1990 Foretravel Grand Villa ORED converter location?

Topic: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa ORED converter location? (Read 1620 times) previous topic - next topic

1990 Foretravel Grand Villa ORED converter location?

December 25, 2021, 05:04:46 pm

We've just purchased a 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa 3600. We're finding an issue with the batteries not wanting to charge when connected to shore power. We can't locate the converter. We've been trying to find resources online but no luck. This is not a Unihome with a basement. We've checked all compartments. Can anybody assist?

Gayle

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #1 – December 25, 2021, 05:44:43 pm

Gayle/Andy,

WELCOME to the ForeForum.

With "no basements", wonder if you have an ORED (Oshkosh Rear Engine Diesel)?

Knowing will help with the answers.

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #2 – December 25, 2021, 05:45:42 pm

Have you looked up in the sewer dump compartment?

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #3 – December 25, 2021, 05:48:13 pm

Mine is in sewer hose compartment. Back in corner or screwed the the top panel.

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #4 – December 25, 2021, 05:58:51 pm

Quote from: wolfe10 – December 25, 2021, 05:44:43 pm

Gayle/Andy,

WELCOME to the ForeForum.

With "no basements", wonder if you have an ORED (Oshkosh Rear Engine Diesel)?

Knowing will help with the answers.

Yes it's a ORED
I'll have to look again in the sewer dump compartment, but I believe all that was on the roof was a electric heater.

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #5 – December 25, 2021, 06:31:12 pm

I looked in the sewer compartment again.
That's not a heater it's the converter with a noisy cooling fan fan.

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #6 – December 25, 2021, 06:57:09 pm

Next to the sewer dump compartment and next to the water tank. Electrical panel is toward the compartment door, converter screwed to the side wall.

Pierce

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #7 – December 25, 2021, 07:45:47 pm

Quote from: Gayle Fischer – December 25, 2021, 05:04:46 pm

We've been trying to find resources online but no luck.

Gayle,

Welcome to the group as you can see this is your best online go to place (if it's a fact then it ain't bragging) for answers to your Foretravel questions/problems.

Pamela & Mike

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #8 – December 25, 2021, 11:26:21 pm

Quote from: Gayle Fischer – December 25, 2021, 05:04:46 pm

We've been trying to find resources online but no luck.

Welcome Gayle & Andy,

Links below will provide a little reading material that you may find interesting. Also feel free to use the very helpful SEARCH box located at top right of every page. The entire archived contents of this Forum can be easily searched for items of interest. Set the search order to "Most Recent Topics First" to get most current information.

ForeForums Foretravel Motorcoach Wiki

https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?action=media;sa=album;in=113

https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?action=media;sa=album;in=165

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FORETRAVEL

You might like to include your coach build number in your signature. Look on the metal plate next to the driver seat. In the Model No. at the bottom of the plate, your build number is the 4th,5th,6th and 7th digits. On our data plate (below) our build number is 4359. If you will tell us the complete Model No. on your plate we can tell you more about your new coach, and provide better answers to your questions!

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #9 – December 26, 2021, 07:23:46 am

Are we calling a inverter a converter,or is it a converter on this coach?

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #10 – December 26, 2021, 08:49:08 am

Quote from: John44 – December 26, 2021, 07:23:46 am

Are we calling a inverter a converter,or is it a converter on this coach??

OE would very likely have been a CONVERTER. But no idea what previous owners may have done/changed in the last 30 years.

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #11 – December 26, 2021, 08:55:09 am

The inverter/charger in our '89 went out this last summer. It is mounted to four threaded rods up thru the floor under the fridge.
I replaced it with a Parallax 45 that we purchased thru Gander Outdoors due to all the shortages and delivery dates we encountered.
It was 5 star rated and only cost around $137 delivered to our door within two weeks.
Identical hookup but mounting was a bit of a problem due to the unit being about 3/4" wider.
I had to move two of the threaded rods over in order to fit the unit. The upper end of these rods is in the compartment under the fridge so not the easiest thing in the world to get at and do.
If you go this route (and have the same mounting issue) let me know and I will try to walk you thru the changes.

