[Deleted User]

To each his own.

[Chas]

Sometimes life sure is a beach!! 😉

[Archived]

Did you take it for a drive? I couldn’t understand what all the Prevost hoopla was about until I drove one. Then I got the wife to drive one and we have had that one now for 12 years. We had a 3 slide Dynasty before this coach and we really do not miss the slides. We also lived full time in it for a year without issues. BUT, if the 4 slides are needed to keep mama happy, then you might need to keep what you have.

[Archived]

Brett, put your concerns about the cost of maintenance away. It doesn’t matter if you have a bus or a conventional motor home of a similar size and weight. They will both cost the same to maintain in terms of the chassis and drivetrain. The engines, transmissions, air bags, brakes, air system, tires, suspension valves and controls, glass, wipers, exhaust systems, etc. are similar so you can consider them as requiring the same dollars to keep in good condition.

The question of slides versus no slides is such a personal choice nobody here can tell you what to do. We have had a 40 and 45 foot no slide coach and we realized immediately that the extra 5 feet changed the coach for our purposes significantly. We ended up with an abundance of storage we did not have, we gained a second vanity so we each could get ready to go out at the same time and our floor plan, especially regarding the toilet room was very practical. But now we have a 2 slide coach and we gained a more open feeling in the living /kitchen area and a bit more waling space in the bedroom. We lost storage space but the open feeling with the slides out makes the coach easier to live in and the price we pay is the loss of storage space. We don’t live in the coach but do tend to stay in one spot for a week or so meaning we can afford to lose the storage . Every coach is a compromise. You and you alone will have to determine if having a little more space to walk around provided by slides is more important than having a bus. Or you can become a very astute buyer, with the skills required to recognize a good buying opportunity and leap upon the first slide coach that is in great condition and is at your budget price. Occasionally someone dumps a coach and someone gets very lucky and is in the right spot at the right time.

As to safety, I feel very secure for a couple of reasons. First, I drive defensively. I drive slow, do not tailgate, avoid bad weather, and generally make an effort to select routes that minimize risk. But probably as important I know if I am ever involved in a collision or if I leave the road my chassis is not a box bolted onto a platform. My chassis is a fully welded structure that surrounds the entire living area and even in the event of a rollover I am confident the structure protecting me is going to get bent, but it will remain intact. A typical motor home tends to disassemble itself if it is involved in an accident so I am not willing to risk the consequences.

BTW, in a serious accident even a Prevost has its interior break loose and scatter around because it is typically just screwed to the frame structure so it is not perfect.

[Archived]

Brett,

Like said above, it’s a personal choice to want slides, etc. I can certainly understand the simplicity of a non-slide coach.

We had four slides on our Monaco Dynasty and just liked the room it provided. I wanted the ‘Bus’ to have four slides too so that’s what we bought.

We ran into Mark3101 at Prevost Goodlettsville a year or so ago and he graciouly gave us a tour of his 2011 3-slide Liberty. Having one slide in the living area gives a lot more space vs. no slide. By not having a slide on the front passenger side, gives you a nice long kitchen counter. Mark had the two super-slides in the bedroom giving him an enormous master suite.

Since we really don’t cook (beverage center and warming food in the convection/microwave), we wanted the living room space for entertaining.

So, what I’m trying to say is, is that just one slide will make a big difference in the living room. If you are ‘slide’ shy like Tom, one slide to maintain shouldn’t be a big deal and gives a lot of space in the living room.

Just another opinion…

Mark

[Walter]

My two cents worth FWIW…

We started rving in a 26′ GMC with 3 kids in the 70s…love, love, loved it… kids loved it too. Then we upgraded to a 33′ Bluebird… thought we had died and gone to heaven !! Then we upgraded to a Newell Coach 35′ then to another Newell 38’… none of these had slides and we “thought” who needs stinkin’ slides (sound familiar?).

We got away from rving for some 20 years since the kids were growing into other things in their lives… then one day Larry wants another RV so we started looking… (he too always wanted a Prevost)… but since we hadn’t had an rv in so long we chose a 42′ Holliday Rambler with one slide and loved it but it wasn’t too long before Larry wanted a bigger more slide model so we bought an almost new 2005 Holliday Rambler 45′ all electric coach with 4 slides…. it was dropdead gorgeous meeting the eye… had every option available at the time plus a seris 60 engine… we were set to go!!

