[Archived]

I have never had a motorhome. Others will have to relate their experiences regarding build quality of conventional motor homes and their support.

I have had a lot of experience with my Prevost coaches and I have had hundreds if not thousands of conversations in person, via phone, via email, or on forums with Prevost owners relating to their experiences or observations.

The first theme that is often repeated is how a Prevost drives compared to a motor home. I have very limited experience in that regard, but I can say with confidence each of my coaches handled better than the previous one and significantly better than my motorhome driving experience. My coaches all tracked down the road and did not wander. They are very capable of handling cross winds. I am not constantly making steering corrections due to the crown in the road, passing trucks, or because of bumps. That is a huge benefit because if you are fighting the steering wheel every step of the way you will be worn out after driving for a while. The stability of the coach is such that it just does not wear you out. I have no way to quantify that benefit alone, but it is a huge advantage.

The second item of note is that while a Prevost needs service on both the chassis and the house, it is no different than any of the motor homes mentioned. Required or suggested maintenance is going to be the same. What is different is the chassis is robust. It was built as a commercial vehicle with expectations that its life would be measured in terms of millions of miles. Entertainer coaches are a close comparison to motor homes and it is very common to see them with 500,000 miles to 1,000,000 miles on them. The chassis and components are intentionally robust to handle that kind of service and to provide long life. Try to find anyone that expects that kind of life from a motor home.

Converters who build our coaches are dealing with a market that has very high expectations. Most have had motor homes. Most that have had motor homes have had high end motor homes. The differences are evident. Prevost conversion interiors are well constructed of very good materials. They are built strong so screws won’t pull out. The use of materials such as flakeboard is almost non-existent. The quality of the wiring and plumbing is excellent. The components such as inverters or generators or appliances are all excellent quality and all have long life spans despite being beaten to death going down the highway.

After watching my friend who has a conventional motor home spend weeks and weeks at an RV dealer trying to get a shopping list of stuff fixed I thank my lucky stars that if I ever have to take my coach in for repairs I know the service centers or converters are going to get on the repairs promptly, get the work done and send me on my way. We all have repairs to make. Plan on it. But a good maintenance program minimizes unexpected repairs, and when something does break usually it is more of an inconvenience rather than a catastrophe.

Forums almost always contain reports of or questions about needed repairs. That would suggest things are falling apart. That would suggest that owners are constantly getting repairs. Not true. Put our forum in perspective. Most of the questions are from relatively new owners seeking information because they may not understand something. On a complex vehicle those types of posts are to be expected. When owners do post about a widget that has broken keep in mind we now have in excess of 1900 members and a great number of them will make a post about a needed repair to get guidance from other owners. But with the number of owners on the forum do we really have a high incidence of needed repairs? When you think about all that can fail on our coaches it is a wonder we have so few posts about repairs.

[Corey]

In my humble opinion, you are struggling with the situation of “You do not know what you do not know”.

Having said that, I own a Foretravel plus I work on most of the motorhomes you have mentioned. So I have seen the bones or the innards of these machines. I do not believe any manufacturer reaches the robust build level of the Prevost converters, especially Foretravel IH45 and double especially Foretravel Realm.

The other motorhomes are Ford or maybe Buick level builds. But the Prevost buses are Rolls Royce level. The purchase price of a IH45 or Realm will put a large bunch of Prevosts in you budget.

Another way of saying this is buy the Prevost first and be done with it. Or, be like myself, purchase something else first and be stuck with it or take a money bath and get the Prevost you really want second.

Life is long series of choices so I join the others in wishing you “All the best” as you make yours.