I don't understand something. Why did the original call it a U280 and then state it is NOT a Unihome?
Is the coach an ORED or not?

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #12 – December 26, 2021, 09:04:17 am

Quote from: nitehawk – December 26, 2021, 08:55:09 am

The inverter/charger in our '89 went out this last summer. It is mounted to four threaded rods up thru the floor under the fridge.
I replaced it with a Parallax 45 that we purchased thru Gander Outdoors due to all the shortages and delivery dates we encountered.
It was 5 star rated and only cost around $137 delivered to our door within two weeks.
Identical hookup but mounting was a bit of a problem due to the unit being about 3/4" wider.
I had to move two of the threaded rods over in order to fit the unit. The upper end of these rods is in the compartment under the fridge so not the easiest thing in the world to get at and do.
If you go this route (and have the same mounting issue) let me know and I will try to walk you thru the changes.

I don't understand something. Why did the original call it a U280 and then state it is NOT a Unihome?
Is the coach an ORED or not?

A pic of the I.D. plate would answer that question.................

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #13 – December 26, 2021, 09:30:03 am

Quote from: nitehawk – December 26, 2021, 08:55:09 am

I don't understand something. Why did the OP call it a U280 and then state it is NOT a Unihome?

Probably because the OP is not clear on what exactly they should call their new-to-them coach. Every Unihome is a Grand Villa, but not every Grand Villa is a Unihome. The period around 1990 is very confusing to new members, and frankly also confusing to ME. Since all the coaches in that era had a sloped "Grand Villa style" nose, they all look pretty much the same to a casual observer. You really need to know what frame, suspension, and engine is under the coach before you can properly classify it. OR, as Justin stated (above), get a look at the metal data plate.

The passage copied verbatim below is from our own ForeForum Motorcoach Wiki:

THE GRAND VILLA

In 1986, Foretravel introduced an innovative new motorhome with aerodynamic styling and an unusually spacious interior. Because of its grandeur and beauty, Marie Fore dubbed it the Grand Villa, and it quickly became one of the best-selling motorhomes in history.

After that, things got pretty confusing. For 5 or 6 years you could get a GV, OREG/OFEG/ORED/OFED, or a Unihome GV. They also offered a 'comfort ride' Torsilastic suspension- same suspension used in the old Greyhound chassis. The Torsilastic Velvet Ride suspension came on both the U225 and U240 models.

1987-1996 Grand Villa Unihome (U-280/U-300)

The 'U' series first appeared in 1988 as a designation to the Unihome body design.

During model year 1987, Foretravel introduced the Grand Villa Unihome (all mid entry coaches). The first conventional motorhome to utilize a monocoque chassis design, an eight-bag outboard suspension system, and an air leveling system. This innovative design concept revolutionized the motorhome industry and quickly set the standard by which most quality motorhomes are built today.

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #14 – December 26, 2021, 11:16:08 am

Chuck has it all correct except any Foretravel has nothing in common with a monocoque design. It actually has more in common with a famous Brooklyn structure that is always for sale. Someone in sales with no engineering background though he or she would make the coach a little French. Hope it was not the engineering department.

Pierce

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #15 – December 26, 2021, 11:21:32 am

I believe it is referred to as SEMI-monocoque, as the center part of the coach structure has no frame rails (at least before slide models).

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #16 – December 26, 2021, 11:27:42 am

Semi monocoque
Is that like " a little bit pregnant " ?
Merry Christmas my colonial brethren
Sorry, make that Boxing Day.

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #17 – December 26, 2021, 11:51:28 am

Quote from: Pierce & Gaylie Stewart – December 26, 2021, 11:16:08 am

Chuck has it all correct except...

