The "new & improved" Evangeline returns home!

[michaeldterry]

Thursday, 12/30,, Vita and I were in Knoxville, TN to visit/share a meal with Jon & Di Wehrenberg in celebration of their 49th wedding anniversary AND to pick up our beloved Evangeline from Russell Coach after her complete suspension overhaul (in addition to other miscellaneous work).


We had a blast visiting with Jon & Di and got the $5.00 tour of Jon's beautiful bus, his bus barn/pit, and his wonderful home before heading down the ski slope that doubles as his driveway to a delicious lunch at Puleo's, where we were joined by Rob & Wendy Russell of Russell Coachworks.


After lunch and lively conversation, we all headed over to Russell Coach for the unveiling of the new and improved Evangeline!


To bring everyone up to date, after a fairly arduous research and selection process, we chose Russell Coach to perform a rather long list of work on Evangeline to address suspension issues, some converter side things, and a little "body work" (where I scraped the hell out of my curbside rub rails on the electric security gate at the storage lot several weeks ago).


Here is a fairly complete list of the work performed by Rob and his crew, (with participation by Jon Wehrenberg on my behalf):


* Replaced all airbags

* Replaced all shocks

* Replaced all brake chambers

* Replaced leaking drive axle seal & gasket on the driver side

* Replaced 3 5-port Norgren valves

* Replaced 5 3-port Norgren valves

* Replaced stabilizer bushings

* Replaced 3 curbside rub rails

* Repaired overhead lights in galley

* Repaired dinette chandelier

* Cleaned HVAC filters

* Repaired coolant leak in AquaHot pipe

* Diagnosed non-functional Splendide washer/dryer & deinstalled at my request

* Repaired passenger door airlock

* Replaced dented hubcap on right steer wheel (the victim of a highway construction barrier)

* Lubed chassis

* Adjusted electric privacy shade between bedroom/bathroom

* Reattached decorative window trim in bedroom (a piece we couldn’t get to stay attached after we installed the new flat screen TV in the bedroom)

* Checked all fluids and added/adjusted as indicated

* Checked and adjusted air pressure at all tire positions

The original work list was compiled by another vendor (unnamed) who inspected my coach in preparation to address various symptoms we were noticing when operating the coach. In the end, it turned out that some of the work originally spec’d by the unnamed vendor was deemed unnecessary by both Rob Russell and Jon Wehrenberg, but other additional pressing issues were discovered by Rob and Jon in the process and corrected. I am so so thankful to Rob Russell and Jon Wehrenberg for doing the due diligence to insure that the work I had requested was the correct work needed and taking the initiative to change the work plan to address the right things when it became evident that was needed. A lesser vendor would have simply followed the work list I presented, taken my money and called it a day!

Beyond the incredible job that Rob, Jon and the crew at Russell Coach did on my bus, Rob and Wendy Russell are two of the nicest, most caring, and interesting people you could ever hope to meet! At Russell Coach, we were truly treated like family and we felt that they genuinely had our best interests at heart. Ya’ll know how I love my bus and I can honestly say that Evangeline was treated with the utmost precision, concern, and care that a “princess” like her deserves!

When we left Russell Coach Thursday afternoon to head back to Woodstock, we were immediately impressed with the difference in the handing and ride quality! She rode tall, level, and smooth (no more leaning in the curves or wandering) and was whisper quiet.

Rob and Wendy Russell have earned a customer for life and no one else will ever touch Evangeline (well – except for Jon Wehrenberg when/if he gets the urge to “play”)! Vita and I are honored to now be part of the Russell Coach family and are already working on our next project wish list to save up for (which will include some converter side upgrades like a custom dinette booth, a couple of custom sleeper sofas, and a laminate floor in the front of the coach similar to the one Jon just completed).

I’m proud to have Russell Coach as a POG sponsor and recommend their services without reservation! The work was impeccable, customer service and care top notch, pricing was competitive, and the Russell Coach facility is conveniently located, clean, well organized, and well equipped.

When we got home Thursday night, we provisioned the bus for the weekend and took off Friday morning for Paradise Valley in Dawsonville, GA to attend a New Years Eve party with friends and enjoy “camping” in the bus for the weekend.

We’re having a blast and again – could not be more thrilled with every aspect of our inaugural exposure to Rob Russell and Russell Coach!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[Jon Wehrenberg]

With apologies to Michael I will add some things. Michael and I talked a lot before he made his decsion and I think I influenced him as to what items really should have priority. My focus was on making sure his bus was safe and reliable. What none of us knew until the bus was in Knoxville was that in addition to the known problems, there were others that were unanticipated.

I had promised Michael to be his eyes and ears. So initially between Rob Russell and I we kept dump0ing on Michael advising him of things that really needed attention. That list added substantially to his list of known tasks.

I looked at his bus as if it were mine and Michael never hesitated in approving the recommended repairs. I was very glad to be a part of the process for several reasons. First I got to see Rob and his crew at work. It makes me feel good to say they really stepped up to the plate. They not only decided what work was not really required (and I agreed with their opinion) they agreed with my opinion of what work was important even though it was not on Michael's list. They did not limit their evaluation to the areas listed, but gave the coach a good review to make sure everything was OK. When they found something that was not OK, but was important, Michael was advised and the repair got made.

