PREVOST PURCHASE INSPECTION

The day has arrived. You have found the coach of your dreams and you had that “eureka” moment the first time you stepped into it. You are taking possession of your coach. If it is new, or if it is being sold to you by its converter who has included a warranty your only concerns are to try to understand how everything works in this complex assembly of systems and devices. If you are buying the coach without a warranty this becomes your last chance to learn the coach and to determine if there is anything wrong with it so you and the seller can decide how to handle the cost of the repair.

Taken as a whole a Prevost conversion is overwhelming to the first time owner/buyer. The only way to make the inspection and learning less daunting is to recognize that you are just buying a whole bunch of independent systems and devices that all travel down the road at the same time. The first separation to recognize is the Prevost conversion is a bus shell, and a house that has been put inside the bus shell. Except for a few common points the two are separate assemblies, one supported by Prevost Car and the other supported by the converter. You have to understand which part of your new coach is the Prevost, and which is the converter assembly.

If you are buying your coach new or with a warranty from the original converter you don’t have to worry about things that are not correct because they will be dealt with by the seller. But you do want to identify those things as soon as possible. If you are buying the coach “as-is” before all the money changes hands you definitely want to identify things that need repair. If you do not, as soon as the seller is looking at the taillights pulling out of the driveway the problem is yours. In either case you really need to learn the coach before you drive away so the inspection is not only to see if there are problems, but it is a means by which you learn the workings of your new purchase.

It cannot be overstated that a new owner literally needs to live in the coach for a day or so to learn the systems and to complete the inspection. This is not an inspection that requires you to be a mechanic, but it does require you to understand the things you may wish a mechanic to do and equally important it will make you aware of the things you still do not understand and need additional help in learning. Since the big dollar items relate primarily to the Prevost shell, the engine and the transmission, they should be given the priority in the initial inspection. The place to start is with the maintenance records. Every single owner will tell you that their coach is well maintained. Give your seller the opportunity to prove that. What you seek are log books or maintenance records that you can trace backwards to verify that routine maintenance has been performed at least to the recommended schedule. That includes oil changes, chassis lubrication, filter changes, transmission fluid changes, transmission filter changes, and coolant changes. There are specific Prevost schedules for all of this and you can print them out from the Prevost Car web site (http://www.prevostcar.com/cgi-bin/pages.cgi?page=publications) so you are armed with information. As an alternative I have attached the maintenance summary sheet I use for my coach. It is specific to my coach, but could also be used as a guide for you to ask questions of the owner. If you do use the attached maintenance sheets it can also serve as the starting point for your maintenance program when you take possession of your coach.

It is presumed that in addition to routine maintenance the coach will also have repair records. Look those over to see if there are any recurring problems. It is not uncommon to have hub seals leak, AC compressors fail, or various other repairs. If there is evidence of continuing problems such as frequent AC compressor repairs just be aware you may still have a problem.

If you cannot verify through records or receipts that routine maintenance has been done, you can view that in a couple of ways. You can assume the owner did the maintenance and everything is OK, or you can assume you need to do every single maintenance item as soon as you get the coach to know for sure it has been done. That is very expensive and just the materials will set you back hundreds of dollars.

Next in the process of inspecting the shell is a drive. That drive should be to the nearest Prevost or Detroit Diesel / Allison dealer. You want to have the code reader put on the coach and you want to know the history from the coach computers. It is important to see if there are any existing but unresolved codes which are an indication of a possible problem with the engine or transmission. There should be no codes. During the drive the coach should have handled well and you should have learned during the pre-trip inspection (get a copy of the commercial driving test book for your state, and use that as the pre-trip inspection guide) if you have any lights out, if the air system is functioning, if the brakes are OK, if the wipers work, etc.

If you are at a Prevost facility for the reading of codes, you may wish to have the technicians do a complete inspection. They will get under the coach and look for problems, indications of regular maintenance or the lack of maintenance, brake system condition, leaks, and signs of physical damage. Prevost may have the service history for the coach, and if recent repairs were made by Prevost the warranty will extend to you because the Prevost repair warranties are tracked by serial number, and not coach owner.

