[Clifford]

I have serviced my air dryers every two years. When I had the one with the big snap ring (for lack of a better description) I got pretty good at servicing that one, but when I got my 97 coach with the spin on I thought that was the best thing going.

I will admit it made me grunt when I used a big strap wrench on the cartridge and it didn’t move right away when I pulled as hard as I could, but by pulling continuously for several seconds the cartridges would begin to move. Even a few degrees of turn made me realize the battle was over, and at that point it would spin off without having to use a length of pipe for leverage. In fact I never had an issue spinning them off. But I also never used excessive force replacing a cartridge. I would snug it by hand and give it a slight bit of additional rotation with the strap wrench. Lubing the rubber gasket was vital.

I think it pays to never let the mechanic use force to install a new cartridge. Spin on cartidges for anything, fuel, coolant, oil or air by design just need to be snug.

[Clifford]

I have my cartridge changed at Prevost Nashville every 12-18 months and it is always difficult to get off. I had the whole dryer replaced this year so I am interested in how easily it comes off in the future.

DKO

[Clifford]

Now you are just getting me excited.

Two slides are plenty for us. We made far too many compromises just to get the two slides. Cannot imagine what else we have to lose with four slides, especially now that the emissions system eats up a lot of real estate in the rear.

[Clifford]

I don’t boots will do much good Jon I would for full chest waders

good luck

[Clifford]

I agree Jon, Low IFR is way easier than driving a bus through downtown Atlanta!

[Clifford]

Thanks Jon! Bob… Looks like the beginning of a great relationship here friend :)! Thanks for the advice, I will post pictures as I do the work so others can know of the do’s and don’t! So far my body parts look good ….but who knows what I may run into. Will check you out for parts if needed. I do have a drivers side window that is fogged. Guess the seal broke. Got to do something with it soon …. can’t see out my mirrors.

[Clifford]

Thanks
for all the kind words, but it takes participation from the members
to make a Rally and you all came through big time. I really enjoyed
meeting all the new to us folks, but wish I would have had time one
on one to get better acquainted. Seems like there is never enough
time and then departure day happens before you know it.

Please
let us know what we could have done different or better, you won’t
hurt our feelings, we need to know and plan for the next one. We’ll
get a thread started here soon to explore the next Rally, so stay
tuned.

Thanks
again for all who attended, it was big fun….

[Clifford]

This was my first rally ever, so I really didn’t know what to expect. I have to say that it was way beyond my expectations. The lectures by Prevost and Lifeline were great. The four Prevost representatives divided up the list of attendees and went through a pre/post inspection at each of the owners’ bus. Priceless! Jon, Tom and many of the regulars who contribute to this forum are all genuinely great guys and very passionate about teaching others. Branson was a great venue and the KOA food was – KOA food. Service was always with a big smile, so no complaints here. Kudos to Jon and gang for putting it all together. I give the experience an outstaning.

Kevin

[Clifford]

I’m jealous too. If we hadn’t been gone so long this summer Natalie would have been able to take off more time for this rally.

[Clifford]

Looks like fun, wish we could have been there!!!!

[Clifford]

You could have a bad voltage regulator. Rick

[Clifford]

We were full-timers for just under 10 years and Florida was our state of residency.

Florida has no State income tax, has a really good absentee voting system and very reasonable premiums for both auto insurance and health insurance.

Worked so well while we were on the road that when it can time to hang up the keys and buy a house, Florida is where we stayed.

Full-timing in a coach is the experience of a lifetime that you will treasure forever.

Congratulations and enjoy the lifestyle!!

[Clifford]

I have to agree with Jon, I would not consider anything but a Prevost and, not so much the converter, but rather the chassis, at the end of the day they are bulletproof. I also would have difficulty saying that “this will be my last rv”, as many of us have said that before. I have only purchased but one new coach, a Country Coach Intrigue…brand new, factory delivery and the only thing running good on it was the paint. Not that it was crummy but rather, especially on that unit, it was simply a collection of assorted parts moving together in loose formation. It had the all new this and the all new that when, in reality, the components did not necessarily meld together in a manner that was, shall I say, user friendly. Many trips to the factory and finally the bugs were gone; while I would not expect that from most converters, I think it is safe to say that there are “some” factory visits required with nearly every new conversion. Most of that agony is gone when buying a used coach.

[Clifford]

JBchevy,

At this point, the two converters that I’ve read any significant information on are Marathon and Millennium (both have + and -). I’ve toyed with the idea of a Newell or Foretravel but a few more bucks you can have a Prevost.

If we decide to go for a new one (toured Marathon a couple of years ago), it will be the last as I would hope that it would take us into our golden years (20+ yrs.). At 55 yrs. old, I think I’ll be done with RVing by 75 yrs. old.

Back to topic (so I don’t get in trouble)…. the towing capacity of a Prevost chassis is the highest in the market. Although I would not want a huge vehicle, I could trailer my antique to a car show if I want to or even rent a stacker and include my regular toad too.

MM.

[Clifford]

I am not sure if Prevost would put the ishift in, but I wouldn’t want it in my motorhome. The Allison is much smoother shifting and I see no reason to change. Granted, in trucks, the automated mechanical boxes work fairly well. We had 50 of the ZF-Meritor 12 speeds and they were a challange sometimes. They needed a voltage doubler since they were based on European specs (24v European vs 12v US) and these failed repeatedly. The TCU would also crap out more than it should. Even the shifter / paddle lever was troublesome. If I was still in the trucking business, I wouldn’t do the ZF-Meritor one again.

I can believe 8 mpg on an 80,000 truck that is driven properly.