450LXi

[David Brady]

Jack,

Thanks for taking the time to relay your experiences to us. You've
made a believer out of me. Last time I was in Fort Valley I test drove
a 450 and I concur with all that you said regarding ride and handling.
I didn't pay a lot of attention to wind noise or bedroom noise while
in transit, so am happy to hear your comments regarding these areas.
I was a bit concerned over the Cat C13 but your experience with
performance and fuel mileage alleviates those concerns. Now I need to
convince my wife that we need an upgrade!

David B
'02 LXi, Smokey
Va, soon to be NC


adieu2y wrote:
> David,
> We have enjoyed the coach now for 14 months, approx. 11,000 miles. Our
> impression is Quality-Plus just like the other BBs. The 450 is so much
> fun to drive my wife and I have lengthy discussions on how far to
> drive each day. I usually want to keep going and going. I doubt I'm
> alone in that regard. The driving is very smooth. When driving our
> 2001 Lx I needed to steer all the time. the independent front
> suspension on thr 450 eliminated that. You drive it more like a nice car.
> We asked the factory to install the new Koni shocks and it did make a
> difference. I already liked the way it handled and the ride so the
> shocks were not as important as some other 450 owners had claimed.
> The turning radius is much improved and that does come into play often.
> A very big improvement was in sound control. BB made the front area
> very quiet with very little wind noise. The bedroom in this coach is
> quiet and cool enough for my wife too take naps while traveling. Not
> true in the Lx.
> The Cat 525 is very adaquate. Our toad is a Jimmy and we have a RV
> Lift for the 500# motor cycle. Our fuel monitor has steadly improved
> to an avg. 6.65 mpg. If I look at the fuel flow when running at my
> speed and ideal conditions it will indicate above 9-10 mpg. I think it
> will get to 7 mpg before it averages out.
> I have been treated extremely well by Holland Motor, Michigan.
> We did not buy the coach from them (they did not have the floor plan/
> colors we wanted) but they have given us great service and have worked
> closely with the factory. We have had the coach to them for body work,
> slide out issues, a broken Koni shock, Watbasco replacement, and dash
> problems. They are a great company to work with.
> The same can be said for BB factory. BB did a weeks worth of up
> grades to bring our '05 up to the '06 standard.
> I had an interesting chat with another 450 BB owner while waiting at
> Holland Motor last week. His first coach was a 96 BB, then 2 Prevost
> and now he says he "traded up" to the new 2007 450 lxi. He said it is
> so much better than the Prevost. He went on and on about how much
> better it drove etc, etc.
> I hope this helps you move closer to a 450. Jack VanDenBerg '05 Lxi
>
>
>
>
>