[Bill]

And sixth, they look like new Winniebagos.

[Jeff]

Thanks Tom, I was curious about that? And Les I feel as you do that it’s the chrome sides that makes the Prevost look!

But I understand your reasoning Tom and they are good ones.

Harry

[Jeff]

Jeff and Sandy,

Congratulations! Now it’s time to drive the wheels off that thing!…or at least try ;-). So much awesomeness out there for you to see and experience. Your gonna love the ride.

-jeff

[Ronald]

Jeff and Sandy

As an owner of a very nice 2018 Dutch Star, but considering a Prevost of similar vintage as yours, I’m curious what you had before, and your assessment of your new bus so far, pro AND con.

I’m especially interested in your experience of a quiet smooth ride in a 12yo PPrevost.

Also, any insight into needed repairs or updatesor

Thanks

Mark

[David]

A lot of conventional RV owners ask the same questions. If the RV is one of the large ones and has a diesel engine, air brakes, and a similar of not the same transmission the chassis maintenance requirements are identical. What might be different is the size of the components. Prevost construction is biased towards hard commercial service so the components that make up the chassis tend to be robust and ample for long life service.

The big difference is in the house. Prevost converters are not shy about overbuilding a conversion. They use multiple alternators and inverters. The appliances tend towards the top end. The fits and finishes are superb and will handle a lot of use. Electrical systems are very well done and everything tends to be overbuilt, from large capacity multiple inverters to over sized generators to substantial battery power.

House environmental systems are also over sized. A conventional RV may have three house A/Cs where a Prevost conversion will have four.

But without a doubt the entire question is easily answered with a test drive. A steering and suspension system that has been highly developed based on likely billions of miles of commercial service makes it clear the Prevost is a highly refined substantial chassis that can be driven effortlessly with no fighting of the steering wheel.

Personally speaking after I had owned a Prevost for 22 years and had never driven a conventional motor home, I had an opportunity to drive an RV. It was work, it was scary, and I was constantly making steering corrections. Oh, and then there is the safety. My Prevost coaches are strong steel cages surrounding all the occupants and if an accident ever should occur it may roll over, it may lose some windows, but in the end it is all going to remain in one piece. The typical motor home is an upper structure screwed or bolted to a floor platform and in a typical accident the upper structure generally separates from the chassis taking away all the passenger protection and littering quite a few yards of landscape with interior and exterior components along the way.

[Kirby]

i could probably write a book on depreciation. We owned 3 Newmar coaches, all new. A 2015 Ventana 3436, 2016 Dutchstar 4369 and lastly a 2017 Essex 4553….and now we own a 2009 Liberty Elegant Lady presently parked in Homer Alaska.

The Ventana was the best of the coaches from Newmar, just too small and a little underpowered with the ISB engine. It drive like a truck and was moved around by anything big passing.

The DS was a great floor plan, and parked marvelously but the suspension was primitive (the bags were not electronically controlled) and we had lots of quality issues, trims, water hoses not tight etc. We retired and decided we didn’t want to mess around with it, so we went with an Essex. Unfortunately it didn’t work out. Out of 300 days of Essex ownership it spent 100 going to or in the shop. Calling for support was a joke. We would get a coordinator from Newmar and then a vendor…eventually. They had to rebuild the entire floor of the cargo bays due to water penetration. It drove the best of the 3, and could compete at pikes peak with the ISX and relatively low weight of the coach. But it was a mediocre driving experience. The slide chains always made noise, the windows made noise and the parts falling off made noise.

They effectively rebuilt the coach.

The people were great, and we’ve met some great friends in the repair lots but we bought it to see the North America…not Newmar dealerships.

The Liberty has been a totally different experience. We traded a new luxury coach for a 9 year old coach, for substantially more money…and couldn’t be happier. The fit and finish is amazing, the systems are commercial, the appliances and furniture are top level residential. We could put out a house fire with the water pump. We have put almost 25k miles on it in a year. 95l miles on odometer. It’s been across the Rockies at both ends, Newfoundland, Alaska…

It hasn’t been without issue, lots of learning curve, but not once have we had to see a repair facility outside of chassis maintenance on the road. A big part of that is the staff at liberty. They KNOW your coach. I have never been referred or had to wait for a vendor. We have air leaks on the house side and need to replace the bay door trim panels (why doesn’t prevost use fiberglass?) but we take care of them at our annual maintenance stop. Nothing has prevented us from rolling on.

Most of the house parts are more expensive on conversions, but they are better. Chassis parts are likely the same. Labor rates are the same.

We have a Jeep and a Mercedes Suv. Both get us where we are going, and smooth roads differ less. But put some curves or bumps and you understand why Mercedes cost more. The Newmars drove like the jeep, our prevost drives better than the Mercedes.

-jeff

[Dick]

Thanks

Your perspective after owning 3 Newmars of increasing price is exactly What i was looking for

we started with a class B Airstream, then Winnebago class C. Now the Dutch Star. Very good (different) experiences with all 3

belatedly we’ve become more educated and focused on the safety and ride quality of Prevosts. Also looked at Newell but ruled them out

Will probably spend the next year getting educated and then start looking seriously

Thanks again

Mark

Ps sorry for typos. My tablet doesn’t work to well in this forum

[granvil]

We confess to a preference for the shiny stuff. We’re currently surrounded by lots of it at The Mother Ship (aka Camp Marathon) in Coburg, OR. It’s 63F at 3:14 PM Pacific time.

Kirby & Linda

[Mark]

Marks71: Where do you live? Its likely that a PC Forum member who already owns a Prevost lives nearby and would let give you a ride in his or her coach.

[Dick]

We live in downtown Chicago, but keep our coach in Las Vegas … either in storage at NIRVC, or on the lot we own in Las Vegas Motorcoach Resort. And we travel a bit in SW US between Vegas, San Diego, Central Coast, and Palm Desert … that general vicinity. Or further north in the summer months. This year well spend 40% of our nights away from Chicago and in the coach.

We think we may go to the rally in Heber City in September because we love that area and the RV park it’s being held at. And will probably attend next year’s exhibition in West Palm Beach….all in the service of learning more, up close.

We’re probably about a year away from really looking to do this, which we’ll utilize by getting educated on X vs H, and the various converters, etc.

This forum and POG are pretty helpful so far. This all started when we crawled through a couple of Liberty conversions when in Palm Desert in March.

We have had good luck w/ the Dutch Star, and love the floorplan. But the rough ride, rattles and squeaks, and increased consciousness of the safety aspects have us really considering a transition.

Mark

[Mike]

If travel north a couple of hours, we’re in Grafton, just west of I-43. You’re more than welcome to go for a ride in our coach.

[al]

Mark,

We upgraded from a quad Slide Dutch Star to a 2007 H3 Marathon double slide. We liked the Newmar but no looking back for use. Jeff pretty much mentioned everything I would have said.

Bill

[Deleted User]

Exactly the kind of move we are contemplating. Thanks!

[Dick]

Thank you for the very generous offer!

We’ll consider that as we head back to Chicago

Mark

[Dick]

Mark71 said: “This all started when we crawled through a couple of Liberty conversions when in Palm Desert in March.”

Mark that statement of “Crawled through” is typical of Liberty coaches especially with high temperatures. You see, A Liberty Coach has Rose Peddle dispensers which tend to over odorize causing a near psychedelic experience.

So it just seems like you were crawling! Although some tend to have this same crawling experience with the dispensers disabled. Hence the expression “A Rose by any other name”!

Harry