M380 vs other fiberglass coaches

[richardfriedkin]

We've got a 2004 M380, which has been a very good coach. However, we
find we spend more time parked than driving and we'd like the extra
room more slides provide, without sacrificing quality. We frankly
can't see the difference between our coach and the other fiberglass
monocoque coaches like Country Coach and the Monaco products, except
for the number of slideouts. How are the walls, floors and ceilings
constructed on our coach compared to the others? Is our chassis
stronger? Why did they switch to aluminum on the new M380? I contacted
Blue Bird with these questions and have not received an answer.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Dick Friedkin
2004 M380

[richardfriedkin]

We've got a 2004 M380, which has been a very good coach. However, we
find we spend more time parked than driving and we'd like the extra
room more slides provide, without sacrificing quality. We frankly
can't see the difference between our coach and the other fiberglass
monocoque coaches like Country Coach and the Monaco products, except
for the number of slideouts. How are the walls, floors and ceilings
constructed on our coach compared to the others? Is our chassis
stronger? Why did they switch to aluminum on the new M380? I contacted
Blue Bird with these questions and have not received an answer.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Dick Friedkin
2004 M380

[Scott]

Hey Dick, We just returned from the FMCA Rally in Charlotte NC. Truly
a great experience! There were 3000-4000 coaches in attendance and
lots, read tons of rain, and lots of coaches stuck in the mud. We
viewed many coaches while there. Some of the mfgrs were Monaco,
Country Coach, Newell, Prevost, Holiday Rambler, Mandalay the list
goes on. We have our 86FC for sale and looking for our next coach.
When ever that may be.

I must tell you from my standpoint there was a HUGE difference in
quality. Especially, when one really looks for quality. Particle
board cabinets, entry steps that give way, cheesy hinges, fit and
finish were way off. Actually, we were not impressed. The Newell's
were fine! 40' coach with a 37' turning radius! Beautiful slide outs
with air craft type seals. About 1.4mil worth of fine though!

Many "neighbors" were not having much fun during the rain. Many leaks
on newer coaches. Not to mention many coaches flooded in the infield,
water to the floor. So much for gensets and entertainment centers!
One was even pushed off its jacks! The folks parked next to us had
some tough issues. I am not trying to slam one against the other, by
any means, but just sharing an experience. When they returned after
some evening entertainment, I notice he was out in the rain, it was
raining hard. His partner was dumping water out by the buckets, they
had a CC Intrique, I went to help the guy out. His windsheild popped
out in the upper right hand corner, by more than 2". He was mad! His
coach was three yrs old. Never fear duct tape worked we used a ton of
it! Several, Holiday Rambler slides were leaking, they have a
rubber "wiper" type seal around the slide. (neighbor in front of us)
I would suggest to question the structural integrity of the wall that
has the slides, also access to the bays under the slide. All things I
noticed. Fleetwood has a slide I think it is 29'(huge, whole side of
coach) but when questioning the sales guy about structural integrity,
there was not a good enough answer! Check for yourself.

Our final conclusion was that for the money (our money) we would find
it hard to move away from BB. With the impending sale of BlueBird I
will be watching closely the new owners philosophy, when it comes to
making a Blue Bird and changes to make the coach competitive in
today's market. Watch for a press release in the next 10 days!! Big
changes ahead!

ScottB
86FC35 "RUBY" 4sale
SC

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "richardfriedkin"
wrote:
>
> We've got a 2004 M380, which has been a very good coach. However,
we
> find we spend more time parked than driving and we'd like the extra
> room more slides provide, without sacrificing quality. We frankly
> can't see the difference between our coach and the other fiberglass
> monocoque coaches like Country Coach and the Monaco products,
except
> for the number of slideouts. How are the walls, floors and ceilings
> constructed on our coach compared to the others? Is our chassis
> stronger? Why did they switch to aluminum on the new M380? I
contacted
> Blue Bird with these questions and have not received an answer.
>
> Thanks in advance for your help.
>
> Dick Friedkin
> 2004 M380
>

[gepatch]

I'm on my second M380 and love it, But want 3 slides. I also have a
new Prevost. I use the Prevost for Rallys and general traveling and
the M380 for back woods, sand dunes, Mexico, etc. I find the BB
drives and handles great. I'm hoping the new owners produce a
tripple slide.
I've looked at other motorhomes in the 38 ft range, but cannot find
one that has the safety up front.
On one of my previous motorhome by another Company, I forgot to set
the em brake and it rolled 8 ft and hit a small pine tree at the
drivers headlight. The whole front corner fell off and hit the
street. There was nothing behind the light to stop anything from
hitting my feet.
Does anyone know of a a motorhome that has up front strong bumper.
I'm setting next to a new CC and a 2004 beaver. We got underneath
and looked at the front support. Nothing

