Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 12, 2025 ...

Finally, the subject of this message:
 
If I mount the new seats over the new flooring, they are obviously not floating anywhere near those eight bolts. Is that a problem? I have not yet made the final decision on flooring, either vinyl or a laminate product, with "click-lock" edging. I wanted to see how smooth the final subfloor surface is.
 
Trent

I've bought two new Flexsteel chairs as well as two new Flexsteel pedestals. Aside from the passenger chair pivot bolt constantly loosening itself, the original pedestals were too low to safely accommodate the powered footrest option added to the passenger chair. When I bought the new pedestals, I assumed the bolt spacing and pattern would be the same... apparently, Foretravel used different pedestals or else Flexsteel changed the bolt pattern spacing between the time our coach was built and when I bought the new pedestals. In any case, I wanted the pedestals to be bolted to the framing on all four holes so I made a adapter plates. I used the necessity of making new adapter plates as an opportunity to move the position of the driver chair forward about an inch and a quarter, and the passenger chair slightly towards the center line of the coach and forward. The adapter plates are made out of 12 by 12 inch by quarter inch thick steel plates. The bolts holding the chairs in place are wheel studs pressed into the back side of the steel plate (the inner bolt pattern in the picture) with counter sunk holes in the plywood for the flat heads of the studs. The chairs are easily removable now without having to go underneath the coach, should necessity ever present itself. The outer bolt pattern is the original one Foretravel used and all four holes pass through framing. The front bolts of the driver's chair are somewhat difficult to access from underneath, so I am glad to never have to do that again!

Don,
 
I thought I understood your explanation of your use of the adapter plates until I saw your picture. On the copilot side, you can see the bolt heads, probably securing the plate through the original seat holes. There are bolts that come up through the adapter plate to attach the seats. How are those seat bolts mounted to the adapter plate? Did you have to remove subfloor to allow the bolt heads?
 
On the pilot side, I see the four bolts for mounting the seats. But I do not see how the plate is attached to the floor. Maybe the two seat attachments are at different stages of installation?
 
Color me a little confused, but this grasshopper is anxious to learn from the master!
 
Thanks,
 
Trent

The front bolts of the driver's chair are somewhat difficult to access from underneath, so I am glad to never have to do that again!

Okay, one more topic: My DW would really like to remove the factory installed tile in the kitchen and bathroom. Having previously done some of that in our home, she has zero interest in *us* removing the tile. Has anyone tried putting a tile-thick underlayment on the wooden subfloor, and then put new flooring over both surfaces? (Her real interest is in eliminating the grout lines, which are not fun to clean.)

The driver's is whole 'nother story. the back two are fairly straight forward, like the passenger side. The front two are on the other side of the structural beam and are NOT easy to get too. (Why does my favorite cousin John H live so far away?!)
 
The first problem is, without a pit, you have to get under the generator exhaust, in front of the wheel, and hold a flashlight just to see the bolts.  The bolts are so far above, that I had to have five ratchet driver extensions to my ratchet wrench with a deep wall socket. Then, laying flat on your back, you have to reach that wiggly stack of extensions out and put the socket onto the bolt and nut. Now, you have to turn your ratchet wrench and keep constant pressure on leaning tower while you try to turn them enough to unthread the nut through all the treads on the bolt.

I am in the process of removing my old carpeting and padding to replace with a new material that I intend to float. I discovered that the carpet pad appears to be of two types. In the front, until behind the seats, it is a dense black material. The rest of it appears to be that cheap carpet padding.
 
When the cockpit seats are installed, the carpet and underlayment are compressed significantly. The attached photo shows what is left after I cut away the carpet over the seat base. It had been the Flexsteel chair with power footrest. The base plate is approximately ten inches square, with large bolts (3/8" ?) in an eight inch square. I discovered that there were another set of holes (about 1/4"), going all the way through the floor, about an inch wider than the larger bolts. There had never been an attempt to seal the extra four holes; they were hidden on the top by the nap of the carpeting.
 
Anybody have any idea what those other four holes were for? Why were they not sealed (there was no sign of any water penetration inside the coach from them)?
 
I am replacing the Flexsteel with Villa seats (Thank you Bill!). The holes are different, so I will have several new holes, in addition to the four smaller holes. My plan is to glue dowels into those holes and caulk the bottom locations. Is that good enough, or should I do more to seal the unused holes?
 
Finally, the subject of this message:
 
If I mount the new seats over the new flooring, they are obviously not floating anywhere near those eight bolts. Is that a problem? I have not yet made the final decision on flooring, either vinyl or a laminate product, with "click-lock" edging. I wanted to see how smooth the final subfloor surface is.
 
Okay, one more topic: My DW would really like to remove the factory installed tile in the kitchen and bathroom. Having previously done some of that in our home, she has zero interest in *us* removing the tile. Has anyone tried putting a tile-thick underlayment on the wooden subfloor, and then put new flooring over both surfaces? (Her real interest is in eliminating the grout lines, which are not fun to clean.) The vinyl product we are considering comes in six foot lengths. The salesman promised that it could be installed directly over a tiled floor, without having to  fill in the grout lines.
 
Sorry for the length; I blame it on my typing ability. It's not hunt-and-peck, but it is not fast enough to prevent my mind from wandering while inputting.
 
Thanks for any and all feedback,
 
Trent