If you wish you can do some of this inspection yourself without getting under the coach. Move it and see if there are any drips. Go all around it and listen for escaping air. These are problems. While you may not see all the axles, turn the front wheels sharply and look at the brake lining thickness. Note if the coach shows signs of regular lubrication. Look at the back of the wheels. They might be dirty, but they should be dry. If they are wet it is a sign of a leaking hub seal. There are many clues to a coach’s condition just by looking at it. This is a perfect time to ask the owner to explain wet spots and other clues as to its condition. Be a cynic.

Try not to be intimidated by the coach. It is big, it is heavy, but it is a relatively simple vehicle designed to operate for millions of miles. If the big stuff checks out OK the chances are that the shell is in good shape. What you should understand is that this coach will require maintenance that you will never have to consider on your passenger car. Because some things affect the safety, as an owner you should be proactive when it comes to these items. For example, regardless of whether I have issues or not I will change my brake chambers every five years and my air bags (in the suspension) every ten years. They have critical rubber components and those components age and can fail. If the seller has not done that type of preventative maintenance it is not an indictment of his care of the coach. I probably go overboard. You just need to be aware a failure of things such as these ends your driving for the day or until repairs can be made.

OK, so now the shell has been inspected. During that inspection you should have operated all the controls and switches relating to the shell. Those switches relating to the shell include light switches, cruise control, supplemental braking, heat and air controls, fast idle, door air lock, mirror controls, seat controls, and auxiliary lighting. You should have operated and checked the lights, wipers, brakes, emergency brakes, and especially the leveling system. You should have run the AC systems, and learned the functions of the transmission key pad and the supplemental braking system such as a transmission retarder or Jake Brake. During the drive you should have noted that every gauge reads in the normal range. The air system gauges should have remained fairly constant and should not have cycled up and down a lot. The engine and transmission temperatures should have remained well within their range depending on the type engine and transmission.

You should have had the opportunity to operate the leveling system. Each converter seems to deal with coach leveling in their own way. Some do not alter the Prevost Level Low system. Others modify the system to include an automatic leveling feature. How the system operates may vary so just be sure to understand how the system functions. If you have the opportunity operate the system manually to raise and lower each corner of the coach and to allow the system to function in the road position. The coach should not lean or settle down once the level is set. If it does that it is a sign of a leak in the system and some leveling system leaks are difficult and expensive to find. Understand what conditions must be present in order to operate the leveling system. On one coach I had the entire system would operate with the key off. In my present coach the key must be on in order to operate. Some coaches cannot be raised using the auxiliary pump due to limited pressures and the coach must be running and the coach air system must be at its limit.

Spend some time in the engine compartment. Make sure there are no leaks of fluid or air, that you understand how to check all fluids, that you know the belts and hoses are in good shape, and that you understand how to replace belts should one break. Learn where the fuel filters are and the procedure for changing them. Bad fuel is rare, but if you do get contaminated fuel, changing the filters puts you back on the road. You will stop running with plugged filters and re-priming the engine fuel system is not something you want to do while on the side of the road. Don’t forget that while your purpose is to inspect your coach, it is also the opportunity to learn your coach.

While you are in the engine area look at the batteries, their condition and age. The batteries should have clean posts, they should not be bulged out and they should be less than 5 years old. I am sure a lot of batteries last beyond five years, but for all practical purposes their useful life is over after five years regardless of how well maintained they were.

Learn how to turn off the batteries for extended storage or for service work. Learn how to do a remote start. Check to make sure the engine area doors can be locked and that they are included in the alarm system. Check the engine compartment lighting. Get a sense of the coach’s care by the appearance of the entire engine area and look for dates and miles on various filters and labels to give a hint about when things were maintained. If you see rusty filters (fuel, oil or coolant) and the seller tells you the coach was maintained to the highest standards try not to laugh. You can surmise a lot about the coach with just visual clues, and never get your hands dirty.

With the Prevost shell part of the inspection almost complete you are left with only a walk around inspection. Look carefully at the tires. They have aged out at six years regardless of tread depth. If they are at or near 6 years old you will be spending some serious money in the near future to replace them, Notice also how they look. Look for sidewall cracking, irregular tread wear patterns or cupping around the edges. A coach that has been properly aligned, and that has balanced tires will have smooth uniform wear patterns. If the tire wear is irregular something else beside the tire also needs attention.

