New XL II owner..advice?

[gavanj]

Hello experienced Prevost owners. I take delivery of my 06 45' Prevost Sunday in Atlanta, and am driving back to San Diego with a detour to a country music festival in Kansas. After a dealer orientation, I am headed out. While I have owned a 42 Country Coach until now, I am a bit nervous. Any tips? Anyone know exact height to top of rails/Sat TV/AC? It was converted by Royale. Any advice, warnings, etc. is appreciated

[dale farley]

Congratulations on your new bus. You will immediately realize that nothing drives like a Prevost. Some of the XL II owners will be able to help with the height questions. Don't hesitate to ask about anything that comes. Welcome to the POG.

[BenC]

Depending on ride height adjustment, the top of your satellite dome is the tallest measurement and that should be close to 13-ft (actually 12'10") but err on the side of worst case.
Don't hesitate to call one of us here at Parliament/Coachworx is you need help. Stranded on the side of the road is not a good feeling.
Also, realize that since you now own a Prevost, the 24-hour Action Line is available to you in the event of a vehicular issue as you travel. That number will get you road service no matter if you are in warranty or not. Just call Prevost and get set up with a Customer number, and you can also order your own parts if you need something like a hard-to-find belt or entry door handle, etc. The number for the Prevost Action Line is 800-463-7738.

I hope you enjoy your "maiden voyage" in your new coach.

Sincerely,

[Gil_J]

Enjoy the ride. Having come from a 08 42' Beaver I'm sure you'll have a similar experience as me--wow, what an improvement in ride. What you'll probably quickly realize is the wheelbase is about 5 feet longer, making what used to be tight turn even tighter.

[StroupC]

I think the highest part of your coach is going to be the anemometer which sits on top of the awning. Most likely it is 12'7" but you should have the dealer measure it for you.

[gavanj]

Thank you all for your assistance, very much appreciated! Gavan

[garyde]

Hi Gavan. A couple of additional things , the weight of your new coach is in the 48,000 lb range so be aware of the roads and bridges you are traveling. Pulling to the side of the road, soft shoulders should be avoided. In RV Camp grounds, low branches can be a real problem . Boulders and low profile guard poles are not always visible so give yourself a lot of space when turning in or out of parking spaces and turning corners. Congratulations and enjoy the journey.

[jbchevy3]

Gavan,
I came out of a 42' Country Coach as well. The items I noticed most over the Country Coach are, much better ride, more stable, less wind noise, less wandering, 10,000 lbs heavier (so less pick up at cruise speeds, and need more stopping room), overall, much more quality, especially the construction of the chassis and components. Many more systems than the CC.

You will love it, very high quality bus.

[gavanj]

Ben, Thank you for the answer and advice. The coach is now in California and mostly trouble free.

[gavanj]

Gary, Thanks for the off road advice. Our first stop was a country music festival in Kansas. Camping was in a state park and it had just rained hard. I avoided putting the coach in the grass, kept on pavement. Good thing, it would have been a U boat.

[gavanj]

Your advice is much appreciated. One interesting thing - maybe my imagination. People seem to treat you differently when you step out of the Prevost coach vs my other RV's. At a country music festival, the security and ops staff went out of their way to help me, including arranging for a fuel truck to keep me going during the five days I was there. I also seem to have less people cutting me off than in my country coach, truckers at truck stops are more friendly, etc. It was a little creepy when Chinese tourists scrambled out of their bus to surround mine and take photos at a rest stop.

[dale farley]

Gavan,

I think your description is typical of many people's reaction to a Prevost. I have always wrestled with this situation myself. Since I am about as economically challenged as you can be and still own a Prevost, I almost feel like I am tricking the world. It always makes us feel good when we take the time to really talk to admirers and they realize we are just common people ourselves.

Most assume if you are in that big beautiful bus, you are someone important, rich or both. Even most other RV owners have no idea that you can purchase a great looking and performing used Prevost for the same price you can buy many plastic coaches for, so they assume you shelled out megabucks for it. The ride, quality, size and overall appearance of a Prevost just seem to dazzle many and justifiably so. Most of us are still dazzled by them. They are massive pieces of art. Unlike the art that hangs on the wall, these require a significant amount of care and feeding, but "There is nothing else that rides/drives like a Prevost".

[gavanj]

Dale, thank you for your insight. I am on the very low end of the pay scale for folks who might own these puppies. I also consider myself a "regular guy" and not comfortable with undue attention. I had a group of women stop me asking if John Mayer was in the bus as he must have played nearby the night before. They did not believe me when I said no, and seemed ticked off. Oh well. Off to see Kenny Chesney at Anaheim stadium today in the coach. Should be fun.

[jack14r]

Just tell them that there is a very important person inside and you will get fired if you reveal whom it is,knowing all along that it is only your wife.

[Gary Carmichael]

I was asked in Hershey Penn who was in the coach, since it was just me and the dog I thought I would have some fun. I told them that I was just transporting the owners dog to their summer home in Maine, and I was just the hired driver for such things, Well the eyebrows raised and they ask who the owner was, since he must be someone important, told them I was not at Liberty to discuss that I could lose my job. They believed every word I said. The next morning as I pulled out the dog was in her usual place in the co-pilots seat, every one just stared. I laughed all day about that gary

[dale farley]

When we were working in Yellowstone in 2008, we befriended several students from Hong Kong who came from wealthy homes. They called our bus a castle because it was nicer and larger than their homes. Their parents were doctors or business owners, but living space is a premium.

[Denny]

My wife and I were taking two of our Amish friends to Lancaster, PA to visit another community and stopped at Walmart so Harvey and Lizzie could pick up a few things. You can only imagine the looks on people's faces when they saw us and an Amish couple get out of the bus. One group was so curious they questioned me about it. I simply replied that they were the Amish actors in the Amish movie "Witness" and they owned the bus but are not allowed to drive it and I was their driver and my wife was the hostess. Wish I had a photo of the looks on their faces.

[dale farley]

That is funny Denny. You, Jack and Gary have provided some insight about how we can deal with these situations.

[gavanj]

Thank you experienced Prevost owners for your insight again. It has been around 90 days or so since we bought the coach and are having a ball. Headed to the beach with our newborn baby in the coach tomorrow for 4 days. It has served us well at numerous concerts - Kenny Chesney, Eagles, Jason Aldean and a few more. Headed to Jimmy Buffett in Vegas for 10 days next month. Our only issue is the PVC plumbing had to be redone almost completely, leaks, and we had to put in a new water pump. Always something with these toys.