Gerald
Forum Replies Created
-
Give us a picture if you can Joel…
-
To further confuse the issue, the tag axle hubs look different from the steer axles. They are metal with one big rubber plug. The driver side was empty but not dry, the passenger side contained old gear oil. The first pic is the steer ale hub, the second pic is the tag axle hub.
.
What should be my plan for the tag axle hubs? Do I fill them with grease (what kind?) or do I fill them with oil?
Thanks, Gerald
-
I used the Lucas hub oil, which you can find at truck stops and many NAPA stores if my memory is correct. And, that oil is clear…..not red.
Your Prevost manual will have the specification.
-
Jon, when I was in the business, I heard all the horror stories. Your’s is the first time that I have heard of an AC caused fire.
The other source of fire that is very prevalent in the RV industry is the propane refrigerator fires. It is not the propane causing the problem (most of the time), but the leakage of the amonia coolant. We have all heard of the recalls (many). I suspect most of your coaches have house type fridges, but if not, make sure that your fridge has the latest recall updates.
There were studies of commercial bus fires in Finland and the two most common causes were high amperage 12V cables that grounded and fuel tubes that leaked. In our case, our Detroit engines (both two stroke and four stroke) have the fuel tubes inside the valve cover. However, we have lots of hoses with all kinds of flammible materials in the engine compartment (antifreeze, transmission oil, engine oil, fuel, PS, etc). Guess I can now add AC freon hoses to that list.
I had lots of folks come to the booth worried about Aqua-Hot fires. I never was able to document an Aqua-Hot based fire. I did hear several cases where the pan filled with diesel but no fire.
Jim
-
I have never seen mine as low as 110 … it’s usually 114+ … even under a load.
Diane
-
Thanks for the comments. Tom and I talked about folks that apparently never did their homework, never inspected the coach before the purchase and never sought advice from experienced owners. You can imagine the outcome. They ended up with a coach that in itself was overwhelming, and little by little were finding the multitude of things wrong that were going to take effort or money to fix.
Peter, I wish as you do that sellers were honest. When I sold my coaches I went through with the new owners before a penny changed hands and proved (and taught) how everything operated. I experienced that as a buyer myself and it made the purchase a joy rather than a disaster.
I have helped folks and my advice to all is to pick out your coach but before the sale is complete learn and verify everything. It is OK to expect some stuff might not work. But how that impacts the sale or the price is between the seller and the buyer and at least nobody has a nasty surprise.
I was helping friends evaluate a couple of coaches recently and both coaches were described as excellent well maintained coaches and everything was working. I just wish what was being spread by the sellers could be put on my garden. In a few minutes in each coach we found THOUSANDS of dollars of needed repairs including failed AC units, bad batteries, and in one case 8 year old tires described as brand new and with less than 1000 miles on them.
I know we have no obligation to poke our noses in other folks business, but it is sad to see new owners who have come to realize they face thousands of dollars in repairs and haven’t yet had an opportunity to enjoy their new coach.
-
Excellent explanation of system, Jon. Now would come down to texas with your gauge set and check mine??
-
Dang. Jon posted as I started typing. Still, you can read my post in seconds. Jon’s……not so much.
😉
-
Why? What is being gained? I suspect the engineers that establish the values know what they are doing. Is there information to support the need for lower temps?
BTW, I am not concerned when asking the above about how this impacts the emissions, but I suspect they are impacted.
-
Surely, the hose shown is only to drain the air/water outside the coach. It’s hard believe you can buy a tank without fittings on both top and bottom.
FWIW, CC installed an electric controlled drain valve. The only caution if you go that route is to also install a manual shutoff valve, which CC did not do. My electric valve ended up getting just enough junk in it that it didn’t fully close once. Thankfully, I was near a place I could get a standard compressor drain.
-
You’ll like the M & G George, good braking system.
-
You mentioned propping the engine doors open made a difference. I installed ventilated (Series 60) engine doors and fluid flap doors on my 1989.
COULD be a water flow restriction problem. As I recall, the water pump is easy to remove and check. Might also be possible at that point to take a look inside the water jacket for general condition. I assume you’ve changed hoses and thermostats and you have the late (9? blade plastic) fan with locked hub. Any chance thermostats are not FULLY opening…stick em in a pot of water.
I regularly saw 205-210 on my 8V92 under extreme use, but that was on hills, hot ambient, and trailering. I had to power back to hold temps. But, alas, the series 60 with DDEC IV is a no-brainer as far as temp control but it runs at almost 210.
-
is it pre wired for a controller or do you have to run the wires?
