2019 Winne View 24J - newbie owner perspective...

jnguyen68 · 08-20-2018, 09:44 PM

Hi everyone,
I am a newbie owner of a 2019 Winnebago View 24J....
I got the RV about 4 months ago and proceeded to do an 11,000 mile road trip with my family across the USA and parts of Canada. We visited about 12 national parks and lived in the View 24J full time for over 2 months.

I thought I would share some of our perspectives (pros and cons) on the View 24J for prospective new owners of the View. I wish someone would have told me about all these things before I got the View. It would have save me a lot of time, money, and aggravations. This is simply my perspective, so please take it with a grain of salt....

First, let's start with the "Pros"....

* We really love the floor plan of the 24J. For a family of 3 (mom, dad, 1 kid) - it's perfect for us. Everyone has their own sleeping area and private space.

* The VIEW is a well built RV for the most part. There are a lot of thoughtful touches that the Winnebago engineers designed into the product. All the switches, lights, etc are exactly where you would expect it. I think Winnebago really makes a good motorhome (at the price range).

* I love the driving position of the Sprinter. The view (no pun intended) out the front is outstanding. You can see everything down the road, no blind spots in the front, and the seating position for the driver and passenger is excellent.

* I love the V6 Mercedes diesel. Its got somewhat decent power and is relatively fuel efficient. I can go about 350 miles on a full tank of diesel depending on my speed and wind conditions.

* The new compressor refrigerator works great. This is the 1st RV frig that actually keeps our food nice and cold and make perfect ice cubes.

* Winnebago as a company has been great to work with. We had a warranty issue and the service representatives were excellent to work with.

* The documentation package (binder) is excellent. Everything is in there and every feature of the coach is well documented. Thanks WGO for taking the time to put this together for us new owners.

Now for the "Cons"....

* Who ever said the VIEW is easy to drive, obviously has never driven the VIEW in strong cross-wind. I had many situations driving across the country in areas with strong cross wind (Texas, South Dakota, Iowa, New Mexico), where sudden strong wind gusts can push the View out of the driving lane. Also, every semi or large truck that passes you will push the View around. This makes for a very tense and stressful driving experience where you are gripping the steering wheel with both hands all the time anticipating the next wind gust. The stock suspension is very soft and the View will bounce and sway over every irregularities in the road.

* IMO, I think the track of the VIEW is too narrow. If you look at a Sprinter van, you can see that it's a narrow van designed for European cities and streets. Since the VIEW is based on the Sprinter chassis, IMO, its track is too narrow. The rear wheel arches extend about 6 inches past each rear wheel. The narrow track makes for an unstable RV. I wish Winnebago would extend the rear track out to make the rear wheels flush with the sides of the motor home. This will give the VIEW much more lateral stability.

* The fuel tank is too small. It only holds about 26 gallons. So expect to fill up the tank daily if you are doing a road trip.

* The upgraded 9" NAV/infotainment system is almost useless. The 9" screen size is big and beautiful, but the NAV interface is painfully slow. It locks up and crashes all the time. The map zoom/display detailing is erratic. Sometimes the rear view monitor would not come on. Since this is a $2900 option, I would not get this again. I now have a 6" Garmin GPS that I used primarily for Navigation. The useless factory NAV is a total waste of money. Don't get this option.

* The CAB is noisy in windy situation. The class C overhang generates a lot of wind noise at speeds over 50 mph. So listening to music while driving on the highway is not enjoyable.

* Checking the tire pressure on the inside rear dually is a complete pain the derriere. I wish Winnebago would have installed valve extenders on the 2 inside rear duallies. How much more can that cost? $5 each?

* Winnebago only offers a 1 year warranty on the coach. Really? We did the factory tour and the word "quality" was thrown around a lot during the tour. If Winnebago really stands behind their products and believe in their own hype, then offer a standard 2 year or 3 year warranty. I know I can buy an extended after market warranty, but come on, I just dropped 6-figures on their product, a 3 year warranty would be awesome. A $20k Hyundai comes with a better warranty.

*The stock coach batteries are two group24 lead acid batteries. The coach battery bay can actually accommodate two group31 AGM batteries. I wish Winnebago would have offered that as an option. I swapped out the group24 batteries myself to fully capture the energy from the standard 200W solar panels on the roof.

I hope this helps a prospective new owner.
This is simply my opinions, so take it with a grain of salt.

luvlabs · 08-21-2018, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnguyen68

Hi everyone,
I am a newbie owner of a 2019 Winnebago View 24J....
I got the RV about 4 months ago and proceeded to do an 11,000 mile road trip with my family across the USA and parts of Canada. We visited about 12 national parks and lived in the View 24J full time for over 2 months.

