[Archived]

Bookman, welcome to the group.

This might not be what you expected for an answer, but here goes.

Simply said, I have several friends owning all the coach conversions you mention. Each dearly love their coach. There is nothing wrong with any of them. All have their quirks and deficiencies, nothing devastating. You have chosen a good span of years from which to obtain a fine coach. You asked your question as many have, but time and time again the answer is look at several coaches in the real world, not on line. With your list of requirements go around and you will be looking for the “MAGIC MOMENT” believe me when you see the right coach you will know it you will feel it.

After that moment check/inspect it for fitness and deside for your self the quality issues you mention. If it is up to your specification then it doesn’t matter what I think. It will be your bus and anyone elses opinion doesn’t matter.

All the Prevost stuff will be the same.

Good Luck

JIM

[Tom]

Bookman,

You cover three potential Prevost models in your range of years. You can consider an XL, an XLII or an H3. The XL (40 or 45 foot) was produced through 1999. The XLII began in model year 2000. These are Prevost chassis years and the converters year on the title or registration can match the Prevost year or be newer, such as a 1996 chassis being titled as a 1997 by the converter. It is not deception because it reflects the time required to complete the conversion and put the coach into service.

Also if you do some reseach XL coaches will often be referred to as “rivet” coaches to denote the fact those model years had exposed rivets while the XLII did not.

If you determine one of your preferences is to have slides keep in mind that slides were installed as aftermarket options on XL coaches and it wasn’t until around 2002 Prevost chassis that slides were iinstalled by Prevost. (Verify that because I am guessing).

As you determine your other preferences you may find you are focussing on a specific converter. For example if your decor preference is a wood interior instead of laminates you will be pretty much limited to Royale coaches. If you want Prevost whole bus heat and air (referred to as OTR for “over the road”) you will be looking almost exclusively Liberty coaches. Other conversions have used OTR equipped chassis, but they are rare.

As you learn what systems are important to you it is likely that will also point you towards specific converters. If as an entertainer driver you decide for example you want roof airs instead of Cruiseairs then you have ruled out Liberty. If you ask owners what their preference is I can almost assure you they prefer what they currently own and nobody will be shy about telling you that is what you need. The greatest debate will center around heat and air systems so make sure you know what is important to you.

Each converter, whether it is Country Coach, Liberty, Marathon, Millennium, Parliament, Royalle, Vantare (Featherlite) tends to have their own decor and style so that alone may rule some out. While they may offer what appears similar features they all have their own way of doing it. In all the forums I have participated over the years however I have never seen any consistent gripes to indicate any converter’s product had reliability issues. They all require some care and maintenance, and the bottom line is as Jim pointed out they are all sharing the Prevost chassis.

[Doug]

Jim,

Thanks for the reply. I do plan to take a look at some coaches that were converted by those companies as I can find them. One might think that Nashville would be running over with motorhome conversions for sale, but I have not found that to be the case. There are dozens of entertainer coaches available, but most of them were built locally. There is a Featherlite available that I plan to take a look at as soon as I can work out the time.

Bookman

[AL]

Jon,

Thanks for answering some questions that I had thought of, but had not yet asked :-). For example, I wondered about the year that the XLII line began. I had not heard about the riveted side difference.

You mentioned the aftermarket slides. I asked that question in another thread also, so that is something I’m curious about. I’d rather have a coach without slides than to have one with them and constantly be having to work on them or deal with leaks, etc..

OTR heat and air is definitely something to think about. I’ve never driven one without whole coach heat and air, so I might not have thought about that being an option on Prevost shells. The last coach I drove for an entertainer years ago was an MCI built by Custom Coach. It had both CruiseAirs and coach air.

Your answer gave me some other things to consider as I begin this journey.

Thanks again.

Bookman

[Ken]

A great starting point for buying a coach is to start with the coaches listed on the internet for sale. There are a lot listed here as well as on other sites on the internet.

Reading the posts on forums such as this one, and asking questions will help get you pointed towards coaches that meet your needs. Price always enters into the buying process and here is another area you have to sort out. There is a lot to these coaches and the cost is completely different than the price. A lot of folks have had very good experience purchasing their coach, and an equally large number have ended up with their dream ending up being a nightmare so you also have to have a plan for inspecting your coach as well as a plan for identifying it.

