Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

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Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #25 – November 23, 2020, 11:21:12 am

Yes. michelle,
If you check my info, you will see that I have an isx 500. This engine was down for 18+ months and to the tune of 30 k out of pocket to get it done right not including what good sam allowed for one piston.. That included fighting with Cummins. I am very aware of Mr D's problems. Cummins did not own up to the problem, but they have sort of come around to try and assist in fixing it now. It is buyer beware, but it can be fixed if caught early. This is a good case of not building engines out of country, i.e. Mexico and Brazil.
If the rebuild is done right it works, but rebuilding one or two of the pistons just leads back to having it done again in about 20 k miles as in Mr.D's case x 3. The crappy filter that the engine was supplied with does not function correctly leading to back pressure on the number Six piston. We had to go to an aftermarket filter to rectify the problem. That was after trying the replacement filter that Cummins recommended. If the engine is rebuilt properly, then the ISX can do its job.
We were told to just fix the pistons, but that would not have worked ,now would it?

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #26 – November 23, 2020, 11:33:03 am

Quote from: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart – November 23, 2020, 11:20:02 am

I'm sure Brett remembers VW exhaust valve failures. Part of routine maintenance was replacing the valves after so many miles.

Pierce

What-- failure of VW air cooled #3 exhaust valves (read that dropping of the head of the valve into the piston) ? In Texas??? In the summer???

Yes, helped pay my way through University of Texas fixing these things. Particularly the 1968 and 1969 models with both valve issues AND soft blocks that required line-boring and fitting of oversized main bearings.

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #27 – November 23, 2020, 11:55:27 am

Quote from: wolfe10 – November 23, 2020, 11:33:03 am

Yes, helped pay my way through University of Texas fixing these things.

My father must have helped your college fund. We sucked valves twice on a Karmann Ghia and twice on a VW Micro bus back in the '60's.

Richard

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #28 – November 23, 2020, 12:15:49 pm

As I remember, the oil cooler was in the way of the air flow to the driver's side of the engine so VW made the distributor cap a couple of distributor degrees retarded for #3 cylinder.

Cooling and high horsepower was a big reason to go to liquid cooling on engines. About 28 degrees was it for Porsche, VW while the water cooled varieties could advance the timing to about 38 degrees. Big difference.

Fun fact: Aircooled aircraft engine's magnetos (usually the left one) other than the impulse coupler, are set at about 25 degrees all the time with no advance mechanism. The FADEC System – Impulse Coupling

Pierce

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #29 – November 23, 2020, 12:31:47 pm

I got corrected. The retard was in the distributor cam, not the cap. Excellent!

Pierce

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #30 – November 23, 2020, 10:38:20 pm

I am something of a mathematics nerd, so indulge me.

Quote from # 24 by Pierce

"When I was selling Mercedes in Germany, a higher than normal percentage of transmission failures in the S class cars occurred. All the owners got a letter from MB and every transmission in a batch of serial numbers was replaced at no charge. They didn't wait until the car was stranded by the side of the road to help. "

Sounds reasonable for a well repudiated company, but the key phrase is ".... a higher than normal percentages.."

I once lost an argument with General Electric Gas Turbine Division on that issue.

I was in the late 1980's Maintenance Manager in the then one of the largest natural gas field in the world owned by Mobil Oil in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. We had a fleet of over 30 GE Frame 5 two shaft gas turbines, running generators and centrifugal compressors, and did most of the refurbishing in our own shops.

Because I had an interest in failure analysis, we kept meticulous records on failure frequency and cause. From these I concluded that we suffered from an abnormally high percentage of power turbine blade failures.

Suspecting a reoccurring technical problem, I contacted GE. They shared with me their worldwide failure data on their Frame line gas turbines, and I had to conclude that our failure just showed a random anomaly and our sample size was far too low to make conclusions about the cause.

What is the connection to the Cummings ISX engine failures?

To make statistically valid statement about the expected failure rates of a piece of equipment is a very complex process.
But in real life, nobody forces you to make statistically valid statements, if you have alternatives, hearsay and gut feeling are OK as long as you state them as such.

So I told my friend, that I would personally stay away from the ISX engine if I had an alternative.

Regards

Klaus

PS 1:

In case anybody is interesting in the subject of failure analysis, I recommend Nassim Talibs book "Fooled by randomness"
Even more valid in these times of virus tests (false positive vs false negative tests) is the story in Leonard Mlodinows book (The Drunkards Walk), and how he was incorrectly diagnosed with an incurable disease.

