1999 Winnebago Chieftain 35U

1999 was the first year that the 35U floor plan was introduced to the public in the Winnebago Chieftain and the Itasca Sunflyer, with the Sunflyer being a few inches longer in the front than the Chieftain. Here is the floor plan:

Technical Data

Exterior dimensions are:

• Length: 35' 9"
• Width: 8" 5.5"
• Height: 11' 11"
• Wheelbase:  219" for Chevy chassis, 228" for Ford chassis
• GVWR: 21,000 for Chevy chassis, 20,500 for Ford chassis
• Engines: Chevy 7.4 ltr, 265 hp, 390 lb-ft torque, Ford, 6.8 ltr, 410 lb-ft torque.

Capacities are:

• Basement storage: 92.1 cu. ft.
• Fresh water: 98 gallons
• Grey water: 48 gallons
• Black water: 40 gallons
• LP: 28 gallons

Interior dimensions are:

• 8' .5" wide
• 6' 8" high

The  benefits of this model include:

1. Two slides increase the living space adding to the living/dining area, as well as at the end of the bed, and on the forward side of the bed. By having the closet be a part of the bedroom slide on the forward side of the bed, it opens up a large area when the slide is extended that can be combined with the bedroom and/or the bathroom, and be used as a dressing area.
2. The design is such that the bathroom door doubles as a divider to segregate the bathroom and bedroom area from the forward part of the coach.
3. The RV queen size bed has good walking space on both sides of it, allowing for ease when making the bed, along with a fairly secure storage area between the bed and the rear wall when traveling.
4. Lots of cabinets in the living/dining area on just about all the walls, as well as in the bedroom with cabinets above and across from the bed, and next to the bed with large night stands that have deep drawers.
5. Able to run both air conditioners on 30 amp service easily.
6. Has a 7,000 watt generator as standard equipment rather than as an option, as other brands of gas coaches did at that time.
7. A convenient driver's door with a crank down window enabling a 2nd entrance and exit, that's useful when getting gas, or checking the coach on the street side.
8. A fiberglass roof, which is something all higher priced motor homes have.

The drawbacks of this model are:

1. The galley is very small with very little counter space between the range and the sinks, and not counter extension.  In order to have a decent food prep area, one, or both, of the sinks need to have its cover on, or the dining table needs to be utilized.
2. Cabinets have premium wood doors, but the framework is made of cheaper wood covered with paper.  The paper will fade over time making the cabinet doors and the frames look like they're not meant to be together.  Cabinet drawer sides are made with a lower grade of wood which may result in the drawers falling apart and needing to be rebuilt.
3. The dashboard has been designed so that the steering wheel blocks much of the instrument panel, regardless of where the driver has the seat positioned.  The driver has to be tall, or lean forward to see all the gauges. 
4. The curb side, middle basement storage area is cluttered with hydraulic lines for the dining/living slide and leveling jacks going through much it, hampering storage of long items.
5. There is no window in the rear cap which could be used to let in more light, nor are there north/south windows in the slides where there are spaces for them.  If there were windows in the slides, they could also be used not only for light, but to help with ventilation.
6. The living/dining slide doesn't make a flat floor when it's out, there's a 2 3/4" lip that has to be stepped up to get to the dining table.
7. Going into the rig means stepping onto carpet at the top of the steps so that area gets more traffic than other places.  A good alternative would be to have hard flooring, or a throw rug there.
8. The crank up TV antenna has no warning light to say when the antenna is up.  This can lead to an embarrassing situation and/or possible antenna and/or roof damage if it's left up while traveling.

History of the Chieftain 35U

Model year 2000 changes:

• Counter top extension added in 2000
• Air conditioners moved from the roof to the basement reducing the capacities for basement storage to 72.4 cu. ft.,  and fresh water to 86 gallons.
• North/south windows added in the dining/living room slide.

Model year 2001 changes:

• Capacity for fresh water increased to 90 gallons.

If you like this floorplan, it was added to the Adventurer/Suncruiser lines in 2000, continuing with them until 2006, and was deleted from the Chieftain/Sunflyer lines after 2001.  The length of the Adventurer/Suncruiser models was shortened by about six inches or so, making the walking room around the bed at the rear of the coach somewhat tighter, and making the storage areas that much less also.  Similar floor plans were designed by different motor home manufacturers later on.

