I am very close to finishing a deal on a 2009 nimbus and am getting cold feet because of being so far from TX for service work. I love the coach and really want one and am able to do some things myself. Can anyone give me some input as to if this should be a concern. I would hope to keep the coach for 8-10 years.
Welcome to the Forum and congratulations on your possible new coach. First thing to remember is that the major items on a coach such as transmission, engine, wheels and tires etc are serviceable anywhere as any competent organization can carry out the work. You are in effect buying a truck or commercial bus when it comes to those things. Some items are more specialized such as the Aqua-hot and inverters but are very reliable. Factory service is very good and they stand by their products, also there is this forum with many technically savvy members who can advise you.
You are buying a high quantity product that, if it's been looked after, will not be any more problematic than several other top brands and better than most.
Go ahead, have it inspected well and take the plunge!
Keith
In what part or Ohio are you located? We live near Dayton and there are other Foreforums members scattered across the state.
my go to shops are in Nacogdoches TX and St. Petersburg Fl. I plan to be in one of those two cities once a year for annual maintenance. Running gear can be serviced a ton of places, and most RV shops can handle the rest. Aquahot service centers are all around the country, but less plentiful than Rv shops in general.
Mostly I fix what has to be fixed to keep me operational and defer all else to an annual maintenance event in FL or TX. may or may not work for you, but our coaches need less regular maintenance in general due to smooth riding chassis and high original build quality and components.
Brad Metzger, jump in here - don't you have a similar coach?
Welcome to the Foreforums.
I am in Cincinnati where there is a Cummins dealer (Cummins Bridgeway, 50% Cummins ownership) that has been doing all of Forrest's chassis and some coach type repairs for the past 11 years. I'm very happy with their performance and Cummins Bridgeway has other locations in Ohio as well.
http://www.cumminsbridgeway.com/locations.asp (http://www.cumminsbridgeway.com/locations.asp)
All else fails, we are here to answer questions, James Triana is in Nacogdoches to provide technical information, and FOT (Foretravel of Texas) Parts Dept. can ship any specialized parts over night if you wish.
Thanks for the replies. I actually live in WV between Huntington and charleston. My closest big city is Cincinnati. I am a retired dentist and have had coaches since the 70's and sold a country coach manga and been searching for something thru two mistakes. Really don't care to make mistake number three. I do a lot of the things myself such as oil, grease coach and other little things. The Newmar people put the thought in my head about getting the Foretravel worked on being difficult. The Foretravel has always been my ideal coach and I'm just getting gun shy because of two mistakes since 2008. I'm dealing on a 2009 nimbus with 40k miles that is all electric. I worry a little about all electric because I almost always dry camp. They have given me numbers but we are still about 20k apart. Will be interesting to see how far they will come on price! Always comes down to that.
Not sure on dry camp and electric. Watched a guy trade his 93 u300 for a all electric Angola prevost coach.
Shortly afterwards he sold it back to the dealer and went to Nac and bought another Foretravel.
More than 4 8'ds unless you do not mind the gen running most
Do not worry, I am in VA and get service at cummins too as well as Keystone in PA. You can go Down to TN RV too for a Foretravel specific issue in Knoxville. No worrysome on dry camping. I am now all electric and dry camp all the time.
John S:
How many batteries do u have on your coach? I love the fact this coach carries 135 gallon of water. I dont really understand the gray water bypass thing but am sure I will figure it out. I was thinking I would want 6-8 batteries. Concerned that to have that many I would have to replace the existing that are still good to be able to add. Also do you have a solar panel. You being in VA you understand our many gray days where a solar panel probably does no good. I appreciate the input from everyone. As I got gun shy of service, I talked to a Newmar essex dealer, and they really poured it on about only being one spot in TX. Knoxville is not that far for me. About 220 miles. I'm convinced to go Foretravel. I have studied them for about 8-12 months. Now I need to work on the difference on the price. First offer from them was decent but still a little off of where I hoped to be. Any one have experience negotiating with Foretravel as to how much they move on price?
I had solid on my first FT not on the second or third. Did not work well here on the east coast with shade. I put in a fourth battery all 8ds. Service is not a problem but I take a couple trips a year to MOT on my travels too. I have used Keystone in PA cummins in VA and in Indy and tenn RV in Knoxville. Some stuff you want to go back to FOT for and other stuff I use MOT. Also parliment in FL is good as well as in RNR RV in Spokane WA area. There are many places for service and the FT specific parts or warranty has locations across the country too. I turn on my generator in the morning to make coffee and charge up the batteries and shut it off a couple hours later max.
No chassis coach can have the spread airbags under the sidewalls where the load is.
Looked at the Newell website and the three m adhesive attached skins and sway bars mentioned lost my interest.
The Newmar is similar construction and chassis as far as I know.
The newell mentions six 8's for the coach and two for the motor.
I do not like to hear any gen run in a quiet location.
Seen a few prevosts with Martin turbo 20k gens in a stainless compartment with air feet and complete sound studio type insulation that in a normal area were hard to hear but in a totally still and quiet area you can hear them also.
The original foretravel ancient designs and white gel coat bodies were for a reason. Less heat gain. Less gen run time.
But most new coaches are not Rvs anymore. Made to hook up or run the gen a lot.
One night maybe but I doubt with a residental refer and lots of lights and tvs on and microwave time that they will go two days.
Mine will. Most won't care. Some do.
Solar will help sometimes.
I guess I am just an old rv'er at heart. We go for the peace and total quiet. Build a fire almost every night. Enjoy nature.
Not our social life.. It is for a large percentage of others so I understand totally.
All the older high line coaches had laminated fiberglass sidewalls. All of them.
But painting them black would cause delamination so they did not paint them dark colors.
And then you ran the gen a lot or plugged it in to a pedestal.
I have not bothered to plug the coach in at times as it was not needed in nice conditions.
Different idea(s)
Bob
When we lived in PA we would take our coach to the Cummins facility in Harrisburg for engine service. We had an issue with a leaky steering component (on our '93) and a local trucking company was able to easily replace a part we provided for them. For most other things, we found that is was cheaper and a better education (for us) to make the trip to Nac and have the experts address any issue, perform preventive maintenance and keep the coach(coaches) running nicely. Once you get used to your machine this worry will pass. Just get the thing and start loving it!
"The Newmar people put the thought in my head about getting the Foretravel worked on being difficult." Why am I not surprised? They want you to buy a Newmar.
If one is going to be a full-timer, there will be times when you will be near to the factory and times when you are far away. That will be true no matter what brand of coach one has. If you are not a full-timer and want factory service then buy a brand that is made near you.
As others have pointed out, engine, transmission, drive issues can be dealt with by any competent truck shop. Some don't like to work on motor homes, while others figure that our money is just a good as someone else's. The RV stuff (refrigerator, a/c, water system, etc.) can be serviced by any competent RV shop. Notice the "competent" adjective. Not every shop that claims to be able to do the work is actually competent.
My suggestion is that if that Nimbus looks good to you (fits your needs and has service records) go ahead and buy it. You say you can do some work yourself, and that is great. You know your limitations and know what good work should look like. You ought to be able to evaluate the various shops in your area and fine some that will be able to do what you can't do yourself.
Unfortunately, the closest RV dealer to me is up the road in Miami, OK.
Fortunately, I *want* to be a full-timer, so I can keep my Foretravel.
Trent