Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Topic: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE (Read 5665 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #25 – November 03, 2012, 09:05:44 pm

Wow! -- you gal's and guy's are something! -- I went in one day from not knowing squat about it's history -- to speaking by phone with a guy that knew the original owner, and now the guy that sold it new, and WHERE! -- and even who was playing the music!

Way cool.... I'm very glad to hear from all of you.

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #26 – November 03, 2012, 09:23:03 pm

Is this forum great, or what?! Wishing you the best of luck with your coach. Good to see another brave soul chasing the dream!

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #27 – November 03, 2012, 09:24:01 pm

That is great

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #28 – November 04, 2012, 10:50:50 am

Welcome Michael,

As you know by now, you have a very very rare Foretravel. I believe there were only five or six 95, U300 , with 3176 Cats , with retarders, built.(if somebody knows the exact number, I would like to know). My late wife and I tried many times over many years to buy that coach from John, but he was always too proud of it and we never could get together on price. We finally bought a nice low mileage 96 U 295 that we had for several years. If John had ever weakened a little and maybe gotten a little less proud, I would have handed him the title of our U295 and put money in his pocket for the coach you now own.

There is a master plan for everyone and no matter how hard we want something, the plan never changes. We finally sold the 96 and bought a 2000 42' U320 with one slide. It was , and still is, for me, the perfect coach. Katie & I ran thousands of miles. She took thousands of pictures. We met hundreds of people and have friends all over the country.

I am sure that we could have made a lot of memories in your 95, but I now know, the master planner gave us "more better"memories in the limited time I had with her. She passed away Dec 6th in 09. That "00" 320 is all I will ever need and hopefully will serve my needs for many years.

After our visit last night, it sounds like your future plans will get good use of my "dream "coach and I am very happy to know it is in good hands. You will find a number of problems before it is drivable and live able but the basic foundation is the best Foretravel ever made and what ever the cost, it will be worth it. This forum will help you every step and always, call me any time when needed.

Also, Call Beverly and become a member of the Motorcade. Then try to have the coach ready by early Dec. to attend the Calif. Christmas Motorcade rally. You will probably meet people who knew John & Mary and the coach and you will not find a better group to learn from and be with. I only wish I could be there with you.

Gary O

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #29 – November 04, 2012, 02:31:53 pm

Gary O, Me thinks you have CA on the Brain .... Bet Christmas Rally is in FL...

Had to pick on you.
We are just back from 8500 mile, 3 month trip, no major problems with coach .. Overall MPG 8.3 including genny time, avg fuel price 4.19 per gal. I'm about wore out but had a great time and met a lot of great folks. We now have been in all the states except AK in our fifty years together. Don't know if we will plan an AK trip or not.
L Knee replacement in two weeks and then on the FL about the first of the year.
See you then.
Gary B

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #30 – November 04, 2012, 04:14:45 pm

Is this a first? Two posts in the same day! Yes Gary B, I do have Calif. on my mind.That west coast group can really get into the Christmas spirit but,I have made the reservations for Sun & Fun in Fl., so will see you all then.
Also,,let this be a warning. When Michael gets his (and my) dream coach running and has a few K miles of big rig experiance , with his racing knowledge, all of those FT owners with 500+ HP motors and all who have the resonators and straight pipes will quickly learn what real torque and HP is when Michael smiles and waves is he passes them.(that is, IF he wants to)
Caflashbob is right. Michaels dream will do 100 MPH and will not know what a hill is.
Gary, You can go AK. In style. There is a 2012 IH and an 07 Nimbus on Ebay right now at fire sale prices.You can have near new or barely used. We will help Jane get moved in while you recover and then Sandy & I will tour AK. with you.
Anyone know the history on these motorhomes?
Gary O

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #31 – November 04, 2012, 04:41:06 pm

"There is a 2012 IH and an 07 Nimbus on Ebay right now at fire sale prices.You can have near new or barely used."

These are from a dealer in Colorado. The IH is listed for sale just shy of $800,000.00. FWIW

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #32 – November 04, 2012, 05:10:48 pm

An IH on Ebay ? Do I smell a nigerien in there somewhere ?
Gary B

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #33 – November 04, 2012, 05:27:32 pm

Gary, those coaches are being sold by Transwest and are legit. FWIW

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #34 – November 04, 2012, 05:44:14 pm

The great Bearded One makes 3 post's on the forum in one day,his satellite must be out.

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #35 – November 05, 2012, 08:20:56 am

Michael M,
Welcome to the foreforum. As noted by Dave H. I have 1995 U-300SE CAT 3176B w/jake brake. I bought it 4 years ago just north of Los Angeles and hopped in and drove it home to MA. It had 138K miles on it and is just broken in. This was my first motorhome and there is a big learning curve. Get a coolant sampling kit from theCAT dealer(14.00) and send it in, they ask for a sample from a warmed up engine but a cold one is probably a better start than nothing. If you look up posts authored under my foreforum name "Rick" you will find lots of tech info. If you have specific questions or want to talk on phone, just PM me and we will get together. Echoing the advice of Kent? "if it ain't broke, dont break it"
Good luck,
Rick

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #36 – November 05, 2012, 10:30:54 am

Michael, I think we will all be very interested in your journey to see what works and what doesn't on this great old coach. If in fact it only has 7xxx miles on it, there may very well be lots issues to be addressed but you seem very competent to handle a coach like this and will have plenty of advice from the members here. I sure hope your new project will be as painless as many of us have found in our vintage coaches. Please keep us up on your adventure.

