He Bought It!

Topic: He Bought It! (Read 2307 times) previous topic - next topic

He Bought It!

April 08, 2021, 07:28:31 pm

Quote

I just bought it sight unseen!
I don't even know what color it is.

Bobby B, I like your style!
jor

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #1 – April 08, 2021, 07:39:38 pm

Quote from: jor – April 08, 2021, 07:28:31 pm

Bobby B, I like your style!
jor

I agree. A Foretravel is a Foretravel. It likely will need some work (in addition to the cooling fans) but a /foretravel is a good sound machine in the end.

Richard

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #2 – April 08, 2021, 07:44:20 pm

Quote from: jor – April 08, 2021, 07:28:31 pm

Bobby B, I like your style!
jor

...yep, best of luck to Bobby B. Sounded like a good deal and a great coach! I have done the same in the past and has always worked out.

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #3 – April 08, 2021, 09:14:37 pm

Thanks all. My adventure is just beginning.
I just added the coach to my GEICO policy. That added another $200 to my six-month premium. Not bad.
I signed up for Coach-Net as I have used them on a previous motorhome.
Tomorrow I'll make sure the seller got my transfer and the tow company will get a call to move it to the shop.
I set up my account with the repair shop so I'll have all my ducks in a row when it arrives.
Exciting stuff.

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #4 – April 08, 2021, 10:02:02 pm

Bob,
Please make sure that the people moving your new prize know how to tow/move it. Pulling axles and covering them, rather than the drive line, with the chance that it's not clocked properly on install. IMHO

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #5 – April 09, 2021, 02:25:09 pm

Here is a picture from when George Stoltz had it. Rodney bought it from him.

Mark

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #6 – April 09, 2021, 03:02:15 pm

Bob,

You got one good looking coach.

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #7 – April 09, 2021, 06:48:34 pm

Thanks very much for the pic. That is one sharp coach. I am so excited!

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #8 – April 09, 2021, 07:01:44 pm

Nice looking coach! Congratulations!

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #9 – April 10, 2021, 10:47:57 am

Congratulations

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #10 – April 10, 2021, 11:55:29 am

I love an adventure!

I once bought a DP for $5000. I could look at it, start it, but couldn't drive it before handing over the money.

It took half a day to unstick the brakes. Took 45 minutes of 200-point turns to dodge the new tree and septic tank.

Had fun and made money.

When I saw the price drop, I was tempted to call.

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #11 – April 10, 2021, 01:34:45 pm

Quote from: Bob_B – April 08, 2021, 09:14:37 pm

Tomorrow I'll make sure the seller got my transfer and the tow company will get a call to move it to the shop.

I must have missed to beginning of this story. Just curious - what is the problem requiring a tow to the shop?

Never mind - answered my own question:

"It has a bad hydraulic cooling fan and is located in a rural area. It'll be an $1800 tow to a Cummins shop 125 miles away."

I probably shouldn't tell Bob_B how to handle his new acquisition, but I will bring up the fact that the cooling fan is not part of the Cummins engine assembly, and doesn't really require a Cummins shop to work on it. The cooling system is installed by the coach manufacturer (in this case FOT). The fan motor will most likely either require re-sealing, or replacement. Any shop with general hydraulic pump expertise could work on the fan problem. If a new motor is required, might be able to get it drop shipped from FOT.

What I'm suggesting is that there may be a suitable repair shop closer than 125 miles away, which would save on the tow cost. OR, perhaps a mobil mechanic could replace the motor where the coach is parked?

I personally consider towing my coach to be the last and least desirable solution to any mechanical breakdown. I hope to NEVER use our Coach-Net coverage.

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #12 – April 10, 2021, 01:44:11 pm

It was in a different thread. Parked in a rural area and the hyd. fan motor needs replacing. Post started with a listing in the classified for sale.

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #13 – April 10, 2021, 07:19:12 pm

There is no shop and no mechanic willing to touch it within a two-hour radius. That's why it sat. The price kept dropping because of it. Pulling it out of the rural area of Illinois for service has proved even more challenging.
Today the wrecker actually showed and then stormed off. Apparently the front tire deflated and came off the bead. Doh!
Time to regroup and try it all again.

