Hello to ALL and Introduction

[LarryB]

Hi All, I'm a 'newbie', just signed up and wanted to introduce myself. My wife and I are coachless at present having sold our CC Motor home this spring. We plan to find a Bus in the near future, have been looking for some time, and get back on the road prior to winter setting in here Eastern Washington. We are retired and like to head South for the winter.

I'm looking forward to learning as much as possible from the forums and most of all, meeting you folks in person and taking part in the rallies.

Larry

[dale farley]

Larry, Welcome to the group. One of the best ways to learn us and learn about Prevosts is by attending the rallies. You still have time to get in on the Spearfish rally 11-17 September. We look forward to meeting you.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

By all means come to the rally in Spearfish, SD. There are nice cabins there fully furnished, with maid service. Fly into Rapid city, and rent a car, but 50 mi. to the rally.

Hope you can make it.
JIM:)

[Will Garner]

Larry,

Welcome to POG. I was in your area last June and enjoyed it very much. If you get to NC please look us up.

Will

[garyde]

Hi Larry. I think you have a great opportunity to find a Prevost right now at a very reasonable price. The market is awash with coaches. Good luck and welcome.

[jello_jeep]

Hi Larry, hope you find a good ride, and have some good fun along the way..

[LarryB]

Thanks to All for Welcoming us to the site. We would like to attend the upcoming rally but have a conflict in schedules. Perhaps by the next rally we will attend in a 'new to us' Bus.

LarryB

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Welcome to the asylum.

As a prospective coach purchaser you have access to the collective wisdom and smart a$$ed remarks from the wizards on this forum. Don't be afraid to ask questions, and in turn be asked a lot of questions about how you will be using your coach and what your wants and needs are.

This is clearly a buyer's market, but that does not mean every coach is a bargain or is for you. Being from the left side of the country you may prefer a Marathon over a Liberty for example, but if you are going to be all over the US even the location of your converter will not matter.

Good luck, and try not to take what anybody says too seriously, unless you know they are on their meds.

[LarryB]

Jon, I agree I live on the left side of the country BUT, I live on the right side of the state.

Marathon would be very handy and so would Country Coach but, I think I'm looking for the 'Best' bus for my $ so maybe I won't discount another converter because of close proximity to the factory. In the motor home world I have found that the factory is not always the best for service and there are some very good independent service centers around that seem to do great work and often have Techs that have worked at the factory at some point.

Maybe since there are more motor homes on the road than buses this isn't the case for the Prevost owner, I don't know.
What has been your experience with service of Buses? Do you rely on the Factory or do you use other service centers.

LarryB

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Larry,

I am one of the POG members that spins my own wrenches. I will not get into the engine or transmission, but there is almost nothing else I won't tackle.

I have been a Liberty owner for 18 years (15 with the first coach, 4 with the current one) and have been doing virtually 100% of my own work since the early to mid 90's. My math is not bad, I owned two buses simultaneously in case you are counting on your fingers and toes.

If you are reasonably capable of understanding how things work and do not anticipate a need to return to the converter for house specific service then your choice of a coach can include everything out there in the market.

Reading all that has been posted on this site will provide you with answers to questions you haven't even thought to ask, but it will give you a lot of things to consider as you zero in on the coach for you. There are many options available to you, but your starting point to eliminate a lot of wasted motion is to establish your budget, and then from that start narrowing the field of candidates further. If you need opinions just post a question. You will not suffer from a lack of answers. Some may actually be correct.

[garyde]

Aside from some Prevost specific work, I have been able to take care of all issues here and have only relied on the converter for parts and guidance.

[LarryB]

Jon, I do some of my own maintance as well. I do know my limits however and the lack of a suitable indoors work place and the proper tools not withstanding, I try to do all I can on but the chassis.

Larry

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Larry,

Having a place where you can do work is essential for the chassis. I doubt if any campground or storage facility wants anyone changing oil or greasing a coach at a campsite.

Doing work on the converter part of the coach is probably not an issue no matter where the coach sits unless you are like Dale and you are changing or repairing a dump valve. The neighbors might object to that.

But I can say the life of the coach is compromised if it cannot be stored under cover when not in use. I am not talking about tires, but about the whole thing. The elements are harsh and a coach is much better protected if it can be kept out of them.

If you are OK working on the conversion portion but will have someone else care for the chassis I would suggest that you learn the chassis and its systems and monitor all work being done. Some of the stories about chassis maintenance and repairs have not been very encouraging lately.

[dale farley]

Jon, I saw what you said about me--again! I may get Paulette to look in the bottom of that valve while I remove the screws. I'll tell her you said that is a necessary precaution.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Poor Paulette. First you use this poor lovely lady like ballast, making her run to the rear of the coach, and now you want to turn her into a poop chute inspector.

I don't know how she endures such treatment.

[dale farley]

She's tough.