Hello from Washington state

[bhkelly91]

Starting with a 23 toy hauler and graduating to a 36 Super C, we learned through the thousands of miles why we love our Winnebago View. We took our Super C 3500 miles to the Arctic Ocean and back pulling a 30-foot cargo trailer. Through the Alaskan Canadian Highway, Cities, Construction areas, I white-knuckled for 7000 miles. Now, driving one handed, pulling a smaller trailer, I am entirely relieved and comfortable driving anywhere the road goes. The Winnie has so much built in that I did not even sacrifice comfort or niceties with the smaller upgrade. I have been trolling forums for years to mod my RV and decided I have taken enough apart that I should be able to share some insight in a group like this with similar interests.

My current interests in projects are;
1. upgrade Jensen stereo to Pioneer with wireless CarPlay
2. Gas strut on entrance door that will stop prior to touching awning sidebar
3. Solar panels
4. Replacing some decals that have taken a UV beating and cracked
5. Anything else these forums teach me I need to do

[WinnieView]

Welcome to Winnie Owners. We graduated from a 40' DP to a Super C, to the View recently.

2. We placed a small piece of black pipe foam held with a couple black zip ties on the awning arm. Our Super C had the gas strut but it would come loose at times and was unreliable.
3. We just installed a Renogy RV solar kit with two 100 watt panels but may add two more later this year.
4. We just removed 3 large vinyl stripes on each side (too many for us) and just need to cleanup the oxidized paint this week.

P.S. We are glad you joined us.

[Tucsontoy]

I also downsized from a Gulf Stream Super Nova (Super C) to the View. I miss the 150 gallon water tank when in the sticks and the 140 gallon fuel tanks so I never had to think about the next stop. That 15,000 pound towing was handy a few times but other than that, We love the view. Check out my profile pictures for a lot of the up grades that have been done. Retired engineers keep trying to fix things that are not broke but it is all part of the fun. Enjoy.

[bhkelly91]

Thank you WinnieView for the response. I'll try the foam since I have not found anyone who installed a strut and I know the wind can make it take a beating. I'm curious if you drilled a hole in your roof to route the wires or had an RV service company do that piece for you. Looks like a lot route under the gullwing and the others through the fridge vent.

[bhkelly91]

Thank you also Tuscontoy for the response. I also miss the extra capacity but absolutely love the range now with far less fuel. I look forward to seeing what you have done to your View. Thanks again

[WinnieView]

Originally Posted by bhkelly91

Thank you WinnieView for the response. I'll try the foam since I have not found anyone who installed a strut and I know the wind can make it take a beating. I'm curious if you drilled a hole in your roof to route the wires or had an RV service company do that piece for you. Looks like a lot route under the gullwing and the others through the fridge vent.

We drilled a hole straight thru the roof just above the fridge in our model (24G). Ours has no fridge vent on the roof and we wanted the most direct route from the panels down to the controller which we mounted directly above the One Place control panel.

[bhkelly91]

Everything I read noted that the Pioneer AVIC-8400NEX would not fit. Well, it did and did so perfectly. I am very happy with this stereo as well. I really liked the feature on my DW Volvo that kept us up-to-date on the speed limit and this is something I really wanted. I ran RCA to the rear Jensen and back to the Pioneer, and was able to tie the systems together. Now DW can play Netflix to both screens, enable all the speakers together, and control the entertainment for the kids as well. The sound from the stock speakers improved and we really like the wireless Carplay. The speakers will be replaced soon after installing a subwoofer in dinette to better improve movies and music. Just wanted to post that it does fit against Crutchfield and other sites that say it does not. We did lose the sound from the rear camera, but never really used it anyway.

[bhkelly91]

I found it very confusing whether to get the yellow or black Sumo springs based upon the different opinions. Well, I have a 3500 and RV to boot. The black springs were for 2500 on the website so I opted for the yellow ones. Now after our first trip with the new springs, I can say this is the best upgrade I have done yet. Was not a harsh ride as others have commented. There was no difference in the ride at all. The sway, however, is nearly gone. I used the black on the front. Well worth the money spent and highly recommend.

[bhkelly91]

This has been a great storage device for our family. We purchased the box a couple of years ago with the swing hitch. We use it to pack our firewood in and dirty gear our. Whether it be camping, fishing, clamming, quadding. It controls the overflow of gear without needing to take the cargo trailer. At times the cargo trailer is needed when hauling kayaks, quads, UTV, etc. But for shore fishing, clamming, hiking, or camping, this box makes driving around easier. The swing function also helps with the campground, privacy, and just giving that bigger area next to the View.