Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 13, 2025 ...

U270 Suspension

March 04, 2018, 10:01:18 pm

Considering a 2002 U270 36' to purchase w/ 80,000 miles......what is average life expectancy of shocks & recommended replacements?  Is a one owner & he says suspension is all factory.  Life expectancy on air bags?  Tires were all replaced in 2015. Plans are to locate a cummins shop to give engine & transmission a once over.... Thanks!

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Re: U270 Suspension

Reply #1 – March 05, 2018, 05:42:39 pm

engine is considered broken in about 100 - 120K Miles

Airbags are getting up there, but not an emergency - Shocks probably could be adjusted if not already rel=placed with Koni FSD's

Bug $$ items'

Is refrigerator original

what is condition of rear bulkhead date, age and condition of all batteries - especially the 3 House batteries has it been regularly maintained, especially the air dryer system

Where is coach - consider a professional pre-purchase inspection by Knowledgeable Foretravel inspector

use search function in upper tight hand corner and enjoy the many threads on this topic

good luck and welcome

Tim Fiedler

Sure Start Soft Start

TCER Direct generator-gas-prod 630 240-9139
Gen-Pro

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Re: U270 Suspension

Reply #2 – March 05, 2018, 06:04:40 pm

Good reply from Tim and remember,all those things do not have to be done at once or at the same time.

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Re: U270 Suspension

Reply #3 – March 05, 2018, 06:05:29 pm

I had my shocks and air bags done at 145K miles.  Kong FEDs.  Bags were still usable but starting to look a little tired.  Ride is much better with the new shocks.

Rich

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Re: U270 Suspension

Reply #4 – March 05, 2018, 06:19:21 pm

I think the shocks and air springs are an age thing along with use. I replaced shocks at 66K mi and 16 yrs and air springs at 73k mi and 17 yrs.  One of the shocks was leaking.  You should consider getting the engine oil, generator oil, and transmission fluid analyzed unless it was just changed.  edit: Also set aside about $5000 for unexpected stuff.

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Re: U270 Suspension

Reply #5 – March 05, 2018, 06:20:01 pm

I wouldn't worry about routine replaceable parts or other routine parts that can be replaced, nor the original fridge or microwave.

1. Basement check
Take a socket wrench and loosten and re-tighten a sample of front and rear basement bolts, which are called Rollocks. They should not break. If all of your samples break off, they are rusted. Walk away or subtract $15k from the purchase price. The same goes for rust-jacking under the basement. A little is expected. A lot of rust is a deal-breaker.

2. Engine Blow-by check
With the engine running, take the oil filler cap and place loosely over the oil fill opening. It should not blow off and you should not see a lot of air movement. If it does, the engine has excessive blow-by. Walk away or take $25k off the price

3. Transmission
Should shift quickly and smoothly. Warm up engine for 20 monutes. Check electronic level by pressing the ^ and v arrows. It should display "ol ok" (Transmission Oil Level OK)

4. Obvious items
Look for delamination (bulges in fiberglass skin), stains, cracks, cockpit instrument readings. Check fuel tank for movement and security. My bolts were missing on my U270 and the tank was moving around about 1/4 inch.

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Re: U270 Suspension

Reply #6 – March 05, 2018, 06:45:25 pm

2002 U320

225k miles on Engine. over 7k on genny

Just changed all shocks (they were originals) .. better ride

I am on all original airbags, they still work as advertised

Steering has a slight wander.. very slight but overall everything is still glued together

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Re: U270 Suspension

Reply #7 – March 09, 2018, 02:28:35 pm

Hi itrahan,

We have a  2002 U270, purchased with 29K miles, was garaged. Advice of others posted above is priceless. As a newbie, my FT experience very limited. However, one thing I do know from our first trip. If the coach you are considering has been sitting for a long time on deflated airbags be sure to examine the air spring bags very closely.

The third night of our first trip the site required significant leveling. After 24 hours of coach being level we had one bag completely fail. Stranding us for 4 days. When we arrived home we found another with a small hole, and one ready beginning to split. The damage to the airbags was confined to where the rubber bends at the top mounting plate. This is the area which would be most deformed if bag is left completely deflated. The rubber must flex more sharply at the top plate than at the bottom. The bags had looked perfect when coach was inspected. IMHO, the area of damage was concealed because we never checked them with the coach inflated above travel height.

The lesson I learned and is often mentioned here by other members is find out how the PO used and/or stored the coach. What is in their service log, hopefully they have one.

Our rig has proven perfect in all other respects. The only other major repair was the fuel lift pump, which we expected given a coach that did not see regular use.

You are doing the right thing by consulting the forum here. Good luck finding your coach!

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Re: U270 Suspension

Reply #8 – March 09, 2018, 02:53:31 pm

Sitting is real hard on coaches .. thats why higher mileage coaches are not reallly an issue

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