Newbie

[CFleck]

Hi, My name is Charlie Fleck,my wife,Mollie, and I are are looking to buy a Prevost. We felt that this forum would be a great place to start. So just wanted to say hi.I am not very good at writing but very good at listening, hope to see you soon. Thanks, Charlie

[MangoMike]

Charlie and Mollie,

Welcome to POG, it will be the best $100 you'll ever spend in your Prevost experience.

...and if you're interested in a 1997 Liberty XL 45', I'm your guy.

Mango Mike Anderson
mike@mangomikes.com

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Charlie,

Welcome to the asylum. We especially like to help people spend their money so ask your questions and step back and the answers will fly.

They may not be correct answers.

We make a lot of stuff up.

If you expect advice from this bunch you need to realize the first or second response to a question may actually relate to the question you asked, but after that the entire thread may drift to totally unrelated subjects, and none of the posts may contain any accuracy. It's your job to sort out the fact from fiction.

If listening is your thing you have come to the right place, especially if you like to hear sheep go baaaaaa. Whatever you do, make sure you do not let the wizards on this site intimidate you. Almost all (except me) are social outcasts with no redeeming qualities.

[kenrobertson]

Hey Mango.....Is that the one that's powered by oxygen and water?

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Oh, Mango is serious. He has a coach he would love to see you own. I am sure if you buy it he will fill the tank with diesel, and then invite you to park with the bunch at OSH so he can teach you how to operate all the systems.

The downside is there will be a bunch of us there and you may end up being a sheepherder.

[michaeldterry]

Welcome Charlie and Mollie! If you have a sense of humor (even better if it's a warped sense of humor), you'll love it here! Despite what Jon says about "making stuff up", this group is a virtual fount of valuable knowledge regarding Prevosts, conversion systems & components, bussing and RV'ing in general, sheep, and other random subjects (some not fit for mixed company). They joke alot and tease each other unmercifully, but whenever a fellow Prevost owner is in need of help or advice, there is not a more qualified or generous braintrust you can find!

Jump in with any question you may have - don't be shy - we were all newbies at some point (a few of us - like me - are perpetual noobs!). Sure - you may get a little teasing from time to time, but it's all in good fun and you will always get the information you seek at the end of the day! (Sometimes, you may not like the answers, but these folks won't pull punches with the important matters of bus maintenance, repair, safety, and sheepherding!)

Tell us where you and Mollie are from and a little about yourselves! In fact, you can put some info in your signature - like city, state, bus year, model, & converter - bank account number, etc! :D

Above all else - have fun! Most POGers won't bite, and the ones that do usually can't find their teeth, so the worst you'll suffer is a severe 'gumming'! :eek:

[jimshoen]

Buy a 1997-2000 XLV, Liberty or Marathon. We can make those run.

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

Welcome aboard Charlie and Mollie. You came to the right place for OVERLOAD on information. Hope your long term memory is better than.......what was I talking about? :D

Give us guys some of the specifics of what your looking for and we all will offer our opinions, right or wrong they are just our opinions.

Rivets / Non Rivets
Slides / 1 Slide / 2 Slides / 3 slides / 4 slides
Over the Road Bus Air / Cruise Air / Roof Air
H3 Model / XL Body Style
40' / 45'
North/South or East/West Facing Bed
Used Cost $$$$ / New $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Maintenance Costs Used $$$$$$ / New $

Just fill out most of these questions and we will start throwing ideas and web sites your way.

Just ask Scott T. He has a whole slew of us helping him spend his money. :eek:

Gary S.

[Jerry Winchester]

Charlie / Mollie,

If you buy a coach you won't need this any more.

4991

Just remember:

Good Guys

Ray
Kevin Erion
The King
Dale J.
Roadrunner
Ken Z
Gary D
Darl
Jeep
Jim K.
Harry

Numbnuts:

Krakman
Lew
A1
Lew
Beagle Boy
Mel Torme
Lew
Spongebob
Metal Filings
Al Cannolli
Lew
Brillo Boy
Bite-Me-To-There
The King
Foon
Lew

Guys To Be Afraid Of

MangoMike
JDUB

Welcome to Internet hell.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Glad to see JDUB had his restraints removed for long enough for him to type the above. Either that or he gnawed through them again.

[Jerry Winchester]

A1;

B I T E M E

[sawdust_128]

Just so this gets straightened out early, Those "Goodguys" that Jdub identified, they all deny they know him. Those "numbnuts" he identified deny the existence of jdub. Heck half the names of people on those lists don't even exist and about a quarter of them are names he copied off of gravestones in the cemetaries of the towns he's been run out of. Oh don't worry, he has a lot more names to throw your way. :eek:

Welcome aboard and ask away. You will find what you seek.

Just don't make eye contact and you'll be O.K. :rolleyes: If you fail at that, put out a spread of food, announce it as a mini rally and run. Believe it or not, there are many restaurants around the country that will swear that the locust swarm arrives in Prevosts.

