Prevost chassis owners.... need opinions.

[Mr_Mark1]

We have decided to possibly have a Prevost chassis coach built maybe next year (unless I could find the perfect used one). I know the new Prevost chassis units have the Volvo engines now offered since they were purchased a year or so ago. I can't find online literature on how much HP the Volvo engine has. Is it a good engine?

I'm 99% sure this will be our last coach taking us into the next 20 yrs. I'll then be 75 yrs. old and I think I'll be done with RVing by then.

For those of you who own a Prevost coach, would you prefer a certain conversion company?
Marathon
Liberty
Millennium
Outlaw (just heard of this one in Texas)
Any others?

I know I've said in the past that these are really not camping coaches, more of a trophy coach (no screen doors, etc.)

Do you find that they have just as many issues as the regular coaches?

I know the Detroit Diesels had 525 HP for a 50,000 lb. coach, I thought that was a little low. What is your experience if you have this engine?

Thanks for ALL the input. If we go new, I want a 2015 model.

MM.

[Mr_Mark1]

What a treat today as we got parked in Provo, UT, at the Lakeside Campground. Three Prevost conversions pulled in together (2 Marathons, 1 Millennium). I watched each one as the parked in rather tight spaces and none of them had lifting or steering tags. It's appears that they 'release' but still touch the ground with much less pressure. They do appear to lifted slightly.

Just as soon as they get settled in, I'm going to go over and ask a few questions.

MM.

[Mr_Mark1]

Two Jayhawks wrote:

Mr Mark wrote:
If you've never driven one you MUST!!! there is nothing like it for power, comfort and quiet ride.

I have not had the pleasure of driving one but I have been a passenger and I agree with you on the comfort and quiet ride. However most modern high end Prevo conversions have less HP per pound than mid/high end class A units simply because they are insane heavy.

It's funny, I didn't say the quote at the top here... not sure how that got captured. Anyway, I have not driven a Prevost chassis coach yet, I have just had the opportunity to be a passenger in a Prevost bus fairly recently while in Canada on a train trip across the Canadian countryside (in May).

They certainly do seem like a solid chassis.

MM.

[Skid_Row_Joe]

michelb wrote:
Slightly off topic but I'm just curious what the reasoning is to get a Prevost Custom Coach over something like a King Air or Essex or Zephyr or Cornerstone or one of the other factory coaches. Is it because you want to be able to customize it just the way you want it (which you might not be able to do on a factory coach)? Is there that big of a jump in quality, fit and finish (if I'm not mistaken, I thought the Prevost conversions about double or more the cost of the highest end factory coach)?

Let us know. Thanks.

Step into one and you can just feel the difference. The Prevost handles like a dream in your hands, unlike anything else. When you lock-up for the night, it's as secure as Fort Knox. The high end fiberglass units do not compare to the commercial bus chassis on any level. I have my doubts about a Newell as contrasted with a Prevost though too.

[JTHarley]

Mr.Mark wrote:

JTHarley wrote:
Don't forget.....one of the most important items is to set a budget! That will dictate much of what will be available on coaches.

JT, do you know what brand of slide out mechanisms that are on your coach?

The budget is open, that's why having one built is a strong option as I said this new coach most likely would take me well into old age. I would rather spend the money from the start than buying and selling coaches along the way. The Dynasty was our first coach and I have enjoyed it thoroughly.

MM.

Wow, if your budget is open then the sky is the limit......design it exactly how you want it.

My plan was, at 53, to make this my first prevost bus but maybe not my last.....I'm thinking that in 5 years or so we will make one more move.....maybe. With all the great "renovation" companies out there we will most likely decide to take this coach and have an interior remodel done. Heck, the chassis will long outlast me since we put about 6-8K miles per year on our coach. It currently has 60K miles so it is really just getting broke in. When the DW gets tired of the inside simply gut it and let her make it just like she wants.....

[JTHarley]

The slides on all Royale coaches are "factory" slides meaning they where installed and manufactured by prevost. I spoke to an engineer at Royale Phoenix, a company in Elkhart that was founded after Royale closed and the two owners are former Royale engineers.

He said Royale decided when slides where popular, seeing the problems that others where having they opted for all of their coaches with slides to be prevost slides. Not sure how many others also use prevost slides but I think Liberty does.....don't know about Marathon.

[Mr_Mark1]

JTHarley wrote:
Don't forget.....one of the most important items is to set a budget! That will dictate much of what will be available on coaches.

JT, do you know what brand of slide out mechanisms that are on your coach?

The budget is open, that's why having one built is a strong option as I said this new coach most likely would take me well into old age. I would rather spend the money from the start than buying and selling coaches along the way. The Dynasty was our first coach and I have enjoyed it thoroughly.

MM.

[Mr_Mark1]

John S. wrote:
Well, you have a list and you need ot decide what is the most important.

I agree no slide but Prevost.

Then you have to decide on interior. IF you have to have wood then you are going to go Royal. The others all seem to be vitrocore and laminate for weight savings.

YOu can find 4 slides but I would not go so far as to say Marathon is the best. In fact they lost most of their sales people and did not produce a coach for a while but they made it thru and that is good. You have to decide what is important and how you are going to use it. OTR air is important to me as I drive so many miles. It is a great deal easier than dealing with the genset and or the other options that youc an find called coach air. It is a commercial machine that will work for years.

