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2005 Journey 34H opinions

Gjac
Explorer III
Explorer III
In my search for a short Class A I found a 2005 Journey 34H with a 350 HP cat 3000 Allision 6 speed transmission. I know nothing about DP's and the only problem I have heard about on here is to check the roof caulking so roof does not come loose. Any other things check would be helpful.
22 REPLIES 22

THutch
Explorer
Explorer
Duplicate post
Tom & Norma
NEW: 2011 Tiffin Allegro Bus 43QRP
Previous: 2005 Itasca Meridian 34H
NEW: 2007 Jeep Liberty 4x4, 4-Down, Blue Ox with Brake Buddy Classic
Previous: 2007 HHR LT 4-Down, Blue Ox with Blue Ox Patriot

THutch
Explorer
Explorer
Our previous coach was a 2005 Itasca Meridian 34H. It served us well for 10 years, before we decided to move up to our current Tiffin Allegro Bus.

Interior floor plan was great, except for tightness on the passenger side of the bed. We had the normal control boards fail on the Norcold and the basement air. Only problem we had on the road with our Cat 350, was a turbo sensor failure. We overnighted at a Cat Service Center and they had us back on the road the next morning.

It was a great coach! We just wanted bigger, wanted a tag, and residential fridge.

Good luck in your decision!
Tom & Norma
NEW: 2011 Tiffin Allegro Bus 43QRP
Previous: 2005 Itasca Meridian 34H
NEW: 2007 Jeep Liberty 4x4, 4-Down, Blue Ox with Brake Buddy Classic
Previous: 2007 HHR LT 4-Down, Blue Ox with Blue Ox Patriot

Rodz
Explorer
Explorer
I had an 06 Journey. It never gave me any trouble and The 350 Cat was flawless. Lot's of nice features. I traded it in on a new Newmar. It wasn't long before I wished I had my Journey back.

Mile_High
Explorer
Explorer
Bruce Brown wrote:
Reread my post - those are dealer ordered units on the dealers floorplan, not Newmars.

But you know that, you just like to argue. :W
Nope, don't like to argue at all, just hate people that use BS to try to put their stuff on a shelf above the rest. Obviously you fell for the persuasive propaganda in the ad by Newmar, but in reality, what sets that business model apart from anyone elses? Do you really think other manufacturers get so far ahead in production they keep building unsold units?
2013 Winnebago Itasca Meridian 42E
2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara Towed

Gjac
Explorer III
Explorer III
DSDP Don wrote:
My sister owned a 2004 Itasca Meridian, the sister to the Journey. It was a great coach. The 350 Cat was a good motor for the size of the coach. Plenty of power. The cabinets were all wood and held up nicely. The only issue, over and above normal maintenance, was the way that Winnebago attached the front hood and engine cover. They glued them on. They eventually came loose. They were easy to repair and you can find how they did it in the Winnebago forum.

If it's in good shape, I wouldn't hesitate buying it.
I think every Mfg has some weak designs or other features that you don't like. Case in point when I bought my current MH 12 years ago I did not Know the 454"s and 460's had a problem of leaking exhaust manifolds after replacing the gasket once the manifold cracked the following year I then installed headers which fixed the problem once and for all and provided a cooler running engine with an additional 80 HP. The fix was much better than the original design. So it is good to know these things ahead of time and know what others have done to improve on the design flaws or weaknesses.

DSDP_Don
Explorer
Explorer
My sister owned a 2004 Itasca Meridian, the sister to the Journey. It was a great coach. The 350 Cat was a good motor for the size of the coach. Plenty of power. The cabinets were all wood and held up nicely. The only issue, over and above normal maintenance, was the way that Winnebago attached the front hood and engine cover. They glued them on. They eventually came loose. They were easy to repair and you can find how they did it in the Winnebago forum.

If it's in good shape, I wouldn't hesitate buying it.
Don & Mary
2019 Newmar Dutch Star 4018 - All Electric
2019 Ford Raptor Crew Cab

Bruce_Brown
Moderator
Moderator
Reread my post - those are dealer ordered units on the dealers floorplan, not Newmars.

But you know that, you just like to argue. :W
There are 24 hours in every day - it all depends on how you choose to use them.
Bruce & Jill Brown
2008 Kountry Star Pusher 3910

Mile_High
Explorer
Explorer
Bruce Brown wrote:
Correct, the KSDP 3354 and 3355. There are many others as well, in different years.

As far as being more rare, you bet - that's kind of the case with most Newmars. Newmar doesn't build a MH unless it's sold. It may be sold to a dealer for his lot, but it's sold before it leaves the factory. I think they used to have an ad that said something like we mass produced one at a time. That business model has worked well for them and certainly doesn't flood the market with new or used.


