Hello POG! Another coming to you via the WOG.

[mtaviator]

Hello!

We're currently Bluebird BMC owners (and WOG members) and are fortunate that my job allows us to travel in our bus quite a bit. We've had a long term interest in a Prevost conversion as our next coach and are getting pretty serious about it. Part of the driving force is that we have 2 kids, and came across a Marathon XLII for sale with bunk beds (not an entertainer coach) that would work really well for us. That really got us thinking seriously about it in the near term.

We've been learning and looking a lot, and just wanted to say hi. We're particularly interested in learning more about what is out there regarding coaches with bunks. We know they aren't plentiful, but it seems there are definitely some out there. Also, if anyone knows of a nice non-slide coach with bunk beds (or a place for them) that may be available, we're all ears.

Thanks,

Patrick

[Gil_J]

Welcome to your future Prevost ownership.

If you want to get away from the cold next week, the Prevost Motorhome Expo will be held in West Palm Beach, FL. 50+ coaches under roof.

Marathon seems to have more bunk offerings than others. With that said, I recall a non slide bunk H-3 done by Liberty that was very spacious. It was done so well it was hard to tell what was sacrificed by the bunks. You probably know this, but bunks are not all created equally. Some are youth length while others are full length.

[mtaviator]

Thanks Gil. That’s a great reminder about bunks not all being equal.

We we live in Arkansas, but happen to be in California escaping some of the winter weather in the Bluebird. Man, that’s tempting to try and make the expo. Bad timing. Hmmm. I may check plane tickets.

[IFI]

Hey Patrick

Where in Arkansas do you live ? Thats where I am if I can be of any help just let me know

Jeff

[Loc]

Patrick,

Welcome to POG. We had a bunk coach for the last 11 years and it was great for traveling with our two boys (now in high school and college and not terribly interested in traveling with Mom and Dad). We just traded it in for a coach more suited for our travel today (without kids). If you are interested in a non-slide bunk coach take a look at Steve Bennett's (Arizona Luxury Coach) 2001 Marathon XLII coach at:

http://www.prevost-stuff.com/2001PrevostMarathonXLII_ArizonaLC1119.html

This is probably the cleanest, best maintained older XLII available today. And yes the picture of the engine bay is for real. Alot of folks on this site know the owner and how meticulous he was in keeping the coach up. This was not our coach. Ours was a double slide Millennium XLII. Most of the bunk coaches in the market are Marathon conversions (Breckenridge floor plan). I have seen Liberty, Featherlite and Millennium coaches with bunks but they are rare. Good luck with the search.

[mtaviator]

Hey Patrick

Where in Arkansas do you live ? Thats where I am if I can be of any help just let me know

Jeff

Hey Jeff- Bentonville, How about you?

[mtaviator]

Loc- Yea it's a very nice coach, for sure. We actually looked at it quite extensively (in person) and are weighing our options on it. Kevin E. was absolutely a meticulous owner and is clearly the kind of guy you would want to buy a coach from. He sold it to the current owner 3 or 4 years ago and in my humble opinion, it hasn't seen the same level of care as when the prior owner loved on it. To be fair, Kevin E. set the bar high.

However, it always seems like any complicated machines start to get unreliable when not used regularly. So, one of our concerns with it is the cost of some expected failures putting it to regular use again. I hope this doesn't sound harsh toward the current owner. It isn't meant to be. Just sharing our observations as we are interested in POG members opinions.

[Gil_J]

Lack of regular use is no doubt detrimental and poses some risks, not that risks don't exist with any used coach. Tires need to roll to keep their UV inhibitor effective. 365 tires need to roll to stay together. Seals and rubber products don't like sitting either. Even seated metals don't like to sit. I'll suggest a sitting coach will show you it's problems associated with sitting in the first 10K miles with most showing sooner. I'm pretty sure my coach needed fuel injectors at 75K as a direct result of non use.

I know many harp on service records. I too see the value, but from a different perspective than most. When records are available, I look for those records that will tell annual mileage. Many coaches sadly don't get offered for sale until the coach has sat unused for a few years.

Don't let an otherwise great coach slip by. Factor and extra $10K to $20K in risk money and do a lot of local trips to shake out the gremlins. They don't even need to be trips. Go out for 100+ mike show rides. Your goal being to find and correct the problems before you're out on the road enjoying your coach.

[Joe Camper]

Welcome back loc it's been a long time. You better be careful and take care of that new bus if you end up back in Houston smelling like a kegger party your wife's going to kick your butt.

[IFI]

Patrick we are just outside of Little Rock in Maumelle. Like I said if there is anything we can do to help just let us know we have owned our bus for about 3 1/2 years now

[mtaviator]

Thanks guys. Great advice.

And Jeff, thanks and right back at you. We have room in our driveway and 50 amps if you ever want a place to park near Bentonville.