|
02-03-2019, 11:42 AM
|
#1
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 173
|
Forester 2861
We are thinking about this Forester and would love to hear from all y'all about what you like about it! And, any advice you might like to share. Thanks!
__________________
2014 8528 IKWS
Ford F-250 Diesel
Cricket the Cairn and Sally the Terrier Muppet Mix
|
|
|
02-06-2019, 11:04 AM
|
#2
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Burbank, CA
Posts: 158
|
One of the main reasons we bought the 2861 was for the dinette on the right(passenger) side of the coach. Most of our camping is at a beach in Ventura, CA in which you park along the beach with the passenger side to the ocean. We love to watch the sunsets while eating dinner at the dinette. We would not be able to do this if the dinette was on the other side. Also when you camp at most places the utilities and your neighbors site is on the left side. We dont enjoy looking out over the utilities or others sites or in some cases just bushes/trees just outside your window.
We also like the outdoor kitchen with the extra fridge. It is 110v so not really useable with no hookups but I installed solar and an inverter which keeps it running when we boondock. I basically use it for our adult beverages.
We have had ours for over 3 years and love it and have had no issues with it to date.
__________________
1978 Ford Rollalong
2004 Fleetwood Tioga 29V
2016 Forester 2861DS (11-13-15)
|
|
|
02-06-2019, 11:41 AM
|
#3
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 173
|
Thanks so much. Our Flagstaff 5th has dining on passenger side and you are absolutely right, that makes a big difference. I love knowing that you have not had any problems. I am trying to envision use of the storage space, moving from a roomy 5th to this. Do you have a toad?
Thanks for sharing,
Teme
__________________
2014 8528 IKWS
Ford F-250 Diesel
Cricket the Cairn and Sally the Terrier Muppet Mix
|
|
|
02-06-2019, 12:30 PM
|
#4
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Burbank, CA
Posts: 158
|
No toad yet. Maybe someday. Outside storage I must say is not the best but we have made it work and only bring what we really need and now have it down to actually not having all bins full. The counter space on the inside is VERY limited but that has not been a problem for us. For some it might but if you need a lot of kitchen counter space.
Another plus with the 2861 is with both slides in, the entire coach is still useable with only loosing the walk around part of the bed but can still sleep on it.
__________________
1978 Ford Rollalong
2004 Fleetwood Tioga 29V
2016 Forester 2861DS (11-13-15)
|
|
|
02-06-2019, 02:11 PM
|
#5
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: N California mountains
Posts: 294
|
We liked that the dinette was across from the sofa instead of along the same wall, makes it better when you have company and are seated in dinette and sofa. Having windows on both sides was a big deal for us, never know which side will be the best view, and the large window in the rear sometimes has the best view - great visibility all around.
As mentioned, being usable with both slides in is a great feature. Outside storage is not a problem for us coming from a B+, seems better than a lot of other Class Cs. We tow a 2-door Jeep Wrangler, the V10 handles it very well.
We have had it for 2-1/2 years now and have 18k miles on it, no major problems and enjoying it very much. We go away for 2-1/2 months in the winter and find it to be very comfortable for all that time. In fact, we are on the road in Arizona right now, escaping the major snow back home in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
It is a pleasure to drive, great road manners, only thing we did was to get an alignment with a lot of caster, that seems to be very important.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
__________________
2017 Forester 2861DS
towing 2015 Jeep Rubicon
|
|
|
02-06-2019, 06:37 PM
|
#6
|
The Driver
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: East Texas
Posts: 273
|
We have the Sunseeker 2860 that has the same floor plan, one of the main reasons we bought it. After 2 years and 12,000 miles we love it. We have stayed as long as 4 consecutive weeks and feel comfortable that we could stay longer.
Shower size is small, but the bathroom door opens to create a bath/shower area, which also creates privacy between the front and rear areas.
The wardrobe/drawer storage in the bedroom is really nice.
The kitchen is small, but we put a large piece of butcher block on the stove for more counter space. Kitchen drawers, there are 2. We have had to adjust to that. And you can't get in them with the slide closed.
We have the front entertainment center and it has some really good storage.
Since we have an older model, it has exterior storage instead of the kitchen. It's great for loading large bulky items. We put the propane fire pit and mount a 30lb propane bottle there. But the refrigerator/solar/inverter/adult beverage thing sounds really good!
Tanks sizes are good. We will need to dump freshwater tank on the 5th day and we are not extremely conservative.
Ours is well constructed and we have had no major breakdowns.
Good luck on your search!
__________________
Steve and Barbara
2011 Sunseeker 2860
2006 Honda CR-V
|
|
|
02-06-2019, 06:45 PM
|
#7
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: N California mountains
Posts: 294
|
PoppySteve makes a good point about the lack of kitchen drawers, only 2 small ones under the counter. We special ordered ours without the gas oven under the cook top and got two large drawers under the cook top. The optional micro/convection oven over the cook top does all the oven cooking that we need.
