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

It looks as if it's a very nice coach. However, I think the price is perhaps $10,000 too high. There are a number of bargains out there, but this one--even though it's nice--doesn't strike me as a bargain.

Walt, you get more storage with no slides.

You sure do!  With a bedroom slide, you loose the side wall cabinets, and the rear cabinets are not as deep, fore and aft.  You also loose the corner triangle cabinet with mirrored top cabinet some use for makeup, and lower double door cabinet and the narrow counter top.

DW was a bit concerned about what she thought was a lack of interior storage in the bedroom since there aren't any slides. (On the up side, I did finally get her to look at a couple of the MOT videos. So the seed has been planted.) If I can somehow get her in a coach of the same vintage as this one I might be able to change her mind. She hasn't completely ruled out no slides, but she said it would be a tough sell.

If you want the maximum storage space, then I recommend you try to find a 40 ft no-tag-axle, no-slide, no-separate-room-for-the-toilet coach such as our 1995 U320. It has a tremendous amount of storage space (both inside and in the basement) and none of the hassles associated with a slide. For us, it seems to be the perfect coach.

Late to post on this one but just realized this is my old coach.  I did the paint at extreme and extreme did the headlights.  New led tv and antenna.  Previous owner did the seats.  I think they came from Red Bay tiffin product as the previous owner lived in NC.  Great coach and had minor issues with it as it was almost maintenance free for us.  Have to say we sold it to get more room.  36 and no slides get mighty small for 3 to 4 people.  We love the 40 295 and 2 slides we have now and would not go back. The asking price is more than we got when we sold it so hang in there on the price, there should be room to negotiate but I do not know what the owner after me did to improve the coach.  Looks the same.  Really a nice coach and the outside paint (no white painted, that's original) is just like new. The headlights are worth every penny (miss them). 36 is easy to drive.  Questions just ask.  DAN

quite firm in opinion for someone who hasn't been in one or seen one live. Â The joys of matrimony...

Good luck Walt, it looks like you will need it!

It does take more room to turn the 40 but after you have it for a while driving the 40 over the 36 is all the same.  Get what you want and need the first time for its costly to trade up.  Just enjoy whatever you get.  Sometimes, part of the fun is the hunt.

Walt,

Since I'll be doing the driving, I want a 42' with slides.  I actually wouldn't mind a 45', but I think I would have to go to a newer FT like the Phenix.  DW has no problem with that.  Her main issue is price and not sinking a ton a money into a depreciating asset.  Now, should I die somewhere on the highway, she'd call a cab and send the FT to the auction. 

I think the advantage of 36' is simply getting into some NPs; however, we plan to full-time and I'm not sure if that would be too cozy for us for the next few years, especially without any slides, but I'd like to hear from those of you who have full-timed in a 36'.

The other question is how much to set aside for "upgrades" on a used coach in the late 90s' or early '00s?  What has been your experience from purchasing a coach at around $100-200K that's a 2001-2008 and how much money did you put into it to add some of today's technogolies, i.e., HDTV, Aqua Hot, RR w/inveter-batts, etc.?

Walt,

Since I'll be doing the driving, I want a 42' with slides.  I actually wouldn't mind a 45', but I think I would have to go to a newer FT like the Phenix.  DW has no problem with that.  Her main issue is price and not sinking a ton a money into a depreciating asset.  Now, should I die somewhere on the highway, she'd call a cab and send the FT to the auction. 

purchasing a coach at around $100-200K that's a 2001-2008

It is MHO that  (again) before you do any more soul searching on what to add/delete etc etc etc with the FT brand of coach's both of you together should spend the next 12 months actually visiting many units for sale and make a simple spread sheet on likes and dislikes. This alone will answer many of your problems then after all thatyou will see why this group of people prefer the make we have.
I spent around 4 yrs looking looking while enjoying the class D van (and totally rebuilding that one too) then a C we had. I knew I wanted to move up a touch and looked at all makes. One evening while in Yuma we saw a coach I did not know existed (FT) and just had 5 mins to walk thru it before the guy closed up. That did it for me and the hunt  THEN was on for a FT I could afford. I did not waste any energy prior to that on a particular brand, just getting to know the ins and outs of all of them.
I suggest you both attack it in a similar fashion seeing there is a bit of "difference of opinion" as I read between the lines.
JohnH

We have been full timing in our 36 ft U270 for 6.5 years now.  No slide, but the layout is great for us.
This year we did put new tires , 8 new air bags, and replaced a bad lift pump along with normal maintenance.
Hope to continue traveling in this same coach for 10+ years more- only has 119,000 miles on it.

We have everything we need and most of what we want, so we are enjoying it. 

Find the coach that you like and fits your needs and budget, then travel and have fun.

Best of luck in your search.

She can be very firm once she's made her mind up. Her opinion on length is based on seeing other coaches of 40-feet. Since length is pretty much the same regardless of brand, I don't think I'll be able to shake her on that one.

I won't try to argue with you (or with your wife through you) but I do suggest the following:

I know a 40-ft Foretravel looks big; to some people it looks really big. However, it doesn't drive as big as it looks. It is surprisingly maneuverable, and the extra four feet in length rarely become a factor when driving or maneuvering. More importantly, those extra four feet make a huge difference in the basement storage, and I think they make perhaps an even larger difference in the interior storage. Consider that with the aisle down the center of the motorhome those extra four feet are gained on both sides of that center aisle, so that in effect eight feet of additional storage space is gained.

I would suggest that you and your wife compare similar models in the 36-ft and 40-ft lengths. For us the difference in the interior was so dramatic that it made the decision very easy. The tradeoff between maneuverability and storage space easily let us choose the extra storage space. We haven't regretted it!