[Mark]

I-81 to Mountain Falls?

[Mark]

Given the complexity of the new conversions and the massive amount of engineering and development time required I would be surprised if their first conversion didn’t take years of effort so an older chassis would be expected.

A great part of the cost of conversions has to be amortization of the engineering and development costs which must run into millions of dollars spread over a limited number of production units. Very deep pockets are required for a company to enter the bus conversion market, and the growth rate of sales of those coaches is very slow until the market begins to see the company has legs. Nobody wants to be stuck with a complicated coach whose converter couldn’t make it leaving them with a orphan, and sometimes no source for support for all the programming that is now a central part of coaches.

[Mark]

Anyone that says they don’t have rattles or squeaks doesn’t drive much or has the radio too loud.

With this years potholes, not exclusive to TN, I am hearing all kinds of noises. But I admit to being spring loaded to listen for sounds that would indicate a problem so maybe I am not tuning out the normal sounds like dishes rattling or Di screaming at me. (Oops, I do tune her out sometimes.)

[Mark]

I sent that to Prevost just for clarification.

[Mark]

License/registration ($1,000). My insurance is way lower but I factor in $5-10K/yr for major repairs on an older coach; ie a/c, refridgerator, etc. My rough numbers for you worked out to about $1.70/mile (?). I use $2/mile as a rough estimate.

[Mark]

where you travel and what you do online.

Most of what I am stating here below, I have already mentioned here again and again. Some people will say „oh, here he goes again, bla bla bla“.

If you travel mostly in and around metropolitan areas, then any of the big 3 carriers will be fine.

If you travel into outlying areas, it will depend on where this would be.

Download the Apple App „Coverage“ and drill down on the location. It shows you exactly what you can expect anywhere across the US of A.

For example, we just spent 3 months in the Big Bend National Park area around Lajitas, Texas.

Neither, Verizon nor AT&T nor T-Mobile do have towers in the area. Never mind, Sprint. They are useless. Not having a tower means that you are roaming and that means you are paying extra and still depend on whoever provides the roaming services. At best, cellular got us limited 3G service.

We do have grand-fathered unlimited data plans on AT&T and Verizon. That is good enough, most of the times and takes care of the 100-300 Gigabyte of data we do use every month. This did not help us in Lajitas.

We were handicapped in Lajitas since there is no fast speed Internet provided by cellular carriers. So we ended-up paying the local carrier BBT big $$$ to wire us up for fiberoptic broadband. Mind you, we stayed for 3 months in one place.

Again, it all depends on where you travel and how much time you spend on the road. If you usual travels are for 3 months of the year, then you take whatever you can get.

If you travel here, there and everywhere, You live with what you can get.

If your data needs are basic, then go with whatever you can get.

If, however, you just want to have the best possible service, then you have to do your homework and pay the price.

[Mark]

Another Sun Resorts! They are going to take over the RV Park World if things continue at this pace.

[Mark]

What has me stumped is that both the digital and analog gauges read zero boost but the engine was operating ok.

I looked at the intake manifold. I can see three sensors, one is the analog boost sensor with a small air line going to the dash (I assume). The other two are digital senders, one probably for air intake temp (which were normal) and the other for boost pressure. Nothing obviously amiss.

I found an old thread with a similar problem. According to that a bad barometric pressure sender can cause the turbo boost to read zero.

—————————————

Gary & Peggy Stevens

09-27-2009, 08:48 AM

On my D60 I was having intermittent Turbo Boost Failure.

While driving I would notice the Turbo Boost Gauge would go to 0 and a light on the dash would come on. I took the bus to Stewart & Stevenson, and they determined I needed a New Style Barometric Pressure Sensor. and ReProgram the ECM to the correct software level.

$700 later I haven’t had any problems with the Turbo Boost.

Gary S.

——————————————-

There seems to be a possible interaction between the barometric pressure and the boost sensors. The baro sensor is supposed to reduce fuel at elevations above 6500 feet due to less oxygen content and that is pretty much the elevation the boost reading started to misbehave.

Newer engines (2000/2001 model years) had a campaign to replace the baro/boost sensor harness but my engine predates that change.

[Mark]

Looking at some of the listings, one might think that similar 2013 buses might actually sell for 50-60% of their new “list price”. Liberty will be an exception since they try to protect the market for the newer Liberty coaches.

One thing to be aware of is that trading in a non-Prevost will be an expensive venture. Many dealers are not interested in having a Class A in their inventory and will only allow a wholesale value, as they are going to unload it immediately. Some will not even want to see your Class A but still give you a trade-in value.

I found out that it was dramatically better to sell our Class A and then go shopping for a bus. Let me emphasize the word “dramatically”.

[Mark]

TB,

I have owned a 1999 chassis, 2000 Featherlite Vantare for 2 1/2 years and 24,000 miles. I can say without hesitation that the conversions were very well done. I am still learning many things about the coach systems and this forum is the best place to look for help. You have already received some very good basic knowledge of what to expect from earlier replies. Prevost in general is the best you can get. If I can be of help on the Vantare systems side during your inspection please don’t hesitate to email or call me.

Maintenance records are the most critical so see what the owner has available. Items being replaced like air bags, shocks, engine coolant, and the more obvious oil and filters, chassis lube, fuel filters, tires and batteries (both house and start). I have replaced start batteries and this summer I will be replacing house batteries (I have 8 4D Lifelines). I replaced the original Amana refrigerator this last summer. If this one has an Amana expect to be replacing it.

Please post more pics as they are available.

Doug 206-817-2343 doug@teroestates.com

[Mark]

This coach was for sale a number of years ago. At that time, I think I remember (although my memory is questionable at best) it being owned by either Richard Childress or Rick Hendricks (NASCAR). Then again, I hide my own Easter eggs so who knows.

Every time I have purchased a pre-owned Prevost (a 92, an 02 and an 08) I have counted on replacing the tires, house and chassis batteries and then set aside an additional $5K to handle the inevitable issues (air bags, bushings, air leaks, complete fluid changes including coolant, etc.). You can minimize the cost if you find a well cared for coach (with maintenance records that match the condition of the coach).