01-12-2014, 06:37 AM
The Foretravel owners' forum is: http://www.foreforums.com and the other 'Bird forum is: http://www.wanderlodgeownersgroup.com . Both have plenty of good information, and people from both are on here, too, since some minor parts (engines and transmissions come to mind) are the same on all three brands.
Foretravel, Newell, and Wanderlodge (in alphabetical order) were our three finalists, too. If you get a coach that has been properly maintained you really can't go wrong with any of them. Although the Wanderlodge factory is long gone, Bluebird is still very much in business. Most of the "parts" are the same that all RV manufacturers use, and there is plenty of expertise on the two forums to more than make up for the lack of the factory. Foretravel and Newell are still in business and seem to be doing well. The whole town of Nacogdoches, Texas, seems to revolve around Foretravel, with several businesses specializing in taking care of the coaches. Motorhomesoftexas.com is one of those, and has both Foretravels and Newells for sale. Newell has that 24/7/365 factory hotline that is a great selling point. The three coaches have three different skins (steel on 'Birds, fiberglass on Foretravels, and aluminum on Newells), and each has strong points and weak points. Whichever one you pick, make sure you know how to properly care for it and you will be rewarded with a great-looking coach for many years.
Do your research well, and you may be one of the lucky ones that buys their third coach first. Otherwise you may be trading sooner than you had planned.
Foretravel, Newell, and Wanderlodge (in alphabetical order) were our three finalists, too. If you get a coach that has been properly maintained you really can't go wrong with any of them. Although the Wanderlodge factory is long gone, Bluebird is still very much in business. Most of the "parts" are the same that all RV manufacturers use, and there is plenty of expertise on the two forums to more than make up for the lack of the factory. Foretravel and Newell are still in business and seem to be doing well. The whole town of Nacogdoches, Texas, seems to revolve around Foretravel, with several businesses specializing in taking care of the coaches. Motorhomesoftexas.com is one of those, and has both Foretravels and Newells for sale. Newell has that 24/7/365 factory hotline that is a great selling point. The three coaches have three different skins (steel on 'Birds, fiberglass on Foretravels, and aluminum on Newells), and each has strong points and weak points. Whichever one you pick, make sure you know how to properly care for it and you will be rewarded with a great-looking coach for many years.
Do your research well, and you may be one of the lucky ones that buys their third coach first. Otherwise you may be trading sooner than you had planned.
David Lininger, kb0zke
1993 Foretravel U300 40'
Build 4371
