[Scott]

There are things in spare parts I’am sure you already have just in case. As long trips go it sort of ends up needing something you shoiuld of taken. Example, extra pair of wiper blades. We assume the usual maintance is up to date before your trip starts.

Have you been under neath the bus lately ?

On our boating long range trips I had inventory records of everything I carried on board in water tight plastic boxes, each numbered. This may seem like overkill but when something goes wrong finding what you need keeps the blood pressure low.

One thing I read lately on one of the forums was a bus owner carried several 6 inch square wood blocks. The more I think about them the more sense they make. A flat, support for repair, behind a tire while parked. You might consider carring a couple.

Another item I just added to the spare parts was a 3 foot long round steel rod with one end slightly bent and tapered tip.

This could provide super strength to move or support.

Last and most important; up to date phone numbers, Prevost, Detroit D, support techs factory and independent.

[Susan]

Lots of help there. A litle spread out but if you stay on main roads available. The common things to keep you warm for a short period or temporary fix a minior problem. Duct tape for a loose pannel from scrape /rock etc.Use to be we carried extra windshields etc. not so much any more. You will see lots of buses and motor homes on the roads. You might become familar with BCM forum as there are several members that live in Alaska and western Canada that would be available to help if you need it. Most of all keep in touch and let us all enjoy your trip. Bob

[Robert]

Timely question I too am interested in. We will be headed to Alaska in a few weeks witha new to us 99 Country Couch. When and where will you be crossing? Our route is from Florida to Montana via Virginia. I’m thinking we’ll be crossing mid June, at the earliest.

Gil J

[Archived]

It wouldn’t be till July. I would leave from Iowa so it’s not as far for me. I want to head to Valdez in time for the silver run. Then be headed back by Sept. first. Where you going when you get there? All over or a specific region. Mapquest didn’t have me going through Montana but up through N.Dakota.
I’m looking at some new tires. I have two that are date coded 03 and the drivers are 07. I’m thinking about replacing all six of them. Drivers are probably O.K. as they have no weather checks or cracks. Coach spends most of it’s time in the shop right now.

[Archived]

If I were heading for Alaska tomorrow I would first analyze my routing to determine the types of roads I would be using because that is going to influence my emphasis on what to prepare for. If all roads are paved for example I am not sure I would carry a spare windshield on the floor of the closet, but if any gravel roads are along the planned route I would give serious consideration to having spares on board. The same consideration is given to the road condition in the sense if they are smooth or if they have a lot of bumps, potholes or heaving, all of which might make me consider starting out with new shocks, air bags, and tires. On occasion in the lower 48 we have encountered dips in the road that caused the front end or driver’s seat to bottom out. That is especially hard on shocks and air bags and an air bag that bursts is likely to put you on the side of the road or a flatbed trailer. I would consider one of each type of airbag as a spare part for example.

There are a lot of things that can be added as “spares” such as belts, relays, lights, etc. but rather than carry a parts store of things I can swap from other places I would just make sure I had new or very young tires, new air bags new shocks, and some spare windshields. It is likely you will never have a problem and you err on the side of caution, but that is far better than pushing the limits on air bags or tires nearing the end of their service life.

[David]

I think the roads are all paved for the most part. There’s an article on Millinium’s website written by two people that have made the trip twice and according to them interstate 80 around Chicago is worse than most of the roads to Alaska. I’ll have to go Nashville I would guess to get my work done. Living in Iowa with a Prvost can be a challenge. You got any thoughts on that service center? I’ve only used Jacksonville.

[Archived]

Tires…….use a dealer that honors the FMCA program.

Air bags and shocks…….I would ask Prevost if they have a commercial seated coach customer they can recommend in your area that can install air bags and shocks and do a good DOT inspection. I would buy the air bags and shocks from Prevost because in my experience with buying air bags so far nobody on the planet offers better pricing.

It will take you longer to drive to and from Nashville than it will take to replace air bags and shocks, but it is a great shop and they will take care of you properly.

[Archived]

For those that have a late 1998 to 2004 coach without a retarder might want to update your JAKE Brakes. There is a NEW updated rebuild kit for our Detroit S60’s.. The symptoms that I had was inept compression braking coming down the western mountain passes. It degrades over time, till one moment you feel that you are really using you brakes more than you should.

One benifit is what many mechanics call a engine tune up. You adjust the valves and injector height in the process. The Jake rebuild kit replaces ALL of the spring and orings. The kit runs $128.00 wholesale. Again I would strongly recommend this upgrade to anyone that has a DDEC 4 S60. It really does get left behind along with the valve adjust and injector settings. My intake valves were tight, at 220K. My injector height was short, I wasn’t getting all the injection duty cycle (less power). Please note that this kit is a upgrade or re-engineered to give us better compression braking vs when the engine left the factory.

The results were as follows. My first stage of Jakes felt like my second stage. When I put my second stage on at 60mph, it was like someone just slammed on the brakes.. My trip down thru the Cascades and Rockies was alot easier!