[truk4u]

Charlie & Mollie,

Welcome aboard, we're glad your here. Fire away with all your questions, this bunch of weenies will give you bogus answers. A-1 and I are the only ones you can really count on.;)

Jdub has a bite fetish we don't quite understand, but he has spent a lot of time with the camel jockies in the middle east and has this absurd craving for mutton cooked with seaweed and gazelle milk.:rolleyes:

[garyde]

Welcome Charlie and Mollie.

POG=

"Everything you have always wanted to know about Prevost but were afraid to ask"

This is the Place. You will get an earful here!

[rfoster]

I am the only one that made both list, some made one list twice so that makes me the only one qualified to give believeable, accurate, straight to the point advise. It is worth every cent you paid for it too!!

Welcome aboard Charlie and Mollie, we are glad you spent the money so we don't have too.

I wish JDUB hadn't eaten so many mutton tacos. The only thing that makes him dangerous is what he eats.

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

JDUB, how could you????

You slighted me terribly, and you mentioned Lew 5 Times. I am hurt !:mad: :D

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Well Clowns,

It looks like you all scared Mollie and Charlie away. No response at all to the verbal sparring and insults, so yet another Prevost buyer has turned tail and run.

Charlie and Mollie, if you are still out there ignore everyone. They won't hurt you. At least not too much.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Welcome Charlie and Mollie, find yourself a nice 97 to 2000 Liberty and life will be good!

:)JIM

[Jerry Winchester]

JIM CHALOUPKA Welcome Charlie and Mollie, find yourself a nice 97 to 2000 Liberty and life will be good!

JIM

Unless Alzheimer's keeps you from remembering how to turn your AC on.....

[phorner]

Charlie and Mollie.....

Don't let this Manic Mob of Misfits scare you off....

The bark is much worse than the occasional bite......:D

You will find a plethora of meaningful and pertinent technical information at you finger tips, or mouse as the case may be, once you get past the "editorial" content.

It really is a good group.

After all, it's easy to not make any list if you fly consistently under the radar.

[Pete]

Welcome Charlie and Mollie. You have joined a great group of folks, they are most helpful, and are all a lot of fun.
We also have another new member Jim and Carol Trout. They have not jumped into the POG pond on their own, so I will throw them in. They have just purchased Richard Becker's 96 Mitchell/Vogue. Welcome to the POG group!

[Ray Davis]

It looks like you all scared Mollie and Charlie away. No response at all to the verbal sparring and insults, so yet another Prevost buyer has turned tail and run.

Well, the members list shows they haven't yet read the posts, so we probably haven't scared them off .... YET.

The last activity by them was one hour after their post, so they've missed all of the fun, so far.

Ray

[Lawlak]

Hello everyone,

I have been looking for a used coach for the past few weeks and will have a deal done this next week. I have been working with a really nice guy at the Dallas Marathon store. I am buying a 2006 H3-45 and while I have not seen the coach in person I have looked at about 200 pictures. It has three slides and looks new. I don't want anyone to think that I am whining, but I am 49 years old and have terminal cancer. I have been dealing with it for almost 5 years and pray that I have a couple of years left. I only mention that so you will understand why I don't need to buy a brand of coach that is going to give me lots of problems. I am on chemo right now and don't have much extra energy to deal with big problems while headed down the road. I would like to hear what you pro's can tell me about the quality of Marathon Prevost coaches. I have been very impressed with the salesman but then again that is his job and I have never owned a coach. Thanks for any information that you can give me.

Tony
New Mexico

[MangoMike]

Tony welcome to POG.

...and just kick that cancer in the ass.

A marathon is a great coach and you won't be disappointed. Plus you have a bevy of fellow Marathon owners that would love to give you all sorts of advice.

You need to put OKC on your calendar.

Mango Mike

[Jerry Winchester]

Tony,

I think you are on the right track. No one has more nationwide service centers than Marathon, so between them and Prevost, just drive the crap out of that thing and we'll do our best to help you have fun at the expense of others.

Good luck.

JDUB

[Ray Davis]

Tony,

Welcome to POG. Marathon makes a fine coach, and I'm sure you'll have many happy travels with your new bus.

How about making plans now to join us out in Oklahoma City, Oct 2-8 for POG 8th POG rally?

Also, if you're able, there's a group getting together out at the Oshkosh fly-in at the end of this month. I'm guessing they could get you in there too.

Welcome to the group.

