Foretravel Owners' Forum

Hello all, I am considering buying a 1999 U320 42' with Tag axle.  I'm enamored with the quality of the coach and the elitist snob in me loves the 450HP engine and 4060 transmission.  I'm quite interested in the proper desk that it has.  The coach recently went to Foretravel and was repainted got a lot of new windows and other bits.  It's really quite substantially better than the average high end diesel pusher like american dream or country coach allure of the time period.

Here's the problem.  It has issues.  On the test drive, on the highway it drove fine (and considering that this was my second  diesel pusher test drive ever vs a ford 460 winnebago, I was grinning ear to ear) but around town the gear shifts seemed to be slow between 2nd and 3rd gear.  The one time it actually was slow enough that the engine revved up before it engaged the next gear.  Is this normal at all?  I didn't check for codes yet but I intend to.  I think both times it happened I was gently increasing throttle.  I Wonder if it's possible it got confused as to which gear it wanted to be in.  It has 50,000 miles.

The idle seems to shake the ENTIRE coach violently.  As soon as you get on the throttle it's perfectly quiet.  Some kind of harmonic vibration.  New engine mounts or change idle speed?  Any experience with this?

The other problem I found is a quarter sized cracked flap in the roof.  I'm having trouble finding how the roofs are structured on this.  This coach is supposed to have a new roof as of 2 years ago.  It appears as though someone climbed the ladder and their first step onto the roof they fell in.  When you peel the fiberglass flap back there is something underneath that looks almost like the paper backing of fiberglass insulation.  I cannot find any interior water or damage from the hole but it's been raining here a LOT the last few days.  Can you walk on these roofs.  How are they constructed underneath the fiberglass layer.  How can I find how much water entered the interior walls or if it could cause delam?

Finally the lighting controls are not working.  All of the control buttons are dimly lit but when you press them they dont' function.  The one button at the entry is stuck in and I was wondering if this could cause the rest of the lights to not respond to requests.

The chassis a/c doesn't work.  I suspect it's not charged.  Any tips or BTDT's?

There was not a spec of rust anywhere.  Bulkhead did not appear to be separated.  What torque should I set the torque wrench to to test the bolts?

Where/how sould I jack it up.  Can I just bring it up with the air levelers and then put jackstands somewhere?  I have 6,000 pound stands, is that remotely sufficient?  Perhaps I can just check them during a prepurchase inspection at a truck shop.

The seller will not budge on price and it's not a fantastic deal but at the same time it's not bad either.  It's just good enough to make me pull the trigger.  I figure I should demand it function properly before I offer to buy it.

Any other advice would be most appreciated.  I don't intend to hammer the seller, I just want to protect myself.  This is a HUGE HUGE purchase for me.  I can't afford to be out another $20K when I roll off, I need some time to pass first ;)

Hmmm, Quite a list. 50,000 miles in 14 years - 3,000 miles a year? Coach must have sat a lot, that is usually not good. What part of the country is the coach located in?

At a minimum, there are enough issues that a pre-buy by someone qualified is a must, but unless it was really cheap, I would be inclined to move on and keep looking.

ANY coach you buy of this era will cost you 10 - 20% of the purchase price in the first year getting things up to snuff and working.  And that is if you are starting with one where "everything works".

Lots of stories here of people who "wouldn't budge on price" and six months later cut the price to a realistic level to finally sell the coach.

Good luck, and make sure you end up with a Foretravel, but I would proceed on this one with caution.

Any roof issue is critical to have fully investigated. 4060 transmissions are reliable but do have problems. I wouldn't consider buying it without an Allison shop fully checking it out.

Transmission: Shouldn't rev between gears
Roof: Never heard of one getting a new roof. Maybe the owner had it coated? I would be on the lookout for delamination in the area of the flap. I'm attaching a photo of our roof. Poor quality photo, I'm afraid. I took it from inside looking up. The roof is about 2" thick. Under the fiberglass is plywood, then some thick dense foam insulation.
Air Conditioner: Very common.
Jacking: You can raise it to its maximum height and place 11" or so spacers between the frame rails. Query this on the forum and you'll find some good photos and instructions.
After Purchase Bucks: I'm with Tim. I really think 10 Gs is a realistic estimate of what you'll spend the first year.
Good luck.
jor

You mentioned a full body paint job, they might have painted the roof as part of the process.  If the problem is at the ladder.  Look to see if it makes sense that the ladder damaged the roof when the coach was backed into storage maybe, and the coach has a new ladder.

I think you can change the idle speed and 50 rpms can smooth a rough idle.

