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SKYCHENEY · 09-18-2016, 23:19

(09-17-2016 16:06)davidbrady Wrote: Sky,

Hish has a very, very nice coach. It'd be hard to find a better one. It's in incredible condition. Hish has maintained it superbly and you'd be hard-pressed to find any deficiencies. Hish is an engineer and a pilot and has always been proactive with coach maintenance and records.

I want to add that while I like the electrics of the Vantare, the d-bulb compression slide seals, and the full schematics and documentation, there really aren't any bad converters. Country Coach, Liberty, Millennium, Vantare, Marathon, Royale, Parliament, and others all rank as among the best and will easily meet or exceed the house quality that we're used to in a Blue Bird Wanderlodge. Then there are the not so well known converters: Bruce Coach, Angola, American, American Coach, Thompson, Legendary, Custom Coach, Vogue, Panterra, etc, they too meet or exceed the craftsmanship that we've grown accustomed to in a Wanderlodge. There really aren't any bad converters. They simply differ in how they lay out their electrics, plumbing, the use of air powered devices, air conditioners, Crestron RTI, or AMX, Prevost slides, or Valid, or HWH, or Vantare slides, etc. The nits we pick with each converter are just that and tend to come down to personal preference. I have yet to step foot in a Prevost conversion by any of the above that hasn't passed the Wanderlodge bar in terms of quality interior layout, components, and construction. There are no bad converters. No one buys a half million dollar bus chassis and installs a sub par house. It's all at least as good as Wanderlodge and very often better.

I spoke to Hish for quite some time on Friday. I could tell from the photos he sent and from speaking with him that he has a top-notch coach.

I will have to say that after having an Angola and looking at other conversions, I do think they vary quite a bit in terms of quality of components and craftsmanship. I was not impressed with the Angola conversion. The Vantare looks like they used much better components; specifically the wiring, breaker panel, fresh water pump and plumbing. I just can't get past using Romex and household panels in a coach. The vibration alone makes unstranded wire a very poor choice. We have all seen coaches that have had electrical fires. Its all just fine until its not.

When I converted that old Eagle, I used only marine-grade stranded tinned copper wire. That was in the early 90's. I also prefer to have the ability to run every load off of the inverter. I see no reason for sub-panels. The inverters should be treated as just another source like a generator. That is how I wired my boat. I may have to manage the loads to make sure I don't exceed the limits of the inverter, but don't have to try to remember what plug or light is actually connected to the inverter. I can use whatever load I want to run. They are all powered.