im looking to buy a winnebago sightserr 2004

Hi ! I'm looking at a 2004 Winnebago sightseer. They are asking 39,000 and it has 12,000 miles.  Any comments or suggestions on this? Thanks Brenda

Hi Brenda - welcome to the Winnie forum    I don't have experience or much to contribute for the Sightseer unfortunately.  Can you tell us what chassis it has - Ford or Workhorse?

What size is the Sightseer?  Have you looked at ebay?  I just did a quick ebay search and found a 2004 33' Sightseer with a buy-it-now price of $34,000.  In addition, there is a 2003, 38' Adventurer listed with a buy-it-now price of $43,000.  Just something to consider.
Delbert

The Winnebago is on a workhorse. Yes I have looked on ebay, the problem is we don't want to go any bigger then 28 ft. due to the restrictions of some campsites. Thanks for all of your replies

I am going through the same process as you (i.e., looking for a used class A).  I started looking in the 28'-30' range and found that there are not a lot of choices.  I have since started looking at larger (30' -33') coaches.  It appears that there is a lot more to choose from in the 30'-35' range than in the below 30' range.  I am not concerned about campsite size restrictions being a problem; however, others in this forum with more RVing experience can better advise you on that.  My size constraint is concern about being able to negotiate a couple of tight turns to get the coach up to my house.

I may not be the best to advise you given that I have not yet made a purchase; however, I have been watching the prices on ebay, rvt.com, and rvtrader.com for the past two or three months.  Most of the units that have been selling are priced below the NADA low retail value (adjusting only for mileage and not for options).  So, I suggest that you look at the NADA low retail value as a guide.

This week I have had three different dealers tell me that they are starting to see more interest and sales in class A coaches.  I do not know if that is sales talk or if it is accurate.  If it is accurate, then the market prices for class A coaches may have reached bottom.  I have found two coaches that I really like that are priced competitively, so I hope to make a purchase decision very soon.

Good luck with your search.

Delbert

Brenda - send Mike Plechat (WGODriVer) [email protected] a PM or email and see what he thinks about that particular chassis.  Mike works for Workhorse and is extremely knowledgeable and very willing to help.

Thanks ! I will email him.

Just a bit of caution: You won't get any bad news from Mike - he never met a Workhorse he didn't like!    If the wheels fell off that chassis regularly, he would only say that some owners had problems because they didn't maintain the wheels properly.  :

RV Roamer said:

Just a bit of caution: You won't get any bad news from Mike - he never met a Workhorse he didn't like!    If the wheels fell off that chassis regularly, he would only say that some owners had problems because they didn't maintain the wheels properly.  :

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- I hope Mike is a little more forthright than that - that's why I mentioned he works for them 

The Itasca line is of good quality, the only concern I would have is the drivability of the sub 30 ft chassis. When I bought I found a lot of difference between the sub 30's and above 32 ft. I have not read on this and other forums where anyone has been successful in improving the drivability by upgrading chassis suspension parts of the sub 30 footers. I and others have been successful in making substantial improvements in drivability but not to the level of a diesel pusher. You need to know if you are dealing with a P30 or the W20/22/24 line. I would suggest staying away from the P30 chassis.
JMHO -- Frank O.

I'd avoid the P30 too, if I had a choice. However, Workhorse did a lot of improvements on the P30 after they took it over from Chevrolet. If only they had eliminated that pesky auto-park brake!

brens said:

Hi ! I'm looking at a 2004 Winnebago sightseer. They are asking 39,000 and it has 12,000 miles.  Any comments or suggestions on this? Thanks Brenda

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Price seem OK.
We have a Sightseer model 27C which is 27' 11" bumper to bumper on the Workhorse.
It now has just over 45,000 miles on it. I picked it up New in Nov. 2004 with just under 1500 miles on it.
It is the newer P30 with the wider track. I do recommend getting The Roadmaster Spreader Bar it gives 13″ more support previously missing on P-30 factory chassis.
I had broken 3 fron stabalizer bar brackets & this bar does make a difference. Easy to install did ir myself.

