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Old 10-30-2016, 03:51 PM   #1
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Drivability question from new owner 2860

We purchased our E450 based 2860DS right before Labor Day this year. I've driven it about 1000 miles so far on both 2 lane and highways. I've never driven a class C or A before so am not sure what to expect. I traded in my 34' 5th wheel for this camper, pulled by a 2010 F350 crew cab long bed. I'm used to big but driving my new RV is so different.

I tend to always have to correct the wheel when driving on the highway, 60 a 65 mph. The RV wants to bear to the right so I'm always correcting to the left, but just a little bit. This is not apparent at slower speeds, on 2 lane roads. I mentioned this to my dealer. Their response is all motohomes are like this, air pressure in the airbags, etc. I've had the air pressure from 5lbs up to 60lbs with not much difference in the way it drives.

My question, is this normal, is my dealer correct? If not, is this a FR issue or a Ford issue? If it is a ford issue do I have to bring it to the ford dealer or should that be the dealer? I don't believe there is a ford dealer in NH that will handle a vehicle this size.

Thanks for any responses,
Marc
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Old 10-30-2016, 04:38 PM   #2
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Check the Forester forum (Forester is just a fancy Sunseeker sharing the E450 chassis) look for the thread "Bilstein stabilizer". Enormous thread about what can be done to your 2860Ds
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Old 10-30-2016, 04:46 PM   #3
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Congrats on your new rig. Most people say wait till about 2500 miles then have alignment done to Forest River specs not Ford. Then you could read countless threads here on improving your ride such as steering stabilizers, front and rear sway bars, rear air bag pressure, etc. To start right now I would run airbags at 65 to 70 with your 2860.
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Old 10-30-2016, 05:08 PM   #4
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I agree with the other guys. Pulling is not normal. Get some miles on it, then have the front end alignment done. Heavy duty Bilstein shocks are a must along with a better front stabilizer bar. Safe-T-Plus is one option that several people have installed and have been happy with it. I haven't gotten that far yet. I only have about 1900 miles on mine so far. One thing you have to keep in mind is that Ford equips the chassis for an empty weight of a E450 van, by the time Forest River gets done with the chassis by building a motor home on it you are running at around 85%+ of max GVW.

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Old 10-30-2016, 05:24 PM   #5
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My '14 pulled hard right and I fought it for a year and s half
I had the recommended bushings installed and it's a lot better but unfortunately this is a common problem and you will probably want to do at least one of the recommended fixes above
Normal? No
Normal for a Sunseeker on a Ford?
Yes


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Old 10-30-2016, 05:29 PM   #6
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Roadmaster steering stabilizer and four Bilstien shocks solved our problems. This I say after a month long west coast trip on the worst roads in the USA !
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Old 10-30-2016, 07:23 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by trdutch View Post
My '14 pulled hard right and I fought it for a year and s half
I had the recommended bushings installed and it's a lot better but unfortunately this is a common problem and you will probably want to do at least one of the recommended fixes above
Normal? No
Normal for a Sunseeker on a Ford?
Yes
**

We ordered a 2861 Forester 4 weeks ago but on a Chevy chassis. Can anyone tell me whether the units on a Chevy chassis also need an alignment like the Fords?

Thanks.
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Old 10-30-2016, 07:29 PM   #8
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I would think it's vehicle specific. Nothing says all Ford's need an alignment. I have a Forester 2801 on a e450 and drives just beautifully. I wouldn't touch it. .
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Old 10-31-2016, 04:37 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KayleysMom View Post
**

We ordered a 2861 Forester 4 weeks ago but on a Chevy chassis. Can anyone tell me whether the units on a Chevy chassis also need an alignment like the Fords?

Thanks.
Yes it will, same issue. Chevy builds the chassis to run at a percentage of the GVW, just like Ford. When FR gets done with the build you are at 85%+ of GVW so the settings from the Chevy factory aren't good anymore. The same holds true for Dodge too. Drive it for a few thousand miles then get the front end aligned. We had a little Coachmen 21' on a 1978 Chevy chassis that was the same way, it pulled bad until we had an alignment done on it, seem to recall we had to add a rear sway bar too, they did not come with one from the factory.

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Old 10-31-2016, 07:59 AM   #10
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I have a 2860 that I bought with 5,000 miles on it 2 seasons ago. It seemed to be great at first, but now has loosened up and wanders some. But it doesn't pull and the tires are wearing very evenly. I do have to keep steering input on it and may look at shocks and steering stabilizer someday. For now though, it is just a minor annoyance.
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Old 10-31-2016, 08:21 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KayleysMom View Post
**

We ordered a 2861 Forester 4 weeks ago but on a Chevy chassis. Can anyone tell me whether the units on a Chevy chassis also need an alignment like the Fords?

