Full Body Paint, or no...?

[tcbetka]

Hello all,

New to the forum here, but not new to RVs. We have a class A Diesel pusher that we're looking to trade on a class C. We've been looking seriously at a 3010DS, and a dealer near us has a 2014 unit on the lot. It's the standard color scheme, and we were contemplating whether or not to pay the extra $$$ to get a unit with full body paint? It's not cheap by any stretch of the imagination--but it sure does improve the look of the unit.

Not sure what way to lean at this point. The stock color unit is there on the lot, and of course is available MUCH more quickly than ordering one built..especially since we'd probably choose all the options this one has anyway. So really then, the only real dilemma for us is exterior color.

Worth it...or not?

Thanks in advance!

Tom

[ependydad]

Different product for me- but we opted to pay the money for partial paint on the fifth wheel. We were ordering anyway, so that didn't come into play. We figured, if we were spending that much money, might as well get exactly what we wanted.

[tcbetka]

We are going to go look at the in-stock unit this weekend or on Monday, and then decide. I've been researching the Sunseeker units though for about a week now, and really like the features/standard items thus far. We also looked at a Coachmen unit, and liked that as well. But I love the fiberglass roof, and a couple other "standard" options that Sunseeker puts on these units. We had a 2001 Coachmen unit back about 10 years ago, and that thing served us well--but then we got a major case of "twofootitis" and moved to a Class A unit. Now we're moving back. Live and learn I suppose--we just didn't use the larger DP coach nearly as much as we thought, and it was a whole lot more expensive to maintain (especially given that the previous owner chose not to...lol). So someone will get a very nice DP, with its maintenance now up-to-date, and we'll be getting a new Class C.

The other thing is that we want to get a boat at some point in the next year, and I'd like to be able to use the Class C to launch/recover it. I was hoping to stay at 29-30' for that purpose, but the boss wants more floor space. Works for me I guess--we'll figure out the boat thing as we go. But the paint would look pretty slick with a similarly-colored boat, I will say!

Thanks for the reply.

[ependydad]

I do know that this is a very busy time of year, so the ordering timeframes are longer than normal.

[tcbetka]

Yea, agreed... We'd be hard-pressed to get it before July 4th, for sure. Still though, I don't know if that would stop us. I guess if we find that there are some other things we'd order differently, that will be the deciding factor. If it's a week or two later than we'd like it to be, then it's a week or two later than we'd like it to be. Seems like a small price to pay to get it the way we'd like. But from what I've seen so far, I can't say there's much we would change.

More study required I suppose...

TB

[ependydad]

Good luck!

[tcbetka]

Thanks!

[bodzcampers]

I read in some other threads that people who chose the full body paint, did so b/c they wanted the clear coat or gel coat that comes with it...it has the added benefit of keeping the graphics in place and prevents them from peeling. That's just what I read. Enjoy your new purchase and journeys.

[KQ2N]

I ordered my Sunseeker 2860 at the Hershey show last September. This is my 3rd class C and I opted to special order the full body paint. My reasoning was that the white in time seems to fade to a yellowish color, more so if not waxed on a regular basis. Also the white always seemed to show the black streaking. It seems like I was always washing the unit to keep it looking nicely.

The full body paint is a $5000 plus option, but in my opinion, definitely worth it. I just got back from Florida, it's maiden voyage. Yes, it does need to be washed now, but it doesn't show the dirt nearly as much as a white unit. Close up, the dirt is visible on the black painted areas, but at a distance, it's not as noticeable. I was also surprised to get a number of postive comments from fellow RVers in the parks liking the full paint.

[tcbetka]

Yes, I think it's about $5200 to get the paint. The last Class C we owned was the standard white, and it was fine. So it's not something we would absolutely need to have of course--and of course the one on the lot is available now, so there wouldn't be much problem having it for the July 4th holiday! We'll see how it goes when we take a look at it this weekend.

TB

[tgtiburon]

We chose not to pay extra for the paint. We found a unit with the features we wanted already on a lot, got a fair price and didn't have to wait six to eight weeks.
Perhaps when we retire and full time.

[tcbetka]

I can certainly see the point in that. We'll have to just run the numbers and factor in the wait time.

Anyone here put Bilsteins and/or sway bars on their 3010DS? We put Bilstein shocks on an older Coachmen we had several years ago, and it made a huge difference. But that unit was a 2001, so I have no idea how much Ford has improved their chassis lately. I believe I read that there are Firestone airbags on the 3010 units now, and that should help with the ride--but how do these things handle? We're going to take one for a ride here in the next week.

TB

[ATVer]

I opted for the paint and am very happy with it. It looks fantastic IMO. I also have a white toyhauler which was stored outside for a couple years and even with a cover most of the time the graphics deteriorated. If you will be storing it outside I highly suggest getting the paint option. However you could probably take the paint option costs and have a pole building built to house the RV which would keep a white one real nice with a lot less washing. I have both RVs in a pole building. Every time I walk in the building on a rainy or hot sunny day I am so glad I put up the building. The units stay pefect.

[VinceU]

Here's real life photos of the paint ability. In these pics the RV is about 2 years old since build, on the road for 1.5.

This last winter we lived in it for just over 3 months, because of that and weather at home it hadn't been washed in near 6 months. Can you tell which is which?

Hint the pic on the left was not yet washed, on right was just finished.

Great Stuff, I've had 4 of the white FG with decals, no comparison!

[Dave_Monica]

The dealer should be able to tell you for sure but I think the full body paint would add another week to two to the delivery time.

If it's a fiberglass roof there shouldn't be any black streaks on the exterior to deal with should you choose a white exterior plus they're all high gloss gelcoat now which keeps it's appearance longer.

Dave

Dave

[tcbetka]

Man...the full body paint looks GREAT! Yes, it would add 2-3 weeks to the delivery time, per the dealer. We don't have indoor storage here at our house, but it will be stored inside a pole building over the Winters here in Wisconsin. We pay for inside storage and have had all our various RVs inside for Winters over the past 10 years. Ultimately we'd like to move out of the city and into a home a bit more in the country--then we could put up our own building to keep the RV and a boat in.

This unit does have a fiberglass roof, so the black streaking should not be a concern as Dave pointed out.

Thanks for the posts guys!

TB

[ATVer]

Not sure streaking always comes from a rubber roof. At least in my area it is from the air pollution as I have had streaking on various trailers with white painted aluminum and white fabric like roofs.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Dave_Monica

The dealer should be able to tell you for sure but I think the full body paint would add another week to two to the delivery time.

That's definitely likely. I know our partial paint added about 2 weeks.

[KQ2N]

My 2011 Sunseeker 2300, which was white, and had a fiberglass roof, still had streaking, that's why when I decided to upgrade to a bigger unit, the full body paint was high on my list of priorities. Gettin' too old here to keep washing the unit to keep it looking nicely.

[bodzcampers]

Just a Q for future reference. Does the darker full paint vs. white make the rig hotter? I know I know there is A/C, but I prefer fresh air as much as possible.