CRUISE AIR GAS CHANGE

[Coloradobus]

We Are looking at a bus with OTR and Cruise Airs. The gas in each is R-12. Anyone with Cruise Airs changed out the R12 for R134? I understand its expensive to change out the gas in the OTR.....10 grand???

May have a fellow Pogger check this out for us when we decide in the next couple of days.

Anyone recently change out their engine radiator?? If one is needed?? $$$$$ ??

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PREVOST-LE-MIRAGE-XL-BEAVER-DIESEL-RV-40-475HP-62K-MIL_W0QQitemZ120461128581QQcmdZViewItemQQptZRVs_Ca mpers?hash=item1c0c0af385&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245

[merle&louise]

Jim,

In 2002, I changed out the engine radiator in my '93. $4,000!

$2,300 for the radiator and $1,700 labor.

[Sid Tuls]

Jim,what a great looking bus!! The owners must of taken great pride in taking care of it!!

[Pete]

Jim, that is a great looking coach....I like the floor plan. Are you sure the cruise airs have R-12? I thought they are R-22..shows what I know.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Jim, Chris,

I suspect the OTR is R-12, but all the Cruise Airs I have know to be R-22.

The OTR uses about 22 to 24 pounds of R-12. With a good flush and oil compatible with 134a the system will work, but there are some caveats. The expansion valve should be changed (isn't vital, but helps) and the entire system pressure checked. R-134a operates at higher pressures and as such even minute leaks are a problem with 134a. There is about a 15% loss of efficiency with 134a.

Personally, if the system has lost pressure, I would get a new dryer installed, check and find and repair leaks (likely a seal behind the clutch a two hour job) and then have it recharged with R-12. At $30 per pound plus a day of labor for all of the above it should be good for 15 years

I had a radiator recored on my old coach and I cannot remember what it cost. It was about 4 hours to remove and replace. I think most 8V92 coaches have issues with the radiator if the coolant is not maintained as required. If you do need that done it is a good time to switch to extended life coolant.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Jim, if you are successful with your purchase and want to keep the R12 system, I have a canister about 95% full. I could bring it to OKC and we can haggle over the price there.

I recommend you keep it in R12, regardless of where you obtain it!

Didn't Ray make this change and have a lot of trouble????????, not sure!

JIM

[Ray Davis]

Didn't Ray make this change and have a lot of trouble????????, not sure!

No. What I believe was the final cause of my trouble was that Prevost did not pay attention to the hard-to-read placard on my coach which indicated the coolant had been changed from R-12 to something else.

When I had the system re-charged, they put in R-12, because that's what goes in older buses. The whole system locked up in about 5 hours of use. IT took many tries cleaning out the whole system, replacing the compressor three times to get things working again.

At somewhere between 15-20 pounds of R-12 each time they replaced stuff, it got to be thousands of $$ in a hurry.

Ray

[tdelorme]

I decided to keep our OTR R12, and am glad I did. I have never had a problem getting R12 and always keep an extra 30# tank at the bus barn. The Cruisairs will be R22 not R12.
Great looking coach, go get her.
http://motors.shop.ebay.com/eBay-Motors-/6000/i.html?_nkw=R12+30%23&_adv=1&_dmd=1&_fsct=&_in_kw=1&_ipg=50&_oexkw=&_okw=R12+30%23&_sop=12&_udhi=&_udlo=&_rdc=1

[truk4u]

Jim C,

If the CO boy's don't need the R-12, yours truly could use it and I'll be glad to pay. My dash A/C has been working great, but I can never have enough R-12 just in case.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

I'll bring it along then,

JIM

[garyde]

That is a very nice Coach. It would be worth the money, to upgrade or just replace the existing R12. I don't remember seeing a Prevost Conversion by Beaver.
Is this Bus #2, tbc, or are you selling the H3?

[Ray Davis]

When I was first looking for a coach I looked at a couple of Beaver conversions. Really nice coaches, real rich wood. As I understand it not many conversions were made, as they were too expensive to convert. Not sure if that's true, but that's what I heard ...

ray

[Coloradobus]

Yes Gary,
We will be selling the "H", we don't want to a TBC member for long, altho we will be in esteemed company. We don't know how many conversions Beaver did, but the last one we saw was an XLII in 2002 at the PP Rally ( the only one we went to) at the Ballon Festival for sale in Display. It sold while we were there and new owners wanted all the Beaver Insignia removed and Royale badging added. ???

[HarborBus]

Jim, I sent you an email.

[michaeldterry]

We Are looking at a bus with OTR and Cruise Airs. The gas in each is R-12. Anyone with Cruise Airs changed out the R12 for R134? I understand its expensive to change out the gas in the OTR.....10 grand???

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PREVOST-LE-MIRAGE-XL-BEAVER-DIESEL-RV-40-475HP-62K-MIL_W0QQitemZ120461128581QQcmdZViewItemQQptZRVs_Ca mpers?hash=item1c0c0af385&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245

I can't speak to this particular bus - although it's a beauty - but the seller (Kenny Day of Day Brothers RV in London, KY) is a first class guy. Day Brothers is where I found (via eBay) and purchased my current Prevost and I could not be happier with the transaction! Kenny bent over backward to make sure that every detail was exactly as represented and was very accommodating of every request we made.

If you decide that you want this bus, you can't go wrong buying from Kenny Day!

[Ray Davis]

Jim, that's really surprising to me that there would be an XL2 Beaver conversion. It was my understanding that Beaver stopped converting in the mid 1990's, certainly well before 2000 when the XL2s arrived?

[mike kerley]

Beautiful bus. The craftsmanship in the early Beavers was second to none. We had an 89 Marquis and this bus is very similar.

What a buy! Who would have ever believed.

[kenrobertson]

Beaver Coaches built 34 or 35 conversions in '90 to '92 - Great conversions, but ridiculously overbuilt and too expensive for the market. Later, Monaco Coach owned both Royale and Beaver's parent company, SMC, for several years. They built a few Royale XLII's with Beavers solid wood cabinetry and called them Beavers.

[Ray Davis]

Ken,

Thanks for the clarification on that.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Do not confuse the later model Beaver coaches with the originals. The originals were superb products, but the later models were basically brand marketing. Ken can correct me if I have mis-spoke.

If my memory is correct Ernie Borgnine owned a Beaver and he loved it. He did some TV stuff featuring his coach. The guy was at a 1992 FMCA convention and he was just a regular bus owner that enjoyed being a regular bus owner. Ken? Do you remember this?

[kenrobertson]

Correct as always, Jon.

I had the pleasure of getting to know Ernie while he owned his coach, and he was an absolute gentleman. Worlds worst driver.....but a gentleman. Wrecked the coach numerous times before he ever got out of Bend with it. He loved to tell people how much he enjoyed coaching, because coach people treated him like a regular guy.They even expected him to hook up his own sewer hose.

[truk4u]

There is a big difference between 81K and the "But It Now" price of 175K! Stay tuned....