Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 07, 2025 ...

One suggestion to look at is rather than a new vacuum manifold is to add a vacuum pump.  A lot of the Newell guys have done that since Newell didn't have any way to evacuate the air from the bladder other than the air bleeding out.  Not sure of the cost of each but might be worth a look at.  If you're interested I could point you to a post on newellgurus.com.
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Rudy had mentioned the same prior also. Yes I am very much interested in it. A dedicated 12v vacuum pump would be quite and efficient. Yes please. I'm not ordering parts this month, but in a month I would like to know what I need and were to purchase. Thank you
Scott

I'm finally talking about changing  my living room slide bladder.

I do have capabilities to remove the slide as required for my year. 

When you talk to HWH be sure to ask them how and where to take the measurements foe the new bladder. When I ordered mine they were very specific on what they wanted.

Yes I was aware of that prior. Don't want to get the wrong size. I'm actually interested in any improved seals they have also. Would like a lifetime warranty, mine not the seal. Don't want to repeat the process when I could do it better the first time. I live in the desert and although its only in direct sunlight when in use it's still 110+ in the summer time and real dry. Hoping to be able to flee the summer and head way north. Thinking of the coach of course
Scott

Give them your coach #, They ship out each order by number. They have all the part numbers they sent out the first time.

does yours leak on the top of the slide?

On mine, the slide room roof had sagged in the middle (maybe from having the slide out 80% of the time for 20 years, and the bladder pushing down on it?

MOT did a LOT of work to get the sag out of the room - We all thought it was the bladder, but that is NOT what it turned out to be.

on a 2000 you will need to bring the room all the way out of the coach to work on the bladder- Most shops use a forklift or two or an adjustable staging system on wheels

Not for the faint of heart....

Tim Fiedler

Sure Start Soft Start - home of SureStart soft starters TCER Direct - Installation wire for generators, car chargers and pools - home of Generac Approved Aluminum and Copper TCER Composite cable Home | generator-gas-prod - home of X-Riser Gas Risers for PE installation Call me at 630 240-9139
Gen-Pro

Give them your coach #, They ship out each order by number. They have all the part numbers they sent out the first time.

Scott,
This is going to be a nice thread on your adventures with the slide bladder.

I still have not fixed my leaking bedroom slide bladder. To survive the winter, I pushed Air Conditioning type of insulation into the gap to keep water and bugs out. I was planning to travel to FOT in the spring to have it fixed. Will HWH in Iowa replace the bladder in a FT? Iowa is 15 hours away from me. FOT is 3 days away.

What's the story on the new and improved bladder for the slides? I'm hopeful that once I get mine replaced I won't have to go through that again.

Vacuum pump vs. manifold. What is the story with that?

>>>>>>>Will HWH in Iowa replace the bladder in a FT? Iowa is 15 hours away from me. FOT is 3 days away<<<<<

FYI, the reason they needed the size of the slide, is because the early slide rooms where made too big for the hole. We replaced seals regularly on new coaches at first. I personally did 5. less then one year old coaches. That and the HWH hose end repair, then upgrade hoses when the repair didn't work. kept us busy on new coaches.

The early slides  had to come out, we had a custom table. I believe RnR still has the table they bought from FT. Some of this was revised via a smaller seal among other things.They built new molds for rooms I believe. Thus, the varying room sizes.Thus the question.

I did a Prevost bus for the owner of Amway at FT, it took 2 forklifts, what a job.That coach was the prototype for HWH and Prevost. They never planned to ever change a seal.


Chris

Chris you mention the hose upgrades, is there any way to determine the mod status of my coach? If I'm going to be in this deep if there are additional items to be addressed this would be the preferred time to take them on. It would be nice to figure out what I need ahead of time. I do have the capability to build high pressure hydraulic lines on site and have two forklifts. Any other input is greatly appreciated!
Thanks Scott

Yours probably has the new hoses by now. If they don't leak, they have been replaced.
We went through trying to repair them, don't remember what the issue was, either the ends or the hose brand/style, so they gave up, and we did a complete hyd. hose swamp out. HWH warranty.

If your still worried, I would contact FT, or HWH. They would have the info. I slept since then...LOL
Chris

Would not hesitate to visit HWH.  In 2018 after the Maritime Motorcade we had 2 or 3 coaches parade into Moscow for bladder replacement.  I would book an appointment early so they had the parts you need.  Probably take until Spring to get an appointment.  We stayed in Moline, IL just across the river at The Element Hotel.  Very nice and reasonable.  It's down the street from the Deere visitor's center or a 5 min. walk.  Try and schedule a tour of the Deere Factory.  Remarkable!  If it's baseball season the KC Royals high A affiliate: The River Bandits are right across the bridge.  They are in Davenport, IA.  I think we were in and out in 2 days.  Great folks at HWH and they'll bring it all back to spec.  It was cheaper than getting it done elsewhere as mentioned, but based on what I'm reading here the prices are up 50% plus since my visit.    Prices are really getting worrisome.