[AL]

Just a wild thought…

Once I make the final decision to move forward, possibly we can Crowd Source the selections here on PC. After I figure out the desired layout, I’ll come to you folks to help me make sure I don’t make too many rookie mistakes!

Yeah, I have the bug…but I have a lot to learn before the check writing phase begins. I’ve already started making lists and I’ll guess that’s a symptom of potential future ownership!

[Archived]

If you want folks on a forum to validate your selection you are either going to provide a lot of personal information, or you are going to get really confusing answers because we are all comfortable with our conversions so the information is going to be biased and based on our personal situations.

We don’t know your mechanical skills, your budget, your cash flow for future maintenance, if you like green and your wife likes red, if you travel with a parrot, how you want to use the bus, where you will travel, whether you keep things for a long time or you flip them, if you cook in the bus, bring friends, etc.

Some people bought their bus because they really liked the colors, decor, and appearance. Some bought their coach because it was cheap. Some bought their bus because it had a perfect service history. Some bought their coach sight unseen on ebay. Some agonized over the purchase for months. We are all different so at best you can expect different opinions.

[Archived]

Thanks Jon,

In reference to my mechanical skills, let’s just say there’s many things I do better than turn a wrench. I do have the ability and discipline to follow a scheduled maintenance plan and am glad there are handheld satellite phones that can work even when stranded in remote areas where there’s no cell service. With that said, my mechanical ability is on the very low end of the scale. This lack of mechanical skills keeps pointing me at starting with a new MH.

In terms of budget, my methodology at this point in the process, I’m considering three ways of jumping into this lifestyle:

1) Purchase a new Foretravel Realm (this model comes fairly loaded from the factory), an IH-45, a King Aire or possibly a Cornerstone with a desirable floorplan and within a year of ownership, I should know if I’m in for the long term. I’ve read a number of not-so-great initial ownership and service experiences from new owners of some of these brands and that makes be a bit nervous. But, if I like the lifestyle, I’ll skip to step three;

2) Finding a pre-owned Prevost that’s in very good shape (fully checked out and zero’d out as much as makes sense) and fits my needs or;

3) Take the time and do it right and design and build a new Prevost.

If I can take away something from my experiences in buying somewhat exotic cars and my homes over the decades, I should bite the bullet and save money over the long term and buy what I really want to end up with on the front end. But as we know, from a newbies perspective, this is a process.

As stated in another PC post, if all goes as planned (I should know this week if it’s really happening) I’ll be renting a 2011 XL II this Summer with a seasoned driver taking the helm and teaching me the ropes along way of a 10K mile USA trip. By the time this trip is completed, I should have a clearer understanding if I want to proceed and if so, which specific features are important to me. The only test drive I’ve planned in advance during this trip is of the two Foremost models (when I pass through Nachadoches) as I figure that since those seem, on paper, to be the closest models to a Prevost, I’ll be able to perform back-to-back test drives with them and compare the experience to the XL II I’ll have for nearly two months this Summer. The other models can be seen/driven locally.

If the final decision is to build a new Prevost, I’ll then start the process of visting selected converters.

How’s that for a plan? I’m open to suggestions.

[Archived]

Sounds like a very carefully structured plan. The good news is you have so many options to choose from. Not sure if there is any bad news but I know it is often harder to come to a decision when we have all the choices available. I like the idea of driving a Prevost to a test drive of the Foretravel. Hope you post your comparison impressions on that experience.

[Archived]

Thanks Busb2,

My hope is to document as much of the test drive experience as possible…while the comparision is fresh in my mind. It’s a safe bet that I’ll be sharing my experience as I hope it will assist others who are going through the same dilemma.

[Archived]

My only concern is you might make a decision based on a test sampling of one.

This forum has members who are biased in favor of Prevost coaches. Recognize that. If you go to the forums on which owners of conventional motor homes post you will see the same type of bias. That is to be expected. But when you ask the hard question to owners of a very expensive motor home if they would ever consider the purchase of a Prevost conversion to replace their MH a large percentage of the honest responses will be affirmative.

If you ask the reverse question of Prevost owners if they would ever consider the purchase of a very expensive motor home to replace their Prevost I suspect a large percentage would not. That is pretty revealing and if you wish to ask the question on this forum go ahead. Maybe someone smarter than me can create a survey to track the answers.

The reason I mention doing that is one exceptionally good experience or one exceptionally bad experience is not a good way to get a true sense of the validity of a decision.

I would never ever build a new Prevost conversion without a couple of years experience in either another Prevost or at least a top of the line motor home. There are too many decisions and without the experience to back them up you really don’t know if your use of the motor home will work with the features and systems.

We were really lucky because we had zero experience and zero knowledge and fell into the opportunity to buy our first coach. It was luck that it worked so well for our purposes at the time. My guess is you like to experience different things and if you have moved past your previous interests or past times it suggests to me you will eventually move past the Prevost lifestyle (motor home lifestyle, same thing). That being the case I would urge you to recognize if you buy a motor home or Prevost new you will take a huge beating on depreciation. That may be OK with you, but just be aware that is a given. Every one of us is pouring money down the drain because we would rather have a coach than the money apparently, but occasionally someone comes along that considers the purchase of a coach an “investment”. I don’t think so.

