UFO floorplan recommendations

Nonno · 10-01-2007, 04:53 PM

I don't claim to be an expert by any means but IMHO, it's dissapointing that Winnebago, as well as the other manufacturers, using the UFO chassis have not come out with what I would call a "WOW" floorplan. You don't need a UFO to put in rounded cabinets or sofas using both leather and fabric.

Personally, I'd like to see Winnebago incorporate the 37B bedroom with 2 forward slides and a front door on the UFO.

We've owned 6 MH's since 1978. The 1st was a Coachmen, the last 5 have been Winnebagos. We're considering #7 and it would be our final one. Although diesel would be nice, realistically I don't think I could justify it. A UFO could be the answer and I hope when we see #7 that "WOW" floorplan is made by Winnebago.

Nonno · 10-01-2007, 04:53 PM

I don't claim to be an expert by any means but IMHO, it's dissapointing that Winnebago, as well as the other manufacturers, using the UFO chassis have not come out with what I would call a "WOW" floorplan. You don't need a UFO to put in rounded cabinets or sofas using both leather and fabric.

Personally, I'd like to see Winnebago incorporate the 37B bedroom with 2 forward slides and a front door on the UFO.

We've owned 6 MH's since 1978. The 1st was a Coachmen, the last 5 have been Winnebagos. We're considering #7 and it would be our final one. Although diesel would be nice, realistically I don't think I could justify it. A UFO could be the answer and I hope when we see #7 that "WOW" floorplan is made by Winnebago.

Davel · 10-01-2007, 05:41 PM

Bob,
We agree completely. We love our 37B but would like to have another front slide with the door either in front of, or just behind the navigator seat. It seems like it should be fairly easy to adapt a current floor plan to a chassis that is flat. Oh well, we can hope.

Davel

DonavonP · 10-01-2007, 06:01 PM

I really like the 37B too. The bedroom door is great when the motorhome will only sleep one person.

Nonno · 10-01-2007, 06:29 PM

They could even put the 4th slide on the W24 chassis because they have 1000 lbs to play with.

When I checked with Winnebago,the 6,000 lbs advertised towing (GCW 30,000 - GVW 24,000) is limited to 5,000 lbs because of an extension they added to the rear of the frame. Even with a bigger hitch it's limited to 5,000 so why not use it for a 4th slide?

Dsouthw524 · 10-02-2007, 04:40 AM

When you guys want a slide on the passenger side up front have you considered the effect on the patio awning? The awning is forced into being straight out and doesn't provide any shade if the sun is not straight above you. What is the fasination with the door being put up front/ Is it to simulate the deisel? To me it is a disadvantage to have the door up front as one must have it sticking straight out when parked and using the screen door. This also makes it difficult to have an awning actually provide shade and or rain protection for going in or out of the enterance.

Nonno · 10-02-2007, 05:01 AM

The wind sensor awning I have now is useless. Very seldom have it out. It is like you mentioned. Virtually no slope to it now so sun blocking may happen between 11:30am and 12:30pm. As for rain protection, I believe, manufacturer said it's not to be left out.

One solution to awning that I saw was to have the awning attached to the slide rather than coming over the top.

I would think an advantage to a door up front or just behind navigator is that it would provide better options for floorplan. Disadvantage I'd think is the need to escape in an emergency.

I guess there is give and take with everything. I'd just like to see a floorplan that takes advantage of the UFO flat floor.

UFO Pilot · 10-02-2007, 01:42 PM

I wonder if RV manufacturers consult with RV owners on what they want in floorplans, etc? Or do they just design in a vacumn?

We really like our floorplan but could certainly give them suggestions for improvement if asked.

The one major thing that bothers us in our Destination is not one single shelf in any of the cabinets, and no dividers under the sinks.

swyates · 10-09-2007, 06:19 AM

Wow, you mean people really prefer that useless door in the front of the diesels? We go in and out of our mid entry door a hundred times a day 365 days a year and can't imagine getting use to carrying our food from the galley through the living room around the passenger seat and down that narrow doorway. If the Horizon or Vectra had the mid entry door with a similar floor plan as our Adventurer 38J, our decision would have been much easier since we really were looking for a diesel pusher.

smlranger · 10-09-2007, 08:17 AM

I certainly agree about the mid entry door and awning issue. One of the things we like most about our current DP is the lack of a slide on the curb side and our manual awning that actually provides shade and will really shed water. We'd love a side entry door.

When we seriously start looking for another rig, will look for that combo in a DP...side entry, no curb side LR slide, and a real live manual awning that is useful. Not sure anyone makes one.

LeonB · 10-11-2007, 10:07 AM

We love the layout of the 38J. The double slide makes an open space that is truly impressive. However it does take away from the storage bins and the canopy is total crap in the rain.

I have been studying the canopy and there is no way to make it drain, it is way to flat being out over the slide.

Has anyone ever fixed this problem with the canopy?

Pusherman · 10-11-2007, 10:49 AM

Gary,

I agree with you w.r.t the manual awning, no streetside slide, and center entry. Actually Alpine makes such a coach, even in a 36' floorplan (not sure of the manual awning).

I know I know.....blasphemy on a Winnie forum.

swyates · 10-29-2007, 10:10 AM

We had a lot of problems with our weatherpro at first, to the point we were considering replacing it with a manual awning. But we discovered that if you wind it back in a 3/4 to a full turn after putting it out all the way, it dumps water pretty good. Don't know that this will work for anyone else, but it made ours usable again.
Biggest problem we have now is if the wind blows directly towards the curb side, the awning tends to fold up over the coach. Doesn't seem to hurt anything, but we always pull it in then. From any other direction, the wind sensor will roll it in before it gets too bad.

UFO Pilot · 10-29-2007, 10:59 AM

Before we took delivery of our fisrt coach, the salesman told us to always wind the weatherpro back in 3/4 to 1 turn. We have never had a problem with water pooling on top.

FrontRangeRVer · 10-29-2007, 11:03 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by swyates:
We had a lot of problems with our weatherpro at first, to the point we were considering replacing it with a manual awning. But we discovered that if you wind it back in a 3/4 to a full turn after putting it out all the way, it dumps water pretty good. Don't know that this will work for anyone else, but it made ours usable again.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

First of all...WELCOME to the Winnebago Forum!!

Your statement is correct and it really works for us also. Have the fabric level with the top of the roller tube instead of below it. This allows the dump function to work correctly. Some here used a broom to push UP from underneath the fabric to get the dump to dump, and that will cause your fabric to rip and your awning to bend.

B K · 10-29-2007, 07:02 PM

I noticd that the rear arm of the canopy is spring loaded. You can pull down on that end and drain any water collecting.

Duner · 10-31-2007, 08:29 AM

Regarding the UFO floorplan and the front vs mid-entry door...
Another advantage of the UFO with the mid-entry door is that the step will be closer to the ground when the campsite is not level. A front entry door will be considerably higher off the ground when you have to raise the front to level. Keep in mind that most diesel pushers have air bag suspension that allows the air to be "dumped" and this lowers the rear several inches. Since you can't lower UFO in the rear, you have to raise the front and in many campsites a front entry steps would be 12" or more off the ground. Even if you carry around the extra steps, the greater distance would make a significant safety/health issue for a lot of folks.

Regarding the Weather Pro Awning on the UFO, here's a discussion we had last July. John Canfield posted a scary photo of what can go wrong and there's some good suggestions.
Topic: Awning Fills With Rain

Happy Trails,
Duner