New Member, New Prevost Owner

[0533]

Just joined your group today. Like others, have been following along, mostly tripping over my feet learning more about your group. My wife and I recently purchased a 1999 Marathon 45 XLVS from Marathon in Coburg Or. This is all completely new to us, at least as Prevost owners. I have only driven a Prevost a grand total of 20 miles as part of a test drive before the final purchase. Lots to learn, but am a good student, and might be asking a few questions from time to time, like where's the parking brake, or some other important questions. We have owned a few large motorhomes, but nothing like this. I am a pilot, boater and switch between these pleasures. We will be picking up the coach from the factory in January after a few upgrades and improvements are complete. The coach was a one owner, 30K, hardly used much at all, and very customized for a very demanding Swiss banker who left it at Marathon when he was in Europe. it fits our taste just fine, and hope to see you folks at the rally in TN. in the spring, that is if we can find that darn brake.

Pam & Bruce

[Jon Wehrenberg]

If you are not kidding about the brake it is down slightly behind and beneath your left elbow. Pull up on the yellow knob and it is applied (you hear the big whoosh), and push down on the yellow knob to release it.

If you were pulling our leg about the brake, I can see you will fit in perfectly amongst this bunch of nut cases. Welcome to the asylum.

What do you fly? Inquiring minds want to know.

[Just Plain Jeff]

I was writing to welcome you to the group when one of the other members knocked me off the board.

(Whoosh?)

We have rallies and spend a great deal of time chatting amongst one another here and some of the information is more or less accurate. If you count the number of posts that some of the members have made you can tell immediately whether or not they have a life or if they are former Zeibart Rust Proofing Technicians looking for a day job.

Join in and have fun. That's the first thing to remember!

[0533]

Just kidding about the brake, but not about everything else, as i really will be doing a lot of reading and getting to know this coach. I am a detail nut, but don't mind learning underway. Last plane, Turbo Arrow, don't fly much anymore, mostly boating, but love all sports. From Maine, live in Florida, and plan to see the rest, especially BC this summer.

[0533]

Hello jeff, Like your Avitar. Thanks for the invite. We will be out there soon, and hope to visit with as many of you all as possible.

[Darl-Wilson]

Hey 0553, why not plan to be in Pahrump, NV for POG? on May 5th '08? We have a great Rally planned for the 5th to the 10th at the Seibt Desert Retreat (http://www.seibtdesertretreat.com/). Jim Skiff will give us more information as we get closer to the rally date.

Also, welcome to the POG! Lots of boaters and pilots here. I used to fly both a 180 and 200 Arrow. My last plane was N8133C, a Cherokee Archer II. Favorite is a Cessna 210T but I never owned one. I think Jon has a 210P. (lucky guy). Like you, I don't fly much anymore. Same with boating. I just sold my 26' SeaRay last month. Seems like there are not a lot of people I know willing to go out fishing or flying for free. Could it be the Skippers advanced age?

How about giving the group a little more personal information about yourself? We're not nosey but I just can't think of a good nickname for 0553.

With the 'brake' story you are going to fit in great with this group Again, WELCOME and congratulations on the Prevost purchase.

[Darl-Wilson]

See why nobody wants to fly with me? I can't even get your handle right. Sorry 0533.

[dalej]

Darl, don't be so hard on yourself....thats what were here for! :)

Welcome aboard 0533, glad you took the plunge, you know...with the bus!

[rmboies]

Just joined your group today. Like others, have been following along, mostly tripping over my feet learning more about your group. My wife and I recently purchased a 1999 Marathon 45 XLVS from Marathon in Coburg Or.
Pam & Bruce

Welcome to the group Pam and Bruce! Your coach looks beautiful in the avatar photo....I think Marathons are fast becoming the number one owned coach in POG! We are still in the minority with our Millennium but two more have joined us :D Looking forward to meeting you both in TN.

Debi (and yes, I know where the brake is and have actually used it:eek:)

[Jon Wehrenberg]

0533 was his last transponder code.

I'll fly with you Darl. If I'll fly with me, I'll certainly fly with you.

[garyde]

Welcome Pam & Bruce. This is definately the place. I joined about 7 months prior to purchasing my Liberty. I could not quite figure out what everyone was talking about at first since most of the conversation had to do with the first, POG 1 rally. These rallys are quite simply the best. Nothing like them anywhere. The Prevost Conversions are elegant and complex at the same time. That is the attraction and the obsession.

