Feedback on Sunseeker bunkhouse

lowreyfarris wrote:
I did get a quote from RVdirect, and was pretty amazed. I can get a new 2014 Sunseeker for the same "clearnce" price as some of the local dealers are advertising used ones for.

If I wasn't trading in my current class C I would just order one.

I do plan on using their quote for a negotiation tool. Hopefully I can make something work. Otherwise I will sell it myself and order one.

I found the exact same things on the pricing of late model used ones. I can only assume there is a lot of room in those for negotiation or trade, otherwise it doesn't make sense.

Yes, the trade definitely obscures the pricing. I did an accidental trade in my deal. I had gotten two dealers down below the RVD price, just by telling them the price, and then another round again when the first dealer beat it. So the one I decided to go with, I asked about a trade, without really expecting to do it. I told him, "ok, I know how it works, I know that now you've given me your best price, you can only give me wholesale on a trade. But hey, give me your trade value, I won't be insulted, let's see if it works out." At this point, if your unit is marketable, he will make you an offer, and you can take it or leave it. Our dealer made us enough of an offer that we took it. We could do better selling it ourselves, but it was good enough for us. The point of all this is that we are not good negotiators, but having the RVD price stiffened our spines and we were able to say no, thanks, until they made the deal work. I feel a lot more confident about it; it was easier than I thought.

I did get a quote from RVdirect, and was pretty amazed. I can get a new 2014 Sunseeker for the same "clearnce" price as some of the local dealers are advertising used ones for.

If I wasn't trading in my current class C I would just order one.

I do plan on using their quote for a negotiation tool. Hopefully I can make something work. Otherwise I will sell it myself and order one.

That Floorplan>>Drives>>Wheelbase is something I summarized from observations I've made and comments by others that I've read. The Rear Bed/Walkaround Queen requires a certain number of inches. The Bathroom requires a certain number of inches and they want the Shower Pan over one Wheel Well (hence the Skylight/Dome on the Roof!). The side opposite the Shower Pan gets Fridge, Furnace or Water Heater. Something that doesn't have to reach the floor. So that's a predetermined Rear Overhang. If that's on a 31-ft coach, fine. The wheelbase is long enough to balance the Rear Queen Overhang. But putting that overhang on a 27-ft coach makes for too much overhang and poor weight distribution between the Front and Rear Axles.
Our WB is 218" on about a 32-ft coach, and it takes the Front Axle right to its 4600-lb load rating. But it allows the Rear Axle to stay below its 9450-lb rating, and the coach is relatively stable on the highway.
Look at a C from the side. If the "House" (NOT counting the cabover portion) looks like it's balanced on the Rear Axle, I predict Overloaded Rear Axle, Underloaded Front Axle, Poor Handling. Sad thing is, coach builders who should know better, recognize a need for a floorplan change, and get enough wheelbase, DON'T. They let the designer rule the engineer.

Could be a typo, too.
Someone here made the observation that it seems wheelbase is more related to floorplan and fitting the wheelwells into the right places than to anything else. I bet that's a huge part of it.

Note the Sunseeker has a 220" wheelbase but the Leprechaun bunkhouse is only 208", which is too short for a 33' rig. All the other 33' Leprechauns have 223" wheelbase but their bunkhouse for some reason has the short wheelbase. Same Bunkhouse in Freelander trim also gets a 223" wheelbase.

Suggest you check the Wheelbase at a minimum and ideally take it to a truck scale and have it weighed. Too little wheelbase and it'll have and overloaded rear axle, plus it won't track well on the road. Too much wheelbase and the front axle will be overloaded.
You have to do this on the exact model you're interested in.

Yeah, same here. We don't expect this to be our last MH, so we will keep an eye on the cap seams and be okay with the decision. And pocket the price difference.

I dread the sales people too. Expect the worst, stick to your agenda, and it won't be as bad as you think. Just don't expect any correct information from them. After visiting several dealerships I found that every single sales interaction involved some wrong info; you'll have to trust your own eyes and mind.

If you get serious, get prices on Jayco and Sunseeker from rvdirect.com. Use those prices for leverage with your local dealers. Some will even beat the prices.

Thank you snowman. I think you answered my question exactly. I would love the fiberglass "bucket" type cabover, but between the local units it would be around $10K difference. I need to go look at both the sunseeker and leprechaun in person, but am dreading dealing with the salesmen.

The caps are not the same on the Sunseeker and Leprechan.

Here is the latest Sunseeker cap. I don't even think they've updated their website, let alone the brochures. The Leprechaun is the next one.




Don't just look at the cap. Look at the roof line, and the roof to side rail trim, and see the differences in how they built the units. IMO that dark trim along the roof on the Leprechaun, between the awning and the cap, which angles downward, was somehow getting water into it and funneling it down to the bottom of the trim, where it managed to seep into the coach. Even a leak test would have a hard time figuring it out, because the water is getting into the coach down low (the "leak"), but it was getting into the trim up high (the real source of the problem). Any of this vinyl covered trim will leak if water sits in it. The screws under the trim cover are not sealed. They are just screwed through the trim and the putty tape beneath the trim, and into the body. Then the vinyl cover goes over top. This style of trim and attachment is the weak link on many RVs, I've found. So if it is used, it's important to not have it oriented in such a way as to let it catch and especially retain water. You know, if they would just use screws with silicone washers, a lot of this could be avoided.

So, all that said, I think the SS has a much better chance of not capturing water than the Leprechaun. BUT, the caps you mentioned on the other brands will be MUCH better still. We ordered a SS because of the floorplan and other considerations. But I sure wish it had the full fiberglass cap.