Wasn’t too long before Larry’s eye was back on Prevosts… he just wanted one pure and simple… I kinda thought he was “nuts” and I wasn’t sure about giving up so much and “trading down” at least in my opinion…there were NO 4 slide Prevosts out there and only a couple of 3 slide coaches and 2 of those slides were in the bedroom and only one in the living room…. anyway the search continued… wasn’t too long before Larry found a 1998 45′ Vantare H3-45 with two slides… I am thinking this is one heck of a downgrade… he assured me it wasn’t… you’ll see he said.

Well we drive to Florida to pick it up and is was everything and more than he told me it was… it was superb… solid as a rock no body roll at all just so different… If you haven’t driven one you just have NO idea. Also to my surprise the two slides felt as big inside the H as the 4 slides in the old coach and way more space for storage especially outside. The H feels much bigger inside than the XL does too… its all a matter of what pushes your buttons.

I hope this helps you… but the final word is NO COMPARISON !!

Cheers, Diane

[Archived]

Brett,

Becky and I are sorta your polar opposites. We travel more than we stay and we love the no slide open feel going down the road for that reason. You seem to like the coach you have and the slides. From my experience with the other non Prevost coaches I have owned maintenance costs seem similar so I agree that shouldn’t be the make it or brake it issue. Jon and others have written many times the reasons people want slides and they are all valid. I would think a no slide H must have much more storage than any slide coach but you have obviously compared by now and that didn’t sell you. Slides vs no slides is just like Jon vs Tom it’s all personal preference. I vote Prevost and wouldn’t go back to a non Prevost. Unlike Tom (not Nancy) I haven’t ruled out a slide coach someday. All that said, happy now with money in your pocket is not a bad place to be either.

[Archived]

Tom, you better censor some of these folks before they cause you a problem !!!!!!!!!!!

Or double their dues.

[Roscoeapproved]

My humble $02 is for you to wait for the perfect slide bus to come to the market. I think for you guys, you’ll miss slides since it sounds like you’re more of a camper than a mover.

However nice the buses are – you might not see it for the lack of slides. I looked at a featherlite with 1 salon slide. I Think that type of bus might be what you’re looking for as it was way less than the usual 2 slide bus. You won’t miss it much in the bedroom (I think) but the salon really opens up with a slide. It’s not 4 slides but heck those busses are pushin the gvwr limit.

I think this because you said if you could afford slides we wouldn’t be talking. I’m suggesting maybe the right bus at the right price will come along and you’ll have what you really want. It’ll take time though…. They’re not Honda civics…. There aren’t that many of them.

---

Jeff and Lindsay

91 Marathon XL

[Per]

I probably mis-stated a lttle when I spoke about Prevost slides and not having this conversation. While we would miss the current floorspace my wife and I both said the non slide is easily doable (with an adjustment). We didn’t feel cramped and we don’t hate each other..lol It also had the fore/aft bed wich for us made the bedroom much more doable than a cross bed.

After much deliberation what we both have decided that it cmes down to is whether we want to write the down pament check….lol We are simple people, we aren’t rich and a bus isn’t simply a write off for us. I am a retired, disabled Military vet on a fixd income (not bad, but fixed) so I have no more earning potential. buying a bus would NOT change the way we live or put us in a financial pickle. We are currently upside down and would be again. It is what it is. We owe on nothing except our coach so payment is no issue (actually would be the same as current) but writing that big down payment is tough to make the pen wiggle……lol

So our conversations really are is it worth the price of admission, not whether we can live in it or like it. We both like it and we both know we can live in it.

I was a bit worried over maintenance costs, but Jon and the rest of you have kinda put that fear to bed. So now it really is about whether writing that check is worth it or not.

My wife and I certainly appreciate the comments and the fact they are honest and that you all are not Prevost salesmen. We even had a couple private email and we really appreciated the fact you took time out of your day to talk to us. We know you can’t make our decesion (even though we can easily help each other spend their money) but your thoughts and views as owners, especially those that came from big traditional coaches are valued.

