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Club ?
Is the Prevost Community a club or do members belong to other Prevost Clubs I was just wondering since you guys here have so much class and would set the high bar mark for other clubs
good luck
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18 Replies
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I do not belong to another club but the attitude hear I think is because of Jon and Tom anybody can ask questions and will get an answer !!!!!!! When you do not concen your self with who gets the credit there is no end to what can be accomplished !!!!!!
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Maybe what Tom and I set as objectives needs to be repeated.
Back when the only Prevosts built had rivets, there was a limited number of motor home or entertainer conversions. The only group or club at the time was the Prevost Prouds. The Prouds are a chapter of FMCA and they would hold a rally preceding the two FMCA conventions each year.
Because the internet wasn’t in full swing as it is today, if you owned a Prevost and wanted to associate with other Prevost owners and learn about your coach the only way to do it effectively was to attend Prevost Proud rallies. They were fantastic because the activities were excellent, the seminars were very well done and because as the only group of Prevost owners the attendance was high which justified the great expense Prevost and the converters had in bringing show coaches and full service to the rallies.
But as the internet became developed and a source for information, and the membership became large the Prouds had some other groups form such as the Texas Prevosts, the Bus N Bikers and such. That started to fragment the number of owners who switched to join other groups and the days of 200 coach rallies disappeared. The Prouds still exist, and there are a number of other groups or clubs also, with the net result being smaller numbers in attendance at rallies and the loss of the high quality seminars and full service facilities at rallies for owners. Not to take away from the excellent seminars Prevost provides for rallies today, but to point out the seminars in the early to mid nineties included people from Detroit Diesel, Allison, Michelin, etc. The service was at a temporary facility provided by Prevost along with the service semi trailers the converters brought to the rally.
When Tom and I envisioned PC we made it clear we want to supplement all of the Prevost clubs or groups that are in existence and we want to encourage all Prevost enthusiasts to participate in PC on the forum, with articles and sharing information. We never intended it to be a social group or club with officers and a special interest. We do not want to take members from other groups or clubs. We want PC to be an open site available to anyone at no cost.
What we want PC to be however is what is developing. We want the large numbers that participate in the site to be the encouragement needed by companies that provide our wants and needs to offer discounts. We now see that with the NAPA card, the fuel and Michelin programs and we are continuing to seek other ways to benefit owners. We are owners, both of us having multiple coaches so we clearly understand how we and all others benefit from what we are doing.
We will not hesitate to promote other Prevost groups or clubs and you can see rally information for a Prevost Prouds and Texas Prevost rally in Texas. We will do the same for any and all groups or clubs because we consider them to be the social side of ownership. We will encourage our members to attend rallies such as the rally in Texas. We will continue to shape PC into the more technical side of ownership, along with helping owners with the “business” side of being an owner. We are kind of like the workshop.
We recognize PC is also seen by its members as a place to socialize with other enthusiasts. We talk to one another on the forum, we develop friendships at rallies, and we are the go to place for coaches for sale, links to our advertisers who support the site, and a resource for information. And that is OK. While the clubs or groups may have limited membership numbers we will continue in our efforts to increase not only our member numbers, but in the activity of our members because as those numbers increase Tom and I will continue to seek discount opportunities, we will increase the quality of our rallies and we will focus on the business of Prevost ownership. We will allow any group or club to use our site for announcements, We will provide a private forum for clubs or groups if they want one, and we will continue to try to get our number of homebuilder and entertainer coach enthusiuasts active so we have a broad based membership. But we aren’t a club or group in the sense of all the others that are out there. We just want to supplement them.
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Not
much I can add, Jon pretty well summed it up. I will add, although we
aren’t a social group, we do end up socializing among members because
we develop friendships as a result of the website. You really can’t
help not socializing as you see folks you know in your travels as
well as the relationships that develop as a result of Rally’s and
Mini Rally’s.As
of today, there are 830 members here and that number continues to
grow weekly. We really appreciate all the support and will continue
to do our best at bringing you accurate and factual technical
information, cost savings and products that make your Prevost
ownership more enjoyable. The technical information is member
furnished and driven, our job is to help distribute that info to the
Prevost Community. -
I was hoping you guys were a club I was looking pointers on how to stop the bickering in another club I belong too and it has to do with the FMCA and I will leave it at that
thanks
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Great Job Jon and Tom!!!!
I’ve only been on here since around April, and I totally enjoy the conversations, comments, pictures and help in trying to keep up with my bus myself.
The fuel discount is great.
Look forward to meeting everyone in Tampa.
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Yay, PC is a wonderful opportunity for all things Bus, all of them!
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Clifford,
I was hoping you guys were a club I was looking pointers on how to stop the bickering in another club I belong too and it has to do with the FMCA and I will leave it at that
thanks
Every web site I have ever been on ranging from a variety of interests has struggled with how to maintain civil conversation. Tom and I have been jointly on a number of web sites prior to starting PC. The key to keeping the conversations from disintegrating into bickering in my opinion requires the web site owners or moderators to set the tone. I am not suggesting there aren’t going to be differences of opinion. But we control how we respond and set the standard for how we expect others to respond. We aren’t perfect. I have made posts I later regretted because I snapped at someone or picked on someone. But I think we both try to make posts thinking that we cannot stir the pot to get anyone fired up, or to intentionally turn a discussion into personal criticism.
