Sunseeker Transit Series 2390 vs 2380

[m111]

Thank you! We had not seen those but will take a look at them. We very much appreciate any other suggestions. In Denver there are limited vendors/models but we are willing to fly for the right coach.

[RedLdr1]

Before we bought the TS we looked hard at both the Galleria and Crossfit. The Crossfit is significantly less expensive and has the advantage of being built on a Ford Transit chassis. That makes the Crossfit much less expensive to maintain than a Sprinter chassis. And in most cases the Transit based units will have a higher CCC.

[KenandCarol]

Originally Posted by m111

Thanks again everyone for the input. We ended up taking our deposit off the 2390. In looking at it again we couldn't reconcile the limited space at the dinette table with our ability to use it effectively. We are now taking a hard look at the 2250. I will probably post another thread on that.

We just bought our 2250 last year and love it.

[m111]

Ken and Carol,

Could you tell me about the 2250? What mods have you done? Any suspension changes? My husband thought it was a pretty rough ride compared to our old Winnebago Brave but I pointed out we had put on Bilstein shocks and could do something similar with the 2250.

Thanks!

[KenandCarol]

This is our first RV EVER and we just bought it in September. We have been taking it out for one weekend every month pretty reliably but to local spots no more than 50 miles from home. Getting ready for a trip from Central Calif to Oregon in late march.

We haven't done anything to the MH except to upgrade the mattress and I put in an electric lift on the side since my wife has mobility problems, works good for my arthritic dog too!

I have nothing to compare the ride to. It does feel like I'm driving a big boat but I'm unsure if that should be normal for a class C. I do get some push when passed by a big rig and I certainly don't like any crosswind above 20 MPH or so. I've read about others changing sway bars and adding air bags or changing shocks, others say it's fine right off the assembly line.

I'm still learning about the systems and their operation. Right now I am accessing the duallys to make sure I have the tire pressure correct.

We bought a slightly used 2017 with 4K miles on it. I'm not sure if the original owner flushed out all of the problems but it sure has been trouble free for us so far.

[markb422]

Originally Posted by m111

Ken and Carol,

Could you tell me about the 2250? What mods have you done? Any suspension changes? My husband thought it was a pretty rough ride compared to our old Winnebago Brave but I pointed out we had put on Bilstein shocks and could do something similar with the 2250.

Thanks!

If it is on the E450 SD chassis it will be a rough ride until you load it. Driving home from the dealer with our new Freelander (which is on the E350 chassis thankfully) i thought the ride was very rough. After loading it with all our stuff, a full fuel tank and freshwater tank and the ride is very much improved.

[KenandCarol]

It is on the E450 chassis. I usually try to keep a full fuel tank, but the fresh water only about 1/3 to 1/2. I'll have to try and fill it up.

I added a cargo rack on the back hitch for my bike and my wife's peddle adult trike. I plan to put a BBQ back there and a few other things I have in the over cab bunk back there too. (folding table and chairs, folding dog bike trailer). I am not anywhere close to the CCC on the thing!

[markb422]

I try to keep the MH load balanced the best I can. Seems like the more weight you carry the better the ride. It seems to make little to no change in MPG.
Have you had the front end aligned?

[KenandCarol]

No. Is it best to do that at a Ford dealer, RV dealer or alignment shop?
I figured with 4000 miles on it we should be OK.

[markb422]

I did ours at an alignment shop. It was the only place in town that had a rack with enough headroom to handle the height of the MH. Plus they specialized in alignments and I knew they do good work. It did make a difference and it is good to know that those very expensive tires are going to last.

[m111]

Thanks for the follow up everyone. We were hoping to do some back to back test drives this weekend between the Fort Transit, Chevy and Mercedes chassis. But ended up only getting to test drive the Mercedes.

I think for the Chevy we are going to bring a seat cushion and back support to see if that works out the geometry for my husband and the chair. He says the shoulder support hits him right in the wrong place, sort of caving his shoulders in. I will let him know about the load helping even out the drive. Also we have to remember that the tires may be over inflated. I didn't think to ask the dealer to check that. We both love the 2250 floor plan. And we found leveling jacks are an option, as well as it has tow vehicle capacity (which we don't need now but in the future who knows).

The 2390 fit and finish has been the standard to beat and so far in looking at other makes and models we aren't finding anything we like better. The one we looked at had great integrated shades, Maxx fans, fiberglass roof and other nice features for the price. Subsequent RVs have seemed a bit bare bones in comparision.

