Scotty Hutto Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Our journey has been tent camping —> Coleman pop-up —> Trailmanor hardside pop-up —> Jayco TT —> Holiday Rambler Vacationer —> Monaco Diplomat. Of course, now that I’ve completed almost every upgrade and maintenance item known to man (and the Monacoers), we’re looking… Probably not our last coach. Before Debbie’s surgery, we were actively looking and found (what we thought) was the perfect coach… a 2008 Dynasty Renaissance IV. It checked all the boxes, and did NOT have the chassis MUX. Unfortunately, it had not been taken care of and had popped beltlines, serious delamination, and all four slides had wet or rotted floors. Not problems I wanted to take on… Since Debbie is not in a condition to go look at coaches, I’ve been “researching” and narrowed it down to a few choices. My wish list is: - RR10S chassis, 42-43’ preferred - Bath and a half (that narrows it down a LOT!); would like a tub but a shower will do. - King bed - Better awnings than our Dip (which anything on a RR10S is likely to have) - Prefer a pre-DEF engine (although for the right coach, that’s negotiable) - If I found all of the above and it had a residential fridge and wood flooring already done, that would be a BIG bonus, although I can do those things. Recently viewed coaches that seem to meet most or all of that: - 2008 Monaco Dynasty Renaissance IV - 2006 Holiday Rambler Imperial 42DSQ - 2006 Monaco Camelot 42 DSQ - Holiday Rambler Endeavor 42 DSQ - 2011 Holiday Rambler Navigator 42 DFT (Yes, MOST of these actually have a 2007 Cummins engine that is pre-DEF, despite the 2011 coach badge. Monaco/HR stockpiled a lot of engines. Navistar made this coach on the Roadmaster RR10R chassis with a 2007 Cummins ISL engine). Has a rear radiator instead of side, otherwise meets requirements, and wifey likes the idea of a slightly newer coach. If you know of other Monaco/HR/Beaver coaches that meet those requirements, let me know and I’ll check them out. If you own one and want to get rid of it to a really swell couple who likes Monacos, PM me. 🤪 The search continues, and when Debbie is well enough to look again we’ll resume our search for what I suspect will be our last, or maybe next to last coach (if our health and desire hold out…. I’m only 62! 😁) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ray Davis Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 6 minutes ago, Scotty Hutto said: The search continues, and when Debbie is well enough to look again we’ll resume our search for what I suspect will be our last, or maybe next to last coach Big smile, if I had a dollar for everyone that said this is our last coach I'd be rich. The grass always looks greener blah blah blah. I believe those wants ( new coach etc ) helps keep us young. I'm 81 and I still dream about those pretty coaches, but I'm sure we have our last coach now. LOL I still like pretty Monacos and pretty women, not necessarily in that order though. 😇 Keep us posted on Debbie's progress, she is in our prayers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Only problem looking now is that the prices are crazy and there seems to be limited quantity of older "nice" coaches available that I would be interested in that check all my boxes. And if I find one the price is high. I guess for now I'll stick with what I have and the wife will have do deal with it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Pratt Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 I purchased my first coach in 1974. It was a 1973 24' TRAVCO. I was racing and used it mostly so I had a place to sleep at the track. My next RV was a Ford Powered 26' Class C I purchased in 1977. In 1980 I started a race team and we were participating in the 24 hours of Daytona, 12 hours of Sebring and other Road Racing venues through out the East Coast. I sold the Class C and Purchased a 1978 26' GMC Motor Home. Again, I used it mostly for a place to sleep when I was at the race tracks. I was also a Corporate Pilot and one of the corporations that I flew for built PREVOST Custom Coaches for the entertainment groups. I was doing Airshows promoting my Aircraft Modification business and the Owner of that corporation would lend me one of the coaches to use at the airshows. In 2002 Sandy wanted to try the RV camping thing and he let us use a Prevost several times to travel and camp in. Well, we got hooked and we purchased a 1995 38' BEAVER Patriot. In 2005 we wanted a larger coach with slides and purchased a new 2005 Monaco 45' Executive. Around 2012 Sandy wanted to get a coach with a bath and a half so the search was on to find a suitable replacement for our Exec. We researched and looked at all the high end production coaches and none of them compared to our Exec. I would have to give up to much. At the 2012 Tampa Super Show FORETRAVEL introduced the ih-45 and it got Sandy's and my attention. I had never really paid any attention to the Foretravel Coach or knew much about them. The Price point of the ih-45 was more than I wanted to spend at the time, but it was an option I left on the Table. I did a lot of research into Foretravel and The ih-45 and was impressed. I could not find anyone that owned a Foretravel Motor Home that was unhappy with them or spoke bad about Foretravel. The Quality, Components and Factory support was always praised. On our summer trip of 2016 we decided to make it a Factory Tour trip and Visited Several Factories including Entegra, Newmar, Winnebago and Foretravel. Needless to say the Foretravel ih-45 won out. At age 75 this will probably be our last Motor Home and so far it has been one of the best choices for a coach we have made. In the four years of ownership Foretravel and the Coach has lived up to all of the research I did before our purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6Wheels Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 David, your story is interesting. Especially the part about "Sandy wanted to get a coach with a bath and half". My DW had the same request, and I was wondering Sandy's reason for this so I can compare to mine. I think it will be funny, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Pratt Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 We were very happy with our Exec and I was not looking to replace it. In 2010 our circumstances changed and we took custody of our 4 year old grand daughter. Sandy decided it would be a good idea to get a bath and a half coach so our GD would have some privacy and have her own bathroom. Our GD was with us when we purchased the ih-45. Now she is 16 and she has lost some interest in traveling with us old folks. Honestly we have enjoyed the extra bathroom and if I were to purchase another coach I would definitely want a bath and half.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J A Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 (edited) David Is your Foretravel a Demo from a show, or did you order it? What year model is it? Thanks Edited March 22, 2022 by Paul A. grammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Pratt Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Paul It was not a Demo. We purchased it at the Foretravel Factory when we were there for the Factory tour. year is 2016. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J A Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 Thanks. I did'nt konw they sold direct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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