Well, I have been in Nac since Sunday afternoon. I had two days of service at MOT and am on my second day here at FOT. I will say that my MOT service was a bit more then I expected. I had to replace my radiator and while I was at it I replaced my expansion tank too. I can not say enough good things about MOT and the service I received. THey did a large job in a short time by putting three or four techs on the coach. I was out in two days and they did all my services too. Now I am sitting inside FOT. I have davids group doing a bit of remodel. I will say that I see this shop running very well too. They have empty bays and I asked why and I was told that a couple people just did not show up for their appointments and they had a couple of coaches in that they finished up very quickly. It must be hard to schedule when people come in with super long lists that they did not expect but it looks like everything is running smoothly here too. SO all in all it has been a good experience at both places though I will say there are some new faces at both too.
Hesitate just to post, "I agree". Your experience at MOT much as mine. I imagine FOT good too, just usually at MOT as getting annual service and repairs/upgrades at MOT as bought three coaches there.
The new faces part John of your post triggers my reply. I am traveling so miss seeing you John, but I think one valuable MOT new face is having Stephen as the new service manager. I hope that eases some of the burden on Mike Rodgers, he as James Triana at FOT, are critical contacts on the road if I have a problem (besides the Forum!). I think another new MOT face came from Encore closing, if I heard Don Hay right.
Glad you are bringing money to Nac John....
Mike
Quote from John S "It must be hard to schedule when people come in with super long lists that they did not expect".
I try to send an email to the service writer at least a week in advance of my appointment; as I am one who does little on my own and the list can be long. Believe the last service was close to 20 items and then added a few when got into NAC. Not sure if the service writer pay any attention.
Jeff, it has been my experience that Foretravel does not pay any attention to email. I have emailed them at various times and never gotten a response. Don't know what they would do if I called and told them I was going to send an email and wanted an answer to it.
From our experience it depends on who you send an e-mail to. In the past, some to Service did seem to go into black holes and Parts wasn't able to view attachments which made sending photos challenging. E-mail to Joshua in service this past spring was responded to within a day or so. James Triana has always responded quickly.
I have found that MOT asks when I am making the appointment what we want done. I used to just tell Mike 4 days or 3 or what ever. I told Jill when I called it would be two days and she said thanks. I have had 40 items on a list and I had 9 this time. Just depends on what is on the list and how long it takes to fix and trouble shoot. Sometimes I have come to the conclusion it is cheaper to throw a new part at the item that is not working then the time it takes to fix it. You can come out ahead on some things. Other times I will see the service as it is going on and I ask the tech to change it out.
My last FOT service experience this spring: Set an appointment, emailed the service writer with my list and then confirmed our appointment 3 days before arrival. Upon arrival, my service order was already written up. We reviewed each item and then coach was brought into a bay and work began. Not sure how that could have gone any smoother...
Well, I will say that I do spend a lot of time in Nac as I choose to come here for service and remods. I also drive a lot so service is ongoing as well.
Here are sue observations pertaining to MOT
I will start with the fact they are very busy. They are selling coaches and servicing them and there is sometimes no more room in their lot to even pull in. They have to move stuff around so you can. It is not that way in the morning but during the day as people drop off their coaches it seems that they continue to fill up. The service department is where i spent most of my time. They are very busy but they seem to be putting the jobs thru faster. That is great as that means less time in service and more on the road. They also have a new service manager. Mike Rogers is tech and new deliveries and he is all around the place and pulled in many different directions. Stephen the service manager is from the automotive world and he has been instituting some new changes there and I think that the service department is a bit more efficient because of it. For sales, they are selling all the 36 footers that come in the door it seems while the bigger coaches are a bit slower but they had complete turnover since the end of Jan when I left TX last.
FOT is a different story. They have one unsold unit and one horse trailer up front. That is both good and bad. Everythign on the line I was told is sold. They sold all the coaches out front. So they have production running full bore. In talking to people they had cut back during the down time and now have to scramble to get craftsman back and they are not really able to ramp up production too much. That is both good and bad as it seems the sales come in waves. The new Relm seems to be the big thing. It pricing will make the Nimbus and Phenix a tougher sale for FT. Then again the IH seems to be one in Nac and two at MHS. I heard that they have orders for 15 Relms and that is tremendous and if you add that to the 12 command Lonestar Coaches they said they were building at the end of last year that will double their output so it is no wonder production is stretched. That is a good issue to have. On MHS site they said they will have them on July 31 so I will not get a chance to see one but I bet they might be strong sellers at the pricing they have.
As a side note about FOT, I know we saw a B+ coach out in Yellowstone this past June. It was on a sprinter chassis and it was like a FT inside but at about 24 foot. I would think now that they have been building on other chassis they might look as a small FT quality super B coach. They have all the capability and a huge installed base of older FT owners to sell too.
What describes the Relm model at FT?
I believe John is referring to the Realm, a non-FT chassis'd coach being built for exclusive dealership rights of Motorhome Specialists in Alvaredo, Texas
NEW Foretravel "Realm FS6" (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=21012.0)
I think we will see a new wave of "smaller is bigger" coming the next 5-10 years.
