New Bus!

[GDeen]

We have purchased a 2000 Marathon XLV from Steve Bennett at California Coach. We had originally looked at the bus in March during a trip to see our son at Cal Poly and liked it then. Following a trip to see a number of buses in Florida, we realized that with a few changes, the “Red Bus” was the one for us.

We made some modifications which include some new furniture and upholstery in the interior, and paint over of a mural on the rear cap. We are very pleased with the way things turned out. (For some reason, I cannot get the pics that Steve sent of the new interior to upload-weird because no problem with uploading anything else.:confused:)

Several of you have been very helpful in our search and I am very grateful for your advice and guidance. I feel like I have learned a great deal in making an informed decision on the best bus for our needs.

Steve Bennett has just been phenomenal. I can’t recall ever dealing with someone as hard working, consciences and customer oriented as Steve. Seriously. He has gone above and beyond what anyone could expect in delivering us a coach that we will be happy with.

We had the pleasure of having dinner with Ray and Kathy Davis and look forward to the opportunity to meet many of the rest of the POG group. In the meantime, we are going to do some bus traveling!

Tuesday I am flying out to LA to drive it back to Texas and begin the fun.:D

[michaeldterry]

Congratulations, Gordon! She's a beauty! :D

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Gordon, You made a great choice. Great looking coach and OTR. Steve is a first class guy and I wouldn't expect anything but the service he provided. Looks like a home run.

[Alan__]

Welcome to the bus side of life. You are in for the ride of your life. Congrats.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Way to go Gordon, looks like a real nice bus. Hope it meets all your expectations.

Enjoy, :) JIM

[tdelorme]

Gordon, you know that I love that bus even if the mural got washed off the rear. I was beginning to think you were going to keep the deal a secret until OKC. You guys have a fun, safe trip home and stay in touch along the way.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

You are not going to get much else done for quite a while, clear your schedule for the next month or so.

Do you have room for it at home?

What is it with the maroon Marathons and you oil guys:rolleyes:

OTR A/C, rivits, no slides and Steve; looks like POG influences another purchace for the better.

Congrats and well done both you and Steve

[dale farley]

Congratulations Gordon, I love those colors. Hope you enjoy.

[truk4u]

Congrats Gordon, looks like a winner!

[lonesome george]

Gordon,
Your bus looks very nice. You should pat yourself on the back for taking the time and doing the leg work to find the right coach. The real fun starts right about now.

[phorner]

Congratulations! Great looking bus.

Happy trails.....:)

[Sid Tuls]

Gordon, great looking bus! They sure did a nice job on the rear cap! Now enjoy every mile and make sure you blink your lites @ your bus friends along the way:D

[MangoMike]

Join Club.

Buy Bus.

Empty Wallet.

Have Fun


mm

ps Nice Bus!

[GDeen]

Thanks a bunch Ya'll! We have talked about doing this off and on for a long time so we are truly excited. When I get home we are going to load our bus stuff and then head over to Kerrville for a long weekend shakedown.

Ted, I kept pics of the mural for your future viewing pleasure.

Jon, thanks for all your help. Steve can confirm I like it cool in the bus.:)

Joe, can't get it to the house due to stupid design of entrance to neighborhood...got a deal on a 1550 sf storage slot about 15 minutes away though so we are good.

Sid, yes the rear cap came out great with Steve's persistence.

MM, you are correct about empty wallet - we have been torching cash with all kinds of "needs."

[Alek&Lucia]

Gordon,

Congratulations !
Nice looking bus !
Now you have time to enjoy it for few years, and time to look for your next one :)
Some many buses, soo little time ;)

Alek

[Pete]

Congratulations on the new coach!
Once you take it to Prevost for service and get a ten grand invoice for the work, you will be eligible to learn the SECRET POG HANDSHAKE! Just kidding.
It is a great looking bus.....welcome to the group.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Sea trials...........more fun than a kid at Christmas.

We will never forget the ride home and the first trip, great memories! We bought before joining.

[edsaylor]

That is a beautiful bus. The colors look fantastic. You should really enjoy that bus. The next time we are in Austin, I want to see it. Our daughter and son-in-law live in Austin (Christy and Dave May). I love Austin as I graduated from UT! Look forward to seeing you in the fall, as we were just there three weeks ago.

[garyde]

Now the real fun begins! Get ready because you are going to have a thousand questions and this is the place to share them. No kidding. We'll be waiting and congradulations. Also, one of the bonuses of purchasing a bus from Steve is his continued support of his customers and POG.

[adamdegraff]

Congrats Gordon! Can't wait to see it in person. (You too!) If you find yourself driving through the cool WV mountains this summer, give me a ring!

[chtree]

Congratulations!

