More Fresh Meat for the Grill

[FLY-N-LOW]

Hi Folks,

Tommy & Margie Stallings here..

We just got home with our 1990 XL-40 Liberty Coach from Pennsylvania and
found the POG web site and figured it was a good thang to join it, now after reading a few threads I am with concern here.. I can see it is going to be a tough crowd, just when I thought it was safe to go outside right ?

Just kidding, actually its all good and we look forward to more fun the law allows and maybe then some... I can tell you the Fun Meter on the Ole 1990 XL was pegged to the full side on the cruise back to Bama yesterday and she ran like a top and the Ole 8V92 purred like a Kitten...

After arriving this morning very early I decided to get a huge power knapp on and then revisit this Gentle Giant to play with the different systems and get to try and know this baby.. went to start the main engine and it shut down after about 45 seconds ... After a call to the mechanic he explained that it was either low of oil or Coolant.. after checking the Oil Level and finding it at full service I then proceeded to the Coolant filler cap, a small ladder, screwdriver ( Not the Drink either ) and 2 gallons of Ethylene Glycol ( Anti-Freeze - Coolant - De-Icing Fluid for you aviation buffs ) and 2 more gallons of water to dilute the stuff to a 50% ratio ... she was full to below the cap level.. the Engine then started and ran fine with no problems .. I like this Bus as it looks out for its owner.. unlike the Eagle we have... of course that's another Machine from the 1970 era that's fun in its own way as well...

Now since the Bus was Winterized by the previous Owner.. Mr. David Coleman for those of you who may know David, he said that I would need to
purchase a few rubber seal gaskets to reconnect the water conditioner / softener since it was removed for the winterization process, can someone maybe direct us in the right direction to purchase these rubber seals that fit the Screw on " Inlet & Outlet" water lines, not sure of the exact sizes but approx about the size of a Half Dollar or so ... I can send a picture of the lines which connect at the upper "Top" section of the Water Conditioner / Softener if it might help, but I figure probably some of you seasoned Prevost owners know where I can find these things are may have some in your spares kit onboard your rig I could purchase, I would like to have all the lines - connections re-secured in order to get her ready for a Spring Trip West Bound once the Weather Breaks ...

We look forward to meeting you all at some of the various rallies and will enjoy your friendships and additionally thanks for any info you can help us with on learning of this machine ...


Thanks

Kind Regards,

Tommy & Margie Stallings

[dalej]

Glad that you joined POG, we'll look forward to trying to answer any of your questions.

Check on the site for the Oklahoma rally and try to attend, it is good to meet the people behind the post.

[FLY-N-LOW]

Hi Dale & Jan,

Thanks for your Welcoming to the site...

We will see about making the Oklahoma Rally... and if so we will look forward to meeting you both !

Thanks,

Regards.

[dale farley]

Tommy,

Welcome to the forum. If you want to meet a few of us, we are having a mini rally in Mobile next Wednesday thru Sunday (18-21 March). If you get a chance, come on down. There are about 20 scheduled to be there. It will be at Shady Acres in Mobile, AL (251 478 0013). About $20 a night.

__________________

[Joe Cannarozzi]

Ft Payne, that is east of Scottsboro right? I think my brother-in law have kids who live there they are from Scottsboro. Goose Island Pond great campground just east of 72 south of town is a great place we have stayed there numerous times. Do you know of others? Down towards Gunthersville maybe.

[FLY-N-LOW]

Hi Dale & Paulette,

Its our pleasure to meet you here on the POG Blog..

Thanks for the info on the Mini Rally at Mobile sounds like a nice little get together and we will see what we can do to maybe try and make it.

I just purchased the 1990 XL-40 Liberty Coach from a fellow up in Pennsylvania yesterday morning and departed there at 12:00 noon and arrived back here in N.E. Alabama about 5:00 a.m. this morning ... I had been
up in Montreal Canada on business and drove a rental car to Scranton, PA. to meet the previous owner and inspect the bus prior to purchasing it. He was almost ready to pay me to leave the bus with him, he really hated selling it but because he already has two of them and a new one on the way he said I have to get rid of one but I sure hate seeing it go, poor guy was about sick over it, I offered him to ride down with me yesterday back here to Bama but he was to busy with his work also and couldnt make the trip, I told him she was here anytime he wanted to come and visit her, he had the bus for about 6 years and he did a very nice job of maintaining it. It is a different breed of bus versus our 1970 Eagle Model 10 with the Old 8V71 DD and the 10 speed RoadRunner Tranny .. it is a very nice Eagle and we will keep her as well for now but the Prevost is a different animal for sure and is a real pleasure to operate, I am like a Sponge and want to learn all the systems like the back of my hand soonest so that I am even more comfortable with it, I believe to really operate a piece of equipment to its full potential is to know it inside out and how all systems function, it must be that Aircraft Pilot and Mechanic thing within me hard at work...

