[Archived]

I’ve been told that some delam repairs are being made by re-gluing the loose panels. I’m sure technology has improved the gluing process over the years as demonstrated by car manufacturers using high tech glue in lieu of spot welding more and more.

Anyone have first hand information on repair re-gluing? Who does it? Guarantee?

[Archived]

At the risk of beating this subject to death it has to be known by all owners and buyers that any XLII has the potential to suffer from delamination of the skin. There is no model year range most affected nor is there any reason to believe every XLII has the problem.

Because of the hit or miss nature of the problem anyone contemplating a purchase of an XLII should have the coach inspected for delamination by Prevost. PREVOST IS THE ONLY ENTITY THAT IS FULLY QUALIFIED TO ASSESS THE PROBLEM.

A lot of XLII coaches have had repairs by Prevost. Again, only Prevost is qualified to make the repairs and if anyone other than Prevost says they are qualified you will be taking a very large chance if you believe that. We know of at least one company that has claimed their technicians are trained by Prevost for skin repairs and according to Prevost only Prevost is qualified to do the repairs that have been developed by Prevost. The Prevost repairs involve rebonding the panels, including replacing entire panels if necessary, and then riveting the perimeter of the panels and covering the rivets with strips at the horizontal and vertical edges of the panels. If you see a coach with vertical stainless steel strips at the joints between panels that coach has been fully repaired and delamination will never be an issue.

If you do not see the stainless steel vertical strips before purchasing the coach take it to Prevost for an inspection. Repairs have typically run in the mid six figures so keep that repair cost in mind.

Do some searches of the posts on this forum and you will see lengthy and detailed discussions about the topic. It is highly probable that Prevost will no longer stand behind the cost of any repairs but one reason for the inspection at Prevost is the service center will forward information to Canada for a decision regarding if Prevost will bear any of the cost of repairs.

[Alvie]

Jon, I’ve read all that before

but

that does not answer the question.

[Archived]

Les,

Repair folks are definitely doing it. I had the Prevost repair done, but was told by a non factory shop they could do it by regluing at a fraction of the cost. I doubt there is any new super adhesive or some member, probably Al, would have heard about it. My recollection is the shop I spoke with was suggesting a Sika Flex product. I will also say my coach’s prior owner had repair by Prevost Mira Loma very early in the delam timeline . The factory repair at that time was to pull the panels and reglue. My coach was not in terrible need of immediate help when I did the current factory repair (hidden rivet repair) but did have evidence of the problem returning.

I bought this thing for fun, not frustration in a rain storm, so I did the current fix at the end of Prevost’s so called “good will” period and came away with what seems to be a great repair and feeling good about how Prevost treated me and the problem.

[Tim]

Les,

Prevost stands behind their work. I have zero knowledge of anyone else willing to do that. How long Prevost warrants the repair is a question they have to answer.

But to add a little detail so everyone has a grasp of the seriousness of the problem it is important to understand a little of the Prevost repair and why a simple rebonding isn’t even close to solving the problem.

If the “belt” that runs around the perimeter of the coach is removed it becomes apparent that water can run down the upper skin above the “belt”, run behind the belt and down onto the stainless steel skin that runs down from the belt to the top of the bays. As long as there is any chance of failure of the bond between the stainless skin and the chassis frame there is a potential for moisture to get behind the stainless skin panel(s) at which point the potential for mold and mildew gets very likely.

Prevost recognizes this potential and part of the repair process includes a metal “Z” strip that covers the top joint between the stainless skin and the frame. The Z strip is both riveted and sealed to the frame preventing any moisture coming from above the belt to get behind the lower stainless steel skin.

Before the Z strip is applied the entire panel is sealed to the maximum extent possible, both around the perimeter as well as in the center which is a time consuming and expensive part of the project and if required Prevost will replace the entire skin rather than risk not having it properly rebonded. With the skin rebonded and the Z strip added to prevent any moisture from getting behind the panel Prevost then rivets the entire perimeter of the skin. Finally the vertical joint between panels and the rivets at the joints are covered with a stainless steel strip matching the configuration of the ribs in the panels.

