What I love and don't love about the 3010DS

[jeffreymhardy]

Purchased my 2015 Sunseeker 3010DS right before the summer, and have spent about 40 camping nights in it so far, so I thought I would offer my likes and dislikes about the rig for anyone interested. If nothing else, may give you a few ideas or questions to ask. Keep in mind that I had a 2006 Coachmen before this, roughly the same size.

Likes

- That the entry door is at the front and not at the center. For whatever reason, it makes the coach seem larger.

- The dinette is not the typical one you see in (apparently) every RV ever made, it's U-shaped and extremely comfortable and spacious.

- Kitchen layout has lots of counter space and the way it's layed out, you also have easy reach to the dinette table.

- The double door refrigerator is awesome and plenty of space (and love the icemaker!) but there's a catch (see below)

- Having the "solid" bedroom wall with the cabinets on the side of the rig where you're most likely to have noise from neighbors is ideal. It's sound insulated pretty well anyway, but having a whole wall of wood between you and the site neighbors is very nice and not something you may think about.

- Love the flooring and not having carpeting anywhere but the bedroom

- Maybe a small item and one found on many units these days, but having storage compartment doors that either swing open left or right or drop down instead of having to be propped open by lifting them up and hooking a latch is a godsend.

- Drain holes in some of the storage areas where you might put hoses, etc. is very nice. My older MH not only had no drains, but the interior was a cloth material which made zero sense.

- Having a detachable power cord instead of one you have to cram into a small compartment

- Having all the tanks and connections inside the heated area of the coach. While I don't think I could camp in days and days of 15 degree weather, I could definitely camp for a few days with nighttime temps getting well below freezing without worrying about it.

- Automatic leveling. There's nothing more to say. It's magical.

-Temperature readout on the refrigerator. Really nice to know exactly where you are on that.

Don't Likes-

- Having the thermostat on the bedroom wall is just plain idiotic. It needs to be as close to the center of the MH as you can get and not in an enclosed room. If I can figure out a way to move it, I will. It can be 67 in my large room with the thermostat set on 73.

- I'll just say it, and this is typical of any MH this size I guess. The bathroom and shower are almost too small to be comfortable. Good in a pinch, but not something a whole family is going to be able to deal with very long. Almost zero bathroom counter space.

- Having the light and awning controls down at floor level when you enter. I realize they put them there for easy access when you come in, but nine times out of ten I end up having to bend down into the stair well to get them because I want to do something when I'm already in the coach.

- I wish there were more outlets of both kinds. Not a Sunseeker specific thing, but they just don't seem to ever be in places where I actually want to plug something in...like on the entire couch/dinette wall

- The refrigerator doors on these two door smaller fridges are really a pain in the but. I realize they are the way they are to keep them closed in motion, but I wish someone would design something better where there's not a "right" way and a "wrong" way to close them.

- I really wish they could have come up with a way to put a pocket door into the bedroom. Having the sliding screen doesn't provide a lot of privacy

That's all I can think of at the moment...all in all, I love my Sunseeker and already have reservations for more than 100 days in 2016!

[Brian217]

Glad to hear you like yours. We also have a 2015 3010 and really like the layout. The bathroom is very small, but the living space makes up for it. We really like the large fridge, but think we may have a problem. In very hot weather it rises to around the mid 50's. I was thinking maybe it needs a fan after reading others have had problems with keeping it cool, but after talking to a service guy today he said he's seen many lately that may be leaking ammonia. I'm gonna try to have a mobile rv guy come out to my house and look at it since the place I bought it from is 4 hours away. With you being out a lot this year did you have any problems with keeping it cool? I told the service guy under normal heat conditions(80's) it stays in the low to mid 40's and he said he thinks there's something wrong. Said it should stay in the upper 30's.
Anyways, love this motorhome overall. We've had very few problems.

[jeffreymhardy]

The only time I had any problem with temps in the fridge was when the A.C. wasn't on and it was 95 degrees in the coach. And even then it didn't get above 45 degrees. Definitely sounds like a problem with your unit as opposed to a design flaw

[jrwalkerpa1]

If you have the 4 door fridge that is not staying cool, a common problem is broken door handles that don't seal. We also found it is extremely sensitive to being out of level which makes it warm up quickly.

[jeffreymhardy]

Yeah...it's really difficult to get them to even look like they're closed tightly

[Joshua Cavitt]

This is a post I like to read. Posts like these help us determine what we do need to improve on, Change, Delete, Add etc. Thank you!

[jeffreymhardy]

Thanks Joshua....it's equally nice to see that you guys read these posts and take them into account!

[sonny bransom]

we have a 2014 3170ds and have put 1100 miles so far,,very few problems [all minor] really happy so far..

[jeffreymhardy]

I've got about 2600 on mine since May...it definitely won't be sitting around at my house!

[Butch & Lena]

The wife and I really enjoy our 2015 3010DS. We bought it new in October 2014. We spent the winter down in the area of South Padre Island in Texas and have just done the badlands with our grandkids. We currently have 6500 miles on it and have survived a tornado in Oklahoma last April on our way home from Texas. We encountered some minor hail damage and broken vents which we have replaced with fantastic fans and their related covers (much better then the flimsy ones that came standard with the unit when we bought it). We had some problems with the microwave which was replaced under warranty. We also had problems with the steering, thinking we needed a frontend alignment but found out we needed a tie rod replaced which was under Ford's warranty. We then had a frontend alignment and it drives like a car now (not all over the road when a semi or cross wind occurs). We are very happy with our 3010DS and any work that needed to be done was taken care of by our dealers shop. It is very important to buy from a dealer close to home (ours is 15 miles away from us in the Des Moines area). We also had some minor problems with our generator which was also covered by Cummins Onan warranty (which was also about 15 miles from our home). It was also a pleasure working with the people at Forest River threw our experience with the microwave that needed to be replaced. I have no complaints because we have bought a quality product and would do it again in a heart beat! As others have added some changes that need to be done, mine would be to put the black water flush access point to the side of the compartment that houses the drains. The lid for the drain compartment goes up and blocks black water flush connection. Thanks for all the great discussions and help with the day to day problems we all may encounter. All for now as we are getting ready for another camping (or what we call camping)weekend here in Iowa.

[dlach]

We have 2015 sunseeker 3010 love it

[retired on a mountain]

i was looking at the 3010 but changed to 2860 love the kitchen, sink, fridge. was turned off by the slide out on the camping side, also looked like a head banger 11500 miles in 1 year still happy

[jeffreymhardy]

The bedroom slide is definitely a head banger, but I'm fine with it. If it were reversed I'd have a window and noise on the neighbor side and I'd hate that

[Up North]

Good thread. What are the major differences between the Sunseeker and Forester lines? Is the Forester a better quality build using better materials?

[RvBill3]

I wouldn't describe Forester as better quality, but it has some higher end trim, like recessed lighting, etc. It includes as standard many things that are options on Sunseeker. The basic core components however are identical. I compare it to the difference between a Buick and a Chevy. I have a Buick Encore. Chevy makes a Trax that looks identical. If you buy the Chevy with all the options they make, you will have an identical vehicle to my Buick--but all those options were standard on the Buick. Basic quality is the same.

If many of the options on the Sunseeker interest you, or you like higher end finishes, then check out the Forester.


2012 Forest River Sunseeker 2300 Chevy

[JoBu]

Thanks for posting such a detailed review. I enjoyed reading the pros/cons and it will no doubt help me in the future when it is time to start shopping for my next RV.

Cheers,

Joe