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New to the Forum and to Prevost
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Welcome Jeff and Lynn,
We are fairly new to this forum ourselves, and everyone here has a weath of information. We’d been researching for awhile and observing everbody’s opinions. We decided on Millennium and are in the process of the build right now. This is our first Prevost, previously we had 2 “plastic” coaches and a 5-wheel trailer. Comparing our old Monaco and Country Coach, we can tell you that Prevost is in a league of their own. They drive wonderful.
We look forward to hearing about your journey finding just the right Prevost for you. Jack
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Welcome Jeff , I put about 60,000 miles a year on my bus , it moves every week drives for two days work for four rest for one , if you look at coaches and know what u r looking at u will buy the right one , you will have to spend money to get it up to snuff but after that , you can enjoy the ride, buy it zero it out spend the money to get it right and it will be the best ride you have ever had, I pull a trailer every time, also I put about 1200 hours on a year on the generator they are made to run , don’t be scared of a coach that has miles they are meant to run down the road , one with miles means its going down the road it will be in better shape than one that has sat in one spot for awhile, thing rot and dry up when they sit , like seals , air bags , tires , batteries , Norgrens , if there is a lot of rust back in motor bay look at that or in steering bay , it’s just a sign of were it was, I am not saying that all coaches with miles will be in top shape but most motorhomes will be in good shape, Enjoy the search!!!!!!!!!!!
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Peter,
You certainly are getting good use out of your bus! How many miles do you have on it currently?
It may take us 10 yrs. to get 60,000 miles on our bus.
Safe travels!
Mark
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Mark & Craig, you’ll put more miles than that on. You guys will be looking for excuses to use it. Besides, I would be hesitant to buy a used 10 yr old bus with that low mileage. Use it…you can’t wear it out ! Geo.
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Jeff & Lynn, All the more reason to go to Fla. in Jan. The show at the Tampa Convention Center will consist of most of the good dealers(Panterra, Legacy, Motorhome Exchange, Parliament, Liberty, Millennium, Florida Luxury Coach etc) plus private sellers. You can stop at the rally at Parliament just before in Clearwater(20min from the Convention Center) and meet and talk to a bunch of owners who have all been where you are at one time. It sure beats flying around the country looking at individual coachs only to be disappointed more often than not. Geo.
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Geo, you are right, if we drive anything like we have with our other coach, we’ll put just over 9,000 miles a year on it.
I just figured it up, our average was 9,100 per year over the 7.5 yr. we drove the other coach.
Our new coach started off with just under 3,200 miles as it had to be driven from Canada to N. Chicago then to Florida for delivery.
Safe travels,
Mark
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Hey Peter,
That is some traveling! And some very good advise.
We are just starting to get t know the Prevost Coach. I wonder what what everyone thinks of the difference between what appears to be the two steps up into the salon from what I would refer to as the cockpit. The space consideration was mentioned in an earlier post and I sure think it would be nice to be able to spin the passenger seat around to be part of the salon area. The added hieght gives more room in the basement area which is certainly a benefit. What do other value regardng the H vs XL versions?
So far and with so much great input the discussion has been very informative for us. Mostly, we are trying to understand what separates Prevost from most other residential brands, that is becoming very clear! So much of what we have previously discussed in other forums has really been mostly about the same things. For us, Prevost is the top of the heap, we didn’t think it would apply to us. Quality and durability guide our decision making in everything we do. We have plenty of time to figure this out and wait for the right rig.
Thank you everyone for all the great conversation
Jeff
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The H and X models as far as motor homes are two different animals. What your expectations are will help you determine which model works best for you.
The cosmetic differences are obvious. The X series in a motor home shell has stainless steel skins from the bottom of the windows down to the bottom of the bays. The stainless is polished and the paint schemes while varying do allow most of the stainless to show.
The H is a taller coach, with a composite skin construction and is fully painted. The coaches have a slightly different shape with the H being more angular. The quality of the surface and paintwork on both Prevost coaches is unmatched.
A lot of owners opt for one or the other just because they like the looks. Certainly there is nothing wrong with that method of choosing because both models are Prevost quality all the way.
As motor homes there are some differences that tip the scales one way or another for buyers. The H has an abundance of bay space because the bays are much taller than those in the X series. For some applications that is an important consideration. The H driver’s seat is slightly lower than the X and the passenger seat is not exactly in line with the driver’s seat although communications between the driver and the passenger is not affected. To access the living area some additional steps need to be climbed and 2/3 of the ay up you need to make a turn.
The living space in an H is not lined up heightwise with the driver or passenger seats so if the coach is carrying family or guests they will be sitting a little higher than the driver and passenger. The passenger seat cannot swivel around to become part of the living area.
But the view from an H is better than that of the X series from the living area. Being higher helps, but there is more generous use of glass.
An X lacks the bay height of the H. And if an X has slides it is inconvenient to duck under the slides to access the bays. With the H extra height you can get at the bays, even under the slides in a more upright posture.
The X places the driver and passenger seats on the same plane as the living area so they become an extension of the living area. The driver becomes part of the discussions if there are guests aboard instead of being on a lower surface down from the discussions. The living area is extended because the passenger seat can swivel around, in effect adding another chair, and using almost all the space available.