All that is followed by paint work as required to restore the coach to the original condition.

Les, I suspect your question is prompted by questions surrounding a coach you are looking at. Review my description and if the seller suggests that is how repairs will be made I think you can have a high confidence level in the repairs. But if the repairs are not made as described above keep in mind that before Prevost developed the process they attempted to rebond panels with less than satisfactory results and even though most of the cost of repairs came out of their pocket they have chosen to do them as described to insure the repairs are virtually going to last forever.

Does that answer the question?

[Dan]

Thanks Jon.

[June]

Repaired XL2 coaches don’t seem to come up for sale often or the sellers are not advertising the fact which would be a big plus in my mind.

Having Prevost inspect a potential purchase would be great but this may not always be possible. Are there any tips for a reasonably technical person to do a quick pre-inspection? Look for lifted panel corners? Any panels (e.g. on slides) more likely to delaminate than others?

Gerald

[Jim/Chris]

Gerald –

We took our coach to Prevost-Jacksonville, FL to test for leaks and loose panels. All they did was to hook up a squirrel cage fan to the toll booth window so you have positive air pressure going into the coach. They had a spray bottle with soap solution that the sprayed all the seams, panels, and doors. Where you see bubbles coming out, like testing for an air line leak, is where you will find the leak. If they come out around the panels, the adhesive is not adhered to the coach. This is what Prevost told us. Our coach came out fine. Had some bubbles around the entry door – a slight adjustment to the door fixed that!

June

[Deleted User]

June, thanks! That seems pretty straightforward and non-invasive.

Gerald

[Archived]

Jon, where you say “ Prevost is the only place qualifyed to assess the panel problem, does that include their affiliates or are you saying the major facilities only?

as someone that has been a potential buyer for over 2 years, I will say one would be hard pressed to find a seller willing to let a prospective buyer take their bus several hundred miles for a panel inspection.

I understand that is a buyer’s problem but it is a problem.

[Larry & Diane]

We bought our Marathon XLII two years ago. If a seller didn’t have a receipt from Prevost showing delam inspection or repair we didn’t buy it. Ours had been repaired at Jacksonville. We got lucky and have receipts going back to 2006 for almost everything.

[Larry & Diane]

With the potential repair cost well into mid five figures and part of the Prevost inspection to be a determination if Prevost will pay for all or part of the cost it does not make sense for someone to not take a coach to a Prevost service facility.

I am not aware of any other place you can go where Prevost will accept the results if repairs are needed to determine if they will participate in the repair cost.

As a seller I understand the costs associated with getting it inspected, but consider this. As a seller if I get the coach inspected and it has an issue I get to know exactly what it will cost and if Prevost will share in the cost. That way I can decide whether to proceed with repairs or sell as-is.

If there is no delamination then I will have in my hand the documentation proving it is not an issue.

Or I can try to cheat the buyer by not allowing an inspection or knowledge of needed repairs.

[Archived]

I Purchased my coach with what I thought was delamination negotiated the price based on that and then negotiated the seller to pay for half of the repair at prevost. Delamination fixed Z bars stainless steel straps repaint of the repair and looks better than new no more leaking. so if you’re looking at a coach with possible Delamination negotiate that in the price and take it to Prevost for the repair. Mine was leaking on the sides and at the roof total for repair was $44,000 hope this helps .

[Tradewinds Coach & Marine]

Good info Mike..

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Tradewinds Coach
Kyle Bennett (Service)
Brian Miller (Sales)

[Roscoeapproved]

I have a water leak above the entry door, upper left. Coach was level but when I would lower the left side it would stop. Has anyone experienced this and can give any obvious places to look? It does appear that it is coming from roof area; maybe a clearance light or where some caulking has come loose?

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Jeff and Lindsay

91 Marathon XL