Prevost Bus or Newmar King Air

JCat wrote:

I am looking into getting my next RV and want to upgrade to either a

Prevost Bus (marathon, vantare, etc) or a

Newmar king air, all used.

I drove a new King air and and it was a great ride, but still had some wind noise at the door and windows.

I have not driven a Prevost yet, but I hear the ride is great and a lot less wind noise.

Also want to hear about insulation and cold air seeping in around the windows.

Anyway I would like to get input from those that own or have owned a Prevost and a King Air on the pro's and con's.

Thanks

First - Do not own either - BUT - Have a good friend with a Prevost, and have driven it often (Also helped with figuring out some of the issues he's had over the years) and Have driven many Newmar's and own a TS.

So you can take my advice with that Knowledge. $.02

Prevost is for a Million Mile Drive - But - you need to have a Heavy Duty Maintenance Fund, likely 6 figures over a few years. As an older Prevost will have a much higher list of Maintenance items that, will all cost more, as they are not built with the Same standard equipment as most production line Coaches.

Check into the number and type of A/C's - Generators - Heaters - Tires - electronics as they will all be different and Likely much more expensive to locate, replace and maintain.

If you just want to have people say "Oh that guy has a Prevost" - then ..........

King Air - will give you a lot of Bang and Glitter, so you will not feel Bad with that very Upper End Choice:)

Still, very high end but parts and Maintenance are just easier.

Is truly made to live in, so it's easier to set up and Enjoy (Not a bus that was converted, but a Top End MotorHome) almost everything is designed with the RV'er in mind, which just makes life in a CG Fun and Easy.

So in summation, if money is not a consideration and you are driving a couple hundreds of thousand miles in the next couple of years - literally coast to coast every month then the Prevost will be Nice.

But if you are bumping around for the next 5-10 years, going from CG to CG with maybe 10-15 thousand miles a year with a new CG every few weeks as you see the country, then the Production Coach would be MY Choice. (I would likely stop at say Mountain Air - little less Glitz - a lot more Bang for the Buck)

JMHO,

Mondooker wrote:
I mean no disrespect but you cannot compare a Newmar Of any style or type to a Prevost! One is a bus while the other is a fiberglass motorhome. Mr. Mark said how a Prevost has front and rear bumpers and folks that is huge. Have you seen videos of a fiberglass coach in an accident with fiberglass flying everywhere? No fiberglass on a Prevost! Again, no disrespect it just is what it is.

While I would agree with this 100%, and I'm a Newmar guy, you also have to consider what Tom/Barb is saying.

With the budget the OP is working with, are you better off with a 15-20 year old Prevost or a 5 year old top of the line Newmar?

For me that would be a tough call. I know how well our 11 year old Newmar has held up, but its still 11 years old. There are some things that are getting dated.

I mean no disrespect but you cannot compare a Newmar Of any style or type to a Prevost! One is a bus while the other is a fiberglass motorhome. Mr. Mark said how a Prevost has front and rear bumpers and folks that is huge. Have you seen videos of a fiberglass coach in an accident with fiberglass flying everywhere? No fiberglass on a Prevost! Again, no disrespect it just is what it is.

MrWizard wrote:

Newell's are great looking and we visited the factory to see how they are built.
We spend our winters at MCC in Indio for the last 8 years and I see 3 Newell repair trucks fixing their product 5 days a week for about 4 months every year.
Why does their product need that much work after the sale ?

could it be Newell is the only mfg, with factory mobile service repair trucks
could it be Newell owners don't have to drive to an authorized service center
the service center comes to them ?

Wizard, the answer is a big NO.

All Prevost converters will bend over backwards to service their customers.
I know that Liberty has their own service semi truck that will go to rallies to service their coaches.

Prevost converters sell 10 times the amount of Newell coaches. Just look when you are going down the interstate and count the number of Prevosts compared to Newell's. Nothing wrong with Newell's, they are not in the majority.

Safe travels,
MM.

Newell's are great looking and we visited the factory to see how they are built.
We spend our winters at MCC in Indio for the last 8 years and I see 3 Newell repair trucks fixing their product 5 days a week for about 4 months every year.
Why does their product need that much work after the sale ?

could it be Newell is the only mfg, with factory mobile service repair trucks
could it be Newell owners don't have to drive to an authorized service center
the service center comes to them ?

Tom/Barb wrote:

mike brez wrote:
200-350k puts you in a 2000-2004 Prevost

Or
Mountain Aire

OP said he wanted Prevost or King air

mike brez wrote:
200-350k puts you in a 2000-2004 Prevost

Or
King Aire

He still gets into a much later coach. The 2002-3 coaches won't have the modern electronics that a 2012-3 will have

The number of Prevost service centers across the country is critical. If you have a problem you want to know there’s a service center. . Add that to the number of converters across the country who will work on your Prevost and it’s a BIG deal.

I’ve read so many stories about dealer networks across the country that will put you off for weeks and some for months. And these may well be the same dealer you bought your motorhome from? I’ve never heard a Prevost owner talk about service problems!

You get a lot buying a Prevost, it’s more than just a pretty face. And your price range can get you a nice one for sure!

200-350k puts you in a 2000-2004 Prevost

Thanks to all who replied, always great feedback.

To answer a few questions:

Newell's are great looking and we visited the factory to see how they are built.
We spend our winters at MCC in Indio for the last 8 years and I see 3 Newell repair trucks fixing their product 5 days a week for about 4 months every year.
Why does their product need that much work after the sale ?

As far as price I am looking to spend 200K to 350K and it seems there are some good RV's in that range with under 100k miles on the traders.