Outlook Vs Minnie Winnie.

[Ret.LEO]

Hi, looking at the various Class C's. What's the differences between the Outlook and the Minnie Winnie?
Didn't think I would but I'm starting to warm up to the idea of the residential fridge in the outlook. Also like the upgraded Magnum inverter, two deep cycle batteries but either way I want to go solar with a pair of Battleborn Lithiums with the 2000 watt Victron Multiplus Inverter Charger, Victron BMV-712 Bluetooth battery monitor, Precision circuits Battery Guard,Victron Digital Multi Control,Victron Smart Solar MPPT 100/30 Solar Charge Controller.
Probably 480 in roof top panels.

Anybody have a Outlook with the Res. Fridge? How do you like it? If I need to convert from a two way fridge right off would there be any market for a new 2way? Wonder if nothing else if a Minnie could be ordered w/out a two way fridge at a lower price on the Coach?
With a good solar system and the Gen. on board I don't really see much down side to the res fridge, not having the minimal inherent fire risk and less precise leveling needed would be nice also.
Thanks!

[Heyheyjj]

We bought an Outlook and are new to rving so I dont have much experience. But the fridge has been flawless.

[Meridian42e]

To me there is no question the Minnie Winnie wins with the full one-piece fiberglass roof Winnebago is famous for. I would never go back to a rubber or TPO membrane roof, and I'm sorry to see Winnebago ever went to those (Outlook and Intent) after avoiding them for decades. I Don't believe your exterior finish is near as nice on the Outlook either. They don't brag about construction in the brochure for the Outlook like they do the Minnie Winnie, so I would question what it really is. I have heard the roof R-factor and thickness is significantly less than the Minnie, but not positive.

The fridge is a cheap apartment fridge. To me, because you already have onboard propane for the stove, the Norcold fridge offers a lot more flexibility for camping styles and the Minnie Winnie has a lot more options on size. We had absorbtion gas refrigerators for decades and they ran flawlessly with little power for weeks on end. Today, we have a 20cf residential refrigerator and yes it is nice, but even with expensive hardware (batteries and inverter), we can only run it for 36 hours then we either gen up or find power.

To me, the fridge type wouldn't be the deal breaker - the quality difference between the two would be.

[Ret.LEO]

Originally Posted by Heyheyjj

We bought an Outlook and are new to rving so I dont have much experience. But the fridge has been flawless.

Does it make much noise when it's running?
Thanks

[Teamfoxy]

Our Itasca Spirit is virtually the same as a Minnie Winnie. We looked at both the Outlook and Minnie Winnie at a recent RV show and it is quite obvious that the Outlook cuts costs in every way possible.
If all you are going to do is be a weekend warrior in full service campgrounds, the Outlook could work for you as could the residential fridge. If you are going to be using the RV for months at a time and camp in state or national parks without hookups, as we do, then you would likely prefer the flexibility of propane appliances.
Quite honestly, we decided that we preferred the quality, finish, and layout of our 2005 to anything we saw at the show. But if we were to buy a new one, we would go with the Minnie over the Outlook.

[Ret.LEO]

Would be nice if they offered a upgraded Res. Fridge (good quality) as a option in the Winnie's.
Seems like the industry is too:
Take package 1
package 2
package 3.
Would be nice when you order one from the factory you could get it the way you want it (within limits)

[Teamfoxy]

Originally Posted by Ret.LEO

Would be nice if they offered a upgraded Res. Fridge (good quality) as a option in the Winnie's.
Seems like the industry is too:
Take package 1
package 2
package 3.
Would be nice when you order one from the factory you could get it the way you want it (within limits)

If you really want to customise a Class C, then you need to go to a company like LazyDaze that sells direct and where each unit is built to order. My understanding is that there is a year long backlog and the cost is quite a bit higher than and of the mass manufacturers.

