Question for Winnebago Tour owners

rdfugere · 02-12-2015, 10:59 PM

I am considering buying a Tour. This question is for Tour owners. I am concerned with the rear radiator the Tour has. I've heard that rear radiators have a great deal of problems compared with side radiators. What are your opinions?
Would you buy another Tour?

jerichorick · 02-13-2015, 04:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdfugere

I am considering buying a Tour. This question is for Tour owners. I am concerned with the rear radiator the Tour has. I've heard that rear radiators have a great deal of problems compared with side radiators. What are your opinions?
Would you buy another Tour?

Please don't think of me posting to your question as rude. I know you are seeking "Tour" owners. This Meridian is the scaled down version.

There was an issue several years back with rear mounted radiators because of a oversight in manufacturing. The "slobber tube" that hangs from the engine vent was not long enough and the oil vapors collected on the inter-cooler and radiator causing overheating and the need to pull the radiator for cleaning. This happened to me on my 2000 Fleetwood.

The problem has been solved as far as I know. The major objection to the rear mounting radiator today is engine access. You just can't get there from here. I have not had to change a belt yet but I think it will be a real challenge when needed.

As far as performance is concerned I find my coach runs cooler, staying in the safe range, better than my '05 Vectra 40FD did with the side mounted radiator. I have pulled the same 7% grades with each and I am very pleased with the performance of this coach.

Tour has a list of other problems that you may consider being more troublesome than the radiator concerns. I would do some reading on the Tour thread to get a better feel.

Just a side note: The Itasca Ellipse is the same coach under a different label.

We love the floor plan of the 40U. This is the shorter version of the Tour/Ellipse QD.

Rick Y

sdlowe11 · 02-13-2015, 06:32 AM

We have an '08 with 33,000 miles, no problems to report. I agree that engine access is the biggest issue I have seen and read about - I sure love to look right at the engine through the back cover of the side-mounted units. But we get excellent and reliable cooling with ours, and no problems with rocks kicking up or anything like that, even after driving over some nasty gravel roads in Alaska and the Yukon. I asked Freightliner about whether I should have them power-spray it during my last maintenance, and they said it was not necessary unless I notice cooling issues. So far so good! Good luck

RVThere · 02-13-2015, 07:05 AM

I have an 2007 Tour that I bought as a new leftover in 2008. Love the floorplan and would buy another Tour in a minute but this one has and continues to serve us well.

We have over 60k miles and have driven it from NJ to CA and points in between more times than I can remember. Any significant issues have been with the Freightliner chassis:
- serpentine belts broke (3x). I now carry a spare plus a AC bypass belt.
- alternator seized
- AC compressor seized
- exhaust manifold gasket (fixed under 2 year warranty)

We do some pretty hard driving and long travel days. Rear radiator has not been an issue. I do some of the engine work myself and you can slide up under the side of the engine and have decent access to the alternator and AC.

D Lindy · 02-13-2015, 01:42 PM

I've read numerous post from those that have SIDE radiator units, and it seems that there's a lot of hyd cooling fan issues, and that the rear tires are constantly throwing road dust and mud up in between the radiator and the charge air cooler and the A/C cooling coil. Bottom line it's about 6 to one 1/2 a dozen to the other.

poppopc · 02-13-2015, 02:17 PM

We are in a 2013 Journey 40U, HAVE BEEN COAST TO COAST border to border.
No problems so far. Have 18K + on so far. We fulltime. No sticks and bricks.

Jbmsr · 02-13-2015, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdfugere

I am considering buying a Tour. This question is for Tour owners. I am concerned with the rear radiator the Tour has. I've heard that rear radiators have a great deal of problems compared with side radiators. What are your opinions?
Would you buy another Tour?

We purchased our 2013 Tour 42QD 12/19/2012 with 7 miles on the odometer. It has 17,800 on the odometer now and we have worked it hard with no heating problems. We absolutely love it and would buy another for sure.
Jesse

rdfugere · 02-13-2015, 11:47 PM

thanks all for repling to my post. It helped a great deal

Gordon Dewald · 02-13-2015, 11:53 PM

Have a 2015 QD. Pull a stacker trailer. Weight runs 48000 lbs. Have pulled some hills with ease and no heating problems. Lots of power IMO and fun to drive.

Time will tell on the durability.

jerichorick · 02-14-2015, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RVThere

I have an 2007 Tour that I bought as a new leftover in 2008. Love the floorplan and would buy another Tour in a minute but this one has and continues to serve us well.

We have over 60k miles and have driven it from NJ to CA and points in between more times than I can remember. Any significant issues have been with the Freightliner chassis:
- serpentine belts broke (3x). I now carry a spare plus a AC bypass belt.
- alternator seized
- AC compressor seized
- exhaust manifold gasket (fixed under 2 year warranty)

We do some pretty hard driving and long travel days. Rear radiator has not been an issue. I do some of the engine work myself and you can slide up under the side of the engine and have decent access to the alternator and AC.

The belt changing is my concern. They all go at some point. Do you do this yourself?

My coach has had no chassis issues. At around 23K (as I recall) we went to Gaffney, SC and had Freightliner factory service center take a look see. We had the coach weighed, ride height adjusted, chassis bolts torqued, lubed... all for about $1200. We were early for this routine but figured it would be awhile before we would be back in the area.

Pulling the many 7% grades in the west has not been a problem. Slow, yes but no heating issues at all. We simply love this coach in most respects. Compared to the side radiator '05 Vectra we had, this coach is much better in the mountains than the other one. We are NOW happy campers.

Rick Y