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #14 – April 10, 2021, 07:40:23 pm

I had both of my Hyd Fan motors rebuilt by a diesel truck shop. Their mobile service R&R the motors. All seals from local outlet in Houston. Engineers in England told warehouse up north what part numbers and order placed by Houston firm. One number for motor and another for controller on one of two motors. Work great and leak free.

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #15 – April 10, 2021, 10:36:22 pm

Hey Rudy not to hijack the thread, got a phone number for the truck shop?

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #16 – April 11, 2021, 07:38:40 am

You don't need a "rocket scientist" to drain the hydraulic system and remove the fan motors, cap the lines so they don't get dirt in them and take them to a shop for rebuild or buy new replacements.

In fact, probably less $$ to just get new fan motors and any shade tree mechanic could replace them-- again NOT rocket science. And, if questions along the way, plenty of help here.

What else needs to be done to make the coach driveable?

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #17 – April 11, 2021, 08:44:25 am

Quote from: wolfe10 – April 11, 2021, 07:38:40 am

What else needs to be done to make the coach driveable?

Well, for one thing, gonna need a tire service truck to reseat and air up the front tire.

(I'm not sure how the wrecker guy managed to screw up the front tire. He should be lifting it off the ground to tow the coach.)

(Like I said earlier: towing = LAST RESORT)

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #18 – April 11, 2021, 09:17:34 am

Good news, the tire is aired up and ready to roll. Hopefully the towing company will come back this morning as promised.
Ideally, I wouldn't want to get this towed at all, but getting mobile service or even local service was an exercise in futility for both of me and the seller. I called everywhere. Who knew how difficult it would be.
The seller has a disability and I am a thousand miles away. As mechanically handy as I may be, I am not retired and need to earn a buck.
Towing it to big diesel shop in a metropolitan area that does RVs seemed like the way to go. Being 15 minutes away from airport is really appealing.
I'll have them fix what initially needs fixed and have them inspect the entire coach to find any potential show-stoppers.
Once I get it back home, I have an enclose storage area all ready for it. I am surrounded by RV dealers and diesel shops that do Motorhomes, so it'll be much easier to maintain.
I'll keep you posted:)

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #19 – April 11, 2021, 09:32:18 am

Quote from: Bob_B – April 11, 2021, 09:17:34 am

Good news, the tire is aired up and ready to roll. Hopefully the towing company will come back this morning as promised.
I'll keep you posted:)

Please DO keep us posted. We don't mean to sound negative all the time. Working a deal like this long distance is certainly not easy. We will support your efforts any way we can. Good luck with the tow.

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #20 – April 11, 2021, 11:31:48 am

The long distance repairs can be a bit of a challenge but you will work through it. Hopefully, you will have a go to person at Cummins that you can visit with that can give you a periodic status of your repairs. If not, might want to ask for one. We also bought our coach sight unseen, so don't worry, it can be done. It wasn't the worst financial decision I ever made. Probably doesn't even rank in the top ten..... Stay optimistic, it sounds like you are.... Good luck.

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #21 – April 12, 2021, 10:55:25 am

The coach made it to shop👍
Now for the fix.
I asked then to fix the overheating, check the fuel lines for cracking (almost certain of that), check the fuel for algae, and do an overall safety check.

It'll be another week until they can look at it. We'll see what happens next.

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #22 – April 12, 2021, 11:03:31 am

If it has been sitting for a long time, quite likely the disk brake slide pins need servicing.

Do NOT let anyone use chassis grease on the brakes!

So unless the shop has someone familiar with air disk brakes, they may not be your best choice for servicing them.

Many fire trucks have the same air disk brakes, so that may be another choice for removing wheels, checking slide pins, pads, lubing the brakes and INSTALLING HELPER SPRINGS.

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #23 – April 12, 2021, 12:12:42 pm

That's a good point about the brakes. I will make sure that it gets addressed. The good thing about where the coach is located: it is surrounded by truck shops.
The Michelin tire shop is two buildings down the street. I might use the FMCA or Prevost discount and get some new rubber installed before heading out of town.

Re: He Bought It!

Reply #24 – April 29, 2021, 04:13:36 pm

So I finally got a callback from the shop. It will need two new hydraulic fans which is no surprise. It will also need a new radiator and a starting battery. Luckily the mechanic has spent some time at Foretravel and knows these coaches well. He's been in contact with Foretravel and will be able to get the right parts. The price is unknown as of now, but I do want to get it fixed and running perfectly right. I'll let you know more when I know more.

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