Sunseeker MBS 2400W Shakedown Cruise

[rkreusel]

We picked up our RV from Wilkins RV in Churchville Ny a little over a month ago. After doing one night at Wilkins RV they fixed a few problems we found (leak in the fresh water system, screen door adjustment, a few other small things) and took several hours to show us how everything worked as well as a quick road test. Wilkins RV had just moved into a new facility and we appreciated how well they took care of us while still going through some chaos due to moving from an old facility to a new one.

After getting the RV home (8 hour drive - ran and drove great - loved the diesel) we set it up in the driveway for two weeks and tested the heck out of everything and did a much more thorough inspection of the unit. What we found: 1) slide-out seals were not sealing properly - we could see light and one fist sized hole (after putting some slide seal lubricate on all the rubber and operating the slide-out many times the seals started to work as they should) - I think I can do something about the fist sized hole which was on the bottom by gluing on another small piece of slider seal; 2) driver side running board was not properly cut into the cabin side fiberglass - 1/2" gap and it squeaked like heck when you stepped on it (I'm thinking I can fix this myself by refitting it and tightening it up). 3) Generator would only run for 3 minutes and then shut down - was giving me an error code of 12 which says "over voltage" - very strange. This problem has cleared up (I think I may have had some air in the propane system - I'm not sure it was ever purged properly as the warning seal for first time use was still on the on-off knob). It runs fine now and powers the AC and heat pump no problem. 4) found all kinds of lose screws and molding under and over the slider - this was just sloppy workmanship at FR. We found one 4' piece of molding that was never attached to area of cab.

We were now ready for the shakedown cruise. We traveled to the Outer Banks of NC from Massachusetts. The unit drove great - we just found that with any amount of wind (or large semi passing you) you really need to pay attention. We camped at 3 different campgrounds over about 10 days. All systems worked great and we really enjoyed the unit. We rented a car in NC and that was the way to go. We had a very heavy rain storm one night and the slide-out awning filled up with water which sloshed around because of the wind - it was noisy and annoying - I climbed up in the morning and lifted the awning up to drain off most of the water. We really didn't have any other problems (other than some stupid user problems - haha) until we left to head home. 1st problem was the airbag restraint warning light came on and wouldn't go out - we didn't worry too much about it. After getting back home we took it to a Mercedes dealership that handles MBS and they found that the connection under the driver seat had come apart (I'm wondering if this happened when we swiveled the seats around to use in the RV - I will keep an eye on this in the future. 2nd problem and this was a big one - our CURT failed leaving us with a very dangerous situation - no brake or directional lights .... and unable to shut the lights off ( had to pull fuse # 10 under driver seat ). I've talked about this in another post thread. I have to mention here that I called Coach-Net twice. The first time they offered to send a safety-chase vehicle to make sure we could get to a repair center (we chose not to do this and just pushed on home very carefully - I found that with the MBS lights on at least on of my tailights stayed on in brake mode. And I was very careful changing lanes). The second time they helped me find an authorized FR repair facility close to home. I was impressed with Coach-Net!

Bottom line we love our unit and are looking forward to our next trip as soon as we get the tail light situation taken care of.

Safe Travels everyone!

[ShermanD]

We finally had to hire an lawyer to deal with our Sunseeker fiasco. We took delivery on May 5 and have been unable to even use it yet.

BTW, First payment on the loan is due the 15th.

We weren't given the complete walk through upon delivery, like many talk of, instead we were rushed through a 15 minute mini tour and sent on our way.

As soon as we got home and opened the slide out we noticed the flashing red light on the slide out control switch so I went looking in the manuals they gave us and lo and behold, no slide out manuals and absolutely no idea where the controller was located. After a half hour of searching we finally found the controller so we could get a manufacture name, model number, and the internet search for manuals was on.

Once we did manage to acquire the installation and service manuals that contained the error codes, we found that we were getting a #1 major motor fault on extending and a #2 major motor fault on retracting. Another interesting tidbit I found was that although the installation manual instructed the installers to place the #2 motor towards the driver and the #1 motor towards the rear for the drivers side slide out, they were installed just the opposite upon delivery.

There was also the issue of a faulty electronic ignition module on the Atwood water heater.

Things one would think that the selling dealership would have uncovered, considering the extensive pre-delivery inspection and check-list Forest River mandates, and we paid them to do as part of the delivery charges.