The stuck switch might just be a momentary switch, that controls a relay that powers on the battery power to the coach.  My 1998 has a switch at the steps, has a light on the switch if the relay is getting power.  It controls all 12 volt to the coach, lights, pump, and fans.  I have had it fail or kick the breaker, that is located in the bay with other breakers.  A simple reset when we found it gave us back all the power to the coach.

Chassis AC is easy to check out, if you are sure you did all the correct controls on the dash.  But low or no freon will cause the same problem.

Bulkhead checking in covered in several threads.  But a quick look to confirm all the heads are there, and there is no rust is a good start.  Working under the coach without installing the frame blocks is not safe.  Your jacks are not large enough to support the weight of this coach per:  Foretravel Vehicle Weight (http://www.beamalarm.com/Documents/foretravel_vehicle_weight.html)

Much has been written about buying low, or under your budget, and having 10-20% in reserve for the first year of ownership.  You could or should want the items and issues addressed.

Good luck.

Safe yourself months of heartbreak and awful lot of cash , go look at gary bouland s coach

Thank you for all of the advice and images.  It shows me that it (normally) has a normal RV type roof, I was starting to wonder if it wasn't a very strange setup, especially after looking up into the attic fan.  I now remember the term for what hte roof looked like.  FRP, fiberglass reinforced panel.  It looked just like this (https://www.foreforums.com/imagecache.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.homedepot.ca%2Fwcsstore%2FHomeDepotCanada%2Fimages%2Fcatalog%2F17090.MFTF12IXA480009600_4.jpg&hash=bffe1fce420e3c43eb625d3a097020af" rel="cached" data-hash="bffe1fce420e3c43eb625d3a097020af" data-warn="External image, click here to view original" data-url="http://www.homedepot.ca/wcsstore/HomeDepotCanada/images/catalog/17090.MFTF12IXA480009600_4.jpg)  I can't recall precisely but I don't remember seeing any seams and I think it was all one piece.  The dealer claimed the roof was reskinned and the crack is no problem because it's fiberglass over fiberglass.  They sure talk a lot whenever I come in to check it out.  Of course that only came up once I mentioned I'd be going up to the roof.  I forgot to mention that when I push on the paper like material underneath it gives freely like there is no luan at all under the roof skin.  The ladder does not appear to be new.  The ladder was strong and supported my 250 pounds without budging but I did not step onto the roof once I saw the damage.

I'm not afraid of the low miles and I'm not afraid of high miles either.  For the same money I can get a 2002 Country Coach affinity similarly appointed with 130,000 miles AND ... 2 slides whereas this one has none.  The affinity pics are *really* clean.  Looks garaged.  I'd love slides but can't afford them on a nice coach without the miles.  My wife is dead set against slides though.  Then again she's dead set against a high priced (compared to our $10k Winnebago) diesel pusher.

Coach is being consigned in Bradenton, FL and reportedly spent most of its life in Florida and texas.  The lack of rust proves that story to me.  Owners possessions are still in the coach and owner wants to take the (I believe) Foretravel installed joey bed fridge/freezer (major red flag for me as the seller of the god awful house we bought and sold in the past was like that). 

Do you guys think the powertech is going to be a lot better than the onan QD in the long run?  The QD 7500 sure is a heck of a lot quieter.

I've heard from an Allison dealer mechanic as well as this forum that the shift behavior is not remotely normal and that it should feel just like a 3000 series.  A used HD4060R is $4200 shipped and I really don't want to get into that right away.  I feel like my butt should be kissed when buying a coach like this and it isn't so I suppose I'll walk away.  The dealer acts like they have gold and indeed it's the most expensive coach they have by many $K's.  The coach sure looks like gold with the brand new paint. 

I also forgot to mention the panelling was falling off on 2 of the bay doors, the handles on every bay door were sticking out a bit on the left side oddly, the lift shocks on most of the doors were a bit dead but this is no big deal for me as I replaced them all on my Winnebago adventurer.  The coach has no rust whatsoever.  The rolok bolts on the bulkhead are shiny and clean.  I did see a tiny bit of separation at one spot on the rear (IIRC) bulkhead near the one tire but all the heads were there.

The airbags also btw had some alligatoring and about a dime sized chunk missing of the outer rubber on one of the bags.  My uneducated opinion is 2 years of life left.  The tires are 6th week of 07.  The dealer promised me people go for 10+ years on them because they are super special (just normal Michelin X).  Did I mention the dealer talks a lot?

10 years on those tires may or may not be realistic.
Also, with the cracks in the airbags and chunks missing dont know if I would expect 2 years out of them.  Sounds like there are alot of issues with that coach.

My 10 cents is what are they asking for it?
John H

RUN away fast!  Too many issues.

 

1999 Foretravel - Manatee RV (http://manateerv.net/listing/1999-foretravel/)

$72,900.  I found a nearly identically specced coach for sale a year and a half ago for $69,500.  So this coach is hardly a steal.

