XL door handle failure

[Jon Wehrenberg]

XL and XLV owners will not be happy with how to deal with it, but they at least can access the inside of the coach without damaging it. All they have to do is pull the rip cords and pop out the passenger side windshield. For those that haven't seen a windshield replacement at a POG rally it is actually a fairly simple thing to do.

But Kevin and I are singing from the same page in the hymnal. There was a time when Prevost made a very fine product and then stood behind it. I have no clue as to what is going on with door handles that fail, skins that delaminate, bushings that fail prematurely, and design choices that make repairs both time consuming and expensive such as side windows and complex slide seals and mechanisms. Prevost of 2010 is not the Prevost of the past. Personally, I see it getting worse in terms of complexity and cost with little or no benefit to the customer.

I am not fixing or doing preventive measures to deal with my door handle. If I need to get in my coach I can access my ladder and tools and get in through the windshield. I just hope it is not raining.

[jack14r]

On my 05 XLII I did the upgrade and Liberty did it free and I think that Prevost paid for the parts.

[edsaylor]

Back when I had my 02 XLII, my door handle failed. Dallas or Jacksonville Prevost ( I don't remember which) told me that they were having many door handle failures and they replaced mine with the new upgrade at no charge. It only took them a couple of hours and the new one worked perfectly. This was about 4 years ago.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Ed, as a car dealer I am sure you can relate to this.

My Mercedes averaged three tanks of fuel between visits back to the dealer for a myriad of issues, some minor, some major. I was always treated with respect and never had to pay for any of the numerous repairs. This went on for four years.

But despite how well I was treated I will never buy another because when I buy a high dollar product I am doing so to avoid the problems and issues that we presume we have with cheap products.

I don't care how well Prevost treats its customers when they have to bring it back in because of flaws, some as related here being very serious. They should not have happened in the first place. Does anyone see the insanity of taking pre-emptive measures to replace door handles (at the owner's expense) to avoid a potential future problem? Ed (Sawdust) and others should never have to take on the burden of fixing something that should never have been a problem in the first place.

And to make matters worse I am certain Prevost is becoming less generous with repairing their design flaws. I cannot imagine a worse position to be in than that of an owner who cannot afford a new coach, but is able to buy a good older used one at a considerable discount from new prices, and then finds he is in the unenviable position of learning his skin is delaminating or his suspension bushings are shot, or he cannot access the inside of his coach and must break a window or punch a hole in a door handle and then face serious money for repairs.

These folks bought Prevost coaches because they were of superior quality compared to plastic.

[grantracy]

so is there a modified assembly or merely a replacement?

[gmcbuffalo]

If I recall right it's the handle that breaks, right? I wonder if it is possible to find out who the supplier is for this product and go to them?

[jimshoen]

I replaced my handle a few months ago. Purchased the replacement unit from Prevost $100.
Put it in myself. No big deal. Essentially, it is the same handle you currently have, but modified with a small piece of sheet steel to prevent the problem.
My old one was still working. I am glad that I replaced it. I witnessed one fail a few years ago. I was at an RV dealer who was about to show me a used coach, 1990's vintage.
The dealer pulled the handle and the door did not open. He had a few choice words, and I never saw the inside of the coach. This was not his first trip to this rodeo. He had the front window removed etc. I could not wait and left.

[rahangman]

Just my 2c worth. How many of us have ever had to replace a door handle on their car? Think about a commercially used Prevost and the # of times their doors are used. Maybe they have an angle since the Driver may be doing the opening/closing , but I think that is not a concern. You are all correct in thinking about the possible decline of our product. I went through mine and lubed and cleaned it well. No problems so far (knock on wood, 20 yrs old) but the corbin lock makes me wonder occasionally due to its sometime reluctance to work from the outside. Hmmmm

[GSwaim]

Here is the improved XLII handle that comes in the upgrade kit. The kit is complete with linkage and brackets as seen below. I haven't installed my handle yet but I see the new XLII's come with this handle as well as the entertainer buses.



My original handle isn't broken, its just tough to unlatch the door from the outside as if the handle doesn't give you enough leverage to open the latch. I'm convinced that this kit will fix my door but there must be more to this story. This kit is $454 not $100. I'm starting to believe there was another upgraded handle somewhere along the way or folks were given the same handle as their original when they bought a new one. I can't figure out what exactly is going on but this new handle looks like it will fix the flimsy design of the original XLII handle.

[garyde]

As they say, ' million mile bus , million dollar bus, a millon dollars in repair'!