Glenn

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "richardfriedkin"
wrote:
>
> We've got a 2004 M380, which has been a very good coach. However,
we
> find we spend more time parked than driving and we'd like the
extra
> room more slides provide, without sacrificing quality. We frankly
> can't see the difference between our coach and the other
fiberglass
> monocoque coaches like Country Coach and the Monaco products,
except
> for the number of slideouts. How are the walls, floors and
ceilings
> constructed on our coach compared to the others? Is our chassis
> stronger? Why did they switch to aluminum on the new M380? I
contacted
> Blue Bird with these questions and have not received an answer.
>
> Thanks in advance for your help.
>
> Dick Friedkin
> 2004 M380
>

[Gregory OConnor]

Glenn, Do you chose the numbers or was it a quickpick?

I want a retrofit slide on my 94pt but dont want to lose interior
spaceousness when it is tucked
GregoryOConnor
94ptRomolandCa

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "gepatch"
wrote:
>
> I'm on my second M380 and love it, But want 3 slides. I also have
a
> new Prevost. I use the Prevost for Rallys and general traveling
and
> the M380 for back woods, sand dunes, Mexico, etc. I find the BB
> drives and handles great. I'm hoping the new owners produce a
> tripple slide.
> I've looked at other motorhomes in the 38 ft range, but cannot find
> one that has the safety up front.
> On one of my previous motorhome by another Company, I forgot to set
> the em brake and it rolled 8 ft and hit a small pine tree at the
> drivers headlight. The whole front corner fell off and hit the
> street. There was nothing behind the light to stop anything from
> hitting my feet.
> Does anyone know of a a motorhome that has up front strong bumper.
> I'm setting next to a new CC and a 2004 beaver. We got underneath
> and looked at the front support. Nothing
>
> Glenn

[Leroy Eckert]

Glenn:
Cannot speak for others on the Forum just myself. If I understand your post,
the M380 is expendable because it does not have 3 slides, you drive it in the
back woods and other places that would trash the Prevost. You have found that
BBs' are tough. Do not want to read anything into this just assuming. And
you know what ass/u/mi/ng means.

My old bird which does not have slides, is built like a tank. I'm comfortable
with it. I am not concerned about the bumper falling off any time soon. I
have also considered a slide modification. Outside the door is a big world.
Ever seen a glass drag boat explode into a million pieces in an accident?
Glass motor homes will do the same. Accordingly, I do not believe there are
any glass coaches available that meet the standard of BB or Prevost. Sooo, you
could always purchase a glass bus with 3 slides, be very aware on the road and
when you are done send it to the boneyard, or wait and see what BB does.
Someone will buy the M380.

I gotta say, I envy your position.

Leroy Eckert
1990 WB-40
Niceville, FL

----- Original Message -----
From: gepatch
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, August 27, 2006 10:46 AM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: M380 vs other fiberglass coaches


I'm on my second M380 and love it, But want 3 slides. I also have a
new Prevost. I use the Prevost for Rallys and general traveling and
the M380 for back woods, sand dunes, Mexico, etc. I find the BB
drives and handles great. I'm hoping the new owners produce a
tripple slide.
I've looked at other motorhomes in the 38 ft range, but cannot find
one that has the safety up front.
On one of my previous motorhome by another Company, I forgot to set
the em brake and it rolled 8 ft and hit a small pine tree at the
drivers headlight. The whole front corner fell off and hit the
street. There was nothing behind the light to stop anything from
hitting my feet.
Does anyone know of a a motorhome that has up front strong bumper.
I'm setting next to a new CC and a 2004 beaver. We got underneath
and looked at the front support. Nothing

Glenn

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "richardfriedkin"
wrote:
>
> We've got a 2004 M380, which has been a very good coach. However,
we
> find we spend more time parked than driving and we'd like the
extra
> room more slides provide, without sacrificing quality. We frankly
> can't see the difference between our coach and the other
fiberglass
> monocoque coaches like Country Coach and the Monaco products,
except
> for the number of slideouts. How are the walls, floors and
ceilings
> constructed on our coach compared to the others? Is our chassis
> stronger? Why did they switch to aluminum on the new M380? I
contacted
> Blue Bird with these questions and have not received an answer.
>
> Thanks in advance for your help.
>
> Dick Friedkin
> 2004 M380
>





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[John Suter]

Hi Dick,

I'm a bit confused by the following:

> I'm on my second M380 and love it, But want 3
> slides.

