What’s New at Parliament Coach?  -Our Design Philosophies. 

We at the new Parliament Coach by the Mitchell Family would like to take the opportunity in the next several issues of this article to better acquaint you, our customer family, with our product.  Some of you may think it has simply been “business as usual” since Parliament Coach became the newest addition to the Mitchell family, but that has not been the case.   

About two years ago, we set out to redefine our product, capitalizing on the years of combined experience we have had at Vogue and Marathon Coach, as well as our dealings in selling or servicing the products of Vantare/Featherlite, Liberty, Angola, and Blue Bird, just to name a few.  The design philosophies we established out of those deliberations are what I wish to share with you in this issue of Mechanic’s Corner. 

There are many challenges any coach converter must face.  With the debut of the Prevost’s factory slide-outs, the redesign of both the XL2 and H3-45 shells, and most recently the more stringent EPA standards for diesel particulate emissions, which resulted in larger radiators, are just some of the changes that we all have faced.  Combine those with the steady increase in demand for equipment and systems that must go into these already space-limited “homes on wheels,” and the task becomes more challenging.  The priorities of our design philosophy are serviceability, first and foremost, combined with ease of use, customer comfort, reliability, and commonality/availability of replacement parts.   

A shining example of our philosophies in action is our generator installation.  When Power Tech and Onan started offering generators in the all-enclosed, boxed-in assembly, we carefully considered all the benefits and drawbacks of such an installation.  This installation style affords a bit more space and ease of “assembly line” installation, since these can be easily forklifted into place, as well as reduced labor to custom-craft and line the generator compartment.  It does, however, severely impair its serviceability.  For example, the starter is located on the backside, necessitating generator removal to repair or replace the starter or water pump and belt.  That may be relatively easy at the factory, but in the field it would prove unacceptable.  The generator’s diesel engine is rated for the equivalent of 500,000 miles of use before major work is needed, but we all know from experience on our automobiles that a starter or starter solenoid would need replacement long before that.  Our end-slide mounting of the generator affords access to all the generator components.   

Another example of serviceability is the location of our lighting control panel.  We now install it behind a swing-out cabinet, which constitutes the bay entertainment center on our XL2 and a drawer bank on our H3-45.  This affords the customer and service technicians the ease of access if necessary for fuse replacement, etc. without having to remove any customer-added items such as a freezer, ice maker, or cabinetry they may want to put in the adjacent bay.  The added result is one entire pass-through bay and another half bay that you can completely customize as you wish.  Add to that the slide-out tray behind the front bumper and space for a toolbox in the inverter bay and you end up with storage that rivals any other coach.  For those interested, I will address the lighting and shade control systems, as well as our latest audio/video system in the next issue. 

Our Cruisair condenser installation on our H3-45 coaches is just one more example of serviceability and enhanced performance.  They are rack-mounted and stacked two over two in the second bay, rather than being hidden behind the front bumper or in the engine compartment.  They are oriented in such a way that the entire enclosure can be hosed out by customers or service personnel.  This location affords excellent access for refrigerant charging or other service needed.  They are afforded the greatest air handling efficiency of any coach installation we have observed.  “So, what does that mean to me?” you ask.  The answer is simple…they will work!   Many converters have been increasingly installing rooftop air conditioners on H3-45 models to satisfy customers who have had improperly installed Cruisair units, which could not have a chance of performing properly.  We decided to improve on their installation, not just blame the product.  We will, or course, install rooftop units on an H3-45 if a customer requires them.  If, however, we take the performance and serviceability issues out of the way, most people would rather not have the resulting increased height of rooftop units on the H3-45. 

                Another important philosophy of ours is ease of use/customer comfort.  Those of us who design the new Parliament Coaches have actually stayed in, traveled in, and lived in coaches.  Being owned by a family, rather than a huge corporation, we are afforded the luxury of the following fact:  those who are responsible for the design and development of the product have actually used them.  Decisions made about our product are made by those who have lived in them, used them, and know those who buy them.  We have also been a part of the country club rallies for years, taking the time to hear out those who buy and use our products.  The result is that we put switch panels, controls, thermostats, electrical outlets, etc., where they are the most useful to those who use them, i.e. you.  We have balanced ease of use and comfort with the aesthetics of “good looks” so that our customers get the best of both.                                                                                                                                         

