Foretravel Owners' Forum

What year/model Ford headlights do I have?
1989 GV

Try 1987 Ford F150.

Headlights (http://www.beamalarm.com/Documents/headlights.html)

I just changed my lights and I got them through Amazon by typing in Ford bronco and bought 2 sets of light.

My 2001 U320 has the small round headlights, was that an option in 2001 or were my headlights updated at some point?

Steve

Your's has had a headlight upgrade... surprising that this fact wasn't touted by the seller as it is not all that cheap to have done and considered by most to be a very desirable upgrade. It would be good info for you if you can find out where it was done as each of the major purveyors of said upgrade have different approaches, even though the end result looks similar at firs glance. I believe that Xtreme was the first to offer this upgrade, but stories differ... Both Xtreme and FOT do a "looks like it was done at the factory when new" quality work.
Don

It is a very well done conversion as I had no idea it wasn't original.

The coach was purchased in 2010 at MOT by another resident of this area and traded off on a new (under warranty) Newmar.
The Newmar dealership here knew what a Foretravel was had never sold one before.

The only upgrades I noticed was the flat screen LCD televisions and the removal of the Racor fuel filter. (Filter since replaced with a new one.).

What was the cost for the headlight upgrade.

Steve

"What was the cost for the headlight upgrade?"

About $3500!  I am happy out PO had it done to our's.

I have MOT have the upgrade done before I purchased mine almost 10 years ago now.

UH, how does any of this relate to my 1989 Ford headlights?
Have we kind of gone off on a tangent?

Sorry for the hijack....

Steve

     What I've learned here is:  Don't drive at night and save $3500 !!  Have a great day  ----  Fritz

Steve, I wasn't singling out anyone for hijacking. I have been guilty more than once of doing just that but I have been trying to stay on subject. Sometimes with VERY little success I must admit. But I think we all must strive to stay on subject. Sometimes it is just too easy to thro a few lines in rather than start a new post.

Hello all,

I just picked up a 1995 320 and have been doing a few upgrades, one of which is new headlights. I attempted to load the pictures to no avail, however, anyone interested in seeing a little different approach, I will email the pictures to you. Remember to leave an email for me, my email  is cubesphere@me.com. The cost was close to 1,500.00 and a friend fabricated the pieces. Daniel Stern designed the wiring as well as the type of lights used for maximum performance, they work fantastic thanks to John and Dan.

rob

Rob,
 
Welcome to the best forum in the universe!
 
Attaching pictures is quite simple, although I imagine it was even intimidating to me when I was a newbie.
 
If you click on the forum tag near the top of your screen, it lists the forums for this site. About seven down is the one called Forum Instruction Manual, which is very helpful in explaining things like that.
 
I am sure many (if not most) of us want to see your pictures. If it is still a mystery to you after looking at the Forum Instruction Manual, just email them to me and I will post them to the forum for you.
 
eyler@cox.net (eyler@cox.net)
 
Again welcome to heaven; glad you found us!
 
Trent

Pics, pics, pics, we love them!  With our Macs that have I-Photo, we load the pics from the camera, assign a jpg #. Then, on this forum, post a message, hit "preview" which will give you prompts to post pics. You'll see "add files by dragging & dropping or selecting them". I use "selecting them" which brings up my files, and I enter the pic, wait for the jpg to load to 100%  and click "post", like this:

Hello and thank you for the responses! I will attempt again. I will post one and if successful, more to follow.

rob

Mac is theeee best.

Hello all,

Here are stages of my upgrade.

The rest is his-story!

This one with the lights on did not load.

so was the upgrade worth it?  8) Ric

Ric,

For me, yes as the only driver, night driving no issues at all! I could have just had Foretravel do the upgrade, however, upon further research, this lighting far outperforms lights at a greater height. With that said, the setup, lights, wiring direct off the power and running the light switch to open relays only etc.... takes a little more forethought and therefore time, worth it to me anyway. I love driving at night, roads are clear and seems to more peaceful to me. The stock lighting or more to the point, lack of said lighting was horrifying. My friend John and Daniel made it happen, so bottom line is I could have had this upgrade done by an outside party for 2,000-2,500, which is still a 1,000 less than others minus the travel with better overall lighting, its a great deal in my book so thats why I'm sharing the idea like many here.

rob

What vehicle headlights are those? Were they HID's or is a kit added?

