Liberty Coach

[H3-45]

Hello,

I know this is a primary do it yourself site,But does anyone here own a Liberty Coach Conversion? If so what is your opinion on there interiors? Quality of workmanship,durability,etc


Thank You,

Robert

[prevosman]

Mine looks like a bordello. OK, I'm exagerating a little, but my 97 vintage was when the decor was a little over the top. (OK, a lot over the top). Having said that however I have nibbled away at things and while the interior is still ornate (that's nicer than saying whore house) it is more muted with our choice of a laminate floor and dark green leather sofas.

But despite how much effort and detail went into the interior with its fancy lighting and etched glass my wife and I really have gotten to like it. It is so different than how we live we are truly in a different world when we get in the coach. Liberty's attention to detail and build quality is superb, yet for a 15 year old coach it still looks very good in terms of lasting design.

We have had nothing but Liberty conversions (2) over a 21 year period, using the first for 15 years and this for 7 (one year overlap). Both interiors hold up very well and the systems, from electrical to water to cabinetry, to accessories are durable and if needed, easily repaired. Liberty and Marathon owners over the years have held their coaches to be the best made and I have to agree. Most conversions are good, most are very easy to live in, but based on my experience and the exposure to other conversions I would never consider anything but a Liberty if we chose to get another. They do so much right it is very hard to give consideration to others.

I am not a paid spokesman for Liberty, I am just a customer that has experienced a Liberty coach over a long time period and know mine inside and out. There are things that could be improved, but I can say that about any coach. I am biased.

[luvrbus]

I like the Liberty Conversion but IMO I think the American Carriage is the best conversion in the Prevost hard to find as Mark didn't do but 2 year and now he is gone but he built a nice solid coach top quality from the paint to the inside finish     

good luck

[H3-45]

Prevosman,

Thanks for the reply,After researching for about 2 years I think a liberty is the way I am going to go. Everything looks good with attention to detail that maybe only Marathon can touch. But currently liberty has a interior designer that in my humble opinion has it going on.

Thanks again,
Robert

[Joe Camper]

I can tell you from experiance that their service and support is second to none PERIOD.

The other "big boy" in that industry Marathon cant even compare with the tech support and coustomer service for every single camper Liberty ever made weather you are the first owner or the 5th.

If you have electrical gremlins and know how to use a meter they will get you straighted out over the phone practicly every time.

I have delt with Tech support at Marathon they were IMO O/K. Liberty does this better than any and then some.

I had Ben Wilmore over to the house (also a fixable owner some may know him from "wheres Ben" website) with his, he was having multiple issues with the gen and the watchdog.

I am admittdly have a very limited grasp of electrical tech. We went thru that gen and its autostart circutry 1 item at a time and got 6 untrlated issues before it ran and stayed running and prior to his arrival it was months without it. Did it over the phone with Liberty north chicago.

They also put OTR A/C in all of them they convert I have never seen one without.

I put the design and craftmanship and fit and finish more on par with most others. Most all professionally converted prevo are very high similar grades in this aspect IMHO.

[H3-45]

Thank you Joecamper, All information is appreciated.

Robert

[Joe Camper]

One reoccurring problem and shortcoming I see on almost all the prevo conversions is all the pneumatic accessories on the house side supplied by usually some very substandard auxiliary air compressors.

Put the most powerful aux air compressor you can talk them into installing. Make sure it is an a/c powered not d/c and tell them you want the limit on it adjusted down from 100 to about 60 just enough to supply enough pressure to do things. The cycles will be less frequent and further apart.

I would also ask to please not use ANY push in type air fittings anywhere on the house side.

[Joe Camper]

Make sure it has bypass switches installed for the inverters.

[Dirtball]

If you are building , extra fuel is nice. I fuel my farm tractor using the 100 gal aux tank in my coach.  As most of my "camping" is dry camping I am on genny for days. Starting on the 195gal main tank , I can run it down to 1/4 and then transfer another 100 gal into it from the aux. before refueling. I can also backfeed my house from the bus genny, 20kw. and 300gal of diesel, gives backup to the 6kw gas genny and 100 gal of gasoline I usually have on hand. Presently living in an area with widespread power outages, some expected to last one week. Don't laugh at a Custom Coach if you see one. Most were used hard on the road, but there are some creampuffs like mine still sitting around for sale. They may look "dated " inside, but elec and plumbing are simply layed out and usually easy to access. Bus air is a must for me.

[eagle10]

We bought a 1992 Liberty last year after having 1972 GMC for 10 years and a 1984 Eagle 10 for 12 years. The Liberty is top quality and all components are the best. We really enjoy it now that we have figured out the lights and all the stuff on it.  We do not like the air flush or air  pocket door and the air compressor cycling on and off all the time.  Some on here say Liberty gives great support if you have a problem. I always get an answer phone when I have called and no one has ever called back. If anyone has a good Liberty contact nunber, I would like to have it. Thanks.