You got yourself a really nice Bus!


Chris

[Ray Davis]

Phew, I can finally come out of the closet! I have been talking with Gordon for awhile about the bus now, but was sworn to secrecy. I just saw the bus again this Saturday, where Steve B. was installing the new front seats. The interior is stunning, and the changes really improved the bus.

Gordon, I hope to meet up with you Tuesday when you come to pick up your baby. Congratulations on a beautiful bus.


Ray

[Ray Davis]

A couple of pics of Gordon's new bus. The top picture is from my old collection before Gordon's changes.

4898

And this one is with the new changes. Stunning!

4897

[GDeen]

Thanks Ray - I appreciate your help all along the way and hope to be able to visit with you tomorrow.

[Coloradobus]

Gordon,

VVVEEEERRRRRY NICE, INDEED!!!!!

[garyde]

Hi Gordon. Sweet!

[Loc]

Gordon,

Great looking bus. Congratulations on the new purchase. I really like the interior upgrades. Is the color OU Red or Aggie Maroon? If you don't have plans, a couple of us are heading to Buckhorn for July 4 weekend and would love to have you join us.

Loc

[GDeen]

Is the color OU Red or Aggie Maroon?

Loc

I like to think of it as OU Crimson and Ada Cougar Maroon.:cool:

[BrianE]

Gordon, Simple and elegant. VERY NICE! Hope you'll have the time to drive the heck out of it.

[GDeen]

Pretty cool - sitting here in Steve's back lot - first night in the bus!

Had an afternoon of orientation with Steve, and Ray Davis swung by to say hello. Picked up a few necessities at Target and ready to hit the road early manana. Good day!

[Bob W]

Congrats Gordon. I am so envious. Wish I could pull the trigger.
Bob W

[Ray Davis]

Spoke with Gordon a couple of hours ago. At that time Steve was driving the coach to Ehrenberg AZ for out of state delivery. That bus is so quiet I couldn't hear any road noise when I spoke with Gordon on his cellphone.

By now, I expect that Gordon is PIC and is on his way towards Las Cruces or El Paso (his intended destination this evening). He sounds as happy as he could be, and he certainly got an A-OK bus.

Best of luck Gordon. Check in when you slow down!

Ray

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Is it possible he will still have that smile on his face when he gets to OKC?

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Anybody with a bus can't help but smile!

:):):):)JIM

[GDeen]

Had a great trip with a couple of exceptions - first being a multiple fatality east of Phoenix on I-10 that had eastbound closed for several hours. Finally got to an exit and got a work around from listening in on the CB chatter. Lost 3.5 hrs, but hey, had my house with me so I pulled over and had a bite to eat during the standstill.

Didn't make my goal of Las Cruces as a result, but found a great almost new Flying J in Lordsburg NM around 11 PM. Had nice RV parking out front under lights and the whole place was spotless for a truckstop which I thought impossible. Good night sleep.

On the road early and made good time on I-10. Jon, you are correct - smiling the whole way! Even got through my first refueling without the dreaded diesel douche.

Exception number 2 - got within 50 miles of Austin (home) and started noticing dark clouds in the distance. Jennifer called to say storms moving across the area with tornado warnings, and hail.:eek::eek:

Found a picnic area and pulled over. Flipped on the tv and saw the bad weather spreading in my direction. Did a 180 and backtracked about 35 miles to Fredericksburg and setup shop in Walmart. Too late and too tired to run those roads home later after the weather passes.

Did I say how much I like the bus!!!!:D Amazing how well it tracks on the interstate even in a strong crosswind. And that OTR air is awesome. West of Van Horn today it was 105 and I had the A/C blower on the low speed peg and it was downright chilly.

Will campout here tonight and head for home early. Jennifer and I are loading up all our gear and heading over to Buckhorn at Kerrville for a long weekend. Should be great.

[GDeen]

Ray, Steve says this bus is one of the quietest if not the most quiet XL he has driven. I don't have a basis for comparison, but with the cruise on 70 and a crosswind there sure wasn't much noise, so I am a happy camper.

[tdelorme]

Well done, Gordon, glad your home. You guys have a fun weekend.

[phorner]

"West of Van Horn today it was 105 and I had the A/C blower on the low speed peg and it was downright chilly.".........

Yeah...... love that OTR :D

Glad you're enjoying your bus!

[michaeldterry]

Ray, Steve says this bus is one of the quietest if not the most quiet XL he has driven. I don't have a basis for comparison, but with the cruise on 70 and a crosswind there sure wasn't much noise, so I am a happy camper.

Gordon - I'm tickled to death that your new bus is working out so well! Thanks for keeping us in the loop on your experiences thus far - please keep it up!