After two years of research, we have settled on a DP for our full-time coach. Our budget is $30-40,000, with approximately $10,000 of that for repairs and upgrades that may be needed. Since tires and batteries can be expensive, if the coach has new ones we could use some of the $10,000 to go higher. We do not want slides. We're focusing on wide-body 40' coaches with a center-island bed and walk-through bath floor plans. The three brands that we're looking at are, in alphabetical order, Bluebird Wanderlodge, Foretravel, and Newell. Specifically, the PT40WB or a SP in a 'Bird; U300 in a Foretravel; and a Classic WB in the Newell. The SP isn't a wide-body, but has the interior height that we need. Some of the early Unicoach models fit in our price range, but for the most part it looks like the Unihomes are what we're looking at.
I'm on all three brand-specific forums, and see advantages and disadvantages to each brand. 'Birds aren't being made anymore, but there is a wealth of information available on the forum and several members are truly experts. I'm convinced that the support there is at least equal to what most people get from the factory when they have 25-year-old coaches, and probably better. Of the three, 'Birds are the only ones that use a hydraulic jack system to level the coach. That would seem to me to make for the most stable coach when parked, but adds another system to maintain. The Grand Villas have a mid-entry, which we like, and the factory is still going strong. The Foretravel is the only one of the three that has a fiberglass body, and is the lightest of the three. The driver and navigator seats are on a raised platform, so they don't really seem like they are part of the salon. The Newell has 24/7 factory phone support, and is also a mid-entry. The floor is flat, so the driver and navigator's seats can be used as part of the salon seating. The skin is aluminum. The Classic WB uses a 6" wide center insert in the windshield, rather than a different windshield (compared to the 96" bodies). Aside from looking a bit strange, the wipers do not cover this portion of the windshield. 'Birds (except the SP) and Newells have tag axles, while the Foretravels do not. 'Birds and Newells use drum brakes while the Foretravels have discs all the way around. All three have the center island walk-through bath arrangement that we prefer. The SP is a mid-entry.
Obviously I haven't covered all of the advantages and disadvantages of each brand but you can see that I've done some homework. What other areas should I look at as we try to decide the order of preference for these three brands? I've thought about tank capacities, since we do plan to boondock once in a while, but I don't know how much of that we will do.
kb0zke said
01:31 AM Feb 2, 2013
No suggestions? No comments?
We got home about an hour ago from signing the title to the mpg. We got a call Wednesday that there was an offer for less than our asking price. We called the dealership back with a counter offer, and casually asked if it was the people who had contacted us directly. Turns out that they were working with another salesman and had made a full-price offer! The deal was done today, so we are now officially looking for our full-time coach. Any advice or suggestions about the three brands we're looking at would be appreciated.
Lucky Mike said
01:50 AM Feb 2, 2013
Each time you steer towards the bird......I think you have made your decision......as far as a choice you would have to find the one that fits "you".......make sure you look at the history of the coach all the maintenance records and see if you can get an agreement with the seller so you may take it or return it in case it does not pass an independent service inspection at a place of your choice...( of course this is at your expense) and find out in writing if they are going to cover any major malfunctions that are found during the inspection...
Remember most salesmen and dealers are only truthful when they are shaking your right hand and are grasping the payment in their left......then for your money they thank you!!!!
kb0zke said
05:09 AM Feb 3, 2013
Thanks, Mike. This weekend I made a list of six coaches that seem to suit us. On the list is a Newell, two 'Birds, and three Foretravels. None of the six really "calls" to us, so we're still looking. I was hoping that someone might have some detail that we've missed so far that might help us rank the coaches we find. The Newell is a pretty recent addition to our list, as we had thought they were simply too expensive for us. In the past couple of months, though, I've seen a few that we could afford. All are the Classic style, which ended in 1989.That may be why they are less expensive.
Although it won't affect us when we're on the road full-time, the Newell factory is only about 2 1/2 hours from here, so a factory tour could be a day trip. The fact that they and Foretravel are both still building coaches certainly helps. Sooner or later the right coach will "call" to us, and we'll know it.
suse1023 said
03:43 AM Feb 6, 2013
we're newbies with a similar budget, i'd love to see pictures if you're able to post them.
kb0zke said
03:42 PM Feb 9, 2013
Well, our list of six "possibles" is down to three, and one of them has three people ahead of us. One of the coaches has been sitting, untouched, for several years. The tires and batteries may have been new then, but are far from new now. Since we don't want a project coach, especially one that is more than 1000 miles away, we dropped that one. Another coach that we are passing on has had many owners, and the price is way too high for us. It has been for sale for some time, but there were enough flags that we've decided to pass on it. The third one to be dropped was priced too high, but I had hoped that maybe there was some negotiating room. There isn't. Too bad, because it is a nice coach. The one that has three people ahead of us is priced under market because the owner wants it gone. He bought a newer coach and doesn't need two coaches.
