[Archived]

I would not worry about keeping the block heater plugged in, only if it gets really cold, and even then I would only do it about 12 hours or so before I was going to start the engine.

Even summer fuel is probably good down into the teens, but just add some Howes or Power Service if you are worried about it.

I would not start up the engine or gen unless you are going to let it run fully up to temp, better to just let it sit.

[John]

George,

You really have two issues. The first and by far the most important is protecting the coach against freezing. It won’t matter if the engine won’t start if you have broken pipes in the walls or the water bay. So if you are dealing with that issue successfully the odds are your engine starting may alread have been resolved.

Coaches with Aquahot, Webasto or similar systems, in keeping warm coolant circulating in the house and bays to prevent freezing are likely to have the ability to heat the engine block. If not when you do plan on moving the coach, just turn on the block heater the evening prior.

I have started my 8V92 without preheating down to about 25 degrees. Colder than that I have used the block heater. Below zero the coach still started with no issues. At minus 20 when on a trip I put it on high idle and never turned it off.

Whatever you do, allow the coach to run at low idle for several minutes to make sure you have the oil circulating. After that in cold temps you want ot use high idle just to generate enough heat to start warming it up. Once my air was up I started driving at very moderate speeds to allow the coach engine to warm up.

If your coach will not go in gear, that is likely the transmission brain telling you the transmission temp is below the safe operating temperature and more idling to heat things up is required.

[Archived]

“Stuck longer than we want to be in Wisconsin” was the theme song of my life until I turned 21. I’ve suffered no ill effects that I am aware of. Hope you have the same experience.

[Dick]

Bryan, I survived Wis. winters for the first 48 yrs. of my life until I smartened up. I’m usually back home by Oct. 20 or so and now I remember why. God willing, we’ll be home by Nov. 20. Just want to make sure that we’re not forgetting anything as we are always in warm weather normally. Thanks.

[Bryan]

I actually love Wisconsin and visit often, but I do think it’s a great place to be from. I’ll never forget that during my first job interview in LA, the interviewer said he called me in because being from Wisconsin brings “implied good character.” I got the job.

Cheers!

[Dick]

Bryan, don’t get me wrong…..We love it too….from mid May until mid Oct.

[Jim/Chris]

Geo,

Are you staying in the bus or is it sitting somewhere?

Keep the water heater on, it keeps the bay toasty. Keep the water tank full and don’t leave the hose outside and hooked to city water. I wouldn’t keep the block heater on, fire it up about 8 hrs before your ready to go if it’s really cold. If you’re not in the bus, a ceramic heater inside set on low will keep you in good shape. I doubt your looking at sub zero weather yet.

And most important, don’t run out of squeezins..

[Bob]

Tom, the bus is in our driveway. Water full. This bus has heaters for all the bays, but we have just the plumbing(2) bays on.Temps will be in the mid 20’s the next 4 days. Thanks.

[Archived]

If the bays have some heat, and you use a 1500 W heater or a couple of toe space heaters if equipped you should be OK. The conditions that are hardest to fight are the single digit when the coach is exposed to wind. As long as you can keep the interior and the bays 40 or above you are probably OK. Just open the cabinets that have plumbing in them to keep them warmed.

[Archived]

Corey & George, I just saw that a big storm heading for Alaska is expected to continue east and bring really cold weather to Wisconsin by next weekend — up to 20 degrees below normal, which means you could realisticly get down near zero. If it gets that cold for an extended time you may need to shut off your electric heaters and rely on the aquahot. I have found that with only 30 amps we will get occassional blown breakers when trying to run only electric below about 25 degrees — but this has happened when we were staying on the bus and are using lights and tv as well as electric heat, not parked like you are. The 30 amps will be more than enough to keep your batteries up even with the Aquahot running full tilt. We’ve been able to stay toasty in those conditions for days on end while on ski trips. I’ve learned from experience to check all bays for forgotten stuff that might be affected by cold. I left a case of bottled water in an unheated bay once and discovered my mistake only after the water in the exploded bottles retured to liquid.

Where are you, by the way? I grew up in Rhinelander and still have family there. It gets really cold up there.

