About to buy 2018 2290SC

[s1njin]

Hello,

If any of you also browse over on the Forester specific sub-forum, you know that I had a deal for a 2017 Forester 2290SC the fell through. So, having learned that the Sunseeker is pretty much a Forester w/o the skirt paint, fiberglass running boards, and a few other small things we went down the road and put a deposit on a 2018 Sunseeker.

I’m having the dealer install Bigfoot levelers, otherwise is 95% spec for spec w/ the Forester I punted on.

At any rate I wanted to say hello to everybody here, and ask if there was anything Sunseeker related in particular I should be aware of? I will not be sad to see the Lippert tablet control panel go away in favor of buttons that’s for sure. The one I was going to buy had the generator hour reporting problem (and the dealer screwed up by not fixing it before I was supposed to take the unit home - among many other things).

Anybody have the Air Command Atwood AC/heat pump on theirs? I’ve read positive things (18k BTU equiv performance).

Thanks in advance and hello !

[RedLdr1]

As you have already said the Forester and Sunseeker are basically the same unit. The Forester just has more "bling" and the Lippert tablet . There are no Sunseeker specific issues to be aware of other than you will get to test more switches during your PDI...

[Duckogram]

Good luck and safe travels with your new unit. I have the Atwood AirCommand and so far, I love it. Mostly because it is so quiet. The 18k btu rating is a combined number that is all done with mirrors. As you can see from my posts, I have done many mods/upgrades/alterations before our 1st trip. I also spent 4 hours on our PDI. My suggestion is that you hold their feet to the fire and get things right before you drive off the lot.

[Chrisc40]

I have the heat pump in my Sunseeker and it works very well. A real propane saver!

The only goofy problem I've had is with the Big Foot. Every once in a while all the control panel lights start blinking and the system won't work. It's an easy fix but one I had to do every once in a while. Unscrew the Big Foot panel, pull out the wire harness connector from it, wait a minute, then plug it back in and replace the panel. At one point I was considering putting a switch in line so I could de-energize the panel instead. But the problem seems to have gone away.

The only other problem I've had is with the slideout. I have a 3050s that has a full side slide, it's huge. Apparently, no surprise though, they didn't check to make sure when they installed the wire harness to the slide motor that the wires were tied out of the way. So the slide hit the wires and after a few hits it wore through the wire insulation shorting the motor. The slide was stuck out. I was left to push that 25 foot slide back in by myself.

So you should think about checking for that potential problem. The good thing that came out of that is I biught 2 slider locks that I never thought of buying. So if it happens again I won't have to rig up some Rube Goldberg to keep the slide in as I drive down the road.🤥

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by s1njin

Hello,

If any of you also browse over on the Forester specific sub-forum, you know that I had a deal for a 2017 Forester 2290SC the fell through. So, having learned that the Sunseeker is pretty much a Forester w/o the skirt paint, fiberglass running boards, and a few other small things we went down the road and put a deposit on a 2018 Sunseeker.

I’m having the dealer install Bigfoot levelers, otherwise is 95% spec for spec w/ the Forester I punted on.

At any rate I wanted to say hello to everybody here, and ask if there was anything Sunseeker related in particular I should be aware of? I will not be sad to see the Lippert tablet control panel go away in favor of buttons that’s for sure. The one I was going to buy had the generator hour reporting problem (and the dealer screwed up by not fixing it before I was supposed to take the unit home - among many other things).

Anybody have the Air Command Atwood AC/heat pump on theirs? I’ve read positive things (18k BTU equiv performance).

Thanks in advance and hello !

Good Luck getting in & out of the bed !!!

[s1njin]

DW is on the 'wrong' side of the bed.

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by s1njin

DW is on the 'wrong' side of the bed.

Looks to me like both sides are the wrong side !!!

[s1njin]

One side is better wrong then the other !

[TravelHawk]

I have a SS2290SC, custom-ordered last summer, received September 2017. I ordered to get Chevy chassis which was very rare in dealer inventory. I could not accept Ford chassis, had two and they ruined otherwise good motorhomes.

I LOVE my Sunseeker with Chevy Express 4500 chassis, so much quieter than Ford, cockpit much easier to enter/exit/live in, ride much smoother too.

Of course there were new-rig issues, still working through some 6 months later, the service shop saying they can't get needed parts from FR.

Do PDI very carefully. I found drawer rails improperly mounted, and bottoms dropped out. Cabinets over dinette lack latches so anything up there would launch into space, added latches. Dash radio would not activate on ACC position, apparently Chevy does not provide for this on after-market radios, instead added a power line and switch to separately control radio (better because don't need to use key to use radio). Dash radio had zero reception because it had an antenna splitter to also feed house Jensen radio; result was that neither radio could receive stations. I dismantled dash enough to remove splitter, plugged antenna directly into radio which now works. But Jensen house radio is now antenna-less, FR promised to send bat-wing antenna but has not (yet?). These were factory decisions so likely affect multiple rigs.

Surprise: There's a storage compartment under dinette, outside hatch with 3 latches. I kept finding it hanging open, thinking I forgot to close it. Then I saw it flop open driving down the street. I discovered the 3 latch holes were drilled incorrectly, not straight across, but angling away from the door edge. So only the first latch held, sort of, the other two did not actually "grab" because the cams were too short. One of them was the lock, so the compartment had not been secure. I bought a replacement cam lock for $9 that had two longer cams, put them on my latches (2 minute job, did not need the new lock), and now the door reliably latches.

