Selling your 2350 with dinette? Want to buy used.

If you search the Forum, General Discussion for "Troubleshooting electrical problems in rear camera hookup", go to reply #23 and you will see a picture of our Sony monitor for the backup camera with the extension. We ordered the extension but we gave Phoenix the name of where we go it, so they can probably get one if asked.

There is more headroom in the Sprinter cab; therefore, the t.v is up higher. I really feel, that with the Sprinter, you need an adjustable t.v mount. Mor-ride has many t.v mounts available.

George

We have the ladder and wouldn’t want to be without it. Sometimes staying weeks at a time, it makes for easy cleaning of the roof. The jacks are great.  Not only do they level, but they make it stable – very little movement of the coach when moving around inside or when someone enters or leaves via the step.  We have not encountered a problem with antenna.  Never noticed any noise from it when traveling, get good reception, and a great HD picture.  Also, the home theater system is great for volume when the AC is on or in heavy rain when the TV volume is not enough.

And recommend the insulated windows: no sweating (accept the windshield), warmer, quieter.  The only option I might reconsider is getting the swivel driver’s seat rather than the power seat, although I do like to raise it as high as it will go when travelling.  The very best decision was no carpet.  The second best was a light over the bathroom sink (pic).  It’s pretty much the only light we use in the bathroom.

Hi Sherman,

First off, thank you for the nice compliment.

To address some of the remarks made here in the last few days with my two cents worth.

I have had the roof antenna on all my seven motorhomes since 1984 and have never had a leak problem. Ron has the older analog antenna with the upgrade for digital while the newer rigs all come with the turned for digital antenna. So you could see a difference in its ability to pickup distance signals.

Fantastic Fan company is one of the best company's I have ever dealt with. If anything ever goes wrong with the fan regardless of the age of the fan, they just send you new parts for free. One motorhome I bought came with a basic fan without a thermostat and I wanted to upgrade it for my dogs, so I called them and they not only sent me all the parts for free but had me call them when I went to install it so they could walk me thought the install. I will always stick with Fantastic for that reason alone regardless of what else is out there. I have put the Maxxair II vent covers on both my fans but now I understand that Fantastic is coming out with a new and better cover. I can hardly wait to see it.

The plastic underbelly is a good thing and is really strong. It would be very hard to punch a hole in it by accident. I would not worry about water getting into it and have not heard of anyone having any problems with it.

On both of my PCs, I got the ladder and passed on the roof rack. I do not like the looks of the rack, looks old fashion to me and is just something I have to clean around. I don't have the ability to keep my PC in a garage like Ron, so I have to wash it every month or so. When I wash it, I also wash the roof to prevent the "black streaks" on the sides. The ladder makes it easier to get up on the roof without having to get out a ladder. I also feel it is safer than a stand alone ladder that might slip off the motorhome. One time on the way to Myrtle Beach for Christmas break, I hit a low hanging ice covered branch at 50 mph. Really loud bang. I pulled over to the side of the road and used the ladder to climb up on the roof and look for a big hole. No hole but the satellite dish cover was gone. Never overnight a cover, it cost me $200 for the cover and surprise, $300 for the shipping. A ladder can be real handy at times.

Hi Tom,

How do you like your new PC?

I'm glad to hear that not everyone has had trouble with the antenna because that seems like something we'd want to have.  I don't plan to be watching a lot of TV, but when you want to it's nice to have decent reception and a few channels to choose from.  I realize of course that won't always be the case.  For example Ron mentioned terrain having a big influence, and I'm sure there are plenty of areas that just don't have many TV transmitters nearby.

I don't know that we'll go to the trouble and expense of getting a satellite antenna and receiver, but that's always an option.  How well do they work BTW?  I don't recall reading any discussions about them.  We have DirecTV at home -- do the portable systems work as well as the typical fixed residential ones?

