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CC poop and otherkk tidbits

Yahoo Message Number: 64702
We have spent nearly a week now in JC with numerous coach repairs being done and have had some interesting conversations. For those of you interested in CC poop, here goes:

1. We drove through the Corporate area and upon leaving, another vehicle was pulling in and stopped at our vehicle. It was Dave Diamond............an engineer with CC since 1979 and admitted designer of the DynoMax chassis. We talked for about 30 minutes. He is working for Ron Lee, who, through court proceedings, has acquired the land, most of the mfg buildings, the CC logo, cap molds and, it sounded like to me, all the "intellectual property" we heard that Bob had bought at the auction.
 There is a plan. I was given a copy of the business plan, but there was a non-disclosure statement in the front that I was not asked to sign, however, I will honor what information I would not think they would like to be broadcast at this time.
 Based on achieving funding, either/or from investor(s), small business loan, etc, startup of CC production is planned, and not too far into the future months, not years. Only one high-line model will be built in the beginning. The argument being that the market place is devoid of coaches bridging the $400k to Newell/Marathon territory and thus they wish to provide that "stepping stone". Should this attempt prove successful, another, lesser coach will be added with "green" mfg methods being utilized. Initially, consignment sales, service and tech hotline are to be started. Consignment sales is, essentially, happening now under the name of Premier RV Sales. This operation is located in Plant 10, where the Magna/Affinity were mfg. The "proprietor" of this operation is Louie Courtemanche.......some of you will remember Louie from the CC sales department. Susan Graham, no longer at Guaranty, is a sales member, also.
 The other key member mentioned is Gary Obermire, the past VP of Engineering at CC.
 As far as major mfg equipment, they have the sidewall laminating machine and the dyno/brake test equipment. Not sure about any other pieces, large or small.
 Do not expect "phone tech" help to be free as we all enjoyed in years past.
 Dave and Ron were physically working on the Corporate Offices and some of the mfg area.........cleanup and rejuvenation. "Things" are being done.
 And, unfortunately, Bob will NOT be a part of this new venture, either financially or physically.
 So, any of you more successful folks with investment desires can contact Dave at ddiamond@... or (541)517-8535.

2. Artistry and Motion is no longer in business, and is leasing their building to Bob. He is playing with his hotrods and car stuff in there. (No, I did not get to see/talk to him, as he and Terri were traveling abroad.)
3. Les Schwab was the original supplier of tires, wheels and hubcaps to CC. We lost a hubcap on the way out, so I stopped to talk to Paul. (There is a different style then the ones with clips like I lost, so bought two ($45 ea) that are captured by four lug nuts, but have a removable cap with CC logo.) Paul said that Bendix, the new owner of Tire Smart, has committed to furnish the transmitters (at least) in the future (we were talking tires in a couple years) so future tire buyers should be able to replace the transmitters in the tires and continue using their Tire Smart systems.
 The inside tire wear, as many of us have complained about on our front Goodyear G670's, seems to be more susceptible to this brand than others (Michelin, for example). However, the real problem is in the geometry of the independent suspension design of our later coaches. Paul said that no matter the tire brand we elect to use, we will always experience more wear than others with other suspension systems. (Real knowledgeable folks who know heavy front end alignments, may have a solution for this.)
4. We had to have our fogging entry door glass replaced. I talked to folks at Coach Glass, a much larger employer than I ever suspected, in a large building in Eugene. This window is not repairable.........within a reasonable amount of time...........so it is completely replaced.
 Contrary to posts I have read here, Se-Gi window manufacturing is not out of business. Their warranty is 30 days. The Coach Glass rep told me they have to order side glass for CC's from Se-Gi because they were the only ones CC furnished the "forming bucks" to manufacture the windows. I learned that the coach manufacturer sends front caps and other openings to select window manufacturers for them to make the glass shapes. Therefore, if you have replaced a windshield and found that it did not seem to fit the cap opening as well as you thought it should, the problem is with the cap, not the windshield. Caps are "tweaked" at installation to fit the house walls and thus may offer slightly different contours than the cap that was provided to the glass mfg for replacement mfg. There is no "good", "better", and "best" windshield glass. Every piece must meet certain government standards. So if you paid $5k to replace your windshield and your RV neighbor only paid $2.5k, you both got the same glass. Only the installer was the winner or loser. And, the rep emphasized to be sure and have an experienced shop do the replacement. This is not a job for any auto glass shop.

