Hey again.
We passed on the country coach, at least for now. I've been in contact with Jeff Bowser at MOT and the ball is rolling, albeit slowly. I have two separate questions as we continue our hunt for a 99-01 U320.
1) Is thermal checking in the paint a structural issue? Or can it be?
While I understand it can ultimately mean a full respray, can it lead to more significant structural work that makes the rig unusable? Or is it simply a matter of staving it off until you can no longer stand how it looks and you eventually get the coach repainted?
2) How significant are the fiberglass issues in the 02+ rigs?
I understand 02 was when they started glassing the seams between the body and end caps and that this was known to fail. Our budget may allow us to consider 02 and 03 coaches and I don't know if this should scare me off or not. How expensive is this fix if/when it happens?
As always, thanks in advance for the great input
It was HUGE when it hit. It affected pretty much all 2002 and 2003 coaches and was a very costly warranty issue for the company.
That was back in 2003-2008 when all the problem cracking was showing up.
If a coach has not had it by now, or has had it and it was repaired more recent than 2012, it is unlikely to be an issue this late in the game. It was a fairly early life fail, sometimes requiring more than one repair to get it done right, but it has not reared its ugly head on the forum in many years. You might search on "endcap cracking"
If you are looking at coaches in Nac, and you are concerned, your best source of repair cost info on this is Xtreme.
Thanks Michelle. Can you identify when the repair has been done with a visual inspection?
[edited down quote - Michelle]
If you don't see cracks, it was almost assuredly done. 109% of those coaches had the issue
No. In general, the initial repairs needed to be redone as Foretravel went through a learning curve on how to fix them properly (some were filled and cracked again, others they filled simply added a trim strip over). Cracking generally would appear (or reappear on a non-optimal repair) within a couple of years. Eventually they figured out how to do it right, otherwise it would just keep reappearing after a couple of years. If a coach shows no signs of underlying "something" (vertical anomaly) at the endcap/sidewall interface and has no trim strip covering that area, it likely will be a non-issue. I don't know if the added trim strip ended up being a viable long-term solution or not, or if it simply masks the problem)
Early this year, I looked at a checked coach. Craig from Xtreme came to inspect and went to $35,000 in less than 15 minutes.
So be through in your inspection.
Ooof.
This may be a silly question but are coaches without full body paint as susceptible to checking? For example, I believe this one is just gelcoat with decals (please correct me if I'm wrong): 2000 Foretravel U320 4010 | Motorhomes of Texas (https://www.motorhomesoftexas.com/Pre-owned-Inventory-2000-Foretravel-Motorhome-U320-4010-U320-8065323?ref=list)
That one has actually been on my radar for a while and it keeps growing on me....
Thermal checking is not a structural issue. It is a result of outgassing from the fiberglass that will continue throughout the coach's life. There will be less in coaches with just gel coat and decals and more with full body paint-the darker the color, the more risk. You likely won't see it in coaches that have always been garaged, and will be almost guaranteed to see it in coaches that have spent their lives in intense southern sun.