[Larry & Diane]

Welcome Kevin, you found the right place for help and answers with your search for a Liberty. Just curious why you have narrowed your search down to Liberty? I assume OTR then is a requirement since the bulk of Liberty’s do have OTR.

Where are are you located, that may help if our members know of a coach close to your area.

[Dick]

I tend to favor the Liberty for the OTR air, no roof air and I like the fit and finish. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t be willing to consider a comparable coach from another converter, but my first choice is Liberty.

I’m in the Tampa Bay (FL) area. I guess I’ll have the nearby Prevost shows in January to look forward to if I haven’t purchased a coach by then.

[Karl]

We searched for a late 90’s Liberty XLV two years ago. While we checked out the “usual” Prevosts for sale venues (PC for sale (this site), PrevostStuff.com, RV trader and a few others) I found a surprising number of Prevosts for sale on Craigslist.com. The one we bought I actually found on Craigslist.com and to the best of my knowledge it was not advertised anywhere else. Another Liberty we had interest in just before we bought our coach I also found on Craigslist. Given your location, I would search all the Craiglists in the southeastern US. I tried a couple of Craigslist search engines, but I discovered that they “missed” some of the coaches for sale.

I presume you’ve already discovered the difference between a 12 volt and 24 volt Liberty, what year Prevost switched the engines from 8V92s to Series 60’s, and what year Prevost switched to an independent front suspension.

Good luck with your search.

[Archived]

Kev, I was wondering when you’d find your way over here. I didn’t want to say anything over there, but now you’re in the right place for info and research. Geo.

[Archived]

This is just a general comment and maybe others might want to agree or disagree.

I have a sense that some Prevost motor home owners do not belong to any groups or clubs that are Prevost oriented, and they don’t participate on any on-line forums. The result is they don’t get the opportunity to tap into the collected knowledge of other owners. It is my opinion someone advertising on Craig’s list might be an owner like that and while they may do a great job of maintaining a coach, I would be very wary unless and until I could verify its condition or service history.

I have two reasons for my concern. Often people don’t know who to turn to for service, and without a group like PC, or POG or the Royales offering advice they end up at the local Freightliner dealer for service, or worse the nearest Camping World or equivalent. The end result is often some cobbled up repairs.

The second concern is our collective experience is an early warning system that alerts us all to things to look out for and to take steps to deal with. The best recent example is the critical need for air system maintenance. If an owner is not aware of how critical some service is it might not get done and the coach ends up with serious issues a buyer will never catch until something happens and then $10,000 later it gets addressed.

[Archived]

Kevin, welcome to PC…you have the most accurate Prevost information on the web. With the number of members here you will always get advice from a broad range of active members.

Another PC advantage is many members have owned more then one Prevost and their perspective really helps in sorting out the problem.

Sign up for the NAPA discount card only available on PC. Please insert “Prevost Community” in the business name slot.

Also available is the very successful fuel program only available to PC members. Refuel in 20 minutes and save 10 cents off cash price.

Have you given any consideration to attending the upcoming PC boot camp ?

[Kevin]

We searched for a late 90’s Liberty XLV two years ago. While we checked out the “usual” Prevosts for sale venues (PC for sale (this site), PrevostStuff.com, RV trader and a few others) I found a surprising number of Prevosts for sale on Craigslist.com. The one we bought I actually found on Craigslist.com and to the best of my knowledge it was not advertised anywhere else. Another Liberty we had interest in just before we bought our coach I also found on Craigslist. Given your location, I would search all the Craiglists in the southeastern US. I tried a couple of Craigslist search engines, but I discovered that they “missed” some of the coaches for sale.
< br />
< br />I presume you’ve already discovered the difference between a 12 volt and 24 volt Liberty, what year Prevost switched the engines from 8V92s to Series 60’s, and what year Prevost switched to an independent front suspension.
< br />
< br />Good luck with your search.

I’m glad to hear that you had a good experience with purchasing your coach via Craislist. I’ve been looking there and everywhere else.