__________________
2017 Forester 2861DS
towing 2015 Jeep Rubicon
|
|
|
02-08-2019, 05:18 PM
|
#8
|
Member
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 50
|
We love our 2861. Personally, I would trade off the outside kitchen for more inside storage, but that’s just me. My wife disagrees. Love that everything is accessible with the slides in, with the exception of the drawers. Not too big of a deal for us. Ours is a 2018. We’ve had 2 issues. The ac stopped working on our 3rd trip. Replaced with no issue. Second issue was with one control pad in bedroom. It would not wake up once it went to sleep, unless you reset it. Still waiting on a replacement for the unit (over a month now). Other than that, we are very happy with it.
|
|
|
02-09-2019, 08:29 AM
|
#9
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 173
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by fobagbob
We liked that the dinette was across from the sofa instead of along the same wall, makes it better when you have company and are seated in dinette and sofa. Having windows on both sides was a big deal for us, never know which side will be the best view, and the large window in the rear sometimes has the best view - great visibility all around.
As mentioned, being usable with both slides in is a great feature. Outside storage is not a problem for us coming from a B+, seems better than a lot of other Class Cs. We tow a 2-door Jeep Wrangler, the V10 handles it very well.
We have had it for 2-1/2 years now and have 18k miles on it, no major problems and enjoying it very much. We go away for 2-1/2 months in the winter and find it to be very comfortable for all that time. In fact, we are on the road in Arizona right now, escaping the major snow back home in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
It is a pleasure to drive, great road manners, only thing we did was to get an alignment with a lot of caster, that seems to be very important.
Good luck with whatever you decide.
|
Does your rig have Helwig rear axle sway bar and Bilstein shocks?
__________________
2014 8528 IKWS
Ford F-250 Diesel
Cricket the Cairn and Sally the Terrier Muppet Mix
|
|
|
02-09-2019, 08:30 AM
|
#10
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 173
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by fobagbob
PoppySteve makes a good point about the lack of kitchen drawers, only 2 small ones under the counter. We special ordered ours without the gas oven under the cook top and got two large drawers under the cook top. The optional micro/convection oven over the cook top does all the oven cooking that we need.
|
Great to know you could special order the drawers, rather than the oven.
__________________
2014 8528 IKWS
Ford F-250 Diesel
Cricket the Cairn and Sally the Terrier Muppet Mix
|
|
|
02-09-2019, 10:37 AM
|
#11
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: N California mountains
Posts: 294
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Long Leaf Piners
Does your rig have Helwig rear axle sway bar and Bilstein shocks?
|
Stock sway bars, I did change to Bilstein shocks but the biggest improvement was the alignment with max caster. On my previous B+, I had to do front and rear sway bars, rear track bar, Bilsteins, max caster, and proper tire pressure to get good control. With the 2861 all that was needed was caster and proper tire pressure, now I don't get pushed around by passing big rigs or tail wagging the dog from my Jeep toad, a pleasure to drive. In fact, my wife is always complaining that I am driving with just one hand on the wheel!
__________________
2017 Forester 2861DS
towing 2015 Jeep Rubicon
|
|
|
02-09-2019, 10:42 AM
|
#12
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: N California mountains
Posts: 294
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Long Leaf Piners
Great to know you could special order the drawers, rather than the oven.
|
My wife reminded me that there is a deep drawer under the oven, deleting the oven added just one more deep drawer to replace the oven, but she felt it was well worth it. I added a silverware drawer in the top of the new deep drawer that slides back and allows access to the drawer.
__________________
2017 Forester 2861DS
towing 2015 Jeep Rubicon
|
|
|
02-09-2019, 11:36 AM
|
#13
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 173
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by fobagbob
Stock sway bars, I did change to Bilstein shocks but the biggest improvement was the alignment with max caster. On my previous B+, I had to do front and rear sway bars, rear track bar, Bilsteins, max caster, and proper tire pressure to get good control. With the 2861 all that was needed was caster and proper tire pressure, now I don't get pushed around by passing big rigs or tail wagging the dog from my Jeep toad, a pleasure to drive. In fact, my wife is always complaining that I am driving with just one hand on the wheel!
|
This is great info to have. Thanks so much!
__________________
2014 8528 IKWS
Ford F-250 Diesel
Cricket the Cairn and Sally the Terrier Muppet Mix
|
|
|
02-09-2019, 11:37 AM
|
#14
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 173
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by fobagbob
My wife reminded me that there is a deep drawer under the oven, deleting the oven added just one more deep drawer to replace the oven, but she felt it was well worth it. I added a silverware drawer in the top of the new deep drawer that slides back and allows access to the drawer.
|
Having that extra drawersounds like a really good idea.
__________________
2014 8528 IKWS
Ford F-250 Diesel
Cricket the Cairn and Sally the Terrier Muppet Mix
|
|
|
02-09-2019, 01:11 PM
|
#15
|
Member
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 50
|
Agree with fogabob on the alignment. I added a steering stabilizer,but the alignment made a huge difference. Rarely get pushed around by trucks now. Wind gusts are still a problem, however.
|
|
|
|
Thread Tools |
|
Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Recent Discussions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|