Still looking and now may be considering one of the currently available 2005's.
I'm concerned that the sale of the company in early 2005 might have caused a dip in quality sometime before/during/after the transition. It would be especially helpful to get some first hand input from current 2005 model year owners. However, everyones thoughtful input is welcome.
I did search the forum but this is kind of a hard topic to search for.
Mark, I have NO idea what year would be the best, I feel most everyone thinks their coach is the best year that was made. I am no exception, my 2001 has to be the best ;D ;D ;D
WOW!!! That is a most loaded question. I am both a new Foretravel owner (Feb.'11) and "Newbie" here on the forum. From all that I have been made aware of, every owner DOES think they have the best. What I think you will find from most is that ANY FOretravel is better than ANY S.O.B.
Just what little I have learned.
Fred
There had been layoffs and parts shortages, but I have no indication that quality suffered during this time.
After the Nimbus and Phenix release, I went to the TN Grandvention where they talked about the revised chassis. Now this was before the Travelride release with IFS (first on Phenix then optional on Nimbus). What sparked my interest was an admission by Greg that the three and four slide slide designs revealed the standard Unicoach chassis was not strong or rigid enough.
So I would be leery myself at anything more than a double slide, and I would definitely want a tag, be it a 38, 40 or 42 with 3 or 4 slides.
My favs (currently) are the late '01 to '03 models, although I wouldn't turn my nose up at any year or length Phenix, either...
Dave H - thanks for that input.
I am not trying to start a "my year/coach is better than yours" type thread. I really am looking for input on the 2005 model year and any impacts (if any) that the sale of the company might have created.
We have a U320 2005 and are enjoying ! We see nothing wrong with the quality of work on our Foretravel and are very happy with it! I have talked with another 2005 Foretravel and she had problems with her transmission while in the mountains. But our 2005 has been doing fine. We have only had it since Feb.
Thanks for the info wds3135. Glad to hear all is going well with your 2005. I'll be interested to hear if others who own 2005 coaches are having similar experiences.
Some of the last 2005s had issues. They did not make many either but credit goes to Lyle and Greg for standing behind the coaches. They did not make them but they fixed them as they came in under the three year warranty. So, if you are looking at an 05 I do not think I would worry about a 2005 now. The quality difference were so slight that in sob you would not notice the difference and I would wager that the service department and the previous owners have had those issues repaired by now.
Thanks John. We just arrived in Nac this evening and will be looking at the 2005 at FOT in the morning. We will also compare that one to others there and that may help us decide.
Thanks to all who replied.