New Member Needs Advice

[dale farley]

I just joined POG today after having significant interface with some of you guys on the Prevost Stuff forum during the last couple weeks. I am 59, retired, poorer now than before I bought the Prevost yesterday, and live in Pensacola, FL. I have read many of the threads on this site during the last few hours, but have some quesitons.

On Saturday, I took possession of a 93 Marathon that I've been considering for a couple weeks. It is a beautiful coach and seems to have been well cared for. So far, everything seems to be working except the fuel gage and turbo booster pressure gage. The owner pointed out these two things the first time I looked at it.

In October, the last owner went through the unit and replaced 6 tires, all awning fabric, 3 Cruise Airs, fantastic fan, one water pump, and had a complete filter & fluid service and serviced the generator. I am sure there will be other things that will surface that need repair/replacement, but at the present, everything looks good.

I now have to figure out what I am going to tow with it, and who I will get insurance with. I have a quote from GMAC and Progressive, and I am waiting on one from Explorer.

I have a 2001 Mitsubishi Montero Sport, 2 wheel drive but don't see in the owners manual that I can tow it. I don't know if I will be better off to get some type driveline disconnect or get another vehicle. I know a dolly is also an option. I welcome any suggestions on either of these issues.

Also, is it worth setting up an LLC in Montana in order to offset/reduce the 7.5% sales tax I will have to pay in Florida when I register the coach?

One last and very important thing. What is the proper, and hopefully most common pronounciation, for Prevost? I saw somewhere on the internet that it is Pray vo, but I have heard several different variations from other owners. I don't want to have to keep slurring it when I say it because I am not sure what it should be. Thanks. Dale

[Denny]

Dale

Congrats. on the new purchase. I have been reading your posts from the sideline and you made the correct choice in getting the Prevost over the plastic coach. I just purchased mine this past August so I know how excited you are. I am very jealous though, I just turned 59 this past Tuesday and I am not retired.

I live in Ohio and have a LLC from Montana and it has saved me thousands of dollars in sales tax over the past two coaches. There are several attorneys in Montana that advertise in the RV magazines to establish the LLC. I used John Bennett to set up mine and I think several others on this site also have used him. Be sure that this loophole is legal in Florida.

As for Prevost - Prey vo. If you call the factory in Canada they answer the phone "Prey vo" with a French accent.

As for insurance I have mine with Explorer and they seem to be the carrier of choice with many POGers.

Enjoy your new toy. It will serve you well over the next several hundred thousands of miles.

Denny

[garyde]

Try; Twin Peaks Insurance Agency. They know Prevost Conversions. 1 800 507 8467.
As far as Pronunciation of 'Prevost' , I guess it depends what part of the country your from.
The Last POG , they spoke about replacing Rubber on the Front and back suspension which need attending to on older Coaches.

[MangoMike]

Dale,

Welcome to POG, did Terry Powers follow you in?

Re: The LLC contact:

Bennett Law Office
135 W. Main St.
Missoula, MT 59802
866.543.5803

Alain B. Burrese - attorney

Ask him about Florida because as I recall it was an issue. Hopefully I'm mistaken.

Pronounciation - Mayn Go

Tow Vehicle - I tow a Honda Element, one of the uglier cars on the road (according to my girls), but doubles as a trailer behind the bus.

Mike

[dale farley]

I plan to check with Explorer, Garden City, and Twin Peaks tomorrow and see what they quote on insurance. I will call the lawyer in Montana about the LLC. I will be surprised if I can do it without a big hassle in the State of Florida, but I really need to establish it for liability purposes. At least I know to call it a Prey vo.

[Ben]

Dale,

Congrats on getting the Pray-vo. Just call any Prevost service center or the mothership in Canada... they will say it when they answer. It will be too fast to be sure, so simply ask them what the proper way is to pronounce it. They always say Pray-vo.

I'd get a different car unless a driveline disconnect is something you can do with just a switch on the dash. I can hook or unhook my Jeep in 2-3 mintues (that includes switching it into neutral, hooking up the low bar, cables, wiring, etc.), which means that I never mind doing it. Skip the dolly... who wants to figure out where to park it when you're in an already cramped spot.

I did the Montana LLC thing... but you'll have to check if it will work being a resident of FL. Check with a tax attorney in your area after checking with a Montana law firm (I used Bennett Law Office www.bennettlawofficepc.com). If any law office tries to have you just talk to an assistant instead of one of the lawers, then don't go with them... that's what I found with some of the Montana offices... but Bennett always let me talk to the actual lawyers even on a casual call. It's not just about sales tax. Some states also have personal property tax that they will want to collect each year (Montana doesn't). Also, keep in mind that any coach that is over 10 years old can be registered permanently in Montana, which should save you some bucks over time... and their registration fees are very low.

