Birdland Coach Non-Service - Pogger's Beware

[Jerry Winchester]

I have had mixed results with them. They changed out my house batteries, but I supplied the new ones. He fixed the fridge in the 2001 when everyone else said trash it. He also fixed my AquaHot and the cost was so high it prompted me to learn how to fix it myself, so I learned a lesson there.

Michael is a pretty good technician, but not necessarily a good businessman. You have to know what to take him and that unfortunately requires experience. Coach mechanical issues are not their strength but he seems to do some generator stuff okay.

It certainly is a shame that there is not a first rate RV repair facility in Houston. You have to know where to have various things done. I certainly had good luck with Stewart & Stevenson and I used a yacht place in Kemah that knew Cruisairs, the Birdland did a pretty good job on them as well. There are a few good AV gear guys, but none as good as Nick or the Marathon guys. I have also had pretty good luck with Prevost in Ft. Worth, where lots of folks have not.

Unfortunately it's just not a simple, straightforward solution. Really outstanding service usually comes with an impressive price. I'm usually okay with paying if the quality is there.

[Seabyrd]

Yes.. it's a shame we don't have a good service facility in Houston... Lots of money and good friends to made if there was one !! We were luckily warned against Birdland after a quick visit there to have our batteries checked.. of course we didn't go back.
Very scary to think of the dangers of poor service quality !!

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

There is another place that Loc and I have taken our bus' too, and they have done pretty good work so far. They are replacing my house batteries for me, when Tom ships them directly from Lifeline to them.

The company is called: Fischers Diesel Service I know of some people that have not had good luck there, and some that have. A lot closer than Prevost Ft. Worth, which I have had good luck with also, just like JDUB.

http://www.fischersdieselservice.com/


Gary S.

[gmcbuffalo]

When Jon was talking about grease fittings, I had some work done at Prevost and they changed oil and lubed the bus, when the wheels came off for some other work , I saw some grease fitting that had never been touch. the did lube them when I pointed them out. Unfortunitily they don't go under there with a diagram of what to grease, they just look for fittings, and if it is in a blind spot or caked with dirt if gets passed over. So you have to check everyones work.

[rahangman]

While I would digress to common thinking of "Be there or ..." Perhaps one should have a print out of lube points to hand them. My very first oil change on my new to me bus was in a location just outside of Denver , Prevost ok'd, Country Coach ok'd, and yet they changed my oil with 15-30 instead of straight 40, which ALL the manuals say to use (40). They also did mention that there were a "few" grease points they found that looked ok, but they could not get to. Never did get my money back, but then, I haven't been back either.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I can easily speak to the grease fitting issue having greased my 87 and 97 coaches every 5000 miles. I have probably done about 70 or more lube jobs.

The front axle grease points relating to the steering are basic. Anyone that calls themselves a mechanic should be able to hit every one of them with their eyes closed. And just to be sure the "mechanic" can easily run his hand around every single moving part or joint in the steering linkage to feel for a fitting that might not be obvious although every one on both my coaches was plainly visible with the exception of the top kingpin fitting. That fitting you just know it is there.

The brake system grease fittings are a little less obvious, but a mechanic just has to know they are there. But if he doesn't all he has to do is look or feel. How hard can that be? But for those who are blind or have lost the sense of touch there is a diagram on the back doors or in the owner's manual. There is no excuse for missing grease fittings. My concern is if the shop isn't skilled enough to catch all the fittings then an owner should be bery afraid to take a coach for service. Missing a grease fitting on occasion is unlikely to have any real impact, but if the same lack of care applies to verifying there is lube in the hubs, or if the brakes are OK (good thickness of friction material, no cracks in the disks or drums, proper adjustment) then the owner may face serious risks or expensive consequences.

While our coaches are built for long term service and can easily go millions of miles that does not mean they are maintenance free. Doing the obvious such as changing oil or filters may make an owner feel the coach is being maintained, but that is far from true. The devil is in the details and as an owner you have the right and obligation to make sure anyone you charge with the responsibility to maintain your coach is doing a proper job. Trouble is the $hitty service facilities cannot be told from the good ones unless as an owner you develop enough of an understanding of your coach to ask the hard questions or better yet monitor their performance.

Over the years I have learned a lot about the coach, and while I am still learning I can say our Prevost coaches are relatively simple to maintain, but there is a lot to the maintenance because if it moves it needs lubricant, if it wears it needs replacing after a while, if it is rubber it cracks and deteriorates, and if it corrodes it needs protection. There are a lot of things that have to be considered and I know from experience that unless I use a checklist I cannot do a good job. While I can replace fluids, filters and lube the coach in a few hours I invest twice that each time because it takes time to review my records to verify I have caught everything scheduled, to take the time to do a detailed visual inspection to check for anything abnormal, and generally verify the coach is roadworthy.

It is very hard for a good service facility that has all the records to do a good service because it takes time and there are so many things that can be overlooked. If you find a shop that you trust and know to be concerned about quality stick with them and work with them to know your coach and set up a good program to maintain it. And be willing to pay a fair price. I'll bet the professionals on this forum will agree.

[Jerry Winchester]

Gary makes a good point here about Fischers Diesel Service. I called to get an appointment to get some work done. They don't take appointments. You show up and it you are next in line, them you are good to go. Not guarantee to get the bus plugged in, so I would either have to rig it down for no power or auto gen it which might be a problem for them, so in the end I won't use them. Loc has done work with them and likes them okay.

I on the other hand I need schedules and comittmentes to do the work in the allotted time or keep the bus plugged in.

[Reagan Sirmons]

Everyone,
The deal changed at Birdland some time ago. Unfortunately, it changed for the worse, and that probably is not good grammar.
It is a shame because we need a good high end service facility in Houston.
Stay tuned, we are at work.
Pres

[truk4u]

We need the Pres in the maintenance business!