Dick
Forum Replies Created
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Michael: Within what context are you asking the question?
I’m on a number of Prevost orientated Facebook pages, some that list coaches for sale. I’ve been observed the following:
1. People are posting that they find a coach they like, converse with the owner, broker, or dealer, in a short time decide to make an inspection trip, and then find out the coach is SOLD. It seems like the frequency of this happened as picked up.
2. We have a 99 Liberty XL45, so when I see a coach for sale that is amid to late 90’s XL I take special note of the price; knowing that “list price” and actual sale price are often two different things. I’m seeing asking prices that I think are more aggressive recently than what I saw a year or more ago. I know what we paid for our 99 in 2014 and I’ve concluded it probably has not gone down in value (in eight years).
The market for Prevost conversions is small. Any significant increase in demand will move the prices up. Any event or events that decrease demand will likely push prices down. That said, I think that more and more people are seeing the “value” in owning a Prevost conversion versus an alternative RV or motorhome. So I think there is increased demand, which is probably across the entire spectrum of vintages, chassis styles, chassis generations, and converters.
I wish we had better contemporaneous, reliable data on actual listings for sale (whether FSBO broker, or dealer) and the demographics of owners, buyers, and seller. Are the average and median ages of the owners increasing? Staying the same? or Falling?
IMHO rarely do Prevost owners financially shoehorn themselves into their coaches. Many pay cash. For the most part a national recession, or stock market crash, or general inflation, or rising fuel prices are not going to push enough current owners to sell their coaches to materially impact the used coach market.
The unknown and indeterminate events that impact pricing of our coaches over the next year could move prices up 5% or down 5%, but I don’t see the values moving up considerably nor I see the bottom dropping out of the used Prevost market like we could see with the bubble that I think was created during the pandemic of people buying RVs who were new to RV’ing and who when get pinched a little will be quick to see them.
I do see significant increased demand for Prevost motorhome conversions with bunks (and not necessarily entertainer coaches). Demand that I don’t think was there during the last ten yeas I’ve closely followed this market. Significant price increases in bunk coaches would not surprise me.
This all takes me back to what Jon Wehrenberg said to me when I asked his advice while looking for a coach: if you really want a coach and you find the “right one” for you and you think the price is right, buy it. Which is what we did and I’ve never regretted that decision.
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I have been watching RV sales for the past 10 years or so, I have no crystal ball but a point of interest for me is Craigslist and my Local RV store. Both have huge inventories now.
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A little different question but same subject has anyone used the plastic ferrel in place of the brass ones. Reason helped friend replace a leveling valve and Bendix supplied plastic ferrels .Are they DOT approved?
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I tried two different long brush handles with flow through and both were junk and failed quickly. I use a 5 gallon pail with soapy water to keep the brush wet.
The single long extendable I use I have had for 32 years. Collapsed it is about 3 feet long and about 8 feet fully extended.
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Thanks for all the tips. FWIW, while you were writing these replies, I lost patience and cut out the fittings (cut the hose with a razor right at the fitting to avoid deforming the rest if the tube), so now I have the fittings in my hands.
BTW I do have the bus on heavy duty truck jack stands on the rear, at the rear jack points behind the tag axle. I also have a 50-ton air-over hydraulic jack (complete overkill and honestly too big, should have gotten the 20-ton). I have jacked up the front and rear a few times, and more recently have come to like driving the rear on 2×12’s to get the coach higher, then raise the rear with level-low as high as it can go, then place the jack stands, then lower coach onto the jacks via level-low. I have done it without the 2×12’s and using the air-over jack, but I find it really hard to get a good spot to jack up the rear with the jack while not blocking the place where I want to place the jack stands.
Also, I should have stated, I do have other tools, including a torque wrench (1/2″), impact gun, and a digital torque-meter (3/4″ in/out, to 600-ft-lbs I think).
I was able to slightly better position myself under the coach and get a bit closer to the fitting location, but still not 100% I will try to put this back without removeing the wheels. I’ll probably give it a shot and proceed to wheel removal if it does not work out.
Thanks for all the advice on potential leaks. I will definitely take a look at the norgen valve up front.
