[Archived]

Apples and Oranges.

Assuming you are considering a new class A motorhome at the same price range as a used Prevost conversion the differences between the two would take a lot of bandwidth to list.

But let’s deal with some pretend numbers for the sake of this discussion.

You mention a new motor home and you mention $160,000 so let’s limit the discussion to that range.

A new motorhome in that price range will be smaller and certainly less robust than a Prevost. It will have a warranty but will not be equipped as nicely. But it will be new and the dealer will fix anything that breaks during the warranty period. It may have a diesel or a gas engine. You have to pick a Prevost in your price range and spend some time looking at it, riding in it and looking at the systems. Do the same with the RV. Nobody can tell you which you will prefer or which you will feel more comfortable in, but understand they will not even be close in terms of size and quality.

If your budget is our pretend $160,000 the facts are you should look for a Prevost in the $120,000 price range and use the remaining $40,000 to refresh the coach based on your needs and priorities. I’m more concerned with the mechanicals so I would use a good portion of that under the coach to make sure I had good tires, batteries, air bags and brake chambers. If I had anything left I would perhaps install new upholstery or replace a carpet with a wood floor. Others might want to refresh the entire interior and then deal with mechanical issues as they need to be addressed. I would not skimp on important things however such as insuring the tires were all recent date codes.

There are used coaches in the Prevost market for every budget. All Prevost coaches, regardless of age are going to cost about the same to operate and maintain, but the big difference is going to be depreciation. As the cost of the Prevost goes down so does the annual depreciation. For example, a $160,000 Prevost is losing perhaps $10,000 annually. A $500,000 Prevost may be losing $50,000 anuually. A new Prevost might lose $1000 per day.

Your new $160,000 motor home may lose half its value or more in the first couple of years so when you enter into the financial considerations of ownership you should try to understand how depreciation is going to be a factor.

The motor home is probably going to be cheaper to operate, insure, and maintain up to a point. It is going to be built as cheaply as possible and it certainly is not built as a commercial vehicle so a Prevost with 200,000 miles is at perhaps 1/10th its life, the 200,000 mile motorhome is likely worn out.

If safety is important there is no contest. In an accident the motor home almost immediately begins to disassemble itself as it grinds to a stop. the Prevost may get dings and scrapes and break some glass, but you remain contained within a structure that will continue to protect you.

You will never appreciate how lousy service is on motor homes unless you have owned one, and then owned a Prevost and had to deal with service on the Prevost. It is as though the entire Prevost service sector has one objective and that is to get you in, fix your problem correctly and get you back on the road. In the motor home service sector is seems the simplest problems still require endless delays and partial completions. One motor home manufacturer has announced they will not even service their coaches after they are four years old and when they do they limit how long technicians can work on the coach. That is going to get worse.

If you don’t want to learn how to operate and manage a large commercial vehicle buy the motor home. If you are willing to accept the fact neither will be perfect, and the used Prevost will take some money to bring it into nearly new condition and more to maintain it and you are willing that is the coach that will give you the best service by far.

The real answers to your questions are going to come from you after you have taken the time to learn what is available for both options and for the dollars you wish to spend. The one best question to ask of all motor home owners is if they would want to get into ownership of a Prevost, and to all Prevost owners if they would want to get into ownership of an equal value motor home.

[Tim]

HL,

My friend had to have new, so they bought a $600k+ Dynasty, 45 foot, 4 slide, with a fire place. First three monthly payments it was back at factory getting fixed. In the next nine months, four trips and rallies were cancelled because it was in local shop getting fixed.

My 1995 old used shinny like new coach was operational all that time as was most of the used busses on this forum.

Plus a new Some other Brand does not come with Pride of Prevost Ownership and upscale components.

All the best as you make your choice.

[Archived]

HJ,

We went thru this decision making process two years ago … and purhcased a Prevost 16 months ago. We did the Tiffin, Entegra, Newmar, American Fleetwood factory tours. Then we did a Prevost factory tour at the Featherlite factory in Suffolk, VA. Sold … Our minds were made up for all the reasons Jon cited.