I am actually leaning towards no slides. It seems that slides add a level of complexity to any coach but if I got one with slides they would be Prevost slides. I have found that HWH has stopped making parts for older slides so that means those coaches will have issues in the future. Prevost still supports them and hopefully will continue too.

John, I had to have the slide behind the driver 'adjusted' as it somehow got misaligned and the repair shop said that HWH stopped making some parts for our slides. What the heck? Ours is only 6 yrs. old! So, the suggestion of 'Prevost only slides' sounds like a very strong selling point.

I guess when I say real wood, a wood laminate would be OK if not to glitzy looking.

MM.

[JTHarley]

Don't forget.....one of the most important items is to set a budget! That will dictate much of what will be available on coaches.

[John_S_]

Well, you have a list and you need ot decide what is the most important.

I agree no slide but Prevost.

Then you have to decide on interior. IF you have to have wood then you are going to go Royal. The others all seem to be vitrocore and laminate for weight savings.

YOu can find 4 slides but I would not go so far as to say Marathon is the best. In fact they lost most of their sales people and did not produce a coach for a while but they made it thru and that is good. You have to decide what is important and how you are going to use it. OTR air is important to me as I drive so many miles. It is a great deal easier than dealing with the genset and or the other options that youc an find called coach air. It is a commercial machine that will work for years.

I am actually leaning towards no slides. It seems that slides add a level of complexity to any coach but if I got one with slides they would be Prevost slides. I have found that HWH has stopped making parts for older slides so that means those coaches will have issues in the future. Prevost still supports them and hopefully will continue too.

[JTHarley]

Mr.Mark wrote:
I always thought that Marathon was the Rolls Royce of Prevost conversions. I don't know the difference in the slide preferences, I'll have to read about that more.

This is what we want:
-Four slides
-1½ baths
-Real wood cabinets, as I would expect in that price range
-Outside TV
-Exterior grill would be nice
-Normal interior (not flashy)

Over the road air would be nice but I'm not going to lose interior space for it. We would spend more time parked than driving. And, isn't that's what the generator is for? (interior air).

I'm not sure about the batteries. I will have to investigate that for sure.

If I could take the interior of my Dynasty and put it into a Prevost, I think I would be happy. We have the best rich looking cabinets, leather, tile, etc. I guess the tile would be marble and our Corian would be Granite.

MM.

The only thing I see on your list that may be difficult to find in a prevost conversion, especially an older one, is the 4 slides. If you are to custom order the unit new, then no problem I am sure....outlaw is making an H3 with quad slides with a price tag well over 1.5 million......

We too where looking for "no flash"....real wood, warm feeling hence why we wanted to find a Royale. Talk to brokers, owners, dealers ect...and they will tell you they love to take in Royale coaches on trade for one reason...they are known for simplicity and ease of maintenance. They also seem to be an easy sell. In the last 3 months I found 4 Royale coaches (2) 2005 and (2) 2006 and they have all sold. 2006 was the last year Royale produced.

I've had quad slides on my last 2 coaches and can't wait to get to a coach with 2 slides.

In my 12 years of RV'ing and 6 coaches from various manufacturers, ALL OF THEM have had some kind of slide issue. The week before I sold my coach in my signature, I had a slide cylinder go out....after replacing both solenoids, the equalizer cylinder and the front cylinder it finally worked again.....$6,000 repair but it had to be done because I just wouldn't have sold the coach with a slide issue that I knew about. When I was looking for a prevost one of the wise old sages who's on his 4th prevost told me to make sure the slide outs are from prevost and not the converter or after market....converter slides will have more issues. Nothing ruins a vacation more than having one or more slides fail...what a pain.

[Mr_Mark1]

I always thought that Marathon was the Rolls Royce of Prevost conversions. I don't know the difference in the slide preferences, I'll have to read about that more.

This is what we want:
-Four slides
-1½ baths
-Real wood cabinets, as I would expect in that price range
-Outside TV
-Exterior grill would be nice
-Normal interior (not flashy)

Over the road air would be nice but I'm not going to lose interior space for it. We would spend more time parked than driving. And, isn't that's what the generator is for? (interior air).

I'm not sure about the batteries. I will have to investigate that for sure.

If I could take the interior of my Dynasty and put it into a Prevost, I think I would be happy. We have the best rich looking cabinets, leather, tile, etc. I guess the tile would be marble and our Corian would be Granite.

MM.

[JTHarley]

Mr.Mark wrote:

JTHarley wrote:

Mr.Mark wrote:
JT, on the Prevost chassis, does the tag lift or steer?

MM.

My understanding is the tag lifts...

I see, so you bought the chassis where the driver and co-pilot seats are on the same level as the living room. I wish they hadn't discontinued that chassis but I like the H3 too as the storage bays are tall.

The Royale is a Country Coach or Monaco on a Prevost chassis, right?

MM.

Monaco was the parent company of Royale Coach. This is the XLII chassis and not the H3. I'm not a big fan of the H3 style so that was never in the running for me.

[Mr_Mark1]

JTHarley wrote:

Mr.Mark wrote:
JT, on the Prevost chassis, does the tag lift or steer?

MM.

My understanding is the tag lifts...

I see, so you bought the chassis where the driver and co-pilot seats are on the same level as the living room. I wish they hadn't discontinued that chassis but I like the H3 too as the storage bays are tall.

The Royale is a Country Coach or Monaco on a Prevost chassis, right?

MM.

[AprilWhine]

My tag lifts.