PS 2:

If this interests you at all, google : " An infinite number of monkeys with typewriters"

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #31 – November 24, 2020, 09:55:03 am

Why Buy a Foretravel over the other brands...
Well ,Because they aren't Foretravels.
And you dont get this kind of internet fambilly with other brands..What more can you ask for, A great coach and all of us!

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #32 – November 24, 2020, 10:13:48 am

This Forum family

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #33 – November 24, 2020, 01:33:57 pm

I have owned several coaches over the years starting with a 1973 Travco, then a 1978 GMC, 1995 Beaver Patriot, 2005 Monaco Executive and now a 2015 Foretravel ih-45.

My wife wanted a coach with a bath and a half. So the research began. At the Tampa, Florida RV Super Show Foretravel introduced the 2012 ih-45. We were impressed with the quality of the build and all the amenity's that the coach offered. I knew nothing about Foretravel, so my research began. We looked at the Prevost, Newell, Newmar, and Entegra. I could not justify the $$$ for the Prevost and Newell when almost all the components were the same that were used in the Monaco Exec and the ih-45. Our list shrunk to three coaches, the Entegra Cornerstone, Newmar King Aire and the ih-45. I could not find much negative results about Foretravel. Most of those that I communicated with that owned a Foretravel praised the coach they owned, the company and the support they had received from Foretravel.

In the summer of 2015 we decided to do a Factory travel tour and go to the factory's and check out how each brand was built. The Entegra factory tour was about 2 hours long. To my surprise Entegra only assembles the coaches at the factory. The only components of the Entegra that are built in house are the interior components, Everything else is built by offsite vendors including the fiberglass. The other surprising thing about Entegra is they do not have a parts department. All the parts on site at the factory are for the production line coaches. The quality at Entegra was good and each coach had to pass a QC before moving to the next station in the build.

The Newmar Factory tour was about one and a half hours long and our tour guide was not up to the task. The factory assembly plant was a pig sty and almost no quality control from station to station. Like Entegra, a lot of the components are built by Vendors offsite and assembled at the Newmar factory. In the completed QC bay there was six coaches that were going through QC inspection. One was a King Aire going to a dealer in Florida. It had four 11" X 17" inch sheets of paper taped to the passenger side slide out with over125 issues that needed to be corrected.

Needless to say we were not very impressed with either manufacture. We visited both factory's in June and would not get out to Foretravel until the end of July.

The Foretravel Factory tour lasted about four hours and included all the different phases of manufacturing and construction of the coaches. When the tour was over we were satisfied that the ih-45 would be the coach to replace our Executive.

A little bit about myself; I am a corporate pilot - Retired. I still own two businesses, an Aircraft Modification business and a Chrome Plating business.

I am also the owner/moderator of the Monacoers.org group. We started the group in 2004 to help Monaco Coach owners with technical help. I have aver 5000 members to date. We are not a Social group, but more of a technical and help group. I put together a rally once a year and bring in vendors from Cummins, Detroit/Allison and others for seminars for the five day event.

I am very familiar with the valve issue of the ISX engine. The ISX is just about the staple engine installed in most of the high end production coaches, so the problems with the valve train were not just limited to Foretravel and the issue was present mostly in the ISX 650HP engine prior to 2012. After 2012 Cummins eventually reduced the HP to 600 and the ISX was built with a new cylinder head configuration which has fixed the problem.

We purchased our ih-45 and after almost four years of ownership I can honestly say it is the best coach we have ever owned. The quality is what you expect for a luxury coach. The support from the factory is surprisingly the best. We have had only three issues with the coach and all were covered and repaired under warranty. we have over 40,000 miles on the coach and other than a few operator issues I can find nothing to complain about.

Our Monaco Executive was also a very good coach and the only coach that we found that was equal to or better as far as Equipment and quality to replace it was the ih-45. The other choices just came down to that I would be giving up to much.

Monaco built great coaches up until 2006. Their high end coaches all had the best components and the quality was very good for a production coach. In 2007 Monaco was in trouble and lost it credit with many vendors and they were using whatever they had on the shelf to build coaches, so quality and product suffered greatly. 2004 thru 2007 were actually the best years for the Monaco high end coaches. After 2007, not so much. Monaco was sold out of Bankruptcy to Navistar in 2009 and the brand has suffered ever since. Navistar sold Monaco to the REV Group-(American Coach) and the decline continued to where now any Monaco coach is nothing more than a rebranded American Coach.

