Cost of maintaining a Prevost Bus

[LarryB]

Hello Group, as a newbie to the group, I have been reading a bunch of the past posts. Seems you guys are always fixing things on the Bus. My question is two fold;
1] is the cost of maintaining a Bus greater than that of a top of the line "Plastic" coach?

2] are there so many references to problems with the Bus here because, you guys like to work on your own bus and you share more info than other sites or do they indeed require more work than the "Plastic" coach?

Thanks, Larry

I saw "plastic" used here in reference to the usual motorhome, I'm not trying to be condescending.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

The potential increased cost of maintenence is directly connected to the greater complexity, capability and range of components.

Yes we love to disect here, probably more than other sites.

These campers are no different than any other mechanical device. Most are very reliable some are not.

[Kenneth Brewer]

1] is the cost of maintaining a Bus greater than that of a top of the line "Plastic" coach?

2] are there so many references to problems with the Bus here because, you guys like to work on your own bus and you share more info than other sites or do they indeed require more work than the "Plastic" coach?

My unsolicited comment/answer/opinion:

Keep in mind that the non 'plastic' coaches are almost all (there are only a few) commercial ('industrial') strength vehicles meant to last (w/maintenance, and overhaul of certain components) a million or two miles, by fleet operators, which means almost daily use hour after hour, day after day. Converters vary, and may go out of business, but in general, in my opinion, the much higher initial cost of the vehicle/shell means that materials and components used by converters tend also to be of better quality with longer life, and better performance. (Chassis/shell) parts and repairs for buses 20 years and older generally should not be a problem (thank goodness), even if the converter is not around or helpful.

Personally, I have driven (and owned a) large previously owned 'plastic' coaches and found that the difference in solidity, tightness, quietness (silence), wall flex, vibration, insulation. cowl and overhead dash shake & shudder, to say nothing of the response to poor/bad roads; potholes, road joints, etc. (even with far less mileage), when compared to what we are talking about here, amazing. Comparison of a 'plastic' coach that has high mileage with one of these should immediately illuminate the difference.

Finally, yes, there have been or may be problems that anyone would find annoying or maddening, but the cost of resolution seems to be far less a case of throwing good money after bad with bus type coaches. One can distinguish chassis/shell issues from converter/house components and concentrate on the latter when making a purchase decision.

That's my two cents worth.

[ajhaig]

Having never owned a "plastic coach" I can't offer any insight on the relative difference between the maintenance of a Prevost and a "plastic coach."

When buying a Prevost I think there is nothing more important than the maintenance history of the coach. Beware of shoddy/deferred maintenance and review the maintenance records of any coach you are seriously considering.

There is nothing more expensive than a "cheap" Prevost!

You have come to the right place if you are in the market for a Prevost, these guys really understand these coaches from a hands on perspective.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Larry,

How high is up? You have asked a question for which there is no correct answer. And you are reading into questions and comments posted here something that may not be true.

Go to the information sharing or the articles links on the POG home page. Pull up my Prevost Maintenance schedule. It is reasonably comprehensive because it lists all I can think of for preventative maintenance. I am known as being anal (hence the anal award and the A-1 name) but by adhering to my schedule through 2 buses in 18 years I find the cost to maintain the coach to be fairly predictable.

I do all my own work, and I throw away serviceable parts because they have reached the end of what I consider their life cycle to be. But I doubt if my maintenance would average $5000 a year even if someone was paid to do the work. Others will have to respond to the cost of having others do the work. I can give you very close estimates for parts costs and hours for all my maintenance tasks.

The key is in never getting behind the bus. If you opt to defer costs as a way of saving money you will still pay in the end. It will be reflected when you try to sell the coach or it will be reflected in unplanned or expensive repairs as a result of not doing preventive maintenance. My estimate above reflects a rebuilt engine and transmission because in 18 years I had one cracked cylinder head and opted to rebuild the entire engine (it had 250,000 and as it turned out did not need to be rebuilt) and one replaced transmission due to worn clutches from age. Spread those costs over 18 years and add in the maintenance listed on the schedule and I'm fairly sure the number is still in the ball park.

