Dick
Forum Replies Created
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Greg, the guy doing the heavy lifting is our web guy Joe. He and Tom are so beyond my computer skills they are on a different planet.
But when I condense what we are learning into simple English what Tom said above is good advice, but I have also learned that those visiting the site from smart phones need to close apps (what ever an app is), and we now know some browsers are a problem so a switch to a browser that works may be required.
When millions of people are experiencing the same issues some are having on this site it suggests our site is not the issue but is the visctim of the issue.
But you are right in the respect that any time a problem is identified we try to quickly see what can be done to help our members work around it.
Truth be known our advertisers who are actually paying for this site to benefit all our members deserve to have the site “up” for the maximum amount of time and issues connecting to be resolved quickly. Be sure to thank them whenever you get a chance.
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The H and X models as far as motor homes are two different animals. What your expectations are will help you determine which model works best for you.
The cosmetic differences are obvious. The X series in a motor home shell has stainless steel skins from the bottom of the windows down to the bottom of the bays. The stainless is polished and the paint schemes while varying do allow most of the stainless to show.
The H is a taller coach, with a composite skin construction and is fully painted. The coaches have a slightly different shape with the H being more angular. The quality of the surface and paintwork on both Prevost coaches is unmatched.
A lot of owners opt for one or the other just because they like the looks. Certainly there is nothing wrong with that method of choosing because both models are Prevost quality all the way.
As motor homes there are some differences that tip the scales one way or another for buyers. The H has an abundance of bay space because the bays are much taller than those in the X series. For some applications that is an important consideration. The H driver’s seat is slightly lower than the X and the passenger seat is not exactly in line with the driver’s seat although communications between the driver and the passenger is not affected. To access the living area some additional steps need to be climbed and 2/3 of the ay up you need to make a turn.
The living space in an H is not lined up heightwise with the driver or passenger seats so if the coach is carrying family or guests they will be sitting a little higher than the driver and passenger. The passenger seat cannot swivel around to become part of the living area.
But the view from an H is better than that of the X series from the living area. Being higher helps, but there is more generous use of glass.
An X lacks the bay height of the H. And if an X has slides it is inconvenient to duck under the slides to access the bays. With the H extra height you can get at the bays, even under the slides in a more upright posture.
The X places the driver and passenger seats on the same plane as the living area so they become an extension of the living area. The driver becomes part of the discussions if there are guests aboard instead of being on a lower surface down from the discussions. The living area is extended because the passenger seat can swivel around, in effect adding another chair, and using almost all the space available.
The X is much easier to load and unload for trips. That is unimportant if the coach is used for extended periods, but for multiple shorter duration trips where stuff from the refrigerator and laundry is brought in and out of the coach the extra steps and the turn in the middle makes the H more difficult, That is not to say carrying anything into a coach is easy, but with the X you can put a laundry basket on the floor while standing on the ground outside, and then just shove it into the living area. Can’t do that with the H.
The lower height of the X may be an advantage in some RV parks. A lot of bandwidth on forums has been dedicated to owners complaining about low clearances in some RV parks. If an H has a satellite dish or roof airs height is going to be more of a concern than in a similarly equipped X.
Of course all of the above is just my opinion, never having owned an H. As far as I am concerned, they are different but equal.
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Looks great Big Al! You cant hide money!
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Welcome Jeff and Lynn…
If you are not in a big hurry you will find a bus you love in your price range.
Four years ago we bought a 1998 Vantare H3-45 with 2 slides, it was built on a 1997 Prevost chassis.
We also owned a 2005 Holliday Rambler with 4 slides at the time, so I am thinking downgrading because I loved the 4 slides, as it turned out, it was a huge upgrade not a downgrade.. the difference in the coaches was night and day and we will NEVER go back and we never missed the other 2 slides because the Prevost feels so big inside with the huge windows and being up higher and the bay storage is unreal… those are just small bonuses… the real bonus is being on the highway in any Prevost after being in a “plastic” coach…. the ride and handling will speak for itself.
After we bought our Prevost we spent the next few years upgrading things and maintaining items in order of importance and safety…. until they were all done… tires, batteries, air systems, a/cs, airbags, brakes and so on… be aware of what you are going to need to put into a coach ten years old for example if it hasn’t already been done… lots to maintain. Even on a plastic coach there is a lot to maintain if you “know” about it… usually they don’t tell you anything and you find out when it breaks !
Just be prepared for the maintenance needing to be done and the folks on here will enjoy helping you spend your money !!
We recently sold our Vantare in the price range you are looking at…so they are out there… ours was a 1998 but it looked much newer and everything was fixed and documented… I would have driven it to Alaska tomorrow without hesitation… that’s the position you need to be in. We upgraded to a 2005 Liberty H3-45 and have already had most of the things we did to the Vantare done on the Liberty… peace of mind for us !!
Good luck in your search it will be a lot of fun… you will know the coach is right for you when it “feels” right and ask lots of questions… NO such thing as a dumb question… we have all been where you are today.
Cheers, Diane
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Steve,
Welcome to the club indeed! We are just up the road from you at Arthur, IL. Congratulations and enjoy!