[Roy]

Brett: Here is something else for you to look at.

Depreciation.

Your current coach is a 2007. I can’t remember what year Prevost your looking at, but I suspect its a little older then 2007.

Over time both coaches will depreciate. Which will likely depreciate faster?

The Prevost or your current 2007 coach?

Your current coach is ten years old. What is the value (as say a percentage of original cost new) of 15 and 20 year old coaches like your current one?

Then … what is the current value of Prevosts that are 5 and 10 years older than the Prevost you’re considering as a percentage of the original cost new?

I’m of the belief (hopefully not mistaken) that as Prevosts age, if they are kept in reasonable condition and not allow to deteriorate, they depreciate at a rate slower than non-Prevost coaches.

Maybe those who have had a number of Prevosts over the years might want to comment and opine on this issue.

[Brett]

We were camped out in June with the NewellGurus (nice folks). They had a coach tour set up that we participated in. Many that saw our coach were surprised it was a non-slide coach, because the big windows made it seem bigger. Our friends have a single slide in the salon. They went from a 4-slide Coutry Coach to their Prevost and don’t miss the slides. But that is a personal preference, you will have to use your own judgement.

I don’t agree with Jon that maintenance on a production coach such as your Eagle will be about the same as a Prevost. A Prevost chassis is significantly more complex than a Spartan, Freightliner, Country Coach, Monaco etc. You typically have at least two alternators, a 12/24 volt electrical system, and a nightmare pneumatic system. Then you add the complexity of the converter installed systems–our Marathon installed electrical control system could probably be installed as is in a space shuttle (if they ever build another one). Complexity pretty much adds up to added cost, and item costs are going to be higher. As an example, the drain line from the oil-cooled alternator cost more than the alternator on our last coach. Although I have to admit, replacing our friend’s single windshield on the CC was about $7,000, one section of their Prevost windshield was about $800.

So, why buy a Prevost? As mentioned, you really need to drive one. The folks at Marathon were kind enough to let us and our friends test drive one of their consignment coaches in our price range. We had driven late model CC Affinitys and Magnas, which I would think would ride similar to your coach. There was a big difference in the ride that you would have to experience for yourself.

A significant aspect that swayed us toward a Prevost was having coach expertise both on the Prevost side and the converter side close by, with Prevost and Marathon within 300 miles of our house. There were more than one occasion where the factory techs at CC were stumped with an issue on the Affinity. I never got the Jake brake fixed in close to ten years and several thousand bucks worth of trying. I have yet to bring an issue to Prevost or Marathon that they couldn’t get fixed (although some took a couple of tries!). And that is important to us.

We also like that everything in a Prevost is heavy duty. Compare the entry door hinges, and the weight of the entry door to a production coach, the heavy duty baggage doors, the engine cooling system that stays within limits chugging up a steep hill at 30 MPH in 100 degree outside heat, etc.

The snob appeal of a Prevost does not appeal to us, the quality of a Prevost conversion does.

[Bryan]

Per, love your last comment….I honestly doubt I would fit in with most Prevost people….but then again that is stereotyping and I try my best not to do that.I am a shorts and flipflops kinda a$$hole most of the time..lol just an old country boy with no money, a great wife, and a pasion to live life. I’ll take a friendly campfire and a state park and am not interested in a five star motor coach resort with wine sipping promptly at 5..lol

Sorry if I offended anyone on here, the ones that talk on here seem pretty cool..lol

[Archived]

If you like what you have, why change? Even if you assume the bus will cost no more to maintain than your American Eagle (which is almost definitely false) how much will you pay in sales tax on a bus? Probably ten grand or more. Is it worth spending that to make the change when you already have a rig you love?

[Archived]

One of the biggest mistakes people can make is to assume Prevost owners are somehow snooty or rich or consider themselves better than others.

One thing no Prevost owner has to worry about is if they “fit in”. Bring your Eagle to a rally such as the upcoming Oysterfest in Foley AL in April or any of the two Lakeland events in November and February and you will meet up with some great people. You will find we are no different than anybody else. Trust me, you will fit in.