Hello All,
My lovely Bride and I are considering a test drive in the 99 320 non slide at MOT during our upcoming visit for service work.
Financing through our Credit Union is non issue as we paid our current Coach off in little over a year. What is nagging at us is trading a paid for beautiful unit for another payment :-[ I am becoming increasingly aware of entire systems on our current 280 that are essentially obsolete such as throttle control and hydraulic system to name a few.Maybe these items aren't as problematic as I have been lead to believe? The obvious advantages of Aqua Hot and HD4060 Allison coupled with the lower stressed M11 are weighing heavily not to mention double glass windows and overall drive ability.
Wanted to know if anyone else had made this leap only to regret it later or if it is absolutely worth the jump up for cold weather boondocking ,towing etc. As always any input is very much appreciated!
Thank you,Tom
We jumped from a 1990 U280 to a 96' U320. There are obsolete parts on both coaches. Foretravel seems to have a better stock of parts for the U280 than for the U320. The U280 gets better fuel mileage, but has less power for hills. Both are fine coaches. We went to the U320 for additional space and are enjoying it, but we still have the old U280 and use it regularly also. Hard choice.
The bus style front ends visibility is impressive.
Minus is the front door.
No comparison in the driving.
Tom,
That's the question most owners go through at one time or another. You'll do what your heart and wallet allows. The 1995 U280 is a fine coach as you know but lacks the ducted A/C, dual pane windows, Aqua Hot (if you really need that much hot water and coach heat) and many other features that actually add more to the coach maintenance (if that is of any concern). Then there is the excitement of having something new and the learning process associated with such.
I am pragmatic so I would figure out the needed cash to upgrade and then compare the U320 to the U280 with full body paint, all new leather seats, double pane windows, new roof A/C's and other nice upgrades which could make the U280 an enviable coach.
Huge upgrade in drive ability and maintainability But still a 15 year old coach, will need maintenance, maybe upgrades.
Probably cheaper to keep what you have but will that satisfy you? Innocent shopping can be very costly.😀
Thank You all very much. This is clear as mud! We both work full time and money isn't exactly in abundance any given month. It has always been my intent to situate us for long term if not full timing on short notice. Spending 6 weeks in the coach last winter drove home all I had read about propane vs Aqua hot system. Propane is ridiculously high here in Nashville. To me the front entry seems to free up more space in the living room and the three sofa/ love seats create more options for guest lodging( on those rare occasions ) This may all be mute depending on how reasonable they are on our trade value.
Our 1999 40ft U320 is for sale.
See photos here:
http://www. LazyDazers.com
Our FT will be at Xtreme by June 29.
More details here:
Price Reduced K to K - 1999 40ft U320 no Slide - Many Unusual Amrnities (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=24764.0)
best, paul
We loved the simplicity of the U280. The propane furnaces work great and are simple. The propane is expensive, but we had strip heat in the AC's as well. The single pane windows never have seal creepage, and you don't have the constant maintenance and complexity of the Aquahot.
Our 320 does have Aquahot, dual pane windows and no propane furnaces. It's all a trade off of what you want. The 320 definitely drives better, and like you, we like the front entrance better than the mid entry. Bottom line, we like them both!
I have been offered a straight across trade of a 2000, U320 for our 1993, U300. No Way!! The 320 has many more complicated systems that by watching the Forum have many more problems than my 93, U300. I am at an age that focuses on simplicity and stress reduction. My U300 has had many upgrades including dual pane windows in 2009 and in my opinion is equal to or superior to a 2009 Foretravel with the exception of ducted A/C and slides. We have no need for slides. I would like the ducted air.
I have yet to find any parts or systems that are unavailable for my 93, I suggest you consider investing in your wonderful U280 to be your ideal motorhome. You may not get your investment back on resale but if you keep it and enjoy it for a number of years your investment will pay off, IMHO better than an upgrade to the U320.
Spent two hrs trying to find a local parts house that carried the airtex lift pump for my 10kw power tech. Finally gave up and called MOT. They said any parts we'll need are in stock. Guess I'll let them troubleshoot and swap parts. I do love our coach. The all wood walls. Over 9 miles per gallon at 65mph, and just plain groovy lines! We are aware that any RV including an old Ford e350 class C is going to have on going repair/ replace items. Guess I would like to know the many thousands we spend aren't on a coach we won't ultimately be able to full time in optimally if and when the time comes.
Profoundly grateful for all the sincere feedback from you All. This Forum makes owning such an awesome machine as these feasible for a working man like myself.
Tom, Power Tech has a pretty good website with a parts section and very helpful people also.
I just ordered some insulation for my generator box from them.
What are you going to use for insulation Richard? And how many sq. feet did you allow to finish the job?
Don
Paul, let am sending you a PM.
Apparently our 280 is of little value as a trade . Sales manager explained that mechanical,interior and even excellent exterior still couldn't bring value anywhere near where we would have to be to justify a deal at present. Think we,ll remove the worn decals and polish her up for another year or two.
On a positive note the service department here at MOT have been great to work with and we should be driving home in a beautiful (to us) fully functional Coach!
Thanks again for all the feed back!
Trade nothing in but money.
We truly understand the downside to trading in, had not expected to be hi at half the private seller value. Trades do offset taxes on new vehicle price and it's just plain easier than having to sell the vehicle your self. But alas. Make the exterior more presentable then see about selling next year or the year after. Front bulkhead should be good as new and from I see 280's selling for on and off the forum we will be able to easily swing the 320 we want with another $40 k more or less
Don, I'm going to use the insulation for the quiet box for the generator. Not doing all the walls as they are in good shape. Just one side. One full sheet is 3'X4' @$279.00 . I got a half sheet. The guy I talked to said it was the same material used for our coaches. Hope so.
Don, et al, here's an update on the insulation.
45"X 56"X 1" is a half sheet @ $139.50 plus $20.00 for shipping. Looks like it is enough to do most everything if I so choose. I really don't want to pull the generator out so I'll do the DS and front, which are the sides that are bad anyway.