I'm having a terrible time getting an appointment to have the nose delamination repaired on my coach at FOT so I can have the windshields replaced. Has anyone on this forum had good results with some other shop for nose delamination repair and windshield replacement? It's possible I'll be going to Crater Lake national park next, but the shop doesn't have to be near there. I'd consider going to MOT or some other shop that can handle this job. I wanted to get this done next month if possible. If not I'll have to go another six months with two busted windshields... (sigh)
Scott.
Is the problem that the nose cap has delaminated from the sidewall where it overlaps or something else ?
I don't have a shop specifically for you. We had the overlap delamination problem and I repaired it myself. Some gorilla glue and blocking it against the house is the short story. Has held up beautifully. I need to address the other side also but to a much lesser degree.
You might contact Oregon Motor Coach in Eugene Oregon. They are an authorized Foretravel repair facility and many other forum members have had work done there.
Anybody added cross bracing to help to prevent the movement?
My first choice would be Extreme in Nac,.
Also you might try Wescraft RV Repair, in Fife, WA. (they are behind the Loves T/S) 253.926.3443
good luck, but the snow may stay on the ground@Crater till Sept. LOL!
Xtreme in Nac is where you need to go. See if they can fit you in.
Okay, I'll find phone numbers for these places and see if they can do this work, thanks.
Foretravel told me they won't replace the windshields until after the nose delamination is repaired because the windshields will probably pop out. The delamination is mostly on the driver's side of the nose, on the side, not the front. There's some delamination on the driver's side of the tail also but it's not affecting anything and Foretravel said as long as it's not leaking there's no need to repair it. It's not leaking. The passenger's side of the nose hasn't delaminated yet, or at least not enough that Foretravel could detect it when I was there.
I think I saw some of the older GV, I do not know the year, with a grab handle on the nose. I was told it was due to delimitation and that it prevented the windows from popping out after they were fixed and helped hold the nose together.
I have also seen that subject discussed here, but it doesn't apply to our '93 U280. The grab handles on our coach are mounted in holes drilled in the fiberglass, but well below the plywood nose reinforcement. My handles had little square pieces of wood under the nuts on the mounting bolts - I suppose to spread out the load a bit. The wood pieces were disintegrating, so I removed them and replaced with large steel fender washers held in place by 2-part epoxy. Since I hang on to the handles when cleaning the windshield, I want them to be strongly attached!
Chuck.
I went a little bit different route with the grab handles on our coach.
I removed the small original small pieces of plywood that was there and replaced it with much larger pieces that reach from the windshield wiper motor backing all the way over to the center "V" of the nose. Attached them with 5100 caulk ( hope I never have to remove those suckers) and also added a 1" metal bar the full length and screwed it from the back side.
Some of the pics are from the addition of a plywood overlay I did under the dash also. You know Foretravel originally wrapped the dash material over the edge of the dash plywood.
So the part of the plywood dash that is glued to the front cap is compromised by the dash material being there. When I removed the original sealant, it was big glob of sealant with dash vinyl attached to it. Would have been much harder to do without the removable nose like ours.
Used to shake going over RR tracks Now, not so much
Also undercoated the s____ out of it.
I repaired ours myself..dirty job, not difficult but time consuming. Used West System 6 10.
Photos below
More photos....
sorry they flipped for some reason....
Oregon Motor Coach would be the closest. There are several shops in the Eugene/Johnson City area. Lot of ex Country Coach & Monaco workers there. OMC works on all of those and they also honor the Motorcade discount.
see ya
ken
Cool extendable prop rod thingies...what are they called? Source?
Chuck....They are "Reese ratcheting cargo bar #1390600" Walmart has them for $21.00.
Hans
I called Extreme but they don't want to do the job. They told me to have Foretravel do the repair because they're the only ones who have the template needed for the repair to support the windshield correctly. I don't pretend to understand but they seemed to know exactly what they couldn't do.
Yes, they are very reputable folks. Also Very busy.
"Template needed for the repair to support the windshield ".
Now there's a repair / modification that I had not heard of. I wonder which GVs it pertains to, if not all of them. Scott could you post some before and after pics so we get what they are doing. I've not had any windshield or major delam issues yet. Only what I would call minor stuff. But. I am VERY interested in this upgrade, if applicable to ours.
I often think about the " water spray onto the CAC / radiator for cooling" upgrade that you did. Thanks for that idea.
Two quick observations, based on this year's experience. The "phone screener" at Xtreme is a kindly blocker of the masses. I have been somewhat surprised when we pulled in and James & Gregg didn't know we were coming. Kirsten can keep your concern to herself if she doesn't get it, I feel. I love these guys and I think the interface can get real cloudy. I went to FT with the last project. And, yes, Xtreme's busier than a...(you pick yer favorite cliche.) Very busy and reputable.
FT Factory has been doing a lot of nose/front end jobs on GVs everytime we stopped by lately. Four times since July, two GVs in the bays last week. They must be getting good at the "fix" with this amount of practice.
James at Xtreme attempted to grow his workforce to accept more business but was not able to find folks (for whatever reason) that consistently produced the quality of work he demands. So he scaled back to his core staff. He picked up a contract to refurbish ambulance bodies, which is steady work (I was told they would like to increase the number he does but he is not interested at this time), and he does a large business in collision repair. Additionally, he is authorized by Prevost factory to paint their repaired coaches.
