Which coach?

Topic: Which coach? (Read 1040 times) previous topic - next topic - Topic derived from roof crack with picture

Which coach?

January 13, 2021, 09:29:09 pm

Trying to decide between 40' '98 U295 and a '97 U 320. My goal is to have a "paid for" foretravel. New I can't afford, I'm 83, a recent widower, retired military, and I do not want to give up my lake house. I do want to travel. Been housebound for 6 years while dealing with wife's cancer. And wish to stay debt free.

Both foretravel's are at or above 100k plus miles, but look clean and well cared for. I'd like the 320 for the M11 engine but the Auquahot scares me. The 295 has a 325 8.3 Cummins, my previous experience in rv's is it's adequate but not a strong mountain climber. I intend to spend 3 to 6 months traveling/boondocking. Which would all you folks recommend? Both rigs at MOT. Thanks for your inputs. Bcalmrichard@gmail.com.

Re: Which coach?

Reply #1 – January 13, 2021, 09:34:35 pm

Richard, only you can decide what is best for you. Is one of the two floorplans better suited for your use? Pick that and maybe ask Keith Risch at MOT to do inspection for defects. Then you will be better informed to decide.

Re: Which coach?

Reply #2 – January 13, 2021, 09:39:40 pm

The U320 for the motor and transmission. Have Keith Risch at MOT service the Aqua Hot prior to delivery. Insists on only Keith to perform the work on your U320, he is the very best, period.

Once in possession of the U320, run the Aqua Hot diesel burner once per month or more (more is better) and you can go 2 to 3 years between servicing the burner. The unlimited hot water and the scrumptious warmth in winter is wonderful.

All the best in making your choice.

Re: Which coach?

Reply #3 – January 13, 2021, 09:48:41 pm

All things equal, I would choose the U320 but I would never own a coach with aquahot. Lots of people love it but not me. Strictly a maintenance issue for me. If it were propane, I would love it.

RVs are never paid for, It's always on an installment plan.

If you will be on the road alone, I would go with something smaller like a Sprinter or Class C. I don't want you to dial elder abuse but starting with a 40 footer is a brave move. Hey, I'm 77 but started going as a small kid with my parents in trailers.

Pierce

Re: Which coach?

Reply #4 – January 13, 2021, 10:04:18 pm

I havre had a 270 and a 320 and the thing I would love to have would have been my 34 foot with the aquahot. I loved my aquahot. It worked if you would run it on diesel and it was great when it was cold and not much condensation on the windshield. The thing is at 40 foot I would probably go with the 320 but I have friends who loved their 270 40 foot too and you got to the top just 5 to them miles per hour slower.

Re: Which coach?

Reply #5 – January 13, 2021, 10:24:44 pm

My standard answer to anyone wanting to buy a 20 yr old Foretravel "to travel" is to insist on an prepurchase inspection and have the funds available equal to half what you buy the coach for maintenance and replacements. My sense from your post is that you are unlikely to want to spend significant time off the road doing "do it yourself" maintenance. That means you'll be writing checks for the things that wear out over 20+ years, tires, air bags, shocks, fuel lines, maybe a radiator, alternator, starter... you get the idea. All these things give your 20 year old coach another 20 but it sounds like you want to have fun NOW.

Now all or some of these things may have been recently done, or you may be willing to have MOT do them after a thorough inspection, but I'd hate to see any years you hope to have fun short circuited by unexpected breakdowns and expenses.

Don't get me wrong... we love our Foretravel and went in knowing that we'd need to spend money to be able to travel with minimum roadside issues... and so far in 3 years and over 30,000 miles we've had no breakdowns. And we recognize we'll get little if any of the expense to make our coach good for another 20 years. At age 69 I'll be happy to make it to 83 and sell it to the next person who "wants to travel".

Best Wishes!

Randy

Re: Which coach?

Reply #6 – January 13, 2021, 10:25:42 pm

Either would be OK but I would chose the U320. Bigger engine, bigger transmission, AquaHot. Maintenance and service is a way of life with a class A motorhome. Comfort is too. Get an AH, for comfort, it cannot be beat and take care of it. And the M11 is strong in the mountains. For a single person you could consider a 36'. Less storage but for part time, plenty of space. A little easier to maneuver in smaller campgrounds. But with practice a 40 is fine. Depends on where you want to go.