But we are hung up on not having to build a garage for it and per HOA regs can park it on a cement slab if it is under 25'. To that end we are going to look at the Coachmen Orion series (T21RS & T21TB) and the Prisms (2200 & 24EF). According to specs. they are under 25 ft. Orion is on Ford Transit and Prism is on the Mercedes. The Orion T21TB is a no slide twin bed so is a favorite because of no slides.

I like the twins that turn into a king better (like they have in the Winnebago Navion 24V) because we can leave the joining part for our dog to sleep and have our heads going where where most people would have their feet. But were probably going to have to compromise somewhere and this may be it. Doggie loves to kick out and having him between our heads probably means a paw in the face or a tush in the face so that is why we would sleep the other way with our heads away from the joined place in the bed. As far as I can tell this isn't an option in the Orion twin bed because the beds straddle and aisle leading to the bathroom. So where does doggie sleep? Probably with me and a kicking he will go and I'll be either half out of the bed or jammed up against the wall. :-) Both Orion and Prism have rubber roofs so that is also a potential area for compromise. We prefer fiberglass.

We did test drive a Mercedes this past weekend and my husband liked the drive but I think RedLdr 1 and others have said expense and trouble are high. Would love to hear more about that.

Thanks!

[m111]

For the Orion T21TB here is what I found on a picture of the ccc sticker on one for sale.
Dry weight 3487 KG (7687 lbs)
CCC 951 KG (2096 lbs)
Calc. with Fresh Water Tanks Full
Cold 139 KG (306 lbs)
Hot 23 KG (50 lbs)
Mass of Waste Tank 241 KG (531 lbs)

The in () are my conversions.

This seems to be right between the Sunseeker 2390 without at slide and ccc of 2310 lbs and the Sunseeker 2370 with a slide and a ccc of 1654 lbs. I guess the ccc difference could be because of the rubber roof and twin bed heavier than a double.

[RedLdr1]

Originally Posted by m111

We did test drive a Mercedes this past weekend and my husband liked the drive but I think RedLdr 1 and others have said expense and trouble are high. Would love to hear more about that.

Our first motor home was a Sunseeker 2400W on the Sprinter chassis. The Sprinter was our first choice over the Ford E-450 due to the roomier cab area and fuel economy. The Ford Transit chassis was not available at that time. Unfortunately our Sprinter was very problematic almost every time we drove it. All the critical issues revolved around the DEF system. With the first failure our unit sat in the M-B shop waiting for parts from Germany for three weeks. The second time it was almost two weeks. The third time was the charm...and it was traded in.

The final straw for me was when M-B Tech Support advised me to purchase a Scan Gauge so I could provide them with the Error Codes over the phone when our Check Engine Light (CEL) came on. Wait a minute...I bought a M-B and they want me to buy a Scan Gauge!

There are a lot of folks here with very reliable Sprinter based motor homes, but we had a different experience. I'm basing my comments on my experiences.

Now the big one that isn't based on my personal Sprinter issues: Cargo Carrying Capacity (CCC). Look at the CCC of any FR Sprinter based motor home and it will be very low. They average around 1,100 to 1,200 pounds of CCC. Since you boon dock that is a big concern as you have to carry your water. The 30 gallons of fresh water most units can carry uses about 25% to 30% of the total CCC available on MBS based units. Can you live with that low of a CCC?

The Orion we liked was the T24TB. We don't need the bed over the cab and the smaller cap improves handling and gas mileage. The only real issue was the nearest Coachmen dealer is in central Georgia about 120+ miles south of us.

Take your time and keep looking, the right RV is out there waiting for you!

[m111]

Thanks Redldr1!

Has anyone done any sound proofing of the engine compartment on the Chevy? On our current motor home we sound insulated the dog house and it made a big difference in the quietness when driving. We haven't test driven the Ford Transit yet so don't know how noisy that engine is.

[RedLdr1]

Originally Posted by m111

We haven't test driven the Ford Transit yet so don't know how noisy that engine is.

Our Transit is very comparable to the Sprinter regarding engine noise. I have added a one piece fitted carpet to the cab for looks and in case there was any floor heat or noise issues. I don't feel the need to pull back the OEM floor mat and add any additional heat or sound deadening.