Very good info about Fantastic Fan Co.  I like to reward companies that still do business that way.  I'll keep that in mind.  Reminds me of the time I bought a monster 24,000 BTU thru-wall Whirlpool A/C unit from Lowes.  They were closing their old Frederick, MD, store and opening the new one and selling some scratch and dent stuff 'as-is'.  The A/C unit looked ok but needed the front panel, the filter, and a control knob.  I called Whirlpool fully expecting to pay for the parts but they sent everything to me for free -- even after I explained that I bought it as-is sitting on a pallet on the sidewalk in front of Lowes.  Smart business.

The plastic underbelly sounds good to me.  I haven't heard any other mfr mention something like that.

We have a large garage with a 13' ceiling, but when I built it we weren't considering buying an RV so the doors are only 8' high.  We're going to raise the height of the center door.  I hope we can just buy more panels from Raynor -- those doors were over $600 each, years ago.  2" thick, insulated (R-11, IIRC) and steel inside and out.

We have the ladder and wouldn’t want to be without it. Sometimes staying weeks at a time, it makes for easy cleaning of the roof. The jacks are great.  Not only do they level, but they make it stable – very little movement of the coach when moving around inside or when someone enters or leaves via the step.  We have not encountered a problem with antenna.  Never noticed any noise from it when traveling, get good reception, and a great HD picture.  Also, the home theater system is great for volume when the AC is on or in heavy rain when the TV volume is not enough.

And recommend the insulated windows: no sweating (accept the windshield), warmer, quieter.  The only option I might reconsider is getting the swivel driver’s seat rather than the power seat, although I do like to raise it as high as it will go when travelling.  The very best decision was no carpet.  The second best was a light over the bathroom sink (pic).  It’s pretty much the only light we use in the bathroom.

I love the idea of the jacks, but I am a bit concerned about the added weight since we plan to get a Sprinter-based 2350 (depending on the F-350 to Sprinter price differential).

I correspond with a guy who has a 2006 Winnebago View.  He would like to add both jacks and solar but cannot because he and DW are pretty much at the GVWR.  Of course, IIRC, the early I-5 Sprinter chassis had a lower GVWR than the current V-6 Sprinter.  Still, there's almost a 1,500 pound difference between the F-350 and the Sprinter.

A less expensive and much lighter method I've read about is to semi-permanently attach four scissors jacks to the frame and use a cordless drill to raise and lower them.  Not the same as flipping a switch though, that's for sure.

Good advice on the carpet.  That's our thinking as well.  Likewise the windows and bathroom light.

I wonder what the height difference is between the standard drivers seat and the power seat at it's highest setting?  DW uses a pillow to raise herself up in two of our vehicles.  She doesn't need it in her RAV4 though so the Sprinter seat height might not be an issue.  We took a new WGO View for a test drive at a local dealer but she chickened out and didn't want to drive it.  ;-)  Something for us to check out before buying, although I guess we could change out the seat at any time.

I'm glad to hear the antenna has worked well for you.  A former coworker told me he got a much better HD image with his home rooftop antenna than with either cable or satellite.  That stands to reason since the cable and satellite TV providers compress their signals so much.

Thanks for your help! 

I don't know that we'll go to the trouble and expense of getting a satellite antenna and receiver, but that's always an option.  How well do they work BTW?  I don't recall reading any discussions about them.  We have DirecTV at home -- do the portable systems work as well as the typical fixed residential ones?

We have DirecTV at home as well and take one of our receivers with us.  We bought an extra dish and stand for it and it works great.  It costs us about $50 for the extra dish and stand.  The advantage for us is that we can set it up anywhere in the campsite in order to get us the best reception.  We have only been in one park where the trees were too thick for us to get a good signal.  The people with the dome on top of their rigs had the same trouble.  Many times we are able to get a signal when those with the domes could not since we could position our dish in between trees.  The advantage of the dome would be that you do not have to do alot of setup since it is already in place.  A second advantage is that you do not have to look for a place to store the dish when traveling. 

