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Non Slide vs Slides
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Deciding on whether to get slides or stay with a non-slide coach is not an easy choice because there are so many factors that will influence the decision. The primary factor should be how the coach is used. If it is often staying in one location for several days (at a minimum) most of the time it is in essence being used like a second home and the extra space is really nice. But if the coach is used to travel with over night stops between drives it makes less sense because the room with extended slides becomes less important, and in some cases where slides are not extended moving around in the coach is not as easy as in a non slide coach.
The bottom line is the extra space when the slides are extended is really nice and it changes the entire character of the coach. But that value is offset by the “cost” of slides. Not the cost in dollars which are significant, but the cost in terms of how the coach is affected. Slides may add floor space but slides eat up a lot of usable space. Each slide probably costs 15 to 18″ in space that could be used for a pantry, closet, drawers or other uses of the room taken up by the trim and slide mechanism on each side of the slide. With 2 slides per side a coach could lose as much as 36″ that could have been a closet.
But the slide reinforcement also impacts the bays. Regardless of whether the extra reinforcement structure is the old style that surrounds the slide or the newer style that makes the bays the support structure for the coach there is a loss of valuable bay space.
That loss of space for structure and mechanism also translates into added weight. The heavier the coach the lower the performance. To offset that larger engines were installed but that might retain the ability to climb hills, but it comes at the expense of fuel mileage. Heavier weight also has an impact on stopping so slides affect performance.
Then there is the cost of the added complexity. To make slides work the coach has a complex and expensive controller and early models have availability issues. The valving that operates the slide accessories is complicated and expensive. All of the pins on slides with pins have to be adjusted or there are problems. and finally the slides might have expensive seals that need replacement after a while.
The final part of the decision has to do with where the coach is stored. If the coach has inflatable slide seals and it has to be stored outside with no cover that means the coach needs power to insure the aux compressor can keep the seals inflated to prevent the risk of leakage. If water gets behind the seal it is possible the coach will get damaged and that damage, such as mold and mildew can destroy the coach.
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Great assessment for determining whether you need slides or not.
We travel 12 – 14,000 miles a year and usually are only in one place for a few days or week. There are occasions where we will stay a month. The H gives us all the space we need, so for us, slides are not that important. We did live in the bus for 9 months while building our house with no problem.
The slide decision can only be made personally based on your needs, usage and budget.
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Thanks Jon, that was most informative. It warrants being made an “article” imho.
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I can certainly see the desire to have no slides depending on usage.
I don’t recall seeing a Prevost converter making a ‘no-slide’ coach in the last 10-12 yrs (after 2005?). You might find a new Entertainer coach with no slides but unless you request a ‘no-slide’ custom order from the converter, it will have at least 2 slides.
So, the used bus market will have very limited ‘no slide’ offerings as time moves on. It seems that the minimum are two slides from Marathon and Liberty. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Millennium with no slides.
Jon is right about the edges of the slides taking up space. We don’t seem to have a shortage on storage but if we were living full time in the coach, we would need a secondary closet in the bay for seasonal clothing storage. A bath and a half coach limits closet space.
Having two slides in the living room, it really expands the area. We don’t cook so the kitchen is the ‘beverage’ center.
If needed, we can seat 8 in the living room (3 on each sofa and we can use the ottomans for two more guests) not counting the 3 person J-lounge at the kitchen.
Our normal way of entertaining is to have cocktails in the coach then off to a restaurant for dinner. The microwave will get used for warming up left-overs.
Safe travels,
Mark
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I considered an article on slides but to be honest I seriously doubt if it will impact anyone’s decision.
While we try to stress how to go about purchasing a coach the reality is buying a coach is a personal and emotional decision. We all know as owners that the purchase of a coach makes no sense. It is a huge expense and in addition to the purchase price there is the ongoing cost of ownership, but we do it anyway and every day of the week there are others who are going to do the same thing.
And most of the buyers will decide what to buy based solely on that “eureka” moment when they step into the coach and get that love at first sight feeling.
I can assure everyone that all our three coaches were bought because we liked them from a cosmetic perspective and despite our now 27 years of ownership I cannot yet justify any coach purchase. Think about all the folks you have seen with RVs when you have been in RV parks or at rallies. The size or type of RV they have has no impact whatsoever on the size of their smile. The guy with the pop top trailer is having as much fun as the guy with the new Prevost. No matter what an article might say about slides it is not going to influence anyone.
