Mike/Lisa
Forum Replies Created
-
You are helping to clarify your needs.
Start by creating your budget. You will have a lot of options at the $100,000 range for example, but a pristine well maintained coach will (or should) take less of the budget to put in a condition satisfactory to you. It is not unreasonable to find yourself spending $30,000 to put a coach in good condition, or a few thousand it it is up to date on everything.
Every seller will lie and tell you the coach has been well maintained. Demand proof. Maintenance logs and receipts can be extensive, confusing, detailed and will require scrutiny to make sure all that needed to be done was done. Be responsible for this yourself.
Based on your described use it appears dry camping is going to be a big part of the coach use. You have to decide if you are OK running the generator hard and often or if you want to use batteries to the maximum extent. Our generators are grossly underused and their life if maintained is likely 30,000 to 40,000 hours. Don’t be afraid of a bus with miles on the bus and hours on the generator as long as you have proof of maintenance.
After you see several coaches you are going to have a better sense of what might best suit your needs. Redefine your wants and needs so you can sharpen your focus. As you learn the market, the asking prices, what to look for, and how to evaluate what it might need you can get very well educated on how to determine if the coach is for you.
On distant coaches there are a lot of PC members all over the country and a lot of members will gladly do a preliminary look at a coach so you do not have to waste a couple of days and a lot of money to see a dog.
I urge all buyers to do the following. First, have a Detroit Allison dealer or a shop equipped properly to read the codes stored in the bus control modules. That will reveal real miles, faults, and a lot of information regarding the history of two expensive parts of the coach. If the coach is an XLII get Prevost to do a skin delamination inspection. or demand proof it was inspected and or repaired.
Log books should reveal the age of brake chambers, air bags, coolant, transmission fluids, etc. There are date codes on tires and batteries.
The final inspection apart from a drive in which temps, pressures, noises, shimmys and other operating characteristics come know, is a 100% check of every switch, knob and dial. Start somewhere, and systematically operate everything. That is your best inspection and also becomes your training. If something is not right in your mind during this process, do not accept the comment by the seller “they all do that”. If in doubt ask questions on the forum, or perhaps phone or email folks you have been talking to.
If you want to use an inspector make certain he does not do inspections for brokers or dealers. That is a huge conflict of interest and you might as well save your money.
-
Good general advice can be given and you likely will get it from posts on this thread, but for that advice to be more appropriate you have to do some homework and provide information to those willing to offer advice.
The first part is you have to more clearly define your needs. Some folks are really concerned with colors, decor, and appearance so they concentrate on coaches that satisfy their aesthetics. Others have special concerns like low mileage. Other needs can be floor plans, types of air conditioning, size, or a design to favor things like pole to pole use or dry camping. If some of those things seem confusing or difficult to define spend as much time as possible looking at coaches for sale, in person and on the internet sites where they are listed, such as this one. You need to see a few in person to get a sense of scale because internet pictures will mean a whole lot more if you can accurately put the photos in perspective.
You have to be honest with yourself and think it through. Do you have pockets deep enough to spend $20,000 (a made up number but close) every year to store, use, maintain and insure the coach?
Do you have mechanical skills? A bus is not difficult to work on, but requires tools, a place to do the work, and some skills. Working on your own coach can save you a ton of money, and help you get through the learning curve very fast, but is not for everyone.
Read as many posts as possible. They will give you a good insight into ownership. Keep in mind a lot of problems are posted and it might seem a Prevost conversion is a maintenance nightmare. It could be, but if it has been well maintained it will prove reliable. Reading the posts will give you a strong sense of what you will get into, and will educate you on how to find the one you want and how to inspect it before purchasing it.
You will find strong opinions expressed in the posts, especially as relates to such wide topics as insurance, how a coach is equipped, who to buy from, how to do a pre-purchase inspection and issues to be aware of.
Learn how to use the PC site. If you want to communicate directly with a member you likely can contact them via email by clicking on their user name. Ask questions, but be prepared to get opposing answers because a lot of coach ownership details are personal, like if you plan to do a lot of your own cooking or if you eat out mostly.
Good luck.
-
Give HeadHunter a call… they have a GREAT technical support group AND if you need parts, they ship as fast as overnight.
-
CONGRATS! Nicely done!
Thank you for sharing pics and details.
-
That was a big job, also looking forward to pictures.
On your apple device, just view the photo with preview then save as a jpeg.
-
There is no drain on the AUX tank that Royale Coach installed (I worked there at the time). However as mentioned, if you drain the main, the aux will drain as well. If it drains/fills slow then make sure the vent is not plugged in the top of the AUX tank. It should elbow to a rubber hose that goes down threw to floor.
As a side note, do you know if your main tank is SS or the composite plastic? If it’s SS then no worries. If it is the plastic tank AND you suspect the AUX tank is not filling/draining then there is a possibility that whom ever installed the AUX tank did not drill out the AUX plug before connecting the hose.
There was a couple units that came into our service department around that era. The owners stated they didn’t think the AUX tank was filling. We found that the coupler plug was not drilled.
The SS tanks had a brass plug that had to be removed and a nipple installed to be able to connect the tanks.
-
What Buddy said…can fill from either or both sides…however, no matter which side I filled my CC from, the last 10-15 gallons had to almost be put in with a straw (very slowly) to prevent a messy fuel burp. Just the nature of the beast, at least it was in our case.
-
Not exactly sure what you have, but ours had double sided sticky tape on the shaft ,pain to remove ,but new tape and care getting straight we wound new drapes ,power shade 12 volt motor.
-
I replaced mine but i did have to wait till a run of compressors were done. and bought it and related parts from dana. has been run hard for two summers in az. it pulls more amps than my other two. we think because it is a retro to use r22. i put a electric fan on the unit for traffic lites and hotter days. but was my only option as nothing was to be had. the rebuilt units only replace what they find na. i wish i had roof airs but i really like the ca when they are working. this summer we stayed between 5000 ft and 8000 ft elevation. and that worked. im good down the road all three on genset and dash ac. they cycle. just the info i have for what its worth. good luck. ps. i did find a real good tech to work on mine. locally.
-
Do you have phone number I Tried internet on willingham got bus company
-
Live in FL, don’t know about that cold stuff. Would open pavers with gravel on top work?
Chuck
-
Willingham very knowledgeable. Very helpful. Mike
-
Clint, let me know if you need to experience one, you’re welcome to visit my 97 XL40 Liberty at Lake Greenwood SC or this weekend in Marion NC. Otherwise I think you might go look at the ones at Jeff’s.
Best
C
-
Art, Did you buy from Texas Truck AC and install?
-
We purchased our bus from Premium Coach in Gilbert Arizona. The only issue, and quite frustrating one, was with the licensing. I was not informed at the time of purchase that the coach was licensed in Canada. After signing the paper work, they informed me that they would send the title to me, so that I can license the bus in my home state which is CA. I was told the title would be transferred from Premium Coach to me. When I received the titled and found out it was licensed in Canada in the previous owners name, it was a documentation nightmare. On top of that the coach was never properly imported into the US, so I had to get a customs broker involved.
On the positive side, they did fix everything that came up in the PDI.