New Member on The Hunt

[Doug1199]

Hello we are Doug and Carol and we have never owned an RV. We appreciate good eguipment and have decided to purchase a prevost. I have a few questios to get started on our journey. Slides vs Non slides ,New body style vs rivet panels,bus air vs roof air.I have many more questions and any and all suggestions and comments are valued.

[Mark3101]

Hello we are Doug and Carol and we have never owned an RV. We appreciate good eguipment and have decided to purchase a prevost. I have a few questios to get started on our journey. Slides vs Non slides ,New body style vs rivet panels,bus air vs roof air.I have many more questions and any and all suggestions and comments are valued.

My wife and I bought our first Prevost in October 2009. We bought a new 2008 Legendary XL-2 with slides. The slides are great for the extra room they provide. There can be issues with them as with anything else, but the factory slides are pretty good in the vintage I bought. (2006 chassis, 2008 conversion year) We also have roof airs. There are a limited number of converters who use OTR air, roof air seems to be used by more. I have had good luck with the roof airs and can run 2 of them on the inverters, or all four when running the generator or on shore power.

I had to get some warranty work done on panels last summer that had started to separate at the edges. It was covered by Prevost warranty, but would have been costly if not covered. I think a non-rivet construction looks nicer, but that is a personal opinion, some may like rivets better. I am sure you will get many replies to your post. We really enjoy our Prevost, and I am sure you would too.

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

Welcome aboard doug1199. You are in for the ride of your life, in a Prevost.

To start with, have you looked through the last couple of years of postings on POG. The reason I say this, is because we have answered many of the questions you have asked and rather than just reiterate what has already been said ( reinvent the wheel so to speak ) if you look through the postings, your search for the perfect bus, may get easier.

Now having said that, if you have a specific question or two about things you are considering, the answers will start flowing, ( Some may be even right answers )

Good luck. Buy from a known dealer or POG sponsor, you won't be sorry by doing so.

Gary S.

[Kuhlsport]

Doug

I know where you are at. I just purchased a Prevost and have no prior RV experience. Happy to discuss with you any questions. I didn't know what I didn't know so my learning seemed to come in waves. Send me your number in a PM if you would like to talk offline. I learned a ton just by reading through all the posts on this site.

[michaeldterry]

Welcome to POG, Doug & Carol! You've made an excellent decision to find and purchase a Prevost! Owning/driving/traveling in a Prevost is the most fun you can have with your clothes on! :p Now, if you decide to drive sans clothes, that's your business and we won't judge. (Frankly, I detest having to wear clothes, so I'd probably be right there with you!) LOL!

But seriously, Mark's suggestion to look through the archives of posts is a good one to get some answers and probably be prompted for some important questions you haven't even thought of yet. When you do have specific questions though, don't be shy about asking! We love to halp people spend their money! ;) You will find an unbelievable amount of knowledge and experience here among the membership (not to mention our incredible sponsors) - take advantage of it at every opportunity!

I'm a stainless/rivets kind of guy, but you'll find just as many others who will extoll the beauty of the smooth sides look of the H3. As for air conditioning, the same applies. Some are convinced that it's not a proper bus without OTR (Over the Road or "bus air"), while just as many are quite satisfied with their roof airs or CruisAirs (I'm a CruisAir guy). Bottom line, find what suits you and Carol and the way you'll use the bus and go for it! Slides are a personal preference feature, as well. We prefer non-slide. With just the two if us (and our three Shih Tzu's), we don't feel the need for the alledged extra space and I'm convinced that slides actually compress the available space when retracted (in travel mode) - plus, I don't want the added complexity/potential problems that the additional moving parts represent. I'm sure that slide proponents will argue/dispute that, but it's only my opinion anyway. Your mileage may vary...

I've been a "busnut" for over 30 years, having literally grown up on entertainer coaches as a touring drummer for 23 years and having owned an Eagle entertainer as my first bus. When I upgraded to my Prevost XLV, "Evangeline" a couple of years ago, I fell in love all over again! In fact - Vita, my wife, calls Evangeline my "other woman"! :cool: I can't even deny it!