I don’t want to be long-winded, but there is so much information to absorb on this site. We did like Jon suggested. We had a cash price we did not want to go above. Then, found and purchased the Prevost for us, around $50K below our cash price. We have spent around $40K getting our Bus zeroed out the last 16 months and are happy where we’re at right now … knock on wood.

We are on the road nine months of the year and, safety was our first priority. If that’s the top priority for you guys, then there’s no comparioson. However, if you want four slides and everything new, then you will certainly sacrifice in areas where Prevost’s don’t sacrifice. BTW, I don’t know of a new Diesel Pusher with four slides you can get at $160, maybe Gas.

Many on this forum have a budget … some larger, some smaller. There is a bus right for you, but if you want to spend $160K, I would definitely do what Jon suggested and find one at $120K and then save that $40K to refresh all mechanical and then work on the interior.

After that, you’ll be able to drive that Prevost for another 20 years, while the other owners of plastic coaches see their coaches fall apart.

Good luck and keep the questions coming …

[Harry]

HJ, In case you didn’t figure it out before hand the folks on this site are pretty biased towards Prevost ownership.

The answers you get on a conventional motor home site are likely going to be the opposite of what you are told here. That is why you need to do your homework and learn how to separate the fact from fiction in some of the answers to your questions. The answers you get on this site are very likely to come from those who have experienced conventional RVs as well as their Prevost so they are going to tend to be better positioned to see both sides of the issue.

But keep in mind we make stuff up.

[Archived]

Joh, that was an incredible thoughtful answer and I thank you for it.

Looking at a Prevost and other motorhomes is a bad thing to do. NOTHING looks like a Prevost and the pride of ownership must be enormous! I remember someone saying on another forum “don’t drive a diesel because you’ll not buy a gasser”! I found a lot of truth in that because it cured me of any thoughts I had on the gasser front!

What I wasn’t sure of is if a 20 year old Prevost would hold up and I read your message loud and clear on that front! Pride as I said earlier must be a huge reason to own a Prevost. Something so beautiful has to be loved, cared for and tended too and I like the thought of that! I may not be the handiest guy on the planet but I take very good care of whats mine. My Dad always said “take care of your tools and your tools will take care of you” and I’ve never seen that fail!

Jon, where can I find what you’d call “Recommended Prevost Reading”? I’d like to do my due diligence and learn what I can? I’d really appreciate anything you’d be willing to pass along. There are so many styles, kinds and types of Prevost out there and I’d like to learn what I can!

Thank you so much,

HJ

[Art]

HJ,

Just immerse yourself in the forum. Don’t worry about asking questions because every single one of us had no clue when we were kicking tires and we all know how intimidating a Prevost can be. Ask away and recognize there are wide variations between the body styles or the H3 and the XL or XLII coaches. There are hot button questions that relate to slides, full coach air conditioning versus driver’s air, roof mounted AC units versus units mounted in the bays, and then there are opinions about floor plans, and the converters. There is a lot to absorb and your job is to try to separate opinion from facts.

Look at the coaches for sale on this and other sites. Go to a rally and look at coaches and talk to the owners away from salesmen who are going to sell what they have in inventory. Read the articles. Refine your budget to reflect you can buy a coach and spend some money to make it your own.

Read the articles in the articles section. Consider all of the aspects of ownership from operating costs, purchase price, maintenance, storage when not in use, learning the coach, insuring it, and the fun of owning it.

[Corey]

HJ,

Our first coach was a new 2008 Monaco Dynasty. We drove it 7.5 yrs. and put almost 70,000 miles on it. Our second coach is the one in my signature.

I know that 99% of us will never have an accident but that thought is always in the back of my head. I do read a lot on a couple of motorhome sites and there are always pictures of wrecked RV’s.

I was having service on our coach at the Prevost Center in Goodlettsville, TN, a year or so ago and saw a Prevost coach that was in a severe accident. My understanding is that it was an almost head-on drunk driver crash.

The front of a Prevost has steel members that are built into the front end. We also have REAL front and rear bumpers. Just look under the front area of a regular RV and you will see just brackets/braces holding the fiberglass to the RV frame. There is virtually no protection.

