All in the Family: Winnebago’s Minnie Plus 29RBH Review

Winnebago’s Minnie Plus 29RBH has an open living space, an impressive kitchen and a three-bed bunk room that allows kids to be kids

I was kicked back in a cushioned lounge chair, tapping away on my laptop under blue skies at an upscale desert RV resort located east of Los Angeles. Not a cloud was to be found on this 78-degree day, and in between the high-end RVs parked across from me, I caught glimpses of the picture-perfect golf course with its fountains, waddling ducks and colorful beds of flowers. Jovial folks walked by my RV site, some on a fast-paced mission to stay in shape, others with dogs impatiently pulling them along, and some on a leisurely stroll who stopped to chat. Everyone was happy, relaxed and friendly. There are worse places to be stuck, but stuck I was for a while until a needed hitch part arrived.

I was “practicing” retirement while hanging out in a Minnie Plus fifth-wheel parked on a site within the five-star resort community. The Minnie Plus 29RBH was introduced by Winnebago in 2018 and is one of four floorplans built on a BAL NXG-engineered chassis. This two-slide, rear-bunkhouse model with its light and bright interior is 3 inches shy of 34 feet and has a gross vehicle weight rating of just under 10,000 pounds. The Minnie Plus line is offered in a half-dozen color choices ranging from bold to subtle, including a green one that may be hard to locate if you’re camping in a dense forest.

Welcome Home

When not lounging outside in the sun, my seat of choice was in one of the chocolate-brown leatherette theater recliners conveniently located just a few steps inside the entry door. The comfy two-seater placed us in a perfect location to view the 43-inch HDTV on a bracket that simply pulls out without the use of a release lever. Two cupholders are located in the seating’s shared center armrest, and the console is good for stowing TV and fireplace remotes. Overhead are the King Jack over-the-air HDTV antenna controls, and push-button-activated LEDs are affixed to the underside of a large row of cabinetry. The person working in the kitchen can view the telly, too, without blocking the line of sight for the ones lazing in the recliners.

More Family-Friendly RVs

The person sitting with their tootsies up on the footrests closest to the entry door may encroach on walk space at the edge of the kitchen, depending on how much of his or her legs overhang. Naturally, this was my husband’s favorite seat, and with Bill being 6 feet, 4 inches, I had to skirt by his stretched-out legs when passing between the living area and bedroom.

Below the kitchen counter is a 26-inch Greystone electric fireplace with remote control, timer and nine flame intensities. Heat settings range from 59 to 90 degrees, and the fireplace kept us toasty during cool evenings. Our site backed to a high cinder-block wall, and when the 30,000-Btu furnace was needed, it sounded like a V-8 reverberating off that wall, so we preferred the quieter and cheerful warmth of the fireplace.

The living area is welcoming and spacious with its Pearl color scheme, 8-foot-high curved ceiling, big windows, and light-colored walls and cabinets in Sandstone. Floor space is more than 5 feet wide with the slide open. The U-shaped dinette, with its freestanding table and 4-inch-thick cushions, can squeeze in five adults, though legroom is at a premium. Under each dinette bench is carpeted storage, but it’s not especially convenient to get to since it has to be accessed from the top, and the cushions need to be removed before lifting up the plywood base. Drawers would be a better choice.

USB and 120-volt AC outlets bookend the dinette, with its pendant light, and a release lever on the table starts the process of transforming it into a 75-by-44-inch fireside bed. Large windows allow for a wonderful cross breeze. At night, pull down the pleated shades on the dinette’s windows and close the aluminum mini blinds on the kitchen window, and the 29RBH’s interior is illuminated with abundant lighting.

With its big marble-look, solid-surface countertop, plentiful storage and 70-inch-long window, the kitchen is what most impressed everyone who walked through the door (and there were a lot since the resort’s curious RVers liked to check out others’ homes). The kitchen’s landing space is accentuated by sunlight that pours in through this window that spans almost the length of the counter.

What we liked

Impressive, roomy kitchen with enormous counter space and sliding window; comfy recliners; light, bright and homey feel.