Take your time, have fun in the search, ask alot of questions, look at alot of buses, and don't be afraid to negotiate when you find "the one"! There has never been a better buyers market for these magnificent machines (much to the chagrin and bewilderment of many of us current owners)!

When you get a moment, tell us a little about yourselves and add a signature line or two that will appear with your posts - maybe telling us where "home" is, what you're shopping for, and anything else you think we should know (bank balance, account number, felony convictions, etc). :p Hopefully, you've picked up on the fact that we don't take ourselves too seriously around here and love to poke good natured fun at each other. Give as good as you get and you'll get along just fine here! It helps to have a warped sense of humor and a thick skin!

Good luck and let us know how we can help!

[jack14r]

Welcome,My first was a 2001 Marathon without slides,I loved it.My next was a 2 slide 2005 Liberty,I loved it.My current one is a 2 slide 2008 Liberty,I love it.As Kasey said it is hard to know what to ask when we have never used a coach.I think that a lot of your answers are related to how much you can spend,there are a lot of great values out there with or without slides.The search for knowledge and the right coach are a lot of fun.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Doug,

Welcome to the asylum. Ypur questions are hot buttons because these are questions that have been debated over the years.

For you to get answers in the context of what you are looking for requires some information from you. How much are you planning to spend? Do you keep your stuff for a long period or do you trade frequently? How do you plan to use the bus, such as a lot of dry camping? How many people will typically be on board and sleep in the coach?

Apart from being nosy, the information helps give you very good information relative to your answers. No sense telling you about the difference between an 8V92 versus a Series 60 if you plan on buying something in the mid 6 figures for your budgeted price.

One thing you will realize is that there is no substitute for seeing coaches so at some point plan on actually seeing coaches so the photos on the internet become more meaningful.

[CAPT MOGUL & Sandy]

A BIG Welcome, Doug & Carol, to the GREAT POG Family!
Ed & I have truly enjoyed this organization and have made most of it's members our 2nd family. We have learned so much and met so many wonderful people. Hope that you can do the same. What you put in is worth all you get out of it plus much more. Look forward to meeting you soon.

We have just lowered the price 2 days ago on our first bus, "97 Royale" which is listed with Ken Robertson at Luxury Coach Brokers. The bus is great and not one problem with her. Ed just wished one day for an XLII and his wish came true before we were ready. The '97 Royale is Stock #122 under Luxury Coach Brokers. Look at slideshow and "Details".
Now let the show begin...good luck with shopping!!:D

[TerryM]

Welcome Doug and Carol,

We started our RV and Prevost experience in January so we are still crawling. We hope to move up to walking this summer. I can give you some of the quick reasons we bought what we bought.

We bought a 1999 Vantare H3-45 with no slides. It has OTR (over the road air), an RVAC and 2 CruisAirs.

We live in Florida most of year so OTR was a big deal for us. We like to travel and want to be cool running down the road. While there are lots of ways to stay cool on the road, OTR is good and efficient.

We decided on no slide for a couple reasons. First, no slides are less expensive then slides. Since we are new to motor homes we wanted to get started less expensively until we see if we like it (early voting - we love it.) Second, we like to travel and move around so slides we less important to us. Third, we are boaters too and comfortable in confined spaces so the room offered in a no slide coach didn't feel small to us.

H3 vs Rivets - We looked at both and liked both. We like the floor plan, colors, finish, etc. in the H3 so we bought it. If we would have found a rivet bus we liked better we would have bought it. From what I understand about the H3 some people don't like the steps up from driver/passenger area to the living area. It does limit how you can utilize the front seats when not traveling. Since I'm new to this, there are probably hundreds of other pros and cons to each. We are still crawling and learning so...

Converter - we looked a several converters - Liberty, Marathon, Vantare, Royale, Country Coach. Without starting a religious war here, there are some differences in fit/finish, some differences in equipment and differences in systems. We found all the coaches we looked at were of high quality and great when compared to traditional class A motor homes.

I would be embarrassed to tally the number of hours I have on this site reading everything I can. The learning curve is steep but the amount of information available and the generosity of POG members to help with advice makes getting started much easier.