[Archived]

Greetings from the Home of Lambeau, Green Bay, Wisc. Linda and I have been in Green Bay for 42 years and have for the most part loved the change of seasons. Winters can be tough. Tonight we will be in the stands for the Sunday night game against the Bears. Will be cold, but that is football in Wisc in the Fall and Winter. We are out of here after the New Year headed to Arizona for the balance of the Winter. While the two of us differ on benefits of buying a Coach I am moving closer to entering the money pit of a purchase. That is said with a fond understanding that Coaches are a maintainance item. I do want to get rid of our AZ third home and travel the Fall to Spring and get back to Wisconsin for the Spring Bloom of Mosquitoes. We summer around the Lake Geneva area. I wish all of you could experience just one game in Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Americana at it’s best. 80,000+ from all over celebrating a great American Pastime, in a city of 200,000+. If any of you get to Green Bay we would love to meet you and show you around and have you experience the joy of a Great Little Town. Go Packers, Go Badgers. My very best wishes to all of you Prevost owners I admire your love of travel and adventure. Michael

[Sid]

Let me see if I have this right MIchael……First, welcome to the asylum. We love to help others spend their money so as you go through the journey of finding a Prevost you will not lack for advice on how and where to spend your money.

But I also could have sworn I heard an invitation for folks that have spent a lot of money to get out of cold temps, to come back to the cold temps and sit with 80,000 others who apparently love suffering.

We have HDTV.

I was one of the morons that sat in Orchard Park from time to time and watched the Bills get pounded into the frozen ground so I may be a bit judgemental about others who wish to do the same type of activity.

Relating to buying a Prevost at least you already know the word maintenance. We owners know we drive the finest coach on the planet, but we also know to keep it that way we do have to maintain it. But do not be mislead by our discussions about repairs and maintenance being the only thing we ever do. We do have the normal and reasonable routine maintenance which is oil changes and lube. Filters and inspections. A day or less of work and we are out the door with a coach ready to go.

But as the coaches age the items affected by time and not miles need to be addressed. Things like coolant changes, transmission fluid changes, tires, batteries and air bags. They are all definable events and can be scheduled so you have no surprises.

And on occasion something breaks, quits, or otherwise needs to be repaired. There is not much of that if you tend to the other stuff mentioned above. Despite the price of admission, and despite the annual maintenance costs there is no greater lifestyle, especially when you consider the things you will see and do, and the friends you will meet along the way.

FWIW our coach is viewed as our second home. Even with the cost of fuel included with the ongoing maintenance expenses it is not only cheaper on an annual basis than a second home or condo, the flexibility we have with regard to where we want to stay is unbeatable. C’mon in, the water’s fine.

[Jack]

Michael:

We’re in La Crosse (WI) right now and this afternoon we’ll be driving coast to coast to join you at Lambeau Field to watch the THIRTEEN time NFL World Champion Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears into a pulp.

Feel free to contact us anytime between now and your departure for Arizona to stop in and see our Prevost and discuss our purchase process that resulted in owning a bus in April of this year. We’re five or six miles west of I-43 between Saukville and Grafton.

[Archived]

Michael, we love Wisconsin in the summer and kept our two homes in Milwaukee after we moved to Florida. But, we decided after many years that they were keeping us from traveling in the summer as much as we would like to. The process of divesting ourselves of these properties is what is keeping us here past our normal time of going home and is the reason for the question originally starting this thread. We consider the bus a home and now wish to have and maintaintain only two homes, freeing us to travel all summer. If you are in Fla or the SW in the winter you are limited in where you can travel to. Jon is absolutely right in that a bus even with the attendant maintainance and expense is still far cheaper than another home, and a lot more versatile and fun. The freedom is exhilerating. Born and will die a Packer fan, but I refuse to freeze my nuts off. I will watch tonight in front of a 55″HDTV and a fireplace. Go Pack !

[Jeff]

Michael, as a kid I spent many a Sunday on those hard Lambeau seats bundled up like an arctic explorer. Not quite as bad at Badger games while I was in college as we had liquid fortification, but now I wait for them to get to the Rosebowl to get my Badger fix. I still love the cold and snow, and we burn a lot of dino juice every winter just to get to it for skiing, but I like that I get to choose the when and where I experience the cold. You will love that too.

Snow forecast for northern Wisc. for the coming week. My home town is in the red zone.