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H-3 vs. XLII Skin
Hi Folks,
Just wondering what the “skin” difference is between the H-3 vs. the XLII. I understand they share the same chassis.
From simply looking at both DPs, the XLII seems to have a stainless steel/aluminum skin. Does the H-3 also have this, but they simply paint over the entire exterior? Also, if it’s the same as the XLII, why hasn’t the H-3 had Delam issues like the XLII.?
While I’m thinking about it, is the roof and/or end-caps a one-piece figerglass or aluminum? Maybe this doesn’t apply to a Prevost, but please enlighten me.
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7 Replies
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Tim,
Others for sure will have more details but this is what I can add… The XLII is a full stainless exterior with various amounts of paint or not. an H which is what We have is pretty much all Fiberglass panels. Not sure why the H’s don’t have the delam issues. I have not been on the roof of an XL but my roof is as single sheet of alum.
Hope that helpsbill
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Prevost calls the outer shell on an H3 as reinforced fiber composite. At one time they used the word Kevlar when the H3 was first introduced.
Regardless of what material the skin is made of it is cracking over time. Perhaps some of the owners of early vintage H3 coaches from early to mid nineties can tell us if they have cracking because I would suspect if not then at some point the material changed.
The XL series specifications only state ribbed stainless steel to the belt line with no mention of the material on the upper body,
The XLII delam issue seems to be solely related to the bond between the stainless steel panels and the frame structure. I have not heard of the composite material on the XLII entertainer shells above the bay doors delaminating, but obviously there have been issues with the use of stainless above the bay doors on motorhome shells being an issue.
Some H3 models have had loose panels but nothing like the number of XLII coaches with stainless skin problems.
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My H has no cracking, splitting or de-lam issues; not sure I can say the same for myself.
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If I were a betting man I would wager that the original side panels on an H were of a different composite than the ones now exhibiting the cracks.
Chuck’s panels are a different size than those that have been reported with cracks but I doubt if that change is the cause.
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Ours is a ’99 shell (late one w/XLII chassis) as far as either one of us can recall, has no cracks. As I said to Tom the other day….now I got to go look….which we will do later this morning. Bus is at Parliament getting some minor tweaks. Will look closely and report back. We have some very minor bubbling at the rear fender flanges, but that is even much less than I’ve seen on a lot of much later model H’s. One of the reasons I’ve always liked what Marathon did with their fenders (the standard ones…not the 2nd and 3rd hot rod pkgs). Geo.
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Here’s my report back on the cracks. Picked the bus up this morning and did find 2 very small cracks. Ben C. explained why they’re more prevalent on the newer ones. Saw an ’08 that had numerous cracks, all at the yard lights and where 2 hidden screws are underneath what Prevo calls rub panel. ours will fall into the “patina” category for a long time as I didn’t even know they were there until today. Thanks Tom (even though I know that ignorance really isn’t bliss) ya made me look ! Geo.
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Sorry for the bad news C & G, I don’t even pay any attention to it now, don’t really see it unless Iooking for it. I’m very gentle with the doors, don’t let them slam shut like I see some do and then just put my shoulder into the corners to make sure they latch good. Diane can tell us what happens if one comes I latched.
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