Decision time

Topic: Decision time (Read 1898 times) previous topic - next topic

Decision time

December 03, 2021, 06:59:13 am

For background, we bought our first Foretravel, a one owner 2001 U320 3610 in 2014 from FOT and also joined this forum. I have lurked and studied the forum every since as we have always done our own repairs and maintenance. This unit served us well until on a whim we sold it this year. Not my finest moment and the regret set in immediately so we have been searching for another 36' Foretravel without even considering SOB. Now we have opportunity and a decision to make between a 2004 U270 3610 and a 2002 U295 3610. The 295 belongs to a friend and I have known it for about 3years (new slide bladder and awning) the 270 has just been introduced to us. Condition between the two seems very comparable, both have been stored inside with the 270 having about 30k more miles than the 295. Would appreciate hearing from anyone with knowledge to impart about quirks relating to either of these year models or series. TIA
Jace

Re: Decision time

Reply #1 – December 03, 2021, 08:53:54 am

Quote from: Jace – December 03, 2021, 06:59:13 am

. The 295 belongs to a friend and I have known it for about 3years

This would be worth everything to me.

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Reply #2 – December 03, 2021, 09:02:09 am

Is Aqua hot a must for you?

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Reply #3 – December 03, 2021, 10:01:11 am

You might seriously regret not having an AH once you have had one.

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Reply #4 – December 03, 2021, 10:42:08 am

If you spend time close to larger cities where access to help is not a problem, they might fill the bill. If, on the other hand, you camp a lot in the West, dry camping or boondocking and are not a DIY person, then an AH failure would be a concern and when it happened, you could need a backup to stay secure in cold weather. An AH service call may take days in some locations and be quite expensive.

An AH does require more maintenance compared to a propane heater. That's why there are more posts about problems. I've had Webasto diesel heater a MB bus and an oil fired heater for our home room radiators. They both required a lot more maintenance. And even if an AH does not fail completely, it may put out a foul smelling smoke that would not be campground friendly.

Our propane furnaces have been faultless in 13 years but the one in our bedroom is so loud that we don't use it at night. The furnace exhaust noise is also loud (along with the water heater).

Pierce

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Reply #5 – December 03, 2021, 10:55:41 am

"The 295 belongs to a friend and I have known it for about 3years"

That's a very good thing.

Plus the 295 should be a step above the 270.

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Reply #6 – December 03, 2021, 01:30:06 pm

Jace, I too sold my first coach (99 U270), immediately regretted it and understand perfectly the vacuum the sale created. Finding a replacement is not for the faint of heart! Bottom line, both will cost money to keep up. Question - in your mind, what do you consider the pro's and con's (quirks) of each (2004 U270 3610 and a 2002 U295 3610) as well as other variables - coach layout? service record/maintenance history? collision report? bulkheads? condition of paint/gel coat? remodel updates? Perhaps, that would help provide some additional feedback of more value to you and your decision. Truth is, I enjoy the Foretravel folks I have met along the way as much as I enjoy our coach.

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Reply #7 – December 03, 2021, 05:23:42 pm

Assuming the conditions are very similar between the two (as mentioned above by Walt) I would go for the 295. Based on the documentation I have comparing the models the 295 is almost the 320 less a few bigger features but includes many options. The difference between the 270 and 295 can be quite a bit and has a lot less features. Also not sure what the price difference is which factors in. I agree with others that knowing who has owned the coach and that maintenance has been done is a BIG plus.

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Reply #8 – December 03, 2021, 05:39:50 pm

Thank you everyone for the input. Having owned and maintained an Aquahot our limited use hardly justifies it being a big factor to us. Living in East Texas with no desire to fulltime nor intentionally travel in cold weather we think the gas/electric water heater and furnaces will serve us fine. I'm sure we will miss the quiet comfortable heat but maybe we can get used to the noise of the gas units since they will be seldom used.
Vacuum is a great description for what we have felt since we sold the coach! Maybe the next one can also win us over.

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Reply #9 – December 03, 2021, 05:46:11 pm

That is correct, walking in the 295 feels very familiar and actually may have a simplicity to it that suits us better than the 320.
Thanks

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Reply #10 – December 03, 2021, 05:55:27 pm

Check the slide out walls for delam. About $10K to fix.

Rich

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Reply #11 – December 04, 2021, 08:51:37 am

Does the 295 have AH? What engine is in the 270?

