The Virtual Coach

[Just Plain Jeff]

It seems that we have to buy coaches that someone else designed and spend all our time and energies looking at this one and that one; finally making a compromise and plunking down serious Lew Bucks, keeping our fingers crossed that we got a good one.

Since there is no kidding around on POG, I say that we begin to list the stuff we would like to see put in a single package on a coach that, based on all our experience, would be the perfect coach.

Here is my first little list to kick things off:

1. I would go Series 60 now that we have one.

2. The 45 works.

3. Stainless and rivets.

4. Four roof airs with heat pumps.

5. Granite floor laid on the flex-Kevlar substrate.

OK, I'll stop there...anyone for #6?

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Currently the power plant of choice for us gravel buggies up north is the new series of cat motors with twin turbos up to and including the C-15 625hp and whill im on the subject why isint the new electronicly shifted roadranger manual transmissions the current standard.For fuel milage, preformance ,durability and reliability the 13speed roadranger with computer controled shift tower would be my choice. They have a clutch pedal that is used from adead stop then the computer takes over and shifts it like an automatic, a 13 speed automatic, but youve got the durability of one of the best heavy vehicle transes ever. If your on this web sight I,m sure most of you are capible of driving tractor trailer. Go to any KW or Peterbuilt dealers and test drive one with a C-15 and auto-shift 13

[Jerry Winchester]

A fellow O-State alum pulled in to Jackson Hole while I was there in a SOB coach with a 600 hp Cat engine. It was one bad sounding boy.

As long as we are coveting, I think we would like our next coach to be an XL2, probably a 45er. I am tore on the AC. Bunch of roof airs and it looks like a Winnebago, but they have to be cheaper and easier to service than Cruisairs. But the Cruisairs let you clean the roof line and when working are fine units.

I would also like one of those beds that Figaroa put in that H at the rally. Having the ability to bunch it up so a normal size guy can walk around the end of the bed was pretty cool. I am also a big shower guy, so that was nice, but I am glad there are no photos of Jeff and I standing in the shower at the same time.

I also covet better organization in the bays and some folks have that down. As for the exterior, I am somewhere between subtle with light bling. Even Rae laughed at Jim's comment about the truckers and the "all that money and no taste" comment. I have seen that in spades.

And I want thousands of LEDs. Just to make Jon crazy.

[Just Plain Jeff]

Jerry, there ARE fotos of you and I standing in the shower at the same time.

I am just waiting for the right moment.

[Jerry Winchester]

I thought only Libertys came with the secret shower camera?

[Just Plain Jeff]

On roof airs:

When you have four roof airs on a coach it does NOT look like a Winnebago.

It looks like tract housing.

Liberty coaches do have secret shower cameras. They are chromed, lit with LEDs, but usually don't work. The Millennium shower CAM is online 24/7, which is a test of Nelson's new TCIPC theory.

Jerry, we're on the net.

In the shower.

I went to OSU too, but we effete Eastern Liberal snobs refer to that as Ohio State University, a small but pretty good football team that also has a couple of classrooms to support the endowment, which of course, supports the football team.

[Ben]

Jerry,

The XLII's usually have integrated awnings that completely hide the roof airs and make the coach look very sleek. You'd also gain a bunch of basement storage space.

The main problem I have with roof airs is noise. They rumble a lot more than cruise airs since the whole unit is right above your head instead of hiding half of it in the basement.

[rfoster]

Some of my wants already exist on newer coaches:
Power Awnings
Big Screen TVs
No Carpet
Chingadingaleers
More LEDs

Timer controlled Generator to come on at predesignated time for cooling after an extended absence.

Prefer Cruise airs over roof -clean roof line and quieter

Low Profile to No profile Satellite Dish and over the air TV antena needs to be concealed or desinged into the coach much like some car radios with the antenna in the windshield
Power drivers door window (for fast food drive thru!)

I have heard that certain Nascar drivers preferred SOB because they could get it with Cat Motor that supposedly would smoke the DD 60 on power- but no confirmation of durability and longivity-cause those guys are not gonna keep em or drive em.

better lights on the dash gauges

A quieter Webasto

Roger that

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I'm going to beat Roger (my buddy who is giving me an M3) in the bling contest, but it is going to be tough to improve on his comments.

Why would anybody spend more than a million bucks for a coach you can't drive in the dark because you can't see the dash lights? Good one Roger.

And how about that Webasto? We have a meg-horsepower generator that you have a hard time hearing, and a big bag Series 60 in the rear that is hard to hear when it is being started, but to heat our interior we have a device that sounds like a 747.

And with a path about 10" wide that goes from front to rear and is guaranteed to accumulate dirt and footprints why is it not some hard surface like wood, granite, marble or even laminate? And as if that wasn't so obvious, when that path is carpeted as it is usually, why does it have to be light colors like pale gray or beige?

Lets talk about some of the mechanical things. Can anybody say "leans"? As long as the Norgrens contribute to the leans and servicing them is in everybody's future, is it not possible for Prevost to spend a few dollars on tubing and instead of locating each Norgren where only people with a grease pit can get at them, how about locating every one of the 10 to 15 Norgren valves on a common mounting point at the top of one of the bays so every single one can be serviced and tested easily. As long as we are asking Prevost for the impossible is there anybody else that thinks it would be a neat idea to use a front door latch that is not prone to failure?

And while I'm complaining, I want to flog the fool that replaced the Jake brake with the engine retarder that drives my transmission temperatures up to the moon if I am not careful with its use or braking. Does that idiot realize that when you need some form of help with braking such as going down a steep hill, you have to limit the use of the retarder because the transmission temperatures have gotten so hot you have exceeded the limits on the fluid?

And finally, I want the engineer that designed the fuel filling system that pukes fuel to spend a few weeks filling my bus. He will not be allowed to change his clothes, and he will have to walk around in shoes filled with #2 diesel fuel.

[Joe Cannarozzi]

I,ve got a Cat motor in my Pete, its got 800000+ the thing has never failed to get back to the barn never been on a hook goes 5000+miles before needing a gallon of oil and there is nothing like mannually downshifting through 10 or 12 gears with the jake on !