Check the paint. Look for flaking or bubbling. Look at the texture and feel for any differences that might indicate the coach has had collision damage repaired. Check the roof also. Look at the condition of the sealant around vents and antennas. Look at the caps on the front and rear and especially at the area where the rear cap attaches to the shell and across the bottom rear of the rear cap. Look for cracking, The coach has a tongue weight and trailer weight limit. Excessive loading on a hitch for example could result in a structural strain that will show up on the rear cap. While a small crack running across a rear cap may not be a big deal, if it was caused by towing an excessively heavy trailer, it may have had adverse affects on the transmission. Just be aware that irregularities in the shell and finish should be explained.

The shell has been inspected and now you finally get into the converter’s portion of the coach. You might as well start on the outside. The converter puts most of the major systems components outside on the roof or in the bays. Start with the plumbing. Expose the water and holding tank systems and look for signs of leaks. If the coach has level indicators for the tanks or fill and dump systems locate them and understand how they function. Operate them to the extent necessary. Run the pump. Make sure it doesn’t short cycle. Look at the condition of the filters. Inspect the bay for signs of critters. Look for bay heaters and verify they operate. There should be multiple ways to heat the bays to prevent freezing. Note the hot water tank and its temperature control and excess pressure relief valve.

Operate the holding tank dump valves. It is presumed you will live in your new coach while you are learning it and inspecting it so dump the holding tank and fill the fresh water tank. If these functions are done automatically learn how that works. Learn how to perform the filling and dumping manually as well. If the coach has a macerator pump verify it functions properly. Plan on sanitizing the entire fresh water system when you get the coach so learn how to add Clorox and how often the seller did that. Note: Some water system components and materials are damaged by excessive use of sanitizers containing chlorine. Use caution and verify the materials in the coach will not be damaged before sanitizing.

The generator and the coach batteries are vital to the operation of the coach. Start by inspecting the generator. Review its service records. Visually inspect it for leaks, and the condition of belts and hoses. The radiator may be remotely located. Verify the coolant level and condition of the radiator hoses.

Start the generator. It should go through a preheat phase and then crank and run. Make sure it starts quickly and runs smoothly without excessive smoke. It is presumed the generator bay or housing will have some type of forced air ventilation to purge the area of fumes prior to when the start cycle is initiated. Verify the fan is working. If the generator system has various start modes such as auto start (when the batteries get low) or when shore power is disconnected, attempt to verify those starting modes also function. This is where living in the coach as you learn and inspect it is important because you can run down the batteries to verify the auto start system functions.

Check the age and condition of the house and generator start batteries. The same applies to them as it did to the coach batteries.

Continuing on the outside of the coach inspect the house heating system such as the Webasto or AquaHot. Make sure the burners fire up and that they bring the coolant up to temperature and then cycle off. Learn how to isolate the various heated zones and where the valves are located. Make sure the valving is properly marked. If not make sure you note the function of the valves. Learn how to access the systems for service. Look carefully at the hoses. These are rarely the quality of the engine coolant hoses and the life of them is much shorter.

Next check the house AC systems. They will either be roof mounted or in the bays. Gain access to them and make sure the condensing coils are clean and open and that you know how to access them and where they are located. Coaches with Cruise Air units often have the condensing units buried deep in the interior of the bays or behind the front bumper. Make it a point to open the access and look at their condition. Try to run each AC unit while it is being inspected. You will see or hear how each operates and while you may not be an AC repairman you do have the ability to hear differences in how they sound. They should all cycle on and off as necessary. This is a perfect opportunity to exercise the generator and the house heating and AC systems. Instead of relying on Mother Nature to provide the heat or cold necessary so you can verify the operation, start the generator and run the heating systems and the AC units simultaneously so you can see and feel for proper operation This loads the generator also and gives you a good opportunity to insure the generator is putting out the power without stumbling or overheating.

This part of the inspection requires two people or a lot of running in and out of the coach. You want to be outside so you can hear the sounds of the condensing units, but you want to be inside to be setting the various thermostats and controls so you can make the AC and heating units cycle to verify they are working. After the engine, transmission, and generator the AC units are probably the most expensive components. The AC systems may be AC only or they may be heat pumps that will also provide limited heating, or they may have heat strips. Try to test all phases of all systems. If you are lucky you will buy the coach where the days are hot and nights are cold so you do not have to go through a lot of gyrations to alternately heat and cool the coach to test the systems.