The assembly line in any plant is very much a game of putting as many units through the line as you can in a given time period. Anything different causes a slowdown because you have to purchase and track special parts, make sure they get to the assembly area, possibly make modifications to the cabinetry, etc. It is not the cost of modifying one coach, it is that modifying that one coach can reduce the output of the line by several units.

[Ret.LEO]

Originally Posted by Teamfoxy

If you really want to customise a Class C, then you need to go to a company like LazyDaze that sells direct and where each unit is built to order. My understanding is that there is a year long backlog and the cost is quite a bit higher than and of the mass manufacturers.

The assembly line in any plant is very much a game of putting as many units through the line as you can in a given time period. Anything different causes a slowdown because you have to purchase and track special parts, make sure they get to the assembly area, possibly make modifications to the cabinetry, etc. It is not the cost of modifying one coach, it is that modifying that one coach can reduce the output of the line by several units.

Ouch, ouch, ouch!!! I'm just a poor former County Employee We even had to buy our own carry pistol

Wouldn't it be sweet to be able to afford a custom Coach? (Phoenix Cruiser? We're going to try to stay under 100K for Coach, Solar, Satellite TV, auto levelers and a bevy of small things to make it "ours"

I would love to be able to order one w/out a fridge so I could put in the Res. Fridge of my own choosing. I have a Brother In Law who builds custom kitchen cabinets for a living. He would be able to retrofit a Res Fridge in with no problem as long as it fits through the door or back window.

[Ret.LEO]

What size/brand res fridge are they using in the Outlooks?

[Teamfoxy]

Originally Posted by Ret.LEO

Ouch, ouch, ouch!!! I'm just a poor former County Employee We even had to buy our own carry pistol

Wouldn't it be sweet to be able to afford a custom Coach? (Phoenix Cruiser? We're going to try to stay under 100K for Coach, Solar, Satellite TV, auto levelers and a bevy of small things to make it "ours"

I would love to be able to order one w/out a fridge so I could put in the Res. Fridge of my own choosing. I have a Brother In Law who builds custom kitchen cabinets for a living. He would be able to retrofit a Res Fridge in with no problem as long as it fits through the door or back window.

Well, plan B might be to buy a one owner, reasonably cared for used coach like we did. They are out there if you do your homework and have some patience. With your $100k budget, you would still have about $80K to upgrade it with all the stuff you mention. Of course, we are quite happy without Solar, Satelite TV, auto levelers and a residential fridge. Instead, we are spending our money traveling and enjoying the country.
It takes very little propane to power the fridge and stove. We turn on the water heater when we start cooking dinner and turn it off when the dishes are done. It is still hot in the morning for the breakfast dishes. A tank of propane easily lasts us 8 to 10 weeks unless we have to run the furnace. If you only turn on the lights you actually need to do something, the batteries will last a week.
To me, the simpler I can keep the systems, the more time I have to enjoy camping rather than fixing stuff.

[Meridian42e]

Get the higher quality Minnie with the gas absorbtion fridge - even upgrade the size. Try it - see if you like it. If you hate it, change it out for an apartment fridge. If you get the big 4 dr Norcold option in the 31, you can actually get a 18cf residential 3 dr in that hole.

[Heyheyjj]

Originally Posted by Ret.LEO

Does it make much noise when it's running?
Thanks

Not at all. Incredibly quiet.

[estack]

I have a 2018 Outlook. The residential fridge is great as long as you have power. It’s nice to be able to keep it running while travelling.
Tried dry camping but the batteries were only good for just over a day. Had to run the generator for a long time to charge the batteries. The batteries provided from factory are not deep cycle.
I am now looking at adding solar, but the coach is not pre-wired. (I even called Winnebago to be sure) I’m looking into solar plus deep cycle batteries so I can dry camp for a weekend, but I think it’s going to be expensive to do it.

[Phil G.]

