Brand
Foretravel
Foretravel builds large luxury diesel motorhomes in Nacogdoches, Texas. C.M. and Marie Fore started the company in 1967, and Foretravel says its first motorhome, the 29-foot Speedy Marie, was built in their backyard. From the late 1980s to 2005 its main lines were the Unihome and Unicoach diesel pushers on its own chassis. Today it builds the Realm line of 605-horsepower coaches on Spartan and Freightliner chassis.
Photo: Foretravel · All rights reserved
Models
Realm Presidential
Class A · 2021–present
Realm FS605
Class A · 2015–present
Realm Limited
Class A
IH-45
Class A
Prevost H3-45
Bus conversion
Phenix
Class A · 2006–present
Realm FS450
Class A · 2021–present
IC-37
Class A
Nimbus
Class A · 2006–present
U320
Class A · 1995–2005
U295
Class A · 1995–2005
U270
Class A
U300
Class A · 1988–present
U280
Class A · 1988–present
History
Foretravel grew out of a family project. C.M. Fore and Marie Fore, of Nacogdoches, Texas, started building motorhomes. The owner-club history says the work began as a high school Distributive Education project for their son Ray and soon turned into a real family endeavor. Foretravel dates its start to 1967 and says its first motorhome, the 29-foot Speedy Marie, was built in the Fores' backyard.
The early coaches changed quickly. The owner-club history says the 1973 Super Luxura had a fiberglass front cap, rear cap and side panels. Foretravel says it introduced a diesel-powered motorhome in 1974, and a dealer article gives the same year. The owner-club history adds that the FTX arrived in 1977, the company's tenth year, and by October 1978 had its diesel engine in the rear, and that Foretravel bought the rights to build Travco and GTC (Avco) motorhomes in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The owner-club history says a new motorhome with aerodynamic styling arrived in 1986; its lineage says the Grand Villa was announced in 1985. A dealer article and the club both date the Grand Villa Unihome to 1987, and the club says it had a monocoque chassis with an eight-bag outboard suspension system. The club's 1988 page says the U names, such as U280 and U300, first appeared that year, and its lineage lists a U225 from 1991. The club history says that in 1992 the Unihome grew to a 102-inch-wide body, marked by a Silver Anniversary U300 for the company's 25th year.
The Unicoach followed in the mid-1990s. The owner-club lineage says it was introduced in 1994 and that 1995 was the first model year with a bus-style front and a front entry door, when the name changed from Unihome to Unicoach. The U270, U295 and U320 carried the line until 2005, which the club lists as the last year of the U-series. It says tag axles came to the 40-foot U320 in 2001. A dealer article and the club both date Foretravel's slide-out to 1999, and the club says it came late in the year. The club history also says painted exteriors were offered from 2001 and a four-slide floor plan was added in 2004.
The early 2000s were hard. The owner-club history reports that the company went from 550 employees to about 200 during 2003 and closed five of its six factory-owned stores. It also says Foretravel announced that Lyle Reed and two other principals would take over on February 15, 2005, and that Ray Fore stepped down as president. A February 2006 Daily Sentinel article confirms a change of control early in 2005 and calls Reed the company's president.
Under the new owners the U-series gave way to the Phenix and Nimbus, and then to the IH-45, a fully redesigned flagship on Foretravel's own TravelRide chassis. The owner-club history says the Realm was introduced in 2015, developed with and sold exclusively through the dealer Motor Home Specialist; the club's lineage calls it the Realm FS6. The owner-club archive records 2017 as the last year Foretravel built its own chassis, and its 2017 page lists the Realm on a Spartan K3GT chassis. Foretravel's 2018 IH-45 sheet lists the Travelride III chassis by Spartan. The company marked its 50th anniversary in 2017.
