Kent
Forum Replies Created
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Hello Mr. Jim! Just a non slide 96′ to 00′ Xl. I would be the only one living in it for now. It’s all a timing thing at this point on whether to buy first then sell the house or vice versa? I will be buying a house in Texas for the wife and kid and traveling back and forth once a month. Long story but has to do with my daughters extensive traveling due to national competive cheer and wanting to go to TCU for college. I’ll live here and finish working. Would love to meet you guys one day! Thanks for the offer, that’s super cool of you!
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Thanks Peter! I will keep your number for sure! Sorry about the late response, back at work for eight days on!
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I don’t care how pretty, efficient, durable, quiet, etc. the Thomas compressor is, it cannot be worth the asking price, at least for this application. Grainger wanted close to $3K for the current, equivalent model.
I would have tried something different, such as a Gast or California air, but when I found the identical Thomas model, I figured it was worth a few hundred extra dollars not to have to deal with replumbing the compressor, retrofitting the mounting bracket, etc.
I have also learned two lessons. From this forum, I learned that there is no reason to leave the aux compressor on when you are parked in the bus barn…my compressor ran more than necessary.
From Marathon service in San Antonio, I learned that when the service manager told me that my compressor “sounded funny” and may be on death watch, he might not have just been trying to get further into my wallet.
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Jon,
As far as the camping part go, there is not that much difference from our last coach–everything needs to be monitored. For the last several years, whenever we camped, we always had an eye out for whether the campground could accommodate a 45-footer. Although the H3 is 4 feet longer and has a 3-foot longer wheelbase, the sharper turn radius more than makes up for it in maneuverability. Outside of a tight campground in Prunedale, CA, I can’t think of a campground we’ve stayed in the last 10 years where Preema wouldn’t fit. And height wise, she is only about 8″ taller.
We gave up WalMart camping years ago, and there is no way I would stay in a travel center, with trucks running their engines or refer generators.
Talked to a long-time Prevost owner (who switched to a “plastic” coach because he wanted more HP!) last year who related how he would stay at empty lumber yards, and anyplace where he could park his rig other than a campground. That may be OK for some, but we are a lot more comfortable in a regular campground.P.S. We learned our antenna lesson in our new ’91 Pace Arrow on our maiden trip to a nearby park. Ate, watched some TV on the tube TV, and when we drove off we hear a crunch from the roof. Sure enough, we forgot to put the batwing antenna down. Luckily, they were cheap and easy to replace.
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Jon I had same thing happen to me I replaced the motor and all good now , I use the window every day so I want it to work always
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The CA compressor looks nice, probably will do a good job, but if you opt to go that route make absolutely certain you install a check valve in the system (or a manual shut off valve like Marathons have) so the coach pneumatic system is truly isolated from the compressor. Home shop compressors are not built to DOT standards and I have had home compressors with aluminum lines fail. Aluminum is cheap and works well for an application where if it busts you just fix the leak. Not so easy in the bus. There are other concerns such as the standards for the tank, etc.
A lot of the expensive compressors like the Gast and Thomas are built to be used in the medical profession so they are built to a higher standard than a big box store product. Additionally from the conpressor to the coach it is likely all DOT tubing and fittings were used.
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We are going on two years full-timing in our coach. Our goal/plan is to follow the weather so we dont have to “live” inside the coach. Winters in Florida, summers further north/west seem to be a good route for us so far.
Couple things I would say about your plan. If you are going to be buying the coach and just parking it, I am not sure I would go with a prevost. Spend the same amount of money on a newer coach that wont require the house components to be repaired/replaced that will be in an older Prevost.
Slides provide open area in the middle of the coach when parked. That’s nice, especially if you are dealing with being indoors for the majority of the day when it’s cold out. We dont have slides, but as I said, we make it so we can spend as much time outdoors when possible.
If you are still working and your job is a “desk” job and you plan to work out of the coach, think about the layout. We have a both saloon as well as double couches. Not the best for an “office” type job. We would love to pull the booth and couch our and put in a desk/chair and a bar providing a much more functional work area. Older coaches didnt really think about that as not that many people were working from “home”. You will find this type of setup in newer coaches or older ones that have been updated.
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Generally the coaches are well protected from cold, but if someone is full timing some thought has to go into insuring against potential damage. Clearly heaters or heat exchangers have to be in and working in areas where freezing can be an issue. A lot of coaches that spend their life in warmer climates may not have all bay heating systems in working order.
Single pane windows, especially when there are outside winds are a substantial area for heat loss. To cope with sub zero temps thermal shades might help a lot. Water and sewer connections have to be made as needed. And having an RV park or place to hook up the coach has to be available all year round.
Items like block heaters or Webasto (or Aquahot) have to be in tip top shape and there has to be a plan if the primary heating system quits.
We have had our coach in -26F temps and it did very well, but everything has to be working right or it could be a disaster.
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Colt,
I would avoid big box store or general retail compressors. They are likely inexpensive but they probably lack the quality we expect, in terms of service, noise and reliability.
I just bought this for my coach and while its price is also somewhat staggering I feel more comfortable with its quality.
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A year or so ago Prevost sent me a bill (Email) on my account on parts I didn’t know a thing about. They straightened it out quick but funny just the same. Well funny but the money charged wasn’t funny. Glad it came to me as my Wife would have just paid it since I’m always throwing money at this puppy.
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Tim
You need to do that to learn how to navigate the screens but move with caution. What the books don’t tell you is what is Marathon specific and how they wired them,
For instance if the charge rate is set a half volt high it will cook your house batteries in a few years instead of a longer life.
Later
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Tom, Al,
I wish I could be there with you all…. where is that photo Prevost Lot?Bill