When Your Prevost Goes to the Shop; How to Save Time and Money

There is no doubt about it; we are all riding in the most magnificent motorcoaches on the road. The two-million mile chassis and a conversion which provides the greatest luxury and comfort down the road.

But even these most magnificent Prevost coaches require maintenance and service from time to time. Finding the shop with the best match for the Prevost owner is a personal choice. Prevost itself has six excellent repair facilities in the United States and one in Canada. They are full-service facilities, with staff eager to assist the Prevost owner’s every need. Their facilities are online at www.prevostcar.com. Parts are readily accessible and owners can be assured of the highest level of service and expertise on their coach.

There are times when owners are not near to a facility or have driveability issues and other shops are another alternative. Of course, one wants to have a facility with direct expertise with Prevost coaches, as there are no other coaches like the Prevost. The coach deserves the same level of maintenance; commensurate with its design. Make sure that any shop that works on your coach has Prevost-qualified experience.

Once a service facility is selected, there is much the Prevost owner can do to insure high quality service; saving both time and money.

Highly qualified shops are busy places. Professional technicians are specialized and have much to contribute to the repair or maintenance of the Prevost. Except in emergency situations, there is much that the owner can do to make the service visit an efficient process.

Here are some tips:

The adage about time is money is ever-present in the repair process. Try to document, specifically, what repair is needed. For example, if an engine is overheating, or seems to be, check your gauges, record the conditions under which the overheating occurs. Is it transient, or is it repeatable? What other factors entered into the overheating? Were there any unusual noises? Was the over-the-road air conditioning in operation at high altitude during an ascent over a pass? Keep a record of each item which will be presented to the Service Advisor during your introduction to the service facility. Prevost coaches are very complicated machines and the best information helps the advisors and technicians themselves zero in on a specific area as quickly as possible. Narrow down each individual item: Do they interact with each other?

The longer the search for the cause or symptom of a particular problem, the longer the owner will have to sit in the customer lounge and wait for the repair to be completed. Most High-Line technicians are eager to resolve any maintenance problems as quickly as possible to get the owner back on the road, and you want to be back on the road as well.

Don’t let repairs accumulate. Try to bring your coach in with a short list. It is possible that one needed repair may cause another function or system to fail; and that gets to be very expensive and unnecessary. Every coach requires periodic service; and perhaps a few other needed repairs or upgrades. However, once the list gets to be very long, the coach may be in need of rather extensive repairs, which makes the overall repair process just that much longer and that much more complex.

If there is any repair involving plumbing, waste systems or water systems, dump and wash out the systems before bringing the coach to the shop. It doesn’t pay to be waiting for technicians to do it for you; and it is a rather expensive proposition to have technicians performing that work. It is also time consuming, as the technician may have to drive the coach to another location to a dump station. Bring it in clean.

If work is to be done which requires access to the bays, either store or remove whatever is in the bays before bringing the coach in for service if possible. It is troublesome to pick up your coach and not find your favorite items in the right place in the bays, if the technicians have to remove what is in the bays and then attempt to replace those items in the same order. The same goes inside the coach; try to create a wide field for technicians to work, making their job and your life a little easier.

Even the simplest repairs can involve a great amount of complexity. Every conversion is a completely different

set of plumbing, electricity, air systems, air conditioning,

heating, fuel systems, cabinetry and materials. Don’t

expect even the little things to be necessarily easy to repair.                                                               

Often times even the smallest items can portend a longer-

than-expected work session. At the same time, remember

it is the list of the little things that can make the journey

down the road less comfortable; so stay on top of the little

things.

Owners traveling with pets may find even the most loving dog to be somewhat territorial when the technician enters the coach. Many technicians have been bitten by an owner’s other member of the family. (No way to begin a great relationship between owners and technicians). It’s a good idea to put the pet in the bedroom, bath, or take the pet with you while the repair is being performed.

If possible, keep good records of previous maintenance on your Prevost, and it’s a good idea to keep those records with the original manuals which came from your conversion company and from Prevost itself. Looking for modifications to the coach can chew up a lot of resources that could be more efficiently utilized in some other fashion. If you, as the owner, have made any modifications, note those modifications in the manuals so as not to surprise a technician who may be wondering, "where does that wire go?"

Sometimes a simple labeling system which is obvious to both owners and technicians is a good idea. That’s what Prevost did when it built your shell; and it is likely what the conversion company did as well. Keep up the good work which has already been invested in your unit.

Try to keep a clean engine compartment, with battery terminals scrubbed. An amazing amount of electrical energy is ‘wasted’ by either corroded or oily terminals. When starting the big Detroit Diesel in your coach, the 24-volt system puts a strain on the batteries and you will need all the power that even the most powerful batteries can supply. Keep the batteries healthy, belts in good shape (remembering to always carry an extra supply of belts with you at all times). A clean engine compartment makes the job of maintaining an engine easier: Here’s why.

A little leak or loose connection is easy to spot for both the Prevost owner or the technician. It can signal immediately what condition you are reporting, or perhaps even something that is beginning to occur which you may have not noticed as yet.

Although the engine, drivetrain and chassis is a brute on a Prevost, it must be approached with great delicacy. It is a complicated machine and in the back of your coach is a sizeable investment of time, money, engineering and, well, the mechanics of what helps you go down the road.

It is always helpful to present your Prevost with the same respect as it was intended in its design, and that means trying to keep it in the best order possible, both for your own routine care and maintenance and when you bring the coach into a repair facility.

There is nothing more luxurious or individual than a Prevost coach. Keeping it in great condition is a partnership between owners and technicians and service advisors. By paying a bit of attention to some of the challenges of those who will help you stay on the road will make your motoring experience more pleasurable and free from worry or unnecessary concern.

This article was made possible by the staff at Ken Robertson RV Service and Sales in Lakeland Florida. Our site, www.prevost-stuff.com was assisted by: Lester Burgess, Service Manager, David Gladston, High-Line Technician; Richie Davis, Coach Technician and Howard "Buddy" Judy, Chassis Technician.