450 LXI

[davidbrady]

There are a few issues that weigh on my mind, and as you know Al, my coach is for sale and I'm undergoing the same thought process as you and Erika; that is, Prevost, Newell, or M450. These issues have all been mentioned before so we're not breaking new ground here. In my opinion there are three high order bits worth considering: Support, Parts, and Safety.

Support really shouldn't be any different from any of the other birds yet in my mind there is a distinction. The M450 owners support group is more of a black box. The public, meaning non-owners, have limited visibility into the issues and the fixes, and we all know as with any motorhome there are issues and fixes. Consequently, new owners have no choice but to put Allan Barbee and Johnny Anderson on the payroll, and I do mean the payroll. These guys have set up shop and as far as I know they charge annual subscription support fees. Luckily for new owners Allan and Johnny are here and available and willing to help. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

As an example of parts availability, the suspension system is a concern for me. There seems to be no support from Arvin Meritor. When an owner needs a bushing, or a ball joint, or an upright, or a control arm, they have nowhere to go except custom fabrication at exorbitant prices. Maybe things have changed with AM, again please correct me if I'm wrong, but if they have we the buying public haven't heard about it.

Lastly, there is an elephant in the room regarding safety and we may as well introduce her. Perception is reality and this is far from a scientific study, but the whispering undercurrent is that the accident rate per unit vehicle is higher than what we see in the general Wanderlodge population. Some of this may be do to operator error: excessive speeds, lack of maintenance, excessive loading, etc; and some of it may be do to uncontrollable environmental conditions: debris on the roadway, roadway hazards, etc; but there may be more going on and the NHTSA's recalls citing axle overload and the owners upgrading to 365 tires tends to suggest something more.

Speaking of the recall work, well I think Ross covered that pretty well and we now know the extent of the modifications to the bus.

I may be off-base with my statements, but if I am I'm not alone and I'm going to shoulder that burden right on the lack of M450 public discourse. It could very well be that the owners know better and I'm simple ignorant, If that's the case then please come forward and enlighten me; because of the above I've decided to only consider a Prevost or Newell or simply modify my LXi for my family's needs.

(Disclosure: Wanderlodge Gurus has no financial stake in the sale of buses or the sale of parts).