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), - initial "as found" status

Reply #37 – November 05, 2012, 02:08:02 pm

Good morning to all !

Yesterday I started poking around and under the beast for the first time since it was delivered last Tuesday. So -- here are my observations that represent the "as found" condition. I've not put any shore power into it (per your advice), nor have I tried any systems. I simply turned off all the breakers in the bedroom panel, all the electrical switches I found anywhere that had the "off" option -- did a first-run cleaning of all interior surfaces, and then got on my back on the concrete and in the basement. So I'll answer some of the questions you kind folks asked.

1.) Gary, It does have the two huge-diameter fluid lines coming out of the tail of the Allison and going to a cylindrical tube & shell cooler.

2. ) I did pull both sheet metal covers in the ceiling of the basement bays to expose the wiring looms and piping. There were significant rodent droppings on the trays , but absolutely no sign of any chewing on any wire insulation or it's plastic spiral jacketing. I then pulled the carpeted cover panel off to be able to gain access to the top of the holding tanks. Yes -- there were also quite a few droppings there, but after carefully removing them without breaking the delicate transducer wires bonded to the tanks, again I saw no evidence of any chewed or broken wires. A previous owner had stuffed some rags into some of the gaps in the basement -- evidently aware there were critters trying to get up in there.

3.) Interestingly enough -- the 8D Gel battery in the lower slide had the positive terminal completely severed from thru-corrosion of the entire post. It was laying on the battery case with all of the cables still bolted tight on the clamp. I believe -- these are the original gel 8D's.

4.) The voltage panel above the entrance door shows a voltage of 13.86 volts, but moving the switch over to the amp-hours position
gives a read-out of "1". Incidently -- yes, this is with the master switch at the entry door -- "off"

5. ) The Solar system read-out panel on the wall next to the range -- has the little red l.e.d. that is flickering. I'm wondering if that output is the only reason there is still that much voltage in the batteries.

6.) Here's a big one --- I lifted that rubber flap over the remote start panel in the engine bay, and the totalizing meter has a reading of 57.1 hours!! The Powertech Gen-Set reads 429 hours.

7. ) The front Oregon License plate has a year-sticker of 2004 - so I can assume that this was the last time the Coach was on the highway.

8. ) I took a sniff of the fuel at the main tank inlet, and I detected no "sour" or "biological stink". But-- I'm still going to dump it (it may have been in there for 8 years now) and follow Gary's advice as far as getting a fresh 20-30 gallons into the tank after a dumping or pumping out -- slightly pressurizing the tank with a rag and air-nozzle at the inlet neck, and with the lines at the banjo fittings on the gen-set, and the lines at the engines pre-filter loosened, bleed until there is clean fuel to both the Gen-Set and the engine. I'm thinking when I put fresh batteries in it I should be able to determine how full the tank is -- assuming the fuel guage works. And I thought at that point I would start calling around to the truck places to see if I can get a pump truck to come over and pump out the tank.

9. The tow driver broke one of the "bent-bolt" anchor links on the air leveling valve arm, up front. It snapped at the threaded section. I hope the valve itself wasn't damaged. He was trying all sorts of schemes to use an out side air-line from his Semi-Tractor to get air into the bags and raise the Coach a few inches. He was not successful.

10. Per Garys' instruction I closely inspected the isolation bar attachment terminals behind the left rear wheel. They are all clean, with red paint/sealant on them and no signs of electrolysis or corrosion.

This is a blast!! -- now? -- well now I have to find a good price on a set of AGM 8D's (oh, and somebody to help me hoist them in there. I pulled the one myself yesterday, but I don't think it's in the best interest of my body to wrestle a pair of 165 pounder's back up in there)

Happy and safe motoring,

Michael

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #38 – November 05, 2012, 03:20:13 pm

Michael, If an O'reillys near by ask if they can order 8d AGM's and what price .
Gary B

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #39 – November 05, 2012, 03:29:02 pm

Michael,

Regards the 8D house batteries, I had a similar situation as yours except my coach had not been sitting in storage at all, but it did need new batteries. I think what you want are 8G8D batteries which are gel rather than the 8A8D an AGM battery. Either would work but the gel will last longer. I believe the AGM is only better for real cold weather. I went on line and searched for a seller. Found a company in Idaho that had a good price. They called the distributor in Dallas who shipped them to Austin on a pallet the next day. The delivery truck had a lift gate and they were dropped on the street in front of the house. Sometimes you have to pay extra for lift gate service, but in this case delivery was included in the purchase price. I rented an engine hoist to remove and install the batteries. MK Battery, The Sealed Battery Specialists The disadvantage in doing this is not having anyone but yourself to fix any problem that might appear later. But after 4 years I have not had any problems.