[CFleck]

Hi,everyone I JUST read all of your posts. Can you see the capital letters [I JUST],Icannot type it takes me forever. So thats why I AM A GOOD listener. See the caps. So from know on I will be using lower case letters.. my spelling is also terriable so please have fun at my expense.i am sure by reading all of your posts that you are all geniuses. i fill so intimated,but, i am sure i will get over it. My wife and I still work at our regular jobs.I CAN ONLY GET ON THIS SITE AT NIGHT[SEE THE CAPS] DARN!!!!. So for a little history.I work for a utility company. My wife is an artist.She paints me all the time in the nude, but it takes me forever to get the paint off. We live in DuBois,PA. at mile marker 100 on Interstate 80. N OW BEFOR I GET HAMMERED,DARN!!! Now before you all hammer me about living on i 80 , i dont , it was just a referance. I can retire at anytime now. the house is now for sale. When it sales we are out of here..So we are looking for a good Prevost motorhome for about 10,000.00 dollars. I know thats alot of money but we only want the best. So if any of you want to make a good profit on your motorhomes just call me. my number is BR549.We will need your help to guide us on what coach to buy,what year to buy.We can only afford a coach that cost about 150,000.00.We dont want any slides,we want at least a 40 foot coach.I just want to thank all of you for being so nice to my wife and I. I want to thank Jim for allowing us to be on this sight for an introduction offer of 500.00 dollars. We appreciate his sacrifice.This post only took me 1 hour to type,not bad HAH!!We cant wait to get on the road and meet all of you.Thank you for all of your help.

[garyde]

Hi Tony. Marathon is one of the best. The support is very good as well. Just keep in mind its a Prevost first so everyone can answer questions on that issue. Congradulations and enjoy. It's going to be a great experience for you I'm sure.

[aggies09]

Charlie and Mollie,

Welcome aboard. I was in your shoes about a year and half ago. I had never owned a tent and knew nothing about RV's. This group, the good guys, and the so called numbnuts were all very helpful to me in determining what is important mechanically and in functionality. Feel free to ask any question and this group will help you through your thought process.

It will be to your benefit to post the specifics of what you are looking for in a coach. With all of the pro's on this site they can probably direct you in a direction to help find exactly what your looking for. Some people on this site have looked for their perfect bus for years and others, like Jen and I, took the advice of this group and found a bus that we liked right away and have enjoyed every minute of it. Good luck in your search and I hope to get to meet you down the road.

[Ray Davis]

Charlie and Mollie,

As mentioned before, Mango Mike has a really nice 97 Liberty, which might be in close to the right price range.

Another suggest is to contact Steve Bennett at CA Coach Company. Steve is a POG member, a POG sponsor, and Prevost owner as well. Great guy and has several coaches that might be within your intended budget. Now is a great time if you're looking for good deals. But, do be aware of unscrupulos sellers. Steve will certainly treat you right.

http://www.californiacoachcompany.com/

and obviously, our forum sponsor you can find many coaches for sale at

http://www.prevost-stuff.com/

There are several other POG sponsors, which you can find on the front page of POG.


Ray

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Charlie is going to fit right in.

Charlie, I'm willing to bet half the inmates that read your last post failed to pick up on all of the humor. Start out slow because it is going to take some a while to understand when you are joking and when you are real.

Now to the serious stuff. For your budget, in today's market you are going to get a very fine coach. There are a bunch out there and the best way for you to start the process is to literally go look at a bunch just so you can begin formulating a list of things you want in a coach, and things you can do without. You will have to decide how you will use your coach and that will influence what you need. For example, if you will travel with grandkids you will likely want a floor plan with a private toilet. If it is just you and Mollie, that becomes less important.

If you choose to escape the cold of DewBoys, PA and will travel in the desert southwest, then OTR (over the road air) becomes very important.

Also, you mention at least 40 feet. Prevost made a 35 footer many moons ago, but they are very rare, and although they more recently made 40 foot coaches, you will find 45 footers are what appears to be the most common now. If you were to have a choice the 45 is a more livable length.

We have placed you on the agenda for the OKC rally. You will be the hit of the nude painting series. If you get Mollie to do a good job with her paint brush Skiffer will refund some of the dues he charged.

[GDeen]

Hi,everyone I JUST read all of your posts. Can you see the capital letters [I JUST],Icannot type it takes me forever. So thats why I AM A GOOD listener. See the caps. So from know on I will be using lower case letters.. my spelling is also terriable so please have fun at my expense.i am sure by reading all of your posts that you are all geniuses. i fill so intimated,but, i am sure i will get over it. My wife and I still work at our regular jobs.I CAN ONLY GET ON THIS SITE AT NIGHT[SEE THE CAPS] DARN!!!!. So for a little history.I work for a utility company. My wife is an artist.She paints me all the time in the nude, but it takes me forever to get the paint off. We live in DuBois,PA. at mile marker 100 on Interstate 80. N OW BEFOR I GET HAMMERED,DARN!!! Now before you all hammer me about living on i 80 , i dont , it was just a referance. I can retire at anytime now. the house is now for sale. When it sales we are out of here..So we are looking for a good Prevost motorhome for about 10,000.00 dollars. I know thats alot of money but we only want the best. So if any of you want to make a good profit on your motorhomes just call me. my number is BR549.We will need your help to guide us on what coach to buy,what year to buy.We can only afford a coach that cost about 150,000.00.We dont want any slides,we want at least a 40 foot coach.I just want to thank all of you for being so nice to my wife and I. I want to thank Jim for allowing us to be on this sight for an introduction offer of 500.00 dollars. We appreciate his sacrifice.This post only took me 1 hour to type,not bad HAH!!We cant wait to get on the road and meet all of you.Thank you for all of your help.

