I have read many mixed reviews with FOT factory service, and I myself had mixed experiences over the past decade. I hadn't been back in 2 years relying on a local mechanic, but I was there last week for extensive service, and I'm simply sharing my recent experience.
Called Alan Hall in advance to schedule dates and go over service items. 72 month service for coach, engine, and generator. Flush and refill engine and generator radiators. Inspect/polish brake pistons and install helper spring kit. Roof inspection and seal as required. Entire front end inspection and replace worn items and align as required. Same with belts, hoses, and fuel lines. Replace cracked engine radiator overflow tank, and engine bay door rollers. Correct slide creeping out during long term storage. Recolor a small area of dash discoloration from pervious vinyl repair of scratches over doghouse. Retorque sidewall and floor bolts and inspect bulkheads. Lastly reprogram the master bedroom overhead multiplex switch by the clock which had gone awry.
Scheduling and communication went fine. Reminder and telephone calls while in route from California went well. I arrived a day early, and they were able to bring the coach in the next morning and begin service. They would have 4 days to complete the jobs while I was away on business in Houston I was in Nacogdoches for the first 2 days of service and they had 2 or 3 techs attacking the coach. Most of the faces were familiar to me from past visits. Lots of experience still there. All the techs were approachable, communicative and really sympathetic to my desire to have them keep a sharp eye out for impending issues. They all bought into the project and provided advice and solutions. Brake pistons polished and helper springs installed, radiator overflow replaced along with new hoses, new engine bay door rollers installed, new extend/retract solenoids installed, new bed overhead multiplex switch installed and programmed. They found a grounding cable to the starter motor (replaced elsewhere) to be exposed to exhaust heat. Replaced with a larger cable, rerouted away from exhaust and the exhaust was wrapped where needed. Roof, steering components, belts and hoses were all fine and no service required.
There was a miscommunication on the dash discoloration, and the air dryer filter was replaced despite me asking them in advance to delete that item. They removed those billable items once I called it to their attention despite me telling them that I'd split the cost. Nice touch. They also found a generator engine fuel line leak which was replaced. Overall a 5 star experience. Everything done, tested and worked to my satisfaction. Jumped into the coach and ran 1700 trouble free miles. Prices were in line and they honored our motorcade club discount.
That is the way it should be, correct?
Nice to see positive feedback when things go as planned.
JohnH
That's the same service treatment we have received on our visits. They've always been flexible and though except for the re-upholstery attempt. There way behind in that department.
Retorque the sidewall bolts? I didn't know that was a thing. Please elaborate??
The services I have had performed by FOT this year has been very good. Parts dept has also been very good. James, Alton, Brad, Alan, Zack and techs Ricky, Carlos, Cliff and the crews are easy to interact with. I tend to be soft spoken but I feel everyone assigned to my coach has really worked hard to listen to me and do the work in such a way that makes sense to the both of us. Example: tie-wrapping old hose rubber pieces around aquahot and engine /generator hose lines near metal rub points and letting me know if they happen find something that may need attention when under the coach (i.e. leaky wheel seal). I do not sense they are incentivized with performance based compensation like some of the other guys and pushed to do a quick job. FOT may not be perfect, but they listen and have been reasonable in their billing charges for the work being performed. I respect them all and appreciate the work they do to keep me on the road. I know I pay more than many of you who are mechanically minded and do it "yourselfers" but it works for me.
Retorque the sidewall bolts is a thing alright as I learned this visit. Turns out the tech they put on that job spent years installing the rubber gasketing around all the bay doors in coach production. That was a good thing because he removes all those gaskets to expose rows and rows of sidewall bolt heads along the upper edges of the storage bays. Those were all retorqued to factory specs and then the gaskets were reinstalled. I'm sorry that I didn't ask for the torque values. I'm sure they'd share that information with anyone who asks. As stated so well above I also have so much admiration and respect for the hardworking people at our factory. They really take great pride in their work. One last interesting observation is that when I was tuned into a local radio station I heard an advertisement by MOT saying that they were hiring techs. I spoke to Mel at MOT and he said that they could use 8-12 new hires. Candidates schedule interviews to continue receiving their benefits, but don't show up to the appointments. That same gaming is going on here in California.
Ever notice that when you take your coach in for a problem, that the techs know right away where to go, what to do, and have the proper tools in hand as they approach your coach?
No experimenting for solutions. No need to spend hours ($$$) looking. Their experience and knowledge gained from working on our coaches for years saves the owner of the coach a lot of money.
This is the first time these bolts (and their retorque-ing) have ever been mentioned on this forum (or the Yahoo Archive).
Makes me wonder either
a) what issue reared its ugly head in the last couple of years that at minimum 2002-2005-ish owners need to be aware of, or
b) did they offer to flush n' fill the tires with winter air as well
As Michelle said, that is a new one about sidewall bolts. Interesting that the factory is doing that.
Tightening/checking on those bolts might be related to rust from water leakage under the horizontal trim strip. I suspect those bolts hold the sidewall to the floor.
Jim
2002 U320 42'
My thinking as well.
I did check mine, and 100% were tight. That was at 145,000 miles on our 1993 U240.
Not a bad idea to check them, and should only take a few minutes.
Would appreciate hearing if anyone finds a loose/broken one. And, if so, what caused it/what other symptoms were observed.
Three weeks ago I call FOT to schedule an appointment to replace my windshield, they told me the earliest would be December 13, aprox. 3 months out. I called MOT and going in the 20th of this month to get replaced.
If anyone cares the cost for a new IH45 windshield is +6 coach bucks.
Ouch? anyone cares the cost for a new IH45 windshield is +6 coach bucks.
If it is, they should be more forthcoming as to the reason for it... It reminds me of the dry PTO issue and how close-lipped they were about that.
Ouch for sure. We had a rock impact yesterday. Crack spread across 2/3 windshield in 15 mins. Ugh. We will be making an insurance claim.
Also need warranty work. Waiting on a call from FOT to give them my $ for the warranty transfer. Mid Dec huh, may be going to MOT also.
No question, the dry PTO was close to a 100% failure if either the hydraulic pump splines were not lubed OR a wet kit installed. This was certainly not unique to Foretravel. Lots of Country Coaches experienced the same issue.
Again, not sure checking the floor to wall bolts is really an issue. But, me, sometimes I got bored and found a wrench in my hand. We drove our coach on a LOT of very rough roads (around 50,000 miles in Mexico) and had zero loose or broken.
I've heard the issue was no silicone under the trim strip.
Jim
2002 U320
And I'll add Monaco to that, as one of my Monaco Crown Royale Signatures had one fail.
Subfloor and Sidewall Bolts inspection and torque is part of the Chassis/House Service Interval published by Foretravel. My coach ages out before mileage out so as the years go by I just refer to the "months" column for service. When I got to144 months (12years) I just started over again from the beginning. I did a 72 month service this trip, and added the sidewall and subfloor work as I was waiting until I got back to the factory. I'm probably over servicing my coach, but I've learned from boating that your only choice is to fix things before they break or after they break.