Here is a pic of the wrecked Prevost. Notice that the driver and passenger area are not crushed. The car that was hit spun around and pushed in a couple of bay doors. I can only imagine what the car looked like. The coach held up protecting the occupants.

The front bumper was removed for transport.

Safe travels,

Mark

[Harry]

H J,

Review and read all the articles, there is a wealth of information there for new to Prevost folks.

Welcome aboard, you found the right place to begin your search. I had many fiberglass coaches prior to Prevost and don’t let anyone fool you, there is NO comparison.

We will do out very best to help you spend your money.:)

[DON]

Ditto all the above.

18 years of various plastic coaches and one year with our current Marathon. We should have started with the Prevost as intimidating as if would have been. You might consider attending the April Prevost seminar at ETLC put on by these fine folks. See ad at the top of the home page. We went right after buying our Prevost and learned tons of valuable stuff. A great confidence builder. There were one of two non-Prevost owners in attendenace. Might make your decision easier.

Good luck.

[Archived]

HJ:

Welcome to the forum.As was mentioned, most of us were at the stage you are in at one time,
so we all understand your dilemma.Keep
in mind, as you do your research that the Prevost conversions are exactly that,
a converted Prevost coach.

The stainless steel shell, motor, tranny and running gear
are commercial Prevost motor coaches and are basically the same, with
modifications and upgrades as the years progressed. That is why you will see coach serial numbers
and H or XL body style mentioned on this forum, to establish what is included
in that particular coach. I cannot
stress enough that the Prevost coach is an enclosure that is used in commercial
business and designed for many, many miles of trouble free service.

The coach, or “shell”
is then converted with “House” items added to the inside and bays by the
conversion company and usually includes the particular “House” systems that the
converter normally uses.These”House”
items include all the different glitz
and glimmer as well as common items like residential hot water systems (AquaHot,
Wabasto, Electric tank, etc.) door latches, drawer pulls air conditioning setup
and the like.

You mentioned that there are so many differences in used
Prevost conversions.In the “House”
there are as many floor plans, sitting arrangements, bath, galley, stateroom,
flooring and other differences as there are owners.This is because each and every coach is a “One-Off”
production with the original owner selecting the floor material, wall material,
leather color, wall placement and every other item up to and including the towel
colors, light fixtures, eating utensils and wine glasses that are supplied with
a new coach.Some of what I list is
missing from many used coaches, including most owner manuals and build sheets.

The other high end, upscale RVs are usually, to use a simple
term, mobile homes.By this I mean the
builder builds a house and bolts it to a pre-constructed rolling chassis frame,
much like a mobile home.

I owned several other RVs and when I started looking at the
Prevost, I saw a lot of the options available and decided on four deal breakers.If the coach did not have these four items, I
moved on and did not waste my time on that unit.These were just items that I wanted, like a separate
toilet, that I believed I could fine in a coach that I really liked.

I found a 16 year old coach I really liked and it checked all of the
boxes, but the price was way outside my comfort zone so I continued looking.After about 6 months, while I was looking,
the price came down and I jumped and was number two in line.The first potential buyer could not get
financing, so it came to me and I sent a deposit.If you are seriously considering a Prevost,
have your finances ready to make a deposit, as the really good ones, that are
priced to sell, don’t last long.

I would suggest that you go to a dealer and test drive a
Prevost.Take it out on the road, not
just around the block.You might get lucky
and have a strong cross wind and find why we love these coaches that were
designed from the ground up as a commercial highway vehicle instead of a box
bolted to a truck frame.

Keep looking, keep asking questions, attend any seminars on
the Prevost. Your coach is out there,
just be patient and we look forward to meeting you on the road or at one of our
rally’s, where you are always welcome.I
almost forgot to mention you will read a lot of good natured banter on this
forum about the different converters.This is nothing but a bunch of “Car Guys” getting together and picking
on the Ford, Chevy or Chrysler fan while secretly drooling over the other guy’s
ride.Stay safe.

