Our Suncruiser
Back in 2002, we were enjoying the fellowship of our gathering with RV America friends in Quartzsite, Arizona. We were "shopped out", so we decided, purely on a whim, to go over and "kick tires" looking at some of the many motorhomes that were on display (literally hundreds of motorhomes).
We found ourselves sitting in a 2002 Itasca Suncruiser 33V—and quickly realized that we both were very attracted to this motorhome. Thus began a period of serious searching—to find out all that we could about features, options, colors, chassis, etc. Somehow, we both knew that the 33V floorplan was the one that fit our RV lifestyle the best.
We became very familiar with the subtle and not-so-subtle differences between the Winnebago Adventurer 33V and the Itasca Suncruiser 33V, both made by Winnebago Industries in Forest City, Iowa.
The Search
Our search for a motorhome continued on for five years, with us always looking for a Class A motorhome that we liked better than the 33V. In October 2005, we decided to stop searching and to just go order "our" coach from our local Itasca dealer, Village RV in Roseville, California.
We had been using Village RV as the service center for both Linda's 1995 Airex S632 and for Mike's 1998 Itasca Suncruiser 32WQ motorhome. The excellent service that we received was the main reason that we chose to purchase our new motohome from them.
We Ordered It "Our Way"
We were not interested in purchasing a "spec" 33V off of a dealers lot, since all of them seem to come loaded with just about all of the possible options—many of them that we didn't want, and which also increased the price by many thousands of dollars.
We chose to order a 33V with only the options that we preferred. We selected the new Ford 22,000 lb. chassis (with the new 362 hp V-10 engine and the new 5-speed electronic transmission) to save $5,800 vs. the Workhorse chassis, and we also chose the standard paint and graphics package (instead of full body paint) to save another $6,000.
If You Want Something, Ask
One of the things that we have learned (both on our previous and current Suncruisers) is that it is possible to ask Winnebago Industries for non-standard changes or options to their coaches. If the change can be accommodated, Winnebago will tell you so and will also quote you a price for making the change. If your requested change cannot be accommodated, Winnebago will tell you so, and also the reason why they can't do it.
Both of our Itasca motorhomes had non-standard changes made to them before they were ever delivered to the selling dealer.
Don't bother asking the Winnebago regional reps about your wanted change or changes, though, since the answer is almost always "No." However, knowing who to contact at Winnebago Industries can yield a very different response.
Ever since we took delivery of our new 2006 Itasca Suncruiser 33V motorhome, we have been making changes to it. Some of the changes were planned even before we took delivery, and other changes have been made since then. As we continue to live in and enjoy our motorhome, we (especially Linda) keep coming up with new ideas to add features (especially more places to put our goodies) or ways to make our motorhome living experience more enjoyable. As long as we use our motorhome, we will continue to make changes as new ideas surface—and sometimes get s-l-o-w-l-y acted upon when we have the time.
For those of you interested in what changes we have made to our motorhome, we have attempted (both in words and pictures) to share our efforts at customizing our motorhome. The next section describes the changes that we have made—so far. (This section of our web site will continue to be updated as new changes are added.)