To Michael's credit he did not try to nickel and dime the repairs. The bottom line is he got a coach that is for all practical purposes brand new underneath with everything working and will have a long time before he needs to consider any serious maintenance.

Another reason I was glad to have the chance to poke my nose in Rob's and Michael's business is I got to see a coach with multiple defects. When I try to answer questions on the forum my brain does not consider there may be multiple problems confusing the main issue. I think in terms of a coach in perfect condition and the stated problem has a single cause. At some point in the life of Michael's coach someone failed to service the air system. As a result the entire valving on the system had problems. Michael was unaware that the problems were coming because he has been maintaining his air system and all of our conversations never included a recognition of what lay in wait.

So now I will try to sort out questions on the forum by considering other factors than the obvious may also be at play. So this was a learning experience for me. Bottom line I had fun, Michael now has a great bus again, and Rob can be happy his efforts produced such welcome results.

BTW, neither is talking specifics, but I can tell you Michael got all that work done far less expensively than any of us could have imagined.

[Gary Carmichael]

Jon, Michael, The next time I go for service or repairs I will go to Russell also, that close attention to detail you just do not find any more! and it is only 225 miles away. Plus the satisfaction of a safe ride. Mike I know you will enjoy the "New Evangeline".

[Gary Carmichael]

Mike, One other question? what kind of shocks did you have put on?

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I can answer that.......Monroe. Bought from Prevost.

[phorner]

Michael,

You must be thrilled to not only have your bus back, but also that she is now so much more pleasurable to drive. I know whenever I make some "improvements" to the bus, no matter how minor, it always pays dividends in terms of quality of life aboard the bus.

It's also great news that you had such a positive experience at Russell Coach. Finding a quality service center that you can trust is often difficult at best.

Congratulations on your "new" ride !!

[tinstafl]

Wow, thanks for the write up. I have always had Foretavel to lean on when things when wrong. Now that I am looking at getting a bus it is great to know there is a good service center 400 or so miles away.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

John,

It took me a few years to figure this out, and I hope every owner can understand this. Excluding the converter's part of our buses, the chassis is a rock solid foundation that is designed for easy repairs. I'm not suggesting everyone begins working on their coaches, but I am saying Michael did just about all that can be done to the underside of his house.

Assuming routine maintenance is now performed, he is done for around 10 years having to replace anything. He actually could have nursed his brake chambers and air bags longer, but once he crosses the 10 year point it is my opinion he is at risk of a failure that disables his coach. So to put this in perspective if an owner does the chassis work on the coach's ten year anniversaries there is not much else on the chassis besides oil changes and lubes to keep one going down the highway. I realize I am ignoring occasional glitches such as relays and switches and minor things, but the fundamentals will be sound and trouble free.

My coach was around 10 years old when I bought it and my list of things done immediately was very similar to what Michael just had done on the chassis. I have never regretted the effort and never worry about the condition of my air bags or brakes or any of the systems. If I were to value my time spent doing the work at $100 per hour, my cost including all the parts amounts to less than $750 per year for the items listed and around $1000 for all chassis maintenance, not including tires and batteries. It is pretty cheap when I consider the peace of mind and comfort of knowing I am not apt to have any surprises. The devil is in the details and not taking care of stuff is false economy.

Whether the preventive maintenance is done by Russell, or Coach Worx, or Prevost or anyone else the costs should always be viewed as a cost per year and not as a big bill all at once. It makes it easier to swallow, and does put it in perspectifve.

[jack14r]

Michael and I found the same with new shocks(no more leaning in the curves) I installed Koni and he did Monroe shocks,the bags are not the only item that controls the leans in the curves.

[michaeldterry]

Wow, thanks for the write up. I have always had Foretavel to lean on when things when wrong. Now that I am looking at getting a bus it is great to know there is a good service center 400 or so miles away.

John - I can't recommend Russell Coach highly enough! Rob Russell not only does superior chassis/maintenance work (everything but engines) - he also is capable and equipped to do complete converter side renovations and upgrades of any kind. In fact, Rob can (and has) design and build a complete state of the art new conversion from a bare shell. Rob runs and maintains his own fleet of Prevost entertainer coaches that collectively tour hundreds of thousands of miles a year.

Where are you domiciled? Welcome to POG! Tell us a little about the features that you're looking for in your first Prevost. You'd be surprised at how aware some POG members are about buses available for sale in the market and someone may be able to point you to "the one" for you!

[Russell Coachworks]

Michael - thanks so much for the kinds words on POG. Both Wendy and I are very excited to have you and Vita as part of our Russell Coach family!! WELCOME! We enjoyed having Evangeline here! Lunch was great with you, Vita, Jon & Diane - glad we could celebrate their anniversary!
For those that have posted that are miles away - we offer a driver flying into your city; picking up your coach and driving it to us. We recently just had one of our drivers fly into Ohio and bring a customer's coach to us because his schedule limited him to being away from his home office. For those of you that do not know; we have a fleet of entertainer buses and a pool of well qualified drivers that are happy to help with our Russell Coach family!
We look forward to meeting and interacting with other POG members! We are very blessed that we had the opportunity to work with Michael and Vita and get to know them even more.
Rob & Wendy Russell, Russell Coach