I honestly don’t know why some coaches are 12V and some are 24V. I read that the Liberty Classic is 12V and the Lady is 24V. Why the difference?

Putting aside all the bells and whistles that the Lady has over the Classic, is it safe to assume that a 12V coach would be better suited for dry camping?

Yep, I know all about the 8V92 and the Series 60. That won’t be an issue for me as I’m looking for ’96 and newer.

I think Prevost began using IFS sometime in late ’97? Word has it that the solid front axle has fewer maintenance issues and is more robust overall. Although I imagine the ride is not as good with a solid axle as it is with the IFS. Rumor has it that ’99 was around when they finally got the bugs worked out of the IFS. Any truth to that rumor?

[AL]

< p>Kev, I was wondering when you’d find your way over here. I didn’t want to say anything over there, but now you’re in the right place for info and research. Geo.

Thanks. 🙂

[Marius]

Have you given any consideration to attending the upcoming PC boot camp ?

Where and when? Are you refering to the seminar being held at East Tennessee Luxury Coach in October?

[Archived]

Yes, but I’am not sure if they have room or a wait list.

AL

[Peter]

No, I won’t be able to make it to the PC boot camp this time. I’ll be keeping my eyes open for events nearer to Central Florida.

On a seperate note…within the body of my reply is there a way to automatically include quotes from previous replies?

[Archived]

http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/rvs/5194589427.html

NO TEXTS PLEASE

[Larry & Diane]

To partially address the 12V Liberty vesus the 24V the difference goes beyond just voltage and I would not reject either one if the coach was a good one.

The 12V coach (a Classic) has a 3 battery (8D) electrical system that is simple and basic. In almost all cases when you operate the switch you are completing the electrical circuit. There is no complexity to the system. Power goes from the battery, through a circuit breaker, through a switch to the device.

The 24V coach (an Elegant Lady) has a 4 battery system. In most cases when you operate a switch it sends a “signal” via a PLC (programmable logic controller) to a relay which completes the circuit which in turn causes the device to function. It sounds more complex and it is, but I have had both systems and both were extremely reliable and trouble shooting and repairing either one is relatively simple.

The “Classic” is modestly equipped in the respect that has a few less features but is by no means a coach in which you lack the important stuff. The “Elegant Lady” has everything the Classic has and then some. The obvious difference is 4 batteries instead of 3 for more endurance. But it has remotely operated air dump valves, a fully enclosed generator sound box, pretty copper waste water piping, and lighting in all cabinets. There are other features but none of them would be deal breakers if they were not on a coach.

I can say that with 2 coaches that have had lighted cabinets my wife would have no interest in ever having a coach without lighted cabinets. In fact a lot of the “extras” are easy to laugh at until you have them and then you realize they really do have a value. But the flip side is the Classic being less complex is a far easier coach to deal with if you do all of your own repairs and maintenance.

[gary]

“But the flip side is the Classic being less complex is a far easier coach to deal with if you do all of your own repairs and maintenance.”

Jon,

If you don’t do all your own repairs, are the repair bills charged by the average service facility usually more expensvie on an Elegant vs. Classic due to the Classic’s more simple systems?

Also, is this unique to the “Liberty” conversion or do other converters have different “levels” of a conversion? I’ve not read that Marathon, Featherlite, or Parliment have different electrical systems, etc., realizing these are all custom built and I guess an original owner could put anything in the coach.

[Archived]

I have no clue about other conversions. My reference to ease of maintenance is that trouble shooting a Classic couldn’t be any easier. With a multi-tester and the ability to read wire numbers electrical issues will quickly be identified and easily solved. With the Elegant Lady and the multi-level system the issue could be more than just a bad switch or relay or circuit breaker. It could be one of the small relays, a caed in the A-B system or even a problem with the PLCs.

Having said that both my Elegant Lady coaches spread over more than 11 years have had 2 bad relays of the multitude of relays, and in one case the relay base was damaged due to heat. So don’t consider either to be a bad choice.