 Hello craneman,

I used Halogens, houses and bulbs around 450.00 plus relays, fuses, etc...

From Daniel Stern, lighting consultant,

_HID headlamps:_
There are no legitimate HID headlamps to fit (just headlite-shaped toys/junk).

"HID kits" in halogen-bulb headlamps (any kit, any headlamp,
any vehicle) do not work safely or effectively, which is why
they are illegal whether you buy the lamps and the kit together in one go or separately.

I just got off a tower, 500ft, Hilton Hotel.

rob

The kits are not DOT legal but as far as reliability I have the same 1987 Ford Bronco headlights on my 1996 Monaco Signature and the kits are 3 years old with no problems. uses relays and large gauge 12 volt wire to the relays.
 I only need better night light and if the Halogens are bright enough I will stay legal on the Foretravel.
Do you have the part number for the bulbs you put in from Daniel Stern's?

Nitehawk, I replaced headlights on a 1997 SOB coach with aftermarket Ford replacement headlights. The improvement was significant because of new, clear lenses. I replaced OEM headlights on our 2002 Subaru towed vehicle, and have been pleased with the upgrade to new, clear lenses with an excellent distribution of light.

For the FT, I consulted Daniel Stern and asked about the best LED headlights available. I bought 7" round headlights made in the USA by J W Speaker. Xtreme P&G modified the front of our coach and installed the headlights. The headlights are among the best DOT compliant headlights I've ever seen. Although I still prefer not to drive at night, the LED headlights provide excellent coverage. On our coach, the lights are high enough to illuminate the road, while the carefully crafted lighting pattern does not blind other drivers.

Craneman,

I believe this is it, Osram 70/65w bulbs. I used Cibie, with a peter built type housing, I will have to look at my list when I get back home. JW speaker are very good lights, better than what I used, light output is very close which is why I couldn't justify the cost difference. You will have no issues seeing at night with either of these lights.

rob

If I did more night driving, I'd do what all of you are doing! The headlights in ours are crummy and the " aux driving lights" are worthless. What, no one drives at night in Texas?  ???

Doesn't the original wiring use relays to run the headlights?

I believe the outboard units (low/high beams) operate directly off the headlight (and dimmer) switch, while the inboard units (high beam only) operate through a relay.

Hi David,

Here is a short list, however, I was able to find a whole unit from a truck parts source, all my paperwork is at my friends shop right now. I did replace all the internals with what Daniel recommended in lights, wiring, etc..... and the result is amazing. I also wired the lights to come on with the key in only, my preference. I have the ability to use daytime running lights if I want to, this requires some modification to the wiring on the small bulbs as they hit the housing in stock form. I hope this helps/

rob

A Mount bucket, right
A Mount bucket, left
A Retainer ring, left + right (need two)
 Mount bearing, left + right (need four)
AA Spring, left + right (need two)
AC Adjust screw assembly, left + right (need two)
-AA Adjust screw assembly, left + right (need two)

Those are mount/aim buckets to hold a standard 200mm x 142mm
rectangular headlamp. I

_Halogen headlamps:_

Put in a set of Cibie replaceable-bulb headlamp units,
$79/ea. All of the
reputable-brand 200mm x 142mm headlamps presently available
(Cibie,
Bosch, Hella) are well made of good quality materials, but
the Cibies are the most efficient, best focused, highest
performing units of their type -- more detail on request.
There's a great deal of junk on the market, too. Delta,
Roundeyes, Adjure, Eagle Eye, Eaglite, Maxtel, Eurolite, and
dozens of other off-brand units mostly from China. Avoid all
of it.

_Wiring and bulbs:_

You will definitely want to put in headlamp relays to fix
the voltage drop caused by the long runs of thin wire, and
to adapt the new headlamps. This can be achieved with a relay(see Daniel Stern)