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Hi Tom, et al.,
I’m grateful for the advice – especially about letting the wheel cool overnight and being able to drive the @35-miles back to Baton Rouge Diesel without further incident (while also avoiding the hassle of a tow!). I’ve added the IR thermometer and a 12-ton bottle jack to our Amazon shopping list…are there particular brands/models you’d prefer over others?
FYI – Would highly recommend Baton Rouge Diesel to anyone requiring work on their Coach within that locale of LA! (They maintain the Greyhound bus fleet and service DD60’s routinely.) Their excellent Service Manager (George) and mechanic (Tim) took our Coach right in and within two hours they have it jacked, the front passenger wheel and Centramatic Centramatic off and were diagnosing for a root cause as to the 197 degree TPMS alarm.
A kind elderly gentleman took an interest in what was happening and came over to offer some experienced wisdom, as well. Turns out he was the 78-year old owner (Donald)…says he just hung around there to “sweep the floors!” 🙂
In short order, Donald had the brake caliper pins removed and was showing me the brake pads (which were in good shape). He then took hold of the brake drum and rotated it by hand…same with the caliper. He had me do a DOT test of the brakes while he checked to ensure that the calipers were compressing and releasing with the air applied when braking – and, was satisfied that they were not hanging up but, were fully functioning properly. (He was looking to see if the brakes or pins might have gotten hung up and therefore, caused the high heat alarm from the wireless TPMS sensor?)
Bottom line, Donald and Tim reaffirmed that there was no cause for concern. The steel of the bearings, brake chamber/pads/drums was engineered to withstand temperatures four times + higher without causing excessive damage. Donald suspected it might have been a faulty wireless sensor signal from the TPMS and had Tim switch the driver’s side sensor with the passenger.
He then had Tim put everything back together and use a torque lug wrench to ensure they were tightened to 450 ft lbs.
It cost a couple labor man hours – but, the piece of mind in knowing that we weren’t causing any harm to our Coach (particularly in light of the aftermaths of a few Coach fires shown recently on YouTube)…was Priceless! Fact is, Baton Rouge Diesel “could” have taken advantage of our situation and charged us for what would have been needless, costly parts. Or, had us waiting at their mercy for days! Instead, they did a very thorough analysis and inspection and had us back on the road by early afternoon!!!
Glad to report that we pulled into Pelican Lake, Naples, FL early yesterday afternoon – without a single overheating warning from any TPMS sensor! Our tire pressures varied by within 1-pound of each other from port to starboard on each respective axle (when starting cold) after Tim aired them. The entire drive to Naples they uniformly increased PSI and temperatures along each axle – with the only variance being a few degrees increase in temperature as the road and sun-facing wheels warmed.
Did I keep checking the TPMS monitor for tire pressures and temperatures more often than necessary? Absolutely!!! But, did so with full confidence and mental reassurance that the Coach was performing perfectly. Learned a lot yesterday that can be carried forward.
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I called a local NAPA, and they had them, but wanted $179.
Art’s link to Amazon has them and it’s a NAPA GOLD filter for $92.
What is considered a decent price?
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Here’s a link to the original thread I did in 2015 with that info:
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On Facebook there’s a page called “Bus Friendly Mechanics” they have a spreadsheet of USA shops.
(4) Bus Friendly Bus Mechanics | Facebook
some do road calls
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To the best of my knowledge only 3 SEL lights on early vintage detroit powered coaches apply. This includes the 2007, These three will cause a shut down: Low coolant, low oil pressure or high coolant temp. On later model coaches a high oil temp may cause a shut down. I am not aware of those for a Volvo so that list may apply to a Volvo.
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I think you’re right. I’ve never checked the Delta-T (but should). We have a heat pump in our house and I am seeing about 24/25*F Delta-T. I wonder what Fred at AAP would say is a good Delta-T.
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I should have stated in my original post that my lights were converted to LED by the previous owner.
thanks for the info
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Unless a coach is stored within a few paces of my home there is no way in hell I would store it for 60 days without checking on it daily unless the entire coach was shut down.
I never store my coach without it being powered up, but that is because it is 15 paces from the house in a garage I am in almost daily. But the risk of a power outage while it is in a remote location is great enough I am not willing to risk the damage to a set of batteries, or the nasty smells from a refrigerator that has been closed up for 60 days without power.
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You’re right, Mike. I would just like to keep the fridge running. Letting 50 amp would cost me $2,600. Will probably do it.