2015 Winnebago Vista Wipers

Sue46 · 08-01-2016, 05:37 AM

2nd try

I know I can buy wipers at a school bus site or Camping World for the Winnie. The problem is the J hook is gigantic. Has anyone found an adapter to convert the giant J hook to a normal size so that wipers can be bought at Walmart or an auto store?

Thanks

TeJay · 08-01-2016, 06:43 AM

Sue46,

Oh yes the MH wipers. The information that I'll share may not give you a good answer but i have done some work on it. We also have a WBGO and therefore will probably have the same wiper system.

The wipers on MH's that we have had are marginal at best. On our 1999 Dutch Star The blades when working would go past the glass in both directions. The blades were so heavy it couldn't stop and reverse all the weight efficiently. That system I had to rebuild before it would work well.

The larger arm on most RV's have a big thick J hook which is heavier to handle the greater weight of the longer blades. Here's what I decided to do but was not able to convert just yet.

Just because the windshield glass is so large does not mean that it is necessary to swipe almost the entire glass so a driver can see when it is raining. A wiper arm of 22" to 24" would work just fine and that would work for both sides. It is not really necessary to use 26" or some as long as 32" blades.

I searched and called Trico and could not find wiper arms with the larger J hook on any blades smaller than 26". Just look on the back of most wiper blade packages and you'll see in small print the MM size of the arms. If memory serves me right I think the large J hook is 12-MM (Check at any RV dealer). While the other standard size (car/truck/SUV) is 9 or 10-MM.

The tech at Trico did tell me that SUBARU does make one wiper arm for one model that uses the 12-MM J hook. A new complete blade was over $50. I do believe it was around 24" long.

We were leaving on our trip so I had to buy the 26" blades. I'm going to search for an adapter or modify a 26" blade holder so I can use 22" or 24" replacement blades. Once I can figure out how to modify the holder then I can just buy the smaller 24" blade replacements. Those can be purchased in larger quantities saving a lot of $$$$.

I may decide to use a 22" on the passenger side and a 24" blade on the drivers side. Those combined with the use of Rain X will work fine. The biggest concern that I have is over taxing the wiper arm assembly that is on the MH. It is an after market system that is not the RV coaches design nor the RV chassis manufacturers design.

When I considered how little the wipers are used it's no wonder they are weak and may fail when they are most needed. I'm going to lessen the weight now so they don't fail.

We have about 17,000 miles on the coach. Last fall we had our first trip in a lot of rain we drove about 5 hours and probably about 300 miles. The wipers did work OK but the longer we traveled I began to notice something happening as the blades returned from the right to the left side or the normal off or rest position. As the passenger wiper began the return swipe back I noticed it lagged slightly behind the drivers blade. That was the first time using them and it was not lagging at first. After we arrived I checked and can not feel any looseness in the blade arms connecting point. It is going to be a longevity issue that will not get better.

We have driven 300 miles in the rain and 16,700 miles in the dry. That's about 2% of the total operating time of the MH has been with the wipers on. The wipers are already beginning to show signs of a weakness and possible impending failure. I'm going to reduce the weight the arms are swinging now so the wiper mechanism is less likely to fail.

I don't believe the wiper system will last very long depending on your total time used in rain.

TeJay

Sue46 · 08-01-2016, 12:40 PM

Thank you for such a complete answer. I appreciate the time and effort that went into it.

Many people have mentioned going to a smaller blade and I have no problem with that. No one ever mentions what size j hook they have though. I also agree we don't use our blades very much.

Our arms seem substantial and we aren't having any lagging problems.

My main goal for posting the thread was to see if anything new has been found by anyone. I guess not.

We have considered changing the arms but feel that is an extreme solution not warranted by the usage of the blades.

The school bus site, if I recall rightly, has a set of blades for $30ish. I just may throw in the towel and order a pair. I think I remember the site even says for Winnebago motor homes!!!

Sue46 · 08-01-2016, 01:34 PM

We got into camp early and I have pretty good wifi so I went back on the hunt for wiper blades. More success this time than when I did it 9-12 months ago. They are becoming more available. I believe the Trico part number is 670-284(28") and 670-324(32"). They sound right are are available on Amazon and Oreilly. I think I will go to an Oreilly and see if they will order a set of the 28". That way I believe I can just get the rubber refills.