[Just Plain Jeff]

Welcome to Roadrunner and all the other new members who have recently signed in. Perhaps some of the 'lurker' will pony up to posting status.

Couple of things: People say here that there are no dumb questions, only dumb answers. Here is one of my classics (circa 1999).

Jeff: What's that big silver dealie in the back that gets hot?
Salesman: Wellsir, that would be your engine.

As to insurance: My advice would be NOT to evaluate carriers based upon price quotes alone. We did that and found that a) the coverage was not comparable and b) the claims process various insurors use is quite different. We went with Explorer and here's why...the companies they use were built on insuring commercial coaches. They understand buses. If you have a claim, especially a sizeable claim--and hope you never have one--you will find that the people who understand a commercial chassis bus are going to make a huge difference in the way the bus is repaired, by whom and at what price.

Far as I can figure, and I have limited intelligence, no one has yet been able to get on the road with a Pray-voh on the cheap and be completely happy with the experience.

My 2 cents (which is all that is now left)

[truk4u]

Dale,
I big welcome!:D I'm 59 also, but unlike your lucky self, still working trying to make enough money to keep the bus going. Like Ben, we're pro Jeep, being on our third and the towing couldn't be easier. If you can, post some pic's of the Marathon..

Mango - Terry Powers here!:eek: We have to much fun and entertainment.

[merle&louise]

Dale:

Welcome to POG and congratulations on the new Marathon. I am also 59 and semi retired (I only work 5 days a week; used to work 7 ).

Be sure to sign up for the Kerrville rally (POG 3), April 23 - 28. I promise you will have a good time and will learn a great deal about your bus.:)

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Dale,

You definitely made the right choice. I do have some bad news that nobody else seems willing to pass along. Every single one of us has bought a coach and then reached deeper into our pockets to fix the little things we found wrong with it, or to just bring the maintenance up to where it belongs.

But do not despair. If you are moderately handy you can do a lot yourself, and if you choose not to get dirty fingernails, you will learn here how to self direct those who you will have do the work.

I guarantee we will be hearing a lot from you and I encourage you to take advantage of the collected wisdom on this site. Our resident Marathon expert Tom will give you a lot of help with house questions, and we all will try to help with bus questions.

You will learn new words, like "the leans", you will quickly get involved in issues that involve DDEC, and as you get comfortable with your new coach it will take weeks to get the grin off your face. And as a last warning, do not take anybody in this group too seriously. Almost every single one is a nutcase.

[dalej]

Dale, welcome aboard! I think it's all been said except one little thing, but important, You have a GREAT name.

[rfoster]

Dale:
Congrats on the new coach, Glad to have you on board and looking forward to meeting you.

Just a few remarks to clear things up. I am the only guy you can believe on this board! The rest of these bus guys just make stuff up.

About that towing question- You need to trade! No driveshaft disconnects or tow dollies!, We have a nice selection of tow Cars on our Lot. All were driven downhill, on Sunday a.m. By a blue haired lady- and no Walmart Door Dings.

[MangoMike]

Dale,

Typical car off Fast Rogers Mega Lot. And I'm not making this up.

http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/20057659/Images/twister1.jpg

MM

[rfoster]

Mike, No, my cars have four doors sometimes, and always bigger, blingier wheels. Sometimes thay don't have tops on them. All of em have motors tho. You have probably seem them in the Church of Love parking lot.

While we are talking age and retirement, I'm 57 and only working 6 days a week now and a couple of nights. Still put 22000 miles on the bus since Dec 06. Ain't no slacker here! Dang Diesel Fuel Prices have cut me back.:cool:

[MangoMike]

Still put 22000 miles on the bus since Dec 06. Ain't no slacker here!

Back to the Future, Roger?

MM

[Jon Wehrenberg]

If we keep this up we will end up scaring another one away.

[ken&ellen]

Welcome to the group. I am one of the younger members @ 58:D Ellen & I use to tow a Honda, but now have a color co-ordinated Jeep Libery. We use Twin Peaks for insurance. The LLC is a good choice although we have our coach registered in South Dakota. Ken & Ellen

[Just Plain Jeff]

http://www.dvorak.org/blog/images/bs-meter.jpg

[mike kerley]

Dale, Welcome aboard.
You have joined an "elite" group (as I'm sure you can tell). We have a 93 converted by Country Coach and love it. Always something to fix, polish or replace but a great hobby and fun to travel in also.