History is important, but so is condition of the vehicle. Guessing both have slides? I'm not a slide expert but what are the years to stay away from? Is a slide important to you? There can be expensive costs associated with them.

If all are apples to apples, I'd go with the 295. As I understand, the 270 was more of a cookie cutter model and they made and put them on lots to sell. NTTIAWRT, we had a deposit on a 270. The 295 were more "made to order" and have nicer accouterments. We're very pleased with our non-AH, non-slide 295.

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Reply #12 – December 04, 2021, 09:00:21 am

Quote from: AC7880 – December 03, 2021, 10:55:41 am

Plus the 295 should be a step above the 270.

But a step below the 320 he loved and sold.

After having an aquahot I personally would not have one without it....

Keith

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Reply #13 – December 04, 2021, 09:03:33 am

Quote from: hdff – December 04, 2021, 09:00:21 am

But a step below the 320 he loved and sold. Plus the 320 has a bigger motor and transmission

After having an aquahot I personally would not have one without it....

Just my .02

Keith

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Reply #14 – December 04, 2021, 01:53:32 pm

Keith I agree it is a nice feature, just not a deal breaker if the coach that checks the other boxes for us doesn't have one. I feel we will miss the 450hp more than an Aquahot.

Jason Both of the coaches discussed have 400hp Cummins and a single slide.

Our long time friends with the 295 are now not so sure they are ready to sell and after more consideration we feel the 270 is not a great fit for us so the quest for that "special to us" 36' coach must continue. Thanks for the input!

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Reply #15 – December 04, 2021, 03:11:17 pm

I have a 03 295, so my vote is for your friends 295

Good Luck

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Reply #16 – December 04, 2021, 04:52:34 pm

A 270 and 295 are mechanically identical. Same drive train. Both came standard without AH, but available as a factory option. They changed the slide mechanism for 2003, as I would go with a 2003 or later.

My 2003 u295 was factory ordered with nearly everything a U320 has except AH.

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Reply #17 – December 04, 2021, 07:43:59 pm

Walt, Dawn, Matt & the Poodles and Jace,

Over the years, we have run across others who regret selling their Foretravel.

Tell us more how you decided to sell and changed your minds so soon, so we can protect ourselves from make a similar decision.

Hope you find what you are looking for...

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Reply #18 – December 04, 2021, 08:34:58 pm

Not sure if a new thread is needed but to answer your question. Our first coach was a 99 U270 40ft with private bath in what I would say was in outstanding condition. Took two years and alot of research to narrow our search down to a Class A motorhome, Foretravel brand and no slide/good build years. Never owed anything but a 20ft trailer before this coach. Found a coach whose owner lived and traveled full time in it for 3yrs then decided to quit traveling and move back into his home. We bought it, had MOT go through it and used it to travel to visit family and friends. While traveling we decided to attend one of those educational seminars. Well towards the end of the week, many of us participated in giving "tours" of our coaches. Some were newer, some older but none more comfortable than ours. Many wanted to know more about Foretravel. Anyway, one couple who was selling their home and seriously looking for a coach fell in love with the beauty and comfortable feel of our Foretravel. We told them it was not for sale but we offered to try and help them look and/or advise them on Foretravels they found. After several months of looking, their house sold and no Foretravels of real interest (floorplan and/or condition issues) was found. They asked if we would reconsider (they seemed pretty stressed)... Well we rationalized, #1 we could find another one, #2 40ft length/steering cut made it difficult to turn our coach around and back into our carport given our narrow turnaround area, #3 perhaps this would be a good opportunity to help them get a good coach (they preferred 40ft ), #4 they would buy it for what we had in it, #5 let us hunt for a 36ft of the same no slide years. In the long run it worked out but learned some expensive lessons I never want to repeat. Ended up with the 99 U320 36ft with no slide and private bath. Given my mechanical aptitude/no shop, simpler is better and less costly. FYI- the 99 U270 40ft owners still have the coach, love it still, and stay in touch. Matter of fact they are still full timing in it and are in the process of installing solar.