Keep reading, you will be amazed at what is going on in the RV industry and is being kept a secret.

Getting an appointment at an authorized Sunseeker service center is along shot here in the mid-west and from what I have learned from Sunseeker support, pretty much impossible on the east coast, if you are not a customer of theirs.
It took several calls to Sunseeker Warranty services, which I must say has been a god send, for without them our motorhome would have never made it to a service center for repairs, even though it took three weeks to get an appointment, and then another week once we dropped off the motorhome for them to even look at it.

Well they started working on the motorhome on Tuesday morning, First thing they found was the faulty water heater electronic ignition board.

FYI: This is a 5 minute test that could have been done on a walk in basis using a simple manufacture provided circuit tester, had the service facility chosen to do so. They unplug the existing wiring from the board, plug in the tester and push a button. The tester does the diagnostics. Should the board be bad, they could order it, send you on your way, call you when it comes in, you go back, they unplug the wiring harness, undo two screws, remove the board, and install the new one. What do they do though, have you leave the motorhome until they can get too it, (What a racket, eh.)

Besides the Motor faults, the service center is getting an over voltage error coming from the slide-out control board, but testing shows that the voltage is within the acceptable range. As of yesterday afternoon they were awaiting instructions from Liebert on how to proceed, It could be motors, control board, or god forbid, Miss-aligned in-wall slide out rails. Miss-aligned rails is a major issue, would have occurred during the build, and would require a trip back to the factory for repair. Currently the factory is backed up till October with warranty repairs.

Enough is enough and fortunately my wife has money taken out of her pay check for a full coverage Hyatt Legal Services plan. With all the problems we have been having, it was decided that we needed legal advice, so she called a law firm yesterday.

After my wife described the problems we are having with our brand new 2017 Sunseeker that was delivered with a faulty water heater electronic ignition, both in wall slide out motors showing major motor faults, The very first thing the lawyer said was

"Your selling dealer, swapped out your good motors and ignition module for used somewhat working parts".

Muerlene didn't know possible slide-out control module issue at the time

The second thing he said

"Would you like a free upgrade to a bigger and better motorhome"

He then went on to tell my wife that the swapping out of parts prior to delivering a new motorhome has become such a big problem throughout the nation that most motorhome manufacturers now log the serial numbers of all major components when they build their homes. The reason for the swap out, many parts are hard to come by, and could take weeks or months to get. Due to this some dealers will rape the new parts from a motorhome they just received, so they can satisfy their existing customers repairs, and then deal with their new customer down the road.

Did the dealership we purchased from do this, only time will tell. I do know that they rushed us through the walk through, they did not provide us with, nor did I sign any pre-delivery checklist, and we did not take the Sunseeker to them for warranty service.

What the lawyer did tell my wife to do is, keep all documentation, attempt to get copies of any and all documentation the selling dealer sent to the manufacturer, and get model numbers as well as serial numbers of any parts that are being replaced.

We will keep you posted, Sherman

[rkreusel]

Sorry to hear about all of your troubles. I hope that you get some satisfaction one way or the other. I just got home from our warranty repair concerning the CURT unit. What did FR do .... they sent the repair shop the exact same part that failed with no new directions for installing it in a more protected location. So now it's up to me to find a better way to protect it (I have seen some good ideas on the thread about the failed CURT unit). To me this is totally unacceptable and I'm betting that FR has delivered 100's of units with the same CURT set-up and location. All of these will fail eventually (when they get soaking wet) and you will be left with a very dangerous safety situation. I know there are two very good FR reps on this forum and I sure do wish they would help us to get a resolution on this issue. I have not called FR directly yet and maybe that's my next approach. I have reported this issue to the NHTSB ..... I'm not sure what the status of that is, but at least I reported it. I wish every other FR owner who has had this issue or has their CURT unit located in a very exposed location would do the same.

While I'm on my little rant I also want to express my frustration with the very poor set-up for testing your air pressure in the dualies. I'm not sure this is a FR issue or the chassis manufacture (MBS for me). Again, another very important safety issue that has not been addressed or fixed other than by each individual owner. The flex extension valves on my RV were all defective and I've already spend a lot of time trying to fix them. I'm pretty sure that I will need to take my RV to a truck tire repair facility and have steel valve stems and extenders installed that I can trust and that I can check before, during and after each trip.