[m111]

We've test driven the Ford Transit 3 times now. Here are my impressions
Coachmen Orion T21RS
Very nicely laid out coach. The step near the microwave was problematic for me. When I opened and closed the microwave door I kept tripping over it. The over the cab bunk provided terrific storage for our lawn chairs and dog pen. Neither of us liked driving it. I could not get a comfortable position with the left foot cut off by a hump and the geometry of the steering wheel, peddals and seat. My husband felt the seat was too hard. But I wanted to give it another try with the twin bed floor plan so we went to see it.

Coachmen Orion T21TB
I have to say this is the best floor plan we have seen for us. We absolutely loved the no slides. The fact you could sit in the love seat, have your seatbelt on and still open the refrigerator to make yourself a meal with the table set up in front of you. The shower had the curved hard plastic shower curtain which we prefer. The interior storage was fantastic. It also had the over cab bunk to accommodate large items. But the quality was so bad the coach was falling apart under our hands while we looked at it. The trim fell off, the drawer glides were so weak that the empty drawers fell through them as they bent outwards when you opened them. The upper cabinets had no way to stay open or closed when you worked with them. The cheap brown particle board cabinets and brown vinyl were '70s ugly. Although I must say the foam on the loveseat was the best we've seen in this class. I can't remember if I liked the bed foam. I worked a little harder at the driver seating position and got it to be more tolerable. But I don't drive that often, my husband does. I found the loveseat in back was my preferred seating position over the passenger seat but the passenger seat was tolerable even with the left foot room a little cut off.

So with the obvious quality issues at the forefront of our minds we remembered the Sunseeker 2390 had much higher quality so we decided to look at the 2370 with a similar floor plan to the Orion T21tb.

Sunseeker 2370
Everything about the 2370 was much nicer than the Orion. The window shades are fantastic. It came with the overhead fans. The cabinets stay open and stay closed. Nothing fell off when we handled it. The real bonus was the twin beds were power operated to come together. We found if we moved one in to make it bigger there was still enough of an aisle to get to the bathroom and one bed became closer to full size. This is nice when you have dogs that want to sleep with you and like to kick out to try and take over the bed at night. We did not like the loveseat slide. It made the loveseat very small and uncomfortable. The foam on it was bad. It reduced the storage above the loveseat and refrigerator significantly. And you wouldn't be able to have the table up when traveling. Also the door to the refrigerator opened the opposite direction so no longer able to open the fridge when seated on the loveseat. The problem was no place to put folding lawn chairs and our dog pen. But we decided we could figure out a way to carry them on a hitch so went for the test drive.

Unfortunately they only had the diesel version. It was loud and vibrated the cab. The two previous Ford Transits we test drove were the gas versions and they were quieter and smoother. We also both found the drivers seat very uncomfortable while the passengers was softer and more padded. I think there was something wrong with the drivers seat foam. It may have been installed incorrectly or damaged because it was much less comfortable than the others we tried.

[RedLdr1]

I don't know what was going on with the drivers seat in the unit you drove but mine is very comfortable, I've driven 500 mile days and haven't felt any issues afterwards.

I considered the diesel but after doing a quick proforma it was obvious I would never see any payback....or even break even. And I don't like I-5 motors in general, too many have had issues.

When searching don't forget the Forester 2371 is the exact same unit except for the paint colors. There are 21 of them listed on RVTrader.com...and 8 Sunseeker 2370s' as well. Good luck!

[Kirk S]

Originally posted by m111:
Also we have to remember that the tires may be over inflated. I didn't think to ask the dealer to check that.

Please don't trust a dealer with your tire inflation pressure.
Among other "untruths", we were assured more than once that our tire pressures on our 3051S were 75 psi front, 80 psi rear.
After delivery and returning to the rv park 20 miles away I checked and discovered the pressures were around 50 psi in all 6 tires and the air bags that they said were inflated to 30 psi were only 10 psi.

[m111]

Thanks RedLdr1 and Netgain,

We are still evaluating but continue to be impressed with the 2370. Unfortunately the two in our area are both diesel.

[RedLdr1]

Originally Posted by m111

Thanks RedLdr1 and Netgain,

We are still evaluating but continue to be impressed with the 2370. Unfortunately the two in our area are both diesel.

Pick a local Sunseeker, or Forester, dealer you like and order one. That way you can get exactly what you want. Remember there are no differences between a Sunseeker and a Forester, in this model line except for paint trim.

We have ordered all of our motor homes thru our local dealer. It takes around 9-12 weeks for delivery if you order full body paint. Not getting painted will cut 2-3 weeks off that time frame.

Good luck...