5. Most think the Howards are still in the area, but mostly "non-hireable". Jim is supposedly selling RV property at an RV resort in a southern state, but commuting back/forth to the OR area. Supposedly, Jay was court-ordered to pay back $90,000 for CC real estate that he had transferred ownership of to his name as part of his "compensation package".

6. The old Customer Service building and "Camp Country Coach" across the street have "for sale" signs. The water and electricity are turned off, for any of you thinking about stopping there. (Oh, yea, the trains are still running.)
7. Monaco is building 13 coaches per month. Do not know what price level this represents.

8. Marathon is down to 40 employees. Most of these being in the service area.

9. The Rodeo and Mexican restaurant on Main street are still going. The JC Café isn't.

10. Davis Cabinets is much smaller in man-power, but still going strong. (There were no less than five old TV's and assorted cabinet pieces laying about the yard.)
11. Brendan May, one of the top coach painters ever, is no longer at Guaranty (south store). Don't know where he is now.
Tidbit: We walked through a new Essex at Guaranty............$630k!!! And, there is the King Air, a model above this one. I wonder if Ron has heard of them?

Roger Uhlich

`07 Intrigue 12170

Re: CC poop and otherkk tidbits

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 64706
Roger: Thanks for the info. Just one note, the entry door window on our coach, along with seven other windows, was repaired by Dave Root RV glass in Bend. See his website:
http://www.daverootrvglassrepair.com/
I recommend him highly. He is also making a road trip to service RVs in January.

Al Colby

2000 Intrigue 10979

Re: CC poop and otherkk tidbits

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 64708
Thanks for all the info on CC and a light at the end of the tunnel. We went to Napponee in our travels

this year, and though Newmars may have a CC price and the same appliances and TV's, they "ain't " a

CC. They don't have the chassis or the reinforced floor or roof or a CC.
They may have the finish, but

they don't have the fit or function. Their wiring like Monaco's practices will scare you to death. Then

there's Foretravel. Their floor plans are hideous and they waste valuable storage everywhere you look.

Can you imagine a 45' coach with the equivalent of only two CC storage bays. Without the house

structure the chassis humps in the middle and sags on both ends, Their welding practices are as bad if

not worse than Monacos, which is horrid. Their cabinet work is as good or better, but finishes leave a

lot to be desired. And Foretravel has no idea how to paint a coach, at all, and their fibre glass work is suspect too, IMHO.

I was talking to the Newell people at FMCA and they said they were down to building a coach every two

weeks or so. (26 appox). Sorry to hear about Marathon. Both seem to be moving pre-owned stuff

pretty well as I glance their sites weekly.
Thanks for the good news on Smart Tire. I'll call Paul Monday about issues I am having with toad
readouts.

Hope Ron can pull something off. It's going to be rough starting all over again. TWI 2004 Intrigue
11731.

Original Message:
-----------------

From: corralitos95076 allancolby@... Date: Sat, 23 Oct 2010 14:59:24 -0000 To: Country-Coach-Owners@yahoogroups.com Subject: [Country-Coach-Owners] Re: CC poop and otherkk tidbits

Roger: Thanks for the info. Just one note, the entry door window on our coach, along with seven other

windows, was repaired by Dave Root RV glass in Bend. See his website:
http://www.daverootrvglassrepair.com/
I recommend him highly. He is also making a road trip to service RVs in January.

Al Colby

2000 Intrigue 10979

Quote from: roger\.uhlich
> > We have spent nearly a week now in JC with numerous coach repairs being
done and have had some

interesting conversations. For those of you interested in CC poop, here goes:

Quote
(snip)
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Re: CC poop and otherkk tidbits

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 64715
I will also take all of this info as good news and hope it all works out for the best.
The only good news previous to this is that several very talented people, who used to work for CC or Guaranty, have started their own service/repair businesses. I think this will help to created some competitiveness and quality of the service they provide.
Best wishes to all of us. Hope nobody turns off the light at the end of the tunnel before we get there.

Re: CC poop and otherkk tidbits

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 64736
Quote
11. Brendan May, one of the top coach painters ever, is no longer at Guaranty (south store). Don't know where he is now.
We just had Brendan May fix up our coach last week. I'm happy to report that he is now working at Straight Line Auto Body in Eugene and is still one of the top coach painters ever. His work turned out just beautiful and he finished it in record time!
 

Re: CC poop and otherkk tidbits

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 64739
Thanks for that update on Brendan.........we've recorded his new location.

Roger Uhlich

'07Intrigue 12170