher with a Cummins ISX 15 liter engine. That I still own today.   

January 2021 I purchased my first class C motor home. The “C” are built on a van chassis with the sides and top expanded to make larger living quarters. It's a Winnebago View 24J Motor Home. It's on a Mercedes Benz M3500 chassis with twin turbo 3.0 liter V-6 diesel and nine-speed transmission. It has a GVWR of 11,030 lbs. And has averaged 17.6 MPG over the 20,000 miles since I purchased it new. It has backup camera, GPS with speed limit sign reading, stay in lane technology, adaptive cruise control with auto braking even for pedestrians, rain sensitive wipers.



Slide out view


Floor plan, mine is setup with theater seating


Interior view with slide out


Kitchen area with double bowl sink, counter top stove, two-door 12 cubic foot refrigerator, and 32" TV


Theater seats reclined

Bunk over cab,, child size


Driver's compartment view from coach

 Dash gages


This wasn't my first rodeo rather my eight. And didn't go into this blindsided. Like most everything that I own, many modifications were added to make it better suited for my pleasure. The Mercedes has but a 24.5 gallon fuel tank. Since it was ordered with a 3.2 KW Onan Cummins diesel generator that also feeds off the same tank. I knew the OEM tank capacity would be too small. Neither the manufacture nor the dealer were about to address the issue. So within a week I jacked the Winnebago up and added a second 30 gallon fuel tank. Now I can almost make 1,000 miles on a fill-up.

 Removed spare tire and added 30 gallon fuel tank

 
Place aux fuel tank gage and controls above the shelf above visor


 Fuel filler cap, it's actually 6" above the top tank level care must be taken at truck pumps


Before I even plunked my hard earner money on this baby. I knew from test driving 24J. And I concluded the MB chassis was unsafe at any speeds. And after doing research many voice their concern of its' handling. The best solution by many was simply stay out of crosswinds as the weather sets in … Or take it on back roads at lower speeds. My solution was to add a second anti sway-bar to the front side of the rear axle. The OEM is 1 1/4” the added is 1 1/2” Plus replacing the four OEM Monroe shocks with Koni special red adjustable. Lastly I add four Sumo helper springs. The heavier duty capacity Yellow series to the rear axle. While the milder capacity Blue series to the front. These helper springs lifted the rear about 1 1/2” and the front less than an inch.

 The new sway bar is in front of the rear axle, The yellow Sumo spring between axle and frame, Along with the red Koni shocks


Added blue Sumo helper spring, and replaced shocks/struts. I put marks to place the new strut hopefully keeping it aligned. Then checked using tape. Seems to be right on by driving. But will have it checked at the next service interval... 




These modifications made the handling far safer. When a semi passed, it was no longer swayed four feet over. Far better holding lane in cross winds. Would never think it was the same coach! The downside, on rough road surfaces, the vibrations are felt more. Actually it rides no harder than my 2006 Avalanche 2500. 

I'll post the rest of the mods later.

[muddy]

Very nice looking rig!

Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk

[john k]

Ok, leafs on the rear with helpers.  Struts on the front, is there a coil spring up higher.  The extra fuel tank looks factory, well done.  Am thinking  you have added refinements to most of what you have owned.

[oldcarguy]

Ok, leafs on the rear with helpers.  Struts on the front, is there a coil spring up higher.  The extra fuel tank looks factory, well done.  Am thinking  you have added refinements to most of what you have owned.

The Mercedes Sprinter van uses a  single traverse leaf spring running from side to side between the two lower wish bones. It's hidden in the crossmember..

[oldcarguy]

Picture of new anti-sway bar along with the Sumo Helper Springs








The coach came with two 100 watt solar panels installed on the roof. The two on the passenger's side. I add two more 100 watt panels on the driver's side. It has two 12 volt 85 AH each house batteries. When fully charged the refrigerator drains the batteries before nightfall. Even when parked in Key West on a clear day with the sun direct overhead most of the day. So when I cannot be plugged into shore power. I need to supplement the power from the 3.2 KW diesel generator. A far more dependable source of electricity. Though it uses one quart of fuel and hour. Not so much issue since I added 30 gallons more fuel.







Since I'm picking bones with this baby motor home. The placement of the 3.2 KW generator was a poor selection. Directly under the main bed no less! And although Onan advertised it a the quiet series, it not near as quiet as my other coaches generator. That has four times the output. But it's run at 1800 RPM's half that of this one... Plus this one is air cooled rather than water cooled and replies on a fan for cooling...

Making room for the auxiliary fuel tank. I added a second 2” receiver to the trailer hitch. And fabricated a rack for the new placement of the spare tire. The other receiver is used for the bicycle racks. There is a pair of running/brake lights mounted. Along with a BRIGHT LED flood light and LOUD siren that set off when trying to remove the bicycles.   





While adding lights. I put LED lights on the Mercedes grille Star emblem. 



Lights as seen when approaching my little motor home.

[The Magic Ratchet]

Glad you were able to get the suspension sorted out. I looked at those, took one for a ride, looked at how narrow the rear axle was and crossed the Mercedes chassis off my list. Nice rig!

Lou Manglass

[oldcarguy]

Glad you were able to get the suspension sorted out. I looked at those, took one for a ride, looked at how narrow the rear axle was and crossed the Mercedes chassis off my list. Nice rig!