The X is much easier to load and unload for trips. That is unimportant if the coach is used for extended periods, but for multiple shorter duration trips where stuff from the refrigerator and laundry is brought in and out of the coach the extra steps and the turn in the middle makes the H more difficult, That is not to say carrying anything into a coach is easy, but with the X you can put a laundry basket on the floor while standing on the ground outside, and then just shove it into the living area. Can’t do that with the H.
The lower height of the X may be an advantage in some RV parks. A lot of bandwidth on forums has been dedicated to owners complaining about low clearances in some RV parks. If an H has a satellite dish or roof airs height is going to be more of a concern than in a similarly equipped X.
Of course all of the above is just my opinion, never having owned an H. As far as I am concerned, they are different but equal.
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Jeff and Lynn:
2x/3x everything George says. A Prevost with low miles/year in indicative of a coach that is not used or exercised; especially low miles in last few years like the one we bought.
Tampa in early January is where we got our initial education. The all Prevost show should have lots of coaches, two years ago the range of years was pretty good, lots of dealers, and lots of true Prevost experts. It won’t take long for you to identify the must haves and the deal killers for you.
We’ve never been to the Parliament Rally, but we’ve been to their facility, they are very nice people, and if George says they put on a good party … then its a good party!
From the Tampa convention center you can head a few miles to the east to Florida State Fairgrounds for the what is supposed to be the biggest RV show in the country. There will be a few more Prevosts, Prevost will be there (we saw a “green” coach ready for conversion when we were there), Detroit Diesel and Allison Transmission should be expected to have their top people at their booth (two years ago they shared a booth) to get all your engine and transmission maintenance questions addressed.
Then hit the RV/bus for sale web sites. Using just Craigslist two years ago we ended up looking at five different Prevosts in the Lakeland, Wildwood, The Villages, Lady Lake polygon. We missed seeing a sixth one because the seller was out hunting.
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Hey Everyone,
Before I continue, I just want to say thank you to all of you for all the comments and points you have made!
Because we have been thinking about this for awhile now and because we have some close friends who just bought a older model Prevost and cannot stop talking about it, we are heading down the path.
All the comments about the H’s vs the X’s are exactly relevant and it will take some time to reconcile those opinions with our likes and dislikes. The comments about mileage are also relevant and it is partially what brings us to Prevost, the more commercail application seems to dramatically impact durability and reliability which naturally makes sense economically! Floor plans are tricky because they are all custom, even in the refits so knowing the market is fairly limited and so if we see what we like we must be prepared to move, this is a very important comment as well. We are at our house in Mexico and so are time frame and schedule dictates that we wait for a bit or negotiate some other deal and because of that, we can make the best use of our time to learn!
I am a Tug Captain so I understand the importance of maintenance to all manner of equipment so that doesn’t bother me in the least especially as it applies to the fulltimer who has shed many of the other trappings of normal life. To say we are excited about this is an understatement, it fits so perfectly in our life. Thank you all for all of your help and opinions! Be rest assured, many more questions to follow!!
Jeff
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I want to emphasize the mileage issue from my perspective.
I have owned three coaches. The first had 40,000 miles and was about 2 years old. The second had 155,000 and was about 7 years old. The current one had 79,000 and was 6 years old. The two that I sold had about 250,000 on each when I sold them. I would buy one with that mileage or more in a heartbeat as long as I had documentation of a progressive maintenance program because they would still have hundreds of thousands of miles of life remaining.
The coach I would be a little concerned about would be the 10 year old coach with very few miles and no records relating to a continuing maintenance program. Even at that relatively young age and low miles a coach could be a very expensive purchase if the owner(s) had not adhered to the coolant change schedule for example. That oversight could cost you an engine. But the market disagrees with me. Low miles are always touted as a good thing, which is going to cause the price to be higher than a comparable coach in all respects, except for high mileage.
Our coaches were designed for high miles and long hours of use. Everything is being exercised when we use the coach. The engines aren’t going to wear out and the frame isn’t going to break. Also the lack of maintenace logs or records doesn’t necessarily become a deal breaker, but it has a financial impact on you as a buyer if you want to create a maintenance program because you have to start from the beginning. If you have good records you only have to continue the program and that has the potential to be a big savings. Especially if the big stuff such as air bags was recently done.
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Hey Jon,
I agree with what you have said completely! Maintenance is very important and records demonstrate more than just the maintenance was done.
I also agree with what you say about mileage but not from the perspective of experience with Prevost Coaches but other equipment that has more commercial origins. The one big selling point for us is the longterm durability. I will keep the mileage issue in the front of my mind as we proceed as well as the maintenance records.
We’re starting to home in on this but we’re a bit removed right now, where are you folks and are you fulltimers?
Jeff
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We are in E TN and we go in one or two week bursts. We were gone as long as a month with our first coach but now have settled into doing multiple shorter trips. We still collect about 12,000 miles per year.
We don’t do cold or snow.
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We are in Manzanillo, Mexico and do not like winter either. Unfortunately, for a year or so longer, I have to commute back and forth to Valdez, Alaska.
Thanks for ally the great advice
Jeff and Lynn
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