High-End RV Marketplace ‘Ratchets Up the Wow Factor’
Part of the Foretravel Motorcoach display at the Florida RV SuperShow. (Photos: Gary Gerard/RVBusiness)
TAMPA, Fla. – While one can see virtually any size, shape, model, make or type of RV at the Florida RV SuperShow at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa this week, there are always products that ratchet up the wow factor.
Several of those units can be seen in the Expo Hall, where premium luxury makers like Prevost upfitters Millennium Luxury Coaches and Featherlite Coaches display their wares, as well as an expansive Foretravel Motorcoach display. A nearby outdoor display features a stunning motorcoach crafted by Newell Coach Corporation.
Nacogdoches, Texas-based Foretravel, with a host of new features and patent-pending suspension technology had plenty to show passersby.
One of the coaches on display, a Realm FS605, was fitted with a new Garmin total-coach control system, said Tyle Fore, Foretravel president.
Foretravel President Tyle Fore, left, and Chairman Lyle Reed.
“It’s total coach control, so it’s shades, lights, tanks, the complete house,” he explained. “It has fixed and removable screens that you can take throughout the coach. It’s very nice. The Garmin system was a big initial project for us and I’m anxious to get feedback on that.”
Foretravel also implemented blind spot detection equipment with mirror indicators from Delta Mobile System and crafted an all-new rear cap.
The most significant improvement is something most people will never see, but they definitely will feel its effects.
“We also introduced our patent-pending Performance Choice suspension system,” Fore said. “It’s a suspension system that adds an ARB (anti-roll bar), custom-tuned Bilstein shocks as well as an additional ping tank so it increases the air volume 44% compared to regular air springs.”
Foretravel has a patent pending on the new system and has trademarked the name “Performance Choice.”
The new Performance Choice ride and handling enhancement system is on display at the Foretravel exhibit.
Exclusive to Foretravel’s Realm and Presidential models, the new ride and handling Performance Choice enhancement system will be standard on all 2024 model year coaches. According to information provided by Foretravel, the system improves ride, handling, stability and safety for different road and weather conditions and places the driver in control.
“What it does is, it gives the driver the ability to switch between sport or touring mode,” Fore said. “In sport mode it’s a little bit more rigid. You have 13% reduction in roll, left to right. And when you open the electronic valve that’s controlled by a switch for the driver, it increases the softness by 18%. … So, we’re really excited about that and it’s on display here.”
Other improvements include interior cosmetic features including RGB lighting, Fore said.
And, as always, the company states, each Foretravel interior is professionally designed by a licensed ASID interior designer using the finest materials available.
SpaceCraft’s custom 54-foot semi-trailer, with its massive solar-panel arrays, drew a steady stream of onlookers.
Moving away from the motorized, a semi-trailer created by custom builder SpaceCraft Mfg., of Overland Park, Kan., may have raised the most eyebrows.
Parked alongside one of the small lakes at the fairgrounds – and conspicuously not plugged into shore power – was SpaceCraft’s 54-foot converted semi-truck trailer, a collaboration with Volta Power Systems, a leading manufacturer of generator-replacement lithium-ion systems.
Volta products can be found installed in many brands throughout the RV world, including Airstream, Winnebago, Tiffin, Storyteller Overland and others.
Onboard the SpaceCraft was the largest Volta power system ever created, offering 108,000 watt/hours of energy storage in lithium batteries. Add 10,000 watts of solar panels and 485 gallons of fresh water and the owner can staff off-grid for a month or so.
If that’s not enough, the rear of the trailer offers a convertible bedroom/garage to transport an EV and exportable L2 power to charge it.
“We’ve actually been unplugged since Saturday when we showed up for the show,” said SpaceCraft owner and president Greg Wallman on Wednesday (Jan. 18). “And we’re running the fireplace right now, the heated floors and the air conditioning so we can actually see how much solar we’re harvesting.”
SpaceCraft owner Greg Wallman takes a look at the lithium battery display aboard a custom semi-trailer.
Wallman explained the trailer was built for a client who also owns an Audi Polestar EV, which is kept in the garage in the rear of the trailer.
“So, he can charge the car with the trailer and the batteries,” Wallman said. “And still have a little bit extra and the solar is going to fill it back up. So when they get back from whatever excursion they go on, they can recharge their car.”
There is no generator. There is no liquid propane, and you essentially never have to plug in as long as there is sunshine to recharge the batteries, he said.
“Right now, we’re trying to use electricity so we can see how much solar we’re getting,” Wallman said. “So, we have to do things like run the floors and the fireplace and the air conditioners.”
A quick check of the inverter display showed the trailer was consuming 5,200 watts of electricity.
“And if you look over here, we’re at a negative 1,300 watts, so we’re using the battery a little bit,” Wallman said while looking at a second gauge. “We’ll be able to see exactly how much solar we can harvest during the day. It’s a little bit cloudy, so we’re not going to get as much. If we shut off the heater and all that other stuff, the batteries would fill right back up.”
The rest of the trailer, of course, is outfitted much like a luxury fifth-wheel with top-notch components throughout, and a semi-tractor is needed tow it.
If a consumer is in search of an RV that costs well north of seven figures, the Florida RV SuperShow is the place to find it.
Source: https://rvbusiness.com/high-end-rv-marketplace-ratchets-up-the-wow-factor/
