Liberty Coach is the premier manufacturer of Prevost motorcoach conversions, the finest luxury RVs in the world. The company was founded as a backyard business nearly 50 years ago and remains a labor of love today – a family owned and operated business doing what they love to do, and doing it better than anyone else.
Liberty Coach is the premier manufacturer of Prevost motorcoach conversions, the finest luxury RVs in the world.
When Frank and Jeanne Konigseder bought a used Greyhound bus and went to work on their first conversion in 1971, they simply wanted to build a motorhome that met their standards. But after that bus sold – and the next one, and the next – their backyard hobby had become a thriving business, and the legend of Liberty Coach was born.
Fed up with the constant breakdowns of their old Kraeger motorhome, Frank and Jeanne Konigseder purchase a 1958 GMC passenger bus from Greyhound and spend the summer building an RV that meets their standards. The coach is finished by October and Liberty Coach is on its way.
Upon completion, Liberty Coach #1 hits the road for RV shows and family outings from coast to coast. The company incorporates in 1972 and then, at an FMCA convention in Vermont near the end of their tour, Frank and Jeanne accept an offer for the coach … and immediately start work on their next one.
For the rest of the decade, Liberty Coach follows the same M.O., buying and converting a succession of used Greyhound buses and reselling them as fast as they can finish. Along the way, Frank and Jeanne constantly refine and improve their processes and build an ever-widening reputation for delivering the finest bus conversions on the road.
At an FMCA show in Sioux Falls, SD in July 1978, Frank is approached by Andre Normand, president of Canadian coach manufacturer Prevost Car. They put their heads – and dreams – together, and within a few hours ink a handwritten contract that sparks a revolution in the luxury motorcoach business.
In March,1979, the first Liberty Coach built on a Prevost La Mirage chassis debuts at an RV convention in Del Mar, California. The coach is greeted by rave reviews and over a dozen orders, and the Prevost era of luxury motorcoaches begins.
After the electrifying debut of their first Prevost conversion, Liberty began the new decade by committing to deliver an unheard of 12 new coaches in one calendar year. By its end, the company was completing as many as double that figure as Prevost bus conversions became the basis for an entirely new segment of the RV business.
In late July, Liberty Coach opens its eagerly anticipated new headquarters in North Chicago. Located directly across the street from the firm’s original plant, the new 15,000-sq. ft. building includes substantially larger ground floor manufacturing and service facilities as well as engineering, corporate offices, and an interior sample showroom on the second floor.
Liberty adapts Prevost’s existing chassis air bag suspension system to work with the onboard generator to automatically level the coach as needed during travel.
In a bid to promote operator safety, Liberty introduces a proprietary generator auto-start system that completely eliminates the need for a propane system on the coach. The system design, which involves automatic generator activation triggered by variations in battery voltage, quickly becomes an industry standard.
Having grown up in the family business, it was only a matter of time before Frank Konigseder Jr. and brother Kurt joined their parents in leading Liberty Coach into the future. Both assume key roles with the company immediately after graduating college, Frank on the business and technology ends, Kurt in spatial engineering.
As CAD/CAM technology revolutionizes industrial design efficiency and accuracy, Liberty pioneers the use of these systems in the motorcoach field, extending the company’s leadership in user customization, ergonomics, production efficiency, and improved user feedback.
Liberty cements its unrivaled leadership in customer service with this 53-foot semi-tractor trailer outfitted with a complete working repair shop and capable of carrying service carts and vehicles. Pulled by a W900 Kenworth truck, this “service center on wheels” becomes a fixture at Liberty Coach rallies and events year-round.
The decade began with the introduction of the Liberty Lady – the first to be built on the H3 chassis that set the standard for all to follow – and proceeded through a series of engineering breakthroughs that spotlighted the talents of brothers Frank Jr. and Kurt Konigseder and put the company’s competitors in the rearview mirror.
In a generational change of major significance, Liberty co-founder and longtime interior designer Jeanne Konigseder passes the torch to daughter-in-law Kim Konigseder who, together with husband Kurt, will go on to solidify Liberty Coach’s reputation for cutting edge interior styling and design.
