Blog-01/26/07 BUSY DAY NACOGDOCHES TX Friend Dave sent an e-mail to me, while I was freezing to death in Kerrville (with NO HEAT, no propane) for a day and a half, suggesting that if I was going to be in Livingston, that I should take a drive up to Nacogdoches (the oldest town in all of Texas) and tour the Foretravel Motorhome factory. Now that sounded like a great idea, if I had a day with little to do. But then the next e-mail that I got added a twist maybe I should go take a look at a place just down the road called MOTORHOMES of TEXAS (MoT). I am now the owner of a 2002 U320 40' single slide Foretravel Motorhome! Probably won't be taking delivery for another three weeks or so, but MoT will be doing the following: Complete service on (LOF) Genset, Engine, Transmission, Differential, and Aqua-Hot. Six Brand new Michelin Tires. (worth about $3K) Swap Datastorm antenna & install cables etc). Swap Silverleaf engine & transmission monitor system & all components. Swap Air Bed system. Will get a free membership to the Foretravel Motorcade Club. Will get Foretravel factory cabinetmaker David Flanigan to design/build Computer desk & filing cabinet. Coach comes with 4 Optima AGM house batteries. A 10KW Powertech Genset in soundproof cabinet w/autostart. (25% larger capacity than the Vectra) A 175 gallon fuel tank (75 gallons more than the Vectra) A 102 gallon fresh water tank. (25% greater capy. Than Vectra) A 110 gallon Grey water tank. (twice the size of the Vectra) A 54 gallon Black water tank. (10 gallons larger than the Vectra) Cargo Carrying capacity of 5,013 pounds (which is close to 2,000 pounds more than the Vectra). So it doesn't look like I will be becoming a Florida State resident this winter. Not sure what's going to happen with kitty, but that will be determined next week. My comment to friend Dave Man you sure can screw up my life something awful when you put your mind to it. Perhaps I should NEVER tell you where I'm going until AFTER I leave the place I m at and am more than a days drive away. Below are some quick photos that I want to share with my readers. There will be more at later time.
This is the previous owner washing the windows. The good thing was that I had a chance to talk with the previous owners at length. They do not live in the coach fulltime but it has been so well cared for. They traded it in for a brand new 2007 Foretravel and have done this every five years since they began buying Foretravel s.
Coach has 38,245 miles on it in five years and they live in New Hampshire, using it to get away from the harsh winters. They ve owned ONLY Foretravel s and this is their 3 rd one. Their new coach is going to be exactly the same as this one. Same color scheme inside and out (and I really love the colors) and the very homey atmosphere inside too. BTW that dog is very well behaved and was the quietest dog I ve seen in a motorhome. What s really great about it is that you don t have to get up at 5:30am to take it for a walk or at 11pm either. I guess that s because it is a ceramic dog! But it sure fooled me for the first few minutes.
Just remember the previous owners are still living in this coach. They will be until their new 2007 Foretravel is finished in a couple weeks. Till then, I have lots to do getting ready for the switch of all my personal belongings and artifacts. At least I ve got some gals who are willing/able to walk the plank (which you will see pictures of when that event takes place). I expect to be here in the area for at least 3-4 weeks. Here s still some more photos that I took today: This is known as a walk-thru bath with lots of room around the toilet area. That little cabinet immediately behind the toilet can store up to 24 rolls of TP Costco here I come! I now have room enough to store that lifetime supply that you sell.
One thing about the Foretravel is they have lots and lots of storage. All this wood is the REAL thing with very heavy emphasis on QUALITY. You can just barely see the three speed reversible ceiling fan above the bed. How I miss that from when I had my stick house in California. Nice Queen-size bed that I can easily walk around on both sides as well as the foot. The coach has so many wonderful innovative features that the lower end coaches could only dream about. Of course when this coach was new it sold for over twice what the Winnebago sold for new. Next week I get to take a tour of the Foretravel factory, which I m eagerly looking forward to. It will make the fifth factory tour of motorhomes and I doubt that I ve ever seen any better quality than what I will see at Foretravel. There is one very marked difference between this coach and the Winnie.
The TV! It s smaller and up front again. However, I don t watch near as much TV as I used to and I ve learned that there was a marked disadvantage to sitting on the couch and watching TV across from you. It created an extra slide-out that, I now consider not being worth the price. Unlike my Monaco Lemon of a few years ago, the quality goes in before the name goes on with the Foretravel line. As I indicated above (at the beginning of this post) there will be a couple modifications done to the interior. I must have a place for my computer(s) and so I m thinking about having a special cabinet made to house computer & modem, screen, and printer and hopefully a filing cabinet. I also need to do something with the bench seats around the dinette, but there will be photos of that later. Friend Dave Jenkins asked if I would post a link to his website since he is trying to sell his Foretravel which is basically the same floorplan as the one I got, but has no slide-outs and is 3 years older. I told him I would ONLY if he gave me a fuel card if I send him a referral. So here s the deal, you buy his coach (immaculate and very well cared for), tell him that I sent you and I ll give you that fuel card that he sends me. Sound like a deal? FORETRAVEL FOR SALE Why didn t I buy his coach? Two reasons. First I couldn t see how I would be able to transport two motorhomes until I sold my Winnie. Second I didn t have quite enough money to do both even for a month. Knowing that Dave took such good care of his coach means more to me than anything else. One thing I will tell you is that he washes and waxes his vehicles like the guys that paint the Golden Gate Bridge. No more finishes one end and starts all over again at the beginning. I ve seen him SIT someplace for a week, just so he can wash & wax that Foretravel from one end to the other. Never seen anybody do that before! In the meantime, I ve got to get busy packing (and finishing what I started a couple weeks ago major re-organization). And yes some local sightseeing. This town of Nacogdoches (pronounced: nah-cog-doch-es) is the oldest town in Texas (dating back before 1712, and home of Stephen F Austin State University (a teaching and research university)..