Forest River Sunseeker/Forester owners

[TravellingTrade]

Hi, my wife and I are narrowing down our choices and the Forest River Forester 2251LE and the Sunseeker 2250LE both on the Ford Chassis is looking good to us.

Can we get the opinions of other owners of these product lines? What do you like about it? What don't you like about it? How is the reliability and drive-ability? Would you buy another?

Thanks,

TT

[TravellingTrade]

Thanks j-d. That is really helpful.

SkiMore, as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Those pictures made it perfectly clear what an endcap is and why I need it.

[j-d]

Even better call DeeZee...

Mailing Address:
Dee Zee, Inc.
P.O. Box 3090
Des Moines, IA 50316
(800) 779-2102

Dee Zee Outlet Store
2123 E Broadway, Suite C
Des Moines, IA 50313
(800) 844-5310

You can beat their price, but they should be able to tell you what fits on the vehicle you decide on.

[j-d]

Running Board Link. I'd call before ordering anything. Again, price just under $300, Dee-Zee is a good brand. I looked up by Ford Van, saw a list, copied that URL, selected those Boards, and got a "Doesn't Fit" message. They seem to be locked into "what is the wheelbase?" which should have no bearing if you only want boards for the cab doors of a cutaway chassis. I never thought factory installed running boards would be the way to go, but I'm starting to wonder...

GREAT Pix of Boards/No Boards and on a Forester to boot! Google "quotes from Napoleon" and he is credited with "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words"... and "If You Want Something Done Well, Do it Yourself." My favorite is "Don't Interrupt your Enemy when He is Making a Mistake."

EDIT: $200 Dee-Zee Boards Summit Racing. I'd still call, but here's a good price and they're saying "No Install Kit" so the $190 should be full price. Good thing here it's Summit Racing, a well known firm that many OP's here like. Guess What? Something fishy here. Second time I've searched "Ford E450" because the cabs are the same and E450 is only furnished as cutaway like an RV. Come up with a Part. Site says "Check for Compatibility" and then "Doesn't fit." Must call.

[SkiMore]

fiberglass front cap and running boards




standard one

[j-d]

I looked at This Forest River Page
and the Ford Chassis on the smaller coaches have lower GVWR (coach weight) and GCWR (coach plus towed weight) than the Ford Chassis on larger models, and the Chevrolet Chassis.
The GVWR for E350 = 12500, E450 = 14500 and 4500 = 14200
Frankly, I had looked at FR products a year or so ago and they all seemed to be on E450. I thought that was good. Now I don't know if FR changed their specs or I just missed a couple models.

Auto Transfer Switch (ATS) = Generator will take over powering the coach automatically once it's running. Without ATS your coach has a socket that looks like a campground pedestal outlet. You have to physically "plug into yourself" to get power from the genset. This is no big deal and ATS are not bulletproof trouble free.

Running Boards - Look at the "HOME" view of the brochure linked above. There are pix of three coaches. The one on left (light colored) does NOT have RB's but the two on the right do. It seems that RB's include a "fender flare" (look at the front fender wells in the pix). If you can get into and out of an ordinary full-size van the RB's are not necessary. See what the option price is and what they look like. I just looked at Amazon and aftermarket running boards ran around $300/pair.

Front End Cap - Replaces a bunch of screwed/caulked joints in the Cabover Bunk/Entertainment Center area with one molded piece. This is worthwhile. Deleting a forward-facing window in the cabover is a good idea too. Looks like FR thought the same thing, since at least the pix do NOT show one.

Large Gas Tank on E350 - Available as Option or Standard on certain model cutaway chassis, depending on year.

E450? - Some manufacturers will allow you to "option up." You can always check.

[TravellingTrade]

Unfortunately, the Chevy chassis is 24'4" vs the Ford 23'10" so the Chevy chassis is out. The Chevy Chassis is also several thousand dollars cheaper which would be nice.

Where did you see that the Ford Chassis is the E350? I had assumed it was the E450 because of the 55 gallon fuel capacity. I thought the E350 only had a 40 gallon capacity. But looking through their information I can't find where they state exactly what it is.

From comparing the Sunseeker 2250LE Ford to the Forester 2251LE Ford, they are exactly the same. Maybe the paint is different?

If someone wouldn't mind answering what these features do:

Generator auto transfer switch - The LE doesn't have this
Fiberglass front cap - It's an option, no idea what it is
Aluminum running boards

Then, it doesn't look like it comes with a spare tire. Is that possible? I don't even see it as an option.

Thanks for all the help, we really appreciate it.

TT

[j-d]

Over the years I've been on RV.net, Winnebago products have enjoyed consistently good "reviews." Half a dozen years or so ago, Jayco was also favored. Of late, last few years, the Sunseeker has gained popularity and owners seem very pleased with theirs. FR keeps adding good features to their coaches, so I haven't looked at what's standard/optional on the Sunseeker and Forester lines. I know that some options on Sunseeker were standard on Forester. Fiberglass front end cap is one to look into.
Looking at the 2014 brochure, the Ford chassis under the LE series you're considering is E350 and the Chevy version is 4500. That puts "more" Chevy chassis (Ford E450 competitor) under the LE. I don't know if that matters to you. Not clear from brochure if the E350 is V8 or V10. Yes, the cab space difference between Ford and Chevy is stunning and Chevy seems to track better on the road. That said, I make no apologies for our Ford. That is one solid, rugged, long-lasting chassis that with a ride that I'd never describe as bad.

[RvBill3]

We love our 2300. If you are a Ford person, I don't want to talk you out of it--but the Chevy has more legroom for passenger and easier to get from driver seats to rear of coach and gets better mpg than Ford. In that size unit the Chevy has plenty of power. Many Ford owners report need for front end alignment to get stable ride. We have done nothing to ours and ride is great.

[TravellingTrade]

Thanks jk31668, both are great suggestions.

Richard, My wife, our lab and I have been using a Eurovan Camper for 12 years. The 24 foot seems unbelievably palatial in comparison. And we tend to stay at smaller, out of the way campgrounds some of which don't allow anything over 24'.

TT

[jk31668]

also surf to forestriverforums.com/forums

[jk31668]

there is a facebook owners page

[richardwise]

We had a couple of Forest River trailers, so when looking for a MH, looked for another Forest River product. They seemed to be good units. We bought a 2014 Sunseeker 3010DS, 32' with 2 slides. Our first camper was an Forest River Rockwood 1809S, at 20' long. While we really liked it, after a few times in it, even though it is just 2 of us, it became very small. Make sure the 23' MH has enough room for you so you don't have to upgrade very quickly. From the floorplan, it doesn't even have a couch.