Hi folks,
My wife and I are approaching retirement and like many, we want to explore the country in an RV. We've owned several coaches with the last being a 40ft American Eagle.
A Foretravel has always been the dream but we need something under 40ft, with a king bed. There are many beautiful 38ft Nimbus' out there, but none with a king bed setup that I know of. We also want something with newer technology like "Premier Steer" digital dash, etc. I'm aware there are things in older, or larger coaches that are not in the smaller ones, but to each his own, right? :) And yes, I am also aware this may offend the Foretravel purest, so please accept my humble apologies!
With all the said, if anyone is contemplating selling their IC37 or newer Foretravel that's under 40ft, now or in the next year, I would be very interested in talking.
Thank you in advance, for any help or guidance you can share!
Steve & Judy Burns
I had a chance to speak with an experienced board member yesterday, and got a healthy amount of Fore family, and coach family history. Super helpful and appreciated!
I might have been able to lean toward a U320 if it weren't for the low ceiling height. I'm 6'3 and very close to the ceiling in that model. Since we plan to spend considerable time on the road, that would be a challenge for sure! The high ceilings was one of the things we loved about our American Eagle, but again, a legendary Foretravel has always been the dream! Lastly, since we plan to see as many state parks as possible, a coach under 40ft is critical.
Cheers
By the way, is there a complete list of FT coaches through the years, in order of lineup (lowest to highest/economy to exquisite), through to current day?
Try this list for all things Foretravel! Foretravel Motorhome technical help and information links (https://web.archive.org/web/20171231183207/http://beamalarm.com/foretravel-links/foretravel-technical-help.html)
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Even that link only shows models through 2003. Nothing that I can see after the company changed owners in 05.
Better yet, stay on Foreforums (vs. a commercial site) and use the wiki start [ForeForums Foretravel Motorcoach Wiki] (https://wiki.foreforums.com/doku.php?id=start)
Since this is no longer in Classifieds, I modified the topic title.
2015 is likely the last year you might find a sub-40' on a Foretravel chassis. I don't believe there were any Nimbus coaches built after that. 2020 was the first year of the IC-37, which only lasted 1 or 2 years until the Realm FS450 was introduced and both of those are on a Spartan chassis.
Once the IH-45 came out in 2012, a Nimbus or Phenix was a custom order from the factory. MHSRV took over sales in 2016 and the Nimbus and Phenix were dropped from production, replaced by the original Realm (the first Foretravel coach on a Spartan chassis)
This is super helpful information, and just what I was looking for. Do you have any idea how many IC37's were produced in those two years? Thank you!
If I had to hazard a guess, maybe 10 or 12 total, and that's erring on the high side. The last known production volume numbers were in the 25-30 units per year, total.
(Once MHSRV -> RV One -> Blue Compass took over sales, the numbers are confounded since the coach build number methodology changed and those sales sites, particularly MHSRV, have a practice of having multiple listings for the same unit with different inventory numbers, making it look like they have several times more coaches than they actually do.)
MOT just listed a 2020 IC 37.
2020 Foretravel IC-37 DSWD | Motorhomes of Texas (https://www.motorhomesoftexas.com/Pre-owned-Inventory-2020-Foretravel-Motorhome-IC-37-DSWD-IC-37-14396755?ref=list)
Thanks for the heads up. I've been look/dreaming of that coach but at $419k, it's a little north of my budget.
And to add, IMO, that is the PERFECT coach! Big enough motor, king bed, great quality, small enough to fit into state parks, and the list goes on! It could use a larger Aqua Hot but otherwise, The Perfect Coach!. In my opinion :)
A king bed in a non-slide coach is doable- but very little room to get around it
Gather 'round and let me tell you a story...
Back in 2004 when we bought our Foretravel, we had a certain price-point we were trying to stick with, which had us looking at 2000-2001. We spent several hours in Nac, first at MOT then at FOT (back when they had consignments). None of the ones in our price range were right, and having seen the new ones in person at the old Denton FT factory store we realized we'd have to wait until the 2002-2003 models dropped in price.
As we were leaving MOT (and Nac) for the day, David Robertson came running to catch us - a 2003 coach had just arrived to be consigned. It was much more than we wanted to spend, but we drove it anyway (me first). It ticked every box and then some.
1 week later (after much discussion at home) we opened our budget and bought that coach. We had it for 13 years and never once regretted spending what we did.
I don't know your situation, but just wanted to say that if it's truly a great match and you're close enough, do go see the IC-37.
Michelle (helping spend other people's money :)) )
I'm with you, Michelle, and agree wholeheartedly! However, when your dream coach is $170k above the budget line, that's a whole other story! $40k, $50, heck even up to $100k might be doable. Not $170k, sadly!. But, I get it and agree!
Thanks for the input!
I can relate to what Michelle said. When we were looking to get a coach with a slide out. We figured about a 2001 would top out our budget. We went to Foretravel and MOT and checked out all the coaches. When we saw the 2003 and took it for a test drive we fell in love with it. We also figured out a way to make the deal work. Had to do some stretching, but never was sorry for getting it.
Strongly consider an early 2000's U320 36' unit and youd likely have room in the budget for a complete interior remodel. Looking at the inside of that 2020, it looks nearly identical to the earlier Foretravels if they had some modern style updates.
I too am 6'3", and lived in my 2000 U320 for almost 3 years. The dropped ceiling height was annoying but not $100k+ annoying. If i had boots on, i would have to be cognizant of the bathroom hanging slider tracks. The dropped ceiling could be removed with some remodel work and AC unit re-figuring.
I have 20k travel miles on mine, and i dont want or need any fancier controls at the helm. Smart wheel and analog gauges do just fine. I do want to upgrade to a silverleaf display, just hasnt made it to the NEED list yet. These coaches drive so well for their size and length (mine is 40'). 90% of my miles have been with a 10k enclosed trailer hauling my sand car behind the coach. Tows like a dream.
Of all my friends with newer coaches, the only ones that have ever been stranded were due to emissions issues. No emissions BS on the pre '07 coaches. Maintenance and repairs are a breeze with the engine directly under the bed giving full direct access. As mentioned, a king size bed CAN fit in a no bedroom slide coach, you just lose access to one side of the bed. What you lose in side access you gain in underbed storage.