Regards the master switch at the door sometimes called a battery disconnect switch. If you wanted to buy that switch you would ask for a battery disconnect switch, but that is not what it does. It is mainly a master disconnect switch for all the 12 vdc lighting inside the coach and storage compartments, the water pump, part of the leveling system, and a few other things. If you ever find that something electrical does not work, check that the master switch is on before doing anything else. About everyone has experienced this problem and even after 4 yrs I still get caught by the switch being off. Some of the things that still work with that switch off, the inverter function of the inverter/charger, travel mode of the leveling system, refrigerator, propane and CO leak detectors (you should replace them), my generator will start and run with master switch off.

Good luck with getting everything up and running.

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #40 – November 05, 2012, 03:38:18 pm

Michael,, Take a 3' (or so) piece of wire , bend it in a slight arch, gently arc it into the neck of the tank, and see how much is wet when you pull it out. Then you will know how much fuel you will have to dispose of. Did you look for the drain under the tank?
Gary O

... finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #41 – November 05, 2012, 03:46:26 pm

Gary,

Nope - I forgot that one thing, but I'm dropping back there this afternoon and I'll look for that drain plug access.

Regards,

Michael

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #42 – November 05, 2012, 07:25:58 pm

I like the 57.1 hours on the engine!!! That would correspond to the 7600 +/- miles on the odometer... That's like buying a new coach that was delivered 17 years after being built....

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #43 – November 05, 2012, 07:28:28 pm

Gary O,
Gotta say I loved your comments concerning the U300 with the mighty Cat, Now the simple truth is What is the real weight of the U300 and what is the HP and Torque rating for the mighty Cat? I find it amazing and am most anxious to offer my junk as a victum

IF it really runs that great, I truely doubt it

.
My numbers are 60 lb / hp & 19.34 lb per ft lb, Find these good nunbers indeed.

Fess up on the numbers

Cheers
Dave M

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), - initial "as found" status

Reply #44 – November 05, 2012, 08:36:40 pm

Get new fuel, chassis battery, fuel and air filters.. Bleed the fuel lines and crank her up!

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #45 – November 05, 2012, 09:23:18 pm

Congratulations Micheal on your great find! I had a blast discovering all the neat things on my coach when I first bought it.

Quote

Did you look for the drain under the tank?

I've never heard of a drain plug on the fuel tanks. I'm pretty sure my '91 doesn't have one. Does anyone have one on their coach?

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #46 – November 05, 2012, 10:18:07 pm

Hi Dave, Oh and hello to Bill W. Yes the bearded one types yet again, and all within 24hrs! No, the sat ain't broke. The grape harvest in Ca. is done. The corn harvest in Ne. is done. The soybeans in Tn. is done and there ain't no major repairs to do on the coach, so we are now coasting and enjoying watching the fall weather in Tn. THAT means I turn this thing on, maybe once a day instead of once a month.

Dave, I am not a numbers person.so I can't properly answer your question. Maybe Barry Beam can find that info in his library. I go more on feel and experience. For example, our U320 is rated at 450 hp with 1450 ft lbs of torque. At 42', loaded with all the tools and spare MH parts, it will be somewhere between 39K-41K. Most of it's life, it has been run 75-82 mph towing a 5k toad but now that I don't have many jobs or commitments, that number is more in the high 60s . It runs very well , I have never wanted any thing more, and I have no plans to change it . The mighty 3176 Cat is ,I believe, is only 365 or 375hp and I have no knowledge of the torque. But, If I totally unloaded the 320, I would not challenge Michael to a drag race, a road race, or a hill climb. After driving several of those rare 95's,, I know I would lose.

When he has his dream coach back on the road he will feel like he has a "Vette" on steroids.

(keep your pink slip in your pocket)

Gary O

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #47 – November 05, 2012, 10:24:14 pm

Michael, this is exciting. I think I would normally be concerned that seals and such in the drive train might have deteriorated setting as much as this coach has but I have a feeling things are going to turn out great for you. We can't wait to hear that the thing runs like a new one. Keep us in the loop.

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #48 – November 06, 2012, 08:55:10 am

Michael,
Not sure it was mentioned here but once you get the air bags inflated, make sure you block the frame up so that if something goes wrong with the leveling system you will not get squashed. You should also block up the axles if crawling underneath, especially the front. The tires are about 10" tall and if the tires just happen to blow out, especially the front, you could be crushed. Take a look and think about it.
Most of us have made frame blocking from 2x2 x 1/4 wall sq tubing 4 pieces 11" long.
Be carefull,
Good luck,
Rick

Re: Biting the bullet (hard), I finally have my dream Coach - a 1995 U300 SE

Reply #49 – November 06, 2012, 09:52:01 am

Rick,

Thanks for the advice. I had read of this mod . It makes sense to me.

Safety first!

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