The owner-club archive records 2020 as the last year of the IH-45 and the shorter IC-37, which the Realm FS605 and Realm FS450 replaced. The club's lineage says the Realm Presidential and the Realm FS450 were added in 2021. Foretravel's 2026 and 2027 documents show three coaches with a 605-horsepower Cummins X15 engine: the Realm Presidential and Realm FS605 on a Spartan K4 chassis, and the Realm Limited FL605 on a Freightliner chassis. The company is still based in Nacogdoches.
Timeline
C.M. and Marie Fore start building motorhomes in Nacogdoches, Texas. The company says its first motorhome, the 29-foot Speedy Marie, was built in the Fores' backyard.
The owner-club history says Foretravel made its first major exterior design change this year. The Super Luxura had a fiberglass front cap, rear cap and side panels.
Foretravel says it introduced the first diesel-powered motorhome this year.
The owner-club history says the FTX was introduced in 1977, the company's tenth year, and that by October 1978 it was powered by a diesel engine mounted in the rear.
The owner-club history says Foretravel bought the manufacturing rights to Travco and GTC (Avco) motorhomes during this period.
The owner-club history says Foretravel introduced a new motorhome with aerodynamic styling and an unusually spacious interior in 1986. The club's model lineage says the Grand Villa was announced in 1985.
A dealer article and the owner-club history both date the Grand Villa Unihome to the 1987 model year. The owner-club history says it had a monocoque chassis with an eight-bag outboard suspension system.
The owner-club history says Foretravel introduced the 102-inch wide-body Unihome in 1992 and celebrated 25 years in business. The club's 1992 page lists a Silver Anniversary U300.
The owner-club lineage says the Unicoach was introduced in 1994, and that 1995 was the first model year with a bus-style front and front entry door, when the name changed from Unihome to Unicoach.
A dealer article and the owner-club history both date Foretravel's slide-out to 1999. The club says it came late in the year.
The owner-club history reports that Foretravel went from 550 employees to about 200 during 2003 and closed five of its six factory-owned stores.
The owner-club history says Foretravel announced that Lyle Reed and two other principals would take over the company on February 15, 2005, and that Ray Fore stepped down as president. A February 2006 Daily Sentinel article confirms a change of control early in 2005 and calls Reed the company's president.
The owner-club lineage says 2005 was the last year of the U-series and that the Phenix and Nimbus were introduced for 2006.
The IH-45 arrives as a fully redesigned flagship. The owner-club history dates it to 2010, and the club's model lineage lists it under 2011.
The owner-club history says Foretravel introduced the Realm in 2015, developed with and sold exclusively through the dealer Motor Home Specialist. The club's model lineage calls it the Realm FS6.
The owner-club archive records 2017 as the last year of the TravelRide II chassis and the end of Foretravel building its own chassis.
Foretravel's 2018 specification sheet lists the IH-45 on the Travelride III chassis, built by Spartan.
The owner-club archive records 2020 as the last year for the IH-45 and IC-37. They are replaced by the Realm FS605 and Realm FS450.
The owner-club model lineage says the Realm FS450 was introduced in 2021 to replace the IC-37 and that the Realm Presidential, a higher-trim Realm, was added. Foretravel's own archive lists a Presidential brochure for 2021.
Foretravel publishes 2027 specifications for the Realm Limited FL605, a 605-horsepower coach on a Freightliner chassis.
Sources
- Foretravel Motorcoach - About
- Foretravel Motorcoach - Resources (brochure and specification archive)
- Foretravel Wiki (ForeForums) - Specifications, floor plans, photos and brochures by year
- Foretravel Wiki (ForeForums) - Foretravel's history
- Foretravel Wiki (ForeForums) - Model lineage, 1967 to present
- Foretravel Owners' Forum (ForeForums)
- Foretravel Motorcade Club history (scanned document)
- The Daily Sentinel - Foretravel: 'Possibly one of the best-kept secrets in the RV world'
- MotorHome magazine - Foretravel IH 45 Reviewed (RV.com archive)
- Motorhomes of Texas - What You Didn't Know About Foretravel