We registered in Florida as we are here year round and wanted florida plates. Were to visable for the tax boys. If your a veteran, look into USAA for insurance. Not the cheapest, but very good coverage.

We look forward to meeting you and seeing your coach. Might run into you at a repair shop someday!

Mike K

[dale farley]

Thanks to everyone who replied to my original post. After checking with several insurance companines today, I signed up with Explorer. I selected a higher liability, got better glass coverage and a diminishing deductible and still saved $400 over the other quotes. I am looking into the LLC.

I'm about blind trying to read through the manuals and determine what all the buttons do and how the systems function. I am sure I will be asking many more questions as small problems arise or as I identify things that need repair. Thanks again. Dale

[MangoMike]

Dale,
Just one question.

Did you get your $100 worth today?

If so, imagine what the next 364 days will bring.

Mango Mike

[Jerry Winchester]

Dale,

We have owned our coach for more than a year and still don't know what all the buttons do, so don't fret.

However, as one of our POG buddies will attest to, if you have a button over the crapper, don't assume it turns on the lights :o

Speaking of AP, I wonder if he took Popeye to the vet and has fallen in a garhole?

[dale farley]

Mike,

I got my $100 worth today. If the information wasn't worth it, the entertainment was. I look forward to much more info and entertainment.

I see my fuel gage isn't working properly. It just barely moves when I have a full tank. I assume it is probably the sending unit, and I assume the sending unit is located on top of the fuel tank. Does anyone actually know how much of a job it is to change the sending unit on my fuel tank? I intend to check the gage and make sure it is working, but I suspect the sending unit is the culprit. Dale

[MangoMike]

Dale,
I'm not sure. Someone will know. But when you do change it, take a few pixs and give the rest of us a little education. We love the HOW TO's:

Mike

[garyde]

I was told by my repair shop on my previous Coach, you have to have a full tank of diesel fuel before they can recalibrate the guage. Now, how to recalibrate, I do not know.

[garyde]

Mike,

I got my $100 worth today. If the information wasn't worth it, the entertainment was. I look forward to much more info and entertainment.

I see my fuel gage isn't working properly. It just barely moves when I have a full tank. I assume it is probably the sending unit, and I assume the sending unit is located on top of the fuel tank. Does anyone actually know how much of a job it is to change the sending unit on my fuel tank? I intend to check the gage and make sure it is working, but I suspect the sending unit is the culprit. Dale


It sounds like the insurance quote got you your 1st big savings!

[rmboies]

Dale,

Congratulations on joining POG and purchasing your Prevost!! Please send pics so we can all share in your excitement. Bob spends weeks reading all the manuals that come with each coach. Both of the leather sofas in our coach turn into beds and we store the mechanical manuals in the drawyers underneath. The other pertinent guides we keep in a large plastic file in one of the closets. It is catagorized by various divisions:appliances, Aquahot, etc., and we also keep the last maintenance records in there as well.

So, when is your first trip and where to??

[Ray Davis]

I see my fuel gage isn't working properly. It just barely moves when I have a full tank

Roadrunner. Are you sure it's bad? Have you driven far enough to know? I would assume you're 93 is a 8V92, and if stock you have a 160 gallon tank (you might have as much as 250 gallon).

ON a stock 160 gallon tank, with an 8V92 guesstimating at 6mpg, you get about 240 miles per quarter of a tank. So, things don't go down real fast. I too have a 93, and my guage seems to be about dead on. When I'm on 1/2, I put in about 80 gallons, etc.

So, fill it up full. And drive about 250 miles. Are you down 40 gallons? You should register about 3/4 full at that point. If it ain't moved, you definitely got a problem then.

[dale farley]

I will try to send a few pictures in the next couple days. I don't see a way to attach them, but I suppose there must be one somewhere since others are doing it.

The coach has been driven about 500 miles since I first looked at it last week, and the fuel gauge stays the same. I didn't make it clear in my first post about the gauge, but it stays on empty all the time. I don't know when I will get around to checking this out.

