Our first year in the motorhome

[ddhansen]

Having attained my first-year motorhome ownership, I would like to share my experience and thoughts with our 2018 Sunseeker 2400WS. First, I would like to express my appreciation for the contributors to the Forest River community forums. I have learned a great deal from the community about what to expect and how to deal with motorhome ownership.

Let me start by saying we are completely satisfied with our Sunseeker. I have read of other motorhome owner’s bad experience and was apprehensive about when or where we will have a major breakdown. I have had to deal a few minor first-year bugs that need to be fixed (most of which I took care of myself rather than the dealer) such as sliding drawer latches, USB charging port wall plate that was not secured very well, missing grommet on the stove top grill that created quite a rattle while driving. As I said, a few minor bugs that doesn’t cause regret for our purchase. After using the motorhome for weekend camping trips and one vacation trip from Utah to Washington State we are glad to say we have not had any major issues with our Sunseeker (whew).

Things we like:
1) The full-wall slide provides exceptional living area for the two of us
2) The overall length of 25ft
3) The MBS sprinter ride is quite good although I do not have a reference point since I have only owned one motorhome
4) Gas mileage with the diesel engine is between 13 and 15 mpg
5) Queen bed is great (DW really likes the comfortable bedding)

Things we don’t like:
1) Cargo carrying capacity (CCC) This is the one failing on my part. I had no conception of CCC when shopping for our motorhome. Do I regret our purchase? No, the benefits of the MBS sprinter chassis outweigh the disadvantages. It has taught us to bring only the things we need to be comfortable without duplicating things we bring. I am still learning to downsize cargo.
2) Most of the storage bins are under the slide-out. I am 60+ years old so it is hard for me to duck walk to get things out of the bins with the slide extended. I have since learned to remove the things I need for campground setup before extending the slide.

In summary we are very pleased with our Sunseeker and would not hesitate recommending the same Class C for RV living for 2 people.

[Dbrote]

Happy to hear you are enjoying your Sunseeker. We have a 2016 2400R that we bought used a little over one year ago. It has also been terrific. My wife and I have spent several week long trips in it and one journey that lasted almost a month! I had one issue with the steps that stopped working and solved it myself. You can find my post under the Forester section that details the one nagging creaking I was getting while driving and how I solved that issue. All pretty quiet now. Welcome to the forum. As a new RVer these forums have helped me a great deal and allowed us to get the most out of our Sunseeker. Over this year of ownership we have put about 10,000 miles on it and have had no real problems at all.

[gmclean]

It's nice to see some positive posts for a change.

When I first started researching it seemed like traveling in an RV was guaranteed to be nothing but trouble but my wife and I decided to do it anyway. We purchased our used 2016 2400R last year and after a few mods and a month trial run last year with no problems we decided to go on the trip we had always wanted to do.
We left home in June and since then have traveled all thru Canada and now into the US and aside from the sticker shock of having the rig serviced at Mercedes and a few small problems easily repaired it's been nothing but good times.

[Rkloud9]

Thought we would chime in on the MBS 2400W...

We have had ours (2016 Chassis, 2017 Coach) since March 2016. We are into our 3rd Winter “cruise”, and the clock is just 100 miles shy of 40,000. We reckon we have lived in the Coach about 19 months so far, and find the space pretty perfect for us. The coach overall build quality has been quite good, with all systems pretty much holding together and functioning as expected. The Sprinter drives well, although we try not to push it too hard, with speeds ranging from 50 to 62. After the first 9 months, we added a small toad (Chevy Spark), which has 13,000 actual miles plus 28,000 towed. We really like the added flexibility, and find ourselves looking for shorter “full rig running” trips and longer stays at each stop.

Lots of things have gone right, while troubles have been fairly infrequent:

- a fair amount of hassle with dually tire pressure maintenance in the first year, which has been worked out with better stem extenders, TPMS, and a terrific ViAir pump.
- slide failure in the first 2 weeks due to a pinched wire, which we ended up fixing ourselves.
- tail/turn/running light issues in the first month, eventually corrected via a recall and a visit to the factory for the final fix.
- Sprinter wheel sensor failure at 37,000 miles, fixed under warranty (yikes, 4 dash lights flashing, weird braking, and lots of lurching while accelerating!)
- Sprinter restraint system dash at 38,000 miles, caused by worn wire insulation on the passenger seat belt assembly... fixed at no charge (surprisingly, not under warranty) by West Houston MB. (Note, this dealer is looking for long term Sprinter RV owner relationships. Their shop can handle anything, and the folks are first class!)