                On the subject of ease of use, our newest navigation system is second to none.  It is a touch-screen system that is very user-friendly.  Until its debut, the only systems on the market, such as Alpine and Carin/VDO, took so long to set up and enter your destination that most people would not take the time to get acquainted with it.  It was merely an expensive ornament in the dash.  You can now select your destination by typing the address, selecting a point of interest, selecting an exit number, or soon by entering the telephone number via voice command.  This task now takes seconds rather than minutes, thanks to the touch-screen interface and menu arrangement, which has been optimized for your convenience.  You will like and use the system in our new Parliament Coaches.   

                I will go in-depth about the Audio and Video System in the next issue, but want to briefly describe the ease of use and serviceability of it for now.  Would you like to touch one button on your remote control and have the television, stereo, and satellite come on for your viewing?  We thought you would, which is why we have accomplished just that.  As well, we have achieved this convenience without the use of very complicated systems.  Systems such as Crestron and AMX are nice when they work, but try using the original equipment remote and you are out of luck.  In addition, in some years down the road, if you want to change a component like the satellite receiver, you would have to have an expensive reprogramming done with these systems, but you need only to teach our remote the new component codes and you are in business.  Remember, while ease of use is very important to us, the long-term serviceability of our systems remains our overriding design priority.  It is gratifying to have found a way to accomplish both criteria. 

            For the criteria of reliability, one of the best examples is our engine-mounted alternator.  We noted that for years now the Delco 50 DN alternator, normally found on the Prevost shells, were experiencing high failure rates.  This failure rate has even spawned Prevost to offer a twin Bosch alternator setup as a replacement on their seated coach models.  Upon further investigation, calculations and testing, we found that their rating of 270 amps at 24 volts was not high enough for driving two rooftop or Cruisair air conditioners while driving down the road.  We did consider the twin Bosch alternator arrangement, but disregarded the idea in the end due built-in regulator design that lacked voltage adjustment.  This use would have given us long-term reduction in battery life due to overcharging.  Since we do not order shells with Prevost’s factory full bus air, we decided to start replacing the Delco alternator with a 450 Amp alternator used in fire/rescue and military vehicles.  The result is an installed backup for the Parliament Over-the-Road Air Conditioning we install in our H3-45 models.  It is also more than adequate capacity for use on our XL2 models with rooftop air conditioners alone.  With the larger rating, combined with its ducted air-cooled design, the alternator will burn out at a greatly reduced rate and thus helps us better meet our reliability criteria.

                 To address the “availability of replacement parts” philosophy, I would like to bring your attention to our selection of items such as battery fuses, light bulbs, telephone connections, relays, audio and video components, among many others, that are readily available and in most cases made by more than one manufacturer.  This increases the likelihood that a replacement part will be available down the road should something need replaced due to damage, theft, or just wear and tear.  It is sometimes tricky to design around components that have many substitutes, but that is an endeavor we chose in order to make our lives and that of our customers more pleasant later on in the future.

 When you think of our product, we want you to remember the things we feel are important to your enjoyment, satisfaction, and the long-term desirability of our product.  We believe that serviceability, ease of use, customer comfort, reliability, and commonality/availability of replacement parts are all essential for a successful coach that will stand the test of time, and are what distinguishes us from our competition, enabling us to create a product that is not only for you, but also about you.  We want our product to maintain its high desirability, even after strenuous use, so it will offer another benefit to its initial owner…that of retaining its value should he/she ever want to trade it in.  We realize we are not necessarily building a coach that is just for the initial owner, but also for others down the road.  While some may keep them for years to come, others like to trade every so often, if for no other reason than just to keep up with the newest style and features offered on the shell from Prevost.  This necessitates setting up a coach that can be altered later for equipment the original owner may not have wanted, but that someone else may later require.  This idea goes right along with our serviceability requirements, and it is just one more example of how we are thinking of you.   

While I have touched on some of the most obvious qualities of our product, I will continue to educate you, our coach owners and family, on different areas in future issues of our newsletter, including the latest innovations and concepts of our product.  Any requests for information will be met with top priority, so if you have a particular question, feel free to send, email, or call it in.  Thank you for your interest.   

Sincerely,

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