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Slide Choices
As some of you have seen my wife and I are still searching for the right coach. I would like to know if you had your choice of 2 slides, 3 slides or 4 slides for your ultamate coach what would you choose and why?
I appreciate all the help you can provide for it is very helpfull with our decision. Your longivity with Prevost and the pros and cons of different coaches is priceless.
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14 Replies
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“Let the Games Begin!”
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You didnt include no slides in your options 🙂
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Personal choice. Here are some things to consider, these are facts, and not opinion.
Regardless of the number of slides, each one provides floor space, but at the expense of space that could be used for other reasons, such as storage, a closet, etc. Each slide regardless of who provides the slide requires room on the side for the mechanism. In some cases space in the bay(s) is lost for the structure to restore the strength lost by cutting the slide opening. That room dedicated to the slide mechanism takes away from other space.
You do get walking space, but you might trade that by losing anywhere from 18″ to as much as 30″ per side where the slides are. That could be a closet, pantry, space for a washer and dryer, or maybe some kitchen space.
If you have more than 2 slides you have no option other than an H3. The X series is limited to 2 slides on one side.
If you have more than 2 slides you cannot have the full coach heat and air system because you virtually eliminate the ability to duct the flow of air.
Slides add weight. If you carry a lot of stuff in the bays make sure you still have weight carrying capacity. As a rule we all carry a lot more stuff than we should and it does not take much to exceed the Prevost axle weights.
The bays beneath the slides are difficult to access and use. Slide owners bang their heads a lot. It is a pain to use the bays because you have to crouch down, under the slide and if you are old like Tom you can barely straighten back up after you are done doing whatever in the bay.
Slides add maintenance cost. If one slide seal costs $2500 plus labor to install, multiply that by the number of slides and you know what the minimum cost of ongoing maintenance will be. We really don’t know how long seals last.
Opinion……….slides change the entire character of the coach, and make it seem more like a home than a Pullman Car. We like our two slides, but not enough to want to go to more than 2 given the loss of storage space which is already much less than our previous non-slide coach.
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Mr. Jim,
It all depends on how you are going to use the coach.
We don’t cook, so entertaining in the living area was important to us. So, we ordered 4 slides. Our kitchen is really just a beverage center and for warming up food. We have never used the cooktop (yet)… in 17 months. Our previous coach, we owned 7.5 yrs. and used the cooktop twice. Normally, if I were cooking which is a couple times a year I might grill out steaks/hamburgers, so the heat stays outside.
One slide in the living area (driver’s side) will give you more kitchen counter space.
Seeing inside of a couple of non-slide coaches is amazing how much room there is. Slides take up space.
The space that two slides give you in the living room give you is amazing. This works for us.
Safe travels,
Mark -
we have had no slides and two slides. We prefer no slides. Far less trouble and the slides only give a little more center walking space and less wall space. It is a personal preference thing.
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Here’s the method to add or remove items from Jon’s driver side front bay with the slide out, I helped him following this procedure at the Autofest:
1. Put on hard hat
2. Strap on knee pads or duct tape foam pieces to your knee’s
3. Kneel down and open door from right to left
4. Secure door open with bungee cord
5. Use rag to stop bleeding from head injury, your hard hat fell off
6. Reapply hard hat after applying medical tape and gauze
7. Crawl in to your waist for that deep item in rear of bay
8. Foul language is heard as you scrape your back on the frame
9. Slowly reverse above procedure and get help since your knee’s are asleepConsume adult beverage immediately.
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also no slides
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Two slides are perfect for our lifestyle and I wouldn’t object to 4 slides since we had 4 on our plastic coaches… To me 3 slides is useless as the third slide is always in the bedroom…I have no use for an extra slide in the bedroom. I wouldn’t be willing to give up my OTR for 2 extra slides at this point and we love our bay storage… we also don’t enjoy climbing over people in the living room and 2 slides eliminates that problem.. for most people its okay but we are both big and it just wouldn’t work for us…. also we have the sofa bed and often have our daughter and grand daughter on board on trips and the 2 slides then makes a huge difference.
I personally wouldn’t be happy without the slides because of our lifestyle but I can understand those who don’t want slides and those who want four slides… it depends totally on your lifestyle and preferences.
By the way at 5’7″ I can walk under our slides with ease and have no trouble accessing the bays at all… it’s like the (the slides) are not there… probably a plus for the H series too.
Good luck with your decision…
Cheers, Diane
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I wish Tom was joking, but his description above is 100% accurate regarding how much fun you have dealing with the bays under a slide. At least the bays on the passenger (non-slide) side of my coach are actually useable.
When we are getting set up in an RV park, I have learned to get whatever I want from the bays beneath the slides before I extend the slides because of what he said above.
These comments do not apply to an H3.
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There is a difference in invitations onto Jon’s bus. I had the total opposite at Autofest A hardy welcome aboard. No manual labor, no cuts, bruises, muscle pulls. Never saw any blood, was unaware the hired help had just left.
The invite was for cocktails, Jon and Di showed off there excellent taste in top shelf spirits.
We did take a moment Tom, raise our glasses to acknowledge your efforts in preparing the bus for happy hour.
To Tom…..cheers
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I have had both an XLII and H3. The XLII had two slides, the H has three. The H has two in the bedroom that are superslides and they make the bedroon HUGE! We like the H better because of all the room, but the XLII was not bad either. You can not go wrong with either model.
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Jim & Pat
we have no slides on our 98 XL. Since it is just Pam, the 2 cats and me, it is very livable. We sometimes think about an H3 with slides if only to get a King Bed in the bedroom. The big thing I had against slides in the beginning was the cost. We stopped at Prevost Jax to have a new front suspension put on. There were some H3s getting their slides worked on.i was told that Prevost charges $2k just to start trouble shooting. That scared me away. Other than that, I recommend you make your decision based on what your lifestyle is. IE: do you entertain a lot ? Do you have want extra floor space while camped but limited movement when rolling? You give up something with a slide but you also gain space. It boils down to what you want versus what you need.Good luck, either way you go, I’m pretty sure you shall get a good bus.
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Our preference for two slides is based on wanting the Prevost bus-air HVAC system for road use. As others said, more than two and no bus air system due to ducting.
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