Ken Robertson at Luxury Coach Brokers (727) 748-2248 was so patient and helpful. He made the buying process fun. I'd definitely recommend working with Ken.

The coach we purchased had been serviced for two years by CoachWorx in Tampa. Mike, Rick, Ben and all the staff are great. The know Prevosts from top to bottom. It is nice to be able to call with questions and be able to have someone walk you through how to reset your inverter when the breaker trips and everything is dark. (thanks Ben). Knowing we could turn to CoachWorx for help gave us the confidence to buy when we had no idea what we were doing.

Last, happy to answer any questions via email or phone if you'd like. I don't have many answers since I'm not far ahead of you in the process but I'd be happy to share what I've learned.

Terry

[Gary Carmichael]

Welcome aboard Doug and Carol

Your journey is just starting, take your time and relish all the great coaches out there! Pick one you both get that good feeling about, check for service records and enjoy the ride!

[Doug1199]

Kasey

Thanks for getting back so soon! I see your from Cinnci I live in Xenia just up the road. My cell # 937-604-0302 home 937-372-6811. Ive been reading all the past post pretty good stuff.

Thanks Doug

[charlesebrownjr]

"CAUTION!!":eek: YOU ARE ABOUT TO ENTER A SPIN ZONE as Bill O might say. Welcome and be careful, these people like to spend your money, since they have already spent there's!!!!!!!!!!!

[Don]

Doug and Carol Welcome to POG as you, we are newbies also, so I will add my 2 + cents worth.
After dreaming, studying, looking etc. we purchased a Prevost Marathon and matching stacker trailer supposedly the entire unit was purchased new from Marathon with a Detroit diesel 60 engine Allison world 6 speeds with 170,000 miles, rivets and no slides hoping that mileage would not be an issue, rivets and slides surely would not be. We purchased the coach from a private party knowing once it left their driveway all warranties were left in the dust. The previous owners spent numerous hours with us and we spent several nights in the coach before we took delivery. We were assured that it was ready to go to the west coast from Pennsylvania.
The only issues I had as we left the driveway was the brakes, they never felt very good to me but I was assured everything was good and we were willing to deal with that. The radio would not play and I wanted to upgrade that to my liking, the left hand mirror would not work from the inside controls ok that’s a minor problem.
Our first trip was to Florida, 150 miles from home, north of Richmond Virginia the Transmission computer went out. Ok unexpected things happen.
Since I was new to Prevost we felt it would be to our advantage to have it gone over, by people that knew as much as possible about Prevost.
Prevost. Jacksonville here we come, Trucking (busing) down the highway get out of my way. LIFE IS GOOD.
I had all of the oils changed and a complete checkout of the entire coach. I found the entire staff very helpful and they showed me everything that was wrong and an estimate of cost before proceeding with fixing it. We spent every night in the coach on their property with electric hookup and access to fresh water and a dump station. Two weeks later we were on the road again headed south from Jacksonville. With the brakes operating as they should on the coach and trailer, LIFE IS GOOD
Brake problems the Coach tratel valve was sticking and leaking, slack adjuster problems, and there were some pins that were sticking in the brake chambers, they had rubber o rings on them like tractor trailers use Prevost uses a slightly larger pin with no O ring on them. The electric trailer taillight and trailer brake wires were crossed and someone had tried to fix that problem by putting a jumper across the two.
The trailer is rated at 20,000 pounds.
The standard Prevost trailer hitch and engine cradle is rated at 10,000 pounds so that was upgraded with a Prevost 20,000 pound hitch and engine cradle. (there were Multiple cracks hidden under the original engine cradle (I have all of the old parts).
3 of 5 air conditioners did not work since we picked it up in the dead of winter (got me) they now work.
While we were in Jacksonville numerous people were having their non-rivet side panels reinstalled and slides repaired (I was glad to be able to miss out on those issues)
That’s it for the trip down LIFE IS GOOD
On the way home at around the Georgia 38 mile marker north bound on I 95 we lost the right rear wheel on the trailer. Luckily no one was hurt and surprisingly no property damage to anyone else or the trailer it only messed up the rim holes and sheared off the lug bolts. The rims are Ultra aluminum and at this point I feel that that they have the wrong lug nuts on them along with not being tightened to the proper specification.
Is Our Prevost for sale? NO hopefully we are out of the woods now everything works. We are going to put new tires on it before our next long trip (over 100 miles) According to POG they should be replaced after 5 years and watched very carefully thereafter, ours are 9 years old with no signs of ensuing problems.
As you will read on this site I feel it would probably be in your best interest to purchase from a POG sponsor or POG owner or be prepared to spend some more money later. If they are not up front let the rest of us know, (I will let my previous owner know in due time in a nice way))
It can get expensive I Know thankfully I was prepared for the worst
Also make sure that your driver’s license in your state are ok for over 21,001 pounds and air brakes mine were not at the time of purchase (they are now).
I am open for comments from you, and other POG members, (who will say we told you.)