Fred

[Kevin]

My thanks to all of you for such great information, I especially appreciate you mentioning how you started at the same place I am. That’s refreshing to hear and takes some of the pressure off coming to a new place for information. What I didn’t expect was the humor many of you have shown in your posts. It’s almost as though you guys are half human!

I’ve been reading an article from the Articles file as you guys recommended and I’m almost through “Prevost Selection Narrowing the Choices by John W. Wehrenberg”, very informative and instructive.

Can you tell me when bath and a half models started showing up? I’ve not seen a bath and half model from the 8 to 10 floorpans I’ve looked at so far?

While I’m thinking about it, is there someplace on the forum where you can select to be notified “emailed” on every thread I start and every thread I participate in? I’ve looked for it but not found it.

Thank you all again,

HJ

[Kirby]

H.J.: We bought our 1999 Prevost Liberty conversion in April of 2014, it was 15 years old. It is almost 20 years old today. This is the very first motorhome of any kind we’ve ever bought and unlike Tom Chilcotte I expect this will be the very last motorhome we ever buy.

I second and third all what has been stated before me. From my experience, they are very accurate. Before ever driving our coach (the seller took it to Jeff Rowe’s ETLC shop once we agreed on a price) I spent $10,000 on eight new tires and batteries (house, chassis, generator, computer) and another $20,000 to perform a comprehensive zero-out of the coach (fluids, hoses, belts, air bags, brake chambers, odds and ends that Jeff found and said should be replaced now). Since then I’ve probably spend another $12,000 to maybe $15,000 (I should add it up) with Jeff, Prevost Jacksonville, and a local RV shop. With the exception of integrating two or three flat screen TVs into the coach, probably replacing the 2008 vintage navigation system, maybe doing something with the TV antenna/dish, and converting all the lights inside and out to LEDs … our coach is the way we like it. OK, OK … replace the 1999 carpet with wood or luxury vinyl.

Jon’s recommendation to pay $120,000 for a Prevost and hold back $40,000 in dry powder for zero-out and upgrades I think is very, very good advice.

You’re posing what I think is a very, very interesting quesiton: Should I spend $160,000 on an entry level diesel pusher or $160,000 (all-in) on a Prevost conversion?

What do you get for $160K on a new diesel pusher?

I know for $160K all-in on a Prevost your going to probably get a mid to late 1990’s XL (40′) or XLV (45′) with shiny stainless sides or an H model … most likely all without slides. Unless the Prevost was abused by its previous owner(s) and/or the guy doing the zero-out is a moron … the future operating costs and cost to replace the components that inherently wear out over time or mileage or both will probably be a little higher with the Prevost than conventional motorhome.

I firmly expect that the value our late 90’s Prevost will decline at a much slower rate than a conventional motorhome of similar value at the time of our purchase because of a number of things. (1) The Prevost chassis was designed and built to run 750,000 to a million miles; I can’t wear the thing out. The age old cliche “built like a battleship is very appropriate. (2) Practically all the converters (if not all the converters), not just the premiere converter Liberty who converted our Prevost, built a very well designed, well engineered, and very stout motorcoach at the end of the day. The “conversion” just doesn’t wear out (with the exception of stuff that eventually does wear out like water pumps, refrigerators, microwaves, toilets, etc.). For the most part the parts and pieces that the converters did put into their coach were first class, top of the line, and often came from the high end yachting industry.

You asked whether the Detriot Diesel Series 60 engine that Prevost puts in the coaches is a good engine. It is. No question in my mind. The number of engine problems that are posted to the PC Forum are very, very small. If the Series 60 was not a great engine for these coaches, Prevost would have stopped putting them in their buses many, many years ago. The only reason a Detroit Diesel isn’t in a brand new Prevost today is that Volvo bought Prevost a few years ago and started putting Volvo powerplants in the coaches.

As a group, Prevost owners have the benefit of many tens of thousands (maybe a hundred thousand?) of seated coaches and entertainer coaches that Prevost has built of the years.

