Minnie Winnie

sfergie631 · 09-07-2014, 08:51 PM

My wife and I are heading to Hershey this week and hope to find our first MH. We especially want to look at a 2015 Minnie Winnie 31KP.
I have not seen many reviews on newer Minnie Winnie's.
Anything we should look at or look out for?

s1njin · 09-08-2014, 09:36 AM

I have the 31H, did not opt for the premier. Mostly because we only vacation in it for shorter jaunts throughout May-October. The glitz in the premier package will make your MH feel more like a true place to relax, and less like a 'rental', however all that glitz will add to your weight penalties too. We have 2900 pounds of OCCC - and we'd rather have the spare weight capacity than the glitz. We bought the MH to sorta pack it and go w/o needing to worry a whole lot. The less OCCC you have, the more worrying you're going to do.

sfergie631 · 09-08-2014, 10:18 AM

2900 #! Wow
I assume there are no auto leveling jacks.
How does she handle on the road?

s1njin · 09-09-2014, 05:56 AM

No leveling jacks - so far a bunch of Lynx Levelers has worked out fine. I wanted the premier package AND the jacks, but than I would have been in Jayco Greyhawk territory w/ regards to weights. A lot of those rigs had between 1400 - 1700 pounds of OCCC; noting most longer C's have ~1000 pounds available on the FRONT axle (and you'll never get it loaded to take advantage of that availability), that left precious little for the rear axle. I didn't want to have to start weighing everything like I was back in a Ultralight Travel Trailer w/ low OCCC. I just wanted to get in, turn the key, and get to it.

She handles like a clumsy box truck on the road. I did get it realigned, but it is what it is. A large wind sail. I'm comfortable with it now - it took some getting used to. Just completed a 12 hour round trip to Lake George - I never worried about her once I got acclimated.

Mich F · 09-09-2014, 08:25 AM

I also have an Itasca 2014 31K (same as the Winnebago). I believe when I bought mine, in Mar. 2013, they didn't have a premier package. Mine came with all options offered at the time.
Mine has had a few issues. The first one was a leaking skylight over the shower. It was resealed three times and still leaked. Finally we removed the skylight, cleaned the skylight and roof and resealed - it's been fine since then.
Another issue was a sagging floor, around the sink area, between the frame rails of the van. There was no lateral support for a 6' or so length, along with a shorter section forward of that. That issue was solved by Itasca allowing me to go to a local metal fabrication shop,that installed four lateral supports to fix that issue. I would assume they have since corrected this design error.
The most recent issue, discovered in mid July, is a leaking cab over. Mine does not have a fiberglass front cap (not an option when mine was built). This particular leak issue I would assume only applies to a relatively few Winnebago/Itascas, since mine does not have a fiberglass roof, unlike the later ones. I thought mine had an EPDM roof, but just discovered it's actually some type of vinyl roof. My son, an RV tech for almost 20 years, discovered in looking for the source of the leak that the front seam, where the roof material meets the cabover, although it looked fine, the sealant they used had never stuck to the fiberglass of the cabover. So basically it's been leaking ever since it's been built. It's amazing that there doesn't seem to be any damage done due to the leak.
Mine handles just fine, never had or needed a wheel alignment. As for OCCC it's 3,275#. With my wife and I , 3/4 tank of fuel, 1/3 water tank, fully loaded for "camping" we were still 2,560# under the GVWR.

s1njin · 09-09-2014, 09:37 AM

Wow - mine has the fiberglass roof. The dealer kept telling me all about it - I thought it was a standard type of thing; especially for the more 'upmarket' Itasca. Guess I got lucky. I would have liked the fiberglass cap, but my fiberglass roof does extend all the way over the cap anyway so I'm sorta there.

Mich F · 09-09-2014, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by s1njin

Wow - mine has the fiberglass roof. The dealer kept telling me all about it - I thought it was a standard type of thing; especially for the more 'upmarket' Itasca. Guess I got lucky. I would have liked the fiberglass cap, but my fiberglass roof does extend all the way over the cap anyway so I'm sorta there.

I know in the past the Itasca had been more "upmarket", but I don't believe that's the case anymore, at least not in our models. I would have preferred a fiberglass front cap, although I've read horror stories of people with those caps, having leak issues also, in our units, and other brands as well. I would have preferred a fiberglass roof, but that was not a deal breaker. I've had a number of RVs without a fiberglass roof, and it's never been an issue for me. My son has offered to install a fiberglass roof if I decide I have to have one.

sfergie631 · 09-09-2014, 12:36 PM

Thanks for all the feedback. Hopefully will fall in love with it at the show this week.
s1njin - I see you are in Jackson NJ (6 Flags area!). Where did you purchase from? Camping World?
My "dealer" in Long Island leaves a bit to be desired.

WDW · 09-09-2014, 06:16 PM

There is a really nice 2014 KP at Colton in Orchard Park (Buffalo) that can be had for close out price. We bought and unbought it because of size. We went with a QP. But the DW still in remorse over the kiss of the couch.

Donn
Western New York
2014 Mini Winnie 27qp
"The Trolley"

s1njin · 09-10-2014, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sfergie631

Thanks for all the feedback. Hopefully will fall in love with it at the show this week.
s1njin - I see you are in Jackson NJ (6 Flags area!). Where did you purchase from? Camping World?
My "dealer" in Long Island leaves a bit to be desired.

Yep - Camping World in Lakewood NJ. They've done right by me so far - no complaints.