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Nice post Don, good to hear from someone new!

Welcome Doug and good luck on your hunt. Read up on all the already written posts on your quest. Chances are all your questions have already been expounded on.

JIM :)

[garyde]

Welcome Doug. There are so many view points to listen and take in regarding OTR, Slides, etc. Everyone has their choice. That is why Prevost is such a great Platform for an RV. Lots of choices. Hang around and keep the questions coming. Also, try the Search box for key phrases or words to access previous threads. If you need any assistance , get a hold of Truc.

[aggies09]

Doug,

There are several of us Newbie Prevost owners that are members of POG that were in your exact situation a short time back. Like you, I had never even owned a tent much less an RV, but had an appreciation for the mechanical capacity and engineering found in Prevost conversions. All of the questions that you asked will really come down to personal preferences and budget. Take your time and look around at a lot of coaches and you will find that speaks to you. Good luck and welcome to POG. We hope to see you in Austin in the fall.

[Jerry Winchester]

Doug,

Don't fall for some of the crap you hear on this site. Like yourself, I'm a NOOB (New Owner Of Bus) and I have owned my bus about 4 weeks now. I had a simple problem with the toilet and got not one useful answer in a week to help fix it. So watch them; especially a geriatric on here who goes by the name MangoMike. Real sheep herder that one.......

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Doug,

Don't fall for some of the crap you hear on this site. Like yourself, I'm a NOOB (New Owner Of Bus) and I have owned my bus about 4 weeks now. I had a simple problem with the toilet and got not one useful answer in a week to help fix it. So watch them; especially a geriatric on here who goes by the name MangoMike. Real sheep herder that one.......

Doug,

As you can see, it has started. This guy that claims to be a NOOB is one of the original POG members and so far has gone through three buses. My point is that you want to be careful of advice from people who don't even know what they want.

And especially if you do go back and read posts from this POG member, be aware that it was finally revealed in the post he cites above that we now have proof he is full of $hit, and so is his toilet. Mango Mike is not a geriatric and does not have to be watched. But he is a sheep herder.

[Jerry Winchester]

In the interest of full disclosure, within mere minutes of meeting Jon some many years ago, he was nicknamed "Anal One" which just got shortened to A1. If you read much of the forum it is evident in spades. Secondly, we have liberally used the term, NOOB, on this forum which is not to be confused with the term "Newbie". Since I am in fact in possession of a bus that is totally new to me (took three POG members just to get it home), I'm missing this part as well.

Mango Mike is at least ten years older than me. He acts about like he is in his teens, but that's not important here. No, he is not part of the oppressively aged, Lawrence Welk, prune eaters that sit around in their underwear all day waiting for someone to post something on the forum, but he was recently tested by a plethora of doctors who could find nothing wrong with him - geriatric symptom for sure

So Doug, read it for yourself and it you get to any parts that you feel a truth detector is required, just e-mail me and I'll make sure you get the straight skinny.

And welcome to the Prevost Owner's Group.

JDUB

[truk4u]

Doug,

You actually paid 25.00 to join this mess? If you paid 100.00, then 75.00 went to the preservation, feeding and well being of Sheep, a good cause.

Welcome aboard, as you can see, correct answers are a crap shoot.

[rfoster]

Man O Man- I havn't heard so much BS since I bought a used car!!

Welcome to POG - glad to have you and may you have as much fun with it as I do.l