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Think I struck a note when started this discussion! Yes, each one has a preference and how they use it. Pro & Cons of each. Jon hit it, he never could justify purchasing any coach. Just enjoy and b thankful for what u got, cause u can never out buy the next guy anyway.
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I had a friend who became an Olympic level participant in “keeping up with the Joneses”. When he bought his first brand new Prevost he spent a lot of time making sure it had features galore and when he got it he was walking on cloud nine. Until he went to his first rally with it and another Prevost owner also had a brand new one that not only defined the word bling, but it had every possible feature or option available at the time.
He was one of the rare RV owners we knew that was unhappy and it was because he measured his happiness with his status and toys.
Everyone should have been in Evansville. I don’t think there was a person there that gave a damn about how much a coach cost but everyone there was having a lot of fun meeting other bus crazed individuals and swapping stories.
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As I mentioned supra (big word, I know), my wife does not want slides and I would prefer the extra space; however, we’ve yet to stay anywhere longer than two weeks, except Panama Fred’s drive-way at Christmas while in Kansas.
Could a slide coach be in our future … one does not know, but like TRUK, we haven’t missed the extra space since we entertain outside.
However, who knows, 2018 could bring our H into the marketplace for that next coach. But I know we’ll never catch up to Tom or Jon in buying/selling coaches.
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We have been through some Prevost milestones and just based on watching and participating in the changes I am pretty confident few if any Prevost owners go backwards. That is not to suggest going from a 45 footer to a 40 footer or a slide coach to a non-slide is a bad thing, it is just not what the market does.
When we bought our first coach there was no choice other than a 40 foot XL. If you wanted a Prevost, that is what you got. Prior to our vintage coach the width was 96″ and around 84 to 86 the width went to 102″, but nobody said they would prefer the 96″ coach.
Then the H3 was introduced as a 40 or 41 foot coach and now folks had a choice with the significant difference being greatly expanded bay space due to the increased height.
Then the 45 foot coaches came about and the rush was on. The market demand for 45 foot coaches was so strong the production of 40 foot conversions quickly went to 45 foot coaches exclusively because the market was voting with its wallet. And again the benefit was that extra 5 feet which translated into about 40 square feet of additional living space.
When slides were introduced the same thing happened and after a slow start converters stopped producing non-slide coaches and went from one, then two, and now as many as 4 slides. I am not aware of anyone who has owned a slide coach ever saying they wish they had a non-slide coach. The addition of slides makes living in the coach a completely different experience.
But if an owner has never had slides it is easy to stay with non-slide coaches, or when a newer coach is purchased to consider and buy a slide coach, but it is a rare owner that has a slide coach that wants to trade for a non-slide. The market proves that.
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Gee Jon, we resemble your above comments. Our progression
1st coach in 1999, Airstream Cutter diesel 35 ft freight liner chassis single slide
2nd coach, 2000 Country Coach Affinity one slide
3rd coach, 2001 Country Coach XL 45 two slide with rivets
4th coach 2002 Marathon XLII single slude
5th Coach 2000 Marathon H3-45 NO slide
6th coach 1992 Beaver Prevost 40 ft NO slide
7th coach 2000 Marathon XL40 NO slide
This list is in order dating from 1999 to present
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Question Jim,
Why did you go from a 2002/2000 to a 1992 Beaver Coach?
Harry
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I went back to a 40′ on several occasions and there was no downside, especially for some campground sites and gaining 5′ in my garage.
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Jon: I think you should write that article about slides so that prospective Prevost owners can get all the information about slides from one place. The various types of slides (Prevost vs converter vs aftermarket), how they work, expected maintenance, pros and cons of different types of slide construction, expected maintenance costs, costs of component failures, etc. I think anyone contemplating the purchase of a Prevost coach with slides would appreciate that information in one place rather than getting it in dribbles and drabs from the dribblers and drabbers.
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Tom, I’ve heard that many times from a number of coach owners!
Harry
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Truk and CoBus are exceptions to the vast majority of owners who have gone back and forth. I know of a couple of others who replaced newer coaches that were 45 feet or had slides and went back to 40 foot coaches, but they are in the minority.
I find it interesting that of those I know who have gone back and forth all of them have owned far more coaches than most owners and it seems to have been their practice to only own a specific coach for a relatively short period of time. My reason for pointing that out is if “flipping” coaches is what these folks do it is relatively unimportant if they replace one coach with another and then find they did not like the switch. They are unafraid of the buying and selling process and likely enjoy all their coaches, but like change.
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