Review of our new to us 2023 Winnebago Vista 29 NPF.

[KC]

First a little background. My wife and I together have been RVing since 2000, we have had one 5th wheel and two class A gas Motorhomes. We both RVed growing up with our parents. Our first RV together was a 32’ Gulf Stream Sea Hawk 5th wheel with 2 slides. This unit had a lot of issues. Our next unit was a Gulf Stream Sun Voyager with a sunroom, it was 36’ long, 3 slides on a W22 work horse chassis. We had it for 10 years. We traded it in for a Thor Challenger 37KT which was 38’ long on a Ford F53 22k chassis. We had lots of issues with this unit. This year we decided we were either going to put money into our Thor or get some newer.

Our style of Camping. We both currently work so we do weekends and some week trips. Most of the time we have electric hook ups, most of the time we have full hookups. Very soon we will do more camping with minimum hookups. More weekday camping.

Our New Rig. We bought a used Vista 29NPF, it had 10k miles. The previous owners added a Brooklyn Bedding Mattress (we love), Snap Pads (we love), 48” Sony TV (replaced Factory living room TV), Oxygenic shower head (we love) and removed the Dining room table, and Dining room table MCD shade (these are being replace as we speak with new units).

How it drives. Compared to the other two class A our vista drives very nice. I like the V8 engine with the 6-speed trans. It handles better than my other two class A, but there is room for improvement. We plan on adding Koni shocks to the front and back and a steering stabilizer. On our first trip we got between 7.9 and 8.9 MPG towing a Jeep Cherokee Trail Hawk.

Exterior. This is our smallest class A, but with it still has enough pass-through storage for everything we needed. We still have space outside to spare. We did not think we would use the outside Kitchen, but it came in handy. The Batwing awning is nice. I wish each of the compartment doors had a cable that would keep them from opening too far.

Interior Cab. Both front seats are very comfortable, our 3 hours trip went well. I like the Apple car play feature on the radio. I wish the vent ducts were closer to the seats not recessed (closer to the windshield).

Interior Living room. The theater seat is very comfortable, the larger TV is nice but due to its size it blocks one of the cabinet doors on either side. The picture is awesome.

Dining room table. We don’t have one yet, but it makes for an open area.

Kitchen. The size of the kitchen works, good space, this is the first RV that we have owned since our 5th wheel that has an oven. Its small but it worked well. This is our first 12-volt fridge as the others were either residential or 110/propane absorption style. I am not a fan of putting residential refrigerators in RVs as mobile techs cannot fix residential refrigerators and you need to have a factory (GE, LG or other) repair person to come out and fix it. They are used to having a refrigerator that they can move to get behind. The pantry is a little small, but it works. I’m glad it doesn’t have a slide out system as you would lose too much space.

Bathroom. I like the rectangle shower better than the corner units. The floor is solid (our Thor was not even after the dealer re-enforced it). OK storage in there. There is enough space to use the toilet, at least for both of us.

Bedroom. Lots of storage room, comfortable bed and love the storage area next to the bed. I have a CPAP and its just big enough for that to be stored there. I wish the bed was not so high. We have barely used the under the bed storage.

Tank sizes. Love the size of the gray and black tank. I wish we had about 15 gals more of fresh water, but it works.

HVAC. The AC work well but I need to get a windshield cover as you can feel the temp difference in the front of the RV when the sun is hitting the windshield. We have not tried the heat yet, but my guess is it will keep the back hot but cooler up front. I have a small electric heater to supplement the heat up front.

Electric power. This RV has more plugs than any of my other RV’s. It also is the first RV with Lithium power and solar (still figuring this system out). The generator is the same as my last RV.

Entertainment. Our last RV had 4 tv’s, this one has 3 but the picture is very good on them. I like that the front radio can be used while driving and outside. This is the first RV with a WIFI booster system, I have NOT figured out how to connect it to the campground WIFI. Currently we use our Phones and Travlfi for internet.

Overall. We love our new unit, but we are still getting use to it. Some issues we are having is the entry door makes noise while we are traveling. I have not figured out what the issue is yet as I drive. I have read about others having issues and tried the tape idea that was suggested. We need to figure out the WIFI booster system.

Our last thing we must figure out is we have a 15-year-old Chiweenie that doesn’t move as well as she used to. She sleeps in the bed. We tried putting dog steps next to the bed by the back wall, but she would not use them. Our next plan is putting her dog ramp at the end of the bed. We are hoping she will use it.