James does a lot fewer Full Body Paint jobs as a result. Unfortunately, he has had significant pain issues with his back over the last couple of years.
If calling in, talk to Greg if James is not available, but best to plan 4-6 months out when scheduling Xtreme.
Yup, made our appt in Jan for a May work order.. busy busy place
I noticed that the grown up area South of their shop has been surveyed
and wondered if they were going to buy that for expansion?
Carter-
Thanks for all the piccys of the nose repair work, It makes it easier for me knowing whats in there,
I have to do all this work myself, No one here will even look at it,
I have removed all the steel stiffeners in the front of my coach, and replacing them with beefier steel angles, 2 x 2 x 1/4 inch angle,
They will all be welded into place, Coming off the big angle that goes across the coach on top of the Chassis,
It will be cross braced and diagonal stiffeners welded in, No Glue any where, This is a permanent fix,
The top cross member will be just under the dash top,
I am still toying with the idea of a stainless steel plate on the outside thru the fibreglass and fixed to the steel stiffeners under the dash, That will lock the whole lot in place, It cant move then, It will be rock solid,
I am also toying with the idea of getting a perspex window formed for the curves on each end, and cutting the windscreens where they are flat and putting a bar in bolted to the Fibreglass, top and bottom,
I can buy a flat windscreen here to replace any that I might break or crack in future,
Piccys to come later,
When I called Extreme I got to talk to the owner, and he's the one who told me to have Foretravel do the repair. I didn't have any trouble getting through to the owner. He was on the phone in less than a minute and discussed it thoroughly with me before telling me that Foretravel should do the repair. That's fine with me. I'm glad he was honest.
The nose delamination repair isn't an upgrade, it's a repair. It'll eventually delaminate again years from now. Foretravel told me it's because the coach is being driven a lot. Based on the Foretravels I've met all across the country I'd say the older coaches are getting driven a lot and therefore getting delamination repairs often. The repair is time consuming but much less expensive than the windshield replacements. Obviously the coaches that get driven a lot need more windshield repairs too.
Wow, you pay money for a repair, and get a band-aid. Got to be a better way to add some bracing or reinforcement. Why is it twisting so much forward of the front axle. Monocoque is not working very at load points?
Scott
The template your speaking of must be of the 3/4 dash plywood. As Brett mentioned, I wouldn't take that out and replace it unless it's rotten. It's structural to the firewall and front of the coach. I love our foretravel but the original connection of the dash to the font of the coach was destin to fail the way it was done. The dash vinyl was lapped over the plywood and the nose of the coach was glued to the vinyl and a small ribbon of plywood. Bad idea. It held up for years until it may have gotten damp (not waterproof glue) or been stressed. So much great design and craftsmanship in these coaches, but that was a screwup.
What I've done is build a piece of plywood ( 3 piece ) to underlay the existing dash. Scraped all the insulating foam off from the front of the coach to the defroster ducts. They are fragile so I didn't mess with them. Glued with 5100 and screwed to the existing dash. That formed one part of the solution. The other part was to remove the grab handle plywood backing and replace them with a much larger piece of plywood reaching from the V of the nose all the way over to the wiper motor backing. I wanted the wiper motor backing to be separate from the repair. Then the dash underlay and the larger grab handle backing was connected with 5 large corner braces re bent to about 30 degrees. ( I think that was the angle, did this last July ). May have over caulked the process but wanted plenty on there, and then undercoated everything with black undercoat. It does flex a trace, but it sure ain't loose anymore. I can tell the there's flex because couple small areas where the undercoat ( overtop of white 5100 ) has hairline cracks. And that's ok because it's fiberglass and wood. I don't think rock hard would be good. Used to be able to push down on the dash, not now.
I'll add that our GV has the removable front, prolly made the job a lot easier. Sorry if this is too wordy but take a good look at what the problem is. Especially if your going to pay someone to fix it and they are telling you it's temporary. I believe there is a permant fix.
That comment you mention from FT does not sit well with me!!
So, if you have an older GV it was not made to drive much but sit at your home and look at??? Wow, if I owned one I would sure be upset at their statement as the reason most like these coach's is because of their longevity (or so we thought) of life.
Boggles the mind to say the least, and anyone thinking of buying one may now have second thoughts, or at least a valid reason to offer low as the factory is stating they are not meant to be driven!!
JohnH
John.
I had to do a double take also but if you own one, you know different.
Can't help the people who are shopping for one other than to say, do your homework and the conclusion should be obvious.
Just drove ours 250 m today from Tucson to Yuma. What a cruiser !!
Yeah, I know I'm always shocked to find that motor vehicles wear out when you drive them a lot. It's safer not to buy a motor vehicle.
Hahahaha, A continually well used one is better value for money than a vehicle that has sat around for years,
A little old granny drove it to church once a fortnight, Good buy, No it isnt, The first hard drive and it will disintegrate, oil seals will be shot for a start, Ive seen that happen,.
EX Taxi is a good buy, It will rattle, but it will last you,