Never even heard of a Foretravel until a few weeks ago when I answered an ad for a 40 foot diesel pusher. Turns out its 38 feet long and has been sitting for 15 yrs. I agreed to buy it and have it gone in two weeks.
Some coolant plumbing, antifreeze, fuel filter, a battery, some makeshift tail lights and a couple of air brake hoses, it made it the 100 km home without any surprises.
Now to clean it up and give it a purpose again.
Great and Welcome!!!
Add a signature to your profile and put your year, model and engine in your signature (also your approximate location if you like) - then when you ask a question all that info is already in your post.
Save another beauty -
KM?? not miles? Canada or?
Wellcome to the forum. As someone just restored a 91 grand villa last year, I can guarantee you that this forum is the best place for Fortravel. With the help from the members here, you should be able to find the answer for all your questions.
As a recent buyer of a vintage FT I say welcome! This has clearly been the site of all sites for FT related knowledge and hospitality. Please post more pics and share your adventure!
Yes, I am about 40 miles north of Minnesota border. Coach has about 160k miles on it.
Cleaning up fairly well considering the environment it's been left out in over the last 15 years. I know who the two PO's are, but am curious as to other owners.
It has motorcade numbers still in place. I'm considering leaving them in place as they add to the overall "patina" of the coach. That and they are extremely well adhered!
I'm not likely to be joining any organizations, but if anyone has any information, I'd like to know.
Motorcade #2293
Starting to look good. Keep photos coming as you progress.
Pierce
After about 12 hours of pressure washing and scrubbing.
Now go around and check the tightness of every screw on the outside.
Welcome to the Forum! We always like to hear from new GV owners. Wish you every success in the restoration project.
Those tail light units are hard to find. Post below has some info on what to look for:
Tail lights 1994 Grand villa U280 (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=41050.msg408157#msg408157)
Welcome to the forum. I also have an 89. Howard feed n wax is highly recommended for your woodwork. Available at most home improvement stores
We have a fully resorted 86 GV... we are in Grand Marais MN... sounds like not far from you... are you Thunder Bay ?
Also. I think the taillights were from an Isuzu car.. but they are mounted upside and opposite ... meaning the right taillight assembly on the Isuzu is used as the left side GV upside down..
Motorcade #2293 is a very early member number. The current club registry only lists 14 of the early 4-digit numbers. 2293 is not on the current list. It probably belonged to the original purchasers of the coach.
Motorcade Club numbers are supposedly only issued one time. They belong to the "person" to whom they are issued - not to the coach. I guess the club would say that the numbers must be removed when the coach is sold, but in real life this often does not happen. It's your coach now, so you can do whatever you wish about the old numbers.
Recently issued club numbers are in the mid 18000's. They have been assigned more or less sequentially over the years, so you get a rough idea of how much time has passed since 2293 was issued.
If you are not interested in going on the club organized group tours (Motorcades), which
in my opinion are rather pricey, then the only practical reason to join the club is to get the 10% discount on parts purchased from the factory. Check out the page below for more info in case you are curious:
FORETRAVEL (https://www.foretravel.com/motorcade-club)
If your taillights are in good shape but just don't light up, you can rebuild the "guts" from the corroded printed circuit to hard wired and more durable units.
I struggled with trying to keep my taillights working but finally gave up and converted them.
I have changed three sets for others. I can post the wiring schematic if you desire to do them yourself. It is relatively simple but labor intensive. You will have to order sockets, rivets, backing washers, wire, solder, and last but not least: SHOE GOO!!
Nitehawk,
Look at the photos he posted earlier. His light units are NOT in good shape.
Oops, didn't catch that.
But they might be just cosmetic on the outside.
If not, then he might want to upgrade what ever he does find. Seems like a capable individual and I thought it likely he could do the upgrade himself, with a little knowledge I can pass on from my experience.
Yeah, the tail lights are beyond repairing I'm afraid. Generic square boxes were installed over the original. I added the temporary ones to get it home.