That pretty funny right there.

Know you're kiddin about MM 100 - your place is in Treasure Lake isn't it? ;)

[GDeen]

Tony, there are lots of very experienced folks around here of which I am not one. I can say though that we are approaching 3000 miles on our older Marathon that we picked up a month ago and it has been great thus far. No problems and extremely well made.

Best of luck to you. Go pick up that H3 beast and have fun!

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Charlie, found one for you:

[lonesome george]

Jim, Priceless!
Charile can get started honing his maintenance and repair skills straight away.
It should come in right on the budget number too.

[phorner]

Hey Jim, was that bus listed as "needs detailing" ???:eek:

[Lawlak]

Thanks for the response everyone. I can tell by the tone of the conversation that I am going to like these boards.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Believe it or not that bus was sold and paid for by a guy that never came back to pick it up:eek:

It sits at Mr Olivers.

JIM

[CFleck]

now thats what I am talkin about Jim,how about OTR air, Jon tells me I should have it.Git me a price.

[CFleck]

That pretty funny right there.

Know you're kiddin about MM 100 - your place is in Treasure Lake isn't it? ;)

GDeen,you must know the area. We do not live in Treasure Lake but we are very close. So if you are out this way give us a call.814-771-2059.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

now thats what I am talkin about Jim,how about OTR air, Jon tells me I should have it.Git me a price.


OTR is very expensive. It costs well into six figures, but if you buy it, they throw a bus in with the deal. Usually the bus is a Liberty so it makes it a good deal.

[GDeen]

Charlie,

I have traveled that road more than a few times - have a field office in St Marys. Will look you up next time I am in your neck of the woods.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Sure does have OTR Charlie, just look at all the windows. :D With just a little work you can bring this baby back to all it's previous grandeur:rolleyes:

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Sorry, Skiffer, but I gotta post this.

This strikes me as a huge opportunity for someone willing to move fast and pull the trigger to get a bus dirt cheap.

http://www.philcooper.com/details.php?v_id=419

I realize "cheap" is a lousy reason to buy a bus, but unless this has been trashed, this coach may be a great opportunity for someone that has been looking and is in a position to buy without hesitation. Someobody will buy it.

I would not buy it without seeing it in person. I would not buy it without adding the following costs to the purchase price (mentally) before putting an offer on the table.

Tires, air bags, Norgren Valves, chassis batteries, house batteries, and brake chambers. That's around $12,000 not including installation costs. Installation of all the above would likely run around 24 man hours.

When looking at it in person I would run every device and system to determine if there are any other problems not shown and I would ask Prevost if there is any service history or damage history. I would look it over with an eagle eye to see if it ever had repairs.

$140,000? $130,000, or less? If it is to be a keeper and is in excellent condition $175,000 is still reasonable.

[michaeldterry]

$140,000? $130,000, or less? If it is to be a keeper and is in excellent condition $175,000 is still reasonable.

Geez - now they're practically giving them away! It does look like this will be an outstanding opportunity for someone to get into a nice Prevost conversion at a "plastic" price. No matter - mine is still worth a million - to me! :p

[dalej]

I don't know Jon.

When I look at it, I see a bus that has been neglected and would need a lot of... well you know, $$-LEWS! to bring it back.

If a new guy without a set of wrenches is looking for a bus and see your post and buys it, he might be in for a disappointment.

I have based this reply on the miles for the year and the water damage by the dinette. I only looked a three photos and that was enough.

ps... If I were wanting to upgrade now, I would look at it more. For members that don't know me, I love to work on a Prevost.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

No doubt it needs a deep cleaning, and note I urged a potential buyer to go look at it.

If you add in the price of purchases such as tires and batteries and the labor to install all the new parts to the offer price I still think it represents a good price.

The cosmetic stuff could add up to some dollars which is why a look see is important. That is a Liberty Classic so it is not apt to have any problems a person with reasonable skills cannot handle.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Jon your suggested possible purchase prices could be inflated:eek:

Just how bad does that bank want to get rid of it and how many other bad loans do they have?

If I were looking at it with cash I would start with a way lower offer and creep my way up to make sure.

I do not think that I am alone when I say I personally know of many more unbelievable prices on current listings but hesitate to share them out of courtesy for those who are currently selling.

What will this winter and next year bring?

[michaeldterry]

Just how bad does that bank want to get rid of it and how many other bad loans do they have?

If I were looking at it with cash I would start with a way lower offer and creep my way up to make sure.

Joe - I agree! If I were in the market with cash, I would open with about $110,000 and work from there.



What will this winter and next year bring?

::::shudder:::: Given how fast our new President is making inroads with his socialist/apologist agenda, I'm frankly too scared to think about that now! :eek:

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I will not profess any skills in the buying process and it is because of that I cannot stand to do the dance with dealers. The minute I ask for their best price, and then after giving it to me they come down further I'm done. I consider I am dealing with liars and cheats and I have to walk away.