But I'd still love to have it...  :-X

Just the new full body paint can cost $20K, plus roof paint, plus new windows.  Really hard to compare last years coach with this one maybe.  Condition is very important, and really expensive to get back to new.  If an owner spent that kind of bucks on remodel, he might well have spent the needed money on service.

Sure someone can quote 10 tires for that coach.

The one I am comparing with was a full repaint in even better condition.

The dealer claims the owner is into the renovations for $38K

Don't ever forget that ANY dealer is a "used car dealer".  Caveat Emptor.   

It wouldn't be that hard to find another Foretravel, one without such a laundry list of issues.

I'd keep looking.

Maybe there is a forum member that lives in the area that could inspect it, or you could always take it to Parlament Coach for a look of course they will charge you. Sounds like it would take lots of time and $$$ to get everything addressed, for everything you can find right now there is more lurking in the shadows. Nice Paint job is all good but paint and chrome don't get you home, but the other issues you mention could be costly. How old are the house and cranking battery's those alone can get to the 2k mark. As far as the Allison goes the Allison dealer needs to check that out, if it needed to come out I would elect to have it rebuilt or replaced with an Allison unit rather than going with used. The power Tech generators are as good as any of the rest and the factory repair is in Leesburg Fl. but they do make more noise than fully enclosed units. Like others said you may be real close to the 20K mark. Happy hunting.

As an owner of this model coach, I can make several comments.  The Allison is easy to check for faults with the shift pad.  The M-11 can be checked by a Cummins dealer.  All the body-related issues raise questions about body damage repair.  Are your light switches Intellitec(very small buttons-10 per panel)?  They may just need to be reset.

Bottom line-where are the service records?  This is a 14 year old coach.  My repair folder is three inches thick!  I wouldn't consider buying a coach without records.

That ones very Suss, Run,

Google, The year of the Foretravel you want, Compare all of them, There is quite a few of them, And very nice ones as well,
Gear train repairs are Exy, Very, Sitting still for long periods, Kills seals, Bearings get rust,

Do you really want to invest in an expensive head ache, Wait and get a good one, With nothing wrong with it,

People are retiring from driving, Age and Health problems, So the coaches are coming up for sale, Just be patient,

Another take on this coach, time and money.

Tires, batteries, AC service, transmission checked and the things mentioned can be all done in a week, with a thick credit card.

Condition of the coach to return to new takes lots of time.  Redoing the fabrics for $ 9,000 and a week or more of time.  Full body paint is $20,000 plus the roof cost is more, and takes over a month at Xtreme.  The roof photo you showed is a non skid surface, not like the smooth fiberglass roof like I have seen on coaches.  Note that some coaches have rubber roofs, not fiberglass, and I have not heard of new re-skins on roofs.

You have mentioned about 6 things, that would take an inspector about an hour to figure out.  If you like the colors, layout, and the styling, get some answers from those in the know.  Maybe I am all wrong, but perfect coaches don't get sold.  I am yet to see any coach purchased on the forum not have a list of things turn up as the new owners start using them.  And that is why everyone seems to know to have a cash reserve to start doing the repairs and upgrades in the first year.

We have bought houses, motorcycles, and RV's, the best we could find and afford.  There are so many things in those items that we can't change at any price, like location, lot size, or house direction, or coach color.  But after finding one that almost works, we go in and do the upgrades, improvements, and repairs and work to make each our's.  We have never thought to buy a fully restored item, or a model home. 

Good lucky with your search and future coach.

I have a 1996 U320 with 110,000 miles. The 4060R tranny shifts perfectly almost all the time, however, once in a while, it will shift hard after the engine revs for a moment. This only happens when the tranny CPU cannot keep up to what is happening, ie on a freeway and suddenly there is a sea of brake lights in front of me, hard on the brakes to slow down, then cars speed away, I step on the gas, engine lugs , then tranny shifts down to too low a gear, engine revs and a hard shift up - now in right gear. I see this as my fault, I should have eased on the throttle and not worried about keeping up to all those cars to let the tranny find the correct gear.

Anyone else experience this hard shifting with a 4060R.

We have experienced some hard shifting ... but only intermittently.  It seemed most noticeable when we were going up a sudden but slightly abrupt grade, such as going over an arched bridge over a river or in some of the hillier terrain.  We talked over the issue with the guys in Nac when we were last there ... no codes appear when we run through them ... and it seems that it is more in the way we were driving, not the transmission.  Jeff has been taking things a lot easier, and we have not really had any "clunking" going on in the last 6 months.  It appears that the only problem was the large "nut" behind the steering wheel. (That's a funny.)