Thoughts about the 1999 Winnebago Chieftain 35U.  

As my wife and I live in this particular model, it's obviously a good choice for a full time RVing.  It's been our choice of a full time rig for many years as it works well with all the above benefits listed above (drawbacks too).  It wasn't until we started driving it that I noticed that I couldn't see the speedometer at speeds up to about 40 miles per hour, or the gas gauge without leaning over the steering wheel.  And that's about the same time we discovered situations with the rig as we started giving thoughts to make it the more livable than it was to begin with.

The first situation that we took care of was the sofa that was not as comfortable as we wanted it to be.  I'm  not saying that Winnebago puts uncomfortable furniture in their rigs, I'm saying that the rig was six years old when we got it, and it wasn't until six years later that we started full timing.  Eventually, we got a love seat recliner in place of the sofa, and were able to place a small chest of drawers on the north end of the love seat that acts as an end table and adds more storage.  It isn't odd to replace couches, may RVers do it.

Next was the dining table which was taken out when we started full-timing as it just wasn't right, neither were the upholstered chairs which were just too big, making it hard to get in and out of under the table.  After a few iterations of what we wanted, we finally settled on putting two 24" kitchen base cabinets on the dining area slide, separated by 24" where counter top is suspended between the cabinets and stands on two table legs on the other end on the floor.  Six feet of counter top was then put on top of the cabinets for a nice, long buffet.  When the slide extends, the table is then exposed and usable, and when the slide retracts, the table is then covered by the counter top on top of the cabinets.


As we're great proponents of not having to turn our necks to watch TV, we removed the lounge chair and pull up table behind the passenger seat, and covered up the window there also, so we could install an entertainment center enabling us watch our 46" TV across from our love seat.  The plastic frame and metalwork cabinet which held the TV above the dash was removed and replaced with a storage cabinet similar to the cabinetry in the rest of the coach.  This gave us even more storage in the entertainment center as well as the cabinet which replaced the TV cabinet.

Aside from various other slight modifications, the coach remains the same.

Regardless of what type of RV you may be contemplating (pop-up trailer, travel trailer, toy hauler, fifth wheeler, or motorhome), remember to look for storage places for these five necessary items in any RV you look at, with those five items being: shoes, dirty clothes, a garbage receptacle, a broom, and hooks.  In other words, where would these items go?  In the 1999 Chieftain 35U, these are the spaces that are used:

• Shoes go in the closet across from the bathroom, or possibly behind the lounge chair next to the door.
• Dirty clothes go in the hamper on the street side of the bedroom.
• A garbage receptacle goes in its designated area under the sink.
• The broom goes along the wall in the bathroom immediately to the left as you enter, on a wall in the closet in the bedroom, from one of the hooks installed in the rig.
• The hooks are put on the bedroom side of the sliding door between the bedroom and the bathroom, or on the wall next to the bathroom door to hang those clothes you want handy.

Also, if you’re gonna be a full time RVer, I suggest getting the following items for comfort and safety:

• Vent covers to allow the roof vents to be open during rainy weather for better ventilation.
• Upgrade the loud ineffective bathroom vent fan(s) with a quieter, more efficient Fantastic or Create-a-Breeze fan that can be used to ventilate your whole rig rather than provide noise while you're using the bathroom.
• Invest in an rv surge protector to protect your rig from electrical spikes and/or an autoformer to step up voltage when shore power voltage is low to protect your electrical and electronic components such as air conditioners, refrigerators, and TVs.
• If the rig has a crank-up TV antenna, replace it with a TV antenna that doesn't need to be cranked up to save you from embarrassment and the cost of replacing the antenna later when it hits the roof, and a possible roof repair.
• Replace the tires if they're more than five years old to save you from having a blowout while you're going down the highway and causing a lot of damage to your rig.
• Replace the toilet bowl seal if the rig has been sitting for long periods of time with the toilet left dry, or if water leaks out of the toilet bowl causing the seal to dry out.  It helps keep odors where they need to be kept rather than in your rig.
• If you're contemplating a motor home, consider upgraded shocks and anti-sway bars for a better ride, and a steering damper or similar equipment for steering safety in case of blow out or heavy winds.

With the exception of the tires, you can buy the above items at reputable RV parts stores.

HAPPY TRAVELLING!