2017 Winnebago Paseo

BillsPaseo · 03-26-2018, 06:25 PM

My wife and I bought a new 2017 Winnebago Paseo on New Years Eve 12/31/2017, and took delivery a week later. So we've had it for about 2.5 months now. It is our first campervan, but not our first camper...

We first had a pop-up, a Coleman Santa Fe while our kids were growing up. Then as empty nesters we got into riding dual sport motorcycles and bought a small toyhauler, a LivinLite 7x20, to haul the bikes to fun places to camp and ride. We really enjoyed that for a few years, but decided we wanted to move to something smaller that would be better for long road trips, and started looking at campervans.

The 4WD Revel really got our attention when it first came out, but when we saw one in person we just weren't that impressed. The build quality felt a bit lacking, and the price seemed really high for what you got. So we looked at Travatos and then the Paseo. The Paseo impressed us the most, especially when I looked at the OCCC sticker and saw that it had almost 2000 lbs capacity. So we drove it and fell in love with it.

In 2.5 months we have spent a total of 11 nights in it, with plans to spend another 7 nights in it next month. And so far it is living up to all of our expectations and more.

We tow a small cargo trailer (5x8 enclosed) with the two motorcycles and all our riding gear in that, total loaded trailer weight is about 2000 lbs, and about 250 lbs tongue weight. We get 13.5 MPG towing, and about 17 when not towing, and the Ford EcoBoost engine is a beast. The van doesn't even notice that it is towing a trailer even on high mountain passes (Conway Summit on 395 in CA at 8,138 ft is the highest we've gone over so far) on the uphills. We do have to use the tow haul mode and gear down on the downhills though.

We've been pretty happy with the build quality of the Paseo. We've had only two very minor issues that were easily fixed at home, so it hasn't been back to the dealer for anything yet. One was a bad caulking job around the toilet that caused water to leak out underneath the rig whenever someone took a shower. 15 minutes and half a tube of white bathroom silicon caulk fixed that issue. And the other was a gap between the side door frame and the kitchen cabinetry where bugs could get in when the door was opened with the screen closed. $2.00 worth of pipe insulation foam stuffed into the gap fixed that problem (and looks like it was supposed to be that way afterwards).

The only complaint we have about the design is the weird pull-out table arrangement behind the passenger seat - it interfered with the reclining of the passenger seat when not swiveled. We fixed that by reworking the cabinetry it was built into and eliminating the table. We decided that for us reclining the seat was more important than having a laptop tray available when swiveled.

Other than that, we've done a few simple mods. Added a shelf under the kitchen sink, added two shelves in the closet (since we tow a trailer, we don't need a closet for hanging clothes in - all of our bulky riding gear goes in the trailer).

We're loving it so far and looking forward to many fun trips in it!

BillsPaseo · 03-26-2018, 07:36 PM

On another thread someone asked why we picked the Paseo over the Travato. This actually was a difficult choice for us. The dealership where we purchased had a burgandy Travato that was just gorgeous. We loved the outside appearance of the Travato, especially in that color. But we preferred the floorplan of the Paseo - the shower is considerably larger, and the bed wider (we're both vertically challenged so the length isn't an issue for us) except my wife really didn't like the light colored wood in the first Paseo we looked at, she thought it looked too dated. We were about to start negotiating on the burgandy Travato when the salesman said he thought another Paseo on their lot had different interior colors. So we went looking at the other two Paseos on the lot, and sure enough the third one had the darker maple color wood and the lighter colored upholstery. This looked much, much better to my wife, so we took it for a test drive. We were really surprised by how quickly that 8000 lb rig accelerated and how nimble it felt. We did some parking lot manuevers with it and were impressed with the turning radius.

So back to the dealership and compare the two side-by-side... This is when I notice the big difference in the OCCC numbers of the two rigs. 1150 lbs for the Travato and 1950 for the Paseo. That was the final factor. I did the math and realized that by the time you fill the water and propane tank, put two adults in it, and hitch up our trailer (250 lb tongue weight), with the Travato you don't have much left at all for food, gear, extra passengers, etc. Since we are mostly dry camping, and almost always towing the trailer, that extra cargo capacity really made the difference.

BBQ · 03-26-2018, 08:02 PM

.

If you need to tow, the ecoboost is the only way to go.

You can't argue with torque.

BillsPaseo · 03-27-2018, 03:02 AM

Here is a photo from our trip to Death Valley N.P. (that is a loaf of banana bread that my wife is holding up - a gift from our campsite neighbors).

Phoebe3 · 03-27-2018, 03:28 PM

Thanks for that write-up, Bill! It's especially helpful when someone can articulate why they picked their rig over one of the competing options. I know when we were looking, hearing about the pros and cons of various models allowed us to narrow our search early on.

dhuff · 03-28-2018, 09:14 PM

Bill, Is this the model of Paseo where the bed is designed for cross-coach (East-West) sleeping ? or longitudinal (North-South) ? If cross-coach, do you find it adequate for your height ? (and how tall are you guys ?) Any, other feedback on the bed, comfort-wise ?

BillsPaseo · 03-28-2018, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhuff

Bill, Is this the model of Paseo where the bed is designed for cross-coach (East-West) sleeping ? or longitudinal (North-South) ? If cross-coach, do you find it adequate for your height ? (and how tall are you guys ?) Any, other feedback on the bed, comfort-wise ?

