2006 Winnebago Journey 32T diesel pusher

SargeW · 04-12-2006, 07:09 PM

What are your opinions on the Journey by Winnebago? The wife and I are about to purchase one, and would like some feedback. We will start to fulltime in 2 years, and look to own this RV for some time. Your thoughts are welcomed!! Thanks, Marty

SargeW · 04-12-2006, 07:09 PM

What are your opinions on the Journey by Winnebago? The wife and I are about to purchase one, and would like some feedback. We will start to fulltime in 2 years, and look to own this RV for some time. Your thoughts are welcomed!! Thanks, Marty

AFChap · 04-12-2006, 07:38 PM

The Journey is an very good coach, and an excellent value. You will have great difficulty finding a better made coach, particularly in the same price range. I believe I have read that it is the best selling diesel pusher among all manufacturers ...there are some good reasons for that success!! Aside from the quality of the coach, Winnebago customer support is also extremely good. We were very close to buying a Journey in 2003 when we happened on a great deal on the Ultimate Advantage we ended up with. I say go for it, and enjoy using it!!

SargeW · 04-13-2006, 06:17 AM

Great info Paul, thanks!

Gary CA · 04-13-2006, 06:23 AM

Marty: I echo the response by AFChap. Also, take the time to read the other forum owners groups on this great irv2 web site. You will get the feel on quality and factory (or lack of)support by other manufactures. Send me a PM if you want and we can talk, I'm 50 miles North of you.

rebelsbeach · 04-13-2006, 06:37 AM

Sarge, I bought a 2004 Journey new off the lot when they came out....Recently purchased a new Vectra for more bells and whistles,but my brother is running the wheels off the Journey as we speak....It's not had any major issues,just a few minor ones....

I "second" Gary's post about dealing with Winnebago....They are receptive to their customers questions and there's even a member of the Owner relations team that participates in these forums.....A lot of times when Winnebago reads issues on the forum,they will contact the irv2 poster by "personal message" in an attempt to find a solution.

When I posted my issue of not knowing where my Vectra was in the delivery process,I was contacted by a member of the Owner Relations team and given an answer the next morning.
Not sure whether you've read the other topics, but I am leaving Monday morning for Forest City to have my clear coat issue addressed....

In their price point,Winnebago is the leader in my opinion....

smlranger · 04-13-2006, 07:23 AM

Sarge:

We traded a 32' Adventurer gasser for our current rig, 36' Journey. At this point, I'm satisfied with the rig...handles better than I expected, has all the bells and whistles we need, and is not 'over decorated' like some of the higher end coaches we investigated. As others have said, the Journey seems like a good value.

A few suggestions. If you are planning to 'full time' in 2 years, might want to consider moving to the 36.' The 32' seemed small for me and the DW after several trips. Not sure what you plan to tow, but I believe the 32' comes with a 300hp engine standard. I would opt for at least the 350 if it is available. If you are sticking with the 32' due to the price point, there are some nice late model used 36' and 39' Journey's available. Suspect you could get a nice 03-04 36' for less than what you'd pay for the new 32T.

Mine was out of manufacturer's warranty when we bought it but I have contacted Winnebago for some questions...they have always been helpful. Finally, if you buy a new one, shop for a good dealer with a capable service department unless, of course, you will be on the road more than home, and willing/able to go the the factory for tweaking.

gMw · 04-13-2006, 03:56 PM

Sarge,

I agree with the advice smlranger gave.

We were looking for a pre-owned Journey 36G, but found a great deal on a pre-owned 39ft, with under 10k miles and in excellent condition.

rebelsbeach · 04-13-2006, 04:11 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by SargeW:
What are your opinions on the Journey by Winnebago? The wife and I are about to purchase one, and would like some feedback. We will start to fulltime in 2 years, and look to own this RV for some time. Your thoughts are welcomed!! Thanks, Marty </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sarge,what price range are you guys looking at?

ESTANG · 04-13-2006, 05:02 PM

Hey Sarge----good choice, we bought ours new in 2004 added most all the options, minimal problems and we love it. As far as I'm concerned it's plenty big enough. GOOD LUCK.
Eddie

Beabop · 04-13-2006, 06:27 PM

We bought a 10 month old 6900 mile 36 G Journey for less than the price of a new gasser last Jan.We traded a 32 Adv. For full timing you should consider the bigger rig. We were getting cramped in our other rig and we usually are out 6-8 months. Good Luck

MNGolfer · 04-14-2006, 04:28 AM

We purchased our 2004 Journey 32T and have been very happy with it. No major problems. Have been able to quickly fix the minor ones, either by ourselves or through the dealer. Had a defective toilet that cracked and had to replace the springs on the rear jacks with heavier ones because the jacks were very, very slow to retract. What sold us on the 32T was the floor plan with the side aisle and separate bathroom. Winnebago WEB site with all of the plumbing/electrical diagrams is also a nice resource. We had a 27foot Class C Itasca Spirit for 10 years and wanted to move to a class A. Drove the Sightseer and the Journey. Quickly decided the Journey was the rig we wanted, even though the price was quite beyond what we orginally had planned.

traveler of california · 04-14-2006, 01:16 PM

We have a 32T which we bought in'01 and really do love the rig. We have full-timed for almost 2 years now and find the coach meets our need. We did rig the storage areas with shelving making storage easier and increasing capacity. Of course, maybe the newer models have built-in storage shelving.

Nick, Journey '01

traveler of california · 04-14-2006, 02:47 PM

Everybody has different needs, but, we find that the 32T is fine even in our full-time mode. The bathroom is large, the bedroom private and the living area and kitchen are fine. We do not feel cramped at all and have plenty of room for 2 people.

Nick, Journey '01 32T

Oh-one · 04-14-2006, 06:03 PM

We too have 32ft. Horizon and are in the process of a makeover. We like the size but wanted two recliners and a small table . We are going to remove the sofa and booth and replace them with locally made custom cabinets and two of the Lafer recliners. The thing that we liked was the 32ft has a larger bed ,by 5in, than the 34ft or 36ft.

jtharley · 04-15-2006, 03:31 AM

As you can see by my sig I also have a Journey. It is now 10 months old and we have about 6000 miles on it. Very, very few problems and the ones we had where handled wonderfully by the dealer and freightliner.

I would echo what some of the others have said though. Consider jumping from the 32 to the 36. It is just the DW and I but we both felt that when we are ready to REALLY full time (spend 6 months in the coach) we are most likely going to bump up to a 40' with a king bed. The 36 is more than adequate when we run away for 3-4 weeks. Our last coach was a 32' and the extra size really did make a difference.

I'm just gonna hate selling my Journey, which we plan to do this fall, but I am going to most likely stick with Winnebago and look at the 40 vectra.

Slowdragon · 04-16-2006, 10:44 AM

We bought a 2004 Journey 39K in September 2004 and have put 20K miles on it. We had some electrical issues with Freightliner and the ABS light coming on a few times but both Winnebago and Freightliner have been great. The layout is perfect for us and the kids and the 350 Cat pulls our 24ft trailer like it wasn't there. We'd definitely buy another one.

jimandsue60 · 04-16-2006, 11:24 AM

We just purchased a 2005 Journey 32T. We love the floorplan and systems. We haven't picked it up yet, should be the end of next week. We plan to camp out in the dealers lot while we transfer our things from the truck camper to the motorhome and to give all the systems a good workout. We will be fulltiming in it which shouldn't be an issue (sizewise)as we have been fullting in a truck camper for the last year and a half. Thanks for all the graet info.

Jim