All you have to think about is mind boggling. But it is a lot of fun.

You suggested by your comment about slides that you might work on your own coach. You will find a lot of owners are very involved in their own coach maintenance so if you do choose to do your own work you will not be alone. There are a lot of us that can help with advice and hints.

[Archived]

As we started our qwest for a conversion bus, what we did which seemed to work, was start making a list of things we couldn’t live with. Out list was something like “can’t live without OTR air” “can’t live with slides” “can’t live with dark interiors” “can’t live with the stripper pole in the bedroom area” (my wife added that, I still don’t know why) etc .. we did this while looking at lots of coachs in the area and on the internet. Every time we found something we couldn’t stand, we wrote that down. After everything vetted out .. we easily found the coach we were looking for ..

Paying for it and the upkeep have been another matter entirely =))

[Mark]

Do you think it matters much whether or not the company that originally built the conversion is still in business? For example, I understand that Royale coaches were, but no longer are, built by Monaco. Country Coach no longer builds conversions although I understand that the company is back in business manufacturing parts, etc.

Bookman

[Clifford]

Just in case anyone is interested. I saw a nice Liberty coach at Tom Johnson Camping Center in Marion, NC while I was there for a Bluegrass Festival. It is a 1990 XL with 104,000 miles and the salesman threw out $90,000 without ever leaving his golf cart. I am sure it could be bought cheaper.

[Archived]

Bookman, you have asked a very sensitive question and the answers are going to again parallel the coaches people own. The reality is if the coach converter is still alive and well you are going to get support either at the end of a phone line, or in their shop. If the company is no longer in business you MAY get support, not from the converter but from a company that has employees who formerly worked for the converter or from other owners. It is going to vary based on the conversion and the complexity of the conversion.

Obviously if the company whose name is on the coach still is doing business you are going to have excellent support. But some conversions are also being supported even though the converter is no longer in business. I believe Pantera supports Angola and American coaches. Amadas is converting and supporting Vantare and Featherlite coaches. Parliament was supporting Vogue coaches.

A less complex coach such as Royale I believe has been supported by Liberty, but due to its good basic design almost anyone can be called on for info including owners who can help on any conversion.

If you opt to consider an “orphan” make certain you go into it with your eyes wide open and if that conversion has proprietary parts or systems find out if repairs are needed that they can be made and for what cost?

So far as near as I can determine nobody has failed to work around an issue, even if the converter is out of business, but some repairs have been expensive.

[Ed]

Jon,

I appreciate your candid answers. Man, I sure hope I don’t unknowingly wade off into a question that I should not be asking. I’m still learning what companies support which products. I’ll get there!

Bookman

[Mark]

I’ve owned two orphaned coaches, a 2008 Beaver (Monaco) and this 99 Country Coach. Jon is correct that you have to realize that some parts may no longer be available. The same can be said for systems on coaches of existing converters. Component and system obsolence is a problem anytime you’re looking at a 10 year old coach. The biggest difference is likely the support the “still in business” converter will provide. Don’t be fooled by the name. I don’t know about Country Coach, but I do know that the new Monaco doesn’t provide much support for the old Monaco’s products, beyond supplying still available parts.

The good news is that so many of the critical systems are Prevost, so you’ll have the support you need. This a critical difference between conversions and the “plastic” coaches.

[Rick & Denise]

I am somewhat surprised that no one mentioned Phil Cooper to Bookman, he has Prevo’s from 2007 all the way down to 1979 and just about every manufactuer in the country represented on his site.

BCO

[David]

A small point: These coaches are titled the year they are sold as a conversion. Many times a 96′ is a 95 shell. Find the VIN decoder and you can determine for yourself what the nature of the beast is upon which you gaze.

All of these coaches are capable of accomplishing the same thing, ….. allowing you to travel in style at your own pace.

Personally, I have a 98 Vantare’ H345 VIP. After owning and operation a cabinet and furniture shop, I wanted nothing to do with wood. My wife was a bit tough about that, but the laminates are easy to maintain and now she is thankful for the decision.

Another small point: over in this world, you will probably find that a coach is suffering more lack of use than abuse.

Good luck! The search is another great adventure.