OTR - Prevost Nashville

[rfoster]

Gordon: When the temps were the highest, did you look outside and see a big guy that looked like Winchester holding a pitchfork?

[GDeen]

Tom, I have never experienced CA shut down before. We have been in 107 before with no problem, but all 3 were working. With only 2 CA's working and ambient temps over 110, we started a downward spiral. The OTR was a life saver in this case for sure.

Roger - all 6'6" of him, except he was orange instead of red.

Dan - you Mississippi boys are used to the delta heat and love it that way.

[Neal&Carla]

This thread started about how terrible Prevost Nashville was for not having R-12available. Jon has for years has told us how bad it is to have Prevost work on our buses. If the seals and R-12 are so easy to fix why did not Jon do the work for Colorado Bus in Knoxville. Since we have been part of POG, Jon has bashed all Country Couch buses as inferior and any bus with slides or without OTR as not desirable. Now Jon talks about about how good new technology and slides are. I have not owned a bus with Cruise Airs but Cruise Airs seem to be the inferior product rather than OTR being superior.

[Coloradobus]

Neal and Carla, Whoa, cool your jets and seek out dry cheerios!!.

We went to Prevost and Nashville for a couple reasons. One, of course was to get the OTR sorted. We visited the Wehrenbergs for their hospitality and friendship. Thanks to Jon and Di, we have a greater understanding of the Great Smokies area. We are big boys and deal with our repairs. We could have replaced the seal ourselves providing we had the RoBinAir machine to evacuate what Freon R-12 was still in the system and the nitrogen to charge the system to 250 psi for the leak check. and the RobinAir machine to add the new freon R-12 after pulling a vaccuum to remove the nitrogen and anything else in the system once the clutch pulley seal was renewed.. We could have done all this when we got home and gone to the shop we use.. But we didn't, nor did we have the time to do the repair if we had all the equpment. We weren't carting around enough spare change to go to Harbor Frieight and buy it, the best option was Prevost. We do service visits at Prevost Ca several times a year. Sure, I could change our oil, or tranny fluid at home, but what DO you DO with the used fluids. AutoZone frowns upon a customer bringing in 10 gallons of oil from a Change all at the same time.. I know, I tried once.

We have had 3 Prevost Conversions equipped with Cruise Airs and one with rooftops. Our first bus was a 2001 Country Coach XL 45 ('99 Shell) with slides had 4 rooftop units. We had no qualms about roof airs! They certainly are easier and less costly to replace or repair. The CC had rooftops, and the next coach had Cruise Airs, later on personally we just like them. We don't require under bay storage where we could transport the contents of the Biltmore.

My biggest gripe that precipated this thread was the fact having made the appoinment 6 days in advance of our arrival and Nashville falling short., During my call I had indicated that our coach had an R-12 Freon system on board, and I was assured Nashville had enough R-12, (24 pounds) to completely refill our system once deemed leak-free. Between my appointment call (7-25-2011) and our arrival (Aug 1st), the R-12 they had instock was used for someone elses needs, with no re-order for us. That's what this was about, nothing more.
Mostlly, reading all these threads is time consuming yet informative, so much so most of us have gleaned information, whether we do the work ourselves or not for whatever the reason, time, location, available equipment etc, we have knowledge to intelligently watch our coach's backside..
No one is bashing one converter over another, it has been in jest in the past. Just ask Fast Roger. Heck, if you want, pm me and I will tell you a hair-rasing story about our XLII!!..and it wasn't a Country Coach!! Every bus out there has its issues whether someone is wililng to admit it. Man built the bus, and the bus will break!!

The newest Prevost techmology is a tremendous step forward to aiding the owner/driver's knowledge of the bus. Being informed is the most important thing when it comes to the operation and maintenance and safety of our coaches. The new Multi-plex system does just that, it INFORMS.
Some on this forum who are great people and great friends enjoy working on their busses exclusively. We do some, but the really big stuff we hire out. Its about pacticality and efficientcy, and having this resource to float a quesiton about a particular item of interest.

As memtioned, we have gone to other Prevost service centers with glowing results. But I feel the point to be made, there are other service operations that work on Prevosts who are competitive to Prevost and dont require a special 1000 mile trip to get to them. If our OTR issue had cropped up before we took our trip, I would have dealt with it locally.
In our case, we drive 12 miles to Stewart and Stevenson. I just bet someone out there has an "S and S" horror story. None are perfect, we were caught with our guard down, and didn't ask the necessary questions to CYA when we had our appointment.
We were hot, and were hoping for "instant cool" altho the final outcome with R-12 if Prevost had it, would have been very spendy after the appointment. It was a lesson learned.
By the way Prevost did right by us when the bill arrived yesterday.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

This thread started about how terrible Prevost Nashville was for not having R-12available. Jon has for years has told us how bad it is to have Prevost work on our buses. If the seals and R-12 are so easy to fix why did not Jon do the work for Colorado Bus in Knoxville. Since we have been part of POG, Jon has bashed all Country Couch buses as inferior and any bus with slides or without OTR as not desirable. Now Jon talks about about how good new technology and slides are. I have not owned a bus with Cruise Airs but Cruise Airs seem to be the inferior product rather than OTR being superior.