Without getting into the full story of how we did our research, let me post links to the two sites that I monitor for possible coaches. I've said it many times, but the budget is only one part of the total picture. The very first part is your "mission profile." How will you use the coach? How long will you stay in one place? Do you have to have slides? Lots of things need to be discussed before you really settle on the class. No matter what the class of RV, though, buy the highest quality you can find.
http://www.buybyebluebird.com/ is a Bluebird brokerage site. Randy has been involved with 'Birds since he was a youngster. He doesn't necessarily own any coaches, but he has lots of connections. Talk to him and he will work with you.
http://motorhomesoftexas.com/ is primarily a Foretravel place, although they do have a smattering of other brands as well. They are located about a mile from the Foretravel factory. The website isn't always updated frequently, though, so a phone call to them is a good idea.
Another site I monitor is http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/ because they are a high-volume dealership. If there isn't anything of interest to you today, there might be tomorrow. By next week it may be gone. This is a good place to get a feel for what you can get for a certain price.
Edit by moderator: Activated links. Terry
-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Saturday 9th of February 2013 04:34:49 PM
The Bear II said
05:18 PM Mar 4, 2013
I realize each person has their own needs.
You indicate you don't want slides. With slides you end up with much more useable living space.
Eliminates choke points (wider walk ways).
If it's a fear of slide problems....it's rare for slide problems to pop up. Most of the problems I've seen discussed in the RV forums, probably has more to due with poor preventitive maintenance than anything else. Our 5th wheel is coming up on 19 years old and the only slide problem we had is due to wire nut that came loose. If I had checked the wire nuts as part of routine maintenance we wouldn't have had a problem. It was a 30 minute troubleshoot and fix.
I would not buy another RV unless it had slideouts. Our next 5th wheel will be a 40 ft or longer with as many slides as we can get.
But like I said at the beginning your needs and wants may be different from ours.
-- Edited by The Bear II on Monday 4th of March 2013 05:20:03 PM
Terry and Jo said
03:34 AM Mar 5, 2013
Renewing older posts can lead to an issue of having additional posts containing information that no longer applies. I realize that not everyone keeps up with all the threads like I have to do as moderator, but David has already purchased a Foretravel. In the case of David's RV, he has it listed now in his signature.
For the benefit of any new folks to the world of forums, almost all of them have a feature where it gives the date and time that the comment was posted. Just recently, I've seen posts that were 3 and 4 years old being "revived" and information given to an individual or couple that had already made their purchases, or in one case, had deleted their membership with the forums.
In the case of RV Dreams forums, those dates are below the avatar and username in the "profile" area of each post.
Terry
kb0zke said
01:21 AM Mar 11, 2013
Thirty days sure makes a difference, doesn't it? When I started this thread, we had sold the mpg and were ready to go looking. We hadn't seen the Foretravel that we eventually bought, and, yes, I was pretty sure that we'd end up with a 'Bird. I made the list of six "possibles" only to find it reduced within a few days, and then down to just the one. We contacted the seller, scheduled a visit, and discussed it for the next week or so. Eventually we made an offer, had it accepted, and this weekend we went down to get it.
After two years of research, we have settled on a DP for our full-time coach. Our budget is $30-40,000, with approximately $10,000 of that for repairs and upgrades that may be needed. Since tires and batteries can be expensive, if the coach has new ones we could use some of the $10,000 to go higher. We do not want slides. We're focusing on wide-body 40' coaches with a center-island bed and walk-through bath floor plans. The three brands that we're looking at are, in alphabetical order, Bluebird Wanderlodge, Foretravel, and Newell. Specifically, the PT40WB or a SP in a 'Bird; U300 in a Foretravel; and a Classic WB in the Newell. The SP isn't a wide-body, but has the interior height that we need. Some of the early Unicoach models fit in our price range, but for the most part it looks like the Unihomes are what we're looking at.
I'm on all three brand-specific forums, and see advantages and disadvantages to each brand. 'Birds aren't being made anymore, but there is a wealth of information available on the forum and several members are truly experts. I'm convinced that the support there is at least equal to what most people get from the factory when they have 25-year-old coaches, and probably better. Of the three, 'Birds are the only ones that use a hydraulic jack system to level the coach. That would seem to me to make for the most stable coach when parked, but adds another system to maintain. The Grand Villas have a mid-entry, which we like, and the factory is still going strong. The Foretravel is the only one of the three that has a fiberglass body, and is the lightest of the three. The driver and navigator seats are on a raised platform, so they don't really seem like they are part of the salon. The Newell has 24/7 factory phone support, and is also a mid-entry. The floor is flat, so the driver and navigator's seats can be used as part of the salon seating. The skin is aluminum. The Classic WB uses a 6" wide center insert in the windshield, rather than a different windshield (compared to the 96" bodies). Aside from looking a bit strange, the wipers do not cover this portion of the windshield. 'Birds (except the SP) and Newells have tag axles, while the Foretravels do not. 'Birds and Newells use drum brakes while the Foretravels have discs all the way around. All three have the center island walk-through bath arrangement that we prefer. The SP is a mid-entry.