[truk4u]

Welcome aboard Pam & Bruce, we look forward to lots of posting. Someone needs to beat Jon's record....

[Darl-Wilson]

You are a brave man Jon! I got my original ticket back in 1967 and just replaced the paper one for the new, fancy, encoded, plastic model. I was going to get a current physical, my check-ride, and rent a Cessna 182 for to a trip to Mexico, etc. Nobody in my family would go with me. I even offered to pay for a pitch-hitter course for my 20 YO son and he wouldn't take it. My 45 YO wife mutters words in Spanish like, 'Loco', 'Viejo', and 'Viejo Loco' which has to do with her being married for almost 26 years to this Gringo who is a 'little older'. End result, no more flying unless I do it on my own and buy lots of life insurance. Now, the Prevost...that's a whole 'nuther story. The whole family loves it.

The moral of this story; Joining the "Mile High Club" in a light plane does not hold a candle to the "6 mile per gallon club" in a Prevost.

Now Jon, I would fly with YOU if you are willing to fly with you!
Thanks for the support Pal:)

[0533]

Hello Darl, Pam and I live in Jupiter Florida, and like the outdoors, mostly kayaking, hiking, and playing with our minaiture dachshound. We love Maine, where I am from, and enjoy Canada, and plan to spend more time there in 08. 0533 is our family joke, as this is the coach number on the original build sheet that we got from the factory. As for the Nevada rally, our plan is to pick up the coach in mid Jan., shake her out for a few days near Coburg Or., go back to the factory and get whatever needs to be corrected fixed and then head south and come back across I10 back to Florida, get some work done here, and then head back out in May with short trips in between, like Tn. rally etc.

[0533]

Hello Gary, I am hoping to learn more about the bowels of my coach, the underbelly, as I know almost nothing. It like owning a 747, given the keys and told to fly it around the pattern then do a complete annual without having the knowledge, but I guess this is half the fun. We look forward to the POG rallies and meeting all of you folks.

[0533]

Hello Tom, My wife is stunned, as I almost never join groups, and have never been in any forums before. I doubt if I will break records, but might for asking questions at some point. Champing at the bit to get my arms wrapped around my coach to start the process of understanding her.

[0533]

Welcome to the group Pam and Bruce! Your coach looks beautiful in the avatar photo....I think Marathons are fast becoming the number one owned coach in POG! We are still in the minority with our Millennium but two more have joined us :D Looking forward to meeting you both in TN.

Debi (and yes, I know where the brake is and have actually used it:eek:)
Hello Debbie and Bob, We hope that the Marathon coach lives up to its name, and proves to be well built, and reliable. It is a very low mileage coach, 30K, and I am concerned that we will have the honor of trouble shooting lots of little stuff soon, but we are used to boats, and at least it is on the ground for now. Hope my treads are not too confusing, as I am not very well vresed in all of this. One unusual feature that we liked is an observation deck on the roof, folds down, 12x7' with a really neat ladder, we hope to watch a few sunsets from there out west this winter.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Pam and Bruce..we look forward to your questions. If we don't know the answer we will make something up.

It will be a big help, when asking, to attach a signature line that gives some coach specific information since each converter and different shell types and model years may have differences that will affect the responses.

What you as an owner will soon learn is that you will have Prevost chassis questions, and Marathon, or house specific questions. You will also learn a guy with knowledge of Liberty conversions is not likely to know diddly about your Marathon, and you should assume he is full of manure. We tend to be a little more knowledgeable about the Prevost chassis, but that will not stop us from giving lousy advice from time to time.

Do you feel good about spending $100 yet?

[0533]

Pam and Bruce..we look forward to your questions. If we don't know the answer we will make something up.

It will be a big help, when asking, to attach a signature line that gives some coach specific information since each converter and different shell types and model years may have differences that will affect the responses.

What you as an owner will soon learn is that you will have Prevost chassis questions, and Marathon, or house specific questions. You will also learn a guy with knowledge of Liberty conversions is not likely to know diddly about your Marathon, and you should assume he is full of manure. We tend to be a little more knowledgeable about the Prevost chassis, but that will not stop us from giving lousy advice from time to time.

