[Jim]

I replaced mine with new lens and I have xenon HD and put new driving lights led look for my post they r so bright you do not need headlights I would do that

[Jim]

Hector,

Did you tell these TN boy’s about the Patent?

[Jim]

My goal is, if I am buying an 8 year old coach and I don’t know the service history, I want to get all the “recommended” maintenance and replacement items done in year 8 when I buy the coach instead of chasing issues that may arise between years 8-10. Rubber (of any kind) falls on my list of potential issues.

I want a clean slate so I can begin a maintenance schedule now following the wisdom of folks who have owned for a very long time and what prevost lists as short term and long term maintenance. Another part of me would rather spend the money now while I’m dropping big dollars instead of buying a used coach and doing these things piece meal. I live in a rural area so any work done on the coach will mean at least a 6 hour trip to the shop. In my mind it seems less painful doing this all at once. I’m not quite as concerned with the “house” portion of the conversion because that won’t stop me from going from point A to point B to get something fixed. The chassis however is a bigger issue….tires, batteries, slides, suspension ect……that COULD stop me from getting to point A or B.

I dropped down a few years to a 2005 coach vs. an06 or 07 so I had the resources to invest in making the coach “new” again instead of stretching on the price and then “hope” and “wait” for things to or not to go wrong. I don’t like to finance toys so I set a budget that I could pay cash….everything I’m doing so far still keeps me at or below my original budget with a few pennies left to be able to come to branson and learn more. As I’ve said before this is the first used coach I have bought of the 7 and I take comfort in knowing I’ve done everything I could to get the coach in great shape.

I may have sent the wrong message to service when I said I wanted all the bags and valves replaced….I meant the norgren valves only and they may have had prevost quote it to replace every valve on the chassis..and I don’t even know what or how many that is…will be clearing that up today so Brandon and I are on the same page. Maybe I’m being foolish and overly cautious, but I guess time will tell.

[Jim]

The labor number was only for the new bags, valves and brake lines!!!! Ouch is right! Brandon included the tires, batteries and headlight package in the price of the coach as well as the PDI, diesel service, new belts, gen service and aqua hot service.

The service department at Legacy said they can do alot better on the labor number than what prevost gave them….I certainly hope so. I swapped out 4 air bags on my last coach and with the bags it was less than $2500 total, parts and labor.

[Jim]

Hi Al…..we are the third owner of our 1982 Newell. The first owner lived in Cherry Hills, Co, and owned her for the first 22 years of her life. The first two owners kept her in a climate controlled storage facility, which accounts for her great condition. She has a 6V92 TA 350 horsepower Detroit Diesel that runs like a champ, is barely broken in now at 142,000 miles, and is a rare 36 feet long…..most of this vintage where at least 38-40 feet long. We have put the last 40,000 on her since we bought her in March of 2008. We found our coach on Craigslist, and had never heard of Newells before, but once my wife set foot inside she was sold, and I was playing catchup from that point on. We have not regretted our decision to buy our Newell. She has performed well, and we have had only minor mechanical issues in the past 4.5 years we have owned her.

We pull a 26′ enclosed car trailer with a 2002 Ford Thunderbird inside, plus a bunch of bicycles. It serves as a work shop for me when the car is out.

[Jim]

Very nice Bryan, good job…

[Jim]

Ther is a man on the BCM forum by the name of Jack, using “blue goose” as his forum name that is a dealer for Zip Dee. He gave me a quote for a full set of brand new zip dees. Compared to the local dealer, Jack is close to $3000 less.

Rob

Missouri

[Jim]

Tom,

It sounds like it is working based on you stating that it was running on high speed.

I have used this relay bandage before and it worked fine. What you need to check is whether voltage is actually getting to the fan with the ignition on and the engine not running. This is easy to do at the clutch connection. FWIW, R99 controls voltage to the clutch. It’s possible that Prevost didn’t want the fan to engage when the engine is started, even though that’s unlikely. What they may have done is put a delay in the circuit energizing R99. You could also turn on the ignition and not start the engine and wait 5 or so minutes and see if the clutch then engages. The timer, if present, is likely not timed for more than 5 minutes.

[Jim]

Hi Gary…

Haven’t seen you since the Kerrville rally…welcome to PC it’s the place to be… be good to see you both in Branson!!

Diane

[Jim]

I like the idea, so someone please hurry up and fabricate some vents (Jon).

Interesting that they said common in the H, also common on the early XLII’s like mine. Sheesh, you would think they could figure that out and come up with a fix. The guys at Liberty have actually made some half moon covers to place in the ductwork, but you still have to tear the dash apart.

[Jim]

THERE IS A FUSE IN THE DRIVERS SIDE DOOR, NOT A BREAKER

[Jim]

Any other parts I should carry on board?

This comes to mind,

[Jim]

Just returned from a run to the QT Truckstop with fuel card in hand and it works like a charm.

Swiped the card, entered my 4 digit vin as the unit/truck number, entered my PIN as the driver/employee number, pumped my fuel and out the drive. Total time maybe 10 minutes.

I do keep a fuel log, so just added the fuel price, quantity and pump number for the record.

WooHoo….. The days of the Truckstop shuffle are all over.

By the way, I could see them lined up at the fuel desk inside as I pulled away!

[Jim]

Congrats Jim, you will love the Royale. Be sure to come to Branson, we want to see your coach. There will be some Royale owners there and you can compare notes.

[Jim]

There is one exception to what Gil discusses.

Thompson coach has software in its electrical system to start and stop the generator (on autostart) based on a variety of conditions. While voltage is used as a trigger, it is not the only criteria for generator start. The system looks not only at voltage but at the current draw such as when running ACs from inverters. The system uses data such as that to predict the batteries will need to be recharged and turns on the generator in response.

It is using more than I described above, but as can be seen Rick Thompson did a great job of looking at all battery and electrical system conditions and then used multiple factors to initiate generator start for charging. He also went beyond charging for a set time period and prior to shut down created various conditions that had to be met before the generator would shut down. Obviously the battery charge was a factor, but so was the current draw as well as some other conditions I don’t remember.

I know this doesn’t help Murph, but I did want to point out that Thompson Coaches have great electrical systems that are well thought out with respect to generator autostart and should be recognized as well done.