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Prevost ownership or any other high line motorhome is a lifestyle unlike any other. It about traveling in luxury and pride of ownership. Our Prevost are the best maintained motorhomes on the road because of that pride of ownership. I do not think a rented condo would compete with our Prevost at any cost. We did not buy these Prevost to save money. We bought because we wanted the best. Go ahead, Charlie, buy your bus. You will never look back.
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Retired or not, Ray has hit the nail on the head. If you've never toured in an RV before, you can't even imagine how the journey can be the best part of a vacation. When we retired 10 years ago (good grief), we knew we wanted to see our great country up close and personal but we had no clue how much fun the ride could be.
Our first coach was a very nice 36' Country Coach with all the amenities and comforts of home, it was an eye opener to learn how much more fun traveling could be when you take your own bed and kitchen along with you. The subsequent purchase of our first Prevost truly put the icing on the cake. For us, the advantages far outweighed the cost. And as to cost, owning a Prevost is certainly no more expensive or time consuming than maintaining a house on the lake or a condo in Florida.
The experience is one you'll never know if you don't jump in and try it.
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CHARLIE...........When you go, your house and car are always with you. What more would you want? Life could not be better.
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Charlie,
I believe that when you read all or most of the posts on here it just sounds like it costs a lot to maintain a bus conversion. Because you are hearing about everyones little breaks and fixes. If you just take one persons bus, you'll find that it's not near the cost to maintain it that you are perceiving.
I have the perception that the 60 series bus's are more expensive to maintain, because I think, more have them and post about them.
One of the latest post on replacing a Aqua Hot for $10,000+ scared me. But that is the first time I have read a post about total replacement of one.
As you have been reading, there have not been any posts discouraging you from buying one of these wonderful build machines.
Best of luck in your decision.
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Charlie, for most here it's the other way round. We have the illness MPD, (must have Prevost disease) I don't think you have it yet, and maybe your immune and will never get it.:eek:
Nevertheless you need to go bus shopping and see if anything grabs you, or better yet come to the rally at OKC.
This would be both sides of your question in one location. You and your wife stay in a cabin and we will be in our buses. You will have first hand experience of which is the better way to go. (arrive a day early and leave a day late, then you will see everyone pull in and pull out. If you still have your question, don't buy a bus)
All the comments so far are right on the money and that's the only kind you will hear from us. For the other side of the question you will have to go to the must have condo forum :D
Some of us like the bus for what it is as much as what it does and enjoy the tinkering and poking around looking for something to do. There are POG members that don't post and are content with their bus with competent professional maintenance. (you don't have to be technical, mechanical or a grease monkey. you do however have to like to eat and suffer sheep)
Come to the rally, you won't regret it!
:)JIM
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And besides Charlie, how could you justify all your tools with a condo.
JIM :D
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Charlie,
We retired in '02, sold the house, the toys, everything that we generally couldn't take with us..... and hit the road.
The idea was to travel and see the USA to determine where we might want to buy/build our "retirement" home. By being in a motorhome, we could spend considerable time in any given area to get a real feel for it.
Well, we've been living full time in the coach for 7 years now, and we're not even close to being ready to give up this lifestyle. The travel experiences we have had and the folks we have met and formed friendships with would never have been duplicated in hotels or condo's. How often do you socialize with your neighbor in a hotel or condo? I've never made a good friend of the guy staying next to me in a hotel.
The experience of the RV lifestyle simply cannot be duplicated. You may not extend your stay as long as we have, but you will always wonder what you missed out on if you don't try it.
Buy the best maintained and best condition bus from a major converter in a floor plan that works for you that you can find. It's a buyers market, so take your time finding just the right one.... you'll know it when you find it!
Good luck in your retirement adventure.
We're having the time of our lives, and enjoying experiences and friendships that few get to realize.
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Charlie, I know you had a bad experience with the bidding on the Prevost on eBay. You dogged a bullet on that because you had the "cart before the horse". Very possibly the purchase could have turned out very well but because of you lack of knowledge of the coach you decided to pull the plug on the purchase. Generally I wouldn't buy any motor vehicle on eBay or anywhere for that matter without checking it out in person or having it checked out. That is all part of the journey everyone is talking about. Right now there are some great buses out there at some great prices, you just have to find that one perfect bus for you. Don't get discouraged, arrange to go to the rally and jump back in with both feet, YOU WON"T BE SORRY YOU DID.
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And to top it all off!
If your looking a coach between the 96 and 98 model year... we know of a great one right here on POG.
Just ask when your ready.
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Rv Vs Condo
We are full-timers and have been for the past two years. Here are a fews costs that might help you decide on whether to rent condos or travel in a RV. We are golfers and never spend more than a week to 10 days anywhere. Over the past two years we spend about 1K a month for our RV sites, we could cut that about 20% if we stayed a month at a time. We were in 26 states and three Canadian Providences last year. We did all of the northeast. Our fuel cost averaged around $500.00 a month, and that was when fuel was at it's all time high. We are now traveling the central part of the US and our RV sites are costing about the same but our fuel cost are now about $300.00 a month. Best way in the world to travel for all the reasons that have already been posted. One our biggest expenses are our Green Fees. We spend about 2K a month on that. Good luck in your travels.
Gary and Dani Moss