Big screw-up: I ordered Kitchen option 305, which is convection microwave, and cabinet instead of propane oven. It's right on all the paperwork, but factory did not do it, dealer did not notice. I was told it would be fixed promptly, but 6 months later still waiting for parts from FR to correct this mistake.

One thing to watch for: Tire valves access. When I received the coach I suspected tires were low, then discovered I could only get a gauge on a couple of the six valves, sure enough they were low. Worse I could only get air hose on two of the valves. The problem was the tire "hub caps" (liners) blocked the valves. I pulled these off and could then set my tires appropriately. Was my motorhome driven from Indiana to California with low air? The final solution (I hope) has been to add valve extenders.

However, even better would be to replace the valves with longer ones. I did this to a Sprinter-based coach 5 years ago, went to Tireman in Ridgeway California, Chuck claims to be the inventor of the best way to do this to dually tires, a solution he says has been poorly copied by others. I haven't done that (yet) to my Chevy tires since price tag was about $500 including parts and labor. I spent the night in Chuck's yard, he provided power.

[Wolverine 1945]

Good Luck with your little Bow Tie !!!

[s1njin]

Huh?

[Wolverine 1945]

I thought I read that FR was going to stop using the Chevy Chassis ???
The Transit Chassis looks interesting,,, but maybe only under the real small MHs ???
If I had the money I would prefer one built on the F series chassis !!!
Not a lot of room in the E series !!!

[s1njin]

After having spent 5 years going up and down the east coast in 2 C’s on the E450 chassis I’m very much encouraged by my limited time behind the wheel of the Chevy 4500. Softer less jarring suspension, more room in the cab, easy to steer stock, and the pickup feels similar. I know the Chevy has less GVWR due to the front axle being able to take less weight, but on my rig it doesn’t matter.

Time will tell after I take possession and put on the miles, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up liking it better overall.

[RedLdr1]

Originally Posted by Wolverine 1945

I thought I read that FR was going to stop using the Chevy Chassis ???

Chevy stopped producing their cutaway van for a period so they could build more Colorado pickups. When Chevy started up van production again so did FR. Interestingly enough the Colorado, and its GMC sister, are very heavily discounted around here...

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by RedLdr1

Chevy stopped producing their cutaway van for a period so they could build more Colorado pickups. When Chevy started up van production again so did FR. Interestingly enough the Colorado, and its GMC sister, are very heavily discounted around here...

How do you like the Transit chassis ???

[RedLdr1]

Originally Posted by Wolverine 1945

How do you like the Transit chassis ???

We really like it. It is the first motor home we've had that my wife can drive easily and more important comfortably! To me it feels about the same as my 2017 F-150 SuperCrew as far as handling. And its small enough to take about anywhere so we don't miss not having a TOAD.

We have the 3.7L gas version and are averaging around 14MPG. Our diesel M-B Sprinter, when it ran , averaged 16MPG. Our E-450 was a whopping 7.5MPG. The Transit easily wins the MPG challenge hands down when you look at cost per mile. There is an optional diesel available. But I prefer gas and the cost of upgrading wasn't worth it. It would take too long to see any return on that investment.

The CCC of our TS is over 2,000 pounds. That is almost twice what the M-B Sprinter 2400W was rated. The E-450 had about 300 pounds more CCC.

We had our our fully loaded TS weighed at the FROG Rally last year by the RVSEF and came in at 10,000 pounds. That was a worst case scenario as I intentionally weighed with half to 3/4 full black, grey and fresh water tanks. I would never normally drive with that load as it wastes gas hauling it around! But even with that "test" load we were under the 10,360 pound GVW.

That 10,360 pound GVW is the limiting factor of the Transit. To make it a bit worse BClemens at DynaMax said they are only allowed to build up to a EPA assigned weight of ~8,000 pounds not the GVW.

Ford has previously said they would continue the E-450 through 2019. It will be interesting to see what will happen if it is discontinued. Hopefully they will move to the F-450. If not I really like the Jayco Super C on the F-450 chassis...

[s1njin]

Anybody install a hardwire Progressive EMS in their 2291S? If so where did you end up putting it? With the power coming from a jack on the rear of the coach, I don’t have something in a compartment to work with.

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by s1njin

Anybody install a hardwire Progressive EMS in their 2291S? If so where did you end up putting it? With the power coming from a jack on the rear of the coach, I don’t have something in a compartment to work with.

You may want to use search ???

[Duckogram]

Originally Posted by s1njin

Anybody install a hardwire Progressive EMS in their 2291S? If so where did you end up putting it? With the power coming from a jack on the rear of the coach, I don’t have something in a compartment to work with.

It is easier if you put it behind the power panel. I had access to that space via the hatch under the fridge. Take a look at the pics I posted in my mods thread.

[swuebbels]

I have a 2300 which also has the side bed. There is a lot of room under the bed. Lift the mattress and unscrew the short panel to gain access. I also put hinges in that panel so I don’t have to take out the screws each time.

Stan