I thought I would share some of our perspectives (pros and cons) on the View 24J for prospective new owners of the View. I wish someone would have told me about all these things before I got the View. It would have save me a lot of time, money, and aggravations. This is simply my perspective, so please take it with a grain of salt....

First, let's start with the "Pros"....

* We really love the floor plan of the 24J. For a family of 3 (mom, dad, 1 kid) - it's perfect for us. Everyone has their own sleeping area and private space.

* The VIEW is a well built RV for the most part. There are a lot of thoughtful touches that the Winnebago engineers designed into the product. All the switches, lights, etc are exactly where you would expect it. I think Winnebago really makes a good motorhome (at the price range).

* I love the driving position of the Sprinter. The view (no pun intended) out the front is outstanding. You can see everything down the road, no blind spots in the front, and the seating position for the driver and passenger is excellent.

* I love the V6 Mercedes diesel. Its got somewhat decent power and is relatively fuel efficient. I can go about 350 miles on a full tank of diesel depending on my speed and wind conditions.

* The new compressor refrigerator works great. This is the 1st RV frig that actually keeps our food nice and cold and make perfect ice cubes.

* Winnebago as a company has been great to work with. We had a warranty issue and the service representatives were excellent to work with.

* The documentation package (binder) is excellent. Everything is in there and every feature of the coach is well documented. Thanks WGO for taking the time to put this together for us new owners.

Now for the "Cons"....

* Who ever said the VIEW is easy to drive, obviously has never driven the VIEW in strong cross-wind. I had many situations driving across the country in areas with strong cross wind (Texas, South Dakota, Iowa, New Mexico), where sudden strong wind gusts can push the View out of the driving lane. Also, every semi or large truck that passes you will push the View around. This makes for a very tense and stressful driving experience where you are gripping the steering wheel with both hands all the time anticipating the next wind gust. The stock suspension is very soft and the View will bounce and sway over every irregularities in the road.Funny, I have a 2017 Navion that is amazingly will behaved in the wind. Passing trucks - not an issue if you have some experience in driving a motorhome. If you just remember you are going to get pushed to the right and then sucked back to the left, then you kind of automatically make the required steering corrections.

* IMO, I think the track of the VIEW is too narrow. If you look at a Sprinter van, you can see that it's a narrow van designed for European cities and streets. Since the VIEW is based on the Sprinter chassis, IMO, its track is too narrow. The rear wheel arches extend about 6 inches past each rear wheel. The narrow track makes for an unstable RV. I wish Winnebago would extend the rear track out to make the rear wheels flush with the sides of the motor home. This will give the VIEW much more lateral stability. It's Mercedes who builds the chassis and Winnebago just sets the "house" on it.
I would argue that it only looks too narrow but in practical use, it is fine.

* The fuel tank is too small. It only holds about 26 gallons. So expect to fill up the tank daily if you are doing a road trip. Again, your opinion. As I get older I tend not to drive a bizillion miles before I take a break. Taking a break for fuel is good for driver and passengers.

* The upgraded 9" NAV/infotainment system is almost useless. The 9" screen size is big and beautiful, but the NAV interface is painfully slow. It locks up and crashes all the time. The map zoom/display detailing is erratic. Sometimes the rear view monitor would not come on. Since this is a $2900 option, I would not get this again. I now have a 6" Garmin GPS that I used primarily for Navigation. The useless factory NAV is a total waste of money. Don't get this option. Totally agree. The only think I use mine for is the rear camera and satellite radio. The navigation side sucks. My Garmin 760 rules.

* The CAB is noisy in windy situation. The class C overhang generates a lot of wind noise at speeds over 50 mph. So listening to music while driving on the highway is not enjoyable. Depends on direction of the wind but most of your noise is coming from the tires and the road surface. Listen carefully next time you are out.

* Checking the tire pressure on the inside rear dually is a complete pain the derriere. I wish Winnebago would have installed valve extenders on the 2 inside rear duallies. How much more can that cost? $5 each? The solution is not extensions (they leak) but Borg dually tire valve stems. These are custom valve stems for a variety of chassis that provide a specially formed valve stem. They run about $140 for the whole rig plus installation.

