2016 Vista LX 30T

[waco kid]

I'm considering downsizing, I just looked at 2016 Vista LX 30T. Does anyone have any input on these, the good, bad and ugly? BTW, 4,000 miles on speedo, and price was $79,9000. Thanks, Bruce

[hfbundy]

Originally Posted by waco kid

I'm considering downsizing, I just looked at 2016 Vista LX 30T. Does anyone have any input on these, the good, bad and ugly? BTW, 4,000 miles on speedo, and price was $79,9000. Thanks, Bruce

I have one and love it since I had the inoperable tow haul feature fixed. Not pulling on the last 550 mile trip, it achieved 8.68 mpg. Does it have the 2016 F53 chassis with the 6 speed? They also built them on the 2015 chassis. It sounds like a good buy if it has the 6 speed transmission.

[TerryZ]

I just downsized to a used 2016 Sunstar LX 30T, on a 2015 Ford 5 speed chassis from a 2004 Phaeton DP. The ride isn't nearly as good as the Freightliner, but the wife is more comfortable driving it. It also takes some getting used to the high revving V10 motor.

Mine was priced at $80k with 5,000 miles on it. I negotiated another $9k for my trade from the dealer's initial offer, which ended up being more than I was expecting. Not bad for a couple of hours of effort. What I find most interesting, this is my 5th RV, and I've traded in the previous 4, all site unseen by the dealer. My first 3 were all only a couple of years old, but the Phaeton was 12 years old. They went solely on my word on its condition, my word is my honor, but they don't know me from Adam, I could have been leaving them a coach with serious problems (I didn't).

Anyway...

I love the floor plan. Placement of functional items is well thought out, like the wet bay and dump station. I like that the slides go straight in and out. 19.5" tires should be less expensive to replace. The gas chassis is far less complicated with fewer moving parts over the diesel pusher. I got full body paint, which my Phaeton didn't have, it's a big step up, especially in Arizona. I really like the 1 piece fiberglass roof design with the rolled edges.

I could do without the bed over the cab. The build quality and materials aren't nearly as good as on my Phaeton. I don't know if that's a Winnebago thing or a "They don't build them like that any more" thing. Not sure about the Lippert jack system, seems like a step down from my HWH. Watch out for broken swaybar mounts, especially in the rear. My TV was connected to the dash radio for playing DVD's. Not only did I have to have the ignition on to operate the radio/dvd player, but the sound was limited to either the low quality TV speakers or the low quality radio speakers. I ended up adding a sound bar to the TV and a stand alone DVD player, I'm super happy with it now.

The 2015/2016 engine/transmission wasn't on my radar at the time I purchased my coach. I sure would prefer the 6 speed over the 5 speed. But this unit was priced right and available. I'll probably end up getting the 5 Star Tune, as it has a lot of positive feedback about lowering the shift points and power curve.

Overall we're happy with our decision to downsize to the 30T.

We lived just up the road from you in Reading until 2007. My wife did a couple of year stint working for Neopart in Honey Brook. I can say she wasn't a big fan of driving over the mountain in the winter.

Terry

Originally Posted by waco kid

I'm considering downsizing, I just looked at 2016 Vista LX 30T. Does anyone have any input on these, the good, bad and ugly? BTW, 4,000 miles on speedo, and price was $79,9000. Thanks, Bruce

[powercat_ras]

Originally Posted by waco kid

I'm considering downsizing, I just looked at 2016 Vista LX 30T. Does anyone have any input on these, the good, bad and ugly? BTW, 4,000 miles on speedo, and price was $79,9000. Thanks, Bruce

Based on my experience buying a new 2015 Vista: If you go in buying a new Winnebago Vista expecting 20 or so problems to fix in the first 12 months then you won't be disapointed or upset when they happen and you have to deal with them. Most will be minor ones, that you can even fix yourself if you are handy. 1 or 2 will be major. As second owner, some of these issues may already have been dealt with so maybe it won't be that bad for you.

The other things I found you will deal with that are not warranty issues are:

- The bathroom fan is the cheapest thing Winnebago can get and is junk. Noisy and does not move much air. Plan on replacing it part of your year 1 budget.

- The 3 speed Fantastic Fans Winnebago is using are now using cheap motors with sleeve bearings and start getting noisy very quickly. I replaced both of them in my Vista with MaxxAirs.

- The Ford F53 chassis handling will have to be addressed with your time and money. At a minimum do the Cheap Handling Fix (CHF). Personally this was not enough for me and I also did a Safe-T-Steer steering stabilizer ( $ 500 ).

- As made, it is only a 3 season RV. There is very little insulation under the floor of the RV and has bare metal walls vertical panels in many places separating the enclosed areas under the floor with the open area under the floor.

All that said, I like my Vista and plan to have it a while. It looks great and has a great floor plan and lots of storage. I have made many improvements to make it have the features I wanted at the price point I wanted.

[hfbundy]

After reading the post by powercat, I think I need to clarify a couple things. I drive my coach at 58 to 62 mph - try to put it on 60 except on rough roads. That is why I get good fuel economy and probably why I do not complain about the handling problems reported by many owners. The only time that I was uncomfortable with the handling was this past Monday in 30 mph crosswinds. Fortunately, the winds only lasted for about 10 miles or I would have shut it down. I previously owned a 2011 Vista 26P and the 30T handles much better and with the 6 speed gets better fuel economy - I would pay at least $10,000 for this feature. I had about a half dozen deficiencies on my punch list. The major one was gaps in the slide seals. The dealer had to reset all the slides. I am sure this would have cost me at least $1,000 if it had not been covered under the warranty. The comment about the DVD player is valid. It was a design error which Winnebago would not fix. They are no longer building them that way.

