I've had several RVs in the past, included diesel pushers and finally decided to made the move to bus.

Not being made of money caused me to have a budget, therefore setting the age window fairly strict. After much fit/finish research online and in person, I decided on which converter I was going to buy. After much looking and having a particular floor plan in mind, I finally found the coach.

It was 800 miles away. I flew down to look at for nearly a day. Totally insufficient, especially when you don't have any idea what you are looking for aside from my isn't this pretty. As recommended elsewhere, I should have paid some qualified dude to check over the coach first. Being much more informed may/may not have changed my decision, but would at least have been informed...which is always good.

I asked the seller, a prominent consignor, a bunch of questions in silly hopes I'd get honest answers rather than typical used-car salesmenship. I showed up for the final walkthru/purchase and a few issues still raised my eyebrows, but on the whole I wanted the coach, so I closed the deal. Now, don't get me wrong, the coach is not a nightmare and being a 2001 I fully expected to have a few things to resolve.

So, I have a few questions about the things I need to resolve. I've look and haven't found exactly my issues already posted so here it goes.

1. The coach has 3 Cruisairs. The galley unit seems to cool just fine, however it doesn't activate the aux heat. The control is set using the double-tab and the heat indicator blinks and when the temperature is reached, the heat indicator lights but I don't hear any relay and neither the Wabesto heat nor cadet will run. Breakers are good. The 12V and 110V heat are on in the closet as the other two units work fine. I swapped control panels with another unit with no difference. If I activate the manual mode on the techlink module under the sink for the galley heat, the Wabesto fan will run. So it seems like the there is no relay telling the techlink to charge the Wabesto relay. Where should I look next? Is there something on the Cruisair unit itself that could be checked/reset? If I have both the 110V heat and 12V heat buttons on, is both the Wabesto AND cadet heat supposed to run at the same time?

2. When buying the coach, the step cover would not operator properly. They replaced the piston that extends the cover. But, I think it now has an air leak. If I leave the step cover retracted, I can hear the air leak. If the step cover is extended, I don't hear any air. Haven't tried to get to the bottom of it, but it does tend to drain the aux air tank fairly quick. Speaking of aux air tank ... can one of you confirm my understanding: Front and Rear air tanks are for the break system. The Aux is used for the pocket door, step, and ride height/leveling. Do I have that right?

3. I think I have a curbside rear air leak of some sort, unless somehow it is related to the step cover causing the aux air tank to drain. I am leaving the step cover extended overnight to see if the coach leans over overnight. It has with the step cover retracted. As I said, could be totally unrelated as I thought the air bags shouldn't let air back out once in unless the bag itself is leaking or the valve is leaking/defective.

4. I'm fairly sure the 6 4D batteries need replacing. I can only be without power for about 2 to 4 hours before the generator is started. Where is the best place/price to get them replaced. Those suckers are a bit expensive and look to be a little bit of PITA to change out.

5. A previous owner swapped out the TVs and appears to have abandoned the techlink monitoring at the front drop down TV and the dash. The dash monitor was replaced with a Kenwood system that has the backup camera, but didn't attempt to hook up the techlink on another video source. So a little fiddling around with that to make it whole. They must have an uncapped coax or some cable around the a power supply because I am getting a lot of interference in the bedroom view of techlink screens. So I've got to track that down to get a clean picture.

I'm sure there is more I'm missing, and have yet to find. Even with these issues, I'm happy to join the ranks of Prevost ownership. It is much like the large boats I've had in the past...another money pit. But like the boats, I plan to enjoy the heck out of it and make it better than I got it. These are not issues, they are opportunities.

Anyway, if you have wisdom or insights on my current list of ... opportunities, please forward them along.

- Terry