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Any relationships first year costs and model?

June 22, 2013, 12:31:28 pm

I wish we had a simple table of Foretravels by year and model versus the most likely surprises (costs) that you might find within the first year of ownership.  The factors may be too complex and data set so small that this cannot be made. .....but the question is frequent from folks buying their first motorhome.

Example: our '01 coach is of the 1999 - 2001 era of similar coaches.  Could these be representative -  Radiator failed.  Air system repairs significant.  Replaced starter, two seals on transmission.  Costs about in line with what people say for first year.  Not sure this is typical, wonder if it is.    Would such just mislead people looking to buy as there is no representative age/model/repairs relationship.....it is "so" about prior maintenance that this overrides all?

A very good PDI may be all you could do, but I wonder.  It is NOT to say one year or model is better but perhaps a large data set could provide a comparison of the likely total costs between different options in buying.  Does this already exist somewhere?

mike

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Re: Any relationships first year costs and model?

Reply #1 – June 22, 2013, 02:48:31 pm

I have an 01 and only have fixed the rear main seal on the transmission.  So, I do not think you can do it like you want too. I did replace the radiator on my 99 U 270 though.

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Reply #2 – June 22, 2013, 03:28:17 pm

Radiator failure most likely associated with service history on the coolant chemistry.  Air system failure most likely associated with service history of the air dryer.  To my mind a PDI is not nearly as critical as complete maintenance records.

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Reply #3 – June 22, 2013, 06:20:24 pm

Brett, i agree with you but my radiator on my 99 failed within four years just outside theend of my three year warranty.

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Reply #4 – June 22, 2013, 08:28:27 pm

John,

And you checked coolant chemistry every six months and kept it within specs?

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Reply #5 – June 22, 2013, 10:04:36 pm

No, but Cummins did when I had the engine oil changed every 3 months.  I put on 99K miles on that coach in about three or so years.
I think it is the design of coolign fans. They can vibrate and they are screwed onto the radiator.

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Reply #6 – June 22, 2013, 10:04:53 pm

Oh and they checked it when I had the starter replaced too.

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Reply #7 – June 22, 2013, 10:06:07 pm

I have been hesitant to respond, see what developed, and I did send a PM to one to clarify.  So for those interested, this is what I saw and reported in a much earlier thread.  The radiator side bolts failed, pretty massive.  I had the coach about a month and all of a sudden coolant ran our on the shop floor when I had it in for some other service.  Neither I  nor the dealer had seen even a drop when it was stored.

I cannot say if the chemistry was out of whack, a technical term!  But I feel part of the problem that I had, and kind of the gist of what I was raising with this question, at least on the 1999 - 2001 models you cannot open a panel and inspect or clean the radiator as you can on later models.  Either I took a chance that I had little choice to take, not being able to inspect, or I did not know how to inspect.  SO, it leads me to think, maybe in error, that this failure could happen on those era coaches so just consider that it in your possible total cost versus perhaps some other more expensive model with a door system that let you inspect.  Make sense?  We really are very pleased with this model coach and accepted the failure with no misgivings toward the dealer or coach, etc.  But it was a surprise and significant repair cost. 

Thanks.....I think there is no good answer to building a table, but I wondered.  Agree maintenance records should have been great, but not all dates filled in on that age coach.

 mike

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Re: Any relationships first year costs and model?

Reply #8 – June 22, 2013, 10:16:53 pm

Everyone seems to have if all figured out for their setup, that is great.  For me, it is what it is, everytime you leave your driveway, house, shop, storage place, your running the risk of needing something from very minor to very major and we all had best be well prepared for that happening. 
When I ran the MCI conversion, I was always ready to have it brought home on a hook or Landoll trlr, was lucky, never had any issues on the road.  Same luck is holding with the 2001 36' Foretravel so far, with the upcoming 5,000 mile Idaho trip, anything is possible.
Just sayin
Dave M

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Re: Any relationships first year costs and model?

Reply #9 – June 23, 2013, 09:04:22 am

It's likely safe to say that Foretravel repair costs during the first year is related to the maintenance history and amount of road use prior to purchase.  A coach that sits a great percentage of its life needs more maintenace (per mile) than a coach that gets used regularly.  Eventhough I excercise Forrest at least every 30 days, that 30 day period in between jogs allows fluids and seals to decay.

My experiece with my one & only Foretravel has been that the 1st year was the most expensive maintenance & repair year likely due to prior owner neglect/deferred maintenance and just sitting around waiting to be sold.  I was lucky in that Foretravel extended a 6 month 6,000 full warranty with the purchase of the coach.  Still it took 8 years for for me to find a competent shop to repair the dash A/C unit components.

It just depends on your experience and luck in finding a competent repair facility near you.

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Reply #10 – June 23, 2013, 01:10:41 pm

As a newer owner of a great older coach, as many of you have seen, we have been and are continuing to experience issues that require attention.  I think a table would be interesting to see, however, once seeing it what would it really mean.  It would certainly be a monumental task to acquire and organize data.  I'm sure that trends would be observable.  I am not sure what I would have done with the results prior to purchasing this coach if a table had been available for my review.  It would be interesting to see if the data is recorded at FT and if it could be available through a program like Crystal Reports.  I think I did a pretty good PDI and found most systems working.  The challenges that we are facing today were not observable issues when we purchased the coach.  I consider them maintenance issues.  The PO kept impeccable records and performed maintenance as required. Complicated machines with hundreds of systems.  Learning curve, repair and maintenance.

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Reply #11 – June 23, 2013, 02:48:45 pm

After owning airplanes & coaches', they have alot in common, you just do the best you can from experience and info from others.  You have it, just live with it & move on with your life.
"i heard that sone where"
Dave M

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Reply #12 – June 25, 2013, 02:47:32 pm

With coaches of our ventage 10+ years old things will break and wear out it's a roll of the dice. The best thing I have found is I do a thorough inspection about once a month or so top to bottom. I may not fix every little item right then but I do add them to the list. JMHO unless you have an unlimited bank account and a standing appointment at FT, or have a whole lot of spare time on your hands there will always be some thing needing fixed. Also major problems to some folk are not such of an issue to others, creeping window seals come to mind.

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Reply #13 – June 25, 2013, 05:17:48 pm

Of course we are full-timing and have been for over 12 years. We consider all of this to part of the adventure. Like the guy who kept praying to win the lottery until God told him to buy a ticket, we used to pray that nothing would break down. Now we pray that it happens near a repair facility that knows what they're doing.

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