Sunday, January 7, 2018

Another short RV, Forest River TS2390

We almost didn't go to the RV show in Denver this weekend because we are both getting over the flu. But last minute we decided to go and boy are we glad we did.
We fell in love with the Forest River Sunseeker TS2390. The asking price was $59,980 and they were asking for a fully refundable $1000 deposit so we decided to make the deposit and evaluate again after a test drive next weekend. Why this one and not one of the others we've seen? For a new RV it had a very low off gassing odor. The bedroom had the strongest odor but I suspect that is being contributed to by the memory foam mattress which we would remove and replace with the mattress from our Brave or buy a new latex foam mattress.

Impressions:

  • Great length at 25 ft.
  • Easy access of only 3 steps into the RV. Access to the passenger/driver side not quite as easy because it is like getting in and out of a large truck but still very doable.
  • Access to the back without going outside not too bad, even with the table in because you can rotate it.
  • Front seats were comfortable. There was foot room on the passenger side but it was slightly impinged for the left foot. Less so if you take your shoes off. I have to evaluate this further on a test drive.
  • Small dinette type set-up behind the front seats had comfortable chairs. However with the table up the post really eliminated foot room. Also with 2 people sitting there your feet were crowding each other even without the table.
  • Bed was lower so the dogs could jump up. Good access on the shower side to the bed.
  • Shower was oddly open to the bedroom. After we got home we looked on-line and there is a new model, the 2380 that has an enclosed shower room. I love having our current shower area heat up a bit from the shower so I don't step into cold air. Also I wonder about all the condensation and moisture in the bedroom. It doesn't seem like a good combination. The 2380 also has a wardrobe.
  • Bed is only double bed so probably smaller than what we have now. Was really hoping to move to a king so will have to give this a great amount of thought.
  • Storage was really great amount for this size RV. We loved the pass through storage in back that had a third door opening to the back. It looked like we could get lawn chairs and the dog's fold up pen in there. Wardrobe size was alot smaller than we have and no coat closet. 
  • We loved that it had no slides. Yes, were odd that way.
  • Refrigerator was smaller than ours but bigger than alot of other class Bs. Also it wasn't on the floor.
  • Liked the convection microwave. No wasted space on an oven that we have never used. 
  • Would really prefer a double sink. This one was a single sink and size was OK. Not too small.
  • Had this odd trash pass through to an exterior available compartment. Honestly we were thinking of using this as a dirty laundry shoot and keeping a small trash can in the kitchen cupboard the way we do now. Not sure if it has that under kitchen cupboard so will check that out when we see it again.
  • Great under bed storage. This is also a consideration for the dirty laundry bag as there is a large compartment under the bed where the bag could go. But this is less practical because one of us and the dogs are likely lounging on the bed while the other person showers. So getting everyone up to store the dirty laundry doesn't work well.
  • Tank sizes seemed great for this size RV. 35G water (we currently have 50G), 30 G Grey and 30 G Black. We currently have 20 G shower so this is bigger which is nice for not filling up the shower holding tank so quickly.
  • A big concern is where the dogs will ride and hang out. In our current RV we took out the sofa and put two garage door style crates. The dogs can hang out in those and not be under foot. Also they ride in there and seem to like the security. We also put their spill proof water bowls in the crate. This is a big one for us. While I love the smaller RV I need to work out a way for the dogs to ride that doesn't involve always being on the bed. Sometimes they are wet and dirty from a hike and I don't want them getting on the bed.
  • Overall the quality seemed pretty decent. We didn't see misaligned panels, or sloppy workmanship. There was a stray fastener on the floor and one loose panel under the sink. But compared to some new ones we've looked at it looked pretty decent.
  • Decisions, decisions...
Edit:
Our current thoughts on this RV.
I am so excited to see it again I may go out and do a test drive before the weekend. The only hang up that keeps bothering me is that when I saw it I thought it was under 25 ft. The reason this is important is our HOA will let us park it at the property if it is under 25 ft. Over 25 ft we have to build a garage that is sided and roofed like the house. This is very expensive and may be a deal killer. The alternative is if we like it enough to store it at a storage lot which is what we do with our current RV.

The other thing that is bugging us both is that we can get a short class A that is under 25 ft if we accept a slide. Then we can store it at the house. My husband feels storage lot is OK but I think we will use it more and I certainly will like it more if we can store it at the house and leisurely get ready for trips and leisurely clean it out from trips. A third consideration is with the low ground clearance we aren't sure we can get it up the driveway. Decisions, decisions...