We replaced the stock batteries early on, due, mostly, to owner ignorance about battery maintenance. Went retro with 2 Crown 6v golf car batteries in series for 235 total AH. With the batteries I added a TriMetric BMS. We then added solar panels, first a 100w portable folding unit, then 2 - 180 watt roof panels, with the TriMetric controller, which mates with the BMS. If you travel East, there are way too many trees to take advantage of this, but out West, with plentiful boon-docking opportunities, the solar is pretty wonderful. This Summer a 2000 watt Xantrex inverter was added, just because I wanted to be able to make coffee and run the microwave (crazy really, but hey, we must have our toys)! It works, but wow, a major hit on those batteries... need 2 more, but really nowhere for that. Dream of lithium, but too much dough, right now at least!

All in all, the SunSeeker is a great ride, with fun times being had by all! Hope to see you all Out There!

Bob & Cynthia
2017 SunSeeker MBS 2400W

[Rjpetr65]

Well my Sunseeker is “older” and is a 2004 but we love it. We bought it used last year and I have spent a lot of time upgrading it. I put in solar panels, an inverter, golf cart batteries, new valences, and tons of other upgrades. It’s interesting to hear that even the newer RVs have little things to fix. We bought the 3100S and it has tons of storage under the rig. We use the bed above the cabin for storage too. We quickly learned about gross vehicle and axle weights when we were several hundred lbs over weight. I have also learned TONS about maintenance from water heater repairs to slide out maintenance. But I’ve always been pretty handy for that kind of stuff. We purchased the Good Sam warranty plan when we bought the RV, it costs us about $80/month. Not sure if I want to keep the warranty plan or not, since I do mostly everything myself. Any thoughts on the Good Sam extended warranty plans? Anyone have one that they had to use?

[Rjpetr65]

By the way, I have a 2013 Chevy Spark toad also. Love it and the rig barely feels it while pulling it up steep slopes cuz it’s so light.

[dr911]

Originally Posted by Rjpetr65

By the way, I have a 2013 Chevy Spark toad also. Love it and the rig barely feels it while pulling it up steep slopes cuz it’s so light.

Does your Spark have a manual tranny?

[NoviBill]

ddhansen, great post - Thank you.

We have a 2006 Lexington 26' and similar issues with storage. I added a hitch rack storage box and that helps a lot (BBQ, Tools & Chairs).

We are 4 years into our motorhome (bought used) and it's still in great shape (but looks 12 years old outside). Until we retire it's only a few trips a year (2-3 weeks). We looked at smaller and larger rigs and we are sticking with our current rig for the foreseeable future. It's large enough to have a dedicated bed and usable bath and small enough to drive around and park easily.

I am thinking about a Chevy Sonic and tow dolly in the near future (next summer or so).

-Bill

[dmarlo]

Originally Posted by NoviBill

ddhansen, great post - Thank you.

We have a 2006 Lexington 26' and similar issues with storage. I added a hitch rack storage box and that helps a lot (BBQ, Tools & Chairs).

We are 4 years into our motorhome (bought used) and it's still in great shape (but looks 12 years old outside). Until we retire it's only a few trips a year (2-3 weeks). We looked at smaller and larger rigs and we are sticking with our current rig for the foreseeable future. It's large enough to have a dedicated bed and usable bath and small enough to drive around and park easily.

I am thinking about a Chevy Sonic and tow dolly in the near future (next summer or so).

-Bill

Hi to everyone. We r new to RVing as purchased a hardly used 2015 28 ft Sunseeker. Been on a couple shorter trips longest being 10 days. I recently retired so heading to Brownsville for a month. We replaced jackknife couch for recpro recliners (definitely gamechanger). So glad we did. My husband is older so I have to do most of physical work myself. He does the driving, I'm the navigator, trip planner and labor. I have a very stupid question though. Do I have to run generation while driving to have refrigerator on or does it work off batteries? Thank u for info.

[Wolverine 1945]

We have decided to try renting a car when we get set up some where,,, instead of spending the money to make our 2011 EDGE into a Toad ???
We will see this Spring if we are able to check out The Great Smoky Mountains !!!