What we’d like to see

Refrigerator and bunk-room accessibility with slide retracted, more cargo-carrying capacity, drawers in dinette benches.

Working at the expansive, 2-foot-deep countertop was a joy for those of us who like to spread out when cooking. There was room to have multiple bowls and utensils nearby and to plate food right from the three-burner Suburban range, with its flush-fitting fold-down cover. At one point, we had six dinner plates lined up on the counter to the left of the range. Push-button LEDs above the sink and under the cabinets light up counter space.
Over the range is a 1-cubic-foot stainless-steel microwave, the bottom of which is placed at the 5½-foot level, which may be a stretch for shorter folks to reach into or see the controls. On the flip side, it’s out of reach of children.

The two-basin stainless-steel sink, with an arched pull-down faucet and sprayer, is housed in the counter across from the fridge, and the wall behind it is covered with a sealed white backsplash that looks like tile. One swipe of the sponge after doing dishes and water splatters were gone. Sink covers add another 2½ feet of working counter space. In fact, there’s enough room in the L-shaped kitchen that one person can be doing KP duty at the sink while another is cooking at the range without intruding on the other’s elbow room.
Plentiful kitchen storage space is located high and low, with large cabinets under the sink, a double-door cabinet with tempered glass over the sink and four drawers. The corner cabinet is so deep that some of the items on the top shelf ended up so far back that I (at 5 feet, 9 inches) was on tiptoes to retrieve them. The overhead cabinets are set 5½ inches below the ceiling, which leaves overhead space for storing baking sheets and flat items.
Better to take them down before hitting the road, or whatever’s up there may land on the waterproof Congoleum floor.

Speaking of which, after some bite-size pieces of chopped potatoes launched themselves off the counter, requiring me to dive to the floor to stop them from going into the floor register between the range and fireplace, I moved to the corner counter to finish prepping breakfast where there is no register.

Among the plentiful storage is a drawer running the expanse of the kitchen counter that we loaded up with movies for the Bluetooth-equipped Jensen stereo, with DVD player and HDMI port, as well as a handy shelf below the TV with USB and 120-volt AC outlets. This is no wimpy shelf and a perfect place to keep keys, sunglasses, spices, coffee cups and cell phones for quick access. The easy-to-view iN-Command control system is located inside the entry door and can be paired to a cell phone or tablet for monitoring and operating the RV’s systems.

With the galley’s slideout stowed, there’s more than 2 feet of walk space to get around, but one of the theater seats is blocked. Most of the kitchen appliances can be used, except for the 8-cubic-foot Dometic refrigerator, or freezer, for that matter. The two-way (LP-gas and 120-volt AC) fridge almost contacts the upper and lower cabinetry by the sink, and blocks access into the rear bunk room. When packing up the 29RBH from our home, where extending the slide isn’t wise because of traffic, it was disappointing that I couldn’t access the fridge. And extending the slide partially didn’t work since the fridge door swings open from the bunk-room side.

Fit for Three

Since the bunk room is not accessible with the galley’s slideout retracted, if it’s not practical to open the slide during pack-up, you’ll need to plan ahead for what gets stowed there. Several parents joked that “when you’ve had it up to here with your kids,” you can send them to their room and close the slide! The bunk room is light and bright with windows on three walls — a window/emergency exit next to the top bunk, another large one over the single bunk, plus a window on the right as you walk into the room.

With three 6-foot-long single beds covered with soft Teddy Bear bunk mattress covers, an optional TV, shelving for toys and plenty of storage for more toys (including under one bed), kids will be delighted with their own space. Two bunks are low and one is high, and some parents may have to step on the lower bunk to plant a good-night kiss on the child in the upper bunk.

Bed and Bath

At the other end of the 29RBH, up two steps, is the master bedroom and the bathroom with its two entries via sliding doors that lock for travel. Sitting on the top step by the entry door turned out to be the perfect place to put on my shoes, and the lower step would likely be a good spot for kids to do the same while they’re running out the door.

