Marathon vs Vantare

[meandmyprs]

I am once agian reaching out to the deep collective knowledge of conversions that exists in this group. If you had a choice assuming same color, price, and floor plan would you pick the 2008 XLII Vantare or a 2008 Marathon.

Thanks in advance again.

[garyde]

I would choose Marathon. Not that I have a lot of imperical info, I believe overall you probably get better build and value with Marathon. Nothing wrong with Vantare, I just like the Marathon Conversion more.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

This is strictly an opinion not based on fact or personal knowledge.

I would opt for the Marathon. I believe they are going to be one of the long term survivors, they have a proven product and they support that product.

If I were pressed to make the decision between two apparent equals I would be asking each converter to explain in detail how the systems work and what happens in the failure mode. All coaches are great when everything is working properly, but some system failures on some coaches leave you in a world of hurt. The devil will be in the details.

Also, I would sure as hell weight each coach, each axle, and side to side with full fuel and full water. In my opinion neither are lightweights and front axle overloading would be pretty high on my list of concerns.

[phorner]

Once again, this is simply a personal opinion, and not based on any facts.

I would choose the Marathon. I have met many Marathon owners who are very happy not only with their busses but also the service that they have received by the company after the purchase.

Speaking from personal experience, we are currently at Marathon Coach picking up our 2000 Liberty. I cannot speak highly enough of the skills of the technicians addressing all the little issues that have surfaced. They have performed the nearly impossible in making any changes or adjustments that we have requested.

Even though we eventually decided to purchase a Liberty, we are very impressed with the Marathon staff.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

One element that should be considered is what kind of an owner will you be. If you hang on to a coach forever then the economics of the purchase matter little, but if you contemplate trading coaches periodically then the depreciation of the coach is a factor that cannot be ignored.

In that regard the marketplace has spoken clearly as to what coach will be the best.

[garylstevens]

I too vote for Marathon over Featherlite, but find it difficult to believe that the price for both models are the same?

Marathons are almost always priced much more than a Featherlite, But that is just from what I have seen on the web sites and from looking at all of the busses.

Gary S.

[jack14r]

I sold a Marathon this year and a Vantari employee told me what the value would be if it was a Vantari,his estimation was almost 20% less than I sold it for.Everyone who has responded is basically telling us that the Marathon will retain a larger percentage when it comes time to trade or resale,my Marathon experience confirms this also.

[dale farley]

I have been impressed with the quality of my Marathon, but even more than the coach itself, the customer service has been outstanding. They have never failed to answer any questions I've had, and in some cases, have spent an hour or more on the phone helping me troubleshoot a specific problem. Most of the problems were due to my ignorance or inexperience with the operation of the systems.

The only negtive that I have about my coach is that they placed the 20k generator in the front bay on one side of the coach and all six house batteries in the front bay on the other side. This configuration causes the weight of the front axle to be very close to being maxed out. I would hope they have changed the location of one or both these components since mine was made in 93. I would definitely buy a Marathon again.

[rbeecher]

We have a '96 Vogue which we purchased a year ago from Featherlite/Vantare/Vogue. It is an outstanding coach with quality better than anything I have seen. It was built by the Mitchell family in Pryor, Ok when they owned Vogue before selling it to Featherlite. The Vogue can be serviced anywhere which I learned because I had no choice but to go somewhere other than Featherlite after less than acceptable work there. In short, when a business slowly pushes you away and you are forced to look elsewhere for service, you learn a lot.

In two days we will pick up a 2002 XLII Marathon at Marathon Florida. These people have done WAY MORE than they had to and bent over backwards to get this deal done. The contrast to our previous experience is, well, simply amazing, the people are first rate. We will have no concerns about handing over the Marathon to them for service and knowing it will be done right the first time which is a stark contrast to what we witnessed in Sanford.

Having said all of the above, I had a Marathon exec tell me last week that Vantare builds a good coach. There are some great deals out there and we all think we're going to keep our busses forever, but we don't and resale is going to be very important some day.

The Marathon quality is evident, and the service will be there. Vantare is going through difficult times with significant layoffs, employees leaving on their own, and rumors of them being readied for sale. Go with Marathon and don't look back.

Richard Beecher

02 Marathon XLII
96 Vogue XL 40 for sale

[phorner]

Richard, Looks like we'll be leaving Marathon sometime tomorrow, as they have pretty much completed everything we asked for on our coach.

I agree that doing business here has been an exceptional experience.

Sorry we won't be here long enough to introduce ourselves. Which one of these beauties is going to be yours?

[meandmyprs]

Thank your everyone for your input. I hope to meet you all at some point once I get through the "process" or picking and paying. Any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated as well.

[rbeecher]

Paul,

I was hoping we would have a chance to meet before you hit the open road.

I did get to see your new coach when my wife and I were there, it was in one of the bays having some work done on it. The word from the service group is that it is a very, very, nice example.

Our new ride is the 02 Marathon XLII with a Pennsylvania plate on it. The exterior is described as sand with toffee marbling. Ask Joe in service or Ed in sales. Hopefully it came back from Prevost today...

Enjoy your super new bus. We'll look forward to meeting you and Janice one day.

