Originally Posted by
No Name
There are several that have stacker trailers paint matched to the coach that may work for your needs. Put a Jeep or the like in the bottom and your bikes up top. The price adder for the trailers appear to be very reasonable considering what a basic 16ft cargo trailer costs these says vs a decked out stacker. In my younger years I drug a 26' travel trailer behind a Chevy truck with race bikes in the bed and all the in/out storage of the RV full of tools, tires and parts - A stacker behind a Prevost would have been paradise!
I did read on here that some of the early DD 12.7 Series 60's had piston separation (at the wrist pin) issues resulting in a rod through the block (I believe it was the early-mid `90s) - DD covered them under warranty but warranty on a 30yo engine is long gone - In-frame rebuilds are in the $30k-50k+ range (depending on how extensive the rebuild) so dropping one out underneath the bus (VW style) is probably going to add labor costs. New engines in the 14L 500-600Hp range are pushing $100k and rebuilt ones in the $40k range depending on what paint color you get (I have seen several running take-out, 300-400k mile Cat 3406E 14.6L 6NZs on the market in the $25k range). I wouldn't worry too much about the B500 transmission - you can buy rebuilds all day for $2500 or less and even have one beefed up from Weller or the like for under $5k - basically the same prices as a Chevy truck.
Several listings have advertised complete suspension maintenance, A-arms, air bags, bushings, tie rod ends, etc., as well as brakes (rotors, pads/shoes, etc.). Seeing the Prevost receipts I have from the previous owner performing all these services I can attest it's something worth paying $10k+ more for a coach that has this completed recently/already (and documented) as you'll spend triple that doing it after purchase. Tires are another big ticket item, at basically $1200-1500/tire (Michelin) that's $8-10k. Point is you can be looking at a $150k coach that will cost you $150k, or look at a $120k coach that will cost you $160k, or worse an $80k coach that will cost you $200k.
I prefer to deal with individuals as I believe you can get the best deal not to mention talking to them you get a feel for their mechanical inclination, attitude towards and execution of maintenance (preventative and repair) as well as their budget/financial threshold for pain in regards to maintenance. Most of these seem to be very loved by their owners. Owners who are less mechanically inclined are somewhat at the mercy of the repair shop. This means maintenance was left up to a shop to dictate the needed maintenance and repairs and usually the credit card came out and tens of thousands were spent over the years. If the shop they used was iffy, the maintenance will be iffy too. On our heavy trucks we find the iffy shops (this includes some dealerships - I have suffered one we just did a $45k in frame with that didn't make it 1200 miles) always suggest the easy to replace/quick repairs to run up the bill and neglect the maintenance that is really needed because it's time consuming and not high margin like, you need an new EGR cooler. Your turbo is out/bad wastegate actuator, etc.. However from my research, buying from an Olympia or similar and paying a premium price may actually wind up being the best deal as they seem to fix ("Zero" the coach), where I imaging they find/fix many issues. Also it appears, many times, they have sold the same coach 2-4 times already and know the history of it. I have no experience with them, but they, and a few others like them, were going to be my next call if I struck out with the few private sellers I called. IMO, seeing a 3ft stack of manuals for everything on/in the bus, a 4" binder full of repair and parts receipts, several bins of spare parts, etc. would be a good sign. Coupled with an owner that can talk your ear off in detail about each one of those receipts and tell you every little squeak and rattle would be divine.
At bit long as I just went through this process. Interior cosmetic items are cheap to repair - major mechanicals are not. Just my worthless opinions on the matter.
Happy hunting!
Reply With Quote