Yes, I've have seen hard shifting from time to time in our 1999 U320. I'll try and see what the circumstances are next time.

best, paul

We are on our 3rd Foretravel ... and this is KEY.  Where are the service records?  We paid for an independent inspection once, and it was worth every nickel. The only reason we moved on from the 2nd coach was because there were things about the interior that I wished I could change, but could not ... mainly ducted air and a screen door.  Finding a mechanically sound coach that has the right things that you CANNOT change ... and then thinking about the cost to change the things you want down the road is a sort of a plan. If I were looking at a coach that had a great service history but an interior that needed updating, I would not worry.  It is like buying a house that has "great bones" but awful wallpaper and shag carpeting.  You just take your time and make it home as you can. 

Around here the nut behind the wheel cannot be blamed from the get go.

This is because we've both agreed we need close supervision.

So if I make the wrong turn, and Kathleen did not warn me to make the correct turn, SHE is at fault for failing in her close supervision duties, NOT ME for making the wrong turn.

Saves a lot of disputes...

Try it you'll like it ;o)

You learn a lot in time. It only took Kathleen 40 years to house break me...

best, paul

I don't know much about Manatee RV, and the internet does not seem to know much about them either, except for one very bad review.  I have to admit that I do not much like RV dealerships in general, and RV salesmen even more.  But reading your description of this coach has set off all kinds of red lights in my mind.

The fiberglass roof may have problems, and it may not have problems.  It is perfectly normal for a fiberglass roof to have a wavey appearance and be flexable.  It has to be to handle the heat and cooling stresses that it goes through.

And there should be several folders of coach manuals with the coach, including a folder with all the repair and maintenance receipts.  I would want to be seeing that to see where the work had been done and what work has been done.  You can not trust a salesman to tell you any of this stuff, cause when their lips move, well you know the rest.  That paint job, unless documentated, could have very well been in Mexico.  And fiberglass roofs are not "reskinned" with more fiberglass.

I would proceed very cautiously, and not with out a knowledgeable  Foretravel inspector!!!

Why was the roof reskinned, Its Fibreglass,

It takes a considerable amount of force to smash F/B to the point of reskinning the roof,

F/B is good for 25 years at least,

What else has been repaired when the roof was crushed, bent, twisted, warped,

I dont know about later models, but my 89 G/V is very solid on the roof, I have walked all over it, I want to install solar panels on it, 400 Watts of it,

Yes,  occasional clunks.  Similar conditions. 

Bob

"That paint job, unless documentated, could have very well been in Mexico.  And fiberglass roofs are not "reskinned" with more fiberglass."

That paint job definitely looks like FOT work ... but that does not mean that they did anything to the roof.  Document document document.  The repair records are MANDATORY.  Any good owner will have reams of them.  The sample you posted of the "roof" is really an interior product ... but the stuff that is actually on your roof is probably the nonskid "glass bead" additive that is used in the roof paint.  It has a pebbly kind of look, but does not hold on to dust and dirt to make for easy cleaning. 

Was back again today.  The paint and roof work was done at FOT, as was cabinetry to install a 40" samsung tv and cabinetry to remove the splendide washer/dryer and replace with shelving.  The big money was in paint and "armor coating on the roof".  It looked an awful lot like fiberglass reinforced paneling to me.  Service records are comprehensive dating back to 2010 but before that nothing at all.  It had a new radiator put in for $6K total and the entire radiator assembly had to be rebuilt.  The coach spent a ton of time in MIchigan according to the records and in the light of day plenty of rust was noted.  As I was going through the service records (sitting in the coach with the generator and a/c running) I encountered a complaint in 2010 that the generator died of overheating.  The service report said the water pump belt came off.  Almost at that second the fault light came on and the generator died.  Looking at the LED's the over temperature light was on.

Nobody can figure out the lights.  It's the intellitec system and it's not working.  The lights are all on on the panels but they don't respond.  One of the guys said they worked once then didn't so only very few interior lights are working, the ones on their own switches.

Closer examination of the roof leads me to believe that there is a giant hole in the roof but the wood there is still very very firm and there is absolutely no evidence of leaks or dampness inside whatsoever.  I have a lot of trouble figuring out what was done with the roof.  The dealer insists it is a secondary layer and hte first layer is intact.  They are going to inject epoxy between the open area and weight it.

The transmission had no codes stored.

The frontmost bin on the driver side behind the passenger wheel wouldn't open - locked or unlocked, the handle wouldn't budge.  The bins in general were hard to close, you really had to slam them and they had a very loose and old feel to them.  The joey beds and drawers were in good shape.