I read where normally scheduled oil changes for the Series 60 are 30,000 miles. I change mine every 5,000 miles (see where anal comes in?), so as an owner you can do the research and set up a schedule to your liking.

If you buy a cheap bus because it has been rode hard and put away wet all bets are off because you can be faced with some serious repair costs. Conversely, if you buy a well maintained coach with new tires and batteries you may not spend any serious money for several years. If you are not active in managing your maintenance and just turn the coach over to a service center the bill could take your breath away. You alone will decide what your maintenance costs will be.

As to the apparent multitude of problems your best preventive practice is to learn your coach and systems. Others have opted to learn where the key is and ignore the rest of the owner's manuals. As a result they ruin batteries, tires and other devices and then post here to find out why. A single dip switch setting on an inverter can convert a $3000 set of batteries into scrap in six months or less. Reading the owner's manual and setting the inverters to the proper settings for the type of batteries can extend the life of the batteries to 5 to 7 years. Running a tire with low pressures (20% according to two manufacturers) is almost akin to running them flat, a sure way to get to buy new tires.

Tell us where your focus is on a coach such as age, price range, type of features (slides, no slides, OTR, etc) and we can get specific in addressing your questions.

[Ray Davis]

Hi Larry,

I do think that we tend to share our problems here, more than we share our non-issues. If I have an issue, I generally post about it, whether I'm asking for help, or just griping to make myself feel better.

Rarely however do you find anyone post when a trip has gone smootly, and there are no extra repairs to be done.


So, if you go by the shear number of posts talking about problems or maintenance etc, I think you could get a skewed view.


Ray

[LarryB]

Ray, you hit on the question I was really asking. As I read through the topics in the forum I was left with the feeling that these buses sure need a lot of TLC. If as you said, the folks here like to share when ever they have problems and the focus is to help one another in the understanding and repair then I have a different take on what bus ownership is all about.

Thanks for input, Larry

[LarryB]

Jon, I am currently focused on a '97 Liberty Classic. I have not seen the bus in person as yet but will soon. I have an aviation background so I have an appreacition of complex system and their needs. I just don't want to spend all my time working on the Bus. Thus the reason for the question. I had my last coach to the point of only doing preventive work to keep thing running smoothly and I agree with you, that it is cheaper to fix it now as to fix it later. Larry

[dale farley]

Larry,

Ray is right about the fact that we talk more about our problems than our successes with the buses. Before I left home in early May, I changed my oil, transmission fluid, coolant and all filters. I also checked most everything on the bus. I took a week to drive from Florida to Yellowstone, and we have been living in the bus since 4 May.

I have replaced a connector ($89) on my shower door, because I broke it out of a little stupidity. I adjusted my hot water that comes through my shower faucet because I wanted it a little warmer. I disassembled my black water valve this week to make sure there was nothing wrong with it.

If you read the forum, there were many, many posts about these 3 very minor issues. Actually, none of them were serious, and the only thing that really needed to be repaired was the latch I broke on my door. My point is that I have basically used my Prevost for 4 1/2 months now with almost no problems and $89 in parts. At no time, have I made this point until you raised the issue. I will be leaving here Wednesday morning headed to the rally in Spearfish, and I have been checking everything on the bus for the last few days.

I agree with Jon about preventive maintenance. Anything can happen at any time, but I try to minimize my instances by doing the maintenance before I leave home.

[LarryB]

Thanks Dale, I think you and Ray have set me straight about the forum. I'm not used to folks on a forum being honest about their problems and showing a real willingness to share knowledge and to help.

Over at another forum I lurk on, there is a lot of talk but usually not much about maintaining their coaches. If some problem does arise it is usually blamed on the manufacture, and the subject turns to 'how do we get the Company to pay.'

I like this Forum much better and, once I settle on a bus I'm sure I'll have many more questions.

Thanks again, Larry

Thanks, Larry