[Archived]

Tom & Beth,

Welcome to PC… We went from a quad slide Dutchstar (40) to a 45′ double slide Marathon… we don’t miss the other two slides at all. granted we gained 5 feet in length but the Marathon seems way more spacious to us than the quad slide. the Slides are deeper. But it really all depends on what your looking for in terms of a floor plan and what works for you…

Happy shopping!

Bill

[Archived]

Welcome Tom. I don’t fit your demographic because I went from a non-slide to a 2 slide.

But I can compare the two easily. We also went from a 40 footer to the 45 that preceded the 2 slide coach so I can relate to that also.

First, going from 40 to 45 feet was a huge jump up in terms of useable space, but also livability. I am sure the floor plan had a lot to do with it, but the increase in closet space and having 2 vanities instead of one was immediately appreciated. But there were other gains such as going from a Splendide combo to a stacked washer and dryer was a significant improvement. The key for you will be finding a 45 footer that matches or comes close to having the things important to you. My wife loved the carousel in our rear closet, something I have no seen on 40 footers or slide coaches.

When we went to a 45 foot 2 slide coach we went backwards in some respects. We really like the open feeling we get from the slides because both of us moving around at the same time is much easier. And it just feels like an apartment more than a skinny tube. But the reality is slides only make a wider aisle or more open floor space. They actually take away closet or storage space, increase the complexity and cost of maintenance, and add weight. We also gave up long range fuel and with the decreased bay space I could no longer carry our bikes in the bay.

Don’t get me wrong. We are not giving up our slides. We just carry less crap (that’s a good thing), and I fuel a little more often. The bikes go on a rack behind the toad.

A 45 foot non slide coach is a great RV. The right one will serve you well for a long time and it will eliminate issues you might experience with slides. The key however is to decide exactly how you intend to use it and then find one configured for your type of use.

[Bryan]

can’t figure out how to sort sales data for stacker or combo WD, haven’t really paid attention to the stacker thing,

but Jon made a good point about stacker/combo, can you get a non slide with a stacker in the pre-owned market without having slides. I think I have looked at coaches were I was told I could swap the combo out for a stacker.

I think stacker is going on our must have list, not sure how difficult the transfer from combo to stacker might turn out to be and suspect that transfer would be coach specific on current layout.

I also think we will lean towards no slides, based on our thoughts and what we see here.

i was just looking at the POG add for that 2000 non slide marathon (that they have listed 3times)and it has a stacker, so there are stackers in non slides.

[Dean]

Tom and Beth, I went from non-slide 40 foot Prevost to 3 slide 41 foot motorhome and now back to non-slide 45 foot bus (not Prevost, see below). For us, the non-slide choice is based on how we live in the bus. We got out of the plastic motorhome because we missed having a real bus and the quality and security that comes with that, but we specifically chose the non-slide bus. Without slides the interior just works better for carrying a lot of people, which we do pretty regularly, and it makes it easy while on long trips to just pull into a rest area or truckstop and crash for the night and then continue on in the morning. On our 3 slide, we really needed to put out two slides to be able to comfortably spend a night. We have plenty of room for four to live comfortably in our non-slide bus. However, since I’m still a decade from retirement, our trips tend to be shorter than others who have more time to linger. The lack of slides matters less on shorter stays. As I get closer to retirement and we have fewer ski trips or paintball outings with 10 teenagers in tow, I’m pretty sure we will be looking for a two slide bus. Hope this is helpful.

[Dean]

Thanks Bill,Jon and Paul.

More great information as the WD wasn’t an item on my radar. We won’t be fulltimers, but plan on doing more traveling west and wintering south.

We wish we were leaving a week earlier for FL. A quick stop in at the LazyDays Rally would have been nice. We leave MI on the 9th and will be at Silver Lakes RV Resort in Naples from the 10th – 27th.

Tom

[Peter]

Hi… we went from an “05 4 slide Navigator to a ’98 2 slide Vantare H3-45… quite honestly the Vantare feels bigger… the slides are deeper I think and with the big windows it feels huge inside…Wouldn’t go back to a plastic coach for anything.

Diane

[Don]

Hi Tom,

We went from a 2011 Mountain Aire 4 slide coach to a 2003 Liberty non slide coach with the 30th anniversary layout. Liberty’s 30th anniversary layout is the best one I’ve seen for a non slide coach. The extra floor space you get with slides is certainly nice but it is just that, floor space. We have ample storage including a stacked washer and dryer. The quality and craftsmanship of the Liberty is just outstanding. Good luck with your search and enjoy the ride.

[Archived]

Tom,

My family and I are new to Prevost. We have rented many traditional class A coaches over the years. A number were 4 slide coaches. We now have an XLII non-slide. We have 3 teenagers and our coach has a bunk set up. It fits us well. We looked at a number of coaches with slides and my wife decided she did not want them. The biggest reason was that we like to move around. If we are out for a couple weeks, we might move to a new location every couple days. We like the ease of moving and having one less thing to worry about. If we’re hooked up to shore power, water, and sewer, moving is as simple as pulling the plug and hoses, doing my pre trip, and leaving. We spend a number of nights in truck stops and parking lots and it just seems easier without slides. It works fine for us, but when we are stationary we are also outside most of the time. If I were retired and living in the bus part of the year, I might rethink the slides and want at least a front slide.

The one thing I can tell you for sure is you will love the Prevost. It is different than anything I’ve ever been in before. They are tanks. We are learning fast and enjoying it, but I am convinced there is nothing more comfortable or more safe. Good luck

[Archived]

Tom,

Everyone has their own preference based on how they use the bus. We have had 4 plastic coaches with slides, all except one was Country Coach and for us they were a nightmare. Nothing but hydraulic leaks and problems. So when we switched to Prevost in 2005 a non-slide was the only way we would go. The living space in non-slide Prevosts is great for two people.

I will have to say that after 3 months in FL this winter, having a slide would have been nice when having visitors, but other than that, we’ll stay non-slide.

[Archived]

Hi Tom We went from a two slide plastic coach to a non slide Prevost and we havent missed the slides at all. No worries about leaks ,no worries about whether the damn things will go in or out, no side opening baggage doors.

We did our annual trip last summer and we both agreed that we didnt miss the extra room. Its a personal choice so it may not work for you but we are both happy the way things are. We also kept the same 40 foot length due to the length of the garage so all things were equal there.

[Paul]

Oh yeah I forgot to mention that we took out the combo and had a stacked setup installed. It went in like butta !

[Tom]

“Oh yeah I forgot to mention that we took out the combo and had a stacked setup installed. It went in like butta !“

Did it go in through the door? or did you have to take out a window?

[Archived]

Rather than risk damage to the entry, even if it fits, there is so little room most of the time it is a whole lot easier to just go through the windshield.

An XL windshield comes out in about 5 minutes and back in in about 15 or 20. I think the XLII entry is larger so coming through the door might be OK.

[Archived]

We upgraded from a triple slide Beaver to a non-slide Liberty Coach and couldn’t be happier.

Having owned motorhomes with single, double and triple slides, we were thrilled to be “slide free”.

Happy shopping!

[jack]

Oh it went through the windshield but it was out for all the other appliances anyway.