Placing my order

Topic: Placing my order (Read 1508 times) previous topic - next topic

Placing my order

September 21, 2016, 08:02:19 am

I just wired my initial deposit for a new ih45 . We will be at factory on Monday to finalize the options,interior colors and what ever we may have forgotten. Am asking for any thoughts on options you wish you had ordered or any mods that you may have wanted after delivery . My list is extensive for tyle to manage , while I am sure he can accommodate and will even suggest somethings that I have not considered I am calling on your collective experience to minimize any afterthoughts.

Re: Placing my order

Reply #1 – September 21, 2016, 09:04:38 am

Congratulations.

Re: Placing my order

Reply #2 – September 21, 2016, 09:40:29 am

Congrats

Re: Placing my order

Reply #3 – September 21, 2016, 10:22:14 am

Quote from: Ahall – September 21, 2016, 08:02:19 am

I just wired my initial deposit for a new ih45 . We will be at factory on Monday to finalize the options,interior colors and what ever we may have forgotten. Am asking for any thoughts on options you wish you had ordered or any mods that you may have wanted after delivery . My list is extensive for tyle to manage , while I am sure he can accommodate and will even suggest somethings that I have not considered I am calling on your collective experience to minimize any afterthoughts.

I ordered mine with a dedicated inverter to run the front a/c. I run it while driving so I do not have to run the dash a/c. The passengers are kept cool also. There are times like driving into the sun in the middle of summer that I need both.

Re: Placing my order

Reply #4 – September 21, 2016, 10:30:18 am

Congratulations! Welcome to the Foretravel Family!

Re: Placing my order

Reply #5 – September 21, 2016, 10:44:53 am

Wow, a fresh coach! Well done, and welcome to the Forum.

Re: Placing my order

Reply #6 – September 21, 2016, 11:47:06 am

Congratulations & Welcome.

I am not sure of the standard fit for the new ones, but I would get a dedicated float charger for the engine batteries to be fitted at build so that they get charged without the present adding of devices, or using the Boost Switch.

The dedicated inverter to run the front AC unit while driving is a good one. You should not have to drive along with the generator running in order to keep cool. The drivers AC unit is not man enough with all that glass while driving in the summer.

There may be a good reason to charge only the house batteries, but I can't see a why?? As usual I stand to be corrected!!

Speedbird 1

Re: Placing my order

Reply #7 – September 21, 2016, 12:01:47 pm

Most ih's live power pole to power pole, but twer it I, using some roof space for solar panels to keep up the batteries while in storage (if not plugged in) would be a nice to have

Re: Placing my order

Reply #8 – September 21, 2016, 12:26:37 pm

@AHall I'm jealous! You get to pick everything about your coach. I'd also be a little scared that I might make a few wrong choices. You are wise to ask advise. The issue is that what works for me may not (probably not!) work for you. I assume you've had 1 or more coaches of similar class to the ih45 so you should have some idea of what works for you.

My advise is floorplan, floorplan, floorplan! Pick the one that works for you and your family. Since you asked, for me that would be a working kitchen with induction cooktops & lots of storage, fewer mirrors and more wood grain, hydronic heated floors, keep overall weight down (less tile & marble I know it looks great but it's heavy!), maximize storage in bays, don't get the pull out BBQ (those scare me, way to close to the coach. I've been known to burn a hot dogs or 2!), I would get the pull out tool box if you plan to do any of your own maintenance, I'm sure I can think of more but you get the picture.

If you can post your floorplan when you have a draft boy will you get some comments.

We'd probably be willing to help with the paint scheme too so be sure to post it too!

Good luck and keep us posted on your new project! Congrats!!!

see ya
ken

Re: Placing my order

Reply #9 – September 21, 2016, 12:50:05 pm

Quote from: kenhat – September 21, 2016, 12:26:37 pm

fewer mirrors and more wood grain. I would get the pull out tool box if you plan to do any of your own maintenance,

X-2 on the wood grain, Michelle posted some pics of the new kids a while ago, and the interior looked like a Doctor's office!

Pull-outs are a must, figured it would be KENHAT that would post THAT suggestion!

Re: Placing my order

Reply #10 – September 21, 2016, 02:49:30 pm

+1 on much of what kenhat says about interior choices.

Don't be completely distracted by "bling", think about how you will use the coach, how much you like to cook, how much you (don't) like to clean, whether you travel with pets. Are you a traveler, a seasonal camper, or a tailgater? Each is a different type of RVing and drives different choices in coach amenities.

Pick materials that are durable, easy to clean. There is a trend in newer coaches to have lots of little bitty tile, which means lots and lots of grout lines to scrub. If you like that sort of thing, great, but if you want to spend more time enjoying the coach stand firm with the designer - you have to clean the coach, not her

Think about power outlets and charging outlets for phones and tablets. Where do you plug the hair dryer in? Are toiletries and towels convenient to their points of use?

Think about counter space, pantry space, storage space for pots and pans.

Think about how the TV's are mounted and the eventuality of replacing them. Completely built in looks cool but costs more when you need to replace the TV because now you're into remodeling. Is there adequate cooling for entertainment components? Ventilation in cabinets?

Wifi booster if you need one?

Think about the appliances if you like to cook. Can you get the pans you want on the cooktop chosen (check burner spacing)? Does the oven have all the modes you need and do your pans fit? Is the fridge big enough? Do you have counter space for unloading groceries, plating a meal, staging ingredients?

