Tim
Forum Replies Created
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Just want to give a shout-out to Texas 40 who graciously looked at this coach for me.
This forum provides an invaluable service to help each other out and save time and money when looking to purchase or repair a Prevost.
Thanks again George!
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“What’s going to be there besides coaches we can’t afford?”
I think I like these guys.
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I have had three Liberty coaches. Each was about 10 years older than the previous one so I have seen the evolution. I won’t try to answer the questions specifically, but will offer some general comments relative to the vintage and model you are considering.
The Classic electrical system is fairly basic with switches, relays and circuit breakers so doing things like swapping TVs is just a matter of selecting the new one and replacing the old. A TracStar satellite receiver will not provide HD so you will have to consider your options if HD is important to you. I’d rather have TracStar than HD.
The Watchdog is as Jeff points out, but there are options for upgrades that can be used to eliminate the Watchdog, including a switch to pure sine wave inverters which is a good idea.
Concerns about Crestron, switches, etc are just not an issue you need to concern yourself with on the model you are evaluating. If I were to focus on likely things of concern they would be if the coach has the aluminum tank, the version of awnings, the refrigerator (why I mentioned inverters because new refrigerators might not work well with the existing ones), and the potential A/C units may become a service issue as a result of age.
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Tim,
Not sure of your budget, but John just listed his 06 XLII Royale on PC and it’s had the Rivet Process done.
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We physically looked at dozens of used buses during our search several years ago. We looked at entertainers, small conversion companies, the major conversion companies and home builts. The closest we came to buying before we found the “one” was two different home built conversions on older highway coaches. They were very, very nice.
When we walked into a bus and my wife crinkled her nose at an odd smell, that was it. Pets and smoke are off limits to her and a cat is deadly. No sense looking any further at that bus. The hard ones were the clean, shiny and well kept or well cleaned ones. Those would capture our hearts and tempt us not to look as deep as we needed to look.
The one we actually bought, badly needed new carpet, new tires and a real good cleaning inside. However the engine, transmission and suspension seemed solid to the experts that examined it AND it smelled good!
Have fun searching. We did our best to buy our “last” bus first but I enjoy reading about folks searching now. It almost makes me want to look again but not quite.
Davy
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Per is correct in a couple of ways. First, photos on the internet do not reflect the true coach condition. Only a first hand look will reveal a pattern of carelessness or abuse of a coach. There are many subtle ways our eyes can determine if a coach has been well cared for or if it has been abused or neglected.
But beyond the photos we have to see a coach in person to smell it. And we all smell a coach the minute we step into it. Some still retain the “new car” smell. Some reek of cigarette smoke, mildew, or animals. To my way of thinking the last three smells are deal killers.
I am not concerned about dust and dirt. I can look beyond that to look at the underlying condition of the coach. When a coach is traded for example there is a lot of in and out walking to empty clothes, food, and all the other stuff we collect. The floor gets tracked, the dust gets kicked up, and bugs fly into the open door. But there are signs of long term lack of care. I just don’t know if those signs always reflect lack of mechanical care. That is easily detected with some time and effort spent under the coach but is not easily seen otherwise.
A couple of years ago I looked at a couple of coaches for sale, and one of them had been deep cleaned, polished, and really looked sharp. But it was all superficial. Mechanically the coach had some significant issues. The tires had so much tire dressing the date codes were obscured on the 10 year old tires. The coach presented very well, but had truly not been taken care of. Some stuff has to be overlooked to evaluate a coach.
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Tim,
We have a philosophy; if someone does not bother to clean the interior of their coach, we have real doubts about their interest in keeping the mechanical aspects in shape. Once a coach stinks, we see no use in going further in any investigation. Can’t tell you the details, but we saw several flaws inside. If you do a full inspection of the coach, you may find it would work for you, but we have seen too many clean Prevosts that impressed us more than this coach. On the same trip we saw a 1998 Marathon (since been sold) that impressed us a lot more than this coach.P.S. Besides, we have our eye on a coach, but I ain’t telling where!
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Tim,
We looked at this coach early August, and quickly decided it was not a coach for us. For starters, it had not been cleaned up very well, and it did not please my DW’s sensitive nose. -
That’s the Prevost side and should be steering bay compartment I would think.
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Credit fuel price here in SC – not free, but getting closer.
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I know I was in the minority when I liked having 315 tires all around on my previous coach. At the time availability of 365 tires was not one of my concerns. When the mad rush occurred and everyone was adding 365 tires to their coaches my concern was in the event of a tire failure the ability to pull a tire from anywhere on the coach and put it anywhere, then use an odd sized tire if need be on one of the tags was no longer an option..
I did that once and I didn’t lose hardly any time. 315 tires are not that common either, but any comparable size on the tag will get the job done.
I now have the 365 tires and I still think it sucks to have two different size tires, but as the need for steer axle capacities increases I see no alternative. Put a 365 from the tag to the steer, and even though the 365 wheel is over 10″ a 315 will work on it for the short term, but in addition to getting a 365, keep in mind a 315 is not stocked everywhere.
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AL on his best behavior ?? .. Not likely !!
Cheers, Diane
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I just want to add that the reason I decided to stay with dometic was that the 4 units in my coach were still working after 16 yrs …I changed them due to age only..if a companies product does well I want to stick with it
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George,
My units are standard ones which match the Dumetics that came on my Poortravel motorhome.
There is a rod on top of the compressor that fits into a hole in a strap above the compressor to restraint it from swinging side to side when traveling but still allow movement when it is operating. There are two fan motors.
There is a duct to change the cold air flow from straight down to horizontal. There is a lanyard to hang the ceiling unit from to free your hands to connect the cable and wires. There is retracting lanyard to pull the cable up out of the way once connected.
My long time RV fix-it friend says this is the only A/C he can recommend be run on low all the time. There is a dry mode to dehumidifiy when inside and outside Temps are close in spring and fall.
There is an auto fan mode that runs the fan on high when the compressor is running and on low when the compressor is cycled off.
In heat mode, the fan stays off till the coil is warm so it does not blow cold air.
There is a remote control to command the unit from your chair.
They are quiet and the air is cold. Call me if you want more info, 7 one 3 8 one 8. 3234.
Don’t forget 12 volt store has very good prices on these units.
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There are two limit switches on my ’99 Marathon XLV. Both are tripped by collars on the cable. The one potentially causing a pay-out failure would be on the inside tripped by the end of the cable collar. The limit switch might just be stuck or jammed.
I think your fuses are ok since you can retract the cable. On our bus there is a thermal breaker in the battery compartment and a 3 amp fuse in the wiring panel on the passenger side wall in the rear closet. If you have the wireless control, there is a fuse and receiver in the driver side cabinet above the bed (window).
To help with the trouble shooting, the relays are wired just like a up/down power window circuit. Mine are behind the switches.