Hey, don't shoot the messenger! I just copied the blurb - I don't certify the technical accuracy.

That last sentence (in my post above) appears in every "Foretravel Model History" that I have seen. Identity of author? Lost in the mists of time...

Foretravel Model Lineage 1967-Present [ForeForums Foretravel Wiki]

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #18 – December 26, 2021, 12:07:06 pm

Chuck, I'm not shooting the messenger. I just hate to see that word used to inspire confidence, strength, safety when it's nothing more than a sales pitch.

It's not even close to semi-monocoque. My old GM 4107 was monocoque.

Here is Wiki's partial description: Monocoque (/ˈmɒnəˌkɒk, -ˌkoʊk/), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word monocoque is a French term for "single shell".[1]

First used for boats,[2] a true monocoque carries both tensile and compressive forces within the skin and can be recognised by the absence of a load-carrying internal frame. Few metal aircraft other than those with milled skins can strictly be regarded as pure monocoques, as they use a metal shell or sheeting reinforced with frames riveted to the skin, but most wooden aircraft are described as monocoques, even though they also incorporate frames.

With our 36 foot U300 we have 14 feet at the back of conventional frame construction, 9 feet at the front of conventional frame construction and only 12 feet in the middle of bridge construction. At the front and rear, there no steel support above the conventional frame rails so zero protection for the driver/passenger. The bridge construction amounts to about 33% of the total length of our coach. That's why they flex so much, break windshields and you best not walk out on the roof past the front cap attachment point.

Check the title in bold letters here: Chassis: Wheel-well rub marks – Low height – full Monocoque Site at: Foretravel Motorhome Chassis: Wheel-well rub marks – Low height – full...

Another quote: During the model year 1987, Foretravel introduced the Grand Villa Unihome (all mid-entry coaches) the first conventional motorhome to utilize a monocoque chassis design, an eight-bag outboard suspension system, and an air leveling system. This innovative design concept revolutionized the motorhome industry and quickly set the standard by which most quality motorhomes are built today.

I see that Foretravel has distanced themselves from the monocoque claim in the ads seen today.

Pierce

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #19 – December 26, 2021, 12:07:59 pm

Let's see if we can get back to the OP's question-- does anyone know the OE/factory installed location of the converter in a 1990 ORED?

I don't, but one way to locate it is with the batteries reasonably discharged. When on shore power, you should hear the cooling fan built into most converters. Certainly worth a "listen". Of course, if it is not working ............

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #20 – December 26, 2021, 12:31:22 pm

Reply #5

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #21 – December 26, 2021, 12:38:37 pm

Quote from: Olde English – December 26, 2021, 12:31:22 pm

Reply #5

Since the OP got their answer (Reply #5), they haven't been back to visit. They will likely miss out reading the entire mesmerizing "off-topic" discussion.

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #22 – December 28, 2021, 02:03:39 pm

Lol. We're here. Andy's not much for conversation. I've updated our profile as we're getting a better understanding of what we have. We were originally of the understanding we had a U280, but it appears we're a GV 3600. All the info, on & off topic, is helping. 😏

Thanks!

Gayle

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #23 – December 28, 2021, 02:11:10 pm

More info.
Complete model #
G90365836SB1DORED250

Gayle

Re: 1990 Foretravel Grand Villa U280 converter location?

Reply #24 – December 28, 2021, 02:25:50 pm

Quote from: Gayle Fischer – December 28, 2021, 02:11:10 pm

Complete model #
G90365836SB1DORED250

Excellent.

So you guys have already found the build #3658. If you ever call the factory (FOT) for parts or information you should have that number handy.

Reading after the build number, you have:

A 36' SBID floor plan (side bath, island bed, dinette). 1991 Foretravel GV ORED Floorplan

A Oshkosh Rear Engine Diesel chassis (probably V-917) There may be second metal plate on the wall next to driver seat showing the Oshkosh chassis data.

And the 250HP CAT 3208.

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