Here's my response in case anyone is interested.....At one time Prevost was the standard by which I measured every other business. Prevost was that good. Di and I had never had service and customer support the equal of that which was provided by Prevost and Liberty. However things changed with Prevost. It wasn't an instant change, but over time more and more Prevost owners reported on this forum and P-Stuff how they were overcharged or experienced poor quality work. A few examples were a customer who was quoted about $7000 for slide repairs, and ended up with a bill for $14,000. Another customer who needed a hub seal replacement went back 3 or 4 times before it was made right, and part of the repair was an axle replacement due to the original being damaged by the technician. For a while a number of owners who experienced the leans got the soapy water treatment. They paid for hours and hours of a technician's time while he spent time spraying the underside of the coach to find out why the coach leaned. More than one owner was quoted more than $4000 dollars for air bag replacement when we know air bags cost about $1200 or less and the labor is about 10 hours. My point is that Prevost still possesses the greatest expertise when our coaches need service, but every owner needs to be very aware that expertise has at times been sproradic and the best approach is to get quotes, know and understand the coach, and regardless of who does the work, to follow Ken Z's practice of documenting everything so if there is a problem with the bill you have the data.

As a Liberty owner I will continue to bust the balls of owners of every other conversion. That's just the way it is. Having said that however I recognize that my coach as produced by Liberty has features that might not equal those of some other conversions. I think my former Liberty had a Cruise Air installation that was not equal to my current bus. They shut down when I tried to use them on a heat soaked highway. On my current bus I think that problem is gone. I really like the way Marathon does their plumbing bay. I wish my coach had a water manifold insteasd of shut off valves hidden inside or behind cabinetry. Country Coach has in our opinion some of the nicest interiors and floor plans in the industry. There was a CC at the first Kerrville rally that we really liked because it was so well done and laid out so well. We both think Liberty is more over the top with their decor, but we have gotten to like ours because it is different than how we live and who we are. But what's the sense of having an ornate interior if we cannot pick on people who drive coaches with equally well done interiors. But I DO have issues with CC. When Ray Davis first joined POG and had his new-to-him CC (which was a great looking coach) they treated him like dirt and pushed him off when he needed service. If I recall he got an appointment for repairs six months down the road. That was inexcusable. If he had a coach that did not have proprietary systems he could have shrugged it off and gone anywhere.

So now let's fast forward to what my thinking is regarding a new coach (which is not going to happen unless I pass a couple of very big hurdles). I think Prevost has the slides right. Until Prevost developed the current slide design there were many infancy problems with slides. With each generation they got better and much more reliable. That is not to say they are perfect because to get to this point a Prevost slide coach has had to have structural changes that affect the utility of the bays and they still have seals that have a rather short service life. But we aren't getting any younger and if we intend to upgrade to a new coach it isn't going to be a no slide coach because that is what we have now (and really, really like). OTR is mentioned. Cruise Airs are mentioned. Apples and oranges. OTR is an AC and heating system used while the coach is being driven. There is nothing out there that is as good. That is not subject to debate. Prevost makes a 109,000 BTU (current capacity) system that will keep the coach occupants comfortable in any conditions on this planet. Cruise Airs and roof airs are a different story and in my mind are intended for keeping the coach comfortable while the coach is parked. They each have their advantages and right now, with the new bay layout available on the X3-45 roof airs are likely the AC of choice for too many reasons to go into here.

The new Prevost buses are amazing. The multiplex system is so logical, offers so much benefits such as reducing wiring and devices such as relays and circuit breakers by as much as 30%. The multiplex is a powerful diagnostic tool and with the message center there is not much a driver has to guess at. The system provides information our older coaches require computers or diagnostic equipment to access. But it goes further. The new coaches have adaptive braking, stability control, and a Volvo engine that brings back some of the mileage lost with the EGR engines. Are they exactly what I want? No. I cannot get a solid front axle or long range fuel, but the benefits in other areas makes the overall coach a huge step up from what I am driving right now.

As to working on Chris and Jim's bus that was their call and they had already scheduled service at Nashville by the time they visited. We got together to visit and enjoy each other's company. I would have gladly jumped into the problem if they asked, but they did not. Also I don't have a new seal kit for the compressor, I don't have R-12, and we just never discussed a repair because they got here late Friday and during the weekend I would have had no access to parts or supplies anyway. I like working on buses, but I hope that is not always why folks come to visit.

If you want to go into greater detail on any of this, let me know. Keep in mind however we are all entitled to opinions and as one who has not been shy about offering opinions I do not feel bad when asked to defend mine. Or change my opinions.

[truk4u]

This POG bunch is a class act! Neal's post was answered in a logical gentlemen's manner and not subject to the flaming, rock throwing crap you see on almost every other forum.

This is exactly what sets this forum and group aside from the others.

[michaeldterry]

This POG bunch is a class act! Neal's post was answered in a logical gentlemen's manner and not subject to the flaming, rock throwing crap you see on almost every other forum.

This is exactly what sets this forum and group aside from the others.

What Tom said!

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

Tom your post was SPOT ON, and I think everybody on this forum as the same appreciation for the answers provided to Neal, from Jim / Chris and Jon. Great job guys.

Gary S.

[Danss]

I believe that Jon has as much or more knowledge about all these Buses than anyone else in the country! He would be the 1st person I would call if I had a serious problem. This is one of the most informative and nices group that I have had the opportunity to be associated with. Lets bury all this and all go to Austin!!

[Alek&Lucia]

Just because of very mature posts like that POG is still rated AAA and no chances to be downgraded to AA+ or less

Alek