Thoughts on our 2017 Bay Star 3113

[Raven13]

We picked up our new motorhome Thursday. After a really good PDI, we drove a few miles to a beautiful campground for two nights. This allowed us the time to familiarize ourselves with our new baby and to make sure nothing needed to be "adjusted".

Well....we are pretty darn pleased, overall. Here's a short list of comments/critiques:

1) We drove home today, about 140 miles, most of it with a 20-25 mile cross wind. It caused a good deal of swaying and swerving. Any suggestions as to a fix for this?
2) We were a bit surprised that there is no navigation system. We just assumed it had one. Not the end of the world, we generally use our iPhones anyway.
3) The back-up camera is currently looking at the ground behind the coach. Has anyone adjusted it to be able to see farther back up the road?
4) This unit came with the driver's power seat, so it doesn't swivel around to the living area. That is an upgrade we would have passed on. The passenger side with the footrest is nice. Wish the armrests would adjust down though. It's a little awkward when the back of the seat is reclined, and the armrests come up, too.
5) Keeping only one side of the sink covered sure provides much more counter space than I'm used to having in an RV.
6) The shower is the largest we've ever had in any of our previous RV's.
7) The king bed with the upgraded mattress is very comfortable.

Thanks for listening!
Jim and Mary Ann

[BBelanger]

Can't speak to the sway, I get some in mine, if it's too bad, I stop and spend the night.
The Navigation is an option.
Although I haven't adjusted mine, I'm sure the backup camera is adjustable.
Are you sure that seat doesn't swivel? I thought so too, then found the lever. Look harder.

[Raven13]

Thanks BBelanger!

Love the seat comment. I'm always saying that same thing to Jim! �� Will check and report back!

☺

[avid_dk]

The driver's seat surely swivels. Look right above the controls for the lever. Keep driving, look down the road and relax. Most people are reacting to forces they feel but are not actually moving the motorhome. Backup camera is adjustable look for a recent post in the Newmar forum.

["007"]

Nice to hear your enjoying your Newmar.
All my gas coach's I added a tracking bar on rear axle to the chassis frame, its a do it yourself but it will cut down on the tail wagging the dog syndrome.
Yes your seat should turn around find the lever to release it from base and you will need to adjust steering wheel and move back and forth to clear steering wheel.
A lot of us mount a GPS on left hand side of dash platform and this one years ago right in front of steering wheel. A lot of other units in this thread and a lot of old members in this thread hope they are well.
Future enjoyment and safe travels.

[purrin along]

Congrats again on the new coach.The first time we took ours on a trip I was
ready to put it up for sale because of the cross winds and large trucks.Spend sometime on the Ford chassie forum to learn ways to make your coach a pleasure to drive.Best of luck and enjoy.

[lnanne]

To turn the drivers seat around on ours, it's on the left hand side of the seat area and you pull the lever out.

We keep one sink covered as well and agree it makes a huge difference in a small kitchen.

We didn't like the back up camera looking down so we tilted it up and love it. I can see if a car us following closely as well as cars next to the toad. Highly recommend moving it!

We thought we'd get more amenities in the console area too (although not nav) since cars have had them for years.

Agree about the arm tests too!

Enjoy!

Ellen

[RJOL]

Pretty good comments, so far, but I'll add my $.02... I prefer to use a portable GPS, like the Garmin 760. This is the unit we are using now, and I really like it so far. I prefer the portable unit because it is a lot easier to update, or change, rather than a built in unit. Most of the built in units I've used in my cars always leave something to be desired. Unfortunately, when they are built in, it is costly to try to change them...

[BPoland]

As said above, the driver's seat will turn around. Find the little lever you pull it out. We use a Garmin 760 LMT. It can take height and weight into consideration when routing you to your destination. None of them are perfect, and you can't go on blind faith, that it has chosen viable route.

The rear camera is adjustable. You will need to remove the cover, in order to get to the camera and adjust it. It is pointed down like that to assist you with backing up. If you are towing a car, it also allows you to monitor the hitch/tow bar.

As far as sway is concerned, check out the Ford Chassis forum, and specifically the cheap handling fix (CHF). In a nutshell it changes the holes used on the sway bar. Many have said it makes a marked improvement. Best of all, it's free. I try not to Tavel on days wind is 20 or above, unless I have too.

Some have changed the stock shower head with and Oxygenetics (probably spelled wrong. It gives you better flow.

Enjoy you new baby?

[Cranemec]

Congrats.
Your seat does swivel around.
Our coach HAS built in navigation but we still use our Garmin 760.
Look into a rear sway bar and Steer Safe.
Your camera is aimed to keep on eye on your TOAD and to help you see the rear of the coach when backing up into a campsite. Looking further back down the road defeats its purpose IMHO.
We have a large shower in ours but do miss the even larger shower that was in our Coachman gasser.
Enjoy your new coach. It's a nice one.

[ghoticov]

I see most of your questions have been answered... so I'll just say, let's see pics!

[JerryP]

We have a 2013 Baystar 3002. Our floorplan is very similar to yours. I wanted my coach to sway and swerve less too. Here's what I did.

Blue OX Tiger trac bar
Cheap Handling fix (front & rear, with front links extended to 12.75")
Front End Alignment from heavy duty truck shop.
Bilstein Comfitrac Shocks and Bilstein Steering Stabilizer

I would do the shocks last. I'm not sure how much they helped.

I also added Centramatics dynamic tire balancers. These helped with ride quality.

Regards, Jerry

[Raven13]

Originally Posted by lnanne

To turn the drivers seat around on ours, it's on the left hand side of the seat area and you pull the lever out.

We keep one sink covered as well and agree it makes a huge difference in a small kitchen.

We didn't like the back up camera looking down so we tilted it up and love it. I can see if a car us following closely as well as cars next to the toad. Highly recommend moving it!

We thought we'd get more amenities in the console area too (although not nav) since cars have had them for years.

Agree about the arm tests too!

Enjoy!

Ellen

Hi, Ellen!
I thought I'd share this information.
I contacted Flexsteel regarding the armrests that do not adjust. Grrrr! Anyway, below is the response I received from customer service:

"If you ship the armrests to me to be converted, it is $40.00 per armrest, or, we can make new armrests for $60.00 per armrest. These charges are plus shipping, $12.50 COD fee, plus applicable sales tax. Turn around is 7 to 14 working days, and our production is shut down until after the first of the year. Please let me know if you have further questions."

We have decided to move forward and have ours converted - especially now since we were able to turn the driver's seat around!
If you'd like more information, let me know.

Mary Ann

[knightstorm]

Can you do the conversion yourself if Flexsteel sends the parts?