* Winnebago only offers a 1 year warranty on the coach. Really? We did the factory tour and the word "quality" was thrown around a lot during the tour. If Winnebago really stands behind their products and believe in their own hype, then offer a standard 2 year or 3 year warranty. I know I can buy an extended after market warranty, but come on, I just dropped 6-figures on their product, a 3 year warranty would be awesome. A $20k Hyundai comes with a better warranty. You're not real experienced in the RV world, I guess. Got news for you - $700k coaches come with a 1 year warranty as well. There is maybe one company that I know that offers a two year warranty - and you pay for it in the price. BTW, the chassis warranty is usually 3 years, much like an automobile.

*The stock coach batteries are two group24 lead acid batteries. The coach battery bay can actually accommodate two group31 AGM batteries. I wish Winnebago would have offered that as an option. I swapped out the group24 batteries myself to fully capture the energy from the standard 200W solar panels on the roof. 6V golf cart batteries work equally well and are a lot less expensive than AGM batteries.

I hope this helps a prospective new owner.
This is simply my opinions, so take it with a grain of salt.

I think you did remarkably well for an 11,000 mile maiden voyage. Your observations are certainly in line with others who own View/Navions and there are lots of experienced owners out there who can point you in the right direction.

jnguyen68 · 08-21-2018, 10:49 AM

I agree, I am not real experienced in the RV world.
This is my first motor coach, but this is my 3rd RV... I have been doing RV'ing for the past 15 years with 2 travel trailers (and 1 small pop up)....

I just did a quick search...

Hymer comes a 6 year transferable warranty on all their coaches....
https://www.gohymer.com/warranty/

RoadTrek also comes with a 6 year unlimited miles transferable warranty...
https://www.roadtrek.com/warranty/

Pleasure Way comes with a 5 year (60,000 warranty)....
https://pleasureway.com/plateau-xlmb/

Jayco comes with a 2 year warranty...
https://www.jayco.com/owner/2-year-warranty/

****
Installing 6 volt golf cart batteries would require additional cabling runs.
By going with 2 Group31 AGM replacement, I can re-use the existing battery cables.
At some point in the future I may go with 6 volt... not sure yet.

****

As for the small fuel tank, it can be a hassle sometime since I am alway thinking about finding a diesel station... it can be annoying when I am out in the middle of nowhere and diesel stations are not close by.

****

Thanks for the driving tip.... I will try to remember that whenever a truck passes me.... "push to right, then suck to the left". Gotcha. (Hopefully, with sumo springs, upgraded HD sway bar, and now FOX shocks installed - I won't have this issue anymore.)

NYBobbo · 08-21-2018, 07:55 PM

there are many threads on all that you mention... a bit or research and you will find them

about 40K on my 2016 and keep on moving, you will find some of the main failure problems here and their fixes. It's been a great unit including the "issues" .... enjoy.

I've found that a good relationship with your dealer goes a long way...

luvlabs · 08-22-2018, 10:41 AM

All of those manufacturer's with the longer warranties - start comparing prices. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples and you will see that you, the consumer, are paying for the extra warranty time. Nothing in life is free.

About the six volt batteries - they actually take one less cable to connect and will sit happily in your battery area. You might want to join the Yahoo View/Navion groups for all kinds of technical tips and mods. There is a View/Navion Facebook page as well for some additional resources.

All of those add on suspension goodies will help with a problem that isn't really there but it does help the economy.

jnguyen68 · 08-24-2018, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvlabs

All of those manufacturer's with the longer warranties - start comparing prices. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples and you will see that you, the consumer, are paying for the extra warranty time. Nothing in life is free.

About the six volt batteries - they actually take one less cable to connect and will sit happily in your battery area. You might want to join the Yahoo View/Navion groups for all kinds of technical tips and mods. There is a View/Navion Facebook page as well for some additional resources.

All of those add on suspension goodies will help with a problem that isn't really there but it does help the economy.

Thanks for your $.02 - after having driven the VIEW over 11,000 miles across the country and parts of Canada in the past 2 months, I would have to disagree. It's not just me, many other Sprinter based RV owners feel the same way. The Sprinter track is too narrow and the stock shocks, sway bar, and rubber bump stocks are not adequate for a motorhome. While these things are great for a stock Sprinter VAN, they are not adequate once you drop house on top of it.

There's another thread on here and other forums of owners commenting on the suspension and cross-wind handling instability of the View.
http://www.winnieowners.com/forums/f...ce-352037.html

Video....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raTfKr3QpiU

I was at GNR last month and after spoken with a bunch of other View owners, they were the ones that suggested that I upgrade the rear shocks.

In my search, JAYCO was actually cost comparable to Winnebago and offers a 2 year warranty. I went with WGO because I like the modern euro interior and floor plan of the VIEW 24J. I look at the market and products objectively, I don't blindly drink the Winnebago Kool-Aid and tell other owners there issues aren't real.