And finally .... I haven't seen any posts about this, but in order for me to check the electrolyte levels in the batteries under my inside steps I am going to have disconnect and reroute all of the cabling. Presently there is no way I can pop off the battery covers. Come on FR ..... can't you do a better job than this?

There are many things I love about my Sunseeker, but I am becoming increasingly frustrated and upset with the things I have had to and will have to deal with. I'm pretty handy and don't mind doing some small fixes here and there, but I would much rather spend my time traveling and enjoying my RV than worrying about the important things that I've mentioned above.

Whew ..... sorry, I'm just really angry right now!!

[ShermanD]

Originally Posted by rkreusel

Whew ..... sorry, I'm just really angry right now!!

I know the feeling all too well. We ordered our 2400W MBS on February 20, 2016 with expectations of receiving it and being able to use it in early May. The dealer called us on Monday May 1, 2016, told us it had just come in and they wanted us to make an appointment to come pick it up. I asked to pick it up Saturday and was told they do not do Saturday deliveries, I asked to pick it up on a Friday then and was told the earliest Friday available was at the end of May. I finally said,"OK THEN, WHEN CAN I COME PICK IT UP?" I was told, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday this week if you want.

Two weeks earlier, I dropped off my trade-in and made arrangements to have a brake controller installed prior to delivery. I mentioned that I still expected it to be done prior to delivery. Well, Lloyd Bridges Traveland, Chelsea, MI decided to wait till Thursday morning to start the brake controller installation. I got every excuse in the book from them as to why they waited so long and needless to say we not only missed out appointment to have the motorhome gone over we waited a good part of the day while the employees were enjoying the CINCO DE MAY party their boss was throwing them.

I still haven't figured out when Lloyd Bridges Traveland managed to find the time to do the intensive pre-delivery inspection that the documentation that Forest River received saying they did. Also how they managed to miss the defective Electronic ignition on the water heater, especially considering it was part of the intensive inspection. Then there is the issue of the slide out faults. I am still wondering where the slide out manuals are, for they weren't in the manuals I received from Lloyd Bridges Traveland. It almost seems as though they looked through them in an attempt to ascertain what why the controller error light was coming on and then forgot to put the manuals back in the folder.

The oddest part is the fact that the slide out motors were not installed per the manufacturers instructions, or were they originally and maybe Lloyd Bridges is one on those unscrupulous dealerships the lawyer told my wife about.

Only time will tell, It is really odd that Forest River would ship a defective unit to the Dealership otherwise god help because Forest River is selling us junk.

So our New motorhome sites at a warranty service center without us being able to use it even once since we brought it home

BTW, at least you have extension stems on your dualies. I had to buy a wheel cover removal tool just to be able to get at the inner wheel valve stem. It doesent even extend through the wheel cover on our motorhome,

[smiley58]

Is any one hearing the words class action lawsuit here besides me. Safety concerns are major and the first one that gets killed sliding down a mountain or running into a semi because of known brake controller failures will own FR. I used to be a quality control inspector and now i handle a large corporations network. I deal everyday with AT&T which is much like FR. I get no one cares about quality anymore and just get the money for the motorhome and to heck with the customer after that. Safety issues and peoples lifes are another story. I dont know what happened to this company to make them put a good reputation on the line but I for one will do everything I can to make sure someone will pay if my family is injured due to stupid designs and negligent practices.

[ShermanD]

Isn't this great. Had to remove wheel covers to check air pressure on inside dually.

[roadgurl]

Hello,

My husband and I am in the market for a used RV and we just test drove a 2016 FR Sunseeker MB 2400W and loved how it handled. I just joined this forum to do some research and saw your report which is a great help. I am wondering if you still love your RV now that you have been using it for a while.
Would there be anything you would change?

I also read the problem with FR - wow hope that is not the case now but will be scrutinizing what the sales man says when we go back to the dealer.

[Dbrote]

We bought a 2016 2400R last August and really love it! All safety recalls were made by dealer sometime before we bought it. Also the prior owner must have fixed any defects because everything works great. Took a month long trip to most of the Utah and Arizona national parks finishing up in Yosemite in May and had a great time. All systems worked great and my wife and I still love and like each other! Can check all air pressures no problem. Have checked tire pressures for almost a year and absolutely no change in air pressure! Maybe we just got lucky but remember that on forums you usually just hear the problems. Good luck! Ps: I did have to fix the step motor once but did it myself. Also replaced the sending unit on the propane tank but it is cheap and just snaps on and off.