The first truly integrated motorcoach electrical system, Liberty’s Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) centralizes control of interior systems into a single interface. Lights, blinds and HVAC systems are all accessible from a single system – a first for the Prevost conversion market and an enormous benefit for coach owners.
Liberty continues to push the envelope for Prevost convertors with the introduction of touchscreen controllers – three in every coach – that interface with Liberty’s revolutionary PLC as well as the complete coach electrical system.
Liberty greeted the 21st century with the opening of its new sales and service headquarters in Stuart, Florida, while the production team in North Chicago continued to incorporate design and technology innovations that further solidified the company’s dominant leadership position.
Recognizing the need for a sales and service facility independent of their North Chicago production headquarters, Liberty opens a full-service dealership operation in Stuart, Florida, at the heart of the Atlantic Coast’s RV country.
In a critical first for the Prevost conversion industry, Liberty stakes new ground in automation with the first Crestron system. Functioning as the master control center of the coach, Crestron makes fingertip control a reality for virtually all electronic systems and components – lights, fans, climate control, even water and battery functions.
The arrival of this space-age electrical management system marks one of the most important breakthroughs in Liberty Coach history. The Octoplex consolidates all electrical monitoring and diagnostic functions into a simple, easy-to-use interface accessible via both fixed screen and wireless iPad while saving up to 400 pounds over traditional wiring systems.
In 2010, Liberty becomes the first Prevost convertor to install a lithium ion battery system and realize the new technology’s dramatic benefits – in weight, efficiency, longevity and environmental impact – over traditional lead acid RV systems. Six years later, the company upgrades to a revolutionary 58-volt system powered by advanced automotive grade lithium ion batteries, making Liberty the first RV maker to achieve the EPA’s Tier 4 emissions standards.
It was another decade of dominance as the 2010s saw Liberty set new benchmarks in engineering and energy efficiency, interior and exterior styling and much more. And so on the eve of its 50th birthday, the luxury motorcoach industry’s perennial leader finds itself in familiar territory: Miles ahead of all expectations.
Renowned automotive artist Dean Loucks (TAOD), celebrated for his singular work on motorcycles, snowmobiles, helicopters and boats, inks an exclusive contract to provide original artwork for Liberty Coach. His signature textured stylings have quickly become a trademark of Elegant Lady coaches and the perfect counterpoint to Kim Konigseder’s trendsetting interiors.
As rapidly growing demand for pre-owned Elegant Ladies outstrips the supply of coaches arriving in trade, Liberty launches a subsidiary dealership in partnership with longtime Sales Manager Dave Wall. Headquartered at Liberty’s facility in Stuart, FL, The Motorhome Exchange quickly builds market share with its unique offering of older Liberties and select other Prevost and Class A coaches.
Following in the footsteps of his father, Frank Jr., and grandparents Frank Sr. and Jeanne, Alex Konigseder joins the family business in 2016 and becomes the firm’s dedicated Crestron programmer. Three years later, Kurt and Kim’s son Nick follows suit and today plays a key role in purchasing and production.
After dabbling with Alexa and Google Assistant, Liberty introduces the industry’s first serious “smart coach” solution with JOSH.AI, which offers voice activated control of dozens of systems and components customized to the specific wants and needs of individual coach owners.
Kim Konigseder unveils a head-to-toe, breathtakingly modern redesign that introduces a new level of artistry to interior styling and puts an exclamation point on Liberty’s claim to the title “Penthouse of Prevost.”
Liberty is first to market once again with an exclusive Blind Spot Detection System that provides radar-based illuminated alerts on both the driver’s and passenger’s windshield posts, sensing up to 45 feet away from the coach. Coupled with our 360° bird’s-eye camera system, it sets a new industry standard for driving comfort and safety.
In an exclusive design collaboration with Prevost, Liberty reconfigures the dual rear Super Slide space of select triple slide coaches into a bedroom suite of truly penthouse proportions, featuring a centered window, king-size bed and unrivaled floor space.
Take a trip down memory lane in this collection of news clips, magazine articles and first-person accounts from the Liberty Coach family.