It cuts the other way also. I try to make an honest good faith offer. If it isn't good enough I also take a hike because it usually represents what I think is a good deal for us both and if I have to add money to that offer I think I am spending too much.

With respect to low balling the seller that OK if you want to play a game, but while you are doing that if someone like me comes along and makes a serious offer your low ball offer may just be softening the seller up, making my serious offer attractive. You lose, I win.

My only point here is this appears to have the potential to make someone a good coach for relatively little money. What price is finally settled upon is up to the buyer and seller. Whatever it is, it is certain to further decay the selling prices in the market.

[Dooley]

I am a long time "lurker," and called to check out this bus. It was owned by a party that was on the "drag racing" circuit who ran out of money. This explains the condition of the coach.

They have a pending sale at present, and Tom said that the bank wanted at least $125K, which is likely where the price is. Tom also stated, as John pointed out, that the coach would need between $20K and $25K to make it look as "good as new."

Tim

[gmcbuffalo]

Jim I love the Mohawk hair cut on that bus.
GregM

[michaeldterry]

I am a long time "lurker," and called to check out this bus.

Welcome to the asylum, Tim! Now that you've dipped your toe in the water, go ahead and wade all the way in! Tell us about yourself - where you hail from, bus ownership status and/or what you're shopping for in a bus, sheepherding experience, felony convictions (unprosecuted charges don't count), and anything else that will give us ammunition to make fun of you with! :p

In all seriousness, if you've been lurking for a while, you already know that this group of bus nuts has a collectively warped sense of humor and can be unmerciful with ribbing each other, but a better and more knowledgable bunch of bus people you will never find - and generous to a fault!

Participate as much as you can to get the full benefit of being a POG'er and above all - have fun!

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Didn't the Kingston Trio sing : " Hang down your head Tim Dooley, hang down your head and cry"?

Or was that someone else?

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

It was someone else,:rolleyes: like Tom!













JIM

[GDeen]

That bus has been on Cooper's site for quite a while now. I have been surprised it has hung around as long as it has, given how hard they have been pushing it.

[Dooley]

I am a divorced father of two, a son (11), and daughter (9), and we live in Palo Alto, California. I own my own Franchise Consulting business, assisting people purchase the right business for themselves.

I caught MPD upon leaving Yellowstone after our second straight summer of tent camping for two weeks. We love the park, but I lost ten pounds (not an entirely bad thing) hefting gear from the car to camp site to make every meal (due to concerns with the bears, you must leave all food, utensils, stoves etc in the car).

As we were leaving the park, I found myself trailing what appeared to be a new, and beautiful Millennium bus. I had no idea what it was, but I knew then that this was the way to travel.

When I was growing up, one of ten, my parents were avid campers, and ultimately bought a Terry trailer. We went somewhere every other weekend. So, I am rather addicted to touring the country.

Once I got home, I started my research, and found the POG site. I think I know you all very well at this point after having read almost every post here.

I came very close to purchasing Bruce's 0533 back in September/October '08 (hello Bruce). What a great coach, and as you all know, he continues to improve upon a very good thing. However, it was at that time that the market crashed, and along with it my portfolio. So, I have had to put the dream to rest for the moment.

However, I still look for a great opportunity. I tend to like the interior styling/decor of Millenniums, Marathons, and the occasional Country Coach. I look for the following in a coach, purely from an practical living point of view (with two young kids, and possibly a couple of buddies);

• I need at least one pull out sofa, and could probably add another opposite the original as I realize that most coaches do not come with two.

• Also, with regard to kid sleeping accommodations, I do like the "basement" sleeping compartment, but do realize this is rare.

• I like the "booth" arrangement for dining, versus the table w/two chairs.

• I tend to gravitate to the warmer interiors, not the cream or white (as
again, I have two kids, and we all know what that means).

• I need a private toilet, as this will allow unhindered travel from front to back of the coach (again, kids need their privacy...as well as adults).

Jon, I realize that I haven't touched on any technical differences between the converters, but will certainly consider this if and when I find something that gets my attention. In addition, I don't want to start world war three between all of the current coach owning members of POG.

I don't have any "sheepherding" experience, and don't own a plane, but do own a 30 foot Grady White fishing boat. My son is addicted to fishing. We fish in SF Bay, and I love going offshore for albacore tuna, and love to view all of the sea life (whales, dolphins, and the occasional Great White sharks at the Farralon Islands).

I just went out over the 4th of July weekend solo, spent the night 80 miles offshore, caught 14 tuna, saw a pod of 50 dolphins, and also saw a whale fully launch itself straight up and out of the water. It was incredible.

As for the sad "Dooley" song, with the last child in our family of ten, we pleaded with my mom to name the last one "Tom." She agreed, but we had to promise we would never sing the song. To this day, I still don't know all of the words to that song!