Since I have just turned 850 miles from Scranton, PA since yesterday in it I want to do some additional cleaning and detailing to it, the previous owner had it washed and polished it up like a New Diamond however in 850 miles I seen Snow in West Virginia / Virginia and Rain through most of Tennesee I took Interstate 81 from the Canadian Border at Hill Island all the way to Knoxville, TN the ride was very windy actually it was extremely windy and the sites were not that great until I got on down to the Mountains along the Blue Ridge parkway and on into Tennesee ...

So we are now still with Drizzling Rain up here all day today and wishing for more Sunshine so we can get the Bus all Cleaned back up and detailed, I am going to Pressure wash the Engine / Battery compartment areas so that they are clean as a whistle as well... Plus I need to do some minor maintenance on it .. a few forward and aft marker lights are not working ( Bulb replacements ) and I need to locate the New Rubber Seals / Gaskets for the Inlet and Outlet Lines at the Water Softener so I can get them reconnected and get the Fresh Water System operational from it being winterized by the previous owner... I would hate to be at the Rally and not have water for Shower and Toilet as this would take me from Hero to Zero with the better half .. do you know where I can find these seals ? you may not have to worry with any winterizations problems in Florida but since the bus was up in the North this was a requirement...

Thanks Dale we look forward to meeting you both sometime.

Regards,

Tommy

[dale farley]

Tommy, I have not had to worry with winterizing, so I don't know about the seals. There are several of us who do our own maintenance and repairs, and many others who have various contacts for parts and supplies. You should get more input on this thread with some answers that will help you locate what you are looking for. This forum will be the most valuable tool you will ever find for your Prevost.

I hope you can make it to the rally. There will be several other Liberty owners there includig Jon. Jon is the most knowledgeable of all us when it comes to Prevosts and especially Liberty. He owned one Liberty with the 8V92 before he bought his current one. He does 99.9% of his own maintenance and is truly our resident expert when it comes to Prevosts. Hope to meet you in the near future.

[FLY-N-LOW]

Ft Payne, that is east of Scottsboro right? I think my brother-in law have kids who live there they are from Scottsboro. Goose Island Pond great campground just east of 72 south of town is a great place we have stayed there numerous times. Do you know of others? Down towards Gunthersville maybe.

Hi Joe,

Its my pleasure to meet you here on the POG Blog.

Ft. Payne is just due to south of Scottsboro about 20 -25 miles off hwy 35 south... cross the Tennessee River south of Scottsboro and head towards Section, AL coming up the Mountain ( Sand Mountain ) and then on down to Rainsville, AL and then off the south side of the mountain brings you right into Ft. Payne down in the Valley, if you keep on trucking thru Ft. Payne on Hwy 35 south I am about another 20 miles south of there across Lookout Mountain in a very small town known as Gaylesville, AL ... dont blink are you will miss us !

I was reading some of your Blog Threads on placing some additional control switching on the Drivers area for various items, and I agree with the other guys in certain ways and then have different feelings about other items, I would like to have a Cruise Control System on the 1990 XL-40 Liberty Coach holding the Juice to the floor for 16 hours tends to wear out a healthy foot.. I just bought this coach yesterday and drove it home from Scranton, PA down interstate 81 by myself ( 850 Miles ) as the better half stayed home and took care of our petting zoo here... BTW the Switching I would like to have the option to control a few forward interior lights from the drivers seat as well, maybe the VALANCE lights and fwd entry lights... not a huge issue as I am a Commercial Aircraft Avionics & Electrical Technician by Trade for the past 30 years.. I love Spark Chasing and Modifications... even Enjoy Engineering various Electrical System Modifications and most of the Bus Stuff is pretty straight up actually its basic D.C. & A.C. Circuits and not three phase or 400 cycle stuff... The one thing I dont like about the Drivers Instrument Cluster is the System annunciation Panel having "RED" L.E.D. lights indicating a system or circuit is active, dont get me wrong I like having the indication for the system showing it operational, I just dont like see that my Head Lights, Fog Lights, Power Distribution is in "Red" LED's as this to me from the Aviation World means "WARNING" something is Wrong and I cant get it out of my head or get past it and it tends to go against the way in which I was taught, so to help my own mind and put a little Americanism on this French Product I am changing the "RED" LED's out with Blue & Green LED's I can deal with Blue to simply show a system is functioning or Green.. but Amber is reserved in my Brain Bag for Caution and Red is reserved for Warning, it makes more sense to me and it is more Logical this way..must less Red is a color of Irritation after a few miles and especially at night or the wee hours of the morning, the other thing I intend to add is a Transistor Dimming Circuit for all Instrument Lighting as this will allow more ease on the Eyeballs and assist with less driver vision issues or constraints, I am not saying this is the gospel for all fellow Prevost owners and they may have already revised the newer rigs but this 1990 I have needs a minor mod in this area.

