[Andrew]

Thanks
guys,

And Rocky, my wife says for me there’s a
4th… “Oops”!

I’m actually quite pleased
to say I’ve learned a bunch from you guys. And I know that one absolute
truth is that my learning curve really starts after purchase! My wife has
been living with my motorhome planning for about three years now starting with
the plastic coaches. Since I’ve been looking for a Prevost, I guess about
a month now, my wife said yesterday; “I can understand you and the
Prevost, there really isn’t anything like it”!

From the beginning I’ve
shared the good, the bad and the ugly regarding all that is motorhomeing with
her. Because of that she’s been a big help to me looking, planning and
deciding. To give you an idea of the bad and ugly thngs I share with her,
I even read your stuff to her!

We look forward to our
Prevost adventure and are looking every day for our Prevost. I’ve even
become friends of one of the converters who led me away from one of their
coaches and said they would find my coach for me! I’ll keep looking of
course but I believe they will do just what they said and I’m tickled about
that!

[Andrew]

Instead of listing the reasons why this is a bad idea, I’ll take a different tact and state why I feel this is a good one.

There’s no shortage of home layout programs and apps that allow the user to enter the dimensions of a house or a room and then place furniture, fixtures, appliances, doors, hallways and even windows on the plan. Some programs allow the sure to import an exisiting floorplan and use it as the basis for modification or a creation of a new layout.

It seems that to make this work for the OP (Andrew), an overhead view of the interior of the various shells is all that’s needed for this project. Then Andrew and his Wife can have some fun experimenting with designs and layouts to find floorplans that suit their needs. These programs utilize sofas, beds, counters, cabinets, appliances, etc., that can be resized and simply dragged and dropped into position. While it won’t take weight considerations into place, they created floorplan seems like a great way to start a conversation with a converter or remodler to let them see at a glance, what the customer is seeking and then modifying it to adhere to the weight and space considerations of that specific coach. Surely there will be tradeoffs in the final design, but seeing them graphically and having the ability to instantly change them on a tablet is somethign that could create positive layout results.

It would be nice to have the raw (empty) floorplans in both a slides-in and a slides out scaled drawing so that Andrew can see how the design is affected for traveling or camping.

While this isn’t a Prevost, the image above can give you an idea of what a basic program or app can generate without requiring much skill level.

These programs have come a long way over the past two decades and now require a minimal skill level to use. If a user takes the time to create the floorplan, it seems like it’s an ideal way of letting a converter or remodler know what’s desirable to the user and assist them in modifying an exisiting coach or starting from scratch with a new coach and creating one that takes into consideration the needs and wants of the user. And yes, based on the detail inputted by the user, some of these programs allow for CAD style views and some can work with 3D printers to create actual models.

It seems what Andrew is seeking is the dimensions of the interior of the coach shell, having the driver and non movable passenger cockpit and the rear engine areas already on the plan is a good start to create a plan for his specific coach or one that he’s considering for purchase. I’ll add this could be a fun family project as it’s like assembling a puzzle.

Andrew, is this what you’re seeking?

[Andrew]

I suggest getting a level gauge cleaner. They sell it at camping/RV stores. Put in 3 or 4 bottles to the grey tank. fill up tank to about 1/4 way. take bus for 30 minute drive to slosh around the cleaner. The idea is to clean any gunk off of the indicator sensors.

[Andrew]

Personally, I think that having some sort of drag and drop layout program that starts with specific shells and allows a basic birds eye view to add and move around interior components is an excellent method of designing a coach or being the first step of a remodeling project. Of course, once the desirable floorplan has been achieved, weight distribution and other considerations would have to be evaluated by a converter, remodeler or expert.

This way, the converter can see which components and interior functions are important to the customer and then work around them to find a floorplan that is not only balanced for weight purposes, but takes in mind the needs of the end user. Surely, a program like this could speed up the design process and give the converter something to start with.

[Andrew]

Yes sir, My position exactly, I can pay cash for it! I’m told with it being a 2 cycle that if your slowed down going up hills/mountains its hard to build your speed back up. Have you found it to be a big deal or just something to sit back and enjoy the soundings. I’ve also heard the engine leaks oil, has that been your experience as well?

HJ

[Andrew]

We had one of our Freedoms give up shortly after we bought our coach. Decided, as Tom suggested to you, to upgrade both to Magnum 2812’s. Was a direct, drop in replacement for both the inverters and the remotes. I would suggest if you do upgrade to do both at the same time…the Freedoms are modified sine wave; the new Magnums are pure sine wave. Most, if not all, of our modern appliances run much better on the pure sine wave. I’m not an EE, so can’t talk to mixing a Freedom with a Magnum…But I would think it would not be a wise move.