The bedroom’s light decor, carpeted walk space on each side of the residential-size queen bed and curved wall, with overhead shelf and mirrored wardrobes, emanates tranquility. The shelf has a lip that keeps stuff from rolling off and is situated about 26 inches over the head of the bed. It took us a few hits on our heads from that shelf while crawling into bed to acclimate to it. Overhead are a 120-volt AC outlet, two USB ports and flexible reading LEDs that twist into position for the user.

The comfy 7-inch-thick mattress rests on a platform that can be lifted up via gas struts to reveal carpeted storage that is almost a foot deep. A 32-inch TV on a ceiling-mounted bracket over the foot of the bed swings down for good viewing while lying down, and two speakers are ceiling-mounted.

The wardrobe, housed in the streetside slideout, has multiple drawers, adjustable shelves and a hanging clothes rod, and conveniently extends into the bathroom. With the slideout in the travel position, entry into the bathroom from the bedroom is blocked, but all of the wardrobe’s compartments can be accessed, although one drawer opens only halfway. While in our RV site, this wardrobe-sharing-a-bedroom-and-bathroom setup made it convenient to get ready.

The bathroom’s open feel is enhanced by a rounded glass shower enclosure and curved countertop. The curved shower has a wide entry and, with the skylight, offers more than 6½ feet of height. The handheld sprayer has a shutoff valve, and there are two good-size functional shelves for shampoo bottles. For me, the sink, set in the solid-surface 33-inch-high counter, was low, so I had to lean over quite a bit to wash my face, but the height is a plus for kids.

Open counter space allows room for toothbrushes, combs, lotions and soaps, and left a good place underneath to stow a little wastebasket that was out of the way. The bathroom’s LEDs light up the place, and over the mirrored medicine cabinet is a stylish glass light.

Outer Limits

A Lippert Solid Step stores inside the 5-foot, 9-inch-tall entry door and lowers easily for a rock-solid walk up its four steps. An outdoor kitchen, housed at the back of the 29RBH on the curb side, has a glide-out two-burner range, a 1.7-cubic-foot fridge, a plastic sink, an LED and a 120-volt AC outlet. The outside kitchen’s door is held up with magnetic latches, as are the doors on the 29RBH’s huge front pass-through storage that’s accessible from three sides. Power stabilizing jacks are standard, and an electric four-point leveling system is an option.

With such a lovely setting, we spent a lot of time outside under the shade of the 19-foot electric awning, with an LED light strip, operated through the iN-Command system. The bedroom’s wardrobe slide, at 6 feet, 2 inches, is situated high enough that I could walk under it when accessing the battery compartment, water hookups and outside sprayer. The locked docking station for freshwater allows the hose to be routed underneath so it’s not hanging off the side of the RV, and there are satellite and park cable hookups. Standard features include a black-tank flush, an undermounted full-size spare and a Curt hitch receiver rated for 3,000 pounds. The 29RBH came outfitted with the Extreme Weather Package, featuring heated and enclosed holding tanks.

From a space standpoint, the 29RBH can handle a family, but loading will be an issue. The wet weight (full water and propane, and no gear) of 9,408 pounds left only 587 pounds of cargo-carrying capacity (ccc). This is inadequate for a family of five. To carve out more ccc, owners can opt to carry minimal water (which adds more than 500 pounds if full), especially when headed to RV parks with hookups.

I packed up just as the wind was starting to pick up and headed toward home with a multitude of wind turbines in full operation. I stopped to fuel up, and when I went to retrieve the receipt, the attendant said, “Here’s your receipt for your five-star hotel on wheels!”

I hadn’t thought of it that way, but since he’d mentioned it, I started thinking of the Minnie Plus 29RBH as more like a Disneyland Hotel, with its three-bed bunkhouse, inviting central living area, delightful kitchen and comfortable bedroom that will keep the whole family happy. And here, the kids stay free.

Special thanks to Barber RV in Ventura, California.
www.barberrv.com

Specifications

2019 WINNEBAGO MINNIE PLUS 29RBH

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Trailer Life Managing Editor Donya Carlson grew up camping with her family in Southern California and loves spending time hiking, mountain biking, motorcycling, snowboarding and just about anything else outdoors. Before joining the Trailer Life and MotorHome team, she served as managing editor of Rider, a magazine for motorcycle enthusiasts.

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