Got a little gasser? 31sa 32sa 31ma etc?

[rockriver]

i see a lot of posts about new 32sa purchases... mine is ordered and 7? weeks away!!
i suspect we will have a lot of similar yahoos and a few oh nos that will be similar.
inviting folks to post them here.
what do you like?
what is causing difficulty?
gas mileage?
improvements?
towing?
upgrades?
suspension problems? fixes?
why'd you choose your model?

[allegro1x]

so far our used 2012 32ca has been good. like all rv's some years a few repairs and some years a lot of repairs. over all it's been a good rv. had to replace front tires in february and will replace back before end of year. even if you get summo's at factory, some sway bar and track bar upgrades should be considered. oh, wife found it on internet, when we were in Florida. it was a year old with 6,400 miles. I always drive in tow-haul mode. good luck, Dave

[Sstoner]

We have a 2013 32CA, it is a very good coach. We got it new and have had almost no issues with it. Only problems are the floor tiles have shrunk and the some of the OSB is exposed. We just ordered a new 40 AP bus, and so this one goes on the market next week. If not for the new one we would be keeping it.

[tjvogtiii]

My wife and I have a 2016 31SA and just love it. The driver's door electric window motor failed right after delivery (only problem) Upgraded the surge protector with a hardwired unit and had a safe-t-plus installed at their Austell GA plant. The HWH leveling system was adjusted during a trip to Red Bay for the plant tour. The unit is solid. The only issue is when the g-kids are with us and the sofe-bed when in use block the way from the bed roo to front door (they do sleep in and block me from my coffee) LOL

[Dugan]

We have a 2012 32CA with 31K miles. Added Roadmaster Reflex steering stabilizer, excellent investment, sumo springs, new steer tires and shocks in January. Overall we have had few problems. Steps have been the only recurring problem. Had to replace motor twice and gear box once, attachment bolts sheared when step was used before fully extended and door switch had to be replaced. Overall the quality of the build is excellent and the minor things that come up I usually just fix and don't worry about it. It's hard to have a rig with this many systems not have some issues considering the movement when traveling 60MPH. Gas mileage has varied depending on the route. Being in the northwest there is always a mountain pass or two involved. We average anywhere from 6.5 to 7.5 MPG towing a 2,300 lb. Fiat 500. Happy and safe travels .

[Rusty Hinge]

Picked up our 2018 32SA with 840 miles from Giant Recreation World in Palm Bay, FL last Dec and the optional electric drivers window did not work. After 3 return trips to dealer to finally replace everything that moves, the frame pulled away from the glass. We are anticipating a trip to Red Bay in near future. Would not recommend that option.

[dezolen]

Originally Posted by Sstoner

We have a 2013 32CA, it is a very good coach. We got it new and have had almost no issues with it. Only problems are the floor tiles have shrunk and the some of the OSB is exposed. We just ordered a new 40 AP bus, and so this one goes on the market next week. If not for the new one we would be keeping it.

Shrinking floor tiles must have been a 2013 thing. Mine shrunk so bad I finally fixed it this year. Had to caulk every single joint with a grey ceramic tile type caulking tube. Spent 2 days on our 36LA. Spent the longest time masking taping every single joint. Looks so much better now. 13 must have been a good year as friends with a 15 have had lots of issues. Ps love the 40ap.

[rockriver]

at a good sam rally recently a speaker (seminar on suspensions) mentioned shocks while he was discussing the f-53 and said something like,
the manufacturer had been using biltstein and changed to ??SOB about 2 years ago... i recommend you change out to biltstein. they are much better and help with the ride because.... then i realize he sold biltsteins!

dugan, you mentioned shocks. do you remember what you had and what did you get when you changed them? improvement? from prior brand?

to all, thanks folks for comments... hopefully this will help others who are
researching...

[allegro1x]

a couple of years ago ford stopped using bilstein shocks. using low level ford spec now. my mh came with bilstein. I up graded my shocks to a top of the line bilstein last year. not sure who the vendor was you talked to, www.rallysrus.com is a vendor i've used. I would recommend getting rid of the ford shocks asap. Dave

[rockriver]

allegro...
i couldn't remember his name or company name...

but, i'm 99% sure that is who i heard... thanks for the info. and a thanks for the endorsement.
your comment matches his story.
when i realized he was doing installs, i asked "so you have a crew here?"
and he smiled and said "sure, me!" it was clear afterwards that several folks there had used him before.

glad to see another georgia fellow on the site!