Do you feel good about spending $100 yet?
I canceled my $100 credit card payment, figured I could ride this wave for at least a week before Skip would catch on, after all he is from Maine, and news travels there more slowly.

Before making the purchase, I contacted a sweet lady at Prevost in Quebec to get the scoop on service bulletins, recalls etc, then included these as part of my purchase. I was surprised to find items not done from some years ago. I guess I am used to aircarft service issues.

Did almost make my first mistake when I took my 20 mile test drive at the factory. I was not used to the fact that we are a little longer, and a little lower than my last coach. As I was winding up the coach to exit the factory gate, and just about to go down onto the pavement, the service rep says, "remember to take the curb at an angle or you will scrape the bottom". Well at this point I was half way into the road, thinking I was doing just fine, but also realizing this was not going to be his coach, I decided to slam on the brakes and cut hard left. The service rep was not exactly ready for my response, and wasn't wearing his set belt. I suggested that in the future he give me these types of hints before we start to rotate. I looked back after clearing the exit without a scratch and noticed at least 100 scrapes on the ground, think they could have dealt with this by now.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Curing a problem is harder than complaining about the problem.

Also, fixing the damage owners do their coaches is a revenue stream. If you had already paid for the coach he would not have said a word.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

0533

Welcome aboard. We too have a roof deck. 8 by 21ft

Makes for a real conversation piece. Makes for a bunch of new friends with hand outs at the track. People hurting themselves getting up and down is a REAL concern, especially late in the day:eek:

I've been procrastinating about fashioning some type of dumb waiter, it is not easy climbing up that ladder with adult beverages.

Deb is very afraid of heights, I'd still like to sell or trade it if I could. No reasonable offers refused.

1880

1881

[0533]

0533

Welcome aboard. We too have a roof deck. 8 by 21ft

Makes for a real conversation piece. Makes for a bunch of new friends with hand outs at the track. People hurting themselves getting up and down is a REAL concern, especially late in the day:eek:

I've been procrastinating about fashioning some type of dumb waiter, it is not easy climbing up that ladder with adult beverages.

Deb is very afraid of heights, I'd still like to sell or trade it if I could. No reasonable offers refused.

1880

1881
Hello Joe,

Ours is smaller and does not have any outside access, wish it did though. To access ours, there is a hideaway ladder to the right of the Frig, above the pantry that pulls out. You release a lock, and the very sturdy ladder telescopes down to the floor and locks in place. It can be placed at an angle to allow easy climbing up to a Bowmar hatch in the ceiling. I was told by the factory that this was an option at Marathon until the company was sold 99? and the new owners decided the liability was too great. They offered awnings, bug screens, the whole works, but I beleive this is no longer the case.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Welcome to the group, Bruce and Pam, 0533. :D

I would like to add that I think your marine web site is spectacular. There sure was a lot of thought and effort put into its creation!! I can see where your flying ability was very useful. How long did it take you to photograph all of those harbors? Is that an ongoing process?

www.marinas.com

JIM

[0533]

Welcome to the group, Bruce and Pam, 0533. :D

I would like to add that I think your marine web site is spectacular. There sure was a lot of thought and effort put into its creation!! I can see where your flying ability was very useful. How long did it take you to photograph all of those harbors? Is that an ongoing process?

www.marinas.com

JIM
Hello Jim,

We have been at for about two and a half years. We consult marine clients, mostly providing specialized services when none are available. Marinas.com was a result of a project that we designed for Garmin. they wanted to improve their cartography, and I wanted to conduct a worldwide Low altitude Google earth style image driven photoshoot for my websites. They paid, and I got to make my site. i own the images, take the pictures and Garmin gets the rights to use them as part of their electronic charts. A visual course for boaters to see what they are about to approach, starting from the inlets, straight through to the marina, allowing all boaters to get a pre flight of all the obstacles before they encounter them. there is a lot more to it then that, but it sure is fun, and all of the images are frame quality, 4000X3000 pixels, you can zoom in on all images using the high resolution image. We house 4 TB's of images in Dallas. We are about to undertake some new projects in the same vane. I love to do projects that have not been done and have some fun doing them, as long as I can get someone else to carry the financial load. I sure would like to do this for the RV industry. We use only helicopters, even in western Europe. We train all pilots, and photographers here in Florida, and then set them in the field. You may regret mentioning this subject to me, as i can wear out a key board on this subject. thanks, Bruce