Thinking of aluminium inserts and 4" led so that replacements will be easier.
If the inside holder for the green printed circuit "board" is still good, hold on to it.
I might be interested in restoring it for other GV owners that might want to upgrade.
Wow! 12 hours of pressure washing should show you where any leaks are.
Yes it did. One air conditioner was loose and a bit skewed. Removed it, cleaned and straightened it and seems all watertight now.
Moss and lichens mostly all removed..
Number is actually 2239. Not that it will make much difference. I do know it was in Minneapolis area in mid 90's.
The couple were from Mounds View, MN.
Pamela & Mike
Moved mouse habitats out and smells much better already.
$45 Ozone generator will get rid of all smells. Set for 30 minutes and let the coach stay sealed up for a couple of hours. Repeat until perfect. Gets rid of foul smokers odor, the worst of all odors.
Pierce
Couple Interior shots
I've been thinking about getting one of those.
Thanks
Looks nice in there! That's a helluva mouse nest in there!! If they were that bad there I'm sure you will find many more. Mouse is the worst stink, well right after cats!
It's looking really nice now and well on the way. I've got one of those 12v fans close to the driver's window but have never installed it. How do you like it.
Pierce
That should be the last one. Had to remove trash compactor to get it all out. Under the couch was not so bad. The one in the dash required a few specialized tools and vacuum attachments to get rid of. A couple chewed wires, but they will be an easy fix.
The fans are almost a must in a vintage cab. I have the same ones in my crane and use them often to clear the windshield and get the air moving. Dash air conditioning will be low on the priority list, but is in the plan.
Based on Forum reported experiences with rodents (mine and others), you can expect to discover additional "mysterious" electrical problems as you explore your coach. Hopefully, all easy to fix. Good Luck!
RAT - My First (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=29054)
I had dash fans in my Monaco Dynasty which I used both summer and winter.
Summer I faced them toward us for cooling and the winter I used them to keep
the windshield clean. I haven't had any trouble keeping the Foretravel windshield
clean.
I wonder if those fans were standard equipment in OREDs, seems like they're in the 80s models.
Ours came out of a 1978 Southwind.
P
I've got an extra set of lenses. They came off a 1985 Isuzu Impulse. It took a series of calls to salvage yards all over the place. Reach out if you need help finding some.
Nice find, welcome to foreforums.
Thank you. Makes it a lot easier to do with the wealth of knowledge on this site!
Well thank you very much h for the offer to help. The bases are in far worse shape than the lenses, and the lenses are bad. If I can salvage any of it on removal, I'll donate it.
Couple pics
If you are good at glass work, Mercedes has a many models with wrap around tail ights. Mostly plastic and super cheap at places like Pick-n-Pull. 190D,E or 123 bodies like 300D would be good to look at. Even brand new, the 123 body 240D/300D complete taillight assembly is less than $30. Sell Mercedes W123, 300d, 240d Rear RIGHT Passenger side tail light lamp... (http://www.2040-parts.com/mercedes-w123-300d-240d-rear-right-passenger-side-tail-light-lamp-assembly--i1052513/). The Bosch female (body to taillight) connectors are excellent silver plated and can be unsoldered to bring in wires for a neat connection.
Pierce
We recently purchased an '89 Foretravel Grand Villa as well! As you are, we are working on restoring it, which is equal parts overwhelming and exciting! Best of luck!
The inside of my tail lights were all UV effected and were beyond redemption,
They fell to bits in my hand,
So I installed a set of square led Tail lights of Ebay, Very cheap,
I just painted over the old lights with black paint,
Here in Australia, If there there, They have to work,
Parts for these coachs just dont exist in Australia,
I also have a 89 ORED, But the inside is very different to yours,
Double post, Deleted
Indoor parking, first time in 2 decades.
Common 4" truck tail lights now
Congratulations on getting the old girl under cover! I really like your "Quonset Hut". Is that a SteelMaster building?
And, those tail lights look pretty darn good to me. Good job getting them mounted in the original openings. ^.^d