Quote Originally Posted by Sawbonz View Post
Thanks for the welcome, Jon. Every asylum can use another inmate!

I have NOT driven a Prevost yet, but did mention that in my OP. We were at the show, and they weren't about to let anyone drive anything there.

Prepared to spend. Yes, that is the question. I can certainly spend more than I am willing to, but want to keep it reasonable. Mid 6-figures would be reasonable to me. Now what I want to figure out is what I can get for that, should my test drive at the converter go well and I don't decide to splurge and buy new. Are there rules of thumb on years, models, converters?

I am absolutely interested in getting the best mechanically sound coach possible. Not looking at paint reminds me of house shopping with my wife. Many times I gave her that advice! Assuming I got a coach 5-6 years old, the main upgrading I would be interested in is a basement bedroom. We discussed this with the salesman at the show and found it a very interesting proposition. We have two kids who will be willing to fight over it.

The last line of your post is what I am most afraid of, which is why I am here! Thanks for the response so far. I look forward to the next.
For mid 6 figures you are going to get a lot of coach and a fairly new one. A quick trip through the various sites listing Prevost coaches for sale will show you that.

So that being said, you now have a lot of work ahead of you. You and your family have to decide on the things that are important to you. First you have to define how the coach will be used. Will you spend a lot of time on the road, or parked? Will you be hooked up to shore power and other utilities or will you dry camp? Where will you be traveling? How many will be on board?

Then you have to decide what features work best for your use of the coach. Private toilet or open plan? Separate sleeping areas, both with access to the toilet or no? Slides? Over the road AC? Etc. Read all the posts on this site to get a sense of the importance of the various ways converters design a coach. Listen to the salesmen, but keep in mind every single one will sell you what is on their lot. You have to sort out the fact from fiction.

If I were to give you any advice it would be to rethink the basement bedroom. Any converter can create one, but to start with give some thought to how much space you give up for storage of stuff. The importance of that relates back to how you use your coach. I don't know of a single owner that has ever said they have too much bay space. I would look for the more conventional (but rare) bunk coach that can be converted back to closets or a space for a washer and dryer when you no longer have the need.

From a purely mechanical perspective a basement bedroom presents some serious design issues, not the least of which is access from the house made more complicated by considerations such as other mechanicals interfering with the access hatch location. That might make a non slide coach a more serious candidate due to the slide having the need to occupy bay ceiling space for mechanicals. Further, it might make some conversions more practical due to the need for heat and air.