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1997 Liberty
http://www.prevost-stuff.com/1997PrevostLibertyXL_Olympia040719.html
Anyone know of this Liberty, the owner and or condition?
Jim
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29 Replies
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Jim ,
Let me provide my 2c , remember what this cost 🙂
She is a Liberty
The Pics look great
the mileage is fine
the dealer is reputable
So what does it matter who owned her ? Request service records . Tell them you want the past owner to provide you with the Prevost records ( must come from owner ) . Go look at it for yourself and make a offer . In my opionon these coaches are heads and shoulders above anything out there and you have a chance to own one , so whats holding you back may i ask ?
It really is that simple my friend 🙂
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1997 was the year of change! Check to see if it has independent front suspension. If not, hard pass. If so, it’s a nice coach as long as you can deal with the high price tags that Liberty Coaches are able to get. There is a 2002 XLII Marathon for about the same money but I find it to be ugly and it might have lamination issues. One never knows, does one?
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No, it does not really matter who owned it or their name, just wondering to what extent maintenance was attended to and if the owner was passionate about Prevost/Buses as we are. LOL If it were someone like Tom or Jon, I believe I would drive off in it and not even look under it until I parked it in my shop. LOL
Yes is does indeed have IFS. I am told it was a Marathon trade in, however owner files did not convey with the coach. Just wanted opinions and to what you guys may know about it. It does have the appearance of a well maintained coach.
Jim
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IFS or lack is a deal killer??????????
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Our coaches evolve. since we bought our first in 1990 we have seen a host of changes in both the chassis and conversions over the years and while there are some very substantial milestones in the evolution of the Prevost chassis, such as the change to the Series 60, to the change to 45 feet, to slides, etc. with the exception of the slightly better turn radius there is no advantage or disadvantage to having or not having IFS.
I had about 250,000 to 300,000 miles of drivng a Prevost conversion under my belt when I drove my first IFS equipped coach and if there is a difference in ride or handling except for the turn radius I couldn’t tell.
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Jim,
Nothing wrong with digging for information, I do the same thing and I’m on number 7. It’s always important to me to learn everything I can about the bus and it’s past history. I have found that since this Prevost world is so small, many times a previous owner see’s his old bus pop up and is happy to fill in the blanks.
As to solid vs IFS, I’ll take solid any day… I had to do a IFS rebuild on my 01 to the tune of about 5K with 118K miles.
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While wrong, wrong, wrong in your opinion, no so in mine. I would really like to have a better turning radius and I would like to avoid the harsh effect of a solid axle when you come off the edge of roadway. I doubt there is much difference in overall ride driving down a straight smooth highway.
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The way you said it Bill was the lack of IFS would be a deal breaker. Our coaches are so much more than a tighter turn radius that if we used that as a main reason for buying or not buying a coach a whole lot of very nice coaches would be by-passed.
You must have a far greater sense of how a bus feels or handles than I have because I can detect zero difference in ride or handling between solid axle and IFS under any or all conditions except the turn.
As to turn radius you make it sound as though a solid axle coach is all but unmanageable because it won’t make sharp turns, and yet I have 22 years of solid axle experience on 40 and 45 foot coaches and somehow managed to get into sites in RV parks despite the apparent handicap. It is nice to be able to make sharper turns, but not mandatory.
Tom nailed it. I really liked the simplicity and economy of a solid axle. I wish I had one now.
2025 Marathon H3 / 4th Prevost
21 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel 4x4 -
No worries, it’s always nice to be able to agree to disagree. I will never own another solid axle coach and I will never own another coach with Cruise Air. Just a choice. I think buyers need to be informed.
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Because of the tight confirms our the road in front of our house, our driveway, where we park the coach next to the house, and the fact that we pull a 26′ enclosed trailer with a 5′ tongue … the tighter turning radius of IFS appealed to me.
It also seemed that coaches with IFS appealed to us more than the slightly older coaches.
So we ended up with a 1999 XLV with IFS and I have been very, very happy with it. I know for a fact that I have used the extra turning radius to our advantage a number of times. Could we get along with a SFA? Probably. It would likely be more work and probably make me a little better coach driver.