[Andy]

My initial motorhome was a low end late 80’s Holiday Rambler. We had a great time with it, there was usually something minor to fix but simple enough that I don’t recall ever having to involve the dealer. In fact the entire coach was very simplistic. Next was a new 1990 Foretravel Gran Villa and while much higher end, by today’s standards it was still simple. In the pecking order of the day I would compare it to Entegra, King Aire and Allegro Bus today. Again I had only very minor issues and owned it 5 years. Foretravel was great to deal with and I believe today’s Foretravel and Newell would be the best non Prevost coaches to own. My Prevost is a 2002, was well kept and has been a delight to own. No high end motor coach will be inexpensive to own but my personal experience suggests that apples to apples they are not that different. Jon mentioned a lot of talk about fixes or maintenance on this forum and this is a great place to learn, but look at mileage of the coaches on this forum and you will soon realize the coaches you are considering are not in the same league. Drive ability, safety and security, and overall Prevost quality is not comparable. I have not owned a new Prevost, maybe Mr. Mark will weigh in, but I cannot imagine the current converters just telling you not to worry about the flood problem and in my opinion the future problems to come from the flood of the King Aire owner in the link you posted. The windows alone give you an experience like no other. Best wishes on your selection.

[Corey]

Hello Everyone,

I’ve mentioned this in a previous thread, our new Prevost is our second coach. The first was a 2008 Monaco Dynasty that we ordered from the factory in January of 2007, taking delivery in April 2007. We drove that coach for 7.5 years and almost 70,000 miles. We enjoyed it thoroughly as it gave us a compass to guide us on what we wanted next.

While we were at the No Rally Rally in Foley, AL, we saw many 15-20 year old Prevosts that looked newer than our previous coach. Our paint had started to ‘check’ in the black painted area’s. The older Prevosts looked virtually new!

EVERYTHING regarding a Prevost is just top notch, to the things that you see and those things that you don’t.

In regards to the King Air, how unfortunate… new coach flooded. I would take it back to the factory as many stated on that thread. Things can happen in any coach that you buy but the standards by the converters seem very solid and meticulously instituted (to me).

PBG, I often look at the coaches for sale advertised here in the ‘for sale’ section and there are many beautiful coaches shown. Your summer trip in the Prevost will certainly open your eyes and what a excellent way to experience ‘the best’.

Good luck on your search PBG!

Mark

[Corey]

Thanks to all for the replies regarding this situation. Considering that a King Aire is (and now, most likely “was”) on my short list, I have been in contact with this King Aire owner who is currently dealing with Newmar regarding this unfortunate situation and he’s now following this thread on PC. (Do I get a reduction in my annual dues for bringing in a Newbie?)

Personally, I don’t see any way that Newmar can not either provide this new owner with a new King Aire or possibly provide a full refund. Unless they are self-insured, I’ll guess the loss will be minimal to them. Considering this motorhome was delivered at and inspected by the factory and considering it happened in day three of ownership, I’m finding it strange that someone from the factory did not jump on an airplane to immediately survey the damage and to gain the knowlede of what went wrong in its production process. I’m miffed by this and Newmar’s slow response leaves a tarnished image in my mind.

Mr. Mark, you’re absolutely correct. I hope to learn quite a bit during my six week Summer adventure on the XL. I’ve spent many months researching and performing due diligence and it seems that all roads lead to Prevost. I’m not simply seeking a machine, I’m looking for something that will deliver a specific type of lifestyle.

In a perfect world, I hope to make this purchase only once and minimize the woulda’s, coulda’s and shoulda’s and compromises. The information I’m finding on this site have shown to be helpful to this newbie. Thank You!

With that said, I have some follow-up quesitons:

Do you think that Foretravel (new IH-45 or Realm) would handle this situation in the same manner as Newmar, or would they be more like a converter and seek to identify and fix the problem in a timely manner? And, how would a Converter handle this situation? If this were to happen to a new Prevost owner, what would be a reasonable expectation for the customer?

[Corey]

PBG, the XLII you are renting….are you driving it and is it a MH or an Entertainer ? Geo.

[Ken]

Stuff happens. I cannot speak about how major problems on new coaches are handled because I have no experience in that regard, but I would be totally surprised if it did happen on a Prevost conversion of roughly the same age and then the owner would be made whole, no matter what it took. I know of owners who have had entire paint jobs redone at no expense to them and the bill for something like that would have been very expensive. Two companies stand behind a coach, Prevost and the converter and both will set the standard for quality.

