Need advice -- Shopping trip

[sawdust_128]

Wife and I are planning a shopping trip to visit Liberty, Marathon, Parliment, Featherlite in FL in the very near future. What other things related a cure for MPD do we need to do while we are there?

Are there any contacts or references you care to share?

Are there things that you learned after your shopping trip that you wish you had known before you went?

What do we need to take with us, besides a fat wallet, that would help with this? Do I need to be prepared to crawl under a coach (I think yes?)
Will I ned to take creeper and overalls?

We've never gone looking at Prevosts before, other brands of MH and busess yes. However, we were never as close to the decision process ending in action as we are now.


Any help/advice greatly appreciated. For those of you I have been warned about, the ones who make up answers, I have a special question for you. It is posted that the end of the Internet.

End of the Internet

[Darrell McCarley]

Sawdust...........Overalls are OK but NEVER get underneath a bus unless you are over a pit. Darrell

[jack14r]

Sawdust,Don't go during the Prevost Car Rally,which is July 7-10.There sure seems to be a lot of pre owned inventory right now.I would not craw under any bus without some type of support,I would decide if I liked it and then get the dealer to lift it in his service shop with someone there to answer questions.All of the sales people need a sale so I think that any of them will be anxious to help you find the right bus.Good luck.

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

You will have a great time looking at all of the bus's out there. This is exactly what Peg and I did, two years ago. We drove to Florida in our 39 Discovery and spent 2 weeks at each of the convertors looking and talking with everybody we saw. I had a blast and I think Peg enjoyed most of it too.



You must have a $ figure in mind, be it $100k or $2 Million, before you go out seriously shopping.

Try to narrow down what it is you and your wife need, want, and have to have to make this whole bus thing work for you, and then look until you find the one that says, HEY BUY ME, BUY ME ! That is the bus talking, not the salesman.

It is out there somewhere, " So go get her done. "

Gary S.

[sawdust_128]

I mis-stated my intentions. I have no intentions of crawling under a bus unless it is supported in a safe manner. Thanks for the heads up on that one. Sorry if I freightened anyone.

Good info that the dealers will rack one to allow a look under it.

[phorner]

I would make a list of "must haves" such as slides/no slides, OTR bus air/dash air, exterior storage requirements vs. interior storage requirements, etc.

Try to prioritize your list without being influenced by the emotional feelings while in the dealership.

Understand how you plan to use the bus. How much dry camping? Do you need to entertain a lot of guests?

We made a very thorough list before we went to a large RV show to shop for our first coach.

And then completely ignored it when we were "wowed"

[Kenneth Brewer]

Wife and I are planning a shopping trip to visit Liberty, Marathon, Parliment, Featherlite in FL in the very near future. What other things related a cure for MPD do we need to do while we are there?

Are there any contacts or references you care to share?

Are there things that you learned after your shopping trip that you wish you had known before you went?

What do we need to take with us, besides a fat wallet, that would help with this? Do I need to be prepared to crawl under a coach (I think yes?)
Will I ned to take creeper and overalls?

We've never gone looking at Prevosts before, other brands of MH and busess yes. However, we were never as close to the decision process ending in action as we are now.


Any help/advice greatly appreciated. For those of you I have been warned about, the ones who make up answers, I have a special question for you. It is posted that the end of the Internet.

End of the Internet

Sawdust,

I am new to Prevosts, but my backside automatically takes the shape of creepers, driveways, and road shoulders in the middle of the night. And I am not new to banging my head in engine compartments, burning myself on hot manifolds, drowning in hot oil, and so on. I would look under the coach to find leaks, hidden collision damage, condition of bushings, and general appearance. Dump lines, u joints, inside tires, underside of generator sets, etc.

The dealer should be able to provide a creeper, but if a bay is free, they should put it up on a lift for you. Also provide a folding ladder to take a look at the roof. It's your money and therefore you become the boss. Have fun. Good luck.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Sawdust,

If this is the first serious look at Prevost conversions it might be best to go with an open mind as to your needs. Let the salesmen bend your ear and plead their case as to why their conversions and systems are better. Make sure they completely understand you are a buyer, and that you are talking to their competitors as well. If you are not trading in a coach stress that it will be a clean deal purchase. If that doesn't get you first class treatment and their undivided attention take a hike. They will be worse after the sale.

Don't worry about your coveralls. If you buy from the parties you named they will be standing behind the product and except for your own education they will bear responsibility for all mechanical aspects of what you purchase. If you include an individual in your list of folks to buy a coach from, bring your coveralls and a person who knows coaches. No individual seller will stand behind a coach like a converter can or will.

As to systems and personal preferences you stated at one time you did not want a slide. That is a preference and it is what you desire. You may or may not have formulated an opinion about other things like over the road air, private toilet as opposed to an open plan, Cruise Airs or roof airs, XL, XLII, or H3, etc. You will eventually have to decide all of those issues plus many others that enter into the decision making process. You also need to start with a budget. Give the converters a range to make it easier for them to focus on your needs. They will all throw out first numbers that are unrealistic (I hate it when they do that) but that is how the game is played.

I know I am repeating some advice given previously by others, but it is important that you go prepared. Bear in mind these are expensive toys, they depreciate and they eat money. Lots of it. They are expensive to drive and can be very expensive to maintain. It is important that you get what you want and need, and not what some salesman is pushing you into because they know you like the colors better than the coach that is a better fit for you. I would have 100% confidence in buying from the converters you listed. They will support the coach and fix any oversights that made it past their inspection and yours. The key however is for you to get the coach that is as near to meeting your every need as possible because trading or modifying these things gets into serious money. That's important unless you are like the members of the TBC who can afford almost anything.

[Jerry Winchester]

I think the new POG members must be much skinnier than the old ones. I have never seen a Prevost coach that you could crawl under without a creeper much less with one.

Okay, maybe you could crawl under the very rear of the engine compartment but my head is much smaller than Jon's or certainly Spongebob's, so I must be doing something wrong. My feet will only fit if I lay them sideways.

[garyde]

Its very hard to remain objective when you start touring Prevost Conversions.
Although a lot of fun, I would be real about how much you want to spend and view Coaches in that Price range. Each convertor has a maximum they will discount, so its good to know what that range is before shopping.
The exterior colors and design should be something you like and don't feel inclined to want to change.
Finally, Tires, Batteries, belts. Find out the age.