Scenicruisin'..?

amazinblue82 · May 12, 2018

I gotta revisit these Wanderlodges ... 2001MY, Cummins, 87,000 Miles, $38,000 as is.

Somethin' aint addin' up with these coaches ...lotta really nice stuff CHEAP, but I cant see any rhyme or reason that CONSISTENTLY holds up.

polara71 · May 12, 2018

commando1 · May 13, 2018

Doing some quick reading shows me their steep downturn started when they were spun off and sold to a corporate giant that didn't care.
Like when Mercedes bought Chrysler.
We know how that worked out.

cantflip · May 13, 2018

amazinblue82 said:
stumbled across the Altas-brand .. Daimler and Airstream team up. Nice ... butr starting at $215K and seats four? I dunno.

Atlas 2018 | Airstream

View attachment 184675 View attachment 184674 View attachment 184677 View attachment 184676 View attachment 184671 View attachment 184672 View attachment 184673

I bet the out of warranty repairs are going to suck to pay for.

amazinblue82 said:
I gotta revisit these Wanderlodges ... 2001MY, Cummins, 87,000 Miles, $38,000 as is.

Somethin' aint addin' up with these coaches ...lotta really nice stuff CHEAP, but I cant see any rhyme or reason that CONSISTENTLY holds up.

View attachment 184692 View attachment 184693 View attachment 184694 View attachment 184695

Too new for my faith to be in it. I like the older steel bodies. That still might be a very worthy coach for the $$

commando1 said:
Doing some quick reading shows me their steep downturn started when they were spun off and sold to a corporate giant that didn't care.
Like when Mercedes bought Chrysler.
We know how that worked out.

IIRC there are some trouble prone models... after they left the skoolie based models. All of the skoolie's suffer from age and certain parts not being so readily available. BUT, unlike many C body items, there are aftermarket solutions for a bunch of the issues too.

amazinblue82 · May 13, 2018

cantflip said:
Too new for my faith to be in it. I like the older steel bodies. That still might be a very worthy coach for the $$

A few hundred posts ago remember you describing the 'plastic" bodied RVs versus the steel body former commercial coach RV conversions.

one construction good enough (the plastic/fiberglass) for typical RV usage but NO WAY robust enough for a two million mile commercial coach ... or am i misquoting you (apologize if so)?

so is this 2001 Wanderlodge a "plastique" or a "steelie"? i shall investigate

thx

amazinblue82 · May 13, 2018

FYI for anyone interested.. LOTS of vids out there. I have conflicting information on the Wanderlodges but the 90's and newer one site said what built like these Cedar Creek Fifth Wheels -- about 12 minutes

Then this guy (reminds me of my Bus Whisperer) talked for a couple of minutes about two basic construction styles in use today for purpose-built RV's -- only two minutes long -- the pro's/cons of each

Now, compare ALL that to a All-Metal Prevost (they pronounce as "Pray - Voh" ). This kinda construction, in one form of another, is what ALL the vintage bus/RV conversions have. Click link and scroll down a little bit to the video

Why Prevost Chassis | Advantages of Prevost Chassis | Marathon Coach

cantflip · May 14, 2018

amazinblue82 said:
A few hundred posts ago remember you describing the 'plastic" bodied RVs versus the steel body former commercial coach RV conversions.

one construction good enough (the plastic/fiberglass) for typical RV usage but NO WAY robust enough for a two million mile commercial coach ... or am i misquoting you (apologize if so)?

so is this 2001 Wanderlodge a "plastique" or a "steelie"? i shall investigate

thx

Without running back to see... that sounds like me. :thumbsup:

I hate the construction of most of these things. In a travel trailer, if she rolls over... you're going to have a frame left... not what you'd want in the passenger vehicle. I have wondered how they got away and still get away with the minimal though to safety approach.

Look at the school bus panel above the windshield and the stiffening rib running down the side... this one still has some school bus DNA. Look at school bus crash pictures... and school busses are tough.

This one has lost all traces of school bus construction and I think is mostly fiberglass panels... but I believe was still framed out in metal and would have fair structural integrity in a crash or hold up over time and miles. A monster truck show may gut the old "stick built" ones they like to drive through... but I doubt they have to weaken the structure more than interior removal.

I don't outright hate or dismiss this era, and any bus that puts the driver in front of the tires is going to be an ugly wreck...

amazinblue82 said:
FYI for anyone interested.. LOTS of vids out there. I have conflicting information on the Wanderlodges but the 90's and newer one site said what built like these Cedar Creek Fifth Wheels -- about 12 minutes

Then this guy (reminds me of my Bus Whisperer) talked for a couple of minutes about two basic construction styles in use today for purpose-built RV's -- only two minutes long -- the pro's/cons of each

Now, compare ALL that to a All-Metal Prevost (they pronounce as "Pray - Voh" ). This kinda construction, in one form of another, is what ALL the vintage bus/RV conversions have. Click link and scroll down a little bit to the video

Why Prevost Chassis | Advantages of Prevost Chassis | Marathon Coach

The true bus chassis, like in the Marathon Coach info, will always be overbuilt when compared to a purpose built RV chassis. Newell might be an exception, but I know very little about them other than they built high quality, high priced, "one off" types... way beyond my budget.