It would be interesting for some of the guys and gals with Prevosts from the late 80’s and very early 90’s to chime in and tell us their experiences of owning a Prevost motorcoach that is 25 to 30 years old.

[Archived]

… What all the other valuable contributors have said!

Plus, I will add the following;

We bought our coach on December 24, 2015. … A great BIG Christmas present that we “put under the tree” for our intended Family “Adventures” with our 13 year old Twins (while we “still get to keep them”).

… All the “big Chassis” stuff – “Safety Stuff” that Jon is so good at articulating. had thankfully, been done, verifiably. … But since it was a 96 (MARATHON) we had to do a few things to get it up to speed “technologically” speaking (New Satellite Radio, New Flat Screen TV’s , New Satellite TV System”, the cost of “remodeling” so the “new” things could actually be installed functionally and seamlessly, etc.). … Plus there have had a few 20 yr old “wear and tear related HOUSE items” that have come up over the last 15 months (Wabasto heat exchanger motors, Generator service issues, Cruise Air Related issues, etc.), plus the cost of Fuel, and Annual Maintence before storage (Oil Change, Fluid Changes, Generator Service, System Inspections (Air Bags, Valves, Tires, etc)

So, … In summary, in addition to the Acquisition price, we have spent about $15,000 over the price of our Bus Over the last 15 months (Which does not include the acquisition of the TOAD (… A Super ‘Cream Puff’ 1996 Jeep Commander LTD HEMI with every available option) and the cost of the BLUE OX Towing System .)

~ As far as “Pride Of Ownership” goes,

…. We All have LOTS of great stories about how “observers” believe that we are either — A) …A Celebrity… or — B) … Someone who is responsible for ‘Transporting’ a “Celebrity” — Toll Booths are the BEST! … in my experience, Tool Booth Operators Always want to know … “…WHO’S ON THE BUS???” (… When I tell them it is just “Me and The Family, which includes a super Lovable Pooch” … they are Never Convinced! … LOL.) … I guess there really is NO Alternative to owing your very own “Rock Star Tour Bus” !!

… Then there are those that we park next to in the Resorts… Those unfortunate “victims” that just spent “Way too much money on a ‘Plastic Box’, bolted to a Truck Frame”. …Those who always end up Begging us for the opportunity to “trade Tours” of the Rig’s.. – When you own your own PREVOST (… which you WILL after reading all this stuff!) , you can engage this exercise of “trading tours” for entertainment value. … The “Clueless” folks that “beg you for the opportuinty”, are simply trying to justify, why they made, what they completely know was a HORRIBLE financial decision, as well as “a Less Than Enjoyable Ownership Experience”. … As they walk through your “REAL BUS” – with OUT slides, potentiallyn – (like ours), – but yet find out how ROCK SOLID a PREOVST is – between the basic Chassis construction (“Surrounded by STAINLESS STEEL) and the Converter Build with – FOUR SLIDES (Yay!) is – …. that they spent way too much money on… — and can’t figure out WHY it is ALWAYS in the Shop for FREE “Warranty Work”, … while at the same time – realizing that while they can’t use their New Pretend “bus” , they are LOOSING money every “month”… In the hope that they can ‘Eventually’ get on the road, and be ‘Safe’ when they finally get that opportunity to actually use it, when it is not in the repair shop. Total Insantiy, In My Humble Opinion.

..Oh! … did we cover the “SAFETY” related stuff…. LOL!!!

WOW!! … how HARD is this Decsion??? … Seriously. 😛

[Archived]

H. j,

Happy hunting. I wish I could pull my 27 year old Prevost up next to thr new Tiffin and let you compare. I wouldn’t trade for two plastic coaches. This old bus is my 6th Prevost. Have loved them all. Some were brand new (loads of depreciation). Some have been previously owned. But I have enjoyed them all. By the way, my old 90 drives every bit as good as my last brand new double slide.

Go Prevost. You won’t regret it. But then again I may be prejudiced.

.hope you find your dream coach. It is out there somewhere.

[Archived]

HJ, how do you intend to use a coach…travel a fair amount, full time or transit twice a year? Bath and 1/2 came cica ’05. Geo.