[Archived]

Great choice Mark and sounds like you did your homework with rivets being done. I’ve not heard any complaints about water after the repair, but have witnessed several before the repair that fixed the problem.

As to storage, I’m an H guy, but the XLII has plenty of space, depends on personal preference.

Welcome aboard… I just had a tour of the Marathon facility in Coburg, very impressive.

[Archived]

Mark, We were concerned with the storage aspect also but like Tom said, there’s plenty of storage. Yes there’s less than there is under a H3 but more inside. Part of my choice was the ceiling height. The XLII has a higher one and at 6’7” I felt a little crowded in the H. Good luck with your purchase. You are going to really enjoy the coach.

Oh, and we haven’t had a leak. (Knock on wood)

[Bill]

Mark, As the residential curmudgeon it doesn’t take much to get me going. Storage is a big issue for me and there are so many factors relating to that I don’t know where to begin.

The XL we had prior to our XLII had a significant amount of storage. Too much. We were dragging crap around with us that we hadn’t seen or used for years so I was put between a rock and a hard place. I wanted to instruct my wife to carry less, but then my brain kicked in and I realized some things are better left unsaid. My point is we as owners are going to cram stuff in every nook and cranny and it is incredible how little of what we drag around we actually really need. I am sure you know there are Walmarts all over the place so if you need to use that as a reason to not carry something it is a valid reason. It will fall on deaf ears however.

The XLII with two slides has very limited storage compared to the XL. The slides eat up a lot of room due to space required for the mechanism along the sides of each slide and in total that lost space can add up to the equivalent of a closet or pantry or space for a washer and dryer.

The loss of storage is not exclusive to the house. Because of the need for reinforcements for the slide opening there is intrusion into the bay openings cutting down access height of the bays under the slide. I lost the ability to carry two full size bicycles in the first bay, driver’s side as a direct result of the intrusion of reinforcements under the slide. Having said that however, I have rearranged all the bay components, like joey beds, tool box and drawers to maximize my space utilization as well as accommodating almost everything I want to carry. If we actually changed our posture and only carried what we need, and not what we want to carry we likely would have an abundance of unused space not only in the bays, but also in the house.

Bottom line is we all carry too much crap and while having enough storage in the bays to carry enough inventory to stock the average Ace Hardware, the reality is we do have a lot of storage.

[Davy]

Our previous coach was a Signature with 3 full across basement bays. We carried an incredible amount of “stuff”. Things we thought we might need for an upcoming trip were never removed after that trip. When I got around to emptying out the Sig in preparation for selling it, I found some of the “stuff” that I had not seen for 5 years.

Now with the 06 XLII that has basement air conditioning, available storage is significantly less. We put a lot of thought about what we really wanted in the bus and what was “nice to have”. Once we loaded the really wanted stuff, there was actually space left over. I did take pains to make sure storage was very efficient – things that fit – plastic totes that stacked perfectly, etc.

The “nice to have” stuff, after purged of the one time only things that were no longer the “this time”, were put in plastic totes that fit nicely under the roll top cover of our pickup truck toad. I find it interesting that for the last year and a half I have not needed anything from these totes.

The few trips I have taken without the toad were not stressful… somehow I managed to not worry about the items left behind.

[Archived]

The Marathon has roof air so no worries about OTR air taking up a lot of room.

[Archived]

OTR taking a lot of room?

OTR uses only the equivalent of 1/2 bay. The rest of the space where the OTR is located is the fuel tank.

Cruiseairs also take up some bay space, but converters often are creative in placement of the Cruiseair condensing units, such as behind the bumper or wedged into space shared with something else such as batteries. No question about roof airs not occupying storage space however.

[Archived]

Ok, so maybe I should have used a different description, but 1/2 bay isn’t insignificant. And I “may” have conflated OTR & Cruisair. Consider me “woke”.

[Archived]

On my 01 Liberty with OTR, I lost two 1/2 bays that took away storage for sure. Roof airs are the answer for ease of repair, less cost and less used inside space. With Cruiseairs you not only lose bay space for the condensers, you lose space inside for the evaporators.

I just did 2 weeks in the southwest and west states in temps to 108 and never needed the gen for my roof airs, the Marathon dual evaporator dash air kept us comfortable. Didn’t need any OTR and the cruisairs I used to have would have for sure over temped and quit at 105 degrees. That happened to me last year while parked at a camp ground at 100 degrees, the cruiseair just couldn’t cool the condenser due to pavement heat.

[Kirby]

Tom is a sissy and when he comes into my coach (with its comfortable temperatures for humans with blood flow) he is usually wearing a hoodie and has a snowmobile suit nearby in case he gets a chill.

Keep in mind everybody’s definition of comfortable varies with Floridians and Arizonans starting to put on sweaters when temps fall below 85, and others considering extra clothes when temperatures fall below 55.

[Larry & Diane]

When I was shopping for a Prevost conversion a few years ago, one having Cruiseair units was a deal breaker.

I originally thought roof airs was the only acceptable, option accepting the reality that they were a little noisy inside. One of the Marathon’s on display at the 2018 Expo had a more noisy than expected roof air running in the building. My experience with previous RVs reminded me that there was a certain run of roof air conditioners that were an issue.

I also first thought that basement air conditioners (not the OTR Prevost units) might be a problem due to replacement availability and the loss of bay space. The Featherlight and Country Coach folks educated me about repairs and how they were not normally affected by hot asphalt.

I was surprised at how quiet the air conditioning was in a couple of Country Coach conversions with basement air. That really sold me. The loss of some bay storage space turned out to be manageable. Summer driving with ice cold air conditioning is great. Yes I have to run the generator but based on usage to date, a generator rebuild will come in 30 more years, assuming proper maintenance.

[Mark]

I have also had both roof and basement air conditioning . On one hand there basement units are quiet , in fact inside you dont even know there on at times. But, when sitting outside the heat that comes out from the bottom of the bus will chase you away . In fact our dog wont even think about going under the bus . Also I used to like the white noise when at truck stops . With the basement units we had to buy a noise machine . We spend many a night at truck stops and rest stops . Space is not a issue for us we just carry less .

[Archived]

Good info thanks, all. I verified with my Marathon rep that all a/c units are on roof. He said they rarely made basement a/c due to storage and maintenance concerns and he thought it was overkill.

I put a deposit down based on photos and info related by rep. The coach will be transported to the area this week at which point I’ll check it out. I’m quite sure it will fit the bill pending a PPI inspection.

[John & Billie Jo]

Mark, you will love upgrading to a Prevost.

When I first drove our new to us Country Coach XLII, my mind was processing the differences from the Signature. As the hours went by, I began to think less about the differences and started enjoying the ride, obvious quality, and the tank like feeling.

To me, it was an experience much like driving my first Mercedes. You can feel the quality and the more you drive, the more you come to appreciate it.

[Chris]

Sissy, I resent that remark, it’s 45 here in Yellowstone and I’m only using one kick heater, long johns and and no gloves….

If anyone actually gets invited to enter the Knoxville rolling meat locker, take appropriate clothing, it will be 63 degree’s and poor Di will be wrapped in a blanket.

Gotta go, need to fire the Webasto…..

[Archived]

What I don’t get is Tom is formerly a western NY guy and up there brass monkeys have no balls. It is too cold.

Cold builds character and when the windows on my coach have condensation on the outside I know my coach temps inside are just about right.