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Diane,
Might it have been this one?
http://www.amazon.com/PREVOST-CANADA-World-Cities-License/dp/B00E93F13U
Or this one.
http://www.amazon.com/PREVOST-CANADA-Cities-World-License/dp/B00E9LDTW2
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Cory … unfortunately she’s in high school… turning 15 April 18th. but she has given her consent for us to go as my birthday is April 20th….
I know this is going to cost me big time !!! I promised her a sleepover party at my house the weekend before… I know I will pay for that statement !!
So that being said looks like we will make it… always my favorite rally so count us in !!
Cheers, Diane
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Les, That is exactly the one we have and it works great! Have had it for about 8 years now. I’m sure now that I’ve mentioned it, it will fail as soon as I get back to the bus! But I would be this model again in a heart beat.
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Andy,
I believe prices are stated at the high end regardless of if the coach is 100% up to date or not. Obviously almost every seller lists a coach at a price that reflects wishful thinking, and expects some negotiating. I believe dealers might overstate their price to reflect that they might have to take a trade. If you state no trade most dealer prices get more realistic very fast.
But some dealers, especially the converter, are willing to do the heavy lifting. They will sell the coach with new tires, batteries, fluids, filters, and may even do air bags, brake chambers, etc. It is all negotiable. The buyer who has not done his homework and fails to understand the cost of zeroing out a coach without records is not likely to have the seller say “since this coach has no proof of repairs or service I will drop the price by $20,000 or $30,000”. But an informed buyer will recognize without proof of service he has to assume it has to be done, and the seller is then backed into a corner either dropping the price or waiting for an uninformed buyer.
All of us that are long term owners know there is regular maintenance such as listed in the Prevost documentation (available on line), and then there is maintenance that is required, but the schedules are silent on when it has to be done, such as air bags for the suspension, or air bags to tighten belts, or brake chambers, etc. It is up to the buyer however to place a value on not only the availability of documentation, or to decide if changing old air bags (for example) is important. The question then comes down to valuing or deducting the service. Unless the buyer and seller agree the coach is to be completely zeroed out and both agree on the price then the burden for valuing it on a coach that is sold as-is will fall to the buyer. As a buyer who does his own work I am willing to buy a coach and my only cost is parts. Therefore I am likely to be able to pay more for a given coach than someone that intends to zero one out, but to have Prevost do the work. We are talking tens of thousands of dollars different. From my perspective a buyer should negotiate a fair as-is price meaning he compensates for the cost to zero the coach out as his respoonsibility. But the seller in no way in my opinion should feel compelled to eat the full cost. It would be fair to both to use the best cost quotes to define what it will take to buy the parts and do the work, and then cut it at least in half.
By cutting it in half the buyer and seller are then agreeing on a price that reflects a coach with good documentation and having all the work previously done. In Peter’s case for example he did not complete all the work on the day of the sale. The work was done over time and therefore the buyer is not expecting to get full life out of batteries or tires, or fluids.
Does all that make sense?
One thing I would bet on is that a coach that has been maintained cosmetically, but poorly maintained mechanically is going to be listed at the high end, and most buyers will pay at the high end. An astute buyer however is going to appreciate the cosmetics, but will recognize the potential costs to bring stuff up to date mechanically.
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I think you were right with the 1993. If the tenth digit is an alpha O not a 0 then that is 1993. My 1991 is a M.
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The only way I could begin to justify the tires is if I was going to put 100,000 on them right after they are installed.
That presumes they have no sidewall cracking.
At 5 or 6 years of service tire manufacturers recommend replacement. If not replacement they want the tires inspected from that point on. Here’s my real objection to used tires and that includes the ones I currently drive on.I don’t know their history. I have no clue if any of them were driven at a lower than required pressure. The date codes might be OK but I don’t have the xray vision required to see if any were run at 20% less than required pressure, creating the probability of a catastrophic failure.
At $300 per tire or about half price my aversion to risk suggests to me if one fails the resulting damage is likely to far exceed the savings.
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I was able to order just the rings from Marathon as Bernie suggested. I changed out 41 bulbs and now the AC Amp draw is next to nothing, the Marathon dimming functions work fine and no heat. It’s a real PIA getting the rings off and the LED’s back in, but well worth the effort. I used Hish’s suggestion to use a hose clamp to remove the rings and only broke 2. After cleaning up all the lenses, they get nasty after 12 yrs, they look great.
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Where does Kyle sit?
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I watched three guys at Nashville Prevost remove some from the top of a coach and it was one hell of a mess.
Took them all day and made a complete mess in the shop when it was all over.
It is worth it to have some one that does this on a regular basis to remove it.
I wouldn’t even think about doing it.
Good luck
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Georgous Millennium Jack, congratulations.
We watched Mark go from the idea of a new Liberty all the way to delivery and he was kind enough to keep us all informed as progress was made. For me, it was the first time anyone shared the building progress from start to finish and then to see the end result was pretty special.
I want to thank both Jack and Mark for sharing your new coach experience with us here at PC and hope to follow along with Jack’s progress as well. A new bus is a REALLy big deal…