Series 60 - elderly or antique

[windtrader]

Having a fairly major on the road repair, just north of the souther border, it got me thinking seriously about moving to a newer bus, something with wide parts availability and serviceability. This is the first on-trip incident in nearly 8 years and it really woke me up that I don't want to ever have to deal with a broken down bus on a deserted Mexican road in the middle of the desert nor on a long empty stretch through the Yukon.


So far my research show Series 60 does fit the criteria of very good parts inventory and mechanics understand how these work, maybe not experts but should be able to figure problems out.


If that is the case then the next decision is which version is best in terms of least amount of crap added on such as DPF and DEF. 2006 and earlier are best candidates but to confirm, not assume.


As to conversions, Prevost bus vs motorhome options. Quite a large variety of companies that did conversions; following offered by ChatGpt. Missing is Newell but should be on the list

Brand	Likelihood of Pre-2007 Series 60	Typical Market / Quality
Prevost	Very High	Premium coach conversion
Monaco / Holiday Rambler	High	High-end Class A diesel pushers
Beaver	High	Well-built, older luxury motorhomes
Foretravel	Moderate to High	Rugged, custom-leaning builders
Country Coach	Moderate	Known among diesel coach owners
Blue Bird Wanderlodge (LXi)	Moderate	Heavy motorhome built on bus platform

[luvrbus]

You want to buy a RV with the Cummins engine they will service the engine no matter the age.The series 60 has been out of production since 2010 some dealers will work on a series 60, but most won't they use the 10 year old rule. I like the Newell, Monaco and Country Coach they are not built on a truck frame like Fortravel uses now. You need to be careful about Blue Birds I forgot the years but they had a lot of lawsuits about the weight on the front axle.Prevost is the only manufacture that makes a chassis just for a RV,I like Prevost but I do not like the complicated air systems on a Prevost. What ever you buy stay away from any after 2010.The early DEF systems suck they can cost up 25 grand to repair, the EGR engines are not that bad if you use a cetene additive booster on fuel up but it adds about 25 bucks to each fill up. I always bought mine by the case and Cummins recommends the additive it has their label on the bottle ( Power Service).Good luck in the hunt I hope you like slides I did once I owned a rv with slides. I am in the market for 40 ft higher end model with at least a 500 hp Cummins engine I have no interest in another bus  I see enough of buses here with people's money flowing out of their bank account. Manufactures over power the RV for better fuel milage a 4 stroke is not like a older two stroke engine higher hp helps with fuel milage in a RV I loved my ISX 15 600hp Cummins.If you check Motor Homes of Texas often they have some bargain's sometimes I came close to buying a 2003 Prevost from them it was a good great price under 150k with 119,000 on the clock     

[windtrader]

Clifford,


I was surprised by your not a bus viewpoint. From your comment is it an older bus costs more to maintain good working order vs a Newell, Country Coach or Monaco? I will start some research into them but Newell and Country Coach are often mentioned as solid contenders with Prevost.


What Cummings powerplant followed the Series 60? If the best ones ended in 2007 to 2010, what comes later that has a reliable and good service options? I love my bus it is nearly 100% DIY service and chashing parts. As long as traveling in the continental USA, I can suffer on the road repairs as parts can be sent in a few days.


This multi-day on the road emergency repair happening just miles before crossing onto the Mexican desert where service and parts are rarer than snow, I had to ask myself how much trust I have that it can get across Mexico or the Yukon to Alaska. Maybe the score will rise but at this point, the risk of a breakdown is greater than my level of trust of having no on the road issues. It's been great for nearly 8 years but it is 50 years old!


The other option is a SuperC. The ease of access to the engine and running gear is so much better than a bus and newer ones are far easier to get parts and service. My son reminds me that it can be bit shorter but with multiple slides you actually have more usable space with the slides out. Renegade Verona and classic and Showhauler seem to  have quality similar to top bus conversions at far less cost.


In no hurry but going to kick tires and if making the change, shoot for early fall. But the bus I have is incredibly satisfying so big weight on foot saying keep the old beast. lol

[JT4SC]

Cliff what makes a regular RV cheaper to maintain than a bus?  On the Country Coaches and similar you still have air bags, bushings, brakes, etc, not to mention the fiberglass / delamination issues regular RV's have.

Very interested to hear your insight on this!

[CrabbyMilton]

What Cummings powerplant followed the Series 60? If the best ones ended in 2007 to 2010, what comes later that has a reliable and good service options? I love my bus it is nearly 100% DIY service and chashing parts. As long as traveling in the continental USA, I can suffer on the road repairs as parts can be sent in a few days.


You make good and interesting points on the principle types and builders. God Bless you folks who have the ability, patience and fat money clips to keep them going and endure the possible adventure of breaking down along the interstate. As much as I love buses, I have always elected to be comfortable to stay in hotel while flying, driving my car, or being part of charter group.
One correction: You mispelled CUMMINS. I own stock in them but I forgive you.