I had a King Dome and you couldn’t run fast enough to give me one. Now with that said I know they work but mine did not. We had a slight and I mean SLIGHT rain and lost my picture. I check the signal strength, 55-60 on both bars up on the roof and wiped off the dome and the signal moved up to 95 on both bars. This I posted on another thread so no big need to drawl on about it. I purchased a Winegard crank up for the roof, which works great.

We also have Directv at home and take one of the receivers with us in the PC.  Instead of buying a dish and stand, I made my own stand from pvc and got a free dish at thrift store.  I replaced the nuts on the bolts that hold the dish to its signal head with wing nuts.  That way I can store the flat dish in the bottom of my outdoor drawer with the head unit on top of it and the pvc stand on top of that.  It fits in the drawer with enough space for other "stuff" plus the electric cord and water hose.  I have a connection in the front for the satellite, and use the antenna for the rear tv.  It usually takes less than 5 minutes to set everything up and manually locate the satellite.  I carry a 50' cable, so I can almost always find the satellite.  The stand is low to the ground, and I have never had a problem with wind or rain.

I had a King Dome and you couldn’t run fast enough to give me one. Now with that said I know they work but mine did not. We had a slight and I mean SLIGHT rain and lost my picture. I check the signal strength, 55-60 on both bars up on the roof and wiped off the dome and the signal moved up to 95 on both bars. This I posted on another thread so no big need to drawl on about it. I purchased a Winegard crank up for the roof, which works great.

My King Dome didn't much care for bugs either, kinda of a pain to always crawl up there and Windex the bugs off.  Shoot with 4G just watch your favorite on your phone and Hulu. Probably even a way to port it to one of the new smart TV's.

Did it again, back to topic.

Hi Sherman -- time for my 2 cents:
 
I LOVE my Sprinter - 17.6 mpg @ 55-60 mph, 16.4 @ 65-70 -- and great ride.  It is our 3rd PC, - we looked at the specs of every 23-24 ft. RV in N America, and found none with the features, fit & finish, & ammenities of the Phoenix.  On the antenna, have the digital std. with no problems -- at the house I get 40 channels, and have always had reception at campgrounds.  Also have jacks, and like them -- not only for stabilizing, but leveling as well - I wonder how effective scissors jacks would be for that...in short, we are very happy, and think you will be as well with the sprinter.
Good luck, and welcome to the "group"
Jack

Hi Sherman -- time for my 2 cents:
 
I LOVE my Sprinter - 17.6 mpg @ 55-60 mph, 16.4 @ 65-70 -- and great ride.  It is our 3rd PC, - we looked at the specs of every 23-24 ft. RV in N America, and found none with the features, fit & finish, & ammenities of the Phoenix.  On the antenna, have the digital std. with no problems -- at the house I get 40 channels, and have always had reception at campgrounds.  Also have jacks, and like them -- not only for stabilizing, but leveling as well - I wonder how effective scissors jacks would be for that...in short, we are very happy, and think you will be as well with the sprinter.
Good luck, and welcome to the "group"
Jack

Hi Jack,

Thanks for the encouraging and informative post!

40 stations?!!  That's incredible!  I guess in Queenstown you're picking up stations from D.C., Baltimore, and maybe even Wilmington?

If this is your third PC you obviously like them and have figured out exactly which features you prefer.  I am impressed with PC -- they seem to be very well built and they include many features that are optional on other RVs.  I am just hoping that we can find a used Sprinter-based 2350 for a reasonable price.  The 2350 seems to be hard to find, regardless of the chassis they're built on (and most seem to be built on the F-350).

Your mileage figures are very impressive -- they seem more typical of the older I-5 Sprinter chassis.  Over how many miles did you calculate the two mpg numbers?  The reason I ask is that I've been posting over at RV.net as well, and there are many F-350/450 fans over there (as there are here) who are very skeptical of the mileage Sprinter-based RV owners are reporting.  I often hear things like, "That must have been their best tankful -- drafting a semi at 55 mph and/or with a tailwind and/or lightly loaded...", etc.  I have no first-hand experience, but your numbers are in line with what owners of the WGO View/Navion are seeing and what I've read over my years of RV research.