[rmboies]

[for the RV industry. We use only helicopters, even in western Europe. We train all pilots, and photographers here in Florida, and then set them in the field. You may regret mentioning this subject to me, as i can wear out a key board on this subject. thanks, Bruce[/QUOTE]

Bruce,

Awesome website with gorgeous photos. We used to boat on Lake Erie for many years and I noticed that you don't have any marinas listed in that area as yet. Kellys Island, Put 'N Bay, South Bass, Cedar Point, Sandusky Yacht Club, the area is endless for marinas and boats. Any plans to add them to your group? Viewing your pictures almost makes me want to own a boat again:D

Debi

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

[for the RV industry. We use only helicopters, even in western Europe. We train all pilots, and photographers here in Florida, and then set them in the field. You may regret mentioning this subject to me, as i can wear out a key board on this subject. thanks, Bruce

Bruce,

Awesome website with gorgeous photos. We used to boat on Lake Erie for many years and I noticed that you don't have any marinas listed in that area as yet. Kellys Island, Put 'N Bay, South Bass, Cedar Point, Sandusky Yacht Club, the area is endless for marinas and boats. Any plans to add them to your group? Viewing your pictures almost makes me want to own a boat again:D

Debi[/QUOTE]

Hi Deb, your key word is;ALMOST, Ha Ha. I now firmly believe the best boating is on someone else's boat! :D

Back to the marina maps, all the places you mentioned are in fact present on the site. You need to magnify the base map more to see them. :rolleyes:

Bruce, if you talk about the maps too much Lew will let you know.
I do hope you get a chance to develop a site with the RV parks.
There are a couple of marinas in the Marco Is. and Everglades area that are not featured.

[0533]

Bruce,

Awesome website with gorgeous photos. We used to boat on Lake Erie for many years and I noticed that you don't have any marinas listed in that area as yet. Kellys Island, Put 'N Bay, South Bass, Cedar Point, Sandusky Yacht Club, the area is endless for marinas and boats. Any plans to add them to your group? Viewing your pictures almost makes me want to own a boat again:D

Debi

Hi Deb, your key word is;ALMOST, Ha Ha. I now firmly believe the best boating is on someone else's boat! :D

Back to the marina maps, all the places you mentioned are in fact present on the site. You need to magnify the base map more to see them. :rolleyes:

Bruce, if you talk about the maps too much Lew will let you know.
I do hope you get a chance to develop a site with the RV parks.
There are a couple of marinas in the Marco Is. and Everglades area that are not featured.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the kind words about the site. Here are a few Marinas.com links that might help you find some of the locations you mentioned. Once you go to each link, just click on each marina icon to see if your marina is there.
http://marinas.com/?tab=t2
http://marinas.com/?tab=t2
http://marinas.com/view/marina/782 This one is Sandusky Yacht Club

There are many ways to view, by map, By Slideshow, and Via the search tool, or by state, region etc. We also offer 9 other categories plus info on ach.

I am looking for some help with the sites. We recently launched a new domain called boatersforum.com. I need a forum moderator, as we do not have one, and this site needs help. Do you know of anyone who might be interested in doing this?

Thanks,

Bruce

[rmboies]

Bruce and Jim,

I see them all now! I had to zoom in even tighter, over halfway, and then they came up in grey for me instead of red. Awww, the memories....Bob and I had our honeymoon on a cabin cruiser in Lake Erie--it was a '65 or '67 (been so long I can't remember) Chris Craft lapstrake sided cruiser. Beautiful boat and an antique now--ack! Some people go to the Bahamas or Hawaii but we went three hours from home and took our dog--LOL That was 28 years ago:eek:

Debi

[MangoMike]

Bruce and Jim,

I Awww, the memories....Bob and I had our honeymoon on a cabin cruiser in Lake Erie--it was a '65 or '67

Some people go to the Bahamas or Hawaii but we went three hours from home and took our dog--LOL That was 28 years ago:eek:

Debi

I'll bet that dog had some great stories. ;)

Mike

[rmboies]

I'll bet that dog had some great stories. ;)

Mike

ha, well I hope so Mike! :p

Debi