Sorry for the long message, but I truly enjoy those of you who regularly post here. It is truly an incredible group, with tremendous knowledge of these magnificent machines.

Tim

[michaeldterry]

Great post, Tim! Thanks for sharing your story! The info you've shared will, no doubt, enable the collective brain trust here to help you find the right bus to fit your desires and needs.

Welcome to the "family" and happy hunting for your very own Prevost!

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Enjoyable post Tim, welcome to P O G!!!!


:)JIM

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Welcome aboard Tim. Despite what you say I will start the war.......

The newer the coach, the more you need a strong reliable converter who will stand behind it and respond to your every question. Older coaches, even orphans without converters are readily serviced because they tend to be less complex (meaning proprietary circuit boards and computer software) and parts are generally available off the shelf from supply houses.

Some late model coaches are also easily serviced, such as the Royale because those conversions had simple systems.

The two names you will see most recommended are Marathon and Liberty. They are the two converters who have been around forever and who both make excellent coaches. They both have outstanding reputations for support.

But there are also other conversions, such as Millennium, Vantare, and Parliament whio are still doing conversions, who make great coaches, and who support their coaches very well.

This is literally a small community and as such a converter will quickly get bad marks if an owner is mistreated. I think you just need to continue with your list of wants and needs and as you refine the list the coach you want will emerge. I would strongly recommend you contact Steve Bennett from California Coach. Steve is very knowledgible and can give you straight information on the direction you should be heading.

We can offer opinions here, based on our personal experiences. What you have to do is sort through what we say to determine what is really important to you. That will be based on how you plan to use the coach, something that will have a greater impact on your decision than anything.

For those waiting for the bomb, here it is. Tim, stop wasting time looking. Just go get a Liberty with OTR. You will never regret the decision.

[dalej]

Tim,

It looks like you have one of life's most unenjoyable trials (literally) behind you now and one of life's MOST enjoyable trials (figuratively) ahead of you...selecting a bus.

Just remember, for as many members there are as many opinions. I think when you see THE BUS, you will know. Deciding to step into a Prevost conversion is the big one. Which converter, which accessories you should have, is like adding spices, only you can decide what you like.

I have never heard anyone on POG say anything like "I bought the wrong bus"

Best of luck searching.

[edsaylor]

Welcome Tim

I agree with Jon: Get a LIBERTY with OTR, transmission retarder, cruise airs (instead of roof airs), and a single holding tank!!! They can not be beat!

[phorner]

Hi Tim,

Searching for the "perfect" bus is quite an experience, which I'm sure you will enjoy.

Once you're done "looking", take the advice of Jon and Ed.....

and buy a Liberty conversion with OTR REAL BUS AIR, single holding tank, and transmission retarder.

You will be quite the happy camper :D

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Tim, X 4 what Jon, Ed, and Paul said. ;) JIM







*

[Dooley]

Thank you all for your warm welcome, as well as suggestions.

I am beginning to wonder if only the Liberty men are reading this thread!

As for Liberty's, I love the external paint jobs, but the interiors are a bit formal for me. I will keep looking at them though, perhaps I will find one to my liking.

However, it sounds like what you guys really love about your Liberty's is what is under the skin. I will pay more attention to this......

Thanks again.

Tim

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Those guys are just lurking and us Liberty guys are on high alert for the aerial attack. I believe they are down at the Acme store stocking up.

There is no perfect coach. Around a campfire we could all have a lively debate about the merits of each converter, and about each converter's Achilles heel. No converter owns the prize for poor interior design, nor does any converter own the award for best interior design. Ours is "elaborate" to use polite wording, and it certainly is not going to reflect how we would have designed it, but we have come to really like it because it is completely different from us and how we live. But I can say the same about the products from every converter. We do place the interior a ways down on the list of things that are important.

For us, our priorities are crystal clear. We must have OTR, a private toilet and long range tanks. We have other wants, but the three listed are needs.

We also can bore you to tears with what we like about the coach, but so can other owners of other coaches. My point is these are personal choices, ours being devloped from almost 20 years of Prevost ownership based on how we use our coach.

You will find however both Liberty and Marathon owners tend to be very loyal (with good reason) and will recommend them to others. Just go buy a Liberty and get it over with.

[sawdust_128]

I am beginning to wonder if only the Liberty men are reading this thread!


Tim


No, we're reading. We just know better.:p Hang in there. You'll catch on. In the mean time, hide your wallet, chain your dog, cage the cat and tell loved one's not to answer the door. Oh yeah, get another phone line and for God's sake don't give out the number and change your email to an aol account.:eek: But, if you do nothing else, head this. If you see a Liberty, don't make eye contact with the owner, especially if they are known to be a member of POG.

[Denny]

Tim,

I will start the retaliation. Don't let the Liberty owners mislead you. They have over paid for their rolling bordellos and so to justify their over spending they condemn other converters. All converters start with the same platform, a Prevost, and then convert them. They all talk about their Prevost Over Road Air but my Country Coach OTR puts out 38 to 40 degree air and keeps the coach very cold. If you ask my wife it is too efficient.

