[Ronald]

I hope your handy or $rich$. Better yet BOTH 🙂

[Marshall]

Keep hanging around this Forum, There is nothing these fine Owners have not seen.

[Liam]

Welcome to the exciting world of Prevost! My first suggestion is to look at as many coaches as you can. I have purchased both from a private seller and a commercial reseller. Both have their positives and negatives. You are smart to try to find as many maintenance records as possible, but you will likely not find much. It’s not that the previous owners didn’t do maintenance, but records seems to disappear when cleaning out a coach for sale.

Look on this site for used coaches. The others you mention are also good choices. I’m fairly handy, but don’t have a big shop for doing alot of heavy maintenance, so my strategy for repair is:

House – Either do it myself of let the Converter do the repairs/updates.

Engine – Typically let Detroit Diesel work on their engine. They built it….

Chassis – I’m close to a Prevost service center. They know their coaches.

You will need to decide how much of the work you want to take on and develop your strategy for maintenance and repairs.

The biggest secret to remember is you will spend a small pile of money on your new coach when you get it. Does it need tires? Maintenance catch-up and zero-ing out. Remodeling and upholstery. Electronics updating. Develop your maintenance plan and get things up to speed early. Nothing more disappointing than cutting a trip short due to a breakdown.

[Bill]

I was in you shoes about 12 months ago, and I even have the same first name :). I also never owned an RV before and jumped right in with a 2001 Featherlite. I’ve had it for about 8 months now. If I had to do this over again, this is what I would do differently:

1) Look at more coaches. Travel to do this if you can. I literally had never even been inside a Prevost coach before buying mine. I probably should have looked at a few in person. I did get to go through mine in person before I signed the paperwork. If you can convince someone to let you drive one before narrowing your selection, even better. It is going to be a very different experience than anything else you have driven.

2) Have the chassis inspected in addition to the regular RV inspection. In my experience, very, very few RV inspectors, and even Prevost RV inspectors, thoroughly inspect the chassis. I am talking about suspension, drivetrain, etc. If they are not getting under the front and rear axles, they are not even coming close to inspecting the chassis.

A couple other important things:

Depending on where you live, you may need to get an additional endorsement (via written and driver test) for your license. Do not rely on just one person’s opinion, confirm with your state. I have seen many people will state that,”A CDL is not needed”, which is generally true, but that does not mean a non-CDL endorsement is not needed -just depends on the state you are in.

The coach has a much wider swept path than you think, when turning. Looking where the tires are is not enough. Also look “up”. I learned that the hard way.

Use the damn coach as much as possible! You are paying a fortune for a highly depreciating asset. It’s built like a tank, go use it all the time.

I bought mine from Brian at Tradewinds Coach in FL. I had a great buying experience with them. Whenever I have an issue, I know I can call him any time. Although, for issues not needing immediate attention, I generally go to this forum.

[James]

Is anyone out there full time in their Prevost?

[Andy]

Does 78, 100, and 100 continuous days in the coach over three different winters count?

[Bill]

I don’t know, Dick, you tell me! 😉

I consider full time to be someone who doesn’t have a S&B to go back to…

[Andy]

This is what we come back to, often. So I don’t think we qualify as “full-time”.

[Bill]

I get some nice sunset from my apartment too, but need to get some variety…:)

[DON]

Janet and I have lived full time in a Prevost since 1999 (full time in an RV since 1997). We have no other residence and are Escapees members in TX so we have some kind of legal residence. We work full time as well and love the experience.

Let me know if I can answer any questions.

[Paul]

Good to know! I’m sure I’ll have questions at some point. I don’t expect to get my coach until the end of the year, and Jon has been filling my ears with warnings and advice ;). I am a member of Escapees too and plan on domiciling in TX also.

Andy

[Archived]

Andy, don’t be fooled by Dick’s view……. that only happens one weekend in the summer from what I’ve heard……… otherwise, it’s a solid surface….. he can walk (skate) to the other side almost all year long.

Safe travels,

Mark

[Joshua]

I would consider trying to find a coach from a company that offers a CPO warranty. That approach worked out very well for me. I purchased from Marathon, and got a 6 month warranty. This allowed me to identify a number of issues that were repaired on their dime. They were great to work with. I’ve also had experience with Kyle at Tradewinds in terms of repair work, and can highly recommend that company also.

[Joshua]

Thanks Mark & Diane – I would love to find a place that offers a CPO warranty, but I’m buying a coach that’s likely older than one would expect to see a warranty on (~<20 years old) and probably couldn't afford the age of one that does have one! I'm learning a ton, watching youtube vids and reading, so hopefully in 5-6 months I'll have enough knowledge to be able to at least inspect the things I know I need to look at and will have Prevost check out the chassis and hopefully the engine and trans as well (I will have that inspected, just have to determine where).

[Andy]

If you need any help in your search or want an opinion on coaches as your looking give us a call at East Tennessee Luxury Coach, we dont do alot with sales but if your not too far from tennessee id love to walk you through a few coaches or help explain differences between conversions and maybe help you narrow down what your looking for. 423-884-6008 Josh