Prevost Jacksonville

[Gary Carmichael]

Paul, I noticed you had a level III service what are the different service levels and what do they address, where can I find info on this> Thanks, Gary

[phorner]

Gary,

Prevost offers 3 levels of service at their service centers. The basic difference is the amount of time devoted to inspection of the bus. A Level I takes about an hour of labor while a Level II takes about twice as long. A Level III can take 4+ hours to complete. Of course, the harder you look.... the more work you're liable to find that needs attention. A classic example is the replacement of my upper and lower A arms. Also, while the bus was on the lift for a while, I checked every air fitting I could find with a solution used for detecting air leaks. And, we found a few. It is much easier to address them when the Prevost parts office is only steps away.

Driving the bus felt fine, and, in all honesty, there is not likely to be much difference felt with the new A arms. But the bushings were in real bad shape. In the event of a serious accident, I couldn't imagine trying to explain why I ignored a serious maintenance item that had been made known to me by a factory service center.

If you have the means to perform your own detailed inspection, you can use Jon's checklist to perform a thorough maintenance inspection. Although you can get a pretty good look around by crawling underneath, with the bus properly supported of course, but having a service pit or lift available sure makes the job considerably easier.

[Gary Carmichael]

Paul is there a specific list they go by, for these three levels? Where would or could I find this info? Thanks Gary

[phorner]

Gary,

Yes, there is a specific list for each level of service. Cindy Carman at Prevost Jacksonville will be happy to provide you a faxed quotation based on your particular bus. Level I included fuel filters, oil filter and engine oil, lube U-joints, king pins and tie rod ends. Level II included Level I plus coolant cartridge and coolant chemistry check, inspection of belts and air filter, differential fluid, fan gear box fluid and power steering fluid checks plus lube of steering linkage, and tag axle lifting rod. Level III adds checks to all other fluids and an inspection of engine mini lobe air bags with pressure set, service to all brake components, inspection of all wheel seals and shock absorbers, drain all air tanks, hub oil level check, set tire pressures.

I'm sure I missed a few items, but you get the idea. Each level includes a more thorough and detailed examination of the bus.

I would get a quote from your preferred service center. Although I have only been to the Jacksonville facility a few times, I have been very pleased with their performance. I have never had an issue. It should also be noted that I do not tend to simply walk away while the bus is serviced. I tend to be side-by-side with the service technician during the ENTIRE day. This allows me to see first hand everything that is done and learn as much as possible about the maintenance/repairs being performed. I try to be as helpful as possible without interfering with the work being done or becoming a PITA.

So far, I'm very happy not only with the work performed, but the overall customer service as well, at the Prevost Service facility in Jacksonville.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I don't know the cost of each level, but from Paul's description of the different service levels I wonder why there are three different levels.

For example, any time someone is under the bus to grease a fitting or change a fluid they are literally in the best position to perform a specific task as well as a task that might be on the next level. If you are under the coach to grease the U-joints for example put a 1 1/16 wrench in your back pocket and while in the area of the differential greasing U-joints or the drive shaft spline, remove the plug in the differential and check the fluid level. I know that is an extra step, but I doubt if more than 2 minutes is required, making it well worth checking at every lube.

While standing under the coach in the same area there is no reason why your eyeballs cannot be looking at the wheels or areas around the hub to look for evidence of a hub seal leak as well as verifying the brake pad or brake drum friction material thicknesses are OK and there are no cracks in the drums or rotors. That also takes perhaps 2 minutes when in the area of the tag and drive axles. I know because I do this whenever I am under the coach to lube it. If I am under for another reason I will also do a quick inspection. It just makes sense.

When this stuff is spelled out it sounds impressive and takes up some lines of type, but the reality is anyone familiar with the coach can do a very good inspection of those items in seconds. As a rule of thumb I have also suggested previously on other posts that whenever something is apart, such as a wheel has been removed, that is the perfect time to take a good look in the area for any potential problems or to just verify everything is all right. I don't look forward to taking off my wheels or doing repairs, but if I do it is a safe bet that whatever project I am involved with it will include additional tasks in the area I am working, even if it is something as simple as cleaning off the collected dust dirt and stones that get kicked up from the highway.

If I were in business and my job was doing scheduled maintenance each and every time I lubed the coach or changed the oil I would be doing all other inspections and tasks just because it is a good practice. The inspections also should not be limited to what is written. I also listen for air leaks, question wet spots, check hose clamps which can rust at the adjuster and fail, and I look for signs of rubbing. Anytime two items move and rub there is a good chance something could go wrong if that rubbing or chafing continues. That is especially true of air bags and brake lines.

I'm sure that the Prevost list also includes such items as air dryer service and tank bleeding, but whether those items are on the basic service or a higher level they should be a part of every service. Our braking and suspension systems are extremely important. Yet we tend to ignore the importance of keeping the air system dry and free of oil. No service tech should ignore an opportunity to drain moisture, verify the protection valves are functioning properly, nor should he ignore signs of oil spitting from the air dryer indicating the element has gone far beyond its service life.

As owners the cheapest way to maintain your coach is always going beyond the basics. Almost every small problem if ignored at some point contributes to or becomes a bigger more serious problem that could have been prevented with a little extra attention. Since I do not know the costs of the various service levels I can only hope Prevost makes the price increase for each step up in service very modest to reflect the small amount of extra time and to encourage owners to always opt for the most complete service and inspection possible. I can say with conviction that it not only is cheaper to do it more detailed and carefully, but it goes a long way to making every trip trouble free so we are not stuck on the road dealing with an issue that never should have happened.