[prevosman]

Eagle......I have bad news. Any Prevost conversion that has some age on it begins to lose aux air. It doesn't matter if it is a Liberty which has several house pneumatic circuits or a CC or a Marathon. All use air in the house for various reasons such as the driver''s seat, or the bed lift, or the generator air bags, or the floor slide. But the Prevost chassis also makes extensive use of aux air for the door lock, belt tensioners, shutters, transmission retarder, and tag lift.

The news gets worse. I am now in the middle of finding and curing all my aix system leaks (again), something that will result in my aux compressor only running once a day or less. I will spend days before I am done isolating the leaks and fixing them, with a lot of them caused by push on fittings instead of compression fittings, and the rest being in components that always have pressure on them such as my floor slide cylinder or my generator air bags. The good news is my bus is a hobby and if I didn't work on air leaks I might be sitting on my butt watching Oprah or the View.

I doubt if any of the converters can share their pneumatic diagrams, but a huge help can be found here: http://prevostparts.volvo.com/technicalpublications/en/wiring.asp
Use that site to navigate through to find just about any information you need from electrical to pneumatic to help you learn your coach. The information is correct right down to your serial number. I have created large drawings that are easy to follow for pneumatic and electrical diagrams for my specific coach. They are an immense help. I created them by printing blown up tiles of the Prevost PDF files.

Liberty routes all their house pneumatic circuits through a manifold located in the steer compartment. I added shut off valves to all the circuits and by trial and error identified each one. I can isolate which house circuits are leaking aby pressuring up the coach, turning off the house circuit valves individually and then waiting an hour or so. Then one by one I open the valve to each house circuit and if I hear air flowing as I open the valve I know which one(s) are leaking. You can do the same by plugging each one individually and seeing which one(s) affect the pressure leaks down rate.

Email or PM if you need more advice, which is free and worth every cent you pay for it.

[luvrbus]

Eagle10,I found out after a conversion reaches about 10 years of age none of the converters seem to help Marathon is the worse and I believe Country Coach was the best IMO I never had much luck from Liberty either

good luck

[thunderstruck]

Eagle10,I found out after a conversion reaches about 10 years of age none of the converters seem to help Marathon is the worse and I believe Country Coach was the best IMO I never had much luck from Liberty either

good luck

The problem with Country Coach is their out of business.  I have had very good luck with Featherlite...    Joe

[eagle10]

I find the same problems with service and help. I called Florida Liberty last Winter and the guy told me they don't usually work on older conversions. ? Chicago Liberty only gives you an answer phone. I expected more from them. We have build two so I guess I will figure it out. Prevost has great service and excellent help. We still really enjoy the Liberty.

[prevosman]

Eagle,

When the economy went in the toilet converters were hard pressed to stay in business. Right now Prevost is planning on 40 conversion shells for next year and it was not unusual for them to do more than 150 in a typical year.

As a result every converter changed their business model. Those that tried to do business as usual are now in a serious world of hurt or are gone. Liberty has survived. But if you look at the Liberty site, in fact look at any converter's site and you will see few if any coaches beyond the 10 year old range. Often a converter would service any coach they built, but the marketplace has now made that all but impossible. First, the converters have to charge for things today they previously offered gratis. So when the owner of a 5 year old coach gets a bill for a few days of repairs, the total bill is insignificant compared to the money invested in the coach. But when an owner of a 15 or 20 year old coach that has had the same repairs and gets the same bill he has a stroke because the cost is a significant percentage or the cost of his coach. I suspect Liberty and any other surviving converter would like to avoid the drama of an unhappy older coach owner thining they got screwed. It costs just as much to repair a 20 year old coach than it does to do the same repair on a 2 year old coach.

That does not mean you as a Liberty owner are left to hang in the breeze. First, Liberty is a converter that is loathe to make changes once it has a good reliable system. So you as an owner are going to find many of us in the marketplace with systems identical to yours. Same components, same system design, and for sure the same wire numbers whether it is a 5 year old coach or a 20 year old coach. The wire for the living room lights is the same on your coach as it is on mine.

There is one factor that works against newer owners of older coaches that a converter would prefer to not support. My first Liberty had only 21 months of time in service when I bought it. And I immediately went to Liberty for help, never having set foot in an RV until we bought our Liberty. So I have an established relationship that spans two decades because I have spoken to them over the years, gone to Liberty rallies and inquired about service issues and even coaches they have had for sale. They have a large number of long time customers and they still answer my dumb questions. But then again they know me. It's not fair, but I think they had to make some very hard decisions to survive in the business climate that has literally taken a great number of converters out of business.

If you have Liberty type questions ask away. I can assure you that you will get answers, and if you are very lucky on occasion you may actually get the correct answer.