Bear in mind however if your target purchase is approaching 10 years or so you are on the hook for repairs. A lot of the reports of problems you see on the forum are people with older coaches, not to say just because they are old, but because neither Prevost or the converter have an obligation to pay for repairs.

Don’t dwell on repairs. It is skewing your selection process because we talk openly of needed maintenance and repairs. No matter what we experience it is probable those of conventional motor homes go through exactly the same level of needed repairs and maybe more often.

A well maintained coach kept on a good maintenance program is going to deliver a lot of trouble free service. When service is needed I am of the opnion it is going to be of better quality and done more efficiently that that provided by those who service a conventional motor home. Read the comments about those who provide service. There are very few complaints even though we will not censor any negative posts that have a well defined problem.

[Archived]

Hi Corey/George,

Per your question, it’s a 2010 (or 2011) XL that I rented through Goss RV. They are providing a driver who will be taking the wheel for the majority of the trip. I’m to understand he’s a trainer for Prevost as well and over the course of the trip I’ll be learning the ropes of handling and maintenance. It’s a MH and is setup with bunks as well as a Master.

I don’t want to sound like too much of a rookie, but I like the fact it has dual generators as I like A/C! It does take away from the garage space.

I’ll attempt to upload a couple of photos:

Yay, it worked!

Jon, I fully understand that there will be associated costs along the way and that nothing is perfect. I’m more concerned about the downtime associated with needed repairs and the lead time involved in making a service appointment.

After the 10K mile trip I’ll make these decisions:

1) Is this lifestyle for me? If Yes, move to step #2.

2) Which model/brand will suit the majority of my needs?

3) If it’s a Prevost, will I find a new unit, design one to my specifications, or seek a pre-owned model.

This is a process and I’m trying not to take the cart before the horse.

I have scheduled a meeting at Foretravel as I pass through that area and after spending a few weeks on the XL, it should provide a point of comparison.

Comments and input welcomed.

[Archived]

PGB, sounds like you will be driving also, and that’s all you will need. Drive it and the KA, Foretravel and a Newhell. We all know what your decision will be. Geo.

[Tim]

For purposes of a 10,000 mile run it is certainly going to show all that is needed to know about a Prevost. The two generators are because entertainers cannot afford downtime or to be uncomfortable so with only driver’s air on that coach I suspect one generator will be running almost all the time.

To make the experience realistic it should be used in the same manner as motorhome owners use their coaches. That means campgrounds, visiting various popular sites and destinations, and staying at some long enough to get to use the coach as a 2nd home as opposed to expensive transportation. Go to Sturgis, take it to a NASCAR race, stay at a first class RV resort for a week or so, over night in a rest area or a Walmart parking lot.

Stop at a Prevost service center and have some maintenance done to see the quality and efficiency.

Tow a car. go to a rally, and get to know Prevost owners.

You will end up with a Prevost.

[Ken]

Thanks Jon,

We’re on the same page as there’s no Walmarts on the itinerary. We’ll be staying at the nicest campgrounds/facilities available at specific locations during the trip. A series of conference calls with the Goss RV so far have shown to be helpful in the planning process. Some of the stops will be overnights and some will be up to three nights at a specific destination. There are a few nights where I’ll plan on staying in hotels…for example, I need to be in NYC for a few days during the trip and the XL will be sleeping in Jersey City. I’ll be in a hotel those nights. Whether it’s me or the driver behind the wheel, I truly don’t see the joy of attempting to navigate the XL towing a car through midtown Manhattan! Maybe someday, but not on this trip.

Yes, we will be towing a SUV and there is a planned maintance stop halfway through the trip. Right now it’s scheduled where I’ll fly home for a few days while it’s being transported for planned service, but after reading your post, maybe I’ll change my schedule to see that specific service facility.

I have a shakedown trip to the Bluewater resort coming up prior to the big trip and considering I’ve produced a few videos in my day and published a few words, I’m hoping to document part of my first night’s stay and share it here.

All in all, I’m planning A Trip of a Lifetime and it could result in change of my recreational lifestyle. I have a lot to learn and I’m not getting any younger! Please note that this is a one-time type of itinerary, and if I proceed to purchase, future travels will be much more relaxing.