[powercat_ras]

Originally Posted by hfbundy

After reading the post by powercat, I think I need to clarify a couple things. I drive my coach at 58 to 62 mph - try to put it on 60 except on rough roads. That is why I get good fuel economy and probably why I do not complain about the handling problems reported by many owners. The only time that I was uncomfortable with the handling was this past Monday in 30 mph crosswinds. Fortunately, the winds only lasted for about 10 miles or I would have shut it down. I previously owned a 2011 Vista 26P and the 30T handles much better and with the 6 speed gets better fuel economy - I would pay at least $10,000 for this feature. I had about a half dozen deficiencies on my punch list. The major one was gaps in the slide seals. The dealer had to reset all the slides. I am sure this would have cost me at least $1,000 if it had not been covered under the warranty. The comment about the DVD player is valid. It was a design error which Winnebago would not fix. They are no longer building them that way.

Yes, the Winnebago OEM DVD solution used on the Vista was / is terrible at least in pre 2017 Vista. I also spent money and time to address this, by also adding a sound bar below the TV and a Blu-ray DVD player connected to the HDMI cable run to the cabinet pre-wired for this or a Sat Rcvr, and I don't use the dash unit to drive the TV anymore.

Bottom line - the Vista is a good RV platform to start from, with a few changes and upgrades it can really be a great RV. But it only starts out as a good RV as built and equipped by Winnebago.

[waco kid]

Thanks for all the good info, turns out,this is actually a 2014 Vista LX. I may still be interested, but now I'm thinking I could get into a 2017 Vista 29VE with a six speed transmission for not a whole lot more money......Bruce

[hfbundy]

Originally Posted by waco kid

Thanks for all the good info, turns out,this is actually a 2014 Vista LX. I may still be interested, but now I'm thinking I could get into a 2017 Vista 29VE with a six speed transmission for not a whole lot more money......Bruce

If it is a 2014, I do not think it is a good buy unless depreciation means nothing to you. For my previous 3 campers, I thought I would own them for at least 10 years. In each instance I trade them in after 5 or 6 years. For the first one I bought the previous model year because they no longer made the floor plan I wanted. I custom ordered the 2nd one at the very end of the model year. Consequently I took a big depreciation hit when I traded them in. I ordered the 3rd one before that model was listed by the dealer and did really well on the trade 5 years later.

[marc nichols]

Has anyone here added a Sirius dock? I would like to know how to get behind the original equipment Pioneer flat panel radio unit to accomplish the wiring, move the antenna lead etc. I have one Sirius receiver that moves from shop to truck and eventually to our 2016 Itasca 30T. If I were to activate the built in Sirius receiver, it would l cost another subscription fee.

[TerryZ]

Hey Marc, I'm trying to figure out how to get that radio dash panel out of there as well. I think the engine cover may have to come off. I started removing the screws but couldn't get the panel off, didn't feel like pulling (didn't know how) the engine cover off. If I figure it out, I'll add it to this thread.

Terry

Originally Posted by marc nichols

Has anyone here added a Sirius dock? I would like to know how to get behind the original equipment Pioneer flat panel radio unit to accomplish the wiring, move the antenna lead etc. I have one Sirius receiver that moves from shop to truck and eventually to our 2016 Itasca 30T. If I were to activate the built in Sirius receiver, it would l cost another subscription fee.

[marc nichols]

Originally Posted by TerryZ

Hey Marc, I'm trying to figure out how to get that radio dash panel out of there as well. I think the engine cover may have to come off. I started removing the screws but couldn't get the panel off, didn't feel like pulling (didn't know how) the engine cover off. If I figure it out, I'll add it to this thread.

Terry

Terry,

I saw those two screws you mentioned and have no idea what fastens the rest of the housing. But, it appears to me that the radio display bezel must be removed. The radio is mounted on both sides behind the housing according to images I have seen. But, I am hesitant to try prying the bezel, and then, there must be other mounting screws to locate too.
Keep me posted if you are able to make progress.

I did speak to the owner of a local business that specializes in this stuff but he was evasive, making it sound like a mystery until he gets to work on it. It's probably worth the 1-2 hours labor charge, but I'd prefer to do it myself.

Marc

[TerryZ]

Hey Marc, finally had a chance to play with getting the radio out of the dash.

First I had to remove the cup holder assembly from the doghouse. Each cup holder has a trim ring that pops off with a little prying. Remove the 3 screws holding each cup holder on. The assembly is screwed to the doghouse using metal brackets, one screw in the rear and two in the front. Removing the assembly makes room to lower the radio assembly.

There were 4 screws holding my radio assembly in place, two on the bottom and two in the recessed pocket.

To remove the radio assembly, pull down to clear the retaining tabs at the top and then pull out the right side slightly and slide the assembly to the right to clear the retain tab on the left side.

You should now have access to the rats next of wires living in your dash!

[marc nichols]

Terry: I sent you a private message. Thank you
Marc