[luvrbus]

One thing I like about the higher end RV like the Newell, Country Coach, Monaco , and Vogue is they are built from the ground up using parts that are not patronized ( I think is the right word) you can by the parts at NAPA.Entry level rv. are junk,My Country Coach had 8 inch beams from the front to the rear ( double frame) with a cage for the drivers and passengers' safety.The top of the line Prevost like the H-3-45 are fiberglass, the Newell has painted stainless siding.I have looked at some Prevost with the stainless siding that has problems with glued on siding coming lose,I was going to buy one till Prevost told me it would cost over 70 grand to repair the lose siding. You could always get a choice of engines in the upper end RV's for years now it's a Cummins thanks to  the EPA,you won't find a bus with a 650 hp engine. I like the MCI with the ISX 12 Cummins designed for MCI they use that engine in trucks now.Both the bus and the higher end RV's have their place it's what a owner prefers. I will say the 45 ft Prevost and MCI buses ride a little better and are quieter if they have IFS on the front axle, all the higher end RV 's have had IFS for years.Don is looking for something with a more modern drive train the higher end RV with the ISL Cummins is tough to beat for service and you can buy the oil for 1 at Walmart. People love old buses, but they cost a lot more to keep on the road than a higher end factory rv or the super C's on the trucks that a lot of old bus friends are drifting toward now , we are getting older and want something you can pull into a dealer and say fix it. I am going buy me another Country Coach or a Blue Bird, I don't like all the steps getting into the super C but they are nice   

[luvrbus]

What Cummings powerplant followed the Series 60? If the best ones ended in 2007 to 2010, what comes later that has a reliable and good service options? I love my bus it is nearly 100% DIY service and chashing parts. As long as traveling in the continental USA, I can suffer on the road repairs as parts can be sent in a few days.


You make good and interesting points on the principle types and builders. God Bless you folks who have the ability, patience and fat money clips to keep them going and endure the possible adventure of breaking down along the interstate. As much as I love buses, I have always elected to be comfortable to stay in hotel while flying, driving my car, or being part of charter group.
One correction: You mispelled CUMMINS. I own stock in them but I forgive you.

The Cummins ISL is the most popular engine in the RV's now they can have such a long range of HP and torque with great fuel mileage and easy to get service on 

[lvmci]

Cummins is also on the forefront of hydrogen injection and hydrogen fueled engine,  as well as CNG injection...

[luvrbus]

Cummins is also on the forefront of hydrogen injection and hydrogen fueled engine,  as well as CNG injection...

Cummins uses the 8.9L engine in a lot configurations, it is not a big engine to have the torque and HP it can produce in the ISL ,cubic inches are about the same as the 8v71 and 6v92.You see the 500 hp 1800 ft lbs. of torque in RV's and fire trucks, the ISL is not a million mile engine at those rating about 500,000 miles is tops. It is amazing the Cummins ISL 8.9L can produce as much HP and more torque than a 8v92TA using 1/2 the fuel. My son Rick has one in his Country Coach came with 400 hp I could set it on 450 hp but he took it to Cummins for the 500 hp and 1850 ft lbs of torque setting and loves it, with diesel engine one must always remember HP gets you started and torque keeps you rolling ,the torque on the 2 strokes has always been the down side on those. One RV manufacture is using the 6.7 Cummins in 40 ft  RV's with 1075 ft lbs of torque same as a Dodge pickup those won't last long IMO   

[rusty]

We have two Eagles that we have put north of 250,000 miles on them. The 72 05 has a cummins 855 with a 740 and has the bulk of the miles. The 05 has not had any major break downs. The only thing that I can remember is a drive shaft bearing got hot and I changed it. The 96 15 has a 60 sieres with a automated 10 speed. I deleted all the egr stuff that could be a problem if I need repairs on the road as a detroit shop will not touch it.
  5 years ago I was diagnosed with a rare kidney dease. My kidneys spill large amounts of protein. I have reduced energy and have lost strength.  The eagles are good machines but require strength  to drive them all day. Even the work I did on the15 front-end driving it is not effortless. We did not want to stop traveling so we looked at our options. We settled on a Showhauler.and have been very pleased with our choice. The Showhauler is built on a freightliner  cascadia  foundation. I know there are people that don't like freightliner but I am impressed  with the machine It has a  DD16 with a DT 12 trans.it it very easy to drive as easy as my pickup.  The technology  in the truck is amazing and maybe a bit much. It has adaptive cruise, crash midagation, and lane departure. It monitors all parts of the truck. I can see the temp of the front wheel bearing. The biggest drawback is you have ro take it to Detroit dealer to do the very minor things like setting the TPMS parameters at 225 dollars an hour 1 hour minimum.  Showhauler builds a nice house. And we have been happy with it. Don't over look a superC.
Wayne

[windtrader]

Ok, just getting back from the side trip to SuperC. Had a private deal ready to go. I was happy with the dual slide outs in the salon, amazing open space. It's a 2019 with 30k miles, nearly brand new but the deal got sunk when my wife got on one at sport truck in Phoenix with similar interior. The slate porcelain floor, dark stained cabinets, dark countertops was just too much for her. I was still open to finding another with a much lighter interior and probably could have swung her over.


BUT. I got an appraisal and it confirmed I could get it just below wholesale but above what a dealer woulds outright buy it. What ended this journey was the extremely knowledgeable pro advised me how niche and thin the market is for this thing, at least the Renegade Verona LE 40LTS. In fact the number of sold comps is very concerning which had my plan of buy it and if not happy flip it for no loss, maybe even make a few bucks on the other side. After his quite frank and strong warning, this got nixed.


There are others models like Rusty has, top line, premium and very expensive. From what I gather this is what racers haul cars around the racing circuit.


Back to class A. Another bit of insider insight is he said the top end models are actual money losing vehicles. The build these show queens out as marketing the brand and attract buyers to something in the lineup. Whenever parked, other Rvers are attracted like bees to nectar. Nobody is bound to show it off but most proud owners likely have no issue chatting up the coach and brand. Basically he says you are buying all coach as there was no margin in the price. He could be jacking me around but he spilled out so much stuff that I go with him knowing the business.

[luvrbus]

It's a buyers market on RV,s shop,shop you will find something you and the wife like,Keep checking Motor Homes of Texas they have some good discounts from time to time