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Topic: Where to service a Foretravel in the Northeast? (Read 2000 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: Where to service a Foretravel in the Northeast?

Reply #25 –
Quote from: Merle Hench –
Hi Tony,

As it happens, I spoke to Mike for awhile yesterday morning. A very refreshing conversation. I got a good feeling speaking with him; setting up to see him in late Feb/early Mar. His shop can handle everything on my list - excellent.  He told me he'd also check everything out and let me know what it needs now, and what it might later down the road. He seems to know and understand what we deal with, and as you said, is a big fan of Foretravels.  :)

Wish I'd called him first. Do not know why I didn't. For some reason, I got the impression this was an automotive tire shop, and he did sidework in the back parking lot. But this is a full service truck/industrial service outlet - they do specialize in tires, but they do it all. I was told when I arrive, my coach would be brought inside, and kept there until the work was done and I picked it up.

Thanks again Tony. Looking forward to meeting up with Mike.

Steve


Steve,

Yes it is a full service truck/indistrial outlet which I was not clear about in my previous posts, sorry for that but I am glad to hear after speaking to Mike you were left with a good feeling, I am sure you will not be disappointed with any work done to the coach.

all the time my coach was at the shop it was always kept indoors as will yours so you can rest easy that it will be well taken care of and safe!  I always tease Mike that he takes great care of "Clyde" because he will buy it when I am ready to sell it!

Let me know when your in for service and if possible I will come by to say hello. 

I have not had an opportunity to drive the coach since having all the repairs, weather permitting I plan on spending a week traveling through N. and S. Carolina to see how it rides with new shocks, air bags and fuel line setup.  I will post on how it the trip went when I return.

Tony


 
Tony Pasquale
SOLD....
'99 U295 36'
WTFE, 04/99, #5572
Toad: 2020 Equinox

Re: Where to service a Foretravel in the Northeast?

Reply #26 –
Quote
I have not had an opportunity to drive the coach since having all the repairs, weather permitting I plan on spending a week traveling through N. and S. Carolina to see how it rides with new shocks, air bags and fuel line setup.  I will post on how it the trip went when I return.

My shake down trip over the Christmas Holidays went real well with perfect weather the whole time, 8 days, and the coach drove excellently with all the new shocks and repairs I had done at McCarthy Tire and truck Service!

On the first part of the trip I drove from Columbia, MD and stayed at a very nice RV park, River Vista RV resort in the Blue Ridge Mountain area, outside Dillard Georgia having a wonderful home style dinner on Christmas Day at the Dillard House! DillardHouse.com which was recommended by my neighbor parked in the adjancent lot, who had drove up from FL to eat there!

I then traveled to Cross Hill SC to the Cane Creek RV Motor Coach Resort a new class A only park on Lake Greenwood which is one of the best RV park setups I have been in.  Well landscaped and every lot is tiered and saw toothed for maximum views with most over looking a 22 mile lake.

Then back to Lake Toxaway in the Blue Ridge Mountains to visit and stay at the ORA Blue Ridge Mountain Resort another class A only motor coach resort. This place also well though out but unfortunately ORA with the down turn in the economy walked on some of the promised amenities but the property owners may have come to an agreement and will be able to salvage what is a very nice setup in a very pretty Blue Ridge Mountain area, nestled between the towns of Highland, Cashiers and Brevard NC.

As per the Silver leaf main total trip mileage 1536 miles, 33.5 hours driving, 201.8 gallons and 7.6 mpg in some very hilly terrain so very satisfied with those results!
Tony Pasquale
SOLD....
'99 U295 36'
WTFE, 04/99, #5572
Toad: 2020 Equinox

Re: Where to service a Foretravel in the Northeast?

Reply #27 –
Beautiful!!  Sounds like a wonderful trip.  Sorry we missed your call the other day.  We are heading east later this Spring ... maybe we can catch up with you!!
Carol & Jeff Savournin
Usta have a '93 U225 36', Usta have a '95 U320 40', Usta have a '02 U320 40'
Usta have a 2006 Born Free, Usta have a 2011 Phoenix Cruiser
Usta have a 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4dr
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life."  Steve Jobs

Re: Where to service a Foretravel in the Northeast?