I like my roof air over other systems. I don't have to worry about them not functioning because the blacktop underneath the bus is too hot. They are not as sophisticated as others but they are less money to maintain and they function in extremely hot weather when you need AC.

I paid a $100,000 less for my 99 CC than the comparable 99 Liberty I was looking at.

Liberty makes a very nice coach but they do not have a monopoly on nice coaches. There are several good converters out there and several good converters that are no longer in business or having financial difficulties. But their buses are very good.

Many Liberty owners will condemn Country Coach service. They don't own a CC so have no idea about service on a CC. I am 2,000 miles from Junction City so their factory service is of little concern to me. As long as I get a returned phone call from the service techs that is enough for me. I am going to fix the problem myself or take it to a service center that will to it for me.

Well Tim, I think you get my drift. There is a coach for everyone and a lot of very good coaches out there. What ever you decide on use this POG site for help. There are experts here on every conversion out there and every one is willing to help you with any problems you may experience.

[GDeen]

Got home this evening from AR in my new Marathon with OTR. Liberty doesn't have that market cornered!:D Made for nice sledding in the 106 deg heat of central TX.

Most guys on here are lucky I don't have their phone number. The ones that do, get calls from me on the road telling them how much fun I am having. I am sure that will blow over some day - maybe not.:cool:

After looking and looking, I believe as Jon has said many times you will know which bus is for you when you see it. There are owners of multiple converters here and as you have read, no one is bad mouthing their own bus. That tells me decide what systems and layout you need, stick to the list and the right bus will jump out at you irrespective of the converter. Stuff like sofas and chairs can be easily made or altered.

Good luck!

[Alek&Lucia]

Hello Tim,

Like Ed said: "...We're here.We just know better.:p.."
There are many conversions with factory Prevost OTR and quality craftsmanship. If you ask more questions you will learn that some of us switched Marathons for Country Coaches, and then for Libertys, or went from Libertys to Royales, etc etc.
Another thing, my neighbor, Joe C. said something which I like very much that everybody should take under consideration: " Thanks to POG there is no Orphan Prevost Conversion ". Don't miss a good one !
I said this long time ago: soo many Prevost soo little time. :)

Alek

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Case in point. We just had our very own Jack14R show Mr. Liberty and the gang how to get the autostart voltages right on Libertys watchdog system.

He should get some type of an award for that.

Do we have it covered or what.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Tim whilst everyone spouts and pontificates about their otr and ability to ship butchered meat cross country with out spoiling we have a lurker out there.

I am unaware of any liberty out there that comes close to his total cooling BTU

The bus is a 98 Vantare H with OTR a/c + large central a/c basement unit for the house AND 2 criusairs one in the front room and one in back.

I just got off the phone with Alek he has a pair of these things in his H Royal one cools the left side one for the right good design either or both. They are hands down THE quitest a/c units out there and you never catch a breeze like off the cruseair or roof air.

If I were starting from scratch this would be 1 piece. Can you fit those things in the basement of an XL?

[garyde]

Hi Tim. I'm glad you decided to jump into the POG pool. I used to live in San Jose and Mountain View while attending San Jose State back in the early 70's. Man has the area changed since then.
I found a Coach for you. http://www.rvonline.com/single-ad.asp?Recnumber=45678&SearchMethod=1

It has an additional sleep area and it's definately a nice Liberty.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Joe,

While I canot disagree with the use of a package heating and cooling unit in the bay as some conversions use, there is a disconnect with what owners are professing.

The single loudest argument against OTR is the presumed loss of bay space. Maybe that is the owner's repeating the blather told them by the salesmen, but it is repeated often.

The reality is that OTR takes up the equivalent of 1/2 bay. It is in the third bay position and the remaining 1/2 of the bay space is actually the fuel tank. So when a packaged system is installed it is usually in pairs. The combination of Cruise Airs and a single package unit is not common. A pair of packaged AC units takes up......A HALF BAY.

As to the capacities, the conversions I have seen with the packaged units use 26,000 BTU size, two being a total of 52,000 BTU, which coincidently is the same as my four cruise airs at 13,000 each, or one package and two cruise airs. They all fall short of the 80,000 BTU+ capacity of OTR.

If space is truly a consideration then a coach with four roof airs addresses that concern.

[Alek&Lucia]

Jon,

Our H3-45 Royale has OTR + 2x26,000 BTU's AC/Heat units in the basement,

Alek

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Alec,

That is what I have typically seen when packages are used. For house AC it appears the norm for a 45 foot coach is 52,000 BTU of cooling. It is either the package, the four Cruise Airs or four roof units.

Some converters only use three units on a 45, and entertainer coaches often have at least 5 roof airs.

[Dooley]

Thanks Gary, that is truly a very nice coach. However, I will have to wait another four to five years to afford it!

You Liberty boy's have opened my eyes to another viable option. I appreciate it.

