Video overview of my new Realm

Topic: Video overview of my new Realm (Read 2316 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #25 – November 23, 2015, 07:41:53 pm

Sweet!

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #26 – November 23, 2015, 07:46:33 pm

Thanks Jeff for sharing your new coach with all of us, with the time you have taken to do the video and post it here on the forum. I hope that you enjoy it as much as so many of us have enjoyed our Foretravels thru the years.

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #27 – November 23, 2015, 08:59:42 pm

Another thanks for sharing. And for being a member of our community. We appreciate the opportunity to hear how this new coach works for you. Keep on posting and travel well.

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #28 – November 24, 2015, 08:20:08 am

Great looking coach Jeff, I look forward to hearing about your maiden voyage!

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #29 – November 25, 2015, 10:31:59 am

I am really warming up to the newer foretravel coaches. I love this video you made. The color choices you've made on this one match my tastes very well. When I was at the Tampa rv show last year I noticed some of the finishing on the Realm was better than on the IH-45 (and vice versa). They seemed very even in many ways. The classic style frontend of the Realm isn't for me but I know I'm in the minority there. I would overlook it anyway.

The Newell was clearly better in a lot of interesting ways - but it wasn't 1.6mil versus what the Realm costs better. Knowing how much better the Realm is probably built versus the only real competitor, American Eagle with the full wall slide, it looks to me like Foretravel has a real winner with this for really any practical coach owner who just doesn't want to spend piles of money for fun on a Newell, prevost, etc.

The only thing I wish the coach builders would do is ruggedize the top if they're going to add such height. My mother has a renegade which is very tall. There is all kinds of rugged aluminum/steel trim on top and they simply just hit the tree branches and they do nothing at all to the coach. I've got a very low height with my U320 and hit stuff all the time and it makes me cringe knowing that paint up there could be getting scratched. (it hasn't yet but...) The low tree branch thing is primarily an east coast problem I think.

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #30 – November 25, 2015, 06:33:44 pm

Jeff, Beautiful coach. Love the video.
I am sure the Realm will serve your family very well.
Safe travels and enjoy--Jim

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #31 – November 26, 2015, 01:15:48 am

Hi Jeff,
That is a nice ride. Thanks for the video.
Raymond

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #32 – November 26, 2015, 04:48:39 pm

Very impressive. Looks like it is built to last. Just had to show the video to our #2 son so he can start saving. That is great engineering.

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #33 – November 29, 2015, 10:15:17 pm

Quote from: Mark Duckworth – November 25, 2015, 10:31:59 am

Knowing how much better the Realm is probably built versus the only real competitor, American Eagle with the full wall slide, it looks to me like Foretravel has a real winner with this for really any practical coach owner who just doesn't want to spend piles of money for fun on a Newell, prevost, etc.

I was thinking that the Realm's closest competitor was the Entegra Cornerstone. I'd be curious to hear if Jeff or anyone else could offer a good comparison of the two coaches.

Chris

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #34 – November 29, 2015, 11:18:41 pm

Quote from: bogeygolfer – November 29, 2015, 10:15:17 pm

I was thinking that the Realm's closest competitor was the Entegra Cornerstone. I'd be curious to hear if Jeff or anyone else could offer a good comparison of the two coaches.

Chris

From my watching of the factory type tv shows if I am not mistaken the integra is an bolted aluminum frame coach with fiberglass battens between the studs and loose hung aluminum skins.

Wooden floor cross members. 250 screws into the k3 chassis.

Buddy who sold them said they were very quiet when driving

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #35 – November 30, 2015, 12:42:09 am

The Realm came about because MHS was not given the Newmar King Aire so they built a competitor.

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #36 – November 30, 2015, 09:41:34 am

Maybe FT should get back to their roots and try to lead / innovate again?

The two lines they have now are both intended to be low(er) cost clones of other manufactures coaches, the IH is their Newell and the Realm is their King Aire, wish they had their own identity back again like with the GV line etc. Nothing wrong with the new lines, nice coaches, just that when you look and you know its a clone, you also go and look at the real deal as well.

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #37 – November 30, 2015, 12:35:40 pm

Quote from: Dale – November 30, 2015, 09:41:34 am

Nothing wrong with the new lines, nice coaches, just that when you look and you know its a clone, you also go and look at the real deal as well.

Dale,

Neither of these lines are a clone of anything. The IH45 was designed and built from scratch by Foretravel to be their next generation Foretravel. (Whether or not they did it right is a different conversation which has been discussed on this forum many times before you joined. As Michelle frequently says, "Search is your friend.")

The Realm was built according to plans from a very large dealer, MHS. It fills a niche at a much lower price point than the IH45. This is another issue, which has previously been discussed at great length.

The fact that these two motorhomes may compete directly with one or more other models made by other companies does not make them clones.

I am confident that Foretravel is not worried about their models being compared to the "competition."

Hope this helps you understand more about the background of Foretravels.

Trent

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #38 – November 30, 2015, 12:42:31 pm

I get all that.

The current lines were intended to compete directly in those segments, against those leaders, so I used the word clone. Perhaps that was not the best word to use, sorry if I offended you.

But thats how you compete, find the niche you want to play in, see what the leader is doing, try to do it as well, or better, or cheaper, or whatever your spin on that segment will be.