In any case best luck finding a great coach, we have had ours for 10 years and travel 5-7 months a year. Perfect for us.

Re: Which coach?

Reply #7 – January 13, 2021, 10:54:52 pm

Quote from: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart – January 13, 2021, 09:48:41 pm

If you will be on the road alone, I would go with something smaller like a Sprinter or Class C. I don't want you to dial elder abuse but starting with a 40 footer is a brave move.

Agree, and it might be wise to bring Horace Cupp into this discussion if he's still around the forum - he downsized from a Foretravel to a Sprinter-based C as he move to traveling by himself in his 80's.

ETA - a quick check shows he is still active here and was online today https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?action=profile;u=253

Re: Which coach?

Reply #8 – January 13, 2021, 11:00:06 pm

In my opinion, first and foremost, buy the unit with best maintenance history and records and best floor plan. Either would be a solid choices pending Keith Risch's findings. You can go anywhere in a U295, but your FT friends in 320s will pass you climbing! I love my U295, but I have wished it was a U320. No U320 owner has ever wished for a U295

The aqua hot might be problem until you get into shape, but Rudy who has responded here is the Aquahot guru! He gave us a great lesson at a chapter rally! You would prefer the aquahot in the long run, comfort wise, I think; however, we stay comfy and cozy and have never run out of hot water as family of three (two girls, wife and 7 year old).

Let us know how we can help! Look forward to hearing what you get, you're on the right trail! Hope to meet you!

There's no happy like Foretravel happy!

Re: Which coach?

Reply #9 – January 14, 2021, 12:10:32 am

Bcalmrichard, Michelle caught me. Yes, I am still around. My present coach is a Winnebago Era, it is a class B, not a class C. I love it but it is not really an all season coach., not insulated, outside plumbing, single pane windows, etc. I do drive it in the winter or al least I did until I moved from east Tennessee to way upstate NY. this past fall. Also, I just passed my 90th birthday. Last winter I drove it to south Texas, the winter before to San Diego, I do not boondocks, however, I do occasionally overnight without hook-ups.
Now to your problem. First and foremost AquaHot is, in my opinion, the most wonderful addition to RVing since we graduated from heating with an open fire. With appropriate maintainsnce it will provide cozy warmth, hot showers, clean dishes,and clean laundry. I wouldn't buy a class A coach without it. Now, about the 40 foot vehicle. After my wife died, I thought that it was time to give up RVing so I had MOT sell my 320. It took me a year to realize that I really missed the travel and my RV. I was having some issues with just getting around and getting up and down so I wanted a smaller rig. I have not missed my Foretravel.
The cost of operating and maintaining a diesel pusher is significantly more than my Sprinter which is much more agile and I feel no need for a tow vehicle. It is a very satisfactory substitute for a single person RV. (Plus a small dog)

Re: Which coach?

Reply #10 – January 14, 2021, 12:53:42 am

While the Aquahot can be a marvelous addition to a coach when maintained well by a DIY owner or professional service, for a person new to a complex coach, they may not be able to fix it if it has a problem. While almost every town has a RV shop of some kind, Aquahot repairs require a skill set not usually found in most places and while an owner who has learned to maintain and repair it, an outage may only be a short inconvenience but someone new may find themselves in a bit of a bind if it's cold and help is a couple of states away. Sorry if I repeated myself but winter heating problems are much more serious than summer cooling problems.

Pierce

Re: Which coach?

Reply #11 – January 14, 2021, 08:02:43 am

I can say the same thing as Horace, I have a class C and have had one since 2006. I had two coaches in the garaged for 12 years. The C is what I am with now but I upgraded it. The only thing I miss is that it is not a four season coach so that means winter camping is not in my future but it is so much cheaper to run and I can go with our without my jeep behind me depending on where I am going. I can tell you that I saved about 20k a year on operating costs. I get 12 mpg not 7 and I travel a lot. Mine is on the F550 so I give up nothing with power and also have a diesel generator. If I was by my self this would be the way I would go and that is after owning three FTs and covering almost 400K miles in them. Fuel is one of my biggest expenses.