Reply #28 –
Tony, Wish you would keep River Vista and Cane Creek to yourself, when these first opened and we stayed at them they were glad to see any one and now that they have been found they are getting HI FALUTIN and expensive and booked full.  I love the Hot Tub at River Vista.  :)
Gary B

Re: Where to service a Foretravel in the Northeast?

Reply #29 –
Quote from: Carol Savournin –
Beautiful!!  Sounds like a wonderful trip.  Sorry we missed your call the other day.  We are heading east later this Spring ... maybe we can catch up with you!!

Hi Carol,

I would love seeing you and Jeff this spring let me know when you will be here.  BTW I just checked and that call the other day if you did not dial was one of those "Pocket Calls" incoming from your telephone which seem to happen one way or another to us all!!! :-)  I kept trying to get your attention by yelling into the telephone but nothing so I just hung up.....lol

See you guys soon!

Tony 
Tony Pasquale
SOLD....
'99 U295 36'
WTFE, 04/99, #5572
Toad: 2020 Equinox

Re: Where to service a Foretravel in the Northeast?

Reply #30 –
Quote from: Gary Bouland –
Tony, Wish you would keep River Vista and Cane Creek to yourself, when these first opened and we stayed at them they were glad to see any one and now that they have been found they are getting HI FALUTIN and expensive and booked full.  I love the Hot Tub at River Vista.  :)
Gary B

Gary,

Yes, I felt that River Vista would be a great park to hold a FT Chapter rally, or a Foreforums meet up maybe especially with their Adult hot tub area, the huge meeting hall and the "Coupe de Grace" the Dillard House Restaurant right down the road, you just have to check out the photo on the website, dillardhouse.com, of that "Mountain Man" eating (Chowing down!) that fabulous breakfast, WOW!!!

Tony
Tony Pasquale
SOLD....
'99 U295 36'
WTFE, 04/99, #5572
Toad: 2020 Equinox

Re: Where to service a Foretravel in the Northeast?

Reply #31 –
I saw where someone recomended Keystone RV at State Line, Pa. I am happy for the person who had good luck there, however I had a much different experience. Good luck if you use them. I am more than willing to recount my encounter there, but I will simply say it was less than poor.............. Jim Donivan.
Jim Donivan & Cathy Thompson
2003 U320 Designer Series 42' 2 slides

Re: Where to service a Foretravel in the Northeast?

Reply #32 –
Quote from: jdent2 –
I saw where someone recommended Keystone RV at State Line, Pa. I am happy for the person who had good luck there, however I had a much different experience. Good luck if you use them. I am more than willing to recount my encounter there, but I will simply say it was less than poor.............. Jim Donivan.

Jim,

I have used Keystone RV a couple of times recently this September, I had traveled west out of the Baltimore area during Hurricane Irene I camped there to wait out the storm and they diagnosed and did a good job replacing a circuit board on one of my propane furnaces which they had in stock. 
As for any major coach and chassis work or service I will definitely go to McCarthy in Baltimore.

Tony


Tony Pasquale
SOLD....
'99 U295 36'
WTFE, 04/99, #5572
Toad: 2020 Equinox

Re: Where to service a Foretravel in the Northeast?

Reply #33 –
I am a former Foretravel owner (42' U320 DBL Slide) who is now a wannabee.  My two cents on Keystone RV is to stay as far away as possible.  If you must use them I would highly sugggest that you stay with your coach at all times during whatever process is taking place.  Feel free to Inbox me for further details if interested.  Harry Disbrow

Re: Where to service a Foretravel in the Northeast?

Reply #34 –
I could not agree more.  I purchased my Foretravel from them.  I was a newbee and paid the price.  They sold the unit to me with a 12 year old house battery and 6 year old tires.  When the battery died on my first trip south they refused to pay the 50/50 "warranty" until I went on a letter writing campaign.
David in VA
1994 Unihome Grand Villa U280

Re: Where to service a Foretravel in the Northeast?

