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Old 09-23-2016, 12:46 PM   #61
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Have had our 24RSLED for one year now. 10,000 miles. Have towed 6x12 enclosed some of the time. Good mileage and after Sumos great ride. Great storage. Two person unit but did one trip with grandboys and worked well. Only downside we have noticed is making the rear slide bed and are considering the W.
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Old 09-27-2016, 04:42 PM   #62
2015 Forester MBS 2401W
 
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MBS - Yes, FR - maybe not

This is our first RV. We chose W because of its layout, its MB Sprinter, and many happy owners of MBS motorhome on this forum. However, after 18 months, we have had so many issues that we started to think if a FR motorhome is the right choice for us. Overwhelmingly, the issues are mostly related to FR manufacturing or their choice of parts. Here is an incomplete list of the issues that I can remember:

Grey tank valve leak with brand new unit
Blank tank valve leak, twice
Fresh water tank leak (hasn't been fixed, can't find where it leaks)
Fresh water valve leak letting city water backfilling the tank
Crown moldings detached from ceiling
Electric step motor broke
Curt controller broke, replaced, and now still having intermittent problems
Vinyl liners at driver and passenger doors detached
Refrigerator stopped working
Awning cover piece became loose
Shower door latch broke
etc

Most of them are fixed now. I understand and expect that something will go wrong, it's just matter of time. But the frequency and magnitude of the issues just lets us down pretty bad. Every time we went out, we were nervous about the motorhome itself, not where to go or what to see

Because we love Sprinter, we are thinking about getting a B class next time: Leisure Travel Van (unity), Airstream Interstate, or Pleasure Way. Some of them are slightly smaller, but easier to drive (less sway), and are supposedly better built. We plan to check them out seriously at Pomona RV Show next month.
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Old 10-03-2016, 03:37 PM   #63
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Originally Posted by ilmor View Post
I had Fords in the past, then I had an MBS Solera 24 for 6 years and after owning that I went back to the Ford. In my opinion;

  • The Ford has more power - effortless going up hills whereas the MBS struggled at times.
  • The Ford has much better brakes
  • The new Ford 6-speed transmission is great
  • The Ford is more rugged
  • The Ford handles better
  • The Ford can tow much more
  • The Ford will be as much or more reliable - for example, on my MBS I had to replace a starter and a PCV valve. I didn't have 20K miles on it. The PCV valve failure caused the turbo to shut down. When the happened the MBS was un-drivable as it could barely get up to a max speed of 35 and couldn't climb hills. I don't want to put up with turbos anymore as a result.
  • The Ford is less costly to repair and service. Less oil to worry about. No need to change fuel filter so often. No DEF needed.
  • Easier to find a gas station! ... and yes, it does get 10 mpg vs. the 14 mpg my Solera got, however diesel was costing (and may again cost) more than gas and the 4 mpg difference really does not add up to much, especially compared to the $10K to $15K initial costs to buy a diesel engine powered MBS.
  • The Ford has much better side view mirrors

My general impression is that the Ford cutaways were designed and built over the years to work well with American needs for motorhomes. I never felt like the MBS quite cut it for that purpose.
x2
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Old 10-04-2016, 06:14 AM   #64
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As much as I love my Solera, you can't ignore the facts
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Old 10-04-2016, 09:29 AM   #65
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dogpa View Post
Have had our 24RSLED for one year now. 10,000 miles. Have towed 6x12 enclosed some of the time. Good mileage and after Sumos great ride. Great storage. Two person unit but did one trip with grandboys and worked well. Only downside we have noticed is making the rear slide bed and are considering the W.
My wife's biggest complaints on the R, the bed is a bitch to make, and the step up to the bedroom and step down to get out of shower. Beautiful looking unit although. By the way we have driven 4g miles so far and no warranty issues.
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Old 10-04-2016, 10:18 AM   #66
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Originally Posted by Iggy View Post
x2

Let's both compare where we are on recouping investment when we sell in 3 years MBS vs. Ford.


2016 Sunseeker W MBS

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Old 01-03-2017, 10:39 AM   #67
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Question for line #13, #17, #18; Are there any additives to offset the higher bio-diesel ?? I will be driving through Minnesota a lot, to and from Canada.
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Old 01-03-2017, 11:04 AM   #68
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We are talking about chassis ?

