2018 sunstar 27pe

[f53Challenge]

Paulie G
I have a similar model, 2011 Sunstar 26p. Likes, bang for the buck, floorplan, campground and parking maneuverability. Mine has added swaybars front and rear, steering stabilizer, f&r track bars, Kelderman suspension with air bags one at each corner, koni shocks... It needs it all. I believe it is due to the poor overall length to wheel base ratio and poor weight distribution. Front caries less than 1/3 of overall weight when empty with no way to significantly impact that once loaded. Mine has been to 4 heavy duty truck front end alignment centers. It has been an education. Due to the stress, time and money I have spent trying to get it to go down the road straight, if I could do it over I would not make the purchase. I instead would pay close attention to the overall length to wheel base ratio. If you have the luxury, rent what you are considering purchasing and take it out for a week. I hope this helps.

[macnut]

Wow, those are some major suspension improvements. I had 2013 Sunstar 26HE and all I did was reduce the tire pressure based on weight and it drove well. It seems each motor home has its own personality. Great advice to rent first, if possible.

[f53Challenge]

macnut,
What tire pressure ended up working well for you and what brand of tires? Mine are Michelin XZE 225/70R19.5.

[John Locke]

Originally Posted by DryCreek

You could have saved a bunch of money by trying the "Cheap Handling Fix" first. It worked wonders for our Sightseer 29R. The only other addition that made a difference was a $400 rear track bar. I installed it myself.

Yes, I actually did do the cheap fix first, but it only helped a little. After driving cheap fix for about 500 miles I decided to go the next step with the HD sway bars, front and rear. That turned my rig into a different RV. The tracking improvement is what amazed me. I'm still puzzled how a sway bar could improve tracking straight so much better.

My previous RV was on the same F53 chassis, almost the same length rig. It was a 1999 Pace Arrow from Fleetwood on the F53 chassis with V10. That year had no slides, which is what I wanted because I wasn't convinced slides were reliable enough yet. The Pace Arrow drove great. Comparing the 33' Pace Arrow to the new 32' Vista, the major difference is the Pace Arrow didn't have two slides. The slides on the Vista adds more weight of course, and that weight is positioned up high. Since the added weight is high (having more leverage), that might be why the old Pace Arrow handled better than the new Vista (stock). If Ford used the same sways bars in 2018 on their F53 V10 chassis, as they did in 1999 in the F53 V10 chassis, that might be why the Vista seemed to waffle more than what I would call "normal", as you go down the road, getting the "boat rock" syndrome more, compared to my 1999 Pace Arrow.

The misses gets car sick easy. In our first trip in the new Vista she pointed out the waffle rocking was way more than our old Pace Arrow. She said the Pace Arrow wasn't a problem, but the Vista made her sick. That's when I realized this had to be solved. I tried the cheap fix, but it wasn't enough to fix the problem for us.

[DryCreek]

Originally Posted by blueridge-fl

I will always choose adding the roadmaster sway bar on the rear over a rear CHF because the sway bar is installed in addition to the existing factory sway bar. There is no way the CHF can come close to the stiffness provided by the addition of a second sway bar.

So you tried it and didn't notice enough or any difference?

[blueridge-fl]

Originally Posted by DryCreek

So you tried it and didn't notice enough or any difference?

No, I didn't even try the CHF on the rear. I just went straight to the roadmaster SB. My 32YE had such bad sway problems it was almost undriveable so I wanted a big boost. On the front, I tried the CHF with Tejay's plates on the standard CHF setting. It helped but not enough so I move the front to the CHF+1 setting using Tejay's plates. That made a huge difference. The CHF+1 setting very closely matches the torque you would get with a roadmaster SB on the front.

[Morich]

When shopping, definitely try to sort how the weather will effect sleeping and how it works when the bed slides your head outside! There is insulation but having the head sticking out lets air, whether hot or cold be against all the surfaces, up, down and all around which can make it much more difficult to stay at the right temp.
We opt for a front/back bed and not sliding to use it as a better option than beds on a slide in any way. When done driving and wanting to go to bed, we want to go to bed, not start wrestling to make the bed!

[DryCreek]

Originally Posted by blueridge-fl

No, I didn't even try the CHF on the rear. I just went straight to the roadmaster SB. My 32YE had such bad sway problems it was almost undriveable so I wanted a big boost. On the front, I tried the CHF with Tejay's plates on the standard CHF setting. It helped but not enough so I move the front to the CHF+1 setting using Tejay's plates. That made a huge difference. The CHF+1 setting very closely matches the torque you would get with a roadmaster SB on the front.

I would have at least tried the CHF on the rear, just to be able to assure myself that I wasn't feeling the response I expected after shelling out really big bucks for a second sway bar.

[Lowdie24]

Hey Paulie G

Were you succesful in your search for a 27PE?
We had a 2017 MW 22M which we traded in for a 2019 27PE. As mentioned by Morich and others we were searching for a fixed bed, hopefully running North South but we wanted to keep our length as short as possible and wanted the DropDown bunk (we have a twenty something son who likes to occasionaly join us). At this time we are not planning on towing a second vehicle - going with E Bikes.
While having to pop the slide to make the king bed can be a nuisance we 've found once the linen is on it it's not too onerous a task. We have spent a couple of nights in Hwy Rest Stops without pushing the slides out and it can be done. Wife is a tad height challenged and is able to sleep on the bed sideways. I slept on the foldout couch and it wasn't terrible and we can cook, access drawers and use the bathroom with the slides in.
As we only bought in March (yup, right at the start of COVID here in BC) we haven't put too many kilometres on it; but so far I have not found the need to do any of the suspension upgrades lots of the others have discussed. Maybe come September when were hoping/planning on a shortish trek through BC and Alberta. However if vacinations are where we're hoping they'll be we will continue heading East towards our Eastern seaboard.
After this fall we will take a hard look at making a decision if we need to add any suspension upgrades. If so I personally am not a fan of the CHF;I believe Ford Engineers are fully aware of the planned useage of the chassis and if they felt the CHF was in the best interest of their clients (RV Manufacturers and end-users) they will build it that way. If we do anything it wil be front and rear sway bars.
However, I stress that this is MY opinion, I am not trying to start a flame war here for or against the CHF. I am very much aware many, many folks swear by it, and that is their right. It's just not for me.
As far as QC issues and infantile mortality we did have some, but our Service dept at the dealership really stepped up to the plate and dealt with each and every issue professionally and as promptly as the supply chain would allow, and WBO was good enough to extend our warranty unasked a few months to allow for the fact we couldn't go anywhere to work the bugs out of our unit.
But in summation, so far we are very happy with the 27PE and like everyone else with an RV we are looking foreward to actually using it.
Best of luck in your search.