Paul's practice of staying with the tech is absolutely the best thing an owner can do. He not only sees and verifies each task required is performed, he becomes a second set of eyes and ears that is looking at the condition of the coach. With each opportunity to get beneath the coach Paul is learning and understanding his coach. He is seeing the relationship of parts and learning what signs indicate something may require a repair or adjustment. That makes him a very knowledgable customer and one far less likely to be taken advantage of.

[truk4u]

The level 1 I got at Jax was oil and filters only! Nothing else included and no grease. If your doing a level 1, they told me it is was ala-cart and that included not draining the air tanks. They did do a quick inspection looking for leaky oil seals and that was it.

That's all I wanted, so I was fine with it.

[phorner]

I don't know the cost of each level..... I can only hope Prevost makes the price increase for each step up in service very modest......

Well, I can't say that I have experienced anything modest about the cost of factory service. Price quotes ranged from $300 to $800 for the referenced services. Actual cost will depend on actual parts/consumables used.

Spending close to a grand is not hard to do. One of my personal goals is to learn as much as possible the FIRST time so that I may (hopefully) be able to perform at least some of the work myself in the future.

At the very least, I try to be an educated user of my bus. I want to be able to to intelligently describe a problem to someone who can actually fix it should the need arise.

The only up-side is that generally speaking, based on my use of our bus, this type of service is usually only required annually. I tend to be a bit extra vigilant about air system moisture. Moisture is the clear enemy of our air systems and keeping things as dry as possible not only makes for a more enjoyable use of the bus but also prolongs the life of everything.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

On my coach a change of oil and filters is where the money is spent. I have two oil filters, two fuel filters, an occasional air filter, and every six months (prior to going to extended life coolant) a coolant conditioning filter. Everything else is either grease which has a negligible cost and time. I guess the coast of fluids and filters varies but I doubt if the cost exceeds $150 or $200 if an air filter is required.

I spend a lot of time poking around and looking at stuff so I invest about 5 hours every time or maybe a little more if i get involved in looking at something more than a quick inspection.

The little things are easy to overlook, such as checking fluid levels in the tag and steer axle hubs, but in addition to looking beneath for leaks, low fluid level is also an indicator of a hub seal leak.

When I get involved in other things such as coolant changes or Transynd changes my times go up and the cost of fluids goes up considerably also, but those are unusual items whose service interval is measured in years.

When I got the coach intitially I wasn't sure of the service status of anything so I opted to replace every single drop of fluids and every filter or belt. In addition I spent hours poking around looking for issues. I probably had $1000 invested in materials (guessing here) and 30 man hours. But if I figure my time at $100 per hour I spent $4000 to insure the entire coach and generator was completely up to date. Once that is done the schedule spreads out so I rarely have to change Transynd at the same time I would have to replace coolant so the subsequent service tasks are substantially less costly than the intitial one.

Similarly I also (within the first year) changed air bags, Norgrens and brake chambers. Again these were time consuming costly efforts, but once done it put the entire coach back into virtually new condition with the exception of minor things like shocks or hoses.

The point is that once a coach is zeroed out and a maintenance schedule is developed that attaches service intervals based on realistic time intervals, maintenance becomes an on-going process, but with the expenses spread out over miles or time as required. That spreads out the financial shock. With a little wiggle room factored in the schedule certain items can be addressed at a routine event such as waiting for the next oil change to replace the dryer element as an example. What is important however is to keep detailed records so not only do you know something was done, and when it was done, but to allow it to be scheduled in the future. Additionally having the detailed records not only is a real help in avoiding maintenance issues, it is worth its weight in gold when proving to a potential buyer that the coach is in fact properly maintained.

Despite the cost of maintaining our coaches, the cost of fuel and maintenance is dirt cheap compared to depreciation and the cost of the invested capital. To minimize that depreciation and add significantly to the value of the coach to you and a future owner it is hard to beat doing the best maintenance possible. I really believe that as an owner you can pretty much pinpoint your cost in advance by developing a maintenance schedule and adhering to it. With the exception of surprises, which should be minimized, it becomes pretty easy to budget for ownership and once an owner is in control ownership is even more satifying. Too often we see owners post a list of problems and from my perspective I see a lot of problems directly related to a service schedule that is more reactionary rather than planned to prevent issues.

[phorner]

Jon makes an excellent point. The initial cost to get things right can be a bit intimidating. But, I consider all the "major" stuff that I've either done myself or had done at a service facility, is pretty much finished for my lifetime of using the bus.

So far, every dollar spent has resulted in a more enjoyable use of our coach. Of course, since we live in it full time, some of our priorities may differ from the occasional user.

By and large, paying attention to maintenance needs helps greatly in keeping the "happy" in Happy Camper....

[Gary Carmichael]

Thanks for the replies, I will have the first year of ownership March 1 2011, The coach was bought at Stuart, they did a complete service including new batteries, tires, and the usual PDI stuff I now have all the records from Prevost on this Coach and will go thru them to see what services were preformed,such as reg service, repairs and recalls. funny the invoice from Prevost to Liberty on the shell suprised me 500,000. I guess thats par . we will head south as soon as this snow melts "got caught with the pants down again" Again thanks for the info.