[Peter M]

My 2017 chassis HAD the ford garbage made in Mexico shocks. Swapped out to Koni FSD front and quad shock FSD rear worth the expense.

[allegro1x]

Rockriver - vendor is Chip Maddox and his cell is 702-353-1917. He also, installs the safe-t-plus steering unit. If you are ever near Austell, GA, safe-t-plus is there and if you buy it from them they will install it for free I think. I've never had any problem with anything he has installed. He's hardly ever there, but his home location is Gainesville, GA. I'm not anything, but a satisfied customer and won't probably run into him unless I see him at a rally. If you ever head out west, any suspension up grades you do will help with the winds. Dave

[Dugan]

Originally Posted by rockriver

at a good sam rally recently a speaker (seminar on suspensions) mentioned shocks while he was discussing the f-53 and said something like,
the manufacturer had been using biltstein and changed to ??SOB about 2 years ago... i recommend you change out to biltstein. they are much better and help with the ride because.... then i realize he sold biltsteins!

dugan, you mentioned shocks. do you remember what you had and what did you get when you changed them? improvement? from prior brand?

to all, thanks folks for comments... hopefully this will help others who are
researching...

I believe the original shocks were Sachs but not 100% sure. I replaced them with Bilstein. The ride was greatly improved but I replaced the steer tires at the same time so I can't say it was just the shocks making the difference. Biggest improvement was on uneven approaches on interstate bridges. The front end had less bounce and motorhome planted level quickly. I didn't see a significant difference in high cross wind gusts. Passing trucks have not been an issue since installing the Roadmaster steering stabilizer.

[Betr2Trvl]

I was at the Perry FMCA "convention" a couple weeks ago, and had a long conversation with the Bilstien rep there, as well as going to the Super Steer seminar.

My primary reason for considering new shocks was to address small / sharp impacts from road surface imperfections such as bridge expansion joints. That's it, as I think (at least with factory Sumos and a SafeTPlus) all else is fine with the handling, given what we are driving.

One key thing I learned, is for those with "Ford factory" Bilsteins, they are nothing like the "aftermarket" Bilstein B6 shock for the F53 (24-234511 front / 24-234528 rear); the factory shock was built to a spec / price point.

When I explained what I was looking for, the rep said those factory spec shocks are indeed less than optimal on sharp road impacts, and we went into a long, very good conversation about shock design, how the Bilstein is different from the Koni FSD etc. (I've done moderate to sigficant suspension upgrades to a BMW and a Porsche, both used for high performance driving events and track days).

I also went to the Super Steer seminar, talked to them afterwards, and it was what it was. I really didn't get the kind of answers I was looking for, and I'll leave it at that.

Went back and did some more research on Koni and the Bilsteins, and found a couple helpful things including a thread on irv2 that I'll try to find and post later.

In any case, I ordered the Bilsteins yesterday from of all places Summitt Racing, and they have already shipped. They will be installed in a couple weeks when I take the coach in for its regular pre-summer service.

As for other things related to the OP, gas mileage is usually somewhere in the low 6s towing our Cherokee, and I haven't tracked it for a while, but just ball parking it on fill ups, that's where it falls. We usually drive between 63-65 in the interstates, so I know that plays into our lower mileage.

We have just under 26,000 miles on our coach in 3 years, and other than the original ~350 miles on it when we picked it up, and ~400 miles this past summer when we had a baseplate issue, we've towed our Jeep almost every other mile. I did get a RoadMaster quiet hitch at Perry (for $25, worth giving it a try) and I do think it makes a big difference in how the road surface affects the coach over road irregularities. I had found that when I drove the coach that 400 miles last summer (happened to be in Nova Scotia / New Brunswick over some roads that were far from great) that the coach was just "smoother" without the Jeep. It was that secondary impact for the Jeep that was being transferred to the coach that had just seemed normal, and the Roadmaster quiet hitch seems to eliminate much of that secondary motion transferred to the coach.

We really like our little 31SA and have never second guessed our decision......

Regards