Lou Manglass

My sentiments as well after test driving the Mercedes.  I did a lot of research and decided that with simple suspension upgrades to the Mercedes chassis would and did tame the bad handling caricaturists that exist as factory standards. It's no way as stable as my massive American Eagle that weights in at 45,000 pounds and has three axles. The Ford E series has even greater issues to over come. I asked several manufactures to produce me their smaller model C motor home using the Ford F450 series chassis. No takers. The best I could find was the Super C Omni built by Thor. It's smallest model is 36' long at the time. And it has either a F500 or F600 chassis with a 6.7L Power Stroke V8 with a towing package of 12,000 pounds. However I wanted to have a much smaller footprint. The Mercedes is small enough to fit into auto parking lots. Plus the fuel economy could not be matched. I easing get 17 plus miles per gallon.

My American Eagle Pulling my loaded enclosed trailer it's over 65' long and weights 55,000 pounds. In this configuration it gets between 8 to 8 1/2 MPG


Omni by Thor Super C motor home,,, kick ass for sure..

[The Magic Ratchet]

I was exited about the fuel mileage of the Mercedes so it was a big disappointment after the test drive. Actually I drove 2 of Sprinters: one was a "C" just like yours, the other a class B. The "B" (with dual wheels) handled much better but was too small (especially for the price) and my wife didn't like the ride of either one. I settled on a 26' "B+" (slang for a "C" without a bed over the cab) on a Ford E-450 chassis. The only ill handling I've encountered is the all too common "Twin I-Beam wander" and I found a solution for that a long time ago. I looked at the "mini Super-C's" on the F-550 and the Dodge chassis, liked them a lot but also thought they were larger than I wanted and more expensive that I was comfortable with. Fuel mileage is about the same as your gorgeous Class A when towing but I've coaxed about 12 out of it on a really good day without a trailer.

Lou Manglass

[oldcarguy]

I was exited about the fuel mileage of the Mercedes so it was a big disappointment after the test drive. Actually I drove 2 of Sprinters: one was a "C" just like yours, the other a class B. The "B" (with dual wheels) handled much better but was too small (especially for the price) and my wife didn't like the ride of either one. I settled on a 26' "B+" (slang for a "C" without a bed over the cab) on a Ford E-450 chassis. The only ill handling I've encountered is the all too common "Twin I-Beam wander" and I found a solution for that a long time ago. I looked at the "mini Super-C's" on the F-550 and the Dodge chassis, liked them a lot but also thought they were larger than I wanted and more expensive that I was comfortable with. Fuel mileage is about the same as your gorgeous Class A when towing but I've coaxed about 12 out of it on a really good day without a trailer.

Lou Manglass

The best advantage of the Super C it's on a Ford F550 or 600 chassis. With a massive towing capacity of 12,000 pounds. However it's huge a mere10' shorter than my American Eagle and 10' longer than my Mercedes. And a 13' 6” height. The American Eagle has a 13' 4” height, but from a switch on the dash the air bags can be drained. Making coach a 12' 0” height and fits into my garage opening without alterations. The Mercedes View is 11' 0” tall and 7' 6” wide. A foot narrower than either.
It's my opinion that the Class B's are overpriced. Particularly the Leisure Travel Van quality levels. Plus way too small for any extended travel. They are more suited for a football tailgate party..
The American Eagle is the next step down from the Marathon Prevost Coach. Like all the stars use. Besides having most all the whistles of the Prevost like a washer/dryer, central vacuum, three A/C units, Aqua-Heat with three zone that uses diesel fuel when not driving of plugged into shore power. It has solid maple doors and drawers. No cheap laminates.
When I spent three months discovering the sights and sounds of Australia four years ago. I rented a 19' Class B on a Fiat Chassis. That was great for size and handling. Had a four-cylinder diesel engine with six-speed manual transmission. More than enough power. I also rented a Mercedes Class C as pictured. I like the cab-over bed design. If not just for luggage space. My View cad-over is short enough not to obstruct traffic lights. While most are too big,, plus the Omni Super C has a huge hangover. 





More every the RV on the Mercedes chassis was a four cylinder That couldn't make it out of the way of its' own path.. Both had only four wheels on the ground. In fact even the few small class A's have only four tires on the ground. In my three months of travel in Australia I never seen any RV as big as my American eagle. In fact even the larger travel trailers have a single axle.


The very worst part of RV's over seas is that they only use a Cassette toilets. A handling mess waiting to happen. Can you imagine that the Winnebago class B Ekko only installs them. And has a price around $250,000.00!


 . 

[The Magic Ratchet]

My sister-in-law has a cassette toilet in her pickup camper. She never complains about it but I know she never uses it except in an emergency. That says volumes to me.

Lou Manglass

[oldcarguy]

I was not impressed with Cassette toilets in RV's. They leak, they smell up the RV, have to use a ton of chemicals. And emptying is not very pleasant. On some of my RV's over the yeaars. I didn't even have to use chemicals, never any leaks. Dump the black water first, followed by the gray (sink) water that washes out to hose. Between dumps my big RV can go a month, while the small one will last two weeks. On my travels over seas with the cassette toilet,, Lucky to get three days...

On one of my earlier RV's didn't have a toilet. I added a portable toilet. That I converted with a small holding tank and used a standard hose connection. So much better. I would never purchase an RV with a cassette toilet! Enough said.