[Rjpetr65]

Originally Posted by dr911

Does your Spark have a manual tranny?

Yes it does have a 5speed so I can flat tow it. I also have a Blue Ox tow bar that is awesome. I tried to put my old car (Kia sorrento) up on a dolly before I bought the tow bar and had so much trouble with the dolly that I sold it.

[Rjpetr65]

Originally Posted by Rjpetr65

Yes it does have a 5speed so I can flat tow it. I also have a Blue Ox tow bar that is awesome. I tried to put my old car (Kia sorrento) up on a dolly before I bought the tow bar and had so much trouble with the dolly that I sold it.

The other thing cool about the Spark is that with battery disconnected (I use a disco switch so the battery doesn’t run down while towing) is that the miles you tow doesn’t show up on the odometer! [emoji4]

[NoviBill]

dmarlo,

It depends a bit on the fridge. Most are "dual" propane and 110v electric. Ours has an "auto" switch that allows it to automatically cycle between propane and shore-power (110v). So while driving or parked without power it uses propane and when we have shore power or run the generator it uses electricity.

Some newer motorhomes have electric only refrigerators (same as your home). Most of the time they are wired to an inverter (converts 12v to 110v) that allows them to run 24 hours off of your house batter (which is charged while driving).

Look at the refrigerators and see if it has an "auto" or switch between electricity and propane.

-Bill

[Rjpetr65]

Originally Posted by Wolverine 1945

We have decided to try renting a car when we get set up some where,,, instead of spending the money to make our 2011 EDGE into a Toad ???
We will see this Spring if we are able to check out The Great Smoky Mountains !!!

If it’s an automatic it would have to be flat-bedded or used with a dolly. Renting a car is ok but will get old quick with the short runs to the store etc. The tow bar is pretty expensive (about $2k) but we really like it. It’s so easy to set up and disconnect. The prob that I had was that the bozos that installed the base plate in my spark totally messed up the regular brake wiring and I didn’t notice until we hit the road. They showed us that all the lights worked when hooked up to the RV. A month later I was stopped for no brake lights. I got out of the ticket but called the store to tell them that if I had received a ticket- they would be paying for it. We were boondocking at the time and I ripped apart the brake lights and wiring to fix it. 4 hours later I found the prob. Won’t go back to the place that did the tow bar for us.

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by Rjpetr65

If it’s an automatic it would have to be flat-bedded or used with a dolly. Renting a car is ok but will get old quick with the short runs to the store etc. The tow bar is pretty expensive (about $2k) but we really like it. It’s so easy to set up and disconnect. The prob that I had was that the bozos that installed the base plate in my spark totally messed up the regular brake wiring and I didn’t notice until we hit the road. They showed us that all the lights worked when hooked up to the RV. A month later I was stopped for no brake lights. I got out of the ticket but called the store to tell them that if I had received a ticket- they would be paying for it. We were boondocking at the time and I ripped apart the brake lights and wiring to fix it. 4 hours later I found the prob. Won’t go back to the place that did the tow bar for us.

Don't you find the Tow Dolly a PITA after setting up in most campgrounds ??

[dmarlo]

Originally Posted by NoviBill

dmarlo,

It depends a bit on the fridge. Most are "dual" propane and 110v electric. Ours has an "auto" switch that allows it to automatically cycle between propane and shore-power (110v). So while driving or parked without power it uses propane and when we have shore power or run the generator it uses electricity.

Some newer motorhomes have electric only refrigerators (same as your home). Most of the time they are wired to an inverter (converts 12v to 110v) that allows them to run 24 hours off of your house batter (which is charged while driving).

Look at the refrigerators and see if it has an "auto" or switch between electricity and propane.

-Bill

Thanks Bill, it does have auto. We've been running generator but that's for a.c. for our dogs. Now that weather is cooler, we don't expect too while on the road. Happy Trails.

[dmarlo]

Originally Posted by ddhansen

Having attained my first-year motorhome ownership, I would like to share my experience and thoughts with our 2018 Sunseeker 2400WS. First, I would like to express my appreciation for the contributors to the Forest River community forums. I have learned a great deal from the community about what to expect and how to deal with motorhome ownership.

