Marathon Texas

Had a good experience there Friday / Monday. Had an awning problem I couldn't fix with the Girard tech over the phone (awning extends but would only retract 6 inches before stopping). Turns out it was the circuit board in the awning control which was - dare I say - under warranty. They overnighted the board and it was installed this morning. Problem solved.

Marathon also installed a real non-oilfield rugged remote system for the electric shore cord. You had to face east and strike a yoga pose before it would work. They replaced that with a more robust system that has a remote that works very well, so that was a nice bonus and easy install.

Also had a rattle in the slide that turned out to actually be in the ceiling. A couple of screws fixed that.

Lastly, I had my trusty dual thermocouple Fluke 52 digital thermometer rigged up in the coach looking at the delta T on the AC units. I was getting between 13 to 15 degrees with an ambient temp of 102. While the bus was pleasant, the tech asked if the roof was coated. It is not. He said it would make a big difference in this kind of heat. I think the other bus was coated, but I don't have a "before" experience to determine how well it worked. Anyone have an idea how good it is?

Overall, Les the service manager and his team did a good job.

JDUB - My experience has been very good with the ceramic coatings - Our guys use " final coat ", but there are probably lots of similar brands - Worth the price ( + or - $40/ft ), if you have it done at a sponsors facility, or you can buy the material online and "doityourself". BIG difference in cooling ability. The other option would be to come to Florida and cool off.

When I first saw "Marathon Texas", I thought, why in the hell would anybody take their bus to Marathon, Texas, but alas, after reading the post I understood the location was facility based. Gordo has a before and after roof coating experience that he can share with you. Warranty. That is a term beyond my vocabulary.

I am glad to hear that the experience was good. After your trifecta at Prevost, Ft. Worth the last time you were in, I think I might need to schedule service around your visits.

Jerry,

Do you have a Girard manual closing stick? It's a good tool to have on board. It allows you to hand crank the awning closed. I have never had to use mine except to test it to see how it worked.

Tony,

I was giddy to realize I finally owned some manner of Prevost that had a warranty attached to it. Especially after starting with a '92 that was orphaned two months after we bought it.

After all ur good luck lately with repairs, ur bus ur back (etc.) I dare u to take ur Bonanza to the shop!!!! :-)

Tuga,

The new Girard awnings don't have a "stick" or at least this one doesnt. You chuck a 1/4" hex wrench up in a cordless drill, remove a rubber plug on the top of the awning, insert the wrench and pull the trigger. I'll post a pic of it.

CB - The Bonanza goes in for the annual next month so we'll see how our luck holds out.