2015 3170DS 6 month/5,000 mile review

[6inthefamily]

In April, I purchased a 2015 Sunseeker 3170DS from Pontiac RV, in Pontiac, Il. My family previously camped using a ford Excursion diesel pulling a 30ft XLR toyhauler. Now we pull a 16ft double axle trailer behind our 3170DS. In 2013, we sold the Excursion and XLR as the family lost interest and really disliked road tripping in the Excursion.

Purchase and service:
Pontiac RV (40 miles from my home) matched the lowest price in the nation I could find on a 3170DS (Saved me a one way plane ticket and 1,000 mile drive home). I negotiated the price over the phone, and paid by check for a very easy purchase. There were no surprises at pickup, and the RV was delivered with full fuel, propane, and extensive walk through that was as long as I wanted.
During the walkthru 4 issues were found and the parts were ordered that day. I chose to bring back the RV several months later for the issues to be corrected and any other issues to be fixed. Service was performed timely and professionally with no concerns. (Dropped off Sunday, picked up the following Saturday morning)

List of issues (all resolved, the first 4 were noted at the time of sale)
1. 4" tear in slide out cover (cover replaced by dealer)
2. Broken shower door latch (latch replaced by dealer)
3. Crack on exterior TV frame (TV replaced by dealer)
4. Chip in back bedroom door ( door replaced by dealer)
5. Alignment was poor, realigned by dealer at 3,000 miles, much easier to drive now.
6. Toilet didn't hold water and allowed black water tank smell. (Adjusted by dealer)
7. Rear view camera image was flipped. I adjusted after reading manual.
8. Table rattled really loud while driving. I put a small piece of rubber fuel line hose around the table locking mechanism and it quieted the rattle.

Feedback on RV
1. The mileage gets better with every trip. (65mph in the hills and up to 70 mph when it's flat) towing I am getting 7.5mpg.
2. Changed to full synthetic motor oil and installed k&n intake kit (new on eBay for half price). I am happy with both of these changes and the RV performs well towing approx 3500lbs.
3. My family loves it! Driving easy down the highway is now part of the trip. This was a big change for us. We use to hurry to our destination with our previous SUV/camper combo so we could get setup and start camping. Now we are all enjoying the drive, restroom, and meals over the road much, much more.
4. Love the heat pump!
5. Overall very happy with the quality and performance of the 3170DS so far. It's not as flashy or impressive to look at compared to some of the class a rv's we considered. But it's just what we needed and we have no regrets with the purchase.
6. Wife loves the exterior windshield/door window cover. It kind of amazed my wife and I that the RV came with that crappy Velcro shade for the cab. We recommend throwing that away asap.

A big thanks to Phil (sales) and Mike (service walk through) at Pontiac RV for a great experience.

[MNtraveler]

👍👍

[funfinder5]

Completely agree with ease and enjoyment in travel. We came out of a 2500 Dodge Cummings pulling a 30+ft TT. 5 of us in a four door truck with no where to go, meant long road trips were not fun! Plus while on the road we still had to find a place to stop if we wanted to use our own bathroom in a 100+ degree TT. Finally stop for the day to a 110-120 degree house!

That sucked the fun out of it real quick.

We have 38,000+ miles on our 2011 3170DS and enjoy jumping inside and traveling all day just as we did when it was new.

[6inthefamily]

Originally Posted by funfinder5

Completely agree with ease and enjoyment in travel. We came out of a 2500 Dodge Cummings pulling a 30+ft TT. 5 of us in a four door truck with no where to go, meant long road trips were not fun! Plus while on the road we still had to find a place to stop if we wanted to use our own bathroom in a 100+ degree TT. Finally stop for the day to a 110-120 degree house!

That sucked the fun out of it real quick.

We have 38,000+ miles on our 2011 3170DS and enjoy jumping inside and traveling all day just as we did when it was new.

glad to hear you are enjoying it as much as when it was new. When making this significant purchase, making sure we use it was high on my wife and I's priority list.

We RV'ed 7,000 miles in 2015 (2000 in a rental before buying ours) and I think that will likely around our normal annual mileage.

How are your tires at 38,000? curious how long they last on these heavy RVs

[6inthefamily]

Here we are all loaded down for our last trip. We towed an 18 ft car hauler trailer with 2 side by sides. This was a heavier load than what we normally tow and I cant say I really noticed a difference towing. The 3170DS did great. We logged just over 1100 miles on this trip.

[6inthefamily]

Camping/Riding in Eastern TN in the fall was beautiful. I highly recommend it!

[funfinder5]

Originally Posted by 6inthefamily

How are your tires at 38,000? curious how long they last on these heavy RVs

All six were replaced around 28,000 miles for FREE due to the Michelin tire recall. I did have a blowout on an inside rear that prompted me to find out about the recall. At that age tread wise they still looked brand new, but you could just start to see side wall dry rot cracking.

5-7 years is about it on RV tires, only due to age.

[6inthefamily]

Thanks for the feedback. I was hoping to get some more life out of the tires storing the RV indoors, but I will keep a lookout for drying out and cracking.

[DXSMac]

Glad you love the 3170. I got the computer desk option and I am so happy with it! I hated always using the dining table. I feel SOOOO businesslike with that desk!

On the other hand, when I ordered the 3170, I indicated that I didn't need the center TV. Well, it came with that TV anyway, even though that TV is intended for the bunk bed version. I find that I am actually watching that TV when I'm at the computer desk. In fact, the stereo below allows me to play a DVD and I like that DVD player better than running it through the magnadyne.

[6inthefamily]

Originally Posted by DXSMac

Glad you love the 3170. I got the computer desk option and I am so happy with it! I hated always using the dining table. I feel SOOOO businesslike with that desk!

On the other hand, when I ordered the 3170, I indicated that I didn't need the center TV. Well, it came with that TV anyway, even though that TV is intended for the bunk bed version. I find that I am actually watching that TV when I'm at the computer desk. In fact, the stereo below allows me to play a DVD and I like that DVD player better than running it through the magnadyne.

We are not fans of the dining table, and are considering swapping a J couch and post table in its place.

I haven't seen the computer desk option but it sounds nice. At this point in our lives (4 kids in the house) the bunks sure work well.

[6inthefamily]

Update: I installed the K&N FIPK kit on my 2015 3170DS about 1500 miles ago.

I regularly travel the same route with my RV, which is 230 miles each way. The last 1/3 of the trip involves quite a few hills requiring me to either let the RV downshift 2 gears (if I left the cruise control on) or turn off the cruise and slow to around 55 to avoid downshifts.
The good:
.75 MPG better (I pull a 4,000 lb. trailer all the time)
about 50% less shifting while using the cruise control
it will pull hills in 4th that used to require 3rd to maintain speed at 55mph
The bad:
Considerably more intake noise when under a load. For example if you are climbing a long gradual hill (where the trans stays in 5th gear) with the cruise on at say 60-65 mph the intake noise can get pretty loud.


Overall my family continues to be very happy with our purchase of a 3170DS. I also added a small fan that plugs in the dash power port that helps keep the cab more comfortable on long drives with the just the rear AC going.
We are currently building a new home so we are not camping much this year.


This fall I will be building a pole barn (24x45x14) to store the RV so I am excited for that. And will likely be looking for advice from those who have built RV garages in the past.

[Kiya75]

Originally Posted by 6inthefamily

We are not fans of the dining table, and are considering swapping a J couch and post table in its place.

I haven't seen the computer desk option but it sounds nice. At this point in our lives (4 kids in the house) the bunks sure work well.

Be sure to post some pics if you swap to that J couch. We are trying to decide what to with that space ourselves!