Now that I have had the experience to have owned both a Monaco Executive and the Foretravel ih-45 and from what I know and have experienced with both brands I would definitely purchase a Foretravel Coach.

Once you own a Foretravel you won't go back!

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #34 – November 24, 2020, 02:03:28 pm

Cummins has designed a new cylinder head for the ISX engine. It's purpose is to eliminate the number 6 valve sucking problem. $4K, no core charge.
NEW Cummins ISX 15 Cylinder Head For Sale - City Of Industry, CA - Alliance...

Tim

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #35 – November 24, 2020, 02:19:39 pm

Link didn't work for me. Here are some photos and ISX engines that have intake valve chordal failure: http://www.engineprofessional.com/TB/TB040318-2.pdf

Pierce

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #36 – November 24, 2020, 10:33:29 pm

We looked at *lots* or coaches when we decided to go ahead and replace the P30 chassis class A we had for 19 years. If you are loking for a 10+ year old RV I think FT is the only choice. Parts availability and this forum seal that deal. And once you drive one, and notice how Foretravel built their chassis to not have bump steer, and how the others require constant steering correction because they dodn't, it quickly becomes a non-contest. Of course, I'm kinda biased, but geez I remember one Monaco I looked at wherein the entire battery inventory, as designed, was 2 standard car batteries. Sorry but that is unacceptable. I mean, ypu wpuldn't even be able to tailgate parth with that, much less boondock for even an hour...

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #37 – April 06, 2021, 10:39:25 pm

I have owned more than one Monaco Signature RV. I have yet to own a Foretravel, but plan to do so one day. I agree with people here which coach is better, but I wouldn't expect otherwise considering where the question was posted.

I don't think the Foretravel is the better value coach. Every four slide 45' coach I looked at was over $100k more than the same year Monaco Signature. I don't feel it's THAT much better of motorhome considering the Newell is $100k over the Foretravel, and beats it handedly. I'm also considering the 2006-2007 year range due to it being the better Signature years (and Monaco closing it's doors shortly afterwards).

If we compare coaches in the same price range, We get a four slide Signature competing with a two, maybe three slide Foretravel, which I would not consider a fair contest (comparing apples to apples). It's also hard to find a large used Foretravel selection which makes the prices stay higher whether it's worth it or not. Foretravel is a better made coach, but my money is better spent on the Monaco for now.

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #38 – April 07, 2021, 03:38:51 am

Looks like you answered your own question with your last sentence,we chose quality over quantity you choose quantity over quality.

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #39 – April 07, 2021, 08:10:42 am

Quote from: TGordon – November 24, 2020, 02:03:28 pm

Cummins has designed a new cylinder head for the ISX engine. It's purpose is to eliminate the number 6 valve sucking problem. $4K, no core charge.
NEW Cummins ISX 15 Cylinder Head For Sale - City Of Industry, CA - Alliance...

Tim

That seems like a smoking good deal for that head if it accomplishes all it claims. A pre emptive retrofit would make sense for some.

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #40 – April 07, 2021, 08:23:12 am

Quote from: staffcurtis – April 06, 2021, 10:39:25 pm

If we compare coaches in the same price range, We get a four slide Signature competing with a two, maybe three slide Foretravel... Foretravel is a better made coach, but my money is better spent on the Monaco for now.

It sounds like you evaluate coaches based primarily on the number of slides: more slides equals more desirable. I believe you should stick with Monaco.

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #41 – April 07, 2021, 09:49:31 am

If more slides = better, then I agree also. Go for more slides. But consider the actual floor space those extra slides give you. Is it twice as much as 1/2 as many slides? If not then IMO you're trading twice the complexity for not much more inside space. Remember anytime you make a hole in a structure you weaken it. The structure needs to be properly designed and built to add back the structural integrity.
As an aside I've had people compliment how nice my coach looks but then ask with a dumbfounded look "you don't have ANY slides?"

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #42 – April 07, 2021, 10:11:37 am

Why buy a used Foretravel?
1. The knowledge base on the Forum
2. Quality Built (as is evident from the number of old coaches still in everyday use
3. Factory still in production
4. Factory parts dept still supports its older coaches
5. Factory technical support available
6. Repair and servicing facilities around the factory run by former employees supporting the older coaches
7. Not many parts that cannot be readily sourced
8. Factory remodeling of interiors available
9. Motorcade (owners club)
10.Chapters

What am I missing?
David

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #43 – April 07, 2021, 10:34:27 am

Quote from: Chuck Pearson – April 07, 2021, 08:10:42 am

Quote from: TGordon - 4 months ago
Cummins has designed a new cylinder head for the ISX engine. It's purpose is to eliminate the number 6 valve sucking problem. $4K, no core charge.
NEW Cummins ISX 15 Cylinder Head For Sale - City Of Industry, CA - Alliance...

