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Interior light switches

Yahoo Message Number: 92466
Does anyone know the manufacturer or source for the unique rocker light switches used in interior of the coaches?

Country Coach Questions

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 92470
Hello to all the CC owners:

I must confess that I do not own a Country Coach. I own a 40' four slide 2006 Holiday Rambler Endeavor. My wife and I like the coach but we have looked at trading up to a 2007 or 2008 Intrigue of Magna. I realize that Holiday Rambler/Monaco and Country Coach both went through their bankruptcies so I have had my share of that experience.

Some of the reasons for the trade are: 1) It would be a trade up to a 45' coach. 2) The Country Coach seems to be a superior coach to the Monaco; any thoughts on that?

Now that I have laid the background can some of you respond why you ended up buying a Country Coach instead of another manufacturer? There is not a lot of advertising collateral on the CC website anymore since they are just starting to build coaches again? How does the Cat engine compare to the Cummins?

In your mind, what makes the CC a superior coach?

Thanks.

Respectfully,

Scott Phillips

Re: Country Coach Questions

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 92472
Hi Scott - Welcome!

Yes the Magna is higher up the food chain then the HR Endeavor was in the HR/Monaco line up.
Magna's are a great coach. Other coaches we looked at beside CC were Alpine, Travel Supreme, Beaver (Patriot or up), Signature or up, Foretravel, Wanderlodge and the Newmar Moutain Aire or up. Today, I would add Entegra to that list.
The BIG BLOCK CAT is a fine engine in general. Though a few owners report environmental control problems with a few years of the CAT (same for Cummins too). So research the exact year of your engine (Some manufacturers will use previous year engines in the early part of the next model year. Only way to be sure is to the engine serial number and calling either CAT or Cummins to ask.). And some Magna's had CAT transmissions as an option too, and some reports of teething pains on these too. (A recent thread was posted on this with some info on this board. May not be involved in the Magna you are looking at, and sure may not be a big deal anyways - but understanding the specifics on the engine and trans in any coach, and knowing what is going on with that specific era's engine/trans/coach is good to do.)
Why CC over the others. Interior met our needs best was the number one reason. The chassis is well respected, and CC made some fine coaches over the decades. It was the galley that sold my wife on our coach.
And we specifically were looking for engines in the pre 2006 smog change era, thus the age of our coach.
Best of luck on your due diligence. And many others on this board have more detail first hand knowledge on that era Magna, hope they will chime in too:)! Smitty

04 Allure 31017, 40', ISL370
04 Allure Sold to a nice new owner! Now enjoying a 07 Magna Rembrandt 45' ISX600 #6775
"We're ONDROAD for THEJRNY!" (Toad and Coach license plates, say Hi if you see us!)

Re: Country Coach Questions

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 92473
Scott - We like the layout of our bus. Reasonably plain, basic, functional and conservative. 4 slides is a must for us. Not something that's unique to CC. Being shacked up in the bus for 5 years F/T has given us a chance to settle in. Can't say I'd change too much with the layout. Here's a brief summary of the details: http://www.muniac.com/Rig_Reveal.html Overall, inside, it does what it's supposed to do with comfort and conveniences. It's import to know we're not emotionally involved with the vehicle. It's just an access and habitat tool. As a tool, I expect it to make a job easier and work reliably when you need it. I make that comment only because that makes us less sensitive to fine cosmetic details like where the kitchen faucet is, tile colors and what wood grains were used. CC did go the extra distance on cosmetic appointments which seems in keeping with the market they serve. They did a nice job on this. Beyond neat, clean and practical I really could care less, however. That said, we'd most likely get this layout again simply because we like it.

It also drives well when we've got to move it which is important.
It's under powered but that isn't a BIG deal as we're not commercial motor freight. Time is allocated to travel based on a 61 MPH average speed. So far we've made every destination safely and without coasting to the side of the road. A tag axle and small overhang helps with stability. 40 or more feet I wouldn't be without a tag axle. Good to have in high cross winds and wet roads. An 8k Lb van gets towed too.
Hasn't been a problem.

Otherwise the bus has been a lemon. Constant annoying problems that quite frankly have degraded fully enjoying the F/T experience. And with no end in sight. My link below summarizes a few problems I've dealt with and the solutions I've managed to eek out. It gets expensive. All these vehicles have pluses and minus and it would be good if someone could harness the good aspects and put them into one product. So far it hasn't happened. Service and support are thus extremely important. As for owners of CC vehicles, those things come in somewhat of a decentralized form. This community, 3rd parties and minimal factory involvements come to mind. I guess I should mention the owner too. As one, I'm constantly doing some sort of fixing. Plan on fixing stuff. And it helps a whole lot if you can know ahead of time just what is going to break.

This vehicle has the Cummins ISL 400 and we just missed the wrist pin failures. Those are the failures that cause the engine to throw a rod through the block. Not something that can be pinned on CC. The point being is to make sure you do your homework. As you've started by asking here for feedback within an owner's community. Smart. Take a look at Tiffin and Newmar too. You can visit here: http://www.rv.org/ for more general information on lots of brands. Unlike us, you've had previous experience which helps.

I'll overstep my knowledge by saying some states have length restrictions meaning 45' units might not be allowed. California comes to mind as one state with a restriction. Something to research further perhaps. And I'm sure others will jump in on this one with more knowledge than my casual reference for concern. OK my little hat has been tossed into the BIG arena of knowledge. Hope there are a few "take away" points above that help get you closer to where you want to be.
Good luck.

Best - Scott

2006 Allure 430 40' #31349

(Bus-Stead Lemon) My Allure Page http://www.muniac.com/Allure%20Page.html

Re: Interior light switches

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 92475
Scott, we purchased our Allure this past April. We also wanted to upgrade from a shorter (36') two-slide DP to something nicer and larger with a tag axle. We set our length limit at 43' due to the turn I have to make at my