[Jerry]

Every one shares a Prevost chassis so in that respect they are equal to anything out there.

That leaves the conversion part of the coach the only thing that has to be compared, and answering your question is almost impossible. To begin, any conversion has to be one you like and already you get into personal preferences for floor plans, colors, type of decor, and all the little things that make us like a conversion or dislike one.

I suspect all mentioned share a great deal of similarities so if you begin evaluating them on the basis of systems they are going to be similar. All are “orphans” except Parliament so those that use systems such as Crestron could pose a problem unless you have the source codes. The age and complexity of the systems however will determine if that is an issue.

They should be available at lower prices than existing converter’s coaches but only because of two reasons in my opinion. First, regardless of how well done they are, the market does view “orphans” as less valuable. That doesn’t mean the marketplace is right, but it does reflect how it values the coaches. The second reason is while each is certainly serviceable there is a value in calling the folks that built them and asking questions of the converter. If the converter is no longer available, as an owner you have to find out from other owners of the conversion who they have used for service and if there are any people who used to work on the coach available to do repairs if needed. Networking with other owners is the alternative to having the converter’s 800 number.

As to value and depreciation, it is probable they already have taken a hit in price, but that might be because they started out cheaper than established conversions so it can be expected they are always going to have less resale value. I have never heard of low volume converters promoting their coaches with higher prices than more established, higher volume converters. They seem to promote their conversions more on price than anything else.

[Peter]

American Carriage was a top notch coach the problem was Mark left people holding the bag on warranty work when he closed shop and it has hurt the resale of his coaches it pissed a lot of people off our friend in Phoenix paid a 1,185000 for him to build hers she still has it and loves but some systems she has had a problem finding somebody to work on it.

He is still around doing service work but she will not take hers to him for repairs says she will park it first fwiw If the right deal came along I would buy one of his conversions

good luck

[Archived]

I have a Legendary XLII and to answer your questions, I have been fairly well satisfied with it. I bought it new in 2009. It had been sitting on the dealer’s lot for almost 2 years when we found it. It is a 2008 model year conversion on a 2006 model year chassis. I got the benefit of Prevost, Allison, and Detroit warranty since it was still new.

I have had far more issues with the chassis than the house systems to date. I have the source program files for the Crestron and have had some updates made on mine by a Minneapolis Crestron dealer. The source programs files are the key, and they should be available from the people who did the original work.

There is support available from Dave Rousey at Styleworks RV. He worked for Legendary, and has lots of the documentation for the coaches that were built. Wiring diagrams etc. are all things he has. He is Prevost trained and is a great asset for anyone who has a Legendary. I think he also worked for some of the other Oregon based converters over the years. He can get you the numbers to contact the original Crestron programers.

The components are the same as many converters use or used…Headhunter toilet and water pump, Trace SW4024 inverters, Crestron, Webasto and common roof air conditioning units (a couple of the early Legendary units had basement air). I agree that factory support is nice, (and who wouldn’t like to be able to call an 800 number to get support), but so far, there has not been a necessity for it. There are differences in things like sewer valves and pocket doors. Legendary used electric valves, no air. Same with the doors. Mine are manually operated..no air. I like this, but you may not. The electric valves are from Drain Master and parts are easliy available if you need them.

As to value, I think that the Legendary units have already had the price hit. I know I paid a great deal less for my coach than what ANY other new coach, and most late model used coaches on the market from current builders were at.

[AL]

One thing I have found if you as an owner are willing to spin a wrench or do a little on line searching. Few if any mechanical or electrical components were built special for the converter, and that includes existing converters. So if you have a problem you can do a tremendous amount of research with great success on line for components.

And I have found if the documentation is not available on any devices whether they are appliances or parts with the coach, a little internet searching is almost always going to be able to bring up the user’s manuals, parts manuals, service manuals, etc.

[Archived]

In addition to Jon’s post above, Legendary did a pretty good job of suppling the manuals/documentation for what they installed in my coach. I assume they did this for all of them. Whatever a previous owner did with them could be another story….

[Archived]

I have an American Coach on MCI chassis, but they converted Prevost as well. I think there is at least one other American Coach owner on this board. The conversion is very high quality, but perhaps a little quirky. Mine is not flashy, but that was the original buyer’s choice. Since I recieved little documentation with the bus I had to figure out the a/c ducting and am still figuring out the plumbing and how to replace the missing aux compressor. The electrical system is high quality, apparently similar to the setup used by Vantare. Let me know if I can answer a specific question.

[Archived]

Our era of H3-45, 1999 shell, 2000, the systems are supported by Techlon in Mertztown, Pa. Discreet boxes that the Marathon house switches talk to were available for 1/3 the price of Marathon. They can work on your coach’s program providing you have original. That’s was the rub with ours, no master program copy. They could have recreated it, but at a cost. Their number is 610-682-9764.

[Archived]

I had the opportunity to dig bthrough a somewhat neglected American Carriage. I’d say they did a lot of smart things. If you are ever in one open the circuit braker panel inside the coach and admire an outstanding wiring job and great placement of components. This was a 24V coach, as all really should be. It had two Trace 4Ks, top of the line product. The only thing electrically I didn’t like was battery placement in the engine bay. There slide was there own design and looked pretty robust. FWIW, I believe the American Carriage guy is still in a service business in CA.