We were at Prevost Houston about six weeks ago. The tech informed me that the “boots” on the spindles were torn and loose and needed to be replaced, so he had the service adviser get me an estimate. She told me the only way that Prevost sells the boots is part of a “kit” … upper and lower control arms, spindles, and probably some other stuff. $5,500 including labor. I declined the offer. That confirms the cost of rebuilding the front-end, but leaves me suspicious about the cost of replacing the boots on the spindles. I think there is a much more cost effective alternative.
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If you can get just the rubber bushings you can press the old ones out and the new ones in. It is not an easy job and I don’t have the needed part numbers or the source but Rob Russell of Russell Coach rebuilds them for his entertainer coaches for a substantial savings.
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Torn boots are the result of over greasing usually with air grease guns. Just keep greasing…
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I think Dick is talking about the bushings inside the A arm ends. But the boots that go over the joints that are greased, such as tie rod ends will last forever if the fittings are greased, but never overgreased.
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This is a nice coach. I’m not into that much black leather, but that is an easy fix with a little grey leather maybe on the front seats. I don’t care too much for all the drawers in the first bay passenger side, I would prefer a slide Joey bed … but that’s personal preference. If you’re contemplating pulling out all those drawers and putting in a half side slide like on the driver’s side, let me know. I might be interested in selling our pax side slide out as I’m contemplating going in another direction with that.
I don’t see any curb rash, the coach has the updated Gil Johnson signature tail light package which is a thousand dollars or more, and the copper waste lines appear to have been well maintained. How old is the water heater? With a coach 22 years old, the water heater won’t last forever (ask me how I know) and is about $1,200 to $1,600 including labor (as I recall) to replace. While you’re in the water bay, poke around the floor with an ice pick. Are they punky or soft? Or nice and solid? If not solid, that could be a sign of previous water leaks that have softened up the bay floor. The floor won’t get better over time.
I now feel compelled to tell you about the holding tank. Its very possible its aluminum. If this coach has a stainless steel holding tank, I think you’re in luck. Some of the PC members have had to replace their holding tanks due to pitting of and pin-holes in the aluminum. I was recently told by a long time Liberty tech that some of the Liberty coaches had holding tanks with a heavier gauge of aluminum that isn’t so suspectible to the pitting and pinholes. I don’t know they vintages of coaches that might have the heavier aluminum. A number of your fellow PC members have replaced their holding tanks and can talk much more intelligently about it than I can. Personally, I hope I never get to be an expert on the subject.
Looks like inverters have been upgraded. Is there one or two inverters in the electrical bay? I can’t tell. But that two upgraded inverters and two new readouts on the electrical panel is a $3,500 to $5,000 experience as I recall. Check to see if when the inverters were upgraded, was the WatchDog auto-generator start system replaced with the Auto-Generator Start system from the inverter manufacturer. If not, it should be. While the WatchDog was great in its day (more than two decades ago), it allows the batteries to run down too low before starting the generator. From what I understand, the new technology AGS allows you to set the generator start voltage to help lengthen the life of the Tom Chilcote LifeLine AGM batteries I’m sure you’ll be running.
Is that the original refrigerator? I can’t tell from the picture. If it is, budget $1,500 to $2,000 for a new one and $800 to $1,500 for labor to replace it. The Amana is a wonderful piece of equipment, but they don’t last as long as the Detroit Diesel Series 60 or the Allison transmission.
Like any coach … maintenance records, maintenance records, maintenance records. If there aren’t any, any number of us can dazzle you with what it costs to replace the various items on the chassis that age out. I would like to think that Olympia can put the coach on the lift and walk you end to end explaining what each component is, what its age appears to be, and what the cost is to replace it.
Good luck with your search. Keep us posted.
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Well it looks like you just scared poor Jim out of a purchase.
I would take a 97 Liberty as manufactured any day of the week. It is near bullet proof. Likely doesn’t have aluminum tanks.
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I didn’t want to scare Jim, obviously not the intent. Since I have a Liberty within two years of what Jim is looking at, I thought it appropriate and imperative that Jim have the benefit of what I’ve learned in almost five years of Prevost ownership.
Like Jon … I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a 97 Liberty that checked our boxes.
RIVETS RULE!
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