Alright, now for more of a trip report. I've somewhat caught up on sleep.
After making the purchase agreement on the Prevost the seller needed to get some work done on it. Mostly, this had to do with installing a washer/dryer (which didn't exist previously for reasons unclear to me). While the windshield was out to get the washer and dryer in the RV, we also wanted the fridge replaced with one more to her liking than what was in there. We had a few other minor items which they (mostly) took care of and then I had to get it.
I flew out with a poor night's sleep and with not as much time or energy as I would've liked getting the bus. But things were in good condition, we took care of a few details, and off I went. I didn't get all that far before pulling over at a truck stop and calling it a night - about 200 miles or so.
The next day was the big day's worth of driving, and a new record for me in terms of RV miles at 925 in one day, another rest area, and then the remaining <200 miles home the next day. This gave me a lot of time to get to know the bus, make notes on things that I wanted to change on it or issues noted, etc.
The difference between the Prevost and the old bus is night and day, in basically every respect. I was able to set the cruise at 75 for most of the trip and keep it there without the Series 60 working particularly hard. Yes fuel economy was worse at that speed than it would've been slower, but I was trying to put miles behind me. In reality it could've done faster, but I was happy with 75. On the steepest uphill I slowed to around 50, but the bus could've done faster, I mostly was just keeping it off of max boost the whole uphill. However the temperature never budged. The cooling system worked great and kept everything right where it was supposed to be.
The winds were mostly calm, but crosswinds don't impact this bus as much as the old one, same with passing trucks going the opposite direction on a 2-lane road or drafting behind a semi. Everything is more stable, and the mental effort to drive and keep driving is much lower - hence why I was able to do 925 miles in a day. That's a lot in any vehicle, but especially in a bus. This thing just kept going.
The 208 gallon fuel tank was really nice. Normally, 400-500 miles on the old bus has me looking for fuel depending on what I'm doing and how I'm driving. Being able to fill up once in the morning and not even think about fuel for the rest of the day made the drive easier, and also reduced the time for stops significantly. My stops were only for food (which I'd grabbed some of at WalMart before hitting the road) and the bathroom (which, of course, is in the bus). Oh, and sleep. It's already apparent how much faster and more efficient the long days will be with this bus vs. the old one.
With the bus home, I've been able to make my list and go through things more. The bus lacks any solar whatsoever, which is an annoyance to me. Given that the heat is all diesel and electric water pumps, solar becomes that much more important - I should have no problems making a system that will run everything I need so long as AC isn't required. This generator is also much nicer than the one in the old RV. It holds a constant RPM regardless of load and is a lower RPM, quieter overall, no drone. The exhaust pipe does touch and rattle in one place, I have to find that and change it. The batteries are all pretty new and the house batteries are Lithium (24V/400AH, so basically double the capacity of the old bus). But the battery bay is enormous and has lots of room for growth. Quadrupling the capacity would be within the realm of possibility if I wanted to go that far. I don't, but I could. Doubling seems more worthwhile.
The air system is very leaky and wouldn't pass a DOT check. I'm going to have to go through and find and fix the areas of leakage. I doubt it will ever get 100%, but I should be able to find enough.
The driveshaft U-joints seem to be bad. There's a higher RPM vibration that's related to engine speed which starts around 55. It's worst when coasting, goes away at full throttle, and varies in between. In retrospect I did notice this on the test drive but didn't put together what it was at the time. I'll have to pull the shaft and have it serviced.
The headlights are upgraded to LEDs (a $2500 upgrade) but they were aimed completely wrong and also wired wrong (highs and lows were reversed). I got them aimed right (I think) and will then get the wiring set up properly. I'll also set things up so when the high beams go on the lows stay on. I should be able to just do that with a diode between the two relays.
Annoyingly, they replaced one of the pop out windows that was totally fogged up but not the other two that are also fogged up. Also the tag axles are seeping a little oil. Nothing too huge but it's there.
Otherwise, the list is really mostly just a bunch of small details - things that are a combination of personalization to how we want them and taking care of little things. The fresh water tank was about half full and the water was old and stunk. So we drained it, filled it with fresh water with bleach in it to kill any bacteria, let that sit and then drained it, flushed, etc. The grey tank we filed with water and Dawn and let that sit, then flushed it. Filters will need changed, etc.
The stock muffler has to go. The thing is enormous and looks very restrictive. Plus, it's too quiet. I'll probably put on the same muffler I had on my old RV - it's a 5" straight through and should be much better.
The systems on the Prevost are much different and more complicated than on the old bus. With the extra complexity comes more refinement, but also just differences that I need to work my way through fully understanding and internalizing. We've bought and ordered a ton of stuff to start working through our list of minor issues and customization.
I'll probably put the bus away in the shop this evening for the first time, the old bus will move out, and then I can start working on the technical items.
