Prevost Factory Tour

We have returned home from our summer travels of 4 months. A trip of 8,653 miles and 1,340 gallons of fuel with an average MPG of 6.5 took use through five Canadian Provinces and many states in the USA. When I crossed the Canadian border in Maine, I was inspected by the Canadian customs. When I stated I was from Texas, that tripped the trigger. Two armed custom agents, wearing bullet proof vests, inspected the coach. One went inside and one looked in every bin outside. We stepped out of their way, of course. They were looking for our side arms. Canadians think all people for Texas carry weapons!??

After a trip to the Canadian Marin times, we stopped in Quebec City, Quebec for a week. And of course, we toured the Prevost Factory in Saint Claire, Quebec. Saint Clair is a small farming town in the beautiful Quebec country side. We callws and requested a tour several weeks before our arrival. A very courteous English speaking manager gave us a personal tour. It was great!

For those interested in the details of how busses are made on a quasi assembly line. Here is the highlights. A bus will stay in a "build area" for four hours. Then during the workers lunch break, the bus structure is relocated using a sled that runs on rail road tracks through the center of the factory. The sled, or "mouse", as it is called in the factory, attachés to the bus, pulls it onto itself, then relocates to the proper build area, then shoves it into the area. Then on the relocate the next bus. Very clever way of moving heavy equipment. It takes 13 days to build a bus and 18 days to paint it. They use 10 coats of clear lacquer over a paint job for converter chassis. It looked good to me!

It is against Prevost rules to take any pictures in the factory, so I requested Prevost stock photos from Prevost. I have to admit, it took over two weeks to get the photos. Hummm....

The photos of inside the factory are from Prevost.


Attachment 7463
This is a shot of the Prevost Factory from where we were parked with the coach. Their are 3 spots with a 50 power plug for visitors. We overnighted there and toured the factory the next morning.

Attachment 7465
I walked to the edge of the employee parking lot and snapped this shot. The Prevost factory is located in the middle of farm fields. When you step out of the factory, the smell of cattle dairy barns fills the air. Saint Claire, the town in Quebec where the Prevost Factory is located, is definitely a Prevost Factory town. We were told that 85% of the people that live in Saint Claire either work for Prevost or have a relative that works for Prevost.

Attachment 7464
This is a Prevost stock photo of a craftsman laying masking tape on a bus being painted.

Attachment 7466
This Prevost stock photo shows a craftsman welding a framing component. Notice the component is set in a "jig" while welding. I have toured several RV factories, American Coach, Newmar, and have never seen welding components held in jigs. The components were laid on the floor and welded. What a difference.

Attachment 7467
Another Prevost stock photo showing welding on the bus frame. Note the light blue jigs that hold the frame for welding.

Attachment 7468
Another Prevost stock photo of a craftsman buffing the side frame of the bus before sides are attached.

Attachment 7469
A Prevost stock photo of the engine and transmission assembly. Detroit engines will no longer be used in any Prevost buses in 2011. We were told that 2010 is the transition year using up any stock Detroit engines. Volvo engines will become the standard offering in 2011, coupled with a "urea" injection system that is supposed to cleanup the diesel exhaust. The statement was made that the manufactures claim the air exiting the engine will be cleaner that air entering the engine. Imagine that!

And I also missed the POG rally in Kerrville. This year's schedule put us too far away to make it. But their is always a next year. I think when we were driving west on I-30/40 we saw a couple of POGGERs returning from the rally. Mango, was that you blinking you lights at me?


Hector

Hector,

Great pictures - the Prevost factory is on my "bucket" list.

Great post Hector.. OK, what did you do with the guns?:p If I ever go, I'll have to stop at Skiffers and unload before crossing the border.:)

We left our "hardware" in Texas. We were clean on this trip.

Hector

The "out in the middle of field" syndrom is carried over at HWH in Moscow,IA where we visited. Pretty rural, 8 miles to closest Cafe.