I had never heard of Foretravel prior to the beginning searching of a coach that would work for me.
1 I required a minimum 10k towing capacity
2 engine dependability for its service life
3 Transmission dependability for its service life
4 Drivability in areas I go
5 Brakes. Both regular and dynamic.
6. Cost. IE what I could afford
I started out looking at Monaco's mainly because of there outboard air bag suspension. Looked at several and somewhere somehow started investigating Foretravels. All wheel disc brakes and staying post 1999 10k towing was available. This forum was discovered and the hook was set. Looked for over a year and decided the 270 and 295 although great coaches spooked me because of the engine transmission problems.
CAPS fuel system failures were common with many write ups about them.
Retarder issues on many of the 3060 transmissions over the years also.
The ISMs are big and fat, causing the rear axles weight to be near max capacity but with a tag may be a non issue? Being 10.8L get less fuel economy, A lot of ISM/4060 Combinations were put in city buses and trash trucks. They were drove like city buses and trash trucks will few issues fully loaded for their entire life by people who didnt care.
I wouldnt sell a 270 or 295 because of their issues but am glad I ended up with a function over form U320 even with its weight issues and economy deficit. But the forum brings it all together
All great points DSD.
Beyond the mechanical issues of engine/transmission models. I believe that most of the modern problems of coaches are the direct result of non-mechanically inclined folks with deep pockets. By that I mean that a high end buyer that doesn't understand maint. doesn't want to see any internal workings of any kind. And so the builders have over the years buried them deeper and deeper in smaller nearly impossible to access dark places. There are things in my coach that one would have to have the arm length of Wilt Chamberlain just has long as they were as thin as Karen Carpenters to access. Or a sawzall.
Of course the con of ease of maint is smaller storage. But we already carry around too much needless stuff, but bring it because it will fit somewhere in the coach.
The first world problems we RV'rs have :))
Im glad I did my due diligence before buying and regretting a known issue. The initial coach purchase is a lot let alone to have a BIG repair cost down the road
After my first 3 gas coaches starting in 1983 I wanted to go to a diesel pusher. Bought a Flexible bus in Portland Or. in 1990 and started to convert it. In 1994 in a local paper there was an ad for a 40' diesel pusher for 31K. That was over our budget by quite a bit at that time. My dad went with me to look at it as he had been a truck driver all his life. Long story short my parents lent me 26K for the '81 FTX and it was the first time I learned about Foretravels It came with a built in filing cabinet with all the paper work since new including the purchase contract. We used it for 18 years without any drive train issues and one suspension issue I repaired myself. We bought a 1996 Monaco in 2012 to get a better ride. After 3 years of working on it I went looking for another Foretravel. I wish I had know about the Forum before the purchase of one but got lucky with the one we have now as it dodged all the issues Scott researched. When I bought the coach I didn't even know there were different models and powertrains. The U320 still would have been my choice had I known.
I was looking for a 270 or 295 when I started looking I wasn't worried about HP out of the 8.3 (350hp) being off the farm if something didn't give you enough "unp" you just turned it up until you got what you needed. Then I talked to the local Allison dealer and he gave me some brochures that said the 3060 was rated for 365 input horsepower, so that would limit my turning
the engine up. So that left me with the 320 as only option. 450 hp with a 4060. Later I started seeing new coaches with 3060
allisons that were rated at 450 Hp. So I revisited my local Allison dealer--he laughed and told me that yes the 3060 would handle
the 450 hp in a motorhome that weighed about 40000lbs. He told me "if you put that combination in a 80K trash truck the 3060 might last 2 weeks". We purchased the 320-cons lower fuel mileage, higher maintenance cost, ie 36 Qt oil lol, but I smile every time we take a trip in it.
Just me
Chris
We've wanted to roam the country full time for 50 years. I've been in RVs starting about age eight. The only thing I haven't owned or used is a 5th wheel. We spent four years pouring through Motorhome Life, Trailer Life, attended RV shows, looked at various units in dealerships, surfed manufacturing sites on the net, went to PPL in Houston four times and then cruised various forums. Until we went to PPL four times in the rain we were convinced the more slides the merrier. We have traveled 67,000 miles in our non-slide U270 in seven years and after three years full timing, we have no desire for a longer coach or one with slides. We love everything about the layout but there are times when Aqua Hot causes a little lust in my heart. The decor is now massaged to our satisfaction and replacing the large recliner with a smaller one made everything "just so." If we won a new 45' coach in a raffle we would immediately sell it and have a bulletproof repair fund. The nice thing about RVs, there is no one size fits all. Currently parked at a rest stop just south of Raton Pass snuggled in for the night after spending six days over Christmas in our son's driveway in Denver. On to Quartzite and hopefully warmer weather.
We have owned our 99 295 since 2006. Fulltime since 2014. We run 7-10K per year. I like the simplicity of the older coaches and no slides. I have friends with new(er) coaches that can't keep them out of the shop. It has been said that 2001 and older are the best years of Foretravel.
What engine and transmission problems are you talking about - in the 295s and 270s? I've never heard of this.
Sent you a pm Chris
We upgraded four times until we had the perfect coach for us, a 2003 U320 4220. It has been an absolute dream to drive and to own.
The downside is that with our busy schedule spending time with grandkids here at home and summers on the boat we just aren't using it anymore.
As you can see from all of the above offerings ... the general rule of thumb is that you go through about 3 coaches before you find the one that really works for all your dreams and desires. Don't sweat it. Money is always a concern, because most of us never had lots to throw around, but this is a journey ... never a straight line.