Let me start by saying we are completely satisfied with our Sunseeker. I have read of other motorhome owner’s bad experience and was apprehensive about when or where we will have a major breakdown. I have had to deal a few minor first-year bugs that need to be fixed (most of which I took care of myself rather than the dealer) such as sliding drawer latches, USB charging port wall plate that was not secured very well, missing grommet on the stove top grill that created quite a rattle while driving. As I said, a few minor bugs that doesn’t cause regret for our purchase. After using the motorhome for weekend camping trips and one vacation trip from Utah to Washington State we are glad to say we have not had any major issues with our Sunseeker (whew).

Things we like:
1)The full-wall slide provides exceptional living area for the two of us
2)The overall length of 25ft
3)The MBS sprinter ride is quite good although I do not have a reference point since I have only owned one motorhome
4)Gas mileage with the diesel engine is between 13 and 15 mpg
5)Queen bed is great (DW really likes the comfortable bedding)

Things we don’t like:
1)Cargo carrying capacity (CCC) This is the one failing on my part. I had no conception of CCC when shopping for our motorhome. Do I regret our purchase? No, the benefits of the MBS sprinter chassis outweigh the disadvantages. It has taught us to bring only the things we need to be comfortable without duplicating things we bring. I am still learning to downsize cargo.
2)Most of the storage bins are under the slide-out. I am 60+ years old so it is hard for me to duck walk to get things out of the bins with the slide extended. I have since learned to remove the things I need for campground setup before extending the slide.

In summary we are very pleased with our Sunseeker and would not hesitate recommending the same Class C for RV living for 2 people.

I use black pipe insulation (similar to a very small pool noodle) on bottom of slides when their out so no headaches. Lightweight and stores easily.

[Nancyc7]

We are having a wonderful time in our 2016 Sunseeker 2400W. At first, we were not a happy camper, seems our Waldorf was in the shop much of the first 12 months. But, I would not want a different RV than ours, we really like the size and how we have it all set up. It’s easy to drive nearly anywhere. We have gleaned so much useful information from this forum and the iRV2 forum.

I know we are a little on the heavy side but combined weight of the motor home and the toad is still underweight. We met a retired Mercedes mechanic and he says we’re all good, so I’m sticking with that story.

We are full-timing since March ‘18. Besides having the air conditioner replaced (again) and the towing brake fixed, everything has been great! I hold my breath when packing and unpacking but no bad surprises.

We did get a 120 (or 180? I’m not certain) watt solar panel we haul up on the roof and it’s really helpful for keeping the battery up. We also got an “Extend a Stay” apparatus for extra LP. I would love to camp on BLM property and at state and national campgrounds more often and I feel we are well equipped... but... have to compromise.

We even met the Dbrote twosome on the road! That was delightful. And we have met quite a few wonderful people.

At 2&1/2 years we have nearly 17,000 miles on our little rig and we are having a lovely time traveling, everyone should try it.

[Nancyc7]

Originally Posted by Nancyc7

We are having a wonderful time in our 2016 Sunseeker 2400W. At first, we were not a happy camper, seems our Waldorf was in the shop much of the first 12 months. But, I would not want a different RV than ours, we really like the size and how we have it all set up. It’s easy to drive nearly anywhere. We have gleaned so much useful information from this forum and the iRV2 forum.

I know we are a little on the heavy side but combined weight of the motor home and the toad is still underweight. We met a retired Mercedes mechanic and he says we’re all good, so I’m sticking with that story.

We are full-timing since March ‘18. Besides having the air conditioner replaced (again) and the towing brake fixed, everything has been great! I hold my breath when packing and unpacking but no bad surprises.

We did get a 120 (or 180? I’m not certain) watt solar panel we haul up on the roof and it’s really helpful for keeping the battery up. We also got an “Extend a Stay” apparatus for extra LP. I would love to camp on BLM property and at state and national campgrounds more often and I feel we are well equipped... but... have to compromise.

We even met the Dbrote twosome on the road! That was delightful. And we have met quite a few wonderful people.

At 2&1/2 years we have nearly 17,000 miles on our little rig and we are having a lovely time traveling, everyone should try it.

I take that back, it’s awful, stay home 🤣.

[NoviBill]

Wolverine, i think i am with you on renting a car until we retire (cost and PITA of tow dolly, wear and tear on car etc says for 2-4 weeks a year renting makes sense). At some point we will park longer and want to drive more and our own car/dolly will make sense.

-Bill