Who are you kidding? I guess the 50 in stock units at Transwest in Colorado alone are Newmars somebody ordered and changed their mind after they saw them? Some of these are last years that never sold. Cmon, we arent talking Newell here!
2013 Winnebago Itasca Meridian 42E
2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara Towed

Bruce_Brown
Moderator
Moderator
Correct, the KSDP 3354 and 3355. There are many others as well, in different years.

As far as being more rare, you bet - that's kind of the case with most Newmars. Newmar doesn't build a MH unless it's sold. It may be sold to a dealer for his lot, but it's sold before it leaves the factory. I think they used to have an ad that said something like we mass produced one at a time. That business model has worked well for them and certainly doesn't flood the market with new or used.
There are 24 hours in every day - it all depends on how you choose to use them.
Bruce & Jill Brown
2008 Kountry Star Pusher 3910

Gjac
Explorer III
Explorer III
Bruce Brown wrote:
Gjac wrote:
I have not been able to find many DP's in the 34 ft range except for the 32T and 34H. The only bad thing that I found is that there is no pass tru storage bays on these units. My old gas MH has two. Storage, FW, battery power and HP to wt are important to me. Batteries can always be added so that is not a problem. Do any of the DP's in the 32-34 ft range have pass thru storage?

Keeping in the same vintage, I just checked the Newmar archives; the 2005 Kountry Star offered (2) 33' 8" models.with full pass through basements.

Even today they offer some under 35' with full basements.

You're looking for a MH with a raised rail chassis. A lot of the Winnies used straight rail chassis.
Are you talking about the M3354 and M3355 it looks like they are on the freightliner chassis 330HP? I am looking at a 2012 Newmar Baystar on Sat, I like the hung wall concept. I will do a search for these two DPs to see if any are for sale in my area. They must be rare compared to the Winnies DP, I have not seen any listed on RVtrader or Craiglist. I saw an FW Excursion listed that was about 34 ft but was in Ca.

FIRE_UP
Explorer
Explorer
Gjac,
We have an '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the C-7 330HP CAT. It's an outstanding coach. It's very close in lots of ways to the 34H Journey other than its an Itasca. The fit and finish is great quality. Some worry about owning a CAT equipped coach. Well, first off, they don't break any more often than any Cummins does or, any Detroit for that matter (operated Detroits on the FD for over 30 years).
The "roof" thing is not as big a deal as some make it. Ours was 11 years old before the roof-to-gutter seals even showed signs of degradation. And even then, it was only a few feet from the front cap.
So, I removed all the old caulking/adhesive and, installed some new stuff. DONE! That was two years ago and it's been fine ever since. NO TAPE, just the correct SILICONE that was advised by folks that work on Winnes and Itascas for a living.
Anyway, we've now owned the coach for 6 years and have put 45K on the clock. Any coach will need SOME work every now and then. Some more, some less. I do all my own maintenance, inspections, brake work and more. And, speaking of brakes, ours has over 72K on the clock and the brakes are still at or above 80% or more. I don't expect to have to do any brake work for the full time of ownership.
The Journey and the Meridian are a very well known and purchased coach. I have many friends with both.
Scott
Scott and Karla
SDFD RETIRED
2004 Itasca Horizon, 36GD Slate Blue 330 CAT
2011 GMC Sierra 1500 Ext Cab 4x4 Toad
2008 Caliente Red LVL II GL 1800 Goldwing
KI60ND

Bruce_Brown
Moderator
Moderator
Gjac wrote:
I have not been able to find many DP's in the 34 ft range except for the 32T and 34H. The only bad thing that I found is that there is no pass tru storage bays on these units. My old gas MH has two. Storage, FW, battery power and HP to wt are important to me. Batteries can always be added so that is not a problem. Do any of the DP's in the 32-34 ft range have pass thru storage?

Keeping in the same vintage, I just checked the Newmar archives; the 2005 Kountry Star offered (2) 33' 8" models.with full pass through basements.

Even today they offer some under 35' with full basements.

You're looking for a MH with a raised rail chassis. A lot of the Winnies used straight rail chassis.
There are 24 hours in every day - it all depends on how you choose to use them.
Bruce & Jill Brown
2008 Kountry Star Pusher 3910

Blackdiamond
Explorer
Explorer
I don't think there are any with pass through, maybe the very rare 32' Country Coach, good luck finding one.
03' Fleetwood Southwind 32VS
Enclosed Trailer hauling the toys
05 525 EXC KTM
15' FE350s Husqvarna/KTM
07 Rhino, long travel, 4 seater

Gjac
Explorer III
Explorer III
I have not been able to find many DP's in the 34 ft range except for the 32T and 34H. The only bad thing that I found is that there is no pass tru storage bays on these units. My old gas MH has two. Storage, FW, battery power and HP to wt are important to me. Batteries can always be added so that is not a problem. Do any of the DP's in the 32-34 ft range have pass thru storage?