We went to Canada and Alaska in September/October, so we don't have any immediate plans for another extended trip. One other thing I need to clarify is that I am retired from my last job of 34 years, but I am still busy most days. I have a small horse farm where I have my own horses and board horses for others. I also run a small internet business; my wife has a part time job, and we are both heavily involved in our church, so I am not as free as some may have thought when I just said I was "Retired". We are trying to downsize the horse business, and I plan to shut down my internet business, but that isn't going to happen overnight. I don't like being tied down as much as we are at this time, and would like to be a little more free to go when I want to. Dale

[Ray Davis]

it stays on empty all the time

Yep, that would be a problem! :) I thought that it wasn't dropping down fast enough, which prompted my (incorrect) answer!

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Dale, at the risk of stating the obvious you need to monitor you fuel status. Should you run that new coach out of fuel you will find a new vocabulary.

Since there are a lot of pilots that hang around this site there may be additional comments, but it is my opinion a fuel gauge is a wonderful way to fill a hole in your instrument panel, but its usefulness generally ends there.

As you get to know your coach you will learn based on your odometer or engine hour meter (if you install one) when you need fuel. It is a certainty you need to know if you have standard fuel or the added auxiliary tank. The difference is about 90 gallons or on a typical 8V92 about 500 miles.

If you run out of fuel you have to prime the engine, and there is no easy way to do that. It can be done but it requires some effort.

[dale farley]

Jon, The pevious owner told me he usually filled up every 500 miles so he never had to worry about running out, so I may do the same. On other motorhomes I've had, I always kept a running ledger of each fill up and mileage, so I shouldn't have a problem with doing the same on this coach.

Unfortunately, I do have experience with running out of diesel before. I've owned several doziers and loaders during the last 12 years and still have 3 diesel tractors and a truck. So I have spent several hours bleeding injectors, fuel lines, and the injection pumps, and getting them primed again. No fun involved here!!! I certainly don't want that to happen while on the road.

Someone told me that I will have to remove the water tanks to replace the sending unit, so I am not too eager to go to all that trouble at this time. Dale

[Orren Zook]

Roadrunner,

I had a bad electrical connection on the back of my fuel guage that cause mine to read more than empty (pointed to the 9:00 on the guage). I was filling at about 1000 miles because I didn't want to go through the work of changing the sending unit. Anyway a nice pothole here caused the guage to start working and me thinking - anyway it wasn't as bad as anticipated and fixed with only a screwdriver and wire end. You might be also be able to check your sending unit at the dash with an ohm meter.

[dale farley]

I suppose I can check the sending unit with an ohm meter, and compare it when it is full to almost empty. Hopefully, I can place voltage across the meter and see if it reads full. I just have to make sue what that voltage is (probably 12v).

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Assuming the fuel filters are full of fuel, the only other thing necessary to prime an 8V92 is to remove the alllen screw in the LH side of the secondary fuel filter base (actually it is above the filter next to the water pump), and through that hole, using whatever means is simpler (I recommend a pump type Round-up garden sprayer) with a fitting to thread in the hole on the filter base run about one or two gallons of fuel. That will run fuel through the lines all the way to the return fuel line.

The bus will start like it never ran out of fuel. Something similar is a pressurized carbonated soda tank, but the cheap pump sprayers are lighter, available almost anywhere, and will do the job.

[dale farley]

That sounds simple enough. I need to look at my engine and see if I understand everything you are saying.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

In the photo you will see the fuel filter just behind the brass belt tensioner on the left near the water pump.

To the left side of the base the filter threads into is the allen headed screw (maybe around 1/4 pipe threads or 5/16 screw thread, just guessing) and if you can adapt a pump up sprayer hose end into that threaded hole you will run fuel through the lines across the top of the head at the injectors and the engine will fire up instantly. When we rebuilt my 8V92 that is how we got fuel to an engine that did not have a single drop of fuel in it. The fuel filters were full of fuel.

[dale farley]

Jon, Thanks for the picture and info. I hope I don't ever need it, but I am going to print it out so I will have it if I do need it.

[dalej]

Dale on the forward wall of the fourth bay there is a panel that needs to either come out or be opened
enough to access the fuel sending unit on top of the tank. The sending unit is in the aft part of the tank. I
had to take the Black tank out, but should have taken all the tanks out, since the panel has a lot of
screws to remove. They are a little hard to remove since being set for a while. I went to all this work to
replace the sending unit and still didn't solve the problem of a intermittent fuel gauge. I grounded the
wire at the sending unit and the gauge worked so I thought it was a sending unit problem, not so. Most
of the time the gauge works fine, but after sitting for some time, seems the problem comes back. My
wife thinks the bus just needs to keep rolling to keep the bugs out.