I have been on the sites you mention and I don’t see the moderators or owners jumping in quickly to limit posts that are nasty or personal criticisms or just plain mean. We can always disagree, but we can do it constructively or with a degree of humor. But the tone has to be clearly set by the owners or moderators.
We made up our minds to never allow political or other hot button topics on this site because once they are allowed, members who disagree on those issues really start to develop a dislike for another member just because they have opposing views or beliefs. That is the downfall of a site and a serious contributor to bickering.
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I “trolled” many sites when I was deciding on getting a prevost….I’m a member of IRV2, RV.net and others…I can’t tell you how refreshing it was to come to the site that Jon and Tom have created and the way they make all members, especially new ones, feel welcome.
Being a newbie with LOTS of dumb questions and concerns, not once has anyone done anything but try and help.
Thanks all….
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What we recognize is that every single one of us was or is a newbie. These coaches are intimidating and we who have had a Prevost for a while still don’t know or understand everything. So folks who are new owners or potential owners are entitled to ask as many questions as they need to so they can get a better understanding of the coach.
And they may not believe this, but the questions asked by newbies are questions a whole lot of folks want to ask, but for whatever reason do not. So newbies are actually helping a whole lot of people by getting the questions out and starting the conversations.
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I have no problem trying to help new owners I do have a problem with stupidity from those that think they have all the answers and use no common sense like on some of the other boards
Jon sometimes like you I should keep out of those posts but it makes my skin crawl so I wade off into it neck deep, that is why I like it here you guys don’t have it here most here have been there done that
good luck
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Countless folks here have helped me understand my old coach and the way it operates. Figured out if I’m gonna keep it up and running will do some of the fun stuff myself!.
Thanks again Folks.
glen s.
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Jim just mentioned “dumb questions”, here there is NO such thing as a dumb question here… everyone of us owned a “first” bus and didn’t know much about them… sharing our experiences has been incredible … it continues to amaze me how much everyone really “cares” about someone’s problem and goes all out to help them… we always seem to get pointed in the right direction and the day gets saved… that means everything !!
Jon & Tom have worked their hearts out getting this up and running and it is without a doubt the most informative Prevost sight ever !!
Again thanks to Jon & Tom…you guys are in a class of your own !!
Diane & Larry
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As Diane said we all have been first time owners and there is nothing scarier than owning your first Prevost and being confronted with the need for information. We’ve been through it and have had to reach out for help wherever we could find it.
What I realize now is everyone goes through the same need for help, information and moral support. What we hope we are doing here is steering people in the right direction with answers or links to resources or recommendations. What everyone has to realize and watch out for are correct answers, but not applicable for the coach in question, or answers that are incorrect, or just plain bad advice. This is a forum and as such most of what is on here is opinion. A person with questions has to be able to sort out the information available and determine if the information relates to his coach, or if it is correct or if it is wrong.
We have a lot of valuable expertise gathered on PC. That was our purpose when we started PC. It was to be the go-to place for information and owner benefits. But we will try to avoid the types Clifford (luvrbus) talks about that are “know it alls” and who will bully people. We respect everyone’s opinions. We want everyone to actively participate. We want to have access to anyone with knowledge that is willing to share that knowledge. It is especially valuable if the knowledge is supported by references or links with more detainled information. But we want everyone to be nice.
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Jon and Tom,
The two of you started something remarkable with PC. The being nice part seems easy and crazy not to be. The benefit for all of us interested in as Jim and Chris say “all things bus” is beyond calculation. What amount of time is saved with the information here ? What amount of money saved thru discounts, just knowing where to buy specific parts and the right part the first time, or the huge money which can be saved ( or not lost) when we purchase these machines. You guys and the many people who take the time to contribute here make ownership more interesting, less expensive and just plain more FUN. You all deserve more thanks than the new owners like myself can give. So THANKS to you all.
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George, every single member that posts answers or questions is making a large contribution to the site and is helping far more people than they realize. It is the membership that makes this site succeed. We are coming up on our second anniversary and I think I speak for Tom also in saying we never anticipated how fast this site would grow. That proves to us our original plan and objectives were correct.
Our only unrealized goal right now is to get to the once a year 200 coach rallies. I have attended several of them created by the Prevost Prouds and I can tell you the seminars and on site service was amazing. When that many owners can come together it justifies the expense Prevost and the converters have in attending a rally like that and we as owners benefit highly from the knowledge we gain and the support we get.
As we continue to work towards that goal we are continuing to seek out advertisers we know do great work, we continue to seek out programs we can all benefit from collectively and we will keep encouraging the sharing of knowledge.
While new owners may think they benefit most from a site like PC. the reality is every one of us by sharing and encouraging participation from everyone benefits greatly.
I would be remiss if I did not thank everyone for how they conduct themselves. All of our participants show respect for one another, you all avoid the bickering and nastiness that can creep into a site, and so far I haven’t seen any disrespect which makes it a lot of fun to visit the site daily.
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