Searching for an Owner's Manual

[Amanda]

Hello, My husband and I just bought a 1998 Four Winds Five Thousand Class C Motorhome. It is in great shape for it's age, but needs some updating. One very important item that was not included with our purchase was an owner's manual. I would be willing to pay $ for a copy if someone has it! It could be scanned and emailed to me and I would pay!!!! So, if you can help a newbie out, it would be greatly appreciated!! 

Thank you,

NewToMeRV

[Kirk W]

Welcome to the Escapee forums! 

RV owner's manuals are usually of only limited use and for that reason are often discarded early in the life of an RV so I doubt that you will find one for a 24 year old RV. But there is help in that the manual for your appliances and chassis are probably readily available online. If you tell us more of what make& model of appliances and chassis you have we can probably help you to find links that will enable you to download copies of them in .pdf format. 

[Amanda]

Thank you for the info. I will get back to you with more information!

 

[DanZemke]

I googled:  1998 Four Winds Five Thousand pdf

and received mainly scams.  But I did find a pdf of the original brochure which has many specs like weight limits, tank sizes, engine type, wheel base ...

https://static.kingscampers.com/pdf/inventory/78542d7b2a9f7f573015493ac5c2c508.pdf

The Thor site provides owners manual pdfs for the last few years.  It also says to login to the Owners Resource Portal for older model years. To sign up,  It wants your name, email address, street address, phone number and VIN number for the vehicle you own.  IMO, there's a good chance that Thor has a copy of the manual you're seeking.  If I were in your shoes, I'd give it a try.  Realizing that I might get a few sales calls and/or mailings 😉

https://www.thormotorcoach.com/owners

Good luck!

[Amanda]

Thank you DanZemke for your response and the links provided. I had located thormotorcoach.com through my google search and even found the Owner's resource portal prior to reaching out in this forum. However, when I added my VIN it considered it invalid. I double checked my numbers/letters and tried two more times. Still invalid. Next step is to double check the VIN on the RV to be sure it was copied down correctly and then try Thor again. 

Thank you! Your help is much appreciated!

[Kirk W]

23 minutes ago, Amanda said:

However, when I added my VIN it considered it invalid. I double checked my numbers/letters and tried two more times. Still invalid. Next step is to double check the VIN on the RV to be sure it was copied down correctly and then try Thor again. 

Are you using the RV's VIN or that of the chassis?

[DanZemke]

6 hours ago, Amanda said:

Next step is to double check the VIN on the RV to be sure it was copied down correctly and then try Thor again.

You're welcome.  I have had trouble manually copying a VIN too.   Below is a web site that provides a quick and easy to use VIN decoder.  I just copy/pasted my VIN into its VIN field along with the year my vehicle was manufactured.  It responded with a bunch of information like make, model,  fuel type, horse power etc.  If the typed in VIN is invalid, it will tell you so.

FYI, I keep a short (encrypted) text file with all of the long number/letter strings I occasionally need.  Like credit card numbers, bank accounts, VINs,  ...  That way it's easy to copy and paste them when needed.

https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/decoder/

 

Edited November 29, 2022 by DanZemke
Changed link to VIN decoder from a private party to the US gov site

[Ray,IN]

RV owners manuals are generic from the factory to cover all versions of that model for that year. It's my experience RV owners manuals  are simply an overview, with very little specifics.

IMO you really need specific repair manuals for appliances and RV components, which may be downloaded here: https://myrvworks.com/manuals/  That is a searchable database of repair and service manuals for a multitude of items.

[Amanda]

Thank you all for your assistance!

There is so much to know!

I am so glad this forum is here for a newbie like me!! 

 

Blessings!!!

[Kirk W]

5 minutes ago, Amanda said:

There is so much to know!

Feel free to ask questions anytime as helping each other is what these forums are all about. Most of us are only passing on what others have shared with us in the past.

[RV_]

There is a generic manual by Bob Livingston I found invaluable when we were fulltime for seven years. Here is a copy very cheap and used but should have the info for your vintage appliances and systems. Trust me this is gold for a beginner in addition to the manufacturer manuals. I own this one and i is still useful.

https://www.secondsale.com/p/rv-repair-and-maintenance-manual-updated-and-expanded/3058277?ean13=9780934798457&id_product_attribute=59479774&campaignid=416104559&adgroupid=1302921573918439&keyword=&device=c&msclkid=425353719df71398d09930eaf5ca3723&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=SS - Smart Shopping - MidRange Used&utm_term=4585032215349103&utm_content=Ad group

 

 

[57becky]

This is another excellent manual:  https://www.amazon.com/Woodalls-Owners-Handbook-Yourself-Maintenance/dp/076275141X/ref=sr_1_3?gclid=CjwKCAiAy_CcBhBeEiwAcoMRHCQcPAxCdbYZ6_ekUyeNwj9xNtNqtGcx_ixuVIwiDHXxjeTraHPN8hoC79IQAvD_BwE&hvadid=241954091720&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1013962&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=11435255382554043328&hvtargid=kwd-21496661&hydadcr=24659_10400695&keywords=rv+repair+manual&qid=1671230047&sr=8-3

[Anawilliam850]

Thank you for he owner's manual! I was looking for this in the internet and I didn't find