2009 Winnebago Outlook

We had an amazing trip. I loved the layout of this RV, and it was perfect for this trip through Death Valley and Southern Utah.

On the plus side, Ryker was very responsive. We had many questions (and, unfortunately, issues) during our trip and I give him full credit for getting back to us very quickly -- including on Easter Sunday! That said, much of our stress and issues could have been avoided with a more thorough explanation of how the RV works and what to expect. Particularly since part of the appeal of an RV (for us) was to get off the beaten track, which meant we were often out of cell reception range when having an issue.

We were quite clear that this was our first RV trip, but at drop-off (I now realize) we were only given a cursory overview of how everything worked. It seemed straightforward at the time, and we figured that any questions we had could be answered by consulting the manual. BUT it turns out the manual is primarily for technical use/troubleshooting for each piece of equipment (i.e. generator, septic system, thermostat) but not *how* to work them -- or how they work together. So we had to ping Ryker almost daily with basic questions. For example, not being able to get the generator to start on our first night (turns out the gas tank must be over 1/4 full -- a critical piece of information we weren't told at drop-off and wasn't in the manual); where the water hookup was (we had to send labeled photos to understand which hoses/valves to use and what position they needed to be in)...much of this could be avoided with better instructions in the vehicle -- or better yet, YouTube videos demonstrating how it's done.

It's also a stretch to say this RV sleeps six people. My husband, 5-year-old daughter and I slept comfortably in the loft bed over the cab, but my 75-year-old father had to balance on a queen air mattress clearly too large for the kitchenette-converted bed (see photo). He eventually abandoned that in favor of the patchwork cushions, which would slip out of place over the course of the night. There is a second, small couch that would fit a child (or someone less than 5 feet tall). At best it can sleep 4 adults and 2 children.

Finally, a small inconvenience. One joy of road trips (for us) is the amazing view outside the big, wonderful windows. That's why I booked this RV -- great picture windows! But the curtains on the driver side picture window continually fell down. That said, for a 2009 model, it was otherwise clean and in very good shape.

We will definitely be going on more RV trips, but will be more thorough about insistent about making sure there are clear directions beforehand (AND in the vehicle) before taking off into the wild blue yonder!