I realize we’ve gotten off topic in this thread and I hope I’ve made the point that I’m taking potential ownership seriously and attempting to learn as much as I can before making the decision to write the big check and the input received is valuable to me…Thank You! I’ve run forums in the past (any VOG Members here?) and I’ve seen some crowds be brutal to newbies and that’s not the case on PC….again, Thanks.

To get back on topic, reading about what the King Aire owner is going through and solely based on his posts, understanding that Newmar is not jumping through hoops to assist the new owner in rectifying the issue and providing timely solutions is puzzling to me. If I was running Newmar and this situation was brought to my attention, I would have someone on an airplane an onsite to assist the new owner asap. If this situation is accurate (yeah, I know not to believe everything I read online and that there’s always three sides to a story), not only is dispatching a tech asap good customer service and a way to stop this from being a PR nightmare, I would personally want to know why this happened and what can be done on the produciton side to make sure this same mistake doesn’t happen twice.

My purpose in posting this King Aire issue on PC was an attempt to learn what’s a reasonable level of after the sale customer service should I buy a new Prevost conversion, (or a pre-owned model from a converter that still has some sort of warranty) and something goes wrong during the warranty covered portion of ownership.

I’m glad the OP posted this story of his three day old King Aire in public view as it may give potential purchasers such as myself pause before wanting to deal with a specific manufacturer.

One more thing…

The reason I’m planning to visit Foretravel is because there’s little if any ownership experience information from IH-45 or Realm owners. I realize the Realm is a new model, but theres a number of IH-45’s out there. Understanding that many owners only turn to forums when there’s a negative issue, I’m wondering if the owners are simply satisfied with their after the sales experience? So, that’s why I’m stopping by the Foretravel facility.

Again, a Prevost is top on my list, but I wouldn’t be doing myself any favors by not exploring other options and hopefully, making this a pleasurable learning experience.

Sorry for the long post!

[Dick]

I think you are doing it right. Di and I jumped in with both feet, and we quickly realized the lifestyle had nothing to do with the bus as much as it had to do with meeting folks who have become friends all over the country. I was always in a hurry because like most others was trying to jam about 30 hours a day into my 24 hour day. That attitude changed.

The biggest adjustment was to realize as soon as I was behind the wheel I was on vacation and to relax. Too many people still think they need to be doing business while they are driving and that defeats the whole purpose.

As to your comment about newbies, so far we haven’t run into any Prevost owners that started our knowing it all and every one of us has been humbled by the complexity of the coach. We can relate to what every new or potential owner is going through. There will not be any brutal attacks on here, unless you count how I am abused about the Lennon Sisters and my rotary dial cell phone or Tom thinking he has actually got his real last bus.

[Dick]

You are absolutely doing it right. We full- timed for just under 10 years, and boy did we wish we had stepped up to a Prevost conversion from the beginning.

There is, however, one major draw back to starting with a Prevost bus conversion. You will not fully appreciate just how much quality is contained within that bus unless you have had the “opportunity” to wrestle with 40 plus feet of plastic motorhome around the country first.

Go for it!

[Dick]

To pay $900,000 for something brand new this and to have what happened to the new owner in what I think was ONLY 1,000 miles and a few days and then have what I would call a lack of real concern on the part of the manufacturer … is unacceptable.

Either the manufacturer is truly indifferent to the plight of their motorhome (I am reluctant to call this a “coach”) owner, or are having trouble realizing the magnitude of the problem.

If this was mine, once I realized that manufacturer wasn’t going to try to get a good tech to me as quickly as possible … I would have probably hired a lowboy on my nickel and deposited the motorhome at the front door of the manufacturer as quickly as the drivers could get it there.

[Archived]

PBG: There appears to be an RV resort in Jersey City or Hoboken across the Hudson River from Manhattan. Stay there and take the PATH train or a water taxi across the river to Manhattan. We plan on staying there when we visit the friend we made in NJ and NY when we lived in New York City.