Re: Which coach?

Reply #12 – January 14, 2021, 08:52:03 am

Just another thought re: size. We recently purchased a 2004 Chinook Glacier that we ran across from a friend. It's 24', has one slide (same slide system as Foretravel used), and is on a Ford E450 chassis. So far, we like the smaller size, but find our U295 much more comfortable (both driving and for living). You may wish to take a look at these, but they are kinda hard to find.

Re: Which coach?

Reply #13 – January 14, 2021, 09:43:30 am

You can get a Class C that is a four season coach. I have had both, the class c is easier to drive around but the Foretravel is way
more fun to drive on the highway. I like that I can keep the bathroom warm and leave the rest of the coach at 50 F with the
Aqua-hot.

Re: Which coach?

Reply #14 – January 14, 2021, 09:59:19 am

My thought process and budget would steer me to wait for a 36 foot u270 with the 8.3 Cummins,yes the M 11 has more power
but the 8.3 will get you anywhere.If you can do some maintenance yourself the 8.3 is easier as a whole,never had aquahot but
it sounds like if you can afford it it's better,but it does cost more to maintain.Yes a class c will work but look at the prices,you can
find a decent Foretravel in the low 90's years for 35 to 40k,some are cheaper then a class c,in the end it all depends on how much you want to spend.

Re: Which coach?

Reply #15 – January 14, 2021, 10:04:32 am

Class A versus Class C or B.

IMO, one of the nice things about a large class A coach is the clear separation of sleeping quarters and living quarters. For couples, especially if they have differing sleep schedules, this can be very important.

I like to go to bed early, and get up early. My DW likes to stay up late reading and playing games on her iPad, then she sleeps in. For us, having our bedroom separated from our living area by the (spacious) bathroom and two doors makes this sleeping routine easier to manage.

If you plan to travel alone, this factor is of little significance, and (in this respect) a smaller RV would work just as well as a large one.

Re: Which coach?

Reply #16 – January 14, 2021, 10:43:03 am

I'm very sorry for your loss and hope the open road brings you boundless joy.

I recently went through the same decision as you. U270 vs U320. The Aquahot scared me, but I wanted the bigger engine. I ended up buying a U320 from MOT after having Keith Risch do an inspection on it. If I were to go through that process again, I wouldn't do it any other way. A) The AH is only one of many complex, expensive systems in these coaches. It's probably not going to alter the equation much over the long run if you have issues with it. B) The "cozy" feeling everyone talks about is real but the biggest benefit I've found is the quietness. No more waking up in the middle of the night when the furnace kicks on, or having to make propane runs every couple weeks.

On a different note, the conventional wisdom around here is to anticipate $10k in repairs/deferred maintenance in your first year of owning one of these coaches. Part of my brain prepared for it but the other part hoped it was just a bunch of gloom and doom forum chatter. I'm one month into ownership and it is safe to say that it was good advice

Re: Which coach?

Reply #17 – January 14, 2021, 10:53:33 am

Many of us older Buckaroos grew up with a noisey furnace and cold spots in the house we'd be lost without it.Guess if your full
timing you go thru more propane but we usually go thru a tankful every couple of years.

Re: Which coach?

Reply #18 – January 14, 2021, 11:17:34 am

As for heating the Foretravel (we have dual propane furnaces): we've found that we like using one or two small ceramic heaters, and have the fan from the roof air running. (But we are rarely in extremely cold temperatures.) They keep the coach warm, and we like the air flow and sound of the fans. If it's below freezing, we use the furnaces. Just another thought.

Re: Which coach?

Reply #19 – January 14, 2021, 11:59:54 am

Can't add much to what has already been said but will add this.. If you are in a 300 or 325 hp 36 ft coach and following a m11 across mild rolling hills to flat and both have cruise set at 65 the m11 will never get out of your sight. My 300 in a 36 ft never disappoints me and Ive owned many diesel engines ranging from 650 hp down to 290 hp. I may buy a m11 next because I like them but I wont buy a lesser coach in fit and finish just because it has a m11.

Affiliate Notice