Richard Beecher

[Ray Davis]

Richard,

I was looking on the Marathon used coaches listing, and didn't see any 2002 XL2's listed. Did you snag it before they put it online?

Ray

[rbeecher]

Ray,

We met the sales person at Marathon on a Sunday! The bus was on their website for the rest of that week only and then taken off during their weekly update. It was a reluctant consignment on the owner's part.

The interesting thing about the whole deal is that I kept rolling around in my head the last name of the coach owner thinking I recognized it. The sales person kept referring to the coach as "Mr. Shauf's" bus and never mentioned a first name. Finally, not being able to stand the suspense any longer, I asked what the owner's first name is and wouldn't you know it, he is someone we know from the sportscar racing world!

Richard

Coming soon - 02 Marathon XLII

[Ray Davis]

That sounds great. We can't wait to see a picture of it.

ray

[Rootdmd]

Bumping an old thread because I am considering purchase of an 06 Featherlight H model. Any current thoughts comparing Marathon with Featherlight? I’ve been impressed with both companies, and have found a rare bath and a half floor plan Featherlight which suits my needs and budget. I was curious as to anything to be on lookout in this particular year, and also a broader question in terms of Featherlight support in general. I don’t care so much about resale value as I do service after the sale,

[Gil_J]

As I've said before, one coach is not necessarily better than the next. But one might be better for one owner versus another owner.

Marathon is the hands down leader when it comes to number of units produced. Clearly they have done something right.

Featherlight is still in business, which must mean something positive. Featherlight, at that time and until very recently, was very unique. They installed their own slides. That's why you can find an 06 with a bath and a half. Featherlight slides were also unique for Prevost conversions given they didn't use an inflatable slide seal.

You may also find the Featherlight having basement air. If it does, it is the quietest type of system. Those systems are no longer made, but it uses common AC components.

That Feathlight might have a power load shedding system that is facing parts obsolescence. I believe it can be migrated to a different control system or different load shedding method.

Featherlight still provides support and there are independents, like Donnie Myers. Featherlight was also good about providing wiring diagrams to help others provide support.

If I can help, send me a message.

[Donnie Myers]

I have stayed quiet over the years on this thread because the original question was comparing XLII's. Now with this question comparing H's, I would not even second guess this decision. The electrical system alone is reason enough (for me) to choose a Vantare. The absolute best years of Vantare production is late 2005 to late 2007. There is no basement air in these years. There are no obsolete controls or load shedding in these. We migrated to Square D G-3 electronic remote/ip controlled circuit breakers which are still Square D supported. There is a bypass for every circuit on the coach. Meaning, you can push a button to turn something on if something in the electrical system fails. Try that with others. The Vantare does not have an "aux" control system for the shore power. I or Jim Marsh can walk you or a shop through any repair in the field. The weakest link would be the AMX control system which would also be issue with the other coach using it's outdated proprietary Crestron system. We have a drop in system that gives more control and MUCH SIMPLER to use than any of my competitors. The lack of air seals for the slides is 1000% better and more robust. The fact that it has an Aqua Hot is reason enough..IMHO. There are many more pros but I have probably already upset the apple cart as it is...lol I would be happy to discuss this on the phone if you like. I have been working, driving and staying on Prevost coaches non stop since 1984 and have experience with dang near every conversion. The 06 Vantare is my personal favorite of ALL coaches because it is also just before emissions as well as the Prevost "CAN BUS" system which allows you to actually make changes without the need for "reprogramming"

[Gil_J]

Donnie knows Featherlight Vantares without looking.

The motorized circuit breakers mentioned are the same used by Marathon.

[Donnie Myers]

Donnie knows Featherlight Vantares without looking.

The motorized circuit breakers mentioned are the same used by Marathon.

haven't noticed the IP controlled G3 breakers in a 06 Marathon. Do they also have mechanical latching relays for all the low voltage loads that can be manually operated with control system failure also? It's been a while since I have been in one.
I

[Gil_J]

Donnie,

I'm not sure of the exact model used by Marathon, just that they too use motorized breakers for some applications.

I'm not sure if their wall switches only operate through TechLink or on top of TechLink. Of course, it could be model year dependent. TechLink is really a marketing name as there's been more than one architecture that has been used under that same name.

What works when the coach's control system has failed is a great topic. It really depends on the coach and the year of the coach and in some cases which model in a given year. Most have some sort of manual override, even if cumbersome or inconvenient. Spyder Controls has manual switches on the interface modules as does Froggen devices. Some coaches could not operate their air conditioners if the controller failed (they fixed that). Some coaches could not be powered given their transfer switches were controlled by the coach's control system. Some ran everything through their control system, even things like the refrigerator. The best implementations will have a manual function if the coach's house control system fails. Thankfully, control systems are very robust. Even robust, they can fail. I recall a coach that had a wall switch fail and render the coach worthless. Nothing in that coach AC powered would work.

Few owners know how to work around failures. Fpr some owners that's okay as long as someone a phone call away can help...what's your number ;-)

[Donnie Myers]

My cell was posted on my website as well as Face Book until the robocalls started slamming me! I'm pretty easy to get a hold of!

[Rootdmd]

Thanks Gil and Donny for your helpful input. I want this coach, and hope it is still available by time I find a buyer for my class A.