Obviously I haven't covered all of the advantages and disadvantages of each brand but you can see that I've done some homework. What other areas should I look at as we try to decide the order of preference for these three brands? I've thought about tank capacities, since we do plan to boondock once in a while, but I don't know how much of that we will do.
We got home about an hour ago from signing the title to the mpg. We got a call Wednesday that there was an offer for less than our asking price. We called the dealership back with a counter offer, and casually asked if it was the people who had contacted us directly. Turns out that they were working with another salesman and had made a full-price offer! The deal was done today, so we are now officially looking for our full-time coach. Any advice or suggestions about the three brands we're looking at would be appreciated.
Each time you steer towards the bird......I think you have made your decision......as far as a choice you would have to find the one that fits "you".......make sure you look at the history of the coach all the maintenance records and see if you can get an agreement with the seller so you may take it or return it in case it does not pass an independent service inspection at a place of your choice...( of course this is at your expense) and find out in writing if they are going to cover any major malfunctions that are found during the inspection...
Remember most salesmen and dealers are only truthful when they are shaking your right hand and are grasping the payment in their left......then for your money they thank you!!!!
Although it won't affect us when we're on the road full-time, the Newell factory is only about 2 1/2 hours from here, so a factory tour could be a day trip. The fact that they and Foretravel are both still building coaches certainly helps. Sooner or later the right coach will "call" to us, and we'll know it.
Well, our list of six "possibles" is down to three, and one of them has three people ahead of us. One of the coaches has been sitting, untouched, for several years. The tires and batteries may have been new then, but are far from new now. Since we don't want a project coach, especially one that is more than 1000 miles away, we dropped that one. Another coach that we are passing on has had many owners, and the price is way too high for us. It has been for sale for some time, but there were enough flags that we've decided to pass on it. The third one to be dropped was priced too high, but I had hoped that maybe there was some negotiating room. There isn't. Too bad, because it is a nice coach. The one that has three people ahead of us is priced under market because the owner wants it gone. He bought a newer coach and doesn't need two coaches.
Without getting into the full story of how we did our research, let me post links to the two sites that I monitor for possible coaches. I've said it many times, but the budget is only one part of the total picture. The very first part is your "mission profile." How will you use the coach? How long will you stay in one place? Do you have to have slides? Lots of things need to be discussed before you really settle on the class. No matter what the class of RV, though, buy the highest quality you can find.
http://www.buybyebluebird.com/ is a Bluebird brokerage site. Randy has been involved with 'Birds since he was a youngster. He doesn't necessarily own any coaches, but he has lots of connections. Talk to him and he will work with you.
http://motorhomesoftexas.com/ is primarily a Foretravel place, although they do have a smattering of other brands as well. They are located about a mile from the Foretravel factory. The website isn't always updated frequently, though, so a phone call to them is a good idea.
Another site I monitor is http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/ because they are a high-volume dealership. If there isn't anything of interest to you today, there might be tomorrow. By next week it may be gone. This is a good place to get a feel for what you can get for a certain price.
Edit by moderator: Activated links. Terry
-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Saturday 9th of February 2013 04:34:49 PM
I realize each person has their own needs.
You indicate you don't want slides. With slides you end up with much more useable living space.
Eliminates choke points (wider walk ways).
If it's a fear of slide problems....it's rare for slide problems to pop up. Most of the problems I've seen discussed in the RV forums, probably has more to due with poor preventitive maintenance than anything else. Our 5th wheel is coming up on 19 years old and the only slide problem we had is due to wire nut that came loose. If I had checked the wire nuts as part of routine maintenance we wouldn't have had a problem. It was a 30 minute troubleshoot and fix.
I would not buy another RV unless it had slideouts. Our next 5th wheel will be a 40 ft or longer with as many slides as we can get.
But like I said at the beginning your needs and wants may be different from ours.
-- Edited by The Bear II on Monday 4th of March 2013 05:20:03 PM
Renewing older posts can lead to an issue of having additional posts containing information that no longer applies. I realize that not everyone keeps up with all the threads like I have to do as moderator, but David has already purchased a Foretravel. In the case of David's RV, he has it listed now in his signature.
For the benefit of any new folks to the world of forums, almost all of them have a feature where it gives the date and time that the comment was posted. Just recently, I've seen posts that were 3 and 4 years old being "revived" and information given to an individual or couple that had already made their purchases, or in one case, had deleted their membership with the forums.
In the case of RV Dreams forums, those dates are below the avatar and username in the "profile" area of each post.
Terry