For those who follow my daily reviews here you know there are a few issues I tend to have with Class A diesel pushers. But the biggest among those gripes is the fact that most RV fires tend to start in the kitchen or in the instrument panel. But the fire escape isn’t something the typical individual who owns these is likely to be able to use without personal injury.
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Class A safety
So when RVTravel.com reader Terry S. asked me to look at the Foretravel Presidential Series Realm LVB, I was really impressed with the fact that the company typically includes a rear safety exit door. Nice.
Lots of safety features in the Foretravel Presidential Series Realm LVB
But then I looked further and the company seems to truly build coaches with an eye toward safety. For example, there is a “Fog-Maker” fire suppression system in the engine compartment. The Spartan K4 chassis incorporates active safety systems including collision mitigation with adaptive cruise control. There’s also electronic stability control with the system able to apply the brakes to any individual wheel if a slip is detected.
There’s also traction control, lane departure warning and control technology, and a tire pressure monitoring system. Spartan also mentions that these chassis incorporate an active braking control to assist with towed vehicles as well.
If you’re not familiar, most modern vehicles have all of these features but they’re less common in large Class A diesel pushers. The competitive pressures along with government regulation just don’t influence big RV manufacturers the way they do with passenger vehicles.
Foretravel is a Class A diesel pusher manufacturer located in Texas. The company has been building Class A motorhomes since 1967, when they home-built their first rig and traveled around in it.
The company’s marketing stuff also indicates that they were the first with VCRs, central vacuum cleaners, ice makers, trash compactors and full air ride and air ride leveling systems. Neat.
Foretravel Presidential Series Realm LVB luxury bath
What the Foretravel Realm LVB features are two things you don’t often find in a big motorhome: bunks and a jetted tub. That’s right, you can get a jetted tub in this model.
According to the provider of the tub, Kohler, their Underscore® bath combines BubbleMassage™ hydrotherapy, VibrAcoustic® sound waves, Chromatherapy, and Bask™ heated surface for a complete mind-body sensory experience.
Six hidden speakers emit sound waves that envelop and gently resound within the body. Choose a soothing spa session with built-in compositions, unwind to your own music playlists, or catch up on news and podcasts. Meanwhile, the 122 air jets release thousands of air bath bubbles to cushion and massage your body, and Zones of Control™ lets you target the massage to your back, midsection, or feet as well as control the intensity with 18 different levels. Chromatherapy washes the area in a soothing spectrum of lights, and a heated surface warms your back and neck with adjustable temperature settings.
I don’t trust any of this information and feel, as an obligation to all the readers of RVTravel.com, that I should go and try one of these fancy tubs out. Repeatedly.
You spec-out your Foretravel Presidential Series Realm LVB
For the most part, Foretravel follows the pattern of very high-end RV manufacturers in that you sit with a designer and engineer and really spec-out your rig. The trim, woods, features and many of the floor plan components are detailed when you do this. So, while your typical travel trailer might be the same as most of the rest that roll down the line, spend over a million bucks and you can dictate the pillows and wood and colors and all of that.
As you would expect, the finishes are exceptional as are the materials being used.
But there are things that are common to the company’s general operation including the safety features I already detailed. Plus there’s a really unique slide room mechanism where the floors of the slide room sort of drop into place when those slide rooms are opened. The seals on the slide, too, are pressurized such that they inflate, sort of, to make sure the seals are more sure.
If you’re tired of what’s on the TV, and who wouldn’t be, you can use the TV to look at the extensive cameras outside this rig. Wanna see what that bear is doing out there? Put it on the big screen. That’s slick.
You can watch the bedroom TV from the main bed, where you can also adjust it so you’re more sitting up.
Premium Class A diesel pushers are like living in a nice home
Essentially, what I think this motorhome and other premium Class A diesel pushers offer is an experience closer to living in a nice home. The floors are nice tile which is also heated, of course. The materials are pleasant and have a quality feel. Details are well thought through.
Of course what isn’t thought through all that well is their website, naturally. I mean, you can see all the swishy swirl paint colors, but I’d love to see more detail about the specific models they offer – including videos and photos. Which is also why there’s almost none of that included here.
I’m not going to drone on about this, but I just don’t understand it. I also called Foretravel but nobody bothered to call me back.
Foretravel would be on my list if I were to get a Class A
If I were to ever get a Class A diesel pusher, I would put Foretravel on my list. The interiors and details appear to be first-rate and I truly appreciate their recognition of safety. But you can bet I’d be at the factory and shooting a video of the process of building these, which I’d then share with all of you.
And that’s part of my expectation with something of this caliber. I want the messaging from the company to reflect the fact that I’m spending a mil-and-a-half.
I would love to read your comments and suggestions over on our new forums, where you can weigh in and start or join a discussion about all things RV. Here’s a link to my RV Reviews Forum.
Tony comes to RVTravel having worked at an RV dealership and been a life long RV enthusiast. He also has written the syndicated Curbside column about cars. You can find his writing here and at StressLessCamping where he also has a podcast about the RV life with his wife.
These RV reviews are written based on information provided by the manufacturers along with our writer’s own research. We receive no money or other financial benefits from these reviews. They are intended only as a brief overview of the vehicle, not a comprehensive critique, which would require a thorough inspection and/or test drive.
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Foretravel likely employs quite a few people building these great rigs. Remember George H.W. Bush’s Luxury Tax on boats, planes, Jets and helicopters? Thousands of folks were put out of work. Lincoln said it best, you can’t help the poor by punishing the wealthy. Best of luck to Foretravel! Despite the efforts of someone, I hope 2022 is its best year ever.
As far as the luxury tax goes if someone has the money to spend on something like this they can afford to pay a couple of dollars more in taxes. Maybe then many more people could afford some of the nicer things in life.
Put that on a Prevost chassis and I’m in LOL! (When I win the lottery)
Finally Tony, a rig I can sink my teeth in. 🙂 Like Don, ‘when’ we win the lottery, we will HAVE to do this. I’ve watched shows where a couple goes to the Prevost factory and sits with a planner and orders every single little thing custom made. Currently I can’t even afford a hot tub in my back yard so this MH will have to wait. But, my wife has already informed me that we HAVE to get the LV3 in Excaliber. Swishes and swirls be damned . . . For now, we stick with our 10 year old TT.
Yup. Spectacular coach, and one of just 3 that I’d consider when I win the Lottery! The others being Newell and Prevost. But there’s no way that staying in one of these luxo-suites can be compared to Camping. In fact, it’s beyond the realm of Glamping (which is what I call our adventures in our ’08 Country Coach). It’s a Luxury Hotel suite on wheels, is what it is.
More power to those few who can spend that kind of money…