I like Parliment designs. They pride themselves in using yacht standards throughout. The interiors designs could have been lift directly from any million dollar yacht. They opt for simplicity in controls, where it makes sense. Crestron won’t be used to control anything other than AV gear. Lighting and other controls use a relay based system from a creditable supplier out of Canada. They are still in business, under new ownership, and will likely have a new conversion this year. Two other major pluses is this is where the technical historian of everything related to conversions hangs his hat; Rick May. Another plus is they actually have an Electrical Engineer on staff, Ben Cummings. Not all converters had a staff electrical engineer.

Don’t get too wrapped around the axle as to whether the coach is an orphan. Most coaches have the same subsystems. Many orphan coaches have a larger support network than does converters still in business. It really comes down to what is proprietary and how easily can it be serviced or replaced. All systems, not just those that are proprietary, will go through product and support end-of-life. That’s why knowing how the system can be replaced and how much work and cost is involved is important. Some converters, past and present, didn’t or don’t release what most would consider essential owner data. This too can lead to support concerns.

Pick your Prevost model first and then let the floorplan and looks of all conversions done on your chosen Prevost model drive your decision. There are no perfect conversions, but all that I’ve seen so far are pretty darn good.

[AL]

Gil,

I like Parliament too. Ben Cummings and Rick May are two very good reasons to buy a Parliament. And, if you can’t find a Parliament you like, Vantare is as good a choice in my opinion. The lineage connecting Vogue to Featherlite to Parliament resulted in very similar design philosophies, component usage, and layout. Ben Cummins also worked for Vantare till 2001. He brought his inverter design, implementation, and load pruning over to Parliament. In recent years Ben added a 470A/24V air cooled, brushless, Niehoff alternator to the Parliament electrical design. Imagine the loads you can run from an 11.2KW engine driven alternator. (I don’t mean to slight any other converter; I agree, it’s hard to go wrong with any. It’s just the more “orphan” related ones we’re considering here).

[Archived]

Parliament is not an orphan. The fact they don’t have a new conversion for sale does not mean they aren’t working every day to support their products. And I suspect because of the lineage Parliament is the support for Vogue as well as Vantare, Featherlite or Amadas is supporting Vogue coaches. I think Liberty is or was supporting Royale coaches. My point is an “orphan” may make economic sense because the market views them as less valuable as the conversions still being produced today.

What is an issue is that almost every older conversion is going to have parts no longer available. That does not mean the coach will end up as a lawn planter. It usually means to replace the obsolete part some rework may be required or in the worst case some more extensive changes have to take place.

A lot of the unavailable components may not be working parts, but items related to the decor such as out of production fabrics or laminates or flooring materials. A failed refrigerator in any coach can be replaced, but it might be impossible to re-install the door trim or fascia. And worse it might no longer be possible to match the laminate or wood stains. But that is exactly true for anything we own from cars to TVs to appliances. My only gripe is as the converters embraced more and more of the latest technology a lot of us are finding changes in technology are happening at a blinding speed and within a few short years it is no longer supported. I like the older designs where all it took to make something to work was a switch and a relay. Those coaches thus equipped are unaffected by the technical features of today.

[Archived]

I don’t think anyone said Parliament was an orphan. They just had a break in production, maybe 3+ years and have a new owner. The good news is that many of the behind the scenes guys are the same.

Sharing the name of the last company doesn’t always signify support for the former product or that future products will be the same as the previous. I am not saying this is the case with Parliament. I’m just making a point that many plastic coach owner know so well. As an example, Monaco has changed hands 3 times in not so many years and the second Monaco, owned by Navistar, had little to do with supporting the original Monaco products. In fact, they had no obligation to do so and that’s route they often took. I don’t follow them any more, but I know Monaco joins Fleetwood in companies acquired by ASV.

This gets so confusing. I thought Vantare, Featherlight and Amadas were all from the same linage. Anyway, all that really matters is that there is a support network of independent service centers and/or manufacturers.

[Bryan]

Actually, if we want to put a realistic spin on this, Millennium would be a good place for support of Vantare coaches because I believe Nelson was a part of the Vantare team at one time and his company is certainly capable of every facet of support.

[Archived]

Debi here, posting for hubby Bob again since it would take him an hour or two to type this 🙂

From Bob:

Out of all the coaches that I have owned, two of those have been Parliaments. In my opinion Parliament has one of the better electrical and mechanical designs out there. Ben Cummings and Rick May are extremely knowledgeable about these coaches and they are only a phone call away.

Bob

[Clifford]

For those unaware of the value of that statement by Bob, you have to understand Bob has owned more coaches than I have fingers on both hands, and he knows and understands them.

[Doug]

I purchased this coach in early March 2020. It only had 66k miles on it and everything works beautifully & the workmanship on the coach is excellent. I had a Marathon XLII prior to this coach & I really like the H-3 layout much better. I am trying to contact Mark Fechner to ask a few questions since the owners manual is a little lacking in detail.