Building a FT from scratch is exciting! Congratulations!

Re: Placing my order

Reply #11 – September 21, 2016, 03:37:59 pm

Windows and door with screens that open. Non-powered interior doors. Manual window awnings and interior shades. 360 Degree camera system with recording ability.

Re: Placing my order

Reply #12 – September 21, 2016, 04:01:43 pm

Quote from: Michelle – September 21, 2016, 02:49:30 pm

Are you a traveler, a seasonal camper, or a tailgater? Each is a different type of RVing and drives different choices in coach amenities. Building a FT from scratch is exciting! Congratulations!

Yup, well said, as usual, Michelle! If my uncle sugar gave me a fresh coach for Christmas, (not) , and I knew I'd be driving in fog, evenings, backing into sites after dark, I'd spec: (A) Super fog lights, that could be aimed inside on both sides without having to run the mains, just the markers on. (B) Two roof-mounted spotlights, both remote controlled, with the toggle switches mounted where they are easily reached for adjustment. I'd have a DW switch for help with the curb-side spot. The spots should be adjustable so as to widen or narrow the beam. Our camera is worthless for backing up, I'd heard of a new camera system that pretty much shows 180 ++++degrees. I don't care what they say, I'd have a boost gauge and pyrometer installed and have FOT instruct on how to monitor them. O.K., one more thing, we are both graphic artists, never liked the overdone paint & stripes. Tacky. A good graphic artist (I assume FOT has one) can design a classy exterior, without it looking like a circus bus. Best looking coaches (one) I've seen were black and red with minimum who-ha.

Re: Placing my order

Reply #13 – September 22, 2016, 11:17:24 pm

Quote from: mike leary – September 21, 2016, 04:01:43 pm

without it looking like a circus bus.

What's wrong with Circus Busses? Hmmm?

Re: Placing my order

Reply #14 – September 23, 2016, 12:20:09 am

Congratulations & Welcome.
If it was me, I would build it so propane will not be used at all. Such as residential refrigerator and electric cook top/oven.
For everything else batteries, inverter & diesel.
I would use soft elements, such as no ceramic tile for me. Under bay electronics should have enough ventilation & exhaust.
Figure out if you want black & gray water combined one tank or two separate tanks.
If possible i would have two alternators on the engine.
3M Crystalline Automotive Window Film for the windshield; especially if you can get them to do this before they install the windshields on.
Not one but two rear view cameras and couple on each side.
Such fun you will have doing this, enjoy.

Re: Placing my order

Reply #15 – September 23, 2016, 12:48:10 am

Congratulations! As mentioned earlier, being able to run a roof top AC or two with the cummins/alternator(s)/inverters would be wonderful. The bus conversions do it and CC Affinity did it as well.

Looking forward to seeing pictures!

Re: Placing my order

Reply #16 – September 23, 2016, 08:21:04 am

Congratulations!

"Best looking coaches (one) I've seen were black and red with minimum who-ha." I'd disagree. I'd choose an all-white coach with a bit of accent color.

Re: Placing my order

Reply #17 – September 23, 2016, 10:45:54 am

colors and graphic choices very personal. Fiberglass does not like heat much above 135 degrees, which can easily be exceeded on a hot sunny day on any black or dark painted surfaces.

A search of this forum will lead to several threads about paint color and potential issues with fiberglass issues on dark colored coaches - this is NOT a Foretravel issue, but an industry/fiberglass issue

I like the looks of the dark coaches, but they are more prone to fiberglass issues over the years, and a lot more difficult to cool in the hot sunny climates where we all seem to prefer to use out coaches

Re: Placing my order

Reply #18 – September 23, 2016, 01:35:28 pm

Ivory pearl white with blue pearl white accents

Re: Placing my order

Reply #19 – September 23, 2016, 03:08:18 pm

Quote from: Michelle – September 21, 2016, 02:49:30 pm

Pick materials that are durable, easy to clean. There is a trend in newer coaches to have lots of little bitty tile, which means lots and lots of grout lines to scrub. If you like that sort of thing, great, but if you want to spend more time enjoying the coach stand firm with the designer - you have to clean the coach, not her

Last Friday we walked thru every Foretravel they had for sale, used and new. The one thing my wife and I both agreed on was we did not like the little tiles in the shower, which almost all of them had.

Re: Placing my order

Reply #20 – September 23, 2016, 06:07:25 pm

I agree on the tiles, and having done ceramic etc installs for 20 yrs I recommend people keep away from them unless they love cleaning. There is also the bigger chance of unknown leaks thru grout--even with the Ditra and Schluter systems that are used.
I like large ( min 10x13") for showers as it makes them look so much bigger and easier to use the rubber squeegees to clean after a shower, which is the best way to keep them looking new etc.
Busy design is not vogue any more and I was surprised FT still did it.
IMHO
JohnH

Re: Placing my order

Reply #21 – September 23, 2016, 07:15:42 pm

In our stix and brix we had a corian shower base made for us - worked great.

Re: Placing my order

Reply #22 – September 24, 2016, 10:22:51 pm

The only thing that I could add is go for light exterior colors..even earth tone pastels will look good...
.Use the KISS formula...ie: Keep It Simple Stupud..Less is More
No need for the A/C to be killing itself trying to cool the coach

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