Reply #35 –
Thought I'd post my experiences here with McCarthy Tire in Baltimore...

I picked up my coach today from McCarthy Tire, having brought it in for chassis service. I can't say enough nice things about Mike Zannino. They don't make them like Mike anymore. Never felt more comfortable leaving a vehicle with someone. One of the finest people I've ever met. Honest, hardworking, goes out of his way to help you. If you are in the Baltimore area, and need service or repairs, McCarthy Tire is THE place to go. Mike knows his stuff better than anyone I've yet met. A customer in the waiting area told me - "This is the place you go to fix what the other shop screwed up."

Needed more work than I thought, but the coach is tip top. Fuel shutoff solenoid was very weak, but it was original to the coach so had served it's purpose. Exhaust manifold had a crack in it and needed replacing. New air governor needed too. Front seals were leaking; after seal replacement and cleaning the brake system up the brakes are excellent. Front crank seal was leaking also, which accounted for the aftercooler being plugged. Radiator needed to be disassembled and cleaned as well. Numerous small air leaks in the vicinity of the tanks were fixed. Fuel tank was repaired. All fluids and filter in the engine, trans and diff were changed oiut, and Mike supplied spare filters and belts.

After washing down the engine bay, Mike went beyond the call and painted the engine, charging me only for the paint. The bumper had to be pulled to remove the radiator, and Mike again went out of his way and pounded out a dent and straightended out a bend in it (from the previous owner). Lot of little touches everywhere. The man takes pride in his work and told me he enjoys helping people.

There was a snafu with Koni shocks which cost a week, but not Mike's fault. I ordered the Koni's from FT, and they were drop shipped from Koni in Kentucky. One of the rear shocks were defective - would not extend. Trying to get a replacement quickly was an ordeal, but it arrived this morning and Mike immediately installed it. BIG difference in the ride and handling. A major improvement over the Bilsteins. Something to note - FSDs are not available for velvetride coaches - Koni adjustables are specified. They do ride very nice, though, I must say.

Ready to hit the road soon. Still have a lot of work to do, but hope to be ready in a couple of weeks.

Steve


1991 U225 Grand Villa

Re: Where to service a Foretravel in the Northeast?

Reply #36 –
Excellent info on McCarthy Tire.  I'd trust Tony Pasquale's recommendation any day ... but it is really nice to hear it reinforced.  I also think that Keystone RV is a rather mixed bag. They may have been OK at one time, but I think their day is done. We used them on occasion when we lived in SE Pennsylvania ... but (not knowing about McCarthy, because Tony hadn't found it yet) we decided that a drive to Nacogdoches served us better in the long run.  We were lucky to have the flexible schedule. 
Carol & Jeff Savournin
Usta have a '93 U225 36', Usta have a '95 U320 40', Usta have a '02 U320 40'
Usta have a 2006 Born Free, Usta have a 2011 Phoenix Cruiser
Usta have a 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4dr
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life."  Steve Jobs
 

Re: Where to service a Foretravel in the Northeast?

Reply #37 –
Thank you Carol for your kind words and actually I found Mike because of you and Jeff recommending him to me when you needed service in the Baltimore area awhile back, I believe for the refrigerator. 

Steve you hit the nail on the head regarding the comfortable feeling when doing business with Mike!  Like I said the last time we spoke your writing skills are excellent and you expressed in much better words than I could exactly how I felt dealing with Mike ,his pride in his work speaks volumes, they sure don't make them like him anymore!

After recommending Mike and McCarthy I glad that I spoke up to let you know about them and I feel extremely pleased that your experience with their work went so well.

I have no affiliation what so ever with McCarthy other than excellent service and anyone needing reputable service in the Northeast and is not far from the Baltimore Interstate 95 or 895 area have someone they can rely on.
Tony Pasquale
SOLD....
'99 U295 36'
WTFE, 04/99, #5572
Toad: 2020 Equinox