Our Top 5 Upgrade Recommendations for Class A RV Life

Our Top 5 Upgrade Recommendations for Class A RV Life
Products to make life in your motorhome even more enjoyable.

By: Katelyn & Howard Newstate

Since hitting the road full-time in 2018, the only RV we’ve ever lived and traveled in is our Winnebago Navion. As you would probably do, before any big change, we did our research and asked a lot of questions about Class A life. How’s the steering? Anything special about setting up camp? What’s on your wish list for standard equipment? 

Fellow RVers, the Winnebago team, and Facebook owner forums were just some of the resources we used to get advice on moving into a Class A for the first time. While Winnebago Class As already come with some great features (including one of our recommendations on this list, if your RV doesn’t include it from the factory), optional upgrades can improve the experience even further for travel days and creature comfort! 

Now that we’ve moved into the Vista NPF for this year’s tour of 51 National Parks in 52 weeks and had a chance to test it out, here are our top 5 upgrades we would recommend for Class A RV life.

Important Note: As for any upgrade or mod, making changes to your RV would be at your own risk. The upgrades listed here are not a direct recommendation from Winnebago. 

Our Top 5 Upgrade Recommendations for Class A Motorhomes:

1. Safe T Plus Precision Steering Control

This was the top recommendation from our friends in Class As, and not just for the safety aspect. (Special thanks to fellow Winnebago Ambassadors Kenny and Sabrina from Moving Forward Adventures!) As the name indicates, Safe T Plus Precision Steering Control brings significant safety to your RV and improves the steering performance at the same time.

Continuously and automatically reducing oversteering, it reduces the effect of cross winds, bad roads, and the pull of passing trucks. In the event of a tire blowout, the Safe T Plus makes it easier to control your steering and safely pull off the road. 

While you CAN install this product on your own, there are many dealers and service centers who can help with the installation. We had ours installed by the Winnebago Service Center in Forest City, IA, and it makes quite a difference in the steering of the Vista NPF!

2. RV SnapPad

Another product that fulfills two purposes! SnapPads are very popular, and are compatible with both motorhomes and towable RVs that have leveling systems. They primarily act as permanent replacements to plastic or wooden pads you place under the leveling jacks. They “snap” into place when you install them, and that's where the name comes from.

However, another great benefit is that SnapPads help to protect and widen the surface area of your leveling jacks' “feet.” A bonus benefit is they also help protect pavement and other surfaces from scratches and marks left by metal jacks. SnapPads can be installed in a matter of minutes, ideally with two people to make lowering the jack into place easier to snap them on.

3. RV A/C Silencer

Chalk this product up to a campfire discussion by the company’s founder. What if you could reduce the noise of ducted RV air conditioners and make the experience inside an RV quieter (and more enjoyable!) without replacing the entire A/C? Sounds kinda Wacko? That question led to the patented RV A/C Silencer by WackO Products (he really did name the company after people telling him the idea was Wacko, haha).

The A/C Silencer replaces the grates, filter, and hardware on the ceiling of your RV A/C and attaches with simple screws to existing holes in the mounting plate. Without drilling, you gain a sound baffling system for the air intake, with an improved electrostatic air filter, too. The results speak for themselves, and it is an easy DIY project. 

We've installed them on our Winnebago Navion and Vista NPF, while fellow Winnebago Ambassadors The Fit RV added the RV A/C Silencer on their Winnebago EKKO and Kenny and Sabrina from Moving Forward Adventures have one in their Vista, too. 

Like other products on this list, you can certainly install it yourself in about 30 minutes or have a dealer or service center do the work. Compatible with all ducted air conditioners from Coleman-Mach, Dometic, and GE. 

4. Hughes Power Watchdog Smart Surge Protector (EPO)

Yet again, a single product that serves multiple purposes! First, the Hughes Power Watchdog is indeed a Surge Protector. When you plug it into the pedestal at the campground, it keeps the power disconnected for four seconds while it ensures that everything checks out and is safe. 

After the safety check, the Watchdog energizes the electric cord to your RV but continues monitoring the power and provides protection from low voltage (brownouts), high voltage, wiring issues, and more. Whether it detects an issue right when you plugin or later, it has built-in EPO (Emergency Power Off) that will shut down the power flowing to the RV and then goes back to monitoring to determine if the condition later resolves (it will then automatically reconnect the power). 

Hughes also added to the product a truly unique built-in Bluetooth functionality and companion app. This enables you to monitor from INSIDE the RV the status of your power, and if there is a fault it will tell you in the app. Recently, Hughes added compatibility with the RV Whisper system (which uses Wifi or cellular to report the status of compatible sensors like the Watchdog).

This means you can check the status of your RV electricity from ANYWHERE (not just within range of a Bluetooth connection). Like other surge protectors, this is available as a plug and play or a permanent installation in your RV.

5. SumoSprings by SuperSprings

Unique in the Winnebago model lineup, the Vista NPF comes standard with SumoSprings from the factory. Available in a range of sizes and stiffness, these are also popular upgrades for many RVers. 

SumoSprings are made with a unique micro-cellular polyurethane material (contrary to popular belief, they are NOT made from rubber), and are a patented progressive spring with a very soft initial engagement. Essentially, as you add more weight, they get harder and push back even more.

SumoSprings reduce sag while helping with harsh rebounds from bumps and road damage. Many fellow owners of Winnebago Navions and Views have installed them. The springs are an excellent DIY upgrade to your suspension.

Want to see these upgrades in action? Check out this video:

That’s our top five list, what about yours? What upgrades have you made to your RV that made a difference in your camping experience?

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Howard and Katelyn Newstate have traveled over 80,000 miles in their Winnebago Navion Class C RV, exploring from Alaska to mainland Mexico since 2018. Joined by their adventure pups, Piper, Ella, and Scout, they share how to “Live Like a Local” in every New State they explore. For more information on their travels or the 51 Parks in 52 Weeks tour, visit NewstateNomads.com/NationalParks.