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Millennium vs. Marathon
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Jon,
Yes, I’m concerned about axle weights as I want a balanced coach with plenty of CCC. Once we reach the point of building, axle weights will be at the top of the page and I will be listening with wide-open ears to see what the converter suggests. This is not their first time at the rodeo and I would think they know the answers.
Is there a known converter that is blind to axle weights? Seems like they could be sued if there was a failure/accident due to overloading from the factory before you even put a drop of water in it.
Sid,
I’m not sure if my BIG slide is a Valid or not, could be HWH (?). Anyway, it malfuctioned to where I had to drive it my service shop 60 miles away with the slide 4-5 inches out. I didn’t want to mess with it or force it in. They said I did exactly the right thing and it just needed a small adjustment and it’s working perfectly again.
I would rather not have slides that have pivot points like the Valid or HWH. Easy in, easy out would be my preference as the coach gets older. The Prevost slides are put in at the Canadian factory, a Valid slide is done at the converter. That’s just one more step that I would like to avoid.
(oh, and I agree with the 6, 4, 2 rule!)
MM.
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All I am going to say on axle weights is get it in writing and then as soon as your stuff is loaded take a drive to the nearest CAT scale.
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Mark, your going to have issues with either one. My last bus 2007 Thompson had Prevost sides and i had problems with the pins. It’s no big thing there support team will get you going!!! Thats the great thing about these buses all the”Support” that’s out there. I know you said that you prefer no slides but I really believe you will be sorry. When it comes time to sell it without slides it might be awhile. I almost bought a new Marathon with no slides that a guy backed out of sure glad my friends talked me out of that deal. I believe you thought of building one, if you go no slides they will make you put up all the money up front! But then at $60,000 per slide x 4 = $240,000 you only have to come up with about $1.7 million. Not bad if you say it real fast.
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Sid, I prefer 4 slides, never mentioned no slides.
Mark
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Sorry Mark, I must have my head up you know where. If I can ever be of any help out hhere on the west coast Please don’t hesitate to give me a call. Since getting into this hobby I got to say I would even give up golf, But maybe thats a good thing since my Handicap went to a 12,5 ouch
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Well Sid,
Since you mentioned it, where do you get your Marathon serviced? I see that they closed their Beaumont location a while back. Not sure what that location is now but I was excited that a service center would have been so close to Palm Springs where I live part time. I remember when they opened it and drove by to check on it and they also had a storage area.
Mark
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Mark, The Prevost center is in Mira Loma,Ca about 90 miles from Palm Desert. The place your thinking of is the old Marathon facility, It was taken over by the guys that worked for Marathon, It’s now called Signature Coach. I also stay in the desert at Motor Coach Country Club for about 5 months a year. I will be heading that way in about 2 weeks for the season. Please call me and we can get together and shoot the bull maybe even find you a Marathon. Here’s the best # to get ahold of me 559-901-6426 E-mail sidtuls@yahoo.com Also the top 3 converters have coaches on display there thruout the season. Where do you stay in the desert?
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Mark,
Service, take it to Prevost Mira Loma, or if you like to drive, Fort worth. The converter stuff, find a Marathon dealer, they will give you that info, HAVE FUN!
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Sid,
Thank you for being so kind and offering to share your experiences, etc. I have a home in Palm Springs but store my coach in Indio in a RV garage so I’m very familiar with the Motor Coach Country Club. They have an excellent restaurant. Sometimes, before a trip, I’ll put our coach there to empty the tanks, fill with fresh water and enjoy the resort.
I’m getting ready to head out of the desert to my home in TN for the holidays but I think our tracks might cross.
Take care,
Mark
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Mark so when we find you the bus you won’t need that RV storage anymore. I know there is a super clean one in there now I think it’s a 05 Marathon with 2 slides can di deeper if only you want? Safe travels and look forward to hook up with you in the future. I’m in lot 196 in fact so is my coach. take care
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Mr Mark…
We had a quad slide Holiday Rambler Navigator… HWH slides.. slides on passenger side very shallow 12″- 18″ (not sure which) and slides on drivers side deeper maybe 24″..
We moved up to a 2 slide H3-45 and I can tell you there’s not a lot of difference width wise as our slides are much deeper than the Navigator slides were so the it wasn’t terribly noticeable….. if fact the H feels very spacious because of the headroom and open feeling with the huge windows and being up so high.. it just feels 10 times bigger …. especially when under way with the slides in…. we have much better visibility if we are sitting behind the driver or passenger.
I wouldn’t give up my OTR for 2 more slides for anything !! I love the H and love my OTR !! I still don’t think any converter has mastered the art of cooling an H with 4 slides either… they are still struggling to cool them efficiently with 2 slides unless they have OTR. I hope I am wrong about that !
NB… I am talking about in really hot climates in the south in June, July ,August & September. We live in Texas and it is so hot here in the summer… We had 3 roof airs with dash air in the Navigator and it was never cold like we like it to be !
Just my two cents worth !! You are very fortunate to be in the position to afford such a coach so I’d say go for it and if you don’t like it try another one… you can’t take it with you !!
Good luck !!
Diane
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Thanks Diane for your response.
I may have missed it somewhere along the way. Does OTR air run off the coach engine or does it run off it’s own power (i.e.. diesel).
Once I visit the converter that we choose to build the coach, I will take a closer look at a 2 slide and compare space. Since I have a 4 slide, it’s hard to imagine going to a 2 slide.
I was visiting the Motor Coach Country Club resort in Indio a few years ago when they offered a 5 night stay to check out the amenities and there was a Prevost coach for sale on site. We toured it and it was a 2 slide and I could really tell it was smaller. Now, keep in mind, this was not a regular coach. It had a disco ball hanging from the ceiling and was made to be a real party coach. Also done in all black and dark grey. Awful, just awful.
I’ve seen a few used coaches for sale with two or three slides that seem to look roomy. The third slide is in the bedroom. Funny, they all seem to be Liberty Coaches and they sure know how to make a nice ‘calm’ interior.
Travel safe,
Mark
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OTR is engine driven. It is the same heating and air conditioning system used in seated coaches so it will keep a busload of people cool in the southwest in August or warm in Minnesota in January.
You will be talked out of it by two of the three converters you have mentioned. They just don’t do many(any) with OTR. The reason more than 2 slides do not have OTR is because air distribution is a problem. The air is ducted down the sides and exits at the base of the windows. The return air is on the driver’s side along the floor. When slides are installed the heated and cooled air cannot be ducted so at least one entire side of the coach has to be fixed in place
The OTR versus other options is a very contentious issue among owners, but generally speaking those with OTR are very reluctant to give it up because it is so efficient and it maintains temperatures evenly throughout the entire coach. Add me to the list of those who feel owners without OTR are deprived.
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Jon, I’m continuing my search for a converter. The holiday’s have slowed me down a bit.
I see that Liberty Coach uses one holding tank for black and grey (180 gal). Do you have that in your coach? The more I research, the more I see how different the converters are.
Generally, Marathon has converted 1,200 coaches, Liberty 700 and Millenium 200. When I’m reading various threads, it’s seems like the majority own a Country Coach converstion or a Liberty Coach. You would think a high number would be Marathon just by the numbers or maybe I just haven’t hit the right thread (just an observation).
Happy Holidays to all!
Mark
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I have one holding tank. On my first Liberty I had separate black and gray and to me either is OK.
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