Looking at a 2006 Winnebago Vectra, comments
- Thread starter Corkyz
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
John Canfield
Site Team
What floorplan? What do you know about the Vectra/Horizon so far? Are you shopping for your first RV?
AStravelers
Well-known member
Look at my reply (reply #10) here: http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,120110.msg1095076.html#msg1095076 for a couple of significant things to look for.
John Canfield
Site Team
I have basically the same coach but a different floorplan. I think that model year still has the side radiator, in ~2007 Winnie switched to a rear radiator to save some production costs. Side radiator is highly desirable - it's easier to access the engine for maintenance and belt changes, etc. Rear radiators need to be cleaned (steam cleaning is best) every xx miles (maybe every 12-20k miles?)
If you will be towing a heavy load in high and hot altitudes, the cooling pack on the engine is marginal - it is my opinion it is under capacity by maybe 20-25%. At 87,000 miles the head on my Cummins needed to be pulled for a valve job - the crankcase pressure was too high indicating the valve guides were work. A Cummins factory rep confirmed they had problems with that engine's head circa 2005-ish but crankcase pressure would go out of spec about 50k miles.
Build quality is pretty good on the Horizon/Vectra. Try to find a Winnebago Ultimate Freedom, I think the last year for them was about 2004. That unit is on a Spartan chassis and in my opinion is one of the finest Class A's Winnebago ever produced. They had the Cummins ISL rated at ~370 HP but the same 1200 ft. pounds of torque as later engines. (Ignore the increased HP of later model engines - it's the torque that gets you up the hill.)
My fuel costs average about $0.50 per mile - a thousand mile trip will cost you about 500 bucks in fuel, just wanted you to be aware this is not an inexpensive way to travel.
If you will be towing a heavy load in high and hot altitudes, the cooling pack on the engine is marginal - it is my opinion it is under capacity by maybe 20-25%. At 87,000 miles the head on my Cummins needed to be pulled for a valve job - the crankcase pressure was too high indicating the valve guides were work. A Cummins factory rep confirmed they had problems with that engine's head circa 2005-ish but crankcase pressure would go out of spec about 50k miles.
Build quality is pretty good on the Horizon/Vectra. Try to find a Winnebago Ultimate Freedom, I think the last year for them was about 2004. That unit is on a Spartan chassis and in my opinion is one of the finest Class A's Winnebago ever produced. They had the Cummins ISL rated at ~370 HP but the same 1200 ft. pounds of torque as later engines. (Ignore the increased HP of later model engines - it's the torque that gets you up the hill.)
My fuel costs average about $0.50 per mile - a thousand mile trip will cost you about 500 bucks in fuel, just wanted you to be aware this is not an inexpensive way to travel.
sgkane
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2015
- Posts
- 83
We have a 2004 40 AD and bought it used a few years ago. The only things that come to mind that might be unique to this motor home is the ceiling. Ours and others I've spoke to have had the same issue. The vinyl ceiling is a foamed back vinyl and the foam starts to deteriorate causing the ceiling to start coming down. It's not impossible to replace but its not a fun project. I've done it and posted pictures on the forum here. Check for small "bubbles" in the ceiling. A small bubble will become very large quickly.
Ready2roll
Member
One thing to consider.
I noticed like me that your a first time RV owner. There are many things to check before you purchase a used rig, but I thing tires are high on the list. Safe travel is Number 1. For RV tires forget what they look like, and check the manufactured date. The serial number on the tire will give you the date. Usually the last 2 numbers. 5 years is the max according to most articles I've read. I had sticker shock when looking to replace 6 tires because of the age of the tires. They look great but they tell me it doesn't matter, tire sidewalls weaken over time.
Enjoy!
I noticed like me that your a first time RV owner. There are many things to check before you purchase a used rig, but I thing tires are high on the list. Safe travel is Number 1. For RV tires forget what they look like, and check the manufactured date. The serial number on the tire will give you the date. Usually the last 2 numbers. 5 years is the max according to most articles I've read. I had sticker shock when looking to replace 6 tires because of the age of the tires. They look great but they tell me it doesn't matter, tire sidewalls weaken over time.
Enjoy!
Here's an article from the site's library (tab above)
http://www.rvforum.net/joomla/index.php/27-maintenance-items/202-tire-manufacturing-date-codes
There's a lot of good information in the library, and I recommend folks to look through it. It can answer a lot of questions, and inform on things that folks may not have even thought about.
http://www.rvforum.net/joomla/index.php/27-maintenance-items/202-tire-manufacturing-date-codes
There's a lot of good information in the library, and I recommend folks to look through it. It can answer a lot of questions, and inform on things that folks may not have even thought about.
