Over the past couple months, we have been remodeling our newly purchased 1996 U320. I am happy to say that we had it out last week for its first voyage and everything went smoothly. I have complied a list of the top items which we had done and posting some pictures as well. I have to say I am extremely impressed with the quality of the Foretravel Coaches and we are looking forward to many adventures this summer.
Flooring: 12" Granite with clipped corners and in-floor heat, Carpeted Bedroom
Lighting: Under cabinet lighting Weanas G4/24 LED, 2 Watt,Warm White 12V
Sconces: 2 Watt, T2 LED, Candle Lamp Warm White 12V
Seating from Shop4Seats, Antelope Leather
- 72" Stratford Sofa bed with Ottoman side and drawer.
- Monterey Dinette with Drawers both sides
- Deleon Captain & Passenger Chair with power bases
Modified coach battery slide out track to accept 6 Deep cycle 27D batteries
Replaced Javalina monitor with 7" TFT display
Larger 4.5g water pressure tank.
Oiled Bronze hinges and pulls throughout
Reupholstered valances
Dometic 320 white toilet
Beautyrest Recharge full size queen mattress
Maytag Model #MMV6190DS 1.9 cu. Ft. Convection Microwave
Wow! I'm particularly drawn to the gorgeous tile floor!
What is that in your upper cabinet inserts? It almost looks like mica.
Agree. the floor looks gorgeous.
But, how much "ballast" did that add to the coach.
Have you weighted it since the upgrade?
Beautiful coach! With the high quality of the Foretravel design you'll be able to enjoy it for many, many more years!
Andrew,
Since I am installing the same toilet, where did you put it? ???
Thanks,
Trent
Simply elegant and functional upgrades. Well done! Did you do this yourself, or third party(ies)? How thick are the granite tiles?
holy crap! (pardon the pun)
Thanks for the responses and complements. I was very pleased with the way it turned out. Here are a few response to some of the questions:
What is that in your upper cabinet inserts:
- It is an etched/frosted glass that my wife found and had cut to fit.
how much "ballast" did that add to the coach
- The floors them self added about 800 lbs. including the thinset. I am guessing that I pulled out about 200 lbs. of carpet/sound damping materials and 200 lbs of tile in the bathroom. In total about 400 lbs extra added for that upgrade.
Did you do this yourself, or third party(ies)? How thick are the granite tiles?
- The granite tiles are 3/8" thick and weight about 5.5 lbs. each
- Yes, I did all the work myself.
Since I am installing the same toilet, where did you put it?
- It is in the water closet between the washer/dryer and the full closet in the bathroom area on the drivers side.
Thanks
My DW wants to know where you got the light fixtures. We are in the middle of upgrades on our 96 U295.
A monumental undertaking with first-class results!
VERY nice !
Results look first class ^.^d How long did it take to complete all the work (from demo through finishing touches)? I recently put in a Dometic Sealand Traveler 520. I was all set to buy a white one, but fortunately asked Tys what she thought first, and she set me straight! So I bought a bone 520 instead. There really wasn't any stark white in the bathroom and the bone 520 complemented the base color in the shower pan, walls, and vanity counter top/sink perfectly. I have figured out that I am much more tolerant of color combinations than she is, so that is why she is the chairperson of the coach interior decorating community ;)
Don
Andrew,
It looks like your new dinette seat covers up access to the lower half of your "china cabinet." Do you still have access to it?
Thanks,
Trent
My DW wants to know where you got the light fixtures.
- The lighting fixtures were purchased at Home Depot. For the 2 in the front and the 2 in the back by the head board, I added a switch and the 12v T2 LED bulbs. The 2 on the vanity just needed new LED 12v bulbs. Each fixture was around 30$.
How long did it take to complete all the work (from demo through finishing touches
- I have been working mainly in the evenings on it over a 2 month span. estimated hours for the floor would be 20 hours, cleaning wood/lighting/hinges 10 hours, cleaning ceiling/installing carpet 5 hours. All in all about 40 hours for the interior.
- stripping old valances and side pieces, pulling staples and recovering 20 hours. BTW, there had to be a couple thousand staples in those things - Thanks Foretravel... :)
It looks like your new dinette seat covers up access to the lower half of your "china cabinet." Do you still have access to it?
- Correct, the lower cabinets are not usable. Small price to pay for the extra seating and having an additional bed.
Don, I have learned early on as you have also, when it comes to colors and final say, I graciously step aside and it makes life much simpler.
Andy
Hi Andrew,
That is beautiful work. Your coach looks great.
Raymond
Great work Andy having done ours I know the work it takes to complete such a beautiful job.
Andy
I think that looks just incredible. I have '96 envy! Nice work.
Chris
When we did our floor the DW pulled 119 staples out of the padding just on her side of the bed. That's an area of 18" X 72". Just removing all the staples throughout the coach equaled the weight of the new hardwood floor! ::)
Oh my that is a nice job. Congratulations!
Awesome work! Very well done!
A&J, really nice work and looks to be a massive upgrade.
I have a few questions as well, as I have done this kind of work before. Did you put another layer of ply to sub floor as the original is not strong enough to withstand cracking?
Maybe you are already planning this but the kitchen counter surround now does not "fit in" with the the overall look so a nice splash would help enhance further the overall looks.
The little table in living area is one thing that I have problem with it being so large (sticking out) in our coaches, so I cut ours down to just overhang the cupbpoard by 2" and removed that lamp. Gives more room to move around.
I also like the new material on valances.
Well done, looks great.
JohnH
Did you put another layer of ply to sub floor as the original is not strong enough to withstand cracking?
- I did not add an additional layer of plywood. There was originally 12" tiles in the bathroom area and those tiles had held up nicely over the years. I did have to do some repairs to the sub floor in the bathroom and outside the washer and dryer. Other than that I prepped the floor (sanded and filled areas) and laid it directly onto the wood.