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Reply #19 – December 04, 2021, 09:59:52 pm

Barry & Cindy
We hardly traveled in 2020 and only made a couple of trips this year. Paid insurance, registration, bought new tires, installed new inverter/charger, did a headlight conversion then on a whim decided I was deranged to continue spending money and effort maintaining something we didn't seem to be using enough to justify. My wife and I also have an old car obsession and seem to always have at least one car project in the works. We also went from zero to three grandchildren in 18 months, they live near by and we love spending time with them. Not thinking through the facts that I have only recently retired and my DW will retire this spring we became concerned with not having enough time for all our interests.
Over the years there were a few occasions we could not fit into some very desirable camping spots due to size of the motorhome and noticed Lance was making small, quality travel trailers. We decided to sell the motorhome and buy one with the idea if in a couple of years we didn't like it we would just buy another motorhome "simple as that". Well we put our motorhome on consignment and the nearest 2075 Lance trailer we could find was in Wisconsin so we went to get it. Our motorhome sold the day we were picking up the trailer. We spent two nights in that trailer on the way home and knew we had really messed up. In our 44 years of marriage we have always kept an RV of some sort. We have had pickup campers, fifth wheel, numerous bumper pulls, toy hauler, Winnebago motorhome and a Barth motorhome prior to lucking into and purchasing our U320 which was on consignment at FOT Nacogdoches. Of all the neat things we have owned the Foretravel has turned out to be among the few things we really were attached to, much more than we realized.
Surprising that the sale of a motorhome could be one of my bigger blunders.
Jace

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Reply #20 – December 05, 2021, 10:01:31 am

Quote from: Roger & Susan in Home2 – December 03, 2021, 10:01:11 am

You might seriously regret not having an AH once you have had one.

Exactly Roger! I don't know what I am missing. All I know is that it is an added maintenance item that I don't have to address. As to it's benefits ........ my coach doesn't have it so I haven't a clue (well maybe a slight clue). Let's keep things as simple as possible (a 270 is just that). Would it be a good thing to experience what an Aquahot does ? ....... NO because then I might just want one!

On a side note ........ Please do NOT ever convince yourself to sell your FT! There are reasons folks will overpay for these machines. Consider the current day cost to get the same appointments and RIDE. It doesn't stop there either. For those of us who meticulously take care of our coaches, you will likely NOT ever find one that was in as good of shape as the one you just sold.

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Reply #21 – December 05, 2021, 10:55:58 am

We have averaged exactly 8.0 mpg over the life of the coach since new. If we sold it and purchased a Sprinter or something smaller, we would have to spend at least 3x the $21.5K our U300 cost back in '08. The insurance would be about the same @$400/yr and at 16 mpg average over 8K miles a year for the Sprinter, we would only save about $2K/yr. Less if it were a class C. For what?

The U300 has paid for itself several times over so we will just keep it for a guest house or give it to one of the kids if we get too old to travel.

The big need for a big coach is good towing coverage with at least one company. Without the coverage, you are fair game for the towing services. We have two but think we will add Coach Net this next year.

Pierce

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Reply #22 – December 05, 2021, 03:28:46 pm

If this helps at all: Our first ever RV was a FT 94 U225 and we absolutely loved it, had no intention to ever sell it. To date I feel U225 was one of the best, especially the inside design. The U225 was an entry level Foretravel hence, it had small engine, 4 speed transmission, no Aqua-hot, propane generator, no air bags. Our current FT 03 295 Grand Villa came out of a left filed and we purchased it. We had named the first one Matilda, so now we have Matilda 2. Our current one has everything, bigger engine, Aqua-hot, diesel generator, 6 speed transmission, air bags, etc. We had the 225 for 3 years and done many trips in Texas and one west cost trip, went through mountains and all that. Our current one is 6 years old to us and same usage, in Texas and 1 West cost trip. At the end of the day, I would buy my U225 back, any day 3 times a day and keep my current one too. Our current one gets 4.9 stars and our first FT/225 gets 5 stars. That is strictly coming from the interior design, U225 had a perfect layout. As you can tell by now (even though I am a bit of a Motor head, more power is better :-) ) after my experience with an entry level FT and one that is to a certain degree in its own class by itself, I kind of regret selling our first FT. I had both of them for about 4 months that was fun :-). Good luck with what ever you decide to do.

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Reply #23 – December 05, 2021, 03:49:07 pm

Yes and having maybe the only 295 GV in existence would tend to tickle a guy as well.

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Reply #24 – December 05, 2021, 03:50:02 pm

There has been some really great feedback in here. I *think* I want AH and M11 and a 4060 but perhaps I really dont need any of that. I do know that going from what was a luxury DP to the 295 has been a HUGE upgrade. Very happy with my purchase and after reading though these posts any little thought of selling it has been squashed!

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