Typically the later model AC systems will have digital keypads for control. The keypads have a lot of capability and you should learn them while testing the systems. You can control temperatures, modes of operation, you can set the desired temperature and you can use the keypad to tell you the room temperature. If the books for the systems explaining them are not available be sure to get a good checkout from the seller and try to obtain the operating manuals.

By now the only outside inspection remaining should be the electrical compartment. The compartment should have fuses and / or circuit breakers for the various circuits and may have inverters and or converters. Try to look for any home made modifications that are not up to the quality level of the converter’s work. Generally the converters do an excellent job of providing a high quality electrical system with a lot of consideration given to circuit protection. Sometime an owner will do a modification and the workmanship is less than satisfactory and the circuit may not be adequately protected by a breaker or fuse.

If you detect obvious modifications attempt to understand exactly what they are and if they are safe.

If the electrical compartment has any devices such as inverters learn their switch positions and how to trouble shoot them if they are provided with annunciator lights. Generally devices such as inverters will have a remotely located annunciator panel upstairs and you will need to understand the panel and how it functions.

The outside or bay area of the bus inspection should now be complete unless the coach has additional features such as an outside entertainment system, a grille, refrigerator, etc. If it does verify the operation of those components. If the bay areas of the coach have any access panels or doors that were not opened now is the time to open them up and learn what is behind them, and what you have to know and understand about what is in those previously closed areas. This portion of the learning and inspecting of the coach is generally very revealing. The entire underbelly of the coach, including the engine area is the guts of the coach. This is generally where the heart of the various systems is located and this is where first impressions are often correct.

If your dream coach looks great upstairs, has a pretty paint job, but the various mechanical areas in the bays or engine area look like a disaster with corrosion, loose or fraying wires and hose, oil or fluid leaks, and generally a dirty unkempt appearance if is probably true the owners of the coach lacked pride and did not follow good maintenance practices. I can overlook sloppiness in cleaning up dirt or stains that come about from normal wear and tear, but red flags are raised when I see the signs that minor mechanical issues such as drips and worn components are not corrected. Usually the lack of maintenance records combined with a visually unacceptable mechanical area indicates poor or no maintenance.

Finally, check the remaining outside items like the awnings, a spot light if it equipped with one, the door camera, the alarm system and the remote locking system for the bays and the entry door. This sounds somewhat unimportant because it is mentioned in passing, but knowing how the awnings and alarm and locking systems operate are critical. You may have to deal with unexpected winds and get your awnings up in a hurry. You need to know how to do that, or if they are automatic, to verify they do retract. The alarm system is another potential problem. Learn how to arm it, disarm it, and what it controls.

Now the house portion of the coach can be inspected and learned. If the coach has slides, now is the time to make them operate and to learn the procedures. Do not be shy about running them in and out and verifying they do not hang up, and that they open and close fully with no problems. The slides are complex and are a major maintenance issue on some coaches. It will pay for you to be totally satisfied the slides on your prospective purchase are functioning. Learn the emergency procedures for slide extension and retraction, and be particularly critical of anything, even what might appear to be the smallest glitch. If you accept excuses why a slide sticks or doesn’t complete the cycle properly when going in either direction you could be exposing yourself to some serious maintenance downtime. Some or all slides have an interlock that prevents the coach from being driven if the slide cannot complete the retraction cycle. There are provisions to over ride this feature. Learn how to do so. The typical slide has numerous steps in the activation cycle and if they are not completed in sequence the entire cycle may stop. Something as simple as a slide pin that fails to engage may prevent movement of the coach.

You’ve seen the things that work beneath the floor, and now you get to see how to make them work and how to control them. If you have not completed the understanding of the various heating and AC systems now is the time. Typically a coach has multiple heating and AC systems and those systems often are practical under various outside conditions. For example, when driving you may choose to operate the bus heat or AC system. Some coaches have full coach systems often referred to as over the road (OTR) heat and air. You should have familiarized yourself with them on the drive to the Prevost or Detroit Diesel shops.

