Texas coach

[treedoc]

I am very intertested in a coach in San Marcos. It is a Liberty unit number 279. Is anyone near by that would be willing to take a look at it before I book a flight to come out and look for myself? Rick

[Jim Skiff]

Sounds like a Mainer needs assistance. Hey Texas, what have you got for him?

[treedoc]

yes a maina Also does anyone have knowledge on this unit? The previous owners starting with the first is C. Raymond,J Thomas,J Raymond,Duncan and Flack. Any info would be greatly appreciated. San Marcos is half way between Austin and San Antonio. Thanks Rick

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Is it a dark green Liberty with a dining table along the curb side and a couple of stools or chairs?

[treedoc]

No Jon not green. Blue lots of blue. You can see it on RV Trader 1994 Liberty. Rick

[Jon Wehrenberg]

We had a J.Raymond on here, and I wondered if it was his coach.

[truk4u]

Wasn't that J. Raymond related to Skiff?:p

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Harsh, very harsh. I expect that is the last we will be seeing of you on this forum.

[Jim Skiff]

What happened to Truk's MODERATOR status? Wait a minute...what happened to Truk?

[Jon Wehrenberg]

The pictures tell a lot, but they also do not reveal all.

From the photos it is a Liberty Elegant Lady. Top of the line so it is likely to have all the features you could want. I presume it is a Detroit 8V92. Not as fuel efficient as the Series 60, but for the price, you have to drive a lot of miles before that 5.5 to 6.0 MPG is offset by the 7.0 to 8.0 of the Series 60 engine. There is no engine on the planet that sounds as sweet as an 8V92, and the five speed transmission is a reliable robust one. If the coach has the Series 60 and 6 speed transmission you have the most fuel efficient drivetrain in a Prevost because of the model year.

The important thing from a buyer's perspective at this point is to compare this coach's price and features against your second choice. Then get into the nitty gritty. The big ticket items are the engine and transmission and they need to have their codes run and condition verified by a Detroit Diesel / Allison dealer. The selling price is often not as important as the cost of acquisition which inlcudes what you have to spend to make the coach right.

Next in line will be the tires, and all date codes need to be less than 6 years old and they need to be free of cracking on the sidewall. Tread depth is meaningless because on a motorhome the tires age out before they wear out unless you do some serious driving. Batteries are your next consideration. A five year life on all batteries is a good run. Some go longer, some less, but if they are approaching 5 years based on their date codes you will be buying batteries.

Now for the stuff that is based on your tolerance for dealing with isssues on the chassis. Unless there are service records to prove otherwise you should assume the coach has not been serviced and you will have to do everything. Everything means fluid and filter changes, coolant, and belts and hoses, especially those relating to the house and Webasto. If the air bags, brake chambers and Norgren valves are original and you intend to keep the coach for a long time consider they need to be replaced. Others may disagree but until you lose an air bag and see your coach winched onto a trailer you don't fully understand the meaning of pain. You can work around a failed brake chamber and if the Norgren valves are acting up you can jury rig things to keep you going, but it will be like wearing pants two sizes too small. It'll work but you are not going to be happy.

The house systems should all work. If a coach has not been used regularly apart from likely glitches in the suspension system you can expect the Webasto might need service. The refrigerator, if it is an Amana may be nearing the end of its life cycle. Various valves such as pocket doors, floor slide, bed lift, dump valves, etc may be lazy or not work from non-use. Not big deals but things to be aware of.

The electrical system usually has people looking like a deer in the headlights, but the reality it is easy to service and reliable, but it should get a complete check just to sort out if there are issues. Obvioulsy you need to check all heat and AC systems.

Pay close attention to the inverters. They are good and reliable, but parts are getting tough to come by and there is no sense starting out with a bad one.

Don't take any of this as sour grapes or pessimism. Your mission is to find out what is not right and what is and then make your purchase decision based on what you may have to fix or upgrade. If you start out with a coach loaded with glitches you spend a lot of time and money at Camp Prevost or Camp Liberty sortting things out. If the price you pay reflects those expenses there is less pain associated with dealing with defects. If you do your own work your perspective on condition may be more tolerable to minor defects.

None of our coaches are ever perfect because there is a lot of systems and devices. But let me assure you once you get ahead of the curve and have the coach just right, keeping that way is quite easy and there is no nicer way to travel. Ignoring the little stuff until it becomes overwhelming is a recipe for grief.

[GDeen]

Rick,
I am relatively close to San Marcos and happy to go take a look when I get a chance. Jon has given you quite a list to consider so just let me know what you would like for me to check.

[treedoc]

Gordon Thanks for being willing to look at the coach. The owners name is Derik Flack and his number 512 738-1087. Mostly what I'd like you to do is give me your first impression of the coach. Was it well cared for or abused. Thanks again.

I will be booking a flight out tommorow for the 7th to inspect the coach with a comb, using the Jons prebuy inspection as a guide. But will cancel if the coach isn't worth the trip. We did agree on a price with the option to back out if my inspection and or DD or Allison finds too much.

Jon You are right the coach is an elegant lady. Verified by Liberty yesterday. I do know the tires and house batterys are 5 years old. So there will need to be some work done right away. But given the price of the coach there is room for maintenance.

How many air bags and brake chambers are there and ball park cost. I can to all the repairs myself and look foward to it. I'm sure I'll need some guidance along the way. Rick

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Doctor Tree,

There are 8 air bags. Assume $140 each and for an estimate use 12 hours of labor to install.

Brake chambers, depending on where you get them can be $35-$40 for the steer, $160 for the drive and depending on if you have the combo or single chamber on the tag anywhere from $35-40 to $130 each. Two brake chambers for each axle. Give yourself an hour each to install as long as you have stuff removed for the air bags and you are under there anyway.

Norgen valve....Liberty has a unique set up. They have 3 five port Norgren valves @ about $135 each and 7 3 port Norgrens @ about $75 each. Again, as long as you are under there give yourself 30 to 45 minutes each to change them out.

I have no clue about the current price of tires because oil price affects their cost and it also depends on if you Michelin or go with the least expensive.

Batteries, Our very own Truk can help you there.

The times I gave are based on having a good place to work and THE BUS BEING PROPERLY SUPPORTED. Check for hub seal leaks but they are not a big deal, not fixing them gets to be a big deal.

There's other stuff but once you have the basics in good shape everything else is kind of easy.

[GDeen]

Gordon Thanks for being willing to look at the coach. The owners name is Derik Flack and his number 512 738-1087. Mostly what I'd like you to do is give me your first impression of the coach. Was it well cared for or abused. Thanks again.

I will be booking a flight out tommorow for the 7th to inspect the coach with a comb, using the Jons prebuy inspection as a guide. But will cancel if the coach isn't worth the trip. We did agree on a price with the option to back out if my inspection and or DD or Allison finds too much.

Jon You are right the coach is an elegant lady. Verified by Liberty yesterday. I do know the tires and house batterys are 5 years old. So there will need to be some work done right away. But given the price of the coach there is room for maintenance.

How many air bags and brake chambers are there and ball park cost. I can to all the repairs myself and look foward to it. I'm sure I'll need some guidance along the way. Rick

Rick,
I have not made it down to SM yet. I hope to get down there Wed afternoon although if you are definitely coming down on Friday, I am not sure that will do you much good. Let me know your current thoughts/schedule.

[treedoc]

Grodon We are coming on Friday, landing around 11pm. We will be taking the coach to DD dealer for engine and tranny code checks on Saturday.

At this point I wouldn't worry about looking at the coach, but thank you for the offer anyway. Rick