New member seeking advice advice on Volvo vs Detroit

[Fratto]

We live in Texas and no one has ever commented on the lack of shoulder belts during a routine inspection. It does give you pause, but we are not looking to spend what it would take to get a bus that has original shoulder belts. I have not looked into it, but I believe that you can get a replacement seat that has an integral shoulder harness. They will not be cheap though; several thousand per seat plus install.

[PrevostNewbie]

Thanks Chuck and Mark. We had a lot of trouble getting our Gladiator into neutral. Definitely made me swear sometimes and my wife had to take over!! I found that rocking it back and forth in and out gear really helped that a lot. I appreciate the comments about the safety of the Prevost bus and definitely one reason we are making that change. Will take a good look at the Jeep Grand Cherokee for sure.
One other safety question. The bus we are looking at (2013) has lap belts but no shoulder belts. I assume that your coach does not have these either. Was this ever a concern to you? Are you grandfathered for this if you get pulled over? Is there any way to retrofit a shoulder belt into an older Prevost?
Thanks,
Jerry

If you drive with only the Lap belt you will see how easy it is to lean forward when you need to. For example when turning right at an intersection you need to lean pretty far forward to see how close the drive axle is to the curb. This is just one example.

[georgiapeachinc]

I tow a 2012 4 wheel drive 1500 Sierra. It chugs on the hills but I still get 7 mpg average. The weight factor is important but not enough for me personally to buy a lighter vehicle just for towing. Never a problem getting it into neutral and with no steering lock makes everything a breeze to hook up. Having extra cargo space has been very useful many times.

[Starfire83]

Thanks all for the comments. It does give me pause not to have a shoulder belt. You are correct, I did look into the shoulder belt issue by contacting Prevost. There is no "approved" way to add this and I would have to install new seats which is something I would not consider. One thought I had was to find someone who installs safety harnesses into race cars. We have an amateur track near us and I know some people who race there. I will investigate.
Chris, we also have a 1500 Sierra, so glad to hear that it tows well and hooks up easily. By going with a lighter vehicle, would it make that much of a difference on hills? My old Dutchstar with a 450 Cummins really chugged with a Gladiator. We are leaning towards the coach with the Volvo engine. Does anyone have any experience with significantly different weight tow vehicles on hills? Does it make a major difference behind a Prevost bus?
Thanks for the feedback.
Jerry