I need some help

[george frudakis]

Thanks for info sticks. Does you system come in high def? I agree, i am thinking of a jeep but looked at a gmc 4 wheeler today just to compare. What type of tow bar do you have or recommend?

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

George, glad you are so excited about and have found the RIGHT bus for you. You will have many many miles of happy traveling.

I tow an 08 Hummer, the H3X Alpha, which is the small Hummer, but has the V8 Engine. I love it and it is very easy to tow.... Just push two buttons on the dash, hook up to the bus, and away you go.

I use the Blue Ox Aventa 10,000lb rated tow bar and plates made for the Hummer. Easy to hook up, and you barely see the plates on the Hummer, when I am unhooked.

The ONLY draw back I found in towing the Hummer, if you want auxilary braking when hooked up to the bus, there is ONLY ONE Internal Air ( No Box on the Floor ) Brake System. The Air Force One unit. Little more expensive, but I like it and it is a very clean installation.

Now for the Satellite system, I went with the TracStar SV360, and Dish Network for the HD service provider. If you have HD TV's in the bus, or like HD viewing, Dish network is the only way to go. Read the posts previously discussed for all the information.

Good Luck

Gary S.

[george frudakis]

Gary, i believe that blue ox aventa is what i am going to get and will check out the auxiliary braking hook up. I want to see what was on the bus before if anything. I believe the prior owner really never drove the bus much just parked her. That was evident by the low miles and high generator hours. Tracstar SV360 is a play because i want HD. I will have to purchase HDTV's. I think i am leaning toward a jeep for the reason it is small, good gas mileage and 4 doors, but thanks for your thoughts. Hope to see you on the road.

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

George, Just remember to get HD thru the TracStar SV360 satellite dish, you have to go with Dish Network. And HD viewing is not capable while in motion, or driving the bus. The HD signal is too focused. Once you park, the satellite locks on and is great.

Direct TV Service will not provide HD signals thru at least the TracStar SV360. It is the service provider that allows this HD capability.

Gary S.

[GSwaim]

George,

Congrat on the new bus! If you haven't figured out your HD DirecTV problems let me set the record straight. Over two years ago DirecTV changed the technology with their HD satellites that prevented any brand of dome to receive the signal. That forced the satellite manufacturers to design and build an automatic open faced satelltie system. Two companies have met the challenge, Winegard and MotoSat. They both have strengths and weaknesses some of which is that Winegard has less warranty but is less money initially to purchase. additionally, Winegard won't be convert easily From DirecTV to Dish Network if you switch your subscrition from DirecTV to DishNetwork in the future. MotoSat has a higher initial cost but seems to have a better reputation for service after the initial purchase. The biggest down side to the Winegard for a bus is that a special bracket must be made to install it on a round roof whereas MotoSat comes with a flexible mounting plate that bolts stright onto the prevost buses. I carry both system so I'm just stating the facts here not my preference.

Bottom line, the HD reception you get from the TracStar, a great inmotion system, is not going to be dependable due to the need of mutiple satellites to receive HD. Dish Network on a dome system is so finicky that it isn't worth the effort.

The most common setup is to have the tracstar be your inmotion SD option and the open faced HD satellite be the stationary HD system with a switch to go between the two satelltie systems. If you don't have a need to record or use the satellite going down the road then a cleaner installation is to remove the TracStar and trade it in against the automatic open faced HD system. Give me a call if you have questions. (619) 300-3114

[johnbrowder]

Gary,
I had just such a dome/open face set up on my Royale. It worked, but I found switching between the two antennas required me to go through the sat setup process on the DVR to get the receiver to recognize the right channels. Was I doing something wrong?

Also, on my bus I used two A/B coax switches under the bed to switch between toe two dishes. On my boat I now use two Niles automatic switches to switch between my onboard dome and dockside 5-LNB open antenna. When I power up the dome, the Niles automatically switches to that antenna. The Niles switches are hard to find, and I wonder id you know of another automatic coax switch, maybe even a three way? I am currently shopping for a later model XLII, and I anticipate having both the dome and open antenna on board, and a third open antenna on the garage so the DVR would work indoors. Do you know of something other than Niles?

Thanks

[sticks]

Sorry for late response, out of town without laptop. I have a Blue Ox with no problems. Don't think auxiliary brake system necessary . Coach ( and it's brakes) doesn't even know it's back there.

[aggies09]

TracStar
Blue Ox
Jeep (mine is a Liberty)

I asked all of these same questions two years ago when I bought my first coach, Elegant Lady, and this group was very helpful in assisting me with the decision process. I have found that the above combination has worked flawlessly for me.

[Larry W]

Because of my experience last summer I will never tow a toad without auxiliary braking. We exited I-70 close to Denver. When we turned under the interstate we heard a strange noise. The rear camera showed our jeep at the ends of the safety cables. The pin in the receiver had disappeared allowing the tow bar to pull out of the reciever. The auxiliary brake set the brakes on the jeep so it did not smash into the back of the bus. Two thoughts. Make sure your breakaway cable is shorter than your safety cables, consider the receiver pin. I now use a grade 8 bolt with a self locking nut.

[carguy]

I have towed many different types The lincoln mkx suv or the ford edge can be towed all four down just place in newtrel and turn the key back to the second click and you are ready