The scissors jack idea is obviously far from ideal.  I can't recall where I read about it but the person seemed to think it did the job for them.  It was probably on the View-Navion Yahoo group.  Tell me, how much CCC does your rig have -- total, assuming empty water tanks and no tongue weight?  I'm concerned about the weight of the hydraulic jack system.  If (say) the CCC is ~1,000 pounds, that's only about as much as most cars have.  We plan to carry a lightweight Enduro (small motorcycle) on a hitch carrier and that alone (bike & carrier) will probably weigh ~350 to 375 pounds.  Then there's DW and I -- that's another say 360 (I'm sure she'd want me to clarify that almost 2/3 of that is me!).  If the jacks weigh about 180 pounds we're up to 900 and we don't have any water or luggage on board yet.  I hope my numbers are wrong, because I'd like to have the jacks -- they're a great option.

One thing I'd really like to see is the PC "virtual construction tour" mentioned in the PC brochure.  I've checked the PC website but didn't see anything like that.  If you or someone else could give me a link I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks again,
Sherman

One thing I'd really like to see is the PC "virtual construction tour" mentioned in the PC brochure.  I've checked the PC website but didn't see anything like that.  If you or someone else could give me a link I'd really appreciate it.

The original virtual tour is a many slide PowerPoint presentation with sound narration that runs around 14.5 minutes.
I got a fairly clean copy of it over 4 years ago but can't share it due to it's 72MB size.
You can watch a technically ill (poor sound and smaller pictures) copy of it on Youtube HERE
Understand that the presentation was made to demonstrate the 2008 model year so there are some superficial differences between 2008 and 2012.

Quote from: sajohnson on March 16, 2012, 09:34:37 pm

One thing I'd really like to see is the PC "virtual construction tour" mentioned in the PC brochure.  I've checked the PC website but didn't see anything like that.  If you or someone else could give me a link I'd really appreciate it.

The original virtual tour is a many slide PowerPoint presentation with sound narration that runs around 14.5 minutes.
I got a fairly clean copy of it over 4 years ago but can't share it due to it's 72MB size.
You can watch a technically ill (poor sound and smaller pictures) copy of it on Youtube HERE
Understand that the presentation was made to demonstrate the 2008 model year so there are some superficial differences between 2008 and 2012.

Thanks Ron!

Just curious -- any idea why it is not available at the PC website?

Hi Sherman...

No, I haven't weighed my rig --- I had the jacks on a previous PC, and knew I wanted them on this one - just another option I wanted and didn't worry about the weight.

I've only had the Sprinter for a few months, and the milage was calculated on a trip to friends in GA.  Over the course of the trip, weather conditions were very different - rain & wind, etc., -- one tank with heavy wind against us and 70 mph, yeilded 14 mpg, and one (where I don't think I filled the tank completely) resulted in 19 something.  The others were pretty consistantly in the 16-17+ range.

If you want to email me, I can give you more info - jackd@novatec.com

Best,
Jack

...any idea why it is not available at the PC website?

I would assume because it is outdated.

Hi Sherman...

No, I haven't weighed my rig --- I had the jacks on a previous PC, and knew I wanted them on this one - just another option I wanted and didn't worry about the weight.

I've only had the Sprinter for a few months, and the milage was calculated on a trip to friends in GA.  Over the course of the trip, weather conditions were very different - rain & wind, etc., -- one tank with heavy wind against us and 70 mph, yeilded 14 mpg, and one (where I don't think I filled the tank completely) resulted in 19 something.  The others were pretty consistantly in the 16-17+ range.

If you want to email me, I can give you more info - jackd@novatec.com

Best,
Jack

Thanks Jack, will do.

Sherman