If you want more info you can PM me & if you want we can talk live via Phone.

Mike

RV Roamer said:

Just a bit of caution: You won't get any bad news from Mike - he never met a Workhorse he didn't like!    If the wheels fell off that chassis regularly, he would only say that some owners had problems because they didn't maintain the wheels properly.  :

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Gary, you are right on with this statement.  The Workhorse bias from him gets old real quick.  If there is a such of thing as a Workhorse Chassis walking on water, he would present it that way.

The 2004 31' Sightseer will come with the P-32 widetrack Workhorse Chassis, which was discontinued in the 2006 model year.  We owned a 2005 Sightseer with the P-32, and while we liked the unit, we were very dissapointed in the chassis, as it sat low in the front (independent suspension) and consequently sat high in the rear.  Brakes were very hard to push and felt like we had to stand on the pedal.  We had that unit for less than a year.

Anything longer than 31' in the 2004 model year, will come with either the W-20 or the W-22 model chassis, which I recommend.  There have been some brake problems with that year model (and earlier), so make sure you have the brakes inspected.

Mark

Thanks again for all the info! The problem is we don't want to go bigger then 29ft. So that puts us in the P30. I like the class a better then the c but maybe because of the size we are going with it would be better to stick with the class c.

brens said:

Thanks again for all the info! The problem is we don't want to go bigger then 29ft. So that puts us in the P30. I like the class a better then the c but maybe because of the size we are going with it would be better to stick with the class c.

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I'll mention this about a class C You will find that C's have a lot less outside storage compared to what the same size Class A has.
That was the main reason we switched. We had a C for 14 year & when we started traveling more we wanted to have more storage.
Mike

I'm with Mike - I wouldn't want to give up the storage of the Class A. Or the interior space either. Rather have the A on the P30 than a C. The only real problem with the P30 is the tendency of the auto-park-brake to stick and not disengage when you shift from Park to Drive. That may never happen on yours, but it is real nuisance if it does.

RV Roamer said:

I'm with Mike - I wouldn't want to give up the storage of the Class A. Or the interior space either. Rather have the A on the P30 than a C. The only real problem with the P30 is the tendency of the auto-park-brake to stick and not disengage when you shift from Park to Drive. That may never happen on yours, but it is real nuisance if it does.

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I think the Auto Barke brake is on the longer rigs Our 28" Sightseerer dose not have them. We have the regular Parking brake where you step on & push the pedal down & to release you pull a handle.
Mike

OK I have another question. I'm going today to test drive the 04 sightseer 27c. I'm reading that because of the wheel base there is a lot of moving around when driving. I really don't want to go bigger but I'm concerned about that. any feedbacks on this thanks. oh and yes i have my list ready ! Thanks for everyones help :-X

Brens - the ideal situation is a long wheelbase (in proper proportion with the house part) with not too much body extending past the rear axle(s).  Generally speaking, the longer the wheelbase, the better the unit tracks, but there are a huge number of variables involved - are the tires properly inflated for the weight, is the load balanced, is the suspension in good functioning order, are you towing, is it windy, etc?

Our Horizon tracks like it is on rails and it usually doesn't require much steering input unless we have a good crosswind.  My Ford F250 extended cab truck with an eight foot bed has a long wheelbase and is very easy to drive with little steering input necessary  (but not easy to park!)  Our Jeep Liberty has a very short wheelbase primarily due to its intended function - a grocery-getter and good for running trails.  It is however very 'twitchy' and requires quite a bit of steering attention.  It is fatiguing to drive it for more than a few hours at a time.

You should consider buying  JD Gallant's CD of motorhome ratings.  His evaluations are a little controversial and he is highly opinionated, but he makes many good points and I found his data to be quite useful when coach shopping.  It is quite easy to compare specs on hundreds of RVs without leaving your house.

Bottom line - do your homework (I researched for about a year before we purchased) and don't be in a hurry.