I'm walking away and it kills me because it's such a beautiful coach.  It's too much of a stretch to my budget to be comfortable with the work after.  A U270 36' is for sale where I am staying at for much much less money which I will consider as well but otherwise we may go with my wife's idea of a 25' bigfoot travel trailer.  I'm not looking forward to that tiny thing.

On older coaches, the non-skid surface on the roof at the top of the ladder often causes weakening of the fiberglass surface over time - when it yellows you are having disintegration occur. Eventually it will make a soft spot that leaks and caves in.

Oh I forgot to mention too, not new windows but the windows were removed and defogged by some random window company.  Almost all were reinstalled wrong.  One wasn't able to be opened at all no matter how much force.  The plastic lock latches were broken on every window.  The screws in the interior trim were dimpled looking like way too much torque was used to reinstall the windows.

The FRP like roof coating is from Foretravel paint shop. Get vin number and call Justin (biscuit) at the FT paint shop. I suspect he painted the coach and roof and can tell you all about any repaired damage.

James Triana is here at Grand Vention, I will ask him re light issues. Justin was here but is on way back to NAC. He showed roof coating sample today and it looked exactly like FRP.

That does not sound like Foretravel work

We purchased a 1998 U270 from Motorhomes of Texas (MOT) in Dec last year. We never laid eyes on until mid Jan when we flew down from Maine to pick it up. Basically we bought it sight unseen. We got in on a Friday and were able to stay at the dealer over the weekend to check out the coach. We found a few things but all minor. Come Monday they fixed all gripes. On Tues afternoon we headed for Seguin, TX, about 250 miles from MOT. At around 200 miles the alternator went, we limped to our firends house and stayed thru the weekend when MOT said they could take care of us. We got back to MOT, they replaced the alt. The coach was sold where is as is" so I had to pay the bill, however they gave us a real nice discount due to us just getting the coach. At that time there was about 110,000 on the coach, we just turned 118000 two weeks ago, no other problems. Other than my own fault, had a house battrey explode because I forgot to check the water level. And that is it we will be going to Calif. next year and I have no qualms at all doing that.

Reading of the problems you have seen on the 320 I would walk, go for the U270 is is great. Just like all the folks on this forum. They know what they are talking about.

Patience is a virtue. Being over anxious can lead to buyers remorse and spending even more money. There always are more coaches for sale by folks who gave them good TLC. Networking and learning more about these fabulous coaches can lead to an even better choices.

So don't feel too bad about letting this one get away.

My brides favorite saying, "this weeks deal of a lifetime" :-)

I have been looking at Foretravel for a couple of months now.  The coach that you are looking at is one that I was interested in.  I am currently working in Afghanistan so I have not been able to look at any of the coaches in person.  That particular coach was "pending" about a month ago and it was pending for 3 or 4 weeks.  So, I assume the last potential buyer saw many of the things that you saw and in the end felt like it was not worth the headache.  I too love the paint job on that coach.  Good luck in your search.
Rory

That buyer couldn't arrange financing I believe.  They had a deposit on it the entire time I was considering it.

I am pretty sure the roof coating in the picture is what Foretravel is now installing. Last year they told me that their preferred roof coating is an elastomeric coating similar to Rhino Lining. That's what the photo looks like. I chose to have Xtreme do a more traditional urethane roof coating with small non-skid particles. So far it has been great.

Many of the other items of concern don't sound too good but it sounds like someone spent a bunch of money on that coach. What are the problems with the windows? Sometimes just a little silicone spray will do wonders. As suggested, it might be a very good idea to have it inspected by a Foretravel pro.

"I am pretty sure the roof coating in the picture is what Foretravel is now installing."

I am pretty sure that the sample of pebbly white stuff in the photo comes in 4 x 8 sheets and is the same stuff we used in food prep areas and in the bathrooms of the Dairy Queen stores we built. It can be sanitized easily and kids can't write on it with ball point pens in the bathrooms ... Sharpie can be removed with solvent ... it was good stuff.  But I can't see it on the roof of a motor home. 

Bin doors are any easy adjustment. The lighting has a control board under the fridge that can fix that issue or at least a place to start.

I calculate a minimum of $5000 and probably a more reasonable $15000 to fix the coach.  Could be more if for instance rot is detected under the roof hole.  I don't even know what steps you would take to help reduce the chance of mold.  And if I decide to have FOT do the work I need to price in $2000 in fuel to and from.  Since the worst case always happens to me I think the coach is overpriced around $13K.  It's a perfectly reasonable price otherwise considering the money the owner put in.  When talking price with them they said the owner wouldn't budge and had originally listed the coach at $99K.