I consider this major progress.

Sue46 · 08-02-2016, 02:54 PM

OK. I emailed with Trico and will be replacing my wipers with Trico 67-284(full wiper) and then I can just replace the wiper with Trico 71-280. I don't think you will find these in stores, Amazon has them.

tsut · 08-05-2016, 05:15 PM

prior thread:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f101/wind...ta-274160.html

I previously mentioned that I just 'disassembled' and reused the plastic adapter.
see posts #14 and #16 (photo)…

Agree re low quality wiper parts - Bought the Vista used with 12k miles, and the wiper motor needed replacement. (made it part of the deal

)

Tom

nalapj123 · 05-16-2017, 05:05 PM

Did anyone ever stop and wonder , why is it necessary to replace the entire wiper when the only thing that is worn out is the rubber blade? Well save your money. Rather than spending $35.00 per wiper for replacements just slide off the rubber blade and get on Amazon and order two blade replacements, which, I might add fit perfectly, for my Winnebago 2013 Vista 35F. The part is: PIAA 28" and cost only $11.00 each.

Sue46 · 05-16-2017, 05:08 PM

That's basically what we did...................

TeJay · 05-16-2017, 06:27 PM

Here's more information and solution (s). Sad to say eventually the industry is going to just replacement complete blades. It's harder and harder to find the rubber inserts.

Back to a simpler solution. I used an electric grinder with one of those about 200 grit flapper discs and just narrowed the wiper arm from 12-mm to 9-mm and I can get any length that has a "J" hook that I want in just about any store.

Some will respo9nd with this comment. Making the arm narrow will weaken the tip of the arm and it will/may break. They already make and use a 28" wiper arm on some bigger cars/trucks and they use a a 9-mm arm.

Currently we use a 24" on the passenger side and a 26" on the drivers side. If that's not enough vision then I'm off the highway until the monsoon stops.

grtharris · 05-16-2017, 09:56 PM

These blades come with the adapter for the large J hook at $8.81 each. Bosch Excel+ 41928 Wiper Blade - 28". Drove a couple of hours it the rain last week no issues.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

TeJay · 05-16-2017, 10:26 PM

How did you know there was an adapter to allow a 9-mm to fit on a 12-mm arm??? I searched and could not find that listed. Did not want to just order without knowing. I had heard some report about the adapter.

Will the adapter work on other blades?? Since the blade is narrow for the 9-mm there has to be a special design for it to then fit a wider blade into the narrow opening.

At about $9 each I guess one could just order a supply and have them on hand. I still like the idea of grinding the arm end to fit 9-mm and then not worry about where I got the blades. Either way it will work and it's a lot cheaper.

grtharris · 05-17-2017, 08:49 AM

TeJay, I hear about them on this thread from mjeffrey's post.
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f101/frea...-326778-2.html

TeJay · 05-19-2017, 03:04 PM

Here's what I did to solve the wiper problem. As long as a wiper blade uses a "J" hook 9-mm I'll find a blade.

Just about all they sell in Wally World, or any auto parts stores, Cosco, etc, etc if it's a "J" hook it's 9-mm. What you won't usually find in those stores are blades much longer than 28". That's fine by me because I want the weight reduced to make it easier for the system to work. Many of the RV wiper systems are marginal. IMHO!!

AC Orange · 05-21-2017, 07:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeJay

Here's what I did to solve the wiper problem. As long as a wiper blade uses a "J" hook 9-mm I'll find a blade.

Just about all they sell in Wally World, or any auto parts stores, Cosco, etc, etc if it's a "J" hook it's 9-mm. What you won't usually find in those stores are blades much longer than 28". That's fine by me because I want the weight reduced to make it easier for the system to work. Many of the RV wiper systems are marginal. IMHO!!

.
I like this idea and will probably replicate it on mine. I think you're right about the strain the large blades place on the system, esp. in a downpour. I'd like to replace the long blades with something a little shorter.