Ours is the cross coach sleeping arrangement. I am 5'7" and my wife is 5'5", so the length is not an issue for us. I think the length wall to wall is 74", but the bed itself is only 72". We do use a memory foam topper cut to fit, and we cut it long enough to cover the gap on each end. With the topper the bed is very comfortable. Without it was okay, but you could feel the seams between the cushions a little bit.

We don't use the dinette, so we keep the bed made up all the time. It is just the two of us, so if the weather is bad we can just lounge on the bed, and we have trays for putting food on if we want to eat in bed. But generally when camping we want to be outdoors.

If you plan to regularly switch between dinette and bed, a topper could be a bit of a pain because of how bulky they are.

dw8928 · 04-02-2018, 08:50 AM

I've been thinking about getting one of these myself vs the Travato. I like the engine power and I think it gets the same basic MPG as the Travato.

Your thoughts about the bed line up with my observations as well. Course th Travato K also requires setting up the bed as well. My other small gripe is the back cushions of the two Paseo benches is very upright. But I think I would just end up keeping the bed made all the time.

I see this Transit van in Europe all over the place.

BillsPaseo · 05-16-2018, 05:39 AM

Here's a photo from our trip to Moab, UT a couple of weeks ago. This was taken at a campground in Snowville, UT on our way down.

BillsPaseo · 05-16-2018, 05:51 AM

And this is why we go to Moab... that is Balanced Rock in Arches National Park, and my wife on her bike.

Gosman · 06-02-2018, 04:55 AM

I hear rumors that the Paseo is going to be discontinued. May not have been a good choice.

BillsPaseo · 06-02-2018, 05:51 AM

I've heard that too, but am not the least bit worried about it. The body and chassis is all Ford Transit, and that isn't discontinued. All of the interior appliances will continue to be supported by their manufacturers, and Winnebago is really good about support for parts.

I'm just glad we got one before they were gone...

warpig · 06-02-2018, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gosman

I hear rumors that the Paseo is going to be discontinued. May not have been a good choice.

I don't see that making a difference in any way. The Transit isn't being discontinued and that is the most important thing. Any issues with the RV can be handled by any competent RV mechanic. Parts for the plumbing or electrical systems should they be needed would most likely come from the manufacturer.

It sounds to me that a great purchase was made and Bill is enjoying an awesome vehicle. The only problem I see is for the campers in the future who read about Bill's positive experience and may only be able to purchase a used Paseo.

BBQ · 06-02-2018, 03:55 PM

.

Maybe they are making room to produce more Travatos; they are the hottest Class B on the market right now.

I don't see much attraction for the Paseo.
It is expensive -- almost as expensive as the Mercedes Benz based ERA.
The utility is not more than the much cheaper Travato.
Other than the engine, the Transit chassis is awkward.

Just my 2 cents.

Monkey · 06-15-2018, 12:00 AM

Does the Paseo come with solar panels and an inverter? If it lacks an inverter did you find that to be much of an issue for you? I currently own an F150 with the 3.5l eco boost engine so I'd like to get an RV based on the Transit platform. So far I've really only seen the Paseo and Coachmen Crossfit as being readily available options. Were there any other Transit based RV's that you looked at? If yes what did you think of them?

BillsPaseo · 06-15-2018, 12:52 AM

Solar panels yes, but only 100W. I've added another 100W, and have found that 200W does a pretty good job of keeping up with the usage of the 12V NovaKool fridge. It does not have an inverter, but I haven't found that to be a big problem. If I need to use the microwave, I can fire up the generator for a few minutes, and there isn't really anything else I need 120V for...

Phoebe3 · 06-15-2018, 03:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monkey

...So far I've really only seen the Paseo and Coachmen Crossfit as being readily available options. Were there any other Transit based RV's that you looked at? If yes what did you think of them?

The Okanagan Tribute is a Travato K floorplan in a Transit, but they are a Canadian company so I believe you would have to buy a used one to import it into the US and there may be additional tariffs.

There are also commercial upfitters like SportsMobile who will work on the Transit platform.

Monkey · 06-16-2018, 12:28 AM

Thank you BillsPaseo and Phoebe3 for taking the time to clarify the solar panel & inverter situation for me, and for providing me with alternative options for Transit based RV platforms to look into. I guess I need to get up to NC sometime this summer so I can check out some of the class-b RV options in person.

Britmobile · 06-24-2018, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monkey

Thank you BillsPaseo and Phoebe3 for taking the time to clarify the solar panel & inverter situation for me, and for providing me with alternative options for Transit based RV platforms to look into. I guess I need to get up to NC sometime this summer so I can check out some of the class-b RV options in person.

We live in SC, where in NC would you be going to “check out some of the class-b RV options?”

jstersd · 07-20-2018, 11:42 PM

Howdy! I love my Paseo (8k miles the first year...part-timing). Did you add an additional 100w on the roof? I've asked two local solar installers here in San Diego and they said that there's no more room; I thought for sure they could daisy chain a few smaller ones together since there's two open connector slots on top. I do use a 100w suitecase (Renogy) that plugs into the side and like you mentioned, it's enough to keep up with the fridge.

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