We bought our 2001 Minnie Winnie a few months ago. Our first service was $500. Rig has 40k but came with new tires. We could not find a ford dealership in the area that would work on it, and directed us to truck service centers. We were fortunate to find a local garage that works on big rigs and RVs. I asked that they inspect it, change all fluids and filters, including the generator, check all hoses and belts, etc. They had difficulty changing the trans fluid/filer, something was stripped, and had to change the pan. The unit was not sitting level, and unknown to me, the unit has rear air bags, and correcting the air pressure leveled it up. Everything else checked out ok.
Only 3 small issues since May;
I noticed that on one side the rear duels had good steel valve stems on the right side, making it easy to check air pressure. However, on the left side, the stems were original rubber short stems, almost impossible to check the inside tire. I Bought an inexpensive extension kit with brackets, and while in the process of installing, tore the old original inner valve stem, so ended up with a service call to get the stem replaced. Still need to get proper extended valve stems on that side installed.
The second issue is the Generator. We noticed that when we stop for fuel, and shut the generator down, it does not want to start a few minutes later after fueling. If we wait an hour or so, it will start up and run fine. At service, they did change the oil and filter, but there is over 800 hours on the generator, and the service book says replace the spark plug after 500 hours, this may be the issue since I do not know it has ever been serviced or changed? Will give this a try. Any other thoughts/suggestions?
The third is the gray water gate valve. It is extremely hard to open and close. from other posts, sounds like it needs to be rebuilt. I have not been under to look at how hard it is to access or how difficult it would be to tackle myself, or how expensive it would be for an RV dealer to do. Any other thoughts/idea as to cost?
Otherwise, we are sitting on the Galveston Beach this week loving our new to us RV!
2001 Minnie Winnie
Class C 450 V10 ford,
31ft, one slide
If possible, get the service history on the vehicle. This'll help you determine what needs to be done now and what can wait. I bought mine with no service history. After a year I decided to start a new baseline history (I bought it with 109,000 miles on it and added 2,000 miles so far):
chassis inspection
Rear differential fluid
replace fuel filter
replace transmission fluid
replace transmission filter
flush brake lines
lube, oil, filter
flush cooling system (radiator)
replace all spring clamps with screw (worm) clamps
total $1,800
Also on the list, spark plugs and coil packs, upper/lower ball joints, shock absorbers
I recently replaced the worn out upper and lower ball joints: $944
Soon I'll replace the shocks, then later the spark plugs (sans coil packs)
2005 Cruise America 28R (Four Winds 28R) on a 2004 Ford E450 SD 6.8L V10 4R100
2009 smart fortwo Passion with Roadmaster "Falcon 2" towbar & tail light kit - pictures
In addition to the mechanical side, check all the roof seams. One potential problem area is where the fibreglass roof panel inserts into the top extrusion on the sidewall, the adhesive dries out leaving a little crack seen from the top. If let go, the fibreglass will pop out of the extrusion. Also double check the front overhead seams on the side, above cab doors, a little crack in the adhesive here will let water in that drains down the sides.
Beverley and Ken
2006 Winnebago Outlook 29B E-450.
2012 Honda CR-V AWD
Blue Ox Aventa LX tow bar and Brake Buddy Vantage.
Just purchased two Michelin LTX tires with road service, nitrogen, tax installed and balanced $325 each. Times 6 would be just under $2,000! Yes you can get cheaper tires, but why?
I felt the same way with my Michelins for my cars. However my last
two sets of the LTX have had sidewall crazing before 30,000 miles so can't see why I would spend the money.They seem to have a problem
that they are hiding
We also just purchased a 2001 Minnie Winnie and have enjoyed it so far. Have a question maybe you can answer. Does your Minnie have a light strip below the escape window in the back? Ours has a light strip made up of several little red light bulbs...we can not figure out how to turn this off. Any suggestions?
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