Thanks.
We had a '14 Sunseeker 2300 with the Chevy 4500 and it drove great. Very responsive. We now have the '16 Sunseeker 3100SS with the Ford E450 which also drives very comfortably. It has a slight bit of "dead steering" compared to the Chevy requiring a little more input, but I have zero complaints thus far at 3400 miles.
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Old 10-31-2016, 12:27 PM   #12
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Our 2016 E450 33 foot handled bad enough 60 mph was two fast. The alignment shop set the casters at RH at +5.5 LF at 4.8 it now drives like it should. That will fix your problem.

Jim 2016 Coachman Freelander 31BH
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Old 10-31-2016, 12:54 PM   #13
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Sunseeker sway

If you never drive over 55 mph they all drive pretty good but if you drive the speed limits on interstates especially on windy days you probably need to do things to improve it,also the shorter rv's doesn't sway as much. I had mine aligned to FR specs, added a little more pressure in the front tires 77psi. Started running air bags at 80psi in rear, blue or rear track bar, Roadmaster reflex steering stabalizer.i also tried rear bags at 50 - 80 and 80 being the best fit for mine and it drives closer to car now and I'm happy with it. Would trust my wife to drive at highway speeds pulling toad
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Old 10-31-2016, 01:29 PM   #14
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Teaman here.

Same concern here too. But lots good advice above. I also got a new to me Sunseeker 2300 in August. First long drive back to RV park, I became concerned with seemingly tricky steering. Response is good, but seems to have a tendency to wander, So I started looking into this Forest River Forum for answers. Some of the things others have done, I'll probably have done to mine too. But the advice to drive it awhile before acting sounds like good advice. I have already found a good alignment center here in my city. But now I think I'll wait now until I take a good long trip next Spring.

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Old 10-31-2016, 01:49 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mgosselin View Post
We purchased our E450 based 2860DS right before Labor Day this year. I've driven it about 1000 miles so far on both 2 lane and highways. I've never driven a class C or A before so am not sure what to expect. I traded in my 34' 5th wheel for this camper, pulled by a 2010 F350 crew cab long bed. I'm used to big but driving my new RV is so different.

I tend to always have to correct the wheel when driving on the highway, 60 a 65 mph. The RV wants to bear to the right so I'm always correcting to the left, but just a little bit. This is not apparent at slower speeds, on 2 lane roads. I mentioned this to my dealer. Their response is all motohomes are like this, air pressure in the airbags, etc. I've had the air pressure from 5lbs up to 60lbs with not much difference in the way it drives.

My question, is this normal, is my dealer correct? If not, is this a FR issue or a Ford issue? If it is a ford issue do I have to bring it to the ford dealer or should that be the dealer? I don't believe there is a ford dealer in NH that will handle a vehicle this size.

Thanks for any responses,
Marc
I have a Sunseeker 2500TS and notice your situation a bit. When I drive on roads where there is a slant to the right that is when I notice it and blamed it on the road. When the road is very level or on a 4 lane highway and I am in the left lane I do not notice it.
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Old 10-31-2016, 02:01 PM   #16
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I have a 2015 2251 and it never pulled just had a sloppy floating ride and bottomed on bad road surface and blown by passing 18 wheelers. I added 4 self adjusting Koni FSD shocks and a Safety plus stabilizer and have very few handling problems now
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Old 10-31-2016, 02:09 PM   #17
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I highly suggest getting the front end aligned to FR's specs to compensate for the weight added from production. FR will reimburse for the alignment, with prior approval, provided you have it done within 3 months of purchase.

Also suggest the Roadmaster steering stabilizer which will make it much easier to steer. Without these, driving can be a workout especially on some of the 2 lane roads with tar snakes and numerous curves.
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Old 10-31-2016, 02:22 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by GL1800Rider View Post
I highly suggest getting the front end aligned to FR's specs to compensate for the weight added from production. FR will reimburse for the alignment, with prior approval, provided you have it done within 3 months of purchase.
Do you know who I would contact at Forest River regarding reimbursement for the alignment on a new unit? Ours is on order from RVW, won't be ready for at least another 6 weeks and we live in central New York State (SNOW!) so we plan to hopefully find a few cold but dry days to go to Ohio and pick it up and bring it home and put it in the garage. It probably won't come out again until April. I'd like to see if there is any wiggle room in that 3 month window.

Thanks.
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Old 10-31-2016, 03:24 PM   #19
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Go to iRV2 Forms Steering problem They have discussions on the caster settings. Get that done your steering problems should go away. That fixed mine.

Jim 2016 Coschman Freelander 31 BH
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Old 10-31-2016, 04:41 PM   #20
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2017 Freelander on a e350 with rear sway bar and steering stabilizer. When new and not yet aligned it did have a little wobble in the steering. After alignment, wobble is gone and ride is great. The shop that did my alignment does a lot of them on the Fords and suggested loading the MH as if you are going camping when you go to get the alignment.
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