Pit Stop

[garyde]

Well, another vacation and a list of broken and or damaged Bus Parts. I'm wondering who has had a small list or no list of repairs after a trip.
I was in Oregon for 7 days, most of the time parked. I took the coach out one day to get a lube and oil change.
So, I have one broken port waste dump outlet , the macerator did not work,
Vanity lights in bedroom stopped working, a bad relay. The air seal on the living room slide sprung a leak, and a on going issue with the Direct TV and or Satelite .
Not a big list but the slide seal will run close to $3000.00.

Maybe I should find a comprehensive Insurance policy covering parts, drive train, engine, etc. for the Coach. Has anyone heard of such a policy for Prevost Conversions?:

[Sid Tuls]

Gary, If a air seal goes out can you still operate the slide?? What did you do? Just like to know if or when it happens to me.

[dale farley]

Gary, If you are serious, you can get a maintenance policy through Good Sam that covers most systems on the bus. They offered me one for about $2000 a year. They cover RVs up to 10 years old.

[garyde]

Gary, If a air seal goes out can you still operate the slide?? What did you do? Just like to know if or when it happens to me.

Hi Sid. The Air Seal is a two part rubber gasket. The blade, which is what you see on the perimeter outside of the slide, and the tube which is behind the blade. You can drive without the tube inflated but you do not have a air- tite seal. So, you get less cooling or heating and some dust can get in.
I drove home from Oregon and did not notice much dust inside.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I hope this doesn't scare potential buyers, but I cannot think of a trip that did not have a list of "stuff" to be looked at or fixed.

The first coach had much simpler systems so the lists at the end of a trip involved items such as loose cabinet hinges or light bulb replacement. The current coach is more complex and so is the list of items needing attention. This last list of repairs, like Gary's, included a stubborn satellite problem, a failed gray water by-pass valve, and replacement of the forward outlets GFCI.

With apologies to those among us who have the XLII and slide coaches we have drawn a line in the sand and are sticking with our non-slide, rivet coach because the potential for every trip to become a maintenance nightmare has ramped up dramatically as the coaches get loaded with more complex automatic and power devices. We have spoken to owners who are less than happy with the reliability of their power window shades, power awning windows and power awnings. We have read of issues with slides, and I see a multiplex coach as being computerized complexity that pushes the repair costs to another level. I don't even want to think about a coach that is glued together by folks that seem to have problems changing a hub seal.

We have found that if we make our notes about things needing attention on the drive home, and if I complete the list before the next trip the required effort is really minimal. My satellite problem I am hoping was a defective straight connector for the cable, I had a bad coil on the gray water by-pass valve that was easily replaced and the GFCI is just an electrical outlet also easily replaced. I can accept problems like this because we do have a lot of stuff in our coaches that get vibrated, shaken and banged around just by driving down the road. I'm surprised more of the coach doesn't need to be fixed at the end of a trip.

But I am staying away from coaches with even more built in complexity because the problems associated with them seem to increase exponentially.

[meandmyprs]

My bus is at Prevost Dallas right now because the Living room slide "blade" keeps folding back under and creating a small gap under the "seal". No big deal EXCEPT it creates a path for water which if the coach is level or leaning starboard a tad it will funnel that water thorugh your light fixtures right on to the couch, table, etc. It is a nice effect but one I could do without. Prevost replaced the seal when I bought the bus last October so I guess this means there is a 50/50 chance I get a bill. Here is the rest of my list from our recent trip:

Electric black dump valve quit working (replaced)
Front Pass Side wheel seal leak (in progress)
Port A/C not cooling properly (loose wire found)
Windshield Washers INOP (bad relay)
Gen Oil Pressure Gauge INOP (gauge went bad)
"Someone" left a can of OFF on the driver seat overnight and it ate through the leather (leather repair guy fixed this)...this is jsut a PSA for leaving OFF laying around.
Sheep taped to my windshield (different problem)

I have just come to the conclusion, that, no different from owning a plane there will probably always be some sort of squawk list. I will trade my bus squawk list for my Monaco squawk list any day.

I should add that I bought my Bus from Marathon Dallas and they have been fantastic in working through all issues for me. I could not imagine doing this without the support of a dealer/shop right of the bat.

Brent

[Jerry Winchester]

Brent,

You might chat with the Krakman because he seems to have that same recurring sheep problem with his coach.......

JDUB

[jello_jeep]

I hear he has a house account at Tony Lama too

Brent,

You might chat with the Krakman because he seems to have that same recurring sheep problem with his coach.......

JDUB

[truk4u]

Brent,

I have decided that from now on, I'll just go ahead and tape the sheep to the front of the bus as soon as I arrive at a Rally or function involving the Turd Boys. That way there are no surprises and I can actually call in a sortie on myself! I now have 2 deflated sheep, seems the Acme Supply Company has an endless supply.

[MangoMike]

sheepman

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