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #39 – November 30, 2015, 01:05:31 pm

Much lower price? The Realm sells for like $100k less. They are almost the same price. Thats what surprises me. I almost think id take a realm over an ih45 for the mass produced frame over one assembled with huck bolts or whatever they use now that will fail down the line.

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #40 – November 30, 2015, 05:49:46 pm

FT made almost 200 RVs a year not too long ago. Now how many do they make?

I bet if they made a 40foot and 36foot Realm and laid off some of the glitz and glam and got the price a bit lower, they'd sell like hotcakes through MHS.

And this loops right back around to a big problem. No dealer network across the USA.

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #41 – November 30, 2015, 06:07:03 pm

My understanding is that Foretravel is still building Phenix and Nimbus but on request only. I know of at least one customer who had a Phenix built this year.

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #42 – November 30, 2015, 07:43:56 pm

Quote from: car54 – November 30, 2015, 01:05:31 pm

Much lower price? The Realm sells for like $100k less. They are almost the same price. Thats what surprises me. I almost think id take a realm over an ih45 for the mass produced frame over one assembled with huck bolts or whatever they use now that will fail down the line.

I thought Huck bolting was a superior design?

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #43 – November 30, 2015, 08:40:08 pm

Before this thread goes off on a tangent again talking about how much better off Foretravel would be if they built coaches like the Fore family did fifteen years ago, I want to say that that topic has been talked about to some depth already.

What I ask those who are suggesting a smaller and less glitz unit, why have you not bought one or a used one from another vendor already. To often, I find many say Foretravel should be like it was fifteen years ago from owners of coaches from older time periods.

Lets not forget when we criticize the build or glitz of the newer units being built, we are also asking members here that own newer units question their purchases.

Our Foretravel family consists of owners from 1989 to 2015. Let's be sensitive to all owners since any coach built by Foretravel is a great one.

Bob

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #44 – November 30, 2015, 09:03:25 pm

Bob and Kathy raise a good point. FT builds for the customer of a new coach, not the customer of a used coach. New coach orders are what keep them in business and they are wise to build what buyers of new coaches want. It is what will keep them viable.

It does create a challenge for those of us who want to buy something like what we have now, only newer, but unless we are prepared to spec something new, we don't have a say in the game.

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #45 – December 01, 2015, 01:22:26 am

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #46 – December 01, 2015, 07:57:29 am

Quote from: bogeygolfer – November 29, 2015, 10:15:17 pm

I was thinking that the Realm's closest competitor was the Entegra Cornerstone. I'd be curious to hear if Jeff or anyone else could offer a good comparison of the two coaches.

Chris

Entegra cornerstone costs way less $. Frame on Entegra is a less expensive one from Spartin. The Foretravel uses the K3GT where the Cornerstone uses the K3 If you look at the pictures of the frames there is NO comparison.

http://www.spartanchassis.com/rv/rv_chassis.asp

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #47 – December 01, 2015, 08:36:18 am

Right on BobnKathy !

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #48 – December 01, 2015, 09:20:36 am

Quote from: Michelle – November 30, 2015, 09:03:25 pm

Bob and Kathy raise a good point. FT builds for the customer of a new coach, not the customer of a used coach. New coach orders are what keep them in business and they are wise to build what buyers of new coaches want. It is what will keep them viable.

What you say is very true. They build for the current customers that buy. We don't have access to their books or brains to know FT business model. But, there doesn't appear to be a backlog of customer orders that FT can't keep up with (hopefully I'm misinformed). Thus, "FT builds for the customer of a new coach"....well they may be fewer customers that desire the new FT than the other options, etc.

But we do know that one new customer is very happy. And I think his Realm is very nice and well done. But what if there are many people that want a new FT but don't want the size or decorations? They have no option.

And I've spoken with people that have talked to FT about making a smaller or at least non-slide coach, and FT wanted them to pay MORE than ones they had on the lot.

Re: Video overview of my new Realm

Reply #49 – December 01, 2015, 12:25:55 pm

The current FMCA magazine shows both a coach article and a construction article which seems unusual to me.

First paragraph in the factory article mentions the hung walls. And aluminum skins.

They also mention the 2x4 floor with vapor shielded fiberglass batten in between the studs and then a 3/4" plywood floor.

Which the factory says results in a r33 rating......

The k3 chassis I looked closely at at the Pomona FMCA rally was massively cross membered and divided into smaller than a unicoach compartments because of it.

The FMCA article mentions considerable additional reinforcing structure being added in addition.

Most all Indiana produced coaches have used similar construction over the years.

All the Oregon produced coaches except beaver used vacuum bonded steel franed fiberglass skinned structures.

Beaver and country coach and Foretravel had block foam insulated floors under a wood floor layer.

Time will tell how anything holds up. Dark paint makes the surfaces expand. Not sure how the hung walls are attached to the aluminum structure if at all. Not mentioned in the article.

Old beavers had a three layer vacuum bonded Fiberglass sidewall outer shin that was held on the the vacuum bonded three layer welded aluminum framed inner wall by the Windows and the entry door and the top,and bottom moldings only.

Made for an optically perfectly straight side wall.

Went by a corner stone coach this week on the road in our car driving back from Las Vegas to LA and as I passed it you could see the dimples in the bottom sidewall from being screwed into the structure.

The FMCA articles mention of the hung wall and wood and batten I thought was interesting.

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