But your coach may also have house systems that you will use if you choose or if your coach does not have the OTR system. For AC some coaches can run one or more AC units from inverter power. Learn how this is done and what the system limitations are. Typically the systems set up this way have a maximum number of AC units that can be turned on. Some may limit the units that can be used to the front only. Some buses may require the use of the generator while driving to operate any of the AC systems that are not engine driven. It is very important that you learn and understand how and when to operate the various environmental systems because the time to learn is not when you are freezing in Minnesota or baking in Arizona.

By actually operating these systems you are also verifying that what you previously operated with the generator is now running properly with the inverter(s).

The same applies to the various heating systems. Some coaches have diesel fired burners that heat coolant that is used to heat not only the engine, but the house and the hot water system. Learn how to turn them on, turn them off and how to regulate the various temperatures. To supplement the diesel fueled heating systems some coaches have the AC units provided with electric heat strips, or the AC systems can be set to provide both heat and cold, or there are electric heaters located in various locations such as in the toe spaces in the kitchen or bath. Some coaches have propane furnaces that work in conjunction with other heaters or in lieu of them.

The critical thing is to learn all of the heat and AC sources, to learn how to turn them on, how to regulate them, if there are any limitations to their use, how much of an electrical load they impose and how to turn them off. It is entirely possible for a system to have multiple shut offs. For example, the Cruise Airs in my coach, in order to function need to be turned on at the circuit breaker in the main electric panel, to be turned on at the key pad controlling each one (and to have the temperature set so it will turn the AC on, along with being in the AC mode), and the remote operating switches at the drivers dash panel need to be on. Three specific switches need to be on just to operate a Cruise Air.

The same may be true of the coach you are inspecting. Learn all of the switches. If you do not you will go nuts after you have driven away in your new coach and will eventually have to make a phone call asking how to make the AC work. But the AC is not the only item that has similar multiple switches to operate. One of the heating systems in a previous coach had a breaker in the electric panel, a thermostat that had to be set, and almost hidden from view, a small switch beneath the thermostat that had to be engaged.

You should now have operated every AC and heating device. During that time you should have noticed the current draw for every single one. This is important because your Prevost will have the ability to trip the breakers in the campground if you insist on running everything at once. On a 30 amp service you might be able to run one AC unit, your refrigerator and charge your batteries, but it is unlikely you can also run the hot water heater, the auxiliary air pump, the TV and a hair dryer. So you have to learn how much current each device draws and on minimal service pick and choose.

On 50 amp service you actually have 50 amps on two 120V legs or 100 amp service. Generally you can run three or four AC units and a little extra. Again you will have to learn what the power requirements your coach needs for the various components or systems because shore power does have its limitations.

If you are buying your coach from an individual it is unlikely you will have 50 amp shore power available so you can verify the coach will switch (manually or automatically) between the power sources (shore, inverter, or generator), so as soon as practical attempt to get shore power to the coach so the entire coach electrical system has been verified.

If you really need to run a lot of stuff, consider using the generator.

Now you are getting down to the details in the inspection and learning process. A good place to begin the balance of the inspection and learning process is to set the house heat or AC systems so you will be comfortable. You want to see how things work over a long period rather than just turning them on and off. Start the refrigerator if is not running. If it is working properly the freezer should be capable of maintaining a 0 to 10 degree F temperature and the refrigerator should be holding around 35 to 40 F. It would not hurt to stick a thermometer in each compartment just to verify this. The refrigerators are typically refinished to match the coach interior, or have special panels. The have to come in through a windshield and a lot of furniture may have to be moved or removed. Having a refrigerator that works saves a lot of grief.

Now start at the entry way and learn and operate every switch. Generally in this area you should be able to lock and unlock the door and bays, turn on entry lights, maybe turn on the coach lighting master, slide the entry way step cover, light the outside entry light, and maybe hang your coat automatically (OK, I’m kidding about that).

Get a sense of these switches and controls and determine if the same functions can be accomplished elsewhere. Typically they can.

At the passenger seat and the driver’s seat will be more switches and controls installed by the converter. Operate each one and determine that the control works and what it does. There are too many possible controls to be located in this area to list, but just be sure the ones on your coach work and that you understand what they do.