Maybe you are already planning this but the kitchen counter surround now does not "fit in" with the the overall look so a nice splash would help enhance further the overall looks.
- I am starting to install a herringbone tile in the kitchen back splash and removing the mirrors in the bathroom to install tile as well.
The little table in living area is one thing that I have problem with it being so large (sticking out) in our coaches, so I cut ours down to just overhang the cupboard by 2" and removed that lamp. Gives more room to move around.
- Plan is to remove the table and replace it with a wall mounted electric fireplace in the near future.
I also like the new material on valances.
- Thanks, the old ones were pretty dirty and faded.
Andy
Reason for me questioning the sub floor was I had seen some other coaches with tile and the grout had many cracks and when I used to do Tiling in homes I tried to keep 1" of thickness to support them. When I did our kitchen/Bathroom in the coach I 100% glued and stapled 3/8th ply to it all and in 5 yrs not one movement. I also just recently removed our Bath mirror and tiled as Ruth thought it was a stupid place for a mirror. I have done the kitchen b/splash twice. I am removing the carpet and putting down 5" wide Eng Maple planking in living room and bedroom in near future. Finally have it just need to do it and in winter take out sofa when in Mexico and have it recovered.
Fun isn't it!
johnH
John,
I had tossed around the idea of of using the Schluter-DITRA product but in the end based on how well the bathroom tile held up and the condition of the sub floor opted for the simpler route. As for the back splash, I am installing a backer board (glued and screwed) in which to install the tiles.
Heading out this weekend for a 5 day trip then when back I will try out the Poli Glow product on the outside based on another members recommendations.
Making memories,
Andy
What a great coach with all the classic touches of a Foretravel of that era but brought into modern times. We are pretty lucky to have the great foundations that Foretravel built originally back "in the day".
Nicely done.
Craig
Now that's what I'm talking about.
I like your dinette, it makes perfect sense.
X2, between the floor carpet and window valances just short of a million staples at least
Got a couple more items checked of the to do list. First was to replace the original microwave and install the new one. After finding the last hidden screw inside the cabinet on the right side, the old one came right out. ;) Once I installed the new one, it became obvious that as the door opens, it was interfering with the side wall as the door opened. I was able to find the Maytag that did not extend out and allows the door to open freely.
Removed the old TV and replaced it with the LCD and wired the cable, DVD and dish inputs directly to the LCD.
I noticed a small leak on the Black water tank last week camping and upon inspection, the 4 bolts that hold the valve gate together were rusted to the point that it had cracked the flanges on either side. Fix was to remove the valve, flanges, elbow and about 3 inched of pipe on wither side and replace with new pipe, valve gate, flanges and 2 flexible rubber couplings. Took about 2 hours to complete but I feel much better about the new plumbing.
We are heading out to Sleeping Bear Dunes for the new week then off to Glacier National and Banff in August. Pretty much everything major is complete and really enjoying ourselves in the Foretravel.
Thanks,
Andy
It is called Banff not Bamph.
JohnH
How did you experience with shop4seats go. I am considering buying a completes set from them. How did the captains chairs mount any modifications?
As a guy who as a Foretravel manager redid dozens of older ftx's long ago for resale to the customers specs I like your work.
The weight thing is unfortunately always a consideration. My 97 with slightly different roof and window construction with full water and fuel and propane and the storage bays medium loaded was very close to the 32,000 GVW.
Went to load range "h" tires so I could run 90 rear and 100 front put of 120 max versus 98 rear and 108 front on "g" rated tires at 110.
And raised the tires max capacity by a lot. More reserve.
Built a new beaver Marquis long ago and the customer was in the brick, tile, marble biz and wanted a lot of his products installed in his new coach.
The factory told him they could not as "they would not have their advertised payloads."
So fritz and Ada put in in after delivery.
I am sure you are ok but close. I think the 96 was about 800 pounds lighter than the 97 in actual weights.
I had a great experience with the furniture and the support from shop4seats. Well packed and shipped quickly. For the front seats, I ordered the non-powered and transferred the power bases to the new seats. The only modifications needed was the power controls had to be mounted. Seats are comfortable and no complaints.
Thanks,
Andy
- stripping old valances and side pieces, pulling staples and recovering 20 hours. BTW, there had to be a couple thousand staples in those things - Thanks Foretravel... :)
The up side is if you subtract the weight of all those staples, it offsets some of the granite poundage! :))
Beautiful job. I am surprised you were able to finish it so quickly.
Len
Is the floor electrically heated?
see ya
ken
I can only repeat everyones comments. You are living proof you can make an old coach new. I don't think I would have done anything different.
Yes, the floors do have the electric wire heat. This has to be one of the best upgrades that I had done. Really surprising how much nicer the floors are when they have a little warmth in them.
Really appreciate the comment. Thanks
12 volt DC or 110 volt AC? Is there a thermostatic adjustable control? Have you calculated the current draw? Beautiful job!
Adding to Chucks questions... :) What brand is the floor heat? More than one circuit?
see ya
ken
For the heated floor, I ended up with a 300 Watt / 100 ft length cable that runs off of 110V AC. The brand was HeatTech and the cost was around $250 for the cable and thermostat. There is a programmable thermostat located on the kitchen cabinet facing the front of the coach (behind the grey pillow on the sofa). I tend to keep the floors at 29C or 85F and it takes about 3 hours to saturate the entire surface. The loop runs in front of the sofa, just behind the driver/passenger seats through the kitchen, into the toilet room, around the shower and the bathroom sink area and back up front.
Beautiful job guys and many more years of enjoyment in your coach. Especially like the nailhead/recovered headboard as well - really brings it all together. ^.^d