Please keep the comments coming. It is a very entertaining thread, for me at least.

Tim

[Joe Cannarozzi]

All the Marathons I looked at had 3 cruisair units are they 13 or 15000btu if they only use 3?

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Joe,

This is only my opinion based on an experience we had. Two 13,000 BTU Cruise Airs will not keep bus temperatures below 85 when the OAT is 96 to 98 degrees. When the interior temps were in excess of 85, even though the OAT had dropped to 94, after 3 hours of running all four Cruise airs (total of 52,000 BTU) we had just gotten interior temps down to 78-79.

If the bus interior temps are maintained at a comfortable temp (for us it is around 72) then three might be able to do the job, but as we found out if they are warm to start with four units are barely adequate. There was just too much mass of heated interior to cool down.

I recognize that what is an acceptable and comfortable temperature for some does not work for us. Also, our 40 footer had three and apparently the shorter length only required three, but our 45 in our opinion definitely calls for 4.

[MangoMike]

Point of information:

Our Marathon H3 has 4 cruise airs (plus OTR), so not all Marathons are limited to 3.

mm

[GDeen]

Joe,

This is only my opinion based on an experience we had. Two 13,000 BTU Cruise Airs will not keep bus temperatures below 85 when the OAT is 96 to 98 degrees. When the interior temps were in excess of 85, even though the OAT had dropped to 94, after 3 hours of running all four Cruise airs (total of 52,000 BTU) we had just gotten interior temps down to 78-79.

If the bus interior temps are maintained at a comfortable temp (for us it is around 72) then three might be able to do the job, but as we found out if they are warm to start with four units are barely adequate. There was just too much mass of heated interior to cool down.

I recognize that what is an acceptable and comfortable temperature for some does not work for us. Also, our 40 footer had three and apparently the shorter length only required three, but our 45 in our opinion definitely calls for 4.

After only about 20 nights in my 3 cruiseair bus, I have learned that staying ahead of it is key. We have been camping in some really hot temps already and having the awnings out and getting the A/C's ginning before it gets too warm inside keeps things nicely cool.

When we were in Kerrville, they had a power failure while we were in town for a couple of hours mid afternoon. The bus switched to inverter power and went down to 2 cruiseairs. This was in 103 deg heat and the 2 not surprisingly did not keep up. When we returned, started the genset and went back to 3 cruiseairs it took a couple of hours to bring the interior temps down from low 80's to low 70's. 3 are enough when that hot, but you have to stay up with it.

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

When we were in Kerrville, they had a power failure while we were in town for a couple of hours mid afternoon. The bus switched to inverter power and went down to 2 cruiseairs.


Gordon, the power failure you mentioned is why I always have my genset on AUTO/Start, so if we are away from the bus and the power goes out, the generator will start up in an emergency and keep things functioning.

If anybody out there thinks this is NOT the right way to handle this, ( Auto Start Gen ) please advise, so I can correct my way? !

Just remember to turn off the Auto/Start Gen Function, when you put it away in the barn.

Gary S.

[Ray Davis]

So, this past week, I had the opportunity to experience some real heat, since my ill-fated trip from SLC in my CC, which ended up with no functional A/C's in 120+ conditions.

I drove from SoCal to Mesa AZ to visit my brother this past weekend. He has had surgery, and although I would normally not go to AZ in the summer months, this was probably an important time to go.

Driving to/from Mesa I set the OTR at 75 degrees, and it performed flawlessly. We arrive in Mesa nice and cool. Temps indicated on the dash around 105 for most of the drive. Opening the door in Mesa revealed a blast furnace.

My new Marathon has roof airs, so this was the first time I tried to use roof airs, in a really hot climate. I don't know if roof airs are really designed to work 24/7, but they needed to during this visit. Temps on the SMX panels indicated as high as 118 (I assume that was a sensor in the roof air itself).

I have 4 A/C units, but generally kept 3 running (didn't run the bathroom air). It did seem to be able to keep the coach comfortable, however I will admit that roof airs right above you when you're trying to sleep isn't the best. I can't compare to cruise-air noise, but I assume it's a bit worse.

Anyway, we survived, and spent a week then at ORA Rancho CA. Days were high 90's, but nights were cool. Roof airs worked great, and was able to open up for sleeping evenings.

Anyone know whether or not it's OK to run roof airs 24/7? In Mesa, the lowest temps during the middle of the night were around 95. Day times were realistically around 110. Not my favorite end of the thermometer.

Ray

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I see no reason why it would not be OK to run AC units 24/7.

Once a mechanical device is running and all the operating temperatures stabilize, as long as they do not exceed whatever limits the components have for temperatures it seems they can run without harm. The motor on the compressors are in the hermetically sealed system, running in oil, so continuous running does it no harm, and I assume the fans have permanently lubricated bearings so I can't see any harm there.

[Ray Davis]

Sounds good. I won't worry about it next time, although 110+ is not something I'll be searching out any time soon!