Move through the coach learning what each switch and control does. Some will be very clear, but some will require an explanation. Do not assume anything. There are some coaches for example that have an alarm system that can be set from a switch that looks like all others. You can set the alarm, and leave the coach. After a little while the alarm system arms itself. There is no magic in that because that is how our alarm systems in our house function. But there is a surprise in this case. Once the alarm is armed, it may turn off the engine if a window or door is opened. If you unknowingly hit the switch you may have just set the alarm and the engine disabling feature. It doesn’t become a big deal until two hours later when you roll up to a toll booth, slide your window open to pay, and have the engine shut down. A lot of owners may not even know the function of all switches. If in your inspection and learning you find controls or switches you cannot understand dig deep until you are satisfied you do know what they operate, or that they are truly non-functional. It may save you a towing cost only to find out all you had to do was flick a switch.

As you continue through the coach you will reach the main coach electrical control panel. Typically the panel will display AC current (used here to denote Alternating Current, not air conditioning) voltages, the electrical load, battery voltages, and it will have an annunciator panel for the inverters and various circuit breakers for the AC current devices.

Understand what the panel is displaying. This is a good time to operate the coach on the inverters, the generator and shore power just to see the various voltages. They will vary, but typically they need to be around 120V. Large variations up or down could be a sign of a problem. It is not unusual for some campground to have low voltage. It is a problem for you because as voltages go down, the current draw goes up. If you are not familiar with basic electric characteristics it is worth the effort to learn.

The inverter annunciator panel typically displays certain information, but also has a means of controlling inverter operation such as battery charge rates and voltages. It is important to understand how the panel is set and how to change those settings. As an example certain types of batteries, such as flooded cell can be charged at higher voltages without harm, but AGM batteries charged at the same voltages may be damaged. Some coaches are not set properly because the owner was unaware of things like the voltage restrictions or was unaware the settings could be changed. The operating manuals are important and you should have them available.

In addition to the inverter operation, the main electric control panel should have an indication of what devices can be powered by inverters and which require shore or generator power. You will need to understand how to identify these circuits. You should also develop an understanding of how to turn the inverters on and off, and the consequences of doing that. You need to understand how and when the inverters become battery chargers, and if you can control that aspect of their operation, and in the event of an inverter failure you need to understand if there is a way to get electric power to certain key electric circuits such as the refrigerator. On some coaches, an inverter failure will prevent power from reaching certain circuits like the refrigerator even when connected to shore power or with the generator running. Question this aspect of the coach and try to understand it in detail. Write it down so you will remember. You will not want to find yourself with an inverter failure on a Saturday night in the middle of nowhere and nobody to talk to. Now is the time to address the problem.

As you continue through the coach you will have more switches and controls to operate and understand. Most will be like the ones previously encountered, but there may be some new ones. The vent fan controls may have some features to check or learn. There may be controls for the water system or the waste system. You may have controls to allow you to fill the tanks or to remotely dump the tanks or to open gray water valves to divert gray water so it dumps on the ground instead of in the holding tank. The remaining switches and controls may operate pocket doors, the bed lift, the outside lighting, security camera, sound system speakers, etc. Take the time to operate them all and understand exactly what is happening. It is not fun to learn you have opened the dump valve for black water, forgotten to close it, and are now using the facilities while not hooked to the sewer. Generally there are warning lights, but it is still important you know the systems.

So far so good. By now you should have verified all the lights, plumbing, heating, cooling and subsystems work and where the controls are located and how to use them.

You are getting near the end.

As you work your way back forward there are still lots of things to check. The obvious things are the operations of appliances. Check the washer and dryer, the safe, the stove, the microwave, the dishwasher, the trash compactor, the built in coffee maker and blender. In our homes a malfunctioning appliance is a pain, but in the coach that need for a repair takes on epic proportions depending on what needs repair. Under the best of circumstances cabinet disassembly will be required so the appliance inspection is more than just opening the refrigerator door to see if the light is on. This is where living in the coach in close proximity to the seller is important.

Living in the coach not only makes you realize what systems you require more lessons for, but it gives you a chance to actually use everything in the coach. It is best to identify problems when you are still in a position to deal with them than when you are 100 miles away, especially if you are 100 miles away and your purchase money is already headed for a numbered Swiss bank account.