I believe a killer van for converting to an RV would be a 96" wide Sprinter. I know asking for 102" would be unreasonable, but the Sprinter as-is could use some widening.
The B plus sized sprinter conversions are wider then a standard van but with no overhead bunk.
After 3 weeks owning a Sprinter/Winny/View with a 10 day trip, requiring a week recovery, I gave up & purchased my Foretravel over 6 yrs ago. No space to relax, either setting on couch or dinette.
If that fits your desire, go for it.
It makes a great traveler for a day.
Dave, I agree it is not as comfortable but the population base of FT owners is aging and they have an inbuilt market and people are looking for smaller units as well. I would not have FT stop making their regular coaches but the sprinter I saw in Yellowstone would be a match in comfort camping for our FT. Driving it might not touch it but it seems not many people put that many miles on bu tit would be simpler with no tow car and a 16mpg aver.
I am with Dave - sleeping would be difficult for us in the beds I have seen in these coaches - nice for travel, mileage, etc. Â Bathroom is cramped and bed is smallish
Have to agree somewhat on the popularity of Sprinter as they are very common in our neck of the woods. I even bought one 2 yrs ago for friends in Vancouver that had been looking down there and got a great buy here in Okanagan at 10k less and newer. They love it and travel a lot with it. They are Dutch people and love simpler things as both are hikers etc so the smaller size fits them. Same age though as me. I have looked at a few European vans and they are very similar in design. No wasted space and quality fittings, not, like some of the ones made here in NA. They are made for smaller roads and towns but perform well. Typical Euro thinking "bigger is not best" all the time.
JohnH
I saw one that fit that bill in the serenity. It made me sit up and look.
In talking to the guys over at FT, I got some numbers. They have 11 Lonestars and 15 Realms to produce. That is added to the IH coaches they sold. I am very happy to see the total production look like it will be over 30 if they can get them all thru this year. The line is running full out but they number of people is way less so they can not increase production without hiring new craftsman. There is one trailer and one IH on the lot. As soon as they work thru this it will be a good problem to have. I will say it is hot in Nac in July
Here's the closest B type I've seen that I might be interested in "some" day.
Leisure Travel Vans - Unity - Overview (http://www.leisurevans.com/unity/)
Jimmy
1998 U295 36ft
Jimmy,
There is one of those a couple of spaces away from us. I have not seen the occupants but it seems like a nice unit.
Keith
That is one of the ones I was talking about.
I too was impressed when I saw one in an RV show a few years back. Very clever design, hiding a murphy bed in the slide, you get both a full always-made bed and a living room with recliners, just not both at the same time.
I know some folks who have that exact floor plan. It is a very nice unit! the interior is really solid and the bathroom is one I could deal with, as well. Nice rig, really.
Follow up on my visit to FOT and MOT. Well, I pulled out on Friday and saturday I had my windshield crack so I drove back on sunday. I was at FOT and checked with them in the morning. There was no way they could take me in at all. I was there at 7:10 am. That is ok I did not have an appointment. I have a friend who is here too and he was told tuesday for his work. I was told to check in tuesday to see if they could fit me in. It does take about 2 hours after all. Well, I contacted MOT about 9 am and they said sure, bring it over. They put it in and by 11 and now I am sitting in the lot waiting for it to cure. I was told again that the reason they have empty bays over at FT is that they had people who did not show up for their appointments again this week. It is odd that the lot is mostly empty again. I figure that this would not be the optimal time to come to TX for service with 100 degree temps and humid. This will allow me to leave at least one day earlier and I appreciate that. So, the commentary continues. I will say that my service at FOT was very good in the remod shop. I just wish that FT would stop the policy of not selling to MOT at a discount as they are one of the biggest purchasers of their parts. It is fine that they have their own policies but we as owners are put in a bind and have to go over and buy our part and have it picked up. I for one appreciate being able to choose the location that best fits my service needs.
John, Someone at MOT is not a club member ? Could buy at MC discount anyway.
Gary B
Motorcade club is very careful not to allow competitors to have memberships. Lets put all the bad vibes behind us and move on. Everyone benefits from MOT and FOT being there and they benefit from each other. MOT is probably FOTs best customer. Appears friendly but they should work together more. Everyone would benefit.
IT is not two way bad vibes but it is pretty silly how they have to operate here in town. We do all benefit from having both of them around but it would be so much better for the owners if they were not as adversarial. I was not trying to start a battle here but I try to split my service between both of them and thought I would post my results.
And they're both laughing all the way to the bank. I've had only small dealings with each, but I can say that I liked what I saw at each place. I think that it might be a good thing for them to maintain a competitive stance. There is plenty of business for both (and then some), and I don't think that either begrudges the business the other one gets. Competition is generally good for everyone.
I think I figured out why service looks a lot more empty at FT. I heard they moved some guys back to production. If that is true it would line up with the increase production of their own coaches, command coaches and the new ones for the realm. It is always interesting to see things from the outside. If that is the case that bodes very well for the brands longevity.