Larry
Forum Replies Created
-
Jim & Chris…
Congratulations !!! Tell us more about the new to you bus !!!
Cheers, Diane
-
We will have to agree to disagree. If I was afraid to turn it off for fear of a battery short or a bad relay or any of the myriad of reasons why one will not start I am not going to use my bus. While some may be able to cope with on road failures my wife gets very upset and she loses confidence. Because I have no confidence we aren’t going anywhere in the bus.
You can rationalize why you don’t want to check fluids, but I’m old school and just want to see for myselt. I know all oil has not run back into the oil pan by the time I get the pump going and the nozzle filling the tank, but I know from experience I am going to show fuel well above the empty mark on the stick. But that is just one reason to open the doors. I can take a quick look at the belts, the coolant sight glass and any signs something isn’t obviously right. That’s more important to me than leaning against the bus waiting for the nozzle to click off.
If the engine is not running I can hear air escaping if I have an issue with a relay valve or I can see a pressure drop on the gauges that should not have happened in the time it takes to fuel. It the engine ran the whole time, when I got back in the seat I would not realize I am leaking air. We do what makes us feel comfortable.
-
There are a lot of features on our coaches that need to be learned and understood by all owners. I may be criticized for the following remarks, but if I am describing you, please try to understand your bus is not a simple car and it requires knowledge and skills to drive safely.
Far too often we hear of owners who have gotten into trouble needlessly. When that happens there could be some risk to their safety, or some unnecessary expense, or maybe just a red face. The complexity of the coaches requires owners to go beyond learning how to find the key. An owner needs to understand and know how to test the brakes and check the air system. An owner needs to know what each gauge is telling him, and how to understand what those gauges should read when everything is correct or normal, and what is outside the normal range.
The problem described above with a faulty sensor is not something a driver is going to be able to diagnose while in traffic or even driving. But the ability to over ride a shut down is something every driver should know so the disabled bus can be safely driven off the highway. A stop engine light may be a false alarm, but whether the problem is real or false the driver only has seconds to find a safe place.
And every owner needs to understand who to contact when there is a problem. Far too often we hear people say the next time they are at Prevost they will have someone look into a generator problem for example. We all own a combination of assemblies, systems and components that share the same place on the highway. The engine experts are Detroit Diesel or Volvo. The transmission experts will be Allison dealers. The chassis experts are the Prevost service centers. The house experts are the folks that converted the coach. A generator was installed by the converter and the converter is the starting point for questions or service.
If you own a coach and don’t really understand how to do a DOT brake check, or if you are not sure what each gauge is telling you, or what the difference between a check engine light or stop engine light is, you need to go on line and download the Prevost owners manual or operators manual for your coach and spend some time reading it. You need to understand how your converter set up your electrical system and what voltages are normal. You need to understand the systems, how they work, what your responsibilities are, and what you can do if something breaks.
Our coaches for the most part are reliable, and when we do have issues most of the time the problems are preventable, or easily repaired, or even owner repairable, but if the owner has not taken the time to learn the basics the simplest things can quickly lead into very serious situations.
-
Mr. Popular 🙂
-
Oakie, you know Jon has a flip phone, but remember, he doesn’t turn it on.
-
Thanks. It works.
-
From the iPad air, I have to do what Diane said every time.