While living in your new coach the last thing you want to learn is how to operate the entertainment systems. A coach typically has two, and often more TV sets. The TV sets can show local stations, satellite stations, cable TV, and video tapes and DVDs. It is bad enough trying to figure out which remote does what, or what controls to use to select a source, or how to get the local antenna or the satellite antenna to work, but you also have to figure out how to get those sources to play on the TV you want to watch. Whatever you do in the inspection and learning process, do not let anybody younger than 40 tell you how everything works. Look around for somebody that looks like they were around when the civil war ended. That person will take his time explaining how to do what you need to do with the various selector switches and antenna controls, and which remotes to use, and how to use them. Anybody under 40 will go so fast and use unfamiliar terms so you will still not know how to change channels on the satellite 2 years later. I’m not kidding here.

Unlike the good old days where surround sound was a speaker on each side of the hi-fi, the sound systems in the coaches are as complex as the TV systems. Learn the components and how you switch from local radio to CD to XM or any other source. It is really best that this portion of the learning take place when the bus is not moving. Like the TV there are usually multiple locations for the sound systems such as in the dash, bedroom and the outside entertainment area. Some have remote controls and some are tied in with a selection of speakers. We can have the sound throughout the coach, or limit it to the front while the rear has its own radio playing.

The last thing I recommend is learning how to shut everything off. Obviously most electric devices just require turning off the circuit breaker. Study the panel and see how the circuits are set up and what devices are on the circuits. But be aware that the inverters have a special procedure to shut them down usually. Find out how, and also learn how to shut them down and be assured that they are not just at idle, waiting for a load so they can kick back on and supply power. Most inverters are not supplying power until it is called for and you may think they are OFF when in fact your body is all it takes to complete the circuit and to cause them to kick back on with their full capacity.

But don’t stop with the electric system shut off switches. Open every access panel, including those hidden behind drawers and in the bottom or back of cabinets and see what is behind those panels. It is likely you may find water or heating system shut off valves, or access to filters. Make notes on what you find because unless you routinely get behind access panels it is easy to forget where certain hidden components are located. While you are looking behind panels make certain you have located all the air conditioning system filters, and if necessary clean them before covering them up again. In addition shine a flashlight all around and make sure there are no leaks visible, no evidence of mice or other pests, and no signs of something that is or may be a problem like chafing wires or things that need to be better secured.

After you have taken the time to operate everything and learn about the systems you are ready to live in it to verify your inspection results and understanding of the coach and its systems. Cook in the coach, sleep in it, take showers, use the toilet, and generally plan your meals and activities so you get to use everything. This is the opportunity to “dry camp” and live off the batteries. See if the auto start for the generator works. This is also a good time to make plenty of notes as reminders of the things you really need to know, like how to avoid dumping your holding tank on the ground or how to operate the AC units.

Living in the coach will also give you the time and opportunity to review what you have learned about the maintenance of the coach and to plan your maintenance schedule. I have attached mine, created specifically for my coach. It will not work for yours, but as a guide to develop your own. I would also urge that as you do the initial maintenance review discussed near the beginning of this process that you use it as a check list to ask the seller the maintenance status of everything. You should have learned your coach, you should have learned if any repairs or maintenance is required and with an orderly inspection process both you and the seller should be aware of what is working and what is not and it gives you both an opportunity for further negotiations.

With the exception of some screw drivers to remove access panels, a flashlight, and maybe a couple of thermometers that can be used to monitor the refrigerator and the temperature drop between the air coming from the AC and the ambient room temperature, you should have been able to complete an inspection that leaves you knowing with confidence the condition of the coach. It is hard work, it requires considerable attention to detail, if requires a lot of time, but there is no better way of evaluating a coach. You can pay someone to do an inspection, but in the end they will not be able to tell you much more than what you can find out by yourself following this outline.

Before you put many miles on your new purchase load it with your personal items, fill the water and fuel tanks and weigh the coach and each axle to determine the tire pressures you need to use for your new coach. This is very important. Good luck and enjoy your new (to you) coach.

My maintenance schedule for a buyer to use to verify the coach being purchased has had some routine maintenance which may vary from my schedule, but it does provide a checklist to review. Please click here.

Jon Wehrenberg -10/25/07