Tim

That seems like a smoking good deal for that head if it accomplishes all it claims. A pre emptive retrofit would make sense for some.

Probably could resell old head if removed serviceable, would be a no brainer if you owned a ISX IMO
Scott

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #44 – April 07, 2021, 10:48:58 am

Quote from: staffcurtis – April 06, 2021, 10:39:25 pm

I have owned more than one Monaco Signature RV. I have yet to own a Foretravel, but plan to do so one day. I agree with people here which coach is better, but I wouldn't expect otherwise considering where the question was posted.

I don't think the Foretravel is the better value coach. Every four slide 45' coach I looked at was over $100k more than the same year Monaco Signature. I don't feel it's THAT much better of motorhome considering the Newell is $100k over the Foretravel, and beats it handedly. I'm also considering the 2006-2007 year range due to it being the better Signature years (and Monaco closing it's doors shortly afterwards).

If we compare coaches in the same price range, We get a four slide Signature competing with a two, maybe three slide Foretravel, which I would not consider a fair contest (comparing apples to apples). It's also hard to find a large used Foretravel selection which makes the prices stay higher whether it's worth it or not. Foretravel is a better made coach, but my money is better spent on the Monaco for now.

How many windshields have you had to replace? My brothers '05 is on it's 3rd one and it has cracked again, he has only owned it 4 years. The company that made the leveling system also went belly up but I've heard that a buyer may buy the company and sell support parts. I owned a '81 Foretravel 40' diesel pusher for 18 years with very few problems. Bought a '96 Sig. in 2012 and had more problems in 3 years with electrical systems than 18 years on the FT. Bought my '99 Foretravel in '15 and it will outlast me for sure.

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #45 – April 07, 2021, 11:02:36 am

Quote from: dsd – April 07, 2021, 10:34:27 am

Probably could resell old head if removed serviceable, would be a no brainer if you owned a ISX IMO
Scott

I remember some BMW cylinder heads that warped no matter what you did to them. Only option was to replace with the old one going in the round can.

ISX are not the only ones. I met a member my first time in Q that had just replaced his 8.3. 8.3 cummins with dropped valves - Google Search

More HP usually means higher EGTs. And that almost always translates to a shorter lifespan.

Pierce

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #46 – April 07, 2021, 11:17:02 am

Quote from: folivier – April 07, 2021, 09:49:31 am

But consider the actual floor space those extra slides give you. Is it twice as much as 1/2 as many slides? If not then IMO you're trading twice the complexity for not much more inside space.

We were looking at a 4-slide CC and this was the realization we finally came to. We didn't actually get much more *usable* space. The only place we felt the extra slides moved the needle was the bedroom. Otherwise, it was just more floor space between seating areas or the kitchen. Unless you're really into yoga, it's hard to make an argument for the step down everywhere else IMO.

Our 5th wheel had two big opposing slides with a big island in the middle. Despite that, we actually find our FT feels bigger because the use of space is so much better.

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #47 – April 07, 2021, 11:29:56 am

Remember, bedroom slides, really limit access to engine. Equals higher maintenance cost.

Been there, done that.

Think gynecologist when working on engine!

Also, we sold Monico's at RnR, and almost everyone had slide water leak issues, that did much damage.

Chris

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #48 – April 07, 2021, 11:32:46 am

Slides always add complexity to a coach along with weight and compromised structural integrity. This means more maintenance in many cases.

They may limit interior space while driving.

Lots of law firms have owners with bad slides as clients.

If we full timed with extended time in locations, lots of slides might be the ticket. But we never will be full timers so no slides works best for us.

Pierce

Re: Why buy an used Foretravel over Monaco, need help in this discussion.

Reply #49 – April 07, 2021, 12:06:14 pm

Quote from: staffcurtis – April 06, 2021, 10:39:25 pm

I have owned more than one Monaco Signature RV. I have yet to own a Foretravel, but plan to do so one day. I agree with people here which coach is better, but I wouldn't expect otherwise considering where the question was posted.

Foretravel is a better made coach, but my money is better spent on the Monaco for now.

Curious - this was a bump of a 5 month old topic as the member's first post on the forum...

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