Originally Posted by estack

I have a 2018 Outlook. The residential fridge is great as long as you have power. It’s nice to be able to keep it running while travelling.
Tried dry camping but the batteries were only good for just over a day. Had to run the generator for a long time to charge the batteries. The batteries provided from factory are not deep cycle.
I am now looking at adding solar, but the coach is not pre-wired. (I even called Winnebago to be sure) I’m looking into solar plus deep cycle batteries so I can dry camp for a weekend, but I think it’s going to be expensive to do it.

What you say above about keeping it running has me wondering - are you talking about a residential fridge or a propane fridge?

We run our RV's propane fridge 24/7 when on a camping trip - including when traveling down the road.

[estack]

My husband never ran the propane while we were travelling so I haven’t done that either. The residential fridge can be on with the inverter while travelling without running down the batteries.

Not sure if a propane fridge can be added as an option, but would be nice to have that or at least be wired to add solar. Other than the fridge I’m happy with the outlook.

[gladu2]

Besides what was already pointed out, the Outlook's outside storage capacity is much smaller then the equivalent length Minnie Winnie and Spirit motorhomes.

[mcfflyer]

When I had the opportunity to upgrade, I looked at four manufacturers product that was what I wanted, a 24 foot with the queen sized bed on a slide out. I looked at the pros and cons of each on and ended up with the 2018 Minnie Winnie 22M, that I felt was by far the best designed and appointed of the four. (The others were Jayco, Thor and Forest River.) When I saw that Winnebago came out with a new model, the Outlook, I went to my dealer to look at it to compare. Everything that made my Minnie Winnie superior to the other models I looked at were all missing from the Outlook. The glass door of the shower was a curtain in the Outlook. One of the cross ventilation windows in the slideout was gone. The shelf over the bed was gone. The shelf over the door was gone, replaced by little hooks. It was a major decline in appointments comparing the two. And the formed cabover nosepiece was gone. If this Outlook had been the only model available when I was looking, I’d have never bought it.

And I didn’t realize at the time I looked at the Outlook it had a residential refrigerator that would have immediately been a rejection. It’s important for you to look at what kind of camping you’ll be doing to see if a compressor refrigerator will work for you or not. For me, absolutely no. I have only used hookups of any sort while camping once in the past 20 years of RV use. I rely on my batteries and propane, as I can be parked in one spot for six or eight days, and I can stay there just fine with careful use of electricity and water. And the capacities on my MW 22M are impressive - 40 gallons of fresh water, 40 gallons of sewage and 45 gallons of grey water. I’m extraordiarily happy with my new rig.

[Ret.LEO]

It seems that the Outlook is closer to the brands and models I would never consider. It's a shame that Winnebago came out with a "lesser model" but understandable maybe to go after the more entry type Class C buyers? The residential Fridge might be attractive to some but it seems with the growing trend to boondock, add solar to be self sufficient, try to keep gen dependency to a minimum it would have been wiser to make the Res. style fridges as a option across their Class C lineup.
I realize many prefer C.G's and the res. fridge would be great for those but for boondocking unless you have a good battery bank not so much.

[Phil G.]

Hmmm ... something doesn't smell right between what Winnebago's website is showing for their Class C Minnie Winnie line versus their Class C Outlook line.

For instance:

- Both lines' beginning pricing starts out at about the same at $84+ K level. Why does the quality between the two appear different with these very similar starting price points?

- Look at the "Key Features" section for each model line. The Outlook does indeed appear to have less features high-lighted by Winnebago. Especially appealing to me is Winnebago's SUPER Structure feature that they mention with respect to their Minnie Winnie - but is not to be seen anywhere regarding the Outlook models.

- The Winnie Minnie has a one piece fiberglass cabover shell while the Outlook has the classical fiberglass pieces-with-joints cabover shell.

Winnebago may have an inconsistency goof going on somewhere with the pricing versus quality differences between these two Class C lines.

[mcfflyer]

Phil, I wondered the same things. The Outlook looks like it should be priced thousands less than the Minnie Winnie, and if you compared them side by side, there’s no way you’d choose the Outlook over the MW.