******

An update on the crappy NAV/infotaiment issue... I called WGO tech support and they told the NAV/infotainment was provided by a company called River Park...
https://riverparkinc.com/product/xite-x2dml/

I going to get a software/firmware update for the unit. Hopefully, the new software will address some of the issues/bugs. Once I get the firmware file, I will flash the unit.

jnguyen68 · 08-24-2018, 09:27 AM

Here's the software/firmware update instructions for other VIEW owners...

Rand McNally Card Update Procedure
1) Remove your Rand McNally SD card from the Xite radio.
2) Download the Rand Dock Software here. Be sure your machine meets the requirements with
either XQuartz for Mac or .net Framework for Windows installed and you have a functioning SD Card Reader available.

https://www.randmcnally.com/support/s/dock-software

3) Install the software to your computer and fill in the registration information (note: this will not
be required if you have already registered with the software).
4) Insert the Rand McNally SD card into your SD Card Reader.
5) Start the rand Dock Software if it does not start automatically.
6) If you receive a warning:
Follow the instructions.
7) If not. Select the Register for Lifetime Maps option (note: this option will not be available if you
have already registered with Rand McNally).
8) Once registered select the Update Available Option (note: if your device is up to date this will show “Your Device Is Up To Date”)
9) Allow the update to initiate and press the Begin Download button:
10) Once the new updates have downloaded you will be prompted to transfer the data to your SD Card. Click the Transfer button:
11) When complete the Rand Dock should show that there are no updates available.
12) Once the transfer has completed remove the SD card and go back to the Xite radio.
13) Do not install the SD card and turn the radio on.
14) Select the Rand McNally application and insert the card when asked.
This procedure should be followed before each trip to be sure you have the latest updates for construction data etc. on your system.

stevepsd · 09-03-2018, 05:45 PM

I have a question about your experience with the 'new' 12 volt/120 volt refrigerator/freezer.

I have not a r/r unit that did not operate off of propane, these never gave me any issues and I could run them what seemed forever on a tank of propane.

So I have this new 12 volt/120 volt unit and I like to do quite a bit of dry camping. So, what do you do - run off the batteries (how long till they are flat?), then start the gen set to recharge, or is the 200 watt solar enough to keep the r/r running? Or...? How about when traveling? I just remember the older units would suck your batteries dry in no time when on 12 volts.

Thanks!

ViewFromHere · 09-03-2018, 10:22 PM

Agree with all of your comments regarding the View. We bought a 2018 24J in July and have been on three short trips so far. Love the interior layout, fit and finish, and how the unit drives.

Most aggravating last trip was the Mapping on the screen. We were traveling through a remote section of Arizona on mountanious roads and couldn’t figure out why the map kept changing to the entire “trip” view. I wanted to see what was coming up and find a reference for fuel/ rest stop. Very frustrating as I wasn’t sure if it was an equipment glitch or “operator error”.

Have to admit the View handled the curvy mountain roads and climbs like a champ.

Planning on a long road trip later this month and will make a call on any chassis additions (sumo springs, sway bar, etc) based on that experiance.

We still love the coach and are very happy with it!

jnguyen68 · 09-04-2018, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevepsd

I have a question about your experience with the 'new' 12 volt/120 volt refrigerator/freezer.

I have not a r/r unit that did not operate off of propane, these never gave me any issues and I could run them what seemed forever on a tank of propane.

So I have this new 12 volt/120 volt unit and I like to do quite a bit of dry camping. So, what do you do - run off the batteries (how long till they are flat?), then start the gen set to recharge, or is the 200 watt solar enough to keep the r/r running? Or...? How about when traveling? I just remember the older units would suck your batteries dry in no time when on 12 volts.

Thanks!

Check out this video.... The Folks at Lichtsinn did a test of the fridge running on pure solar...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xurYkox3yRo

*****

Based on my usage, the stock 200 watt solar and stock batteries is good for about 1-2 day (depending on the ambient air temp and sun condition). I was camping in the southwest (Grand Canyon, Arches, etc) where it was 95 degrees and we were opening the fridge often. The fridge was running all the time. The Norcold compressor fridge is awesome. It makes perfect ice cubes and kept our food cold.

I have since upgraded the solar to 460 watts (additional Renogy 160 & 100 watt mono flexible panels).... I also upgraded the stock dual Group24 lead acid batteries to dual Group31 AGM... I can now get about 3-4 days of fridge usage without running the gen.