As BB hasn't been making the 380 for long, what is
behind your decision to dispose of the first one in
favor of the second?

> I also have a new Prevost.

As Prevost doesn't really make a coach, but does
manufacture a great chassis that various folks convert
into a coach, from which converter did you purchase
and what were your reasons for choosing them?
Did you choose the H3 or XLII chassis, and how many
slides does it have?

John Suter
currently coachless



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[gepatch]

John
sorry for the confusion in my post. I purchased a M380 while I was
waiting for my Prevost to be completed by Bruce Coach in Salmon Arms
Canada. When the new Prevost was delivered I sold the 380. I
missed driving the M380. I enjoyed driving it in the woods and back
country, so I purchased another one. I love it except, I want 3
slides. I'm hoping the new company that purchased BB will see the
market for a 3 slide 38 footer.

Glenn

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, John Suter
wrote:
>
> Hi Dick,
>
> I'm a bit confused by the following:
>
> > I'm on my second M380 and love it, But want 3
> > slides.
>
> As BB hasn't been making the 380 for long, what is
> behind your decision to dispose of the first one in
> favor of the second?
>
> > I also have a new Prevost.
>
> As Prevost doesn't really make a coach, but does
> manufacture a great chassis that various folks convert
> into a coach, from which converter did you purchase
> and what were your reasons for choosing them?
> Did you choose the H3 or XLII chassis, and how many
> slides does it have?
>
> John Suter
> currently coachless
>
>
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
>

[martingregg598]

Dick, I have been on these factory tours, Blue Bird, Alpine, Beaver-
Bend Or, Road Master, Monaco, Marathon, and visited Featherlite. I
cannot speak about the Prevost as they come as a unit to the
converter. But here is what I know about the others. They build a
frame and weld on the lower supporting structure to the frame. Many
of the welds that I saw were welded incorrectly and over welded.
Blue Bird builds the frame and builds the sub substructure and then
lower the frame into the substructure and bolts the two together,
this is the way structural steel should be dealt with, the frame and
the substructure metals are not compromised by welding. Then there
are the ribs and the metal skin and roof and the rest of the coach
being constructed after the shell is built. All the others use a
vacuum bonded wall, a wall with a metal frame that has fiberglass on
one side insulation and the interior wood then glued together and
vacuum bonded, ever heard of "De-laminating." What they do is,
build a chassis to include the floor, they load it with all the
plumbing, wiring and cabinets and furniture, and then they bring in
a pre-constructed wall and lower it to the floor and set the wall on
the floor and spot-weld or screw or bolt the wall to the floor. Then
the roof is lowered on and the same process. It's all good on the
factory floor. What happens after the coach is on the road? When you
pull it into a driveway and the frame stressed? The box gives, spot
tack break, screws pull. That's why they fall apart, leak, rattle,
and on and on.
95 BMC Marty

[Henry Jay Hannigan]

---I cant stand it...I only use my three prevosts on months ending
with
..R...

LOL
Hank
90 SP36
80FC31
Prevost wannabeeee




In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "gepatch"
wrote:
>
> John
> sorry for the confusion in my post. I purchased a M380 while I
was
> waiting for my Prevost to be completed by Bruce Coach in Salmon
Arms
> Canada. When the new Prevost was delivered I sold the 380. I
> missed driving the M380. I enjoyed driving it in the woods and
back
> country, so I purchased another one. I love it except, I want 3
> slides. I'm hoping the new company that purchased BB will see the
> market for a 3 slide 38 footer.
>
> Glenn
>
> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, John Suter
> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Dick,
> >
> > I'm a bit confused by the following:
> >
> > > I'm on my second M380 and love it, But want 3
> > > slides.
> >
> > As BB hasn't been making the 380 for long, what is
> > behind your decision to dispose of the first one in
> > favor of the second?
> >
> > > I also have a new Prevost.
> >
> > As Prevost doesn't really make a coach, but does
> > manufacture a great chassis that various folks convert
> > into a coach, from which converter did you purchase
> > and what were your reasons for choosing them?
> > Did you choose the H3 or XLII chassis, and how many
> > slides does it have?
> >
> > John Suter
> > currently coachless
> >
> >
> >
> > __________________________________________________
> > Do You Yahoo!?
> > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> > http://mail.yahoo.com
> >
>