Fun trivia, the door I used on my build was originally from a custom job that was commissioned by Rusty Wallace. The outfit that started the build did so much, so badly that the next shop pretty much started over. My buddy worked in the second shop and I got that door and a bunch of bay doors for a song.

Slide outs wouldn't be a good idea on a million mile coach, but nobody seems to use them that hard... or at least not the original purchaser's.

amazinblue82 · May 14, 2018

cantflip said:
Without running back to see... that sounds like me. I hate the construction of most of these things. In a travel trailer, if she rolls over... you're going to have a frame left... not what you'd want in the passenger vehicle. I have wondered how they got away and still get away with the minimal though to safety approach.

Look at the school bus panel above the windshield and the stiffening rib running down the side... this one still has some school bus DNA. Look at school bus crash pictures... and school busses are tough.
View attachment 185063

This one has lost all traces of school bus construction and I think is mostly fiberglass panels... but I believe was still framed out in metal and would have fair structural integrity in a crash or hold up over time and miles. A monster truck show may gut the old "stick built" ones they like to drive through... but I doubt they have to weaken the structure more than interior removal.
View attachment 185064
I don't outright hate or dismiss this era, and any bus that puts the driver in front of the tires is going to be an ugly wreck...

The true bus chassis, like in the Marathon Coach info, will always be overbuilt when compared to a purpose built RV chassis. Newell might be an exception, but I know very little about them other than they built high quality, high priced, "one off" types... way beyond my budget.

Fun trivia, the door I used on my build was originally from a custom job that was commissioned by Rusty Wallace. The outfit that started the build did so much, so badly that the next shop pretty much started over. My buddy worked in the second shop and I got that door and a bunch of bay doors for a song.

Slide outs wouldn't be a good idea on a million mile coach, but nobody seems to use them that hard... or at least not the original purchaser's.

good point on bluebirds ..see pics below

the best bluebirds ...all- steel like the schoolies roughly ended late' 80s. that sorta explains the 1985 MY pricier than 2001 MY with less miles.

pre-1988 Wamderlodges are still under comparable PDs/Eagle coach conversions and nearly as well built. A really good Newell used is a primo opportunuty too

commando1 told the rest of the story ion BlueBird accurately...decline, sale, more decline, then poof.

commando1 · May 14, 2018

We interupt this thread for rant about RVs and their overall addiction to the worst paint jobs in the world. The zoomy graphics are just stupid, ugly, and tells me the emphasis is on being an Attention *****.

Cough.
Now what were we saying?

Ripinator · May 14, 2018

commando1 said:
We interupt this thread for rant about RVs and their overall addiction to the worst paint jobs in the world. The zoomy graphics are just stupid, ugly, and tells me the emphasis is on being an Attention *****.

Cough.
Now what were we saying?

I really liked the look of that Red Bull bus. . . And the passengers looked pretty good too.

amazinblue82 · May 14, 2018

commando1 said:
We interupt this thread for rant about RVs and their overall addiction to the worst paint jobs in the world. The zoomy graphics are just stupid, ugly, and tells me the emphasis is on being an Attention *****.

Cough.
Now what were we saying?

thats an interesting observation. what IS up with the colorful swooshes, squiggles; abd swirls on these coaches/RVs in the modern era,

in gonna post a few and jhopefully get folks to weigh in: Attention ***** or Nicely Done.

cantflip · May 14, 2018

commando1 said:
We interupt this thread for rant about RVs and their overall addiction to the worst paint jobs in the world. The zoomy graphics are just stupid, ugly, and tells me the emphasis is on being an Attention *****.

Cough.
Now what were we saying?

amazinblue82 said:
thats an interesting observation. what IS up with the colorful swooshes, squiggles; abd swirls on these coaches/RVs in the modern era,

in gonna post a few and jhopefully get folks to weigh in: Attention ***** or Nicely Done.

I had always thought I would do something similar when time came I could paint mine... but my reasoning was I wanted it to lose as much skoolie vibe as possible. I had too many offers to paint it like a Grateful Dead Groupie Bus... Or this F$%^ing thing...

amazinblue82 · May 14, 2018

six prevosts...

I have a clear fave style out of all of them ... anyone else? got other ones that just piss you off cuz (1) they are too "hey look at me", or (2) plain ole uninspiring?