Looking at the maintenance records, they date back only to 2010 (and only in 2010) when the current owner obtained the coach.  The records look very reactive rather than proactive.  It looks like he got "suckered" into doing oil and fuel filter once in 2010 but not once thereafter?  He brought the coach in for generator overheat and the cummins center probably mentioned how changing the oil might be important.  I didn't see anything about coolant filters or other bits.  I don't see any service visit that was for maintenance only, it was always precipitated by some problem.  The only visit that was proactive was to FOT for paint and cabinetry.

My main worries are the transmission and the roof.  The transmission did shift funny and it had the proper fluid level and no codes though the dealer could have easily reset the codes after I left.

I studied the intellitec system.  We did work with the boards under the fridge but there was nothing you could really do to them without hooking it up using the intellitec sofware.  We unplugged and plugged things in, checked fuses, etc.  Still the system just wouldn't respond.  I think the stuck button at the entry door was to blame.  It was probably locking up the communications channel.  Intellitec parts are available so it's just $$.

The windows are simply overtightened and I suspect tightened unevenly.  The front passenger window was not able to be opened.  No amount of gorilla strength would open it.  Replacing the interior frame and torquing the screws down to a sane value will probably fix them being so tight.  New latches and a rivet tool fix the locks. 

Basically I'm knowledgeable enough that I could buy the coach and deal with the issues and I'd be fine.  With some dilligence and a lot of spending, I don't think it would be a problem child.  For me the issue is that $72K is stretching the budget.  Getting closer to $100K with all the work, taxes, tags, etc is really stretching it.  And the wife doesn't understand spending so much money just to get problems to fix.  In her mind if she spends north of $50K it better be amazing but we all know the realities of rv's, even foretravels.  I have to continually remind her what they cost new.  I also have to remind her why we drive BMW/Lexus and that I'm attempting to apply that philosophy to the rv.  I hate that the dealer tries to hide the issues, I'd rather buy from someone who is open and honest and gives me the run down, adjusts the price appropriately and lets everyone walk away feeling like things are fair.  Every rv has active issues, it's almost impossible to escape them though I'll do my best when I sell mine.  I hate that they let it sit in the lot for weeks (months?) without even putting some eternabond or tape a bag over the roof hole even though this area had more rain than they've seen in many many years.  It's just insane to me.  Water is evil.

I'm droning on and on because I really wanted the coach but I just can't afford it if I'm being realistic.  More importantly all of the problems will drive the wife to hate the coach and that would just make for a miserable experience.  I'm checking out a U270 that really lines up with what I was originally after budget wise.  It needs new bags and tires and probably brakes too but it's priced aggressively and the owner is knowledgeable and conscientious.

Good for you. To many folks buy with their heart and their eyes. Sounds like you are using clear thinking instead.

If looks and feels just like FRP, fiberglass reinforced panels. But it is spayed on, and Biscuit, the paint manager at FT had a sample with him at GV. Said it basically a truck bed liner product.

Seemed tough.

The value of a coach is shades of gray, not black and white.
In April 2010, I paid 13% of the spec sheet new price for my 1996 U320 with 90,000 miles. It had painted stripes but the interior was OEM, except the "J" part of the coach had been replaced by a cabinet. I replaced the tires and coach batteries immediately ($4000).

A 1999 U320 today is at a similar age as my coach was three years ago, however, a 42 foot sold for $55k more then a 40 foot. Also the market for used motohomes has recovered circa 10-20% since 2010.

An original 1999 U320 42 foot has market value of circa $ 70,000. Improvements will add up to 50% of what they cost, so excellent FBP or interior redecorate adds $10,000 each. Problems reduce the value. Spending money on repairs adds very little. In my opinion the coach you are describing is worth no more than $80,000.

When I was looking for a 40 foot U320 Foretravel in 2009 and 2010, I became very frustrated with owners who said they wanted to sell but were firm on prices that were 50% above market (the bottom had dropped out of the market). After watching and negotiating on coaches "for sale by owner" for a year, I gave up contacting owners and concentrated on dealers. I purchased at MOT, a U320 with little history information, because it was an estate sale. I insisted on fluid analysis on motor oil, tranny fluid, and engine coolant (most important). I would urge you to do the same because fluid analysis speaks volumes about how well the coach has been maintained.

Incidently, for months after I purchased, I noticed those same "over market priced" coaches which I attempted to buy, but with much lower prices, or consigned at dealers. Now, at three years post purchase I still see coaches which were for sale in 2010.

Are you sure you want a 42foot U320 with a tag, full body paint, and redone interior when a 40foot U320 original without a tag will sell for $20,000 less and be very serviceable and comfortable. A U295 would sell for $5k-10k less then a U320 and the major difference between a U295 and U320 is the motor/tranny. I did not look for a U295 because I wanted the M11 for the power. I also bought a 1996 because I wanted Tamboured cabinet doors and did not want Aquahot.