-
Paul, Jon was typing while I was editing, but he probably covered it better anyway. I will add this however. Given your stated budget of 350K at the topmost, you will most likely get more coach in an XL11 than an H. In the model years you would be talking about, there are a lot more XL’s than H’s. Also, given the de-lam issue, prices are softer. It still comes down to personal preference. We prefer the XL11, but unless we find one that has the current Prevost fix, would probably get an H(unless the price on a XL11 reflected the anticipated repair).
-
Paul,
How you use your coach is going to pretty much define if an H3 or XLII is best for you. Assuming you opt for slides an H3 might be better because slides eat up space, expecially headroom in the bays, but this is only important if you plan on full timing and need space for your personal stuff. If you do not plan on full timing or extended use then either will work.
We prefer the XL flat floor because it greatly simplifies loading. It is bad enough carting stuff up the steps into the coach, but adding the turn and extra few steps of the H3 it just becomes more cumbersome. I know we don’t spend a lot of time loading, but we do go in and out of the coach and if we are eating outside or just going to get another snack it is a minor irritation. An H3 gives up living space. Our XL passenger seat can turn and become part of the living room when we are parked. Not so with the two front seats of the H3. If you travel with family or friends the front seats of the H3 are isolated from the conversation in the living room. In the XL the driver is on the same level with everyone else. If you have slides the driver is sitting in a “box” but is still able to be a part of the crew.
The extra height of the H3 is either a blessing or a curse. The view is great sitting a foot higher in the living room. The added height in the bays is valuable. But the downside is the H3 is going to hit branches my XL will not.
Both are excellent and the choice comes down to personal preference. If I had two coaches to choose from, I know now that the important considerations are what floor plan and systems work best for us. Performance on the road is less important than having a coach with the features we feel we need. I expect the H3 and XLII are going to perform similarly, but the higher H3 may be affected somewhat more from crosswinds and its greater frontal area might affect mileage. All coaches are going to perform better if they are lighter so if drag races from the traffic light and high speed hill climbs are on your list of needs, look for the lightest weight.
There is one factor not often discussed but also may influence your choice. Cosmetically the XLII is quickly and easily identified as a Prevost. The entire RV marketplace see the stainless and knows it is a Prevost. Most will also recognize the H3 as a Prevost also, but in the more recent past there has been a number of copycats whose plastic RVs look very similar to a Prevost H3. So far nobody has copied the stainless look, so the XLII and the XL that preceded it still is unique.
No matter how big you make your storage building it will not be big enough. 48 is woefully inadequate because you won’t even be able to even access your engine. I am jamming a 45 foot coach in my 50 foot garage that was built for a 40 foot coach. Even if I have the nose of the coach tight to the end of the garage I still cannot fully open my engine doors. I have 16 feet for the width and that is adequate but not overly spacious. The heights you list are OK if they are clear heights. An H3 with a satellite will be close to 13’6″.
The awnings are apt to be selected by the converter based on what was available when the coach was built. If your budget is $XXX,XXX it might put you in a range of model years in which the fully integrated awnings were the only type available, and conversely if your budget is less an older coach may have the air / electric awnings or even the manual awnings, both of which are not integrated into the lines of the coach. If you buy a coach with surface mounted awnings and intend to convert to the cantilevered flush awnings plan on opening your wallet very wide. Because the integrated awnings have to have a structural mounting conversion to that style involves a lot of very expensive modifications.
Your budget is going to dictate what converters are going to be ones you look at. The converters you name have probably built more than others, but Country Coach may also be a consideration. Your wants and needs are going to define the converter you focus on. If you insist on OTR you are going to be looking at Liberty coaches almost exclusively. If you do not need OTR it opens up the market to almost everyone, unless you specifically do not want OTR (because you feel 1/2 bay more space is more important) in which case you will look at everyone except Liberty.
If you want service and support you need to focus on the converters that are convenient to you or on those who have a proven record of customer service. I expect everyone here will post how they have no problems getting service on their coach, regardless of who the converter was, but for a new owner who has not developed the knowledge of the coach or the support that is available ownership is going to be very scary. Go off the public side of things and rely on emails or private conversations over the phone to get the real information on just how well their coach is supported. There have been heaps of praise, but there has also been horror stories. Do a little on-line research on the forums and be sure to read between the lines. Your purchase price is just the beginning of the needed cash flow.
I can tell you this. I have bought 3 coaches, one a private sale, the second from a dealer, and the third from the converter. Every single purchase turned out very well with all three coaches being excellent trouble free coaches that we enjoyed a lot. But despite my ability to deal with issues and 23 years of ownership knowledge I learned the complexity of today’s coaches and the knowledge required to enjoy one fully made my decision to buy the last one from the converter to be the way I would go. As a newbie your greatest vulnerability is you do not know what you do not know and without support after the sale you are in trouble. Others may disagree, but knowing I got 2 full days of intense training from the converter and access to information anytime I needed it was more valuable than words can express.