I've had 2 class B's on the Sprinter chassis. Absolutely loved both of them....except finding service when needed. Just not enough dealers supporting the Sprinter IMOO. Both were the 5cyl models.

Also had a Lazy Daze on the Ford E450, hated the chassis, rode and handled like a herd of cats. Found service on it wasn't much better, but parts availability was. Ergonomics in the cab were horrible. The Lazy Daze part was good.

Now have a Foretravel class A, service is EXPENSIVE, but available, if you don't mind truck service providers. Ride and handling are fantastic. One very complex machine.

Recently bought a Forester on the Chevy chassis, so far so good.
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Old 01-06-2017, 07:26 AM   #69
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"But our deal breaker for the MB was that, according to Mercedes, you cannot idle this engine any longer than an hour without doing possible damage. We could hardly believe this when we heard it."

Every diesel, any brand , will suffer shortened life from ideling.

The problem is diesels are built to work hard and ideling is almost zero work.

The problem is the piston rings seal from combustion pressure between the piston and the back of the ring.

Low load = low combustion pressure , the rings seal poorly which allows blowby.

Blowby would not be a big hassle , just change the oil more often..

However the low pressure behind the rings causes the cylinder walls to be burnished,.

This is a polishing process and the hone marks or dimples that hold oil slowly get smoothed , increasing the blowby, and oil consumption. .

Eventually the engine will begin to slobber which today screws up the EPA exhaust goodies.

Big engines, 400-600 hp in trucks today will go 1 - 1 1/4 million miles so ideling which could reduce engine life by 25% , is simply part of the ongoing expenses.

When started from cold an engine with low compression , from normal wear or ideling will smoke white till the coolant warms .

We get everything ready for departure before engine start ,and wait about 30 seconds after start before driving off at a modest pace for the first couple of miles to assist the warmup..

Ideling in traffic is compensated for by a rapid pace when the traffic clears.

YOU get to create the service life of your diesel engine.

A second engine life concept is to idle for a min or two before engine shutdown
IF the engine has been highly loaded .

Turning into a rest area on Rockey Top would qualify.

.A short cooling period allows the turbo to cool enough to not coke the oil in its lubrication passages.

Leaving the highway and driving to a campsite is plenty of engine / turbo cooling , so cooling is not required.

If you have a diesel noisemaker a 50% + load is better for long life.
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Old 01-06-2017, 08:47 PM   #70
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So FFred, are you saying that you have never owned a motorhome on a Sprinter chassis?
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Old 01-07-2017, 06:50 AM   #71
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I own an Itasca 3 --- 24FWS right now , but a diesel is a diesel , in the past I owned a gas Wanderlodge and diesel GM 4106 and a Flxible VL 100.

Both eventually had Detroit Diesels .

The Flx would run 75 mph and still get 11 mpg , but the bride hated to drive it.

The Sprinter is a "last" MH, when it wears out we will fly to snowbird.

And I do not idle it to hear it run or to "warm it up".
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Old 03-28-2017, 12:59 PM   #72
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We've put nearly 10,000 miles on our 2016 Sunseeker 2400R MBS, and the biggest problems have been with the Forest River end of things and not the MB parts. Even when we thought we had an MB problem it turned out to be caused by FR. Apparently FR tied into a MB ground point and didn't tighten things up, so we were having electrical issues with the dashboard until a good MB tech found the problem and fixed it. The MB dealer in Grand Blanc, MI didn't charge for this repair, although they probably could have. CCC can be an issue, but I really don't pay that much attention. 2 adults, an 11 year old, and a small dog is probably not overloading things. We flat-tow a 2014 CRV and the MB doesn't flinch even on long uphill stretches. The engine really is a little beast.

All this being said, I would probably not purchase any Class C again. The gassers are too noisy and the MB can't tow much. I would probably look for a well kept Class A with Cummins power. You won't park it in tight spaces, etc, etc. But there is no doubt that they are built for the long haul. They ride better with air suspension, most can tow a full sized vehicle, the materials are higher quality, and the Cummins engine is a proven workhorse. Just my 2 bits.
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