Do not give up on getting a Foretravel motorhome, it is the best value for your money in a used 40foot motorhome. 

Just my opinion!


 

If you know of a 1999 U320 40' nontag with desk listed for $52,900 I'd like to see it :-P  Maybe I'm being off base and it's just a slow time for U320's right now.  I saw the 1999 U270 today.  The wife didn't like the cabinet colors.  I don't think I can come to grips with the toilet not being in its own room.  It certainly had the same foretravel feel as the U320 discussed in this thread.

With most (all?) walk-through baths, there are pocket doors to close off the bath from the rest of the coach, so there wouldn't be a privacy issue.

Most U270 have oak interiors unless they were a special ordered coach.  U295 and U320 usually have Walnut, unless special ordered with oak.  There are lists of upgrades as you step up by number in the Unicoach series.

We have now had both the private side bath and now the walk thru bath.  Benefits to both designs, but we like the huge bathroom and closets all together with the sliding double doors.

Give me the walk-through any day!  Love all the space on the bath. 

Our "morning routine" means locking someone in our out of the bedroom wouldn't be fun but otherwise I agree, the bathroom is much more spacious as a result.

After 40 years together, we have lowered our standards.  Only becomes an issue with guests, so we are careful who we invite.

I don't know about standards, but after 54 years we're humbled by how lucky we are. And cherish the time we're able to spend with each other...

best, paul

We are happy with our walk thru bath, and there is really no privacy issue for us becasue of the pocket doors. Even traveling with grandkids this summer or when we have guests and someone needs to use the "facilities", it is just fine.  One thing I DID do, was to eliminate the ridiculous mirrored doors that are directly opposite the commode.  In what world was that EVER a good idea????

Gee, Carol, I never thot you were hard on the eyes. Why would you? (running and ducking.....)

best, paul

Ditto here. Big enough for a square dance.

I would walk away from this coach. There are simply too many issues.

Ten months ago we purchased our coach from a wonderful couple who had maintained it extremely well, had done several nice upgrades and system improvements, and had documented everything. We have thoroughly enjoyed using it. Even so, we have had a few issues and have needed to do some maintenance and repairs.

Some maintenance and repairs are to be expected on an older coach, but I would not purchase one that seemed to have a good chance of spending more time being repaired than being used.

I was looking at a 1988 40 foot Grand Villa, It was absolutely impecable inside and out, Lovingly maintained by the owners, It stood out in the piccys, I just loved it,

I didnt buy it because it was just too big for our skinny twisty roads, As my shake down cruise just proved, even 36 foot is just a bit big, But I will manage, Hahaha

That one was $11,000-00 USD, Needed nothing,

But there where quite a few around the 45 to 50 grand mark, And Stunning inside and out,

I looked for over six months before I pulled the trigger, Sight Unseen, Piccys only,

Mechanically, I had one thing in my favour, The PO was going to drive my coach with his toad on the back, 1500 miles from Texas to Ontario in California,

It must be registered, It must be somewhat roadworthy, To be able to drive that distance,  If it blows up on the way to California, Hopefully I can get my money back,

But its here and I love it, Mine cost me $15,000-00 USD, Plus $2000-00 USD for Diesel for the 1500 mile delivery drive,

There is nothing wrong with older Foretravels, Properly maintained, They will be here, Long after, we have all gone,

And they are sight cheaper as well, Get one with a Big Motor, They cruise instead of working hard for the same speed,

Carol said:
"One thing I DID do, was to eliminate the ridiculous mirrored doors that are directly opposite the commode. "

I love those mirrored full height doors!
I must admit that, during the first few months, I was sitting on the commode with the bedroom pocket door open and realized I could see folks walking by - I could see them, they could see me. I will never forget to close the bedroom blinds or the pocket door but still love those mirrored doors.

Just saying!

Getting rid of mine eliminated noise, improved my quality of life AND my self esteem ... all at one time.  One of my best modifications.  I have other mirrors to check to answer the question,"Do these jeans make my butt look big?" 

The desk is standard with the DGFE Models. (Double Galley Front Entry).

And the answer is?

best, paul

To which question?
"Do these jeans make my butt look big?"
or
"Can folks see me from outside when I am sitting on the commode?"

Heck, Wyatt, even I am worried if my butt looks big now that I've lost 80 lbs ;o)

Who cares if they see you on a commode?

