Winnebago Trend 23B reviews

Thinking of purchasing a 2014 and would like some comments on the pros and cons from current owners if possible.  I'd like to know how the ride is and if the dinette sofa bed is comfortable.  I know this is subjective but fire away.

  We purchased our Trend in May 2014 at LazyDays in Seffner, Florida.  We took the MH on two weekend trips to the West Coast of Florida (we live in Palm Beach County) which revealed the following problems:  Awning would not retract unless you got up on a ladder and helped it along, the on-demand water heater did not heat water, the refrigerator would not operate on the propane system and the floor molding was pulling away from the bulkhead.  I sent Winnebago a letter suggesting that they hire someone to inspect these units before they leave the factory but of course there was no reply.  It took several weeks to get an appointment to have the repairs made and once in the shop it took one month and one week to complete the repairs.  We retrieved the MH last week and took it for a weekend to Disney and everything worked fine.  The convert-a-bed isn't bad but the drop down bed is very comfortable.  I put a two inch foam pad (from Walmart) over the mattress that comes with the bed and my wife and I agree that this is a pretty good bed.  I did inspect the electric mechanism that raises and lowers the overhead bed and I'm not real confident that it will hold reliably given the other quality control problems with this unit.  The manual says that the bed can support 350 pounds but I'm not so sure.  I went to Harbor Freight Tools and picked up a ratcheting support pole ($14.00).  When I bring the bed down to the sleeping position I put the pole under the middle and place the removable panel between the passenger seat and the dining table bench between the bed and the pole and then engage the ratchet.  I'm not sure how to calculate the added support but this configuration will hold a lot of weight while relieving pressure on the motor mechanism.  The unit itself drives very well.  It is stable on the road, easy to maneuver, has adequate power and actually gets about 14 miles per gallon with the 6 cylinder engine.  The bathroom has adequate space and the shower is large enough so you're not bumping into the walls.  Winnebago should have done a better job with quality control and been responsive to my concerns.  However, all in all, the unit is working well, post repairs.

The recent "trend" in the rvforum notes, as I read them, is that quality control is poor across the industry. The informed opinion seems to come down on spending a couple of weeks at the factory, after one picks up a new unit, to work on the inevitable production failures, regardless of the mfg.

The after-purchase support is apparently good enough to maintain buyer interest.

One argument for a used unit is that all the quality production failures have beens solved by the first owner.

If I'm wrong, someone will be along to correct me.

sierraone said:

...The unit itself drives very well.  It is stable on the road, easy to maneuver, has adequate power and actually gets about 14 miles per gallon with the 6 cylinder engine.  The bathroom has adequate space and the shower is large enough so you're not bumping into the walls.  Winnebago should have done a better job with quality control and been responsive to my concerns.  However, all in all, the unit is working well, post repairs.

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Welcome!

Problems aside, sounds like you are enjoying the unit.

Thanks John.  I would have to agree with Roger's posting that quality control is an industry-wide issue.  In speaking with other campers it seems  that everyone has an issue or has had an issue with repairs and/or vehicle performance. 

Sierraone, I own a '14 Viva 23B and there have been some minor issues with mine that were dealt with quickly by LaMesa RV in FT Myers.

There is a Yahoo Group https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Viva-Trend/info that owners have posted problems.

Thanks to all for the links and comments.  Sorry to be slow with the appreciation, we're camping in our 2007 Four Winds 28A which is  for sale.  I had a chance in CT to test drive the Trend after waiting a day for the boss to discuss price he turned down the 65K offer.  After driving 1700 miles from Louisiana to Connecticut on the Ford chassis I was beat.  The Trend felt much better and the 203 gallons of gas to get there would be only 122 @ the 14 mpg stated.  A dealer in Huntsville accepted the offer and we'll pick up the new unit on the way back to Louisiana.  We opted for the 23B since my wife can't crawl in and out of bed.  She'll use the dinette bed, and I'll take the loft.  Only 220 so no need for a crutch.

I'll look it over good and make sure EVERYTHING works before we accept delivery.  Since getting back to Huntsville is not an easy trip.

The 28A is a good unit, but it gives my wife the willies to drive it.  So after two weeks of pulling the load by myself the Trend is looking good.  I agree the bathroom is larger and she likes the galley layout vs the FW.

She commented that the sofa/dinette sleeper feels hard, and I think a memory foam pad a suggested will fix that and be stored in the loft when not in use.

I don't like the 2000 lb. Limitation on pulling.  I think the hitch is a class I and not even a class II.  We have a scooter rack on the back that requires a class III hitch.  An adapter would be hard to find from a I to a III.  Also something i'll look hard at.  So who many under 2000 lb cars are there to pull?  the jetski should be no problem!

Thanks for the group reference Iceman.  We too used LaMesa in PSL to do the repairs since it was closer than LD in Tampa.  They got the repairs completed but it did take a while. 

How does everyone feel about the location of the generator. I am in the Northeast and wonder  how the snow and salt will effect the generator.

Welcome!

An update on my original post:  I did receive a return letter from Winnebago that appeared to have been written by a 10 year old.  It was just what I expected - we (Winnebago) can't do anything for you so go to your dealer and take it up with them.  And to be fair ........

A comment on the towing capacity of the Trend:  We just returned from a taking the Trend from Boca Raton, FL to Asheville, NC which is a round trip of about 1400 miles.  We towed our GL1800 (Honda Goldwing) on a ramp-free motorcycle trailer (this is the only trailer to get if you are towing your bike).  The bike weighs about 800 lbs. and the trailer is about 380 lbs. The NC mountains going into Asheville are some serious hills and I was a bit concerned about having sufficient power.  However, the Trend was more than adequate.  For the most part I didn't even notice that the motorcycle was behind the motorhome and there was no noticeable effect on handling or performance.  Going up the mountains the Trend did not feel that it was struggling.  I did engage the "Towing" button on the dash mounted gear selector but I have no idea what it did. The in-car display showed that we were averaging 13.8 mpg and a calculation at the gas pump came pretty close to that. 

Bought our 23B in May from Jack Seismore Travelland in Amarillo, Texas.  Took it on a 'shakedown' overnight and found that the on demand water heater didn't work.  Took it to the dealer who said it worked perfectly, although they didn't demonstrate that in our presence.  Lesson learned!  Are now in the 4th week of a planned 6 week trip and here are the issues we have encountered.  The water heater still doesn't work.  It apparently needs a part that no repair dealer stocks so it's not as simple as staying in one place a few days and having it repaired.  It's the high season for RVs and all they have time for us sales.  We're told it will be 2-3 weeks to order the part, so we are relying on the campsites for showering and heating hot water in the microwave. 

Since the unit will only tow up to 2K lbs. we are forced to break camp every time we need to leave. 

The window configuration near the door is strange.  If you have the main door open, it blocks airflow.

This morning the overhead bed mechanism broke, leaving us with 2 weeks with the bed too low to sit at the table.

The rear bed area is very difficult to get in and out of. Grab bars along the wall would be very useful.  The bed is only suitable  for one adult at any rate.

Overall the unit is too small.  One slide added and ability to tow a reasonable amount would greatly improve it.  As it is, someone else will be enjoying this unit next season!

redrover said:

...Since the unit will only tow up to 2K lbs. we are forced to break camp every time we need to leave.  ...

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I always feel sorry for the little guys with no toad when I see them come and go, but some wouldn't have it any other way.  Welcome to the forum.

as a point of clarification, is Redrover speaking about a 23B OR a 23L? The 2014 23B does not have a rear bed but the 23L does. Please advise... Thanks

Redrover hasn't been on the forum since his first and only post last July. And a big howdy to you.