[Tim]

Wise Words Jon.

I learned a long time ago that anything with wheels or that takes fuel or ongoing maintance…even a house is NOT a financial investment. I prefer to look at these things as investments in a lifestyle and realize there’s much overhead and ongoing expense involved. When I look at the big picture, just the sales tax of a Prevost is much higher than many people make in a year. So, I consider myself fortunate that after many years of being a workaholic and having made some solid investments, it’s time to try something different. From my observations I think it’s safe to say that most people who own the higher end class A motorhomes have taken risks and achieved some level of success in their lives and look at them a bit differently than someone who shopping for a much less expensive class A RV or motorhome.

Entering this lifestyle is not something that I just thought of yesterday and started posting about. I’ve had a facination with motorhomes and for decades, but simply never took the time to consider the change in lifestyle. In the late 90’s I recevied an award from the RVIA but that’s another story.

Like many others these days, I started my research online and have spent many months perusing the various forums and lurking in an attempt to learn what others had to say about the motorhome ownership experience with various brands.

As you can see from my previous posts, I’m a bit methodical in my thinking and planning. I’m attempting to have fun in the learning process and have setup a way that I hope will allow me to learn more about MH part time life and do my best to make the correct decision on what works for me. If all goes as planned, I hope to make a decision on which route to go by the Fall. It’s going to be a fun Summer!

I’m going to do my best in sampling as much as I can to find out what works best for what my needs are today and what they may be tomorrow and I hope to do it without being a nuisance to the salespeople. In a perfect world, I would like to make this purchase once and buy or build the coach I feel is appropriate. So far, I’ve demo’d a Newmar Essex and an XL II and immediately noticed at least some of the differences. Both of them had a lot of pros and based on how they would be used would be a good way to determine which route to pursue.

From reading various forums it seems that many of the buyers of new coaches from various brands experience a seemingly high number of initial defects. For the life of me, I’m having difficulty understanding how any manufacturer can release a product of this magnatude with so many bugs and then make it the dealer’s responsibility to repair the issues. Even worse, I’ve read some horror stories about how long it takes to get some of these initial defects repaired…and that’s a scary thing, especially to someone who doesn’t know one end of a wrench from the other.

I’ll add to this statement that I fully realize that many owners may not be the type to visit forums and sometimes it takes a negative experience to join in on the conversations. This is one factor that keeps me coming back to considering a Prevost in that the number of initial defects on new coaches seem to be much lower than what I’m seeing with other brands. I’m also not hearing as many service or dealer nightmares on this forum than I have read on other forums. In fact, the folks on this site seem to speak highly of their dealers and service centers. That’s a good thing!

[Jim]

With rare exception Prevost owners get very good service and support. The converters and service centers, including the independent ones who specialize in Prevost conversions respect the owner’s wishes and go far beyond anything you are likely to encounter at the conventional RV dealer to satisfy a customer.

That is not wishful thinking. If you have read this forum you will find a lot of very favorable comments about service providers. We do not censor comments critical of coach service so if you find a lack of complaints it is because there are very few.

[jack]

I’ve used some of the terrific articles on this site so far and am modifying a couple to use in a user/friendly style for myself. For example, Jon has a fantastic “Prevost Pre-Purchase Inspection” article on this site. While great in a paragraph format, I’ve re-done it in a “check-list” format to make it easier, for me, to use when it’s time to go thru this purchase checklist. Call it a “left brain/right brain” thing…

Jon also incorporated the “Maintenance Schedule” in this same article, which happens to be at the end. I’ve taken this and put in my checklist to make it easier, for me, to ensure the maintenance was done on the prospective coach I intend to buy or, account for a non-maintained coach by lower the price.

I’m also going to work on putting the “Maintenance Schedule” in an Excel spreadsheet so, once I do purchase a Prevost, I can use the spreadsheet to track all my maintenance either by mileage or age.

None of this would be possible without this great site and I appreciate those who have contributed. While I have the articles, I still need to learn “to do” some of the routine maintenance, although I’m looking forward to this experience. I will be buying a used 15-year coach and, I know it will require maintenance.

I don’t know if someone has thought about or has already done this, but any “U-Tube” type videos of the “maintenance items” would be extremely helpful. I’ve seen this on a couple forum sites, as well as personal blogs, and it helps get thru some issues when you’re reading the article, i.e., oil, filter, belt changes, etc.

[Archived]

I have had a foretravel , American eagle , American heritage and three Prevosts , they all had some stuff to fix but by far the Prevost once in top shape it’s the best overall for miles and miles , I do about 60,000 miles a year for the last ten years and before that about 20 years about 150,000 miles a year you will not beat the Prevost hands down, hope this helps

[joel]

With our upcoming seminar we are now laying the groundwork for a series of U Tube videos. We have had it suggested that we use professionals or at least apprentices so I am sure Tom and I will be discussing this in great detail in the next couple of months.

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1999 XLV X-6872,  liberty #440