You can even see a photo of me on a commode if you scroll down this page:

http://lazydazers.com/index.cfm?fa=ShowItem&ID=1894 (http://lazydazers.com/index.cfm?fa=ShowItem&ID=1894)

You did have to have good aim in those days...and strong knees...

best, paul

We ended up buying this coach.  All of the various issues were worked out by the seller one after another after another.  There is simply no other way that we could have got this kind of coach for the money.  The A/C compressor was seized and replaced.  A/C also needed new relays and thermal cutout.  The roof was opened up further, examined, dried and patched.  The intellitec panels were sent to intellitec and repaired.  The original 3 group 34 batteries were replaced (by cummins tampa!) with a single 4d battery.  This battery even when fully charged can only barely start the coach in warm weather.  The seller put a new 4d in but obviously we still need to use boost every time to start.

We've further found that the coach has a normal Kohler household toilet mated to a standard sized black tank which fills as quickly as you'd expect.  We are going to attempt to replace it with a two stage flush household toilet before we give up and get an rv toilet.  Probably not the microphor since it doesn't seem to be available. 

Interestingly this coach has 2 fresh water tanks.  2 water pumps, 2 water fills, etc.  One is in the standard place and one is all the way in the front. 

The porch light is stuck on and I can't figure out a damage free way to open up the cup holder to access the touch lite for repair.  The dash lights didn't work so I fixed that.

We had it to cummins tampa where they dynoed it.  325hp to the wheels which they say is good.  The coach has a lifetime 6th gear mpg of 9.3 and a max recorded speed of 89mph.  Sadly on the way home from the dealer oil pressure started falling.  When I got home the oil sump read overfilled, diluted likely with fuel.  It seems a common issue with these is either a seal failing on the transfer pump or one of the upper orings failed (no smoke).  I am learning to be a diesel mechanic now, haha.  Still want to stay positive because it is one heck of a wonderful experience being in this coach.  Hopefully no engine damage, oil pressure fell from a normal 38psi @ around 1200rpm to a low of 32psi.

On the exterior porch light, you can remove the lower portion of the grab handle and insulate the wire that completes the ground for the touch light.

I pulled off the lower handle and found no wire.  Occasionally the porch light does work properly (touch the bottom handle to activate for 30-40 seconds).

Piku, Is this a Foretravel that you are talking about ? Sounds like it had really been jury rigged.  Hope you get it all together.  How about model, year etc. Helpful when asking questions.  I find it almost impossible to believe that someone would install a household toilet.  It must have been parked and hooked up to sewer permanently.
Good luck with your project.
Gary B

Might you also have pics and details about the second freshwater tank? 

Are they completely different systems?  Or do they both lower in conjunction with each other, at the same level? 

Do you know if this was a factory install?

Definite interest to me also.  Love to have more water capacity....

Here are pics of the front tank.  I also took a pic of the rear tank and water pump to show you that.  This is without a doubt 100% factory.  The intellitec switch panels water pump and water fill function control the rear water pump and water tank fill.  Beside the panel in the galley is two more rocker switches for water pump and water fill, these control the front pump and fill.  These rockers are the same foretravel styled rockers as those that control the aquahot.  You can see that they divided the front bin in two, and you can also see that there is no aquahot zone at the front pump.  Sorry for the mess but we just moved in and got tired and had to just throw stuff at some point. 

This is a 1999 Foretravel U320 4200.  All reno work on this has been done at FOT, not even Xtreme graphics was good enough for this guy, he spent $30K on the paint.  It hasn't been jury rigged at all.  I for one can't stand RV toilets and the "face full of poo smell" they tend to offer you so I am resistant to change back even though between the whole family we have to drain the black tank every 3 days.  The only issue with the toilet is that it's too big and you have be a bit of a contortionist to pull your pants up.  I'd probably replace it with one that doesn't have an elongated bowl.  Also with a 0.8GPF dual flush toilet, we could go nearly a week without draining the black tank which seems pretty ok to me.  The water tank looks the same front and rear so I would guess we have double capacity.

If anyone is curious to see it in person, we are in Bradenton, FL

Looks like that WATER tank is located where the FUEL  and LP tanks would normally be.  Where is the fuel and LP tank ?
I would love to see this, it is really unusual.  Maybe you can get with GARY O in FL he has a 42 footer.
Gary B

Yep - Gary is right up the road next to Mt. Olive Shores by Lakeland/Plant City. He could show you his lifting tag axle kit and all kinds of upgrades to drool over.

Driver Side                    Passenger Side
Front axle
----
Extra water tank and pump
pass through space
----
joey bed  | joey bed
----
gel batteries  -  aqua hot  - propane
fuel
----
black tank  |  manibloc
grey tank    |  manibloc
primary freshwater
-----
rear axle

Looking at other U320 4200 this is standard with the exception of the extra front tank I thought.  Maybe I Need to look again.  I was looking at other ones for sale on motorhomesoftexas pictures.

There are things in the records which suggest this was a foretravel inc demo coach.

Thanks piku, for all the pics and info, I really appreciate it.  Very interesting setup there.