Winnebago Trend 23L/Itasca Viva 23L

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M

mtaviator

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Joined
Jun 13, 2009
Posts
10
Just came across the Trend/Viva. Finally thought we'd found the
"Perfect" rv. We have two children & the shoulder belts on the bench are perfect. Also, the drop down bed. Both huge selling points. I've read reviews & people seem to like them. However, reviews on the Ram Promaster are not encouraging. Can anyone that owns comment on this? It seems there are reliability issues as well as dring issues (unstable, feeling out of control). Thanks!
 
I have the Trend with the Ram Promaster.  No complaints at all on driving it.  Drives like a van, handles well for me (older female :), and doesn't tire me out to drive.  I've not had any stability issues, and since the Trend is small, I don't feel like a sailboat on the interstates with trucks passing or winds blowing. 
 
Take one on a long test drive, especially on an Interstate with large trucks. Drive slower than the trucks and let them pass you and then pass some of them. A windy day would be best for a drive. Take it on some secondary roads with different road surfaces and lots of curves. Go in/out of steeply angled road to parking area.  40 or 50 minutes of road time should provide a fairly good idea of handling.
 
Thanks! My husband will be in CA for work & there are 3 around there for sale. He's going to go check them out & drive them.
 
Well he was able to check out the Winnebago Trend. After him looking one over we've decided it isn't the right rv for our family. We did however go to one of our local rv dealers & spend quite some time looking and sitting several different rv's both class A and Class C. We are pretty narrowed down and are contemplating purchasing a 2016 Thor Axis 25.3. The floorplan will work great for us. And my husband is confident we can add additional strength or what need be to accommodate the kids seats. We are going to go back tomorrow and drive it and really spend some additional time inside it. We had no idea something like this existed in a Class A. We have been doing lots of reading on them. And already plan on adding stabilizers and new shocks. Hoping we have found our RV.  ;)
 
Thanks for checking back in. Be sure and thoroughly research Thor as to the quality of their product. Also be aware most RV dealers will say and promise anything to make a sale but RV dealer service departments almost always have a miserable reputation. If the salesman promises anything, get it in writing and approved by the sales manager. The very best situation is have them do whatever they promised to do before money changes hands.  There are some stellar RV dealers, Lichtsinn in Forest City, IA is a good example. Years ago we had a very good buying experience at Lazydays in Tampa.

Adding jacks ('levelers') could be quite expensive depending on if they are powered (hydraulic or electric) or not. Thoroughly research this before committing to purchase that unit. Also, some chassis are not designed for jacks and not recommended.

As far as manufacturer's reputation and quality of product, I am personally familiar with Winnebago, Newmar and Tiffen - all three were on my short list when shopping for our Class A.
 
Hello all... I don't know how I missed this critical feature but the black hose housing is in BIG need of an upgrade. For those who are not familiar with the B floor plan, the factory supplied  black hose is lacking to say the least and the housing is a ridiculous 3' inlet the extends into the coach at chest height above the release valve. My solution is this: bought the Rhino 15' set up, found a pvc pipe specialist who providing me with a 6" x 7' thin walled but rigid pipe in 6" diameter (bog enough to accept the Rhino gear with ALL the attachments including the step funnel attachment that meet the dump hole receptacle. I am creating mounting brackets and stowing it on the underside just behind the driver side wall skirt. 'Love to hear some other solutions you more experienced people have come up with.
 
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