8V92 vs. S60

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Aggie as you probably already discovered we have AJ and his family who never owned a camper before and they seem to have made that leap directly from that to full timing pretty easily.

You wouldn't be alone or be the first.

Loyde and his wife are going full timing too, they just bought.

[dalej]

Tony,

If you guys can make it to one of the rallies coming up, It would be a good place to talk and learn all about bus's.

[Ray Davis]

Joe,

Tony signed his first post with his name.

Can some of the more knowledgeable and technical of the group give me your opinions to the validity of my assumption. Tony.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Ray quit confusing me.

In the world of diesel engines :

a V-8 is not the norm
a turbo feeding a blower is not the norm
a 2 stroke is not the norm
needing straight 40wt oil is not the norm
Having to add a gallon every thousand miles or so is not the norm

I doubt I ever got 6mpg average, 5 going easy.

Similarities:
It is made of hard alloy.
It rotates.
It burns diesel fuel.
It will get you where you want to go.

[jack14r]

The market has become very soft in the last few months,if you are buying and not trading this might be the best time for a great deal.The converters product varies quite a bit,the V8 or series 60 might not be the question after you do more research.A converter told me this week that 300K and up is very soft,good luck in your search and welcome.

[Ray Davis]

Joe,

Not sure what "the norm" has to do with it? And yes, maybe you don't get quite 6mpg, but I've never gotten 8 on my S60 either, generally I'm lucky to get 7.

But even plus or minus 1/2 to 1 gallon mpg on either side, the point it it will take YEARS to pay for the difference in cost with fuel savings.

SURE, I think it goes without saying IF you can afford a newer coach, then go for a newer coach with a S60 engine. You get the benefit of a newer coach, newer electronics, newer IFS (maybe), etc, etc.

My only point is, IF you aren't in the budget area for a newer S60 coach, that the 8V coaches are a very reasonable purchase, and will not drive you to the poorhouse any faster in fuel usage, with the break-even point been 20+ years down the road.

I really loved my 93 coach. It ran sweet!

Ray

[aggies09]

I have read some comments about rebuilt 8V82's due to overheating. Wouldn't that be a concern? And I intentionally signed my name so that you have a reference, just a courtesy. .............I do appreciate the input, and the overall discussion may lead me to a newer coach where I can bypass some of the issues.

[Will Garner]

Tony,

Welcome to POG. Get thee to the Sevierville TN Rally in April! Its real close to the maven of madness, Jon's home. Jon is a veritable treasure trove of bus systems knowledge and has a rapier wit about him too.

Don't rush into a purchase. We were told by the owner of Staley Coach in Nashville TN (our eldest daughter lives near his business) that when we see the right coach we will know it and there will be no hesitation. He was right. Carole and I spent almost two years traveling the eastern half of the good old US of A looking for a coach. Went as far south as Naples, FL. Went as far north as Lansing Mich. Went as far west as Memphis TN. Also looked at a couple of local coaches. We found a 1991 Country Coach conversion that met our needs from Marathon in Coburg Oregon. We did not go there, a local business owner sent an employee and drove it to NC in four days. That alone made me feel better about the mechanicals on the bus. The rest is history.

Price point was a big issue for us. We also wanted a "laid back" comfortable feel when inside the coach. We also did not want to mess with slides and some of their mechanical/hydraulic problems as well as leaks. I had some plans to do a little upscale transportation using the coach in the local golf tourism industry. Once Carole went on some trips, the first was to an FMCA rally in Georgia to learn more about RV systems, she decided that her "home" was not the place for lots of strangers.

If you have never driven a "big rig" RV or otherwise then the first thing you should do - very carefully - is drive one of the coaches you are looking at AFTER having someone explain where all the controls are and more importantly just what all of them do. I know speaking for myself there was a lot of anxiety during my first couple of experiences. Now about 8,000 miles later I feel just fine behind the wheel. Oh yeah, one of the hue and cries you will likely hear is, "Get left!" What that means is the person in the co-pilots seat thinks you are too far to the right side of the travel lane. One cure for this is to look farther down the road ahead and check to see if the little white line is visible in the side view mirror. If it is not visible, "Get left!" Carole is just now starting to go through the learning process. I told her before she took her first excursion onto the highway, after a couple of hours in an auditorium parking lot learning the controls, don't get mad at me when I have to tell you the same thing you and others shouted at me, "GET LEFT!" So don't forget that your wife (girlfriend, significant other, etc.) needs to be hands on in this experience too.

My coach has the 8V92. I have built gas engines before but this is my first diesel. I also would not try to work on the diesel. Too big and too many speciality tools, too little knowledge and not enough garage space. I intend to take it to a Detroit Diesel facility about 75 miles from our house for service and maintenance needs.

One of the other issues that we faced, and I think all bus owners faced, was just where the heck am I going to park/store this thing. Not too many of our houses come with a 24' by 60' garage with a 14' wide by 16' high doorway.

Oh yeah, one other biggie in your learning experiences, be really careful making right hand turns. If you are not you will find out just how expensive replacement stainless panel(s) can be on a Prevost! It is really hard to damage just one.

Welcome aboard and look forward to meeting you sometime soon. Carole and I are going to the Sevierville rally, our first live encounter with the characters that post on this forum. We can hardly wait!

Will

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Our bus has 220000 approximately. It has a DD factory re manufactured 8-V with 100000 on it. To my knowledge and from what I can see the radiator has never been out or re-cored. Ours runs very cool, gets to 175 in the flat. Even in the summer with the OTR/AC on it doesn't quite get to 180. Ours is a 435hp and I have read how increasing the HP with timing and or different injectors will cause that situation.

I think but am not sure that 435hp was standard for the 8-V92TA and anything over that was turned up??????????????????

[aggies09]

I would like to try to make the TN rally, but I have twin daughters that have prom that weekend. I had better stay close to home.

I drove a bus from Maine to Texas a few years back and learned the stay left part pretty quick. I realize that I am going to have to teach my wife the way around this machine as well. That may be sort of like building a house together.

I look forward to meeting you at an upcoming event, and continuing to learn more. Thanks for the input.