2018 Forest River Forester
Looking at a 2018 Forest River Forester 2400w with 2300 miles. Would appreciate any comments positive or negative about this unit. Thanks in advance.
Forum Discussion
I have a 2018 FR.
I guess it depends on what chassis its on. There are pros n cons to all of them. You need to find a floorplan that will work for you, then find the right chassis to fit your needs. All the rest are things that you can work out and wiggle around.
I have a Ford 450 chassis and I had to spend some money on aftermarket items to make it ride better to handle crosswinds and bow waves. I'm very happy now since I just added F/R sway bars in addition to steering stabilizer, rear track bars and FSD/Bils shocks. I think GM and M/Benz might handle better but not really sure, look into that.
Sprinters seem to have a smaller network of dealers for service and repairs but offer a little better fuel economy which might end up getting eaten up with more expensive repair costs ? Its all a trade off.
My unit is a FR 2018 Sunseeker 2350 non slide unit and I'm happy with it although its considered an 'entry level unit' by some. I watched as my dealer took some things apart that allowed me to view a few warranty repairs on my unit and things looked very neat and assembled nicely, I was pleasantly surprised at the care that was taken during assembly. FR stood behind the product and worked with my dealer in Vermont who was great, even after the sale.
My friends who have spent $500k to $750k for rvs have more problem than I do regarding break downs and service. So much for quality and entry level rvs right ? That's why I always say 'buy the floorplan' then deal with all the other issues that they all have.
Compared to my many previous rvs that I had the pleasure of opening up and making repairs, I found this FR to be put together as a very neat package.
If you ever get caught in a place where the temps dip.
All my water lines run within the heated rv incl my shower which is plumbed thru an interior wall where the fixtures are mounted. That plus having a heat duct blowing directly on my water pump allows me to have an extended season. I really do not worry about freeze ups as the temps dip.
On the 2400W floorplan, the shower plumbing looks like it might be on an exterior wall and that might prematurely freeze if that's an issue for you or not. Your bathroom and kitchen sink lines should be ok as long as they are not touching the outside wall. You might have to insulate those lines . Not a big deal for you to do, insulated pipe foam works.
I'm not a fan of full wall slides due to the larger cutout they require and weight. You have to pay attention when you load the rv with supplies because that slide 'might' put your balance off a little.
Due to its large size, if that slide binds or the slide motor fails, its going to take some muscle to push it back in. Know how to take care of that.
I would make sure that floorplan is usable with that slide 'IN', just in case, because you might not get an rv appt for 4 or 5 weeks.
The main queen bed is a folding model queen mattress and that slide might need to be deployed in order to fully use it. Maybe you are ok with that and that's fine . I personally do not like my sleeping head to be out in a very thin walled slideout because I sleep in a lot of rest areas and don't like the idea of overtired truckers passing my head sticking out into the lane where they drive.
If you choose this floorplan and use rest areas you should try to find an open spot where you can protect yourself from passing traffic on that drivers side. The last thing you need is a Kenworth imprint on your forehead at 3 A.M.
Other than that I think its a very nice rv. Good luck in your decision.
I guess it depends on what chassis its on. There are pros n cons to all of them. You need to find a floorplan that will work for you, then find the right chassis to fit your needs. All the rest are things that you can work out and wiggle around.
I have a Ford 450 chassis and I had to spend some money on aftermarket items to make it ride better to handle crosswinds and bow waves. I'm very happy now since I just added F/R sway bars in addition to steering stabilizer, rear track bars and FSD/Bils shocks. I think GM and M/Benz might handle better but not really sure, look into that.
Sprinters seem to have a smaller network of dealers for service and repairs but offer a little better fuel economy which might end up getting eaten up with more expensive repair costs ? Its all a trade off.
My unit is a FR 2018 Sunseeker 2350 non slide unit and I'm happy with it although its considered an 'entry level unit' by some. I watched as my dealer took some things apart that allowed me to view a few warranty repairs on my unit and things looked very neat and assembled nicely, I was pleasantly surprised at the care that was taken during assembly. FR stood behind the product and worked with my dealer in Vermont who was great, even after the sale.
My friends who have spent $500k to $750k for rvs have more problem than I do regarding break downs and service. So much for quality and entry level rvs right ? That's why I always say 'buy the floorplan' then deal with all the other issues that they all have.
Compared to my many previous rvs that I had the pleasure of opening up and making repairs, I found this FR to be put together as a very neat package.
If you ever get caught in a place where the temps dip.
All my water lines run within the heated rv incl my shower which is plumbed thru an interior wall where the fixtures are mounted. That plus having a heat duct blowing directly on my water pump allows me to have an extended season. I really do not worry about freeze ups as the temps dip.
On the 2400W floorplan, the shower plumbing looks like it might be on an exterior wall and that might prematurely freeze if that's an issue for you or not. Your bathroom and kitchen sink lines should be ok as long as they are not touching the outside wall. You might have to insulate those lines . Not a big deal for you to do, insulated pipe foam works.
I'm not a fan of full wall slides due to the larger cutout they require and weight. You have to pay attention when you load the rv with supplies because that slide 'might' put your balance off a little.
Due to its large size, if that slide binds or the slide motor fails, its going to take some muscle to push it back in. Know how to take care of that.
I would make sure that floorplan is usable with that slide 'IN', just in case, because you might not get an rv appt for 4 or 5 weeks.
The main queen bed is a folding model queen mattress and that slide might need to be deployed in order to fully use it. Maybe you are ok with that and that's fine . I personally do not like my sleeping head to be out in a very thin walled slideout because I sleep in a lot of rest areas and don't like the idea of overtired truckers passing my head sticking out into the lane where they drive.
If you choose this floorplan and use rest areas you should try to find an open spot where you can protect yourself from passing traffic on that drivers side. The last thing you need is a Kenworth imprint on your forehead at 3 A.M.
Other than that I think its a very nice rv. Good luck in your decision.