Not sure if you have ever noticed the "BLUE" BRIGHT LIGHT indication in most new cars dont care who makes them, even my 2003 Harley Davidson Road King Bright Light Indication drives me freaking nuts, I cant stand Bright Lights in the Night when i am driving, I have a condition know as Photo-Sensitive to Light and enough of it leads to Migraine Headaches, but I guess the Engineers at the Auto Mfg's figure if they make the Blue Bright light non Dimable that most folks want forget they have the Bright lights on when approaching another vehicle head on... not in these parts ... at any rate I would like to be able to even dim that damn annoying light as well try driving in the remote places with your Bright Lights on and having a Bright Blue light on in your eyes for 30 minutes or longer and you will see how annoying this becomes very quickly, makes me want to take the Engineer that thought of this on the next trip with me so that they can have it in their eyes for a long period of time and then they might understand and make it dimable for folks like me.. I have already corrected this matter on everything I own and drive, its them rental cars that I cant modify that bug me ...

The other thing I can see happening is someone to turn on a Nice Bright Overhead Ceiling light at 3:00 a.m. as I cruising down the Interstate at 65MPH and ruin my night vision for me, I want to be able to have the discretion to get rid of it right away in case I should need too .. Know what I mean .. actually I suppose if even more Engineering had went in to it they would have controlled the Bright Overhead Lighting from such an aspect that when the bus is in Gear that these Bright Lights at night time would not be able to be turned on to begin with, this could also be accomplished with a Light Sensor as used to control Head Lights on most vehicles in "AUTO-MODE" ... but what do I know ? Not Much ... its easier that way ...
I can modify them though and build it in mine with a little work so this is the case.

BTW your question on parks around Lake Guntersville... I did the Google on it and found this Link for you but there are others .. you may want to try a google search for Lake Guntersville RV Parks ... here's the link I have for them ... http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions...tersville.html

Its really pretty country and nice to visit the view from Section, AL atop of the Tennessee River is awesome and you probably know about the Little River Canyon just south of Fort Payne off Hwy 35 south a few miles ..this is a awesome place to visit ( Largest Canyon East of the Grand Canyon ) and about 5 miles from my place here, Desoto State Park is also nearby and also a Nice visit.. lots of Country to see and enjoy out there ! Makes me glad to be an American and knowing what we all have to enjoy here in our Country !!

If your every headed back up this way please feel free to stop by and see us.. we have plenty of room here to park your rig and a whole bunch more like it probably... all you can here at our place is the Frogs and Crickets at Night... no city noises or Sirens to contend with I had that already in my previous life... now just enjoying the Country...


Your Thoughts and Comments always welcome here ?

Pleasure meeting you Joe and we look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers...


Tommy " FLY-N-LOW"

[FLY-N-LOW]

Hi Dale,

I see your a bit of a Night Owl Like me ... Ok very good on your reply here, yeah I guess your pretty safe there in Fla. with the Winterizing but not to say that Fla. doesnt get cold or frost at times. Being the Ole 1990 XL-40 was up in the Penn State area its definitely a must to take such action and even here in N.E. Alabama I have to do the same thing with my 1970 Eagle Model 10.. empty the Holding Tanks prior to Winter and add RV Water system anti-freeze and run all lines till I see it coming out, most of the RV anti-freeze is Pink in Color like Grape Fruit Juice, so you know when it is all the way up through the lines... even the toilet supply line has to have it run in the bowl so it dont freeze either..

Yes it would have been nice if he would have even left the Old Seals laying neer by tied off to the lines with a Loaf of Bread Twisty Tie or something so that I could have had them for a reference, it is one of those things that I know I need them but not sure of the size of them or even what shape they look like or even the Color of them, probably Black and Round the rest is all guessing on the dimensions... so maybe someone will have crossed this Bridge before and get me some good Poop on where I can locate them.
I got to have them and then have them in place so I can reconnect the Inlet & outlet Supply lines before filling and priming the water lines to have water supply on the Machine worse then not being able to shower is not being able to flush the Toilet... neither is a good deal as you know ?

Ok very good, Jon sounds like a Wealth of Information and a good man and we would enjoy meeting him, he probably has a few of these seals in his hip pocket... To know these macines is to jump in there on them and get the hands dirty.

I will look for future POG inputs on this matter as I am certain somebody out there knows exactly what I am looking for here... I have seen the same Water Softener on other Prevost models..

Thanks Dale.

Regards,

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Tommy, I suspect the seals are the flat rubber washers that go on the I/O of the "sand" filter, a white plastic housing with a mechanical timer on the top. If you can't find them I suspect you can make them or find them on line. If I remember they are about 3/32 ot 1/8 thick. If you can't get them before you want to fill the water system just connect the two lines together, I think the fittings are threaded. I don't recall there being any glued joints so whatever fittings you end up using to bypass the filter can be removed when you get washers.

You should have cruise control. The side panel under the driver's side slider window should have an on-off switch, a set switch, a resume switch and a square white button which disengages the cruise.

Free advice to someone just joining the asylum....before you start re-engineering things get to know your coach. Really get to know it. Open up panels and find what is hidden in various nooks and crannies, learn where the shut off valves are and see where various relays and terminal blocks are hidden. Once you have come to understand the layout and systems you will be in a much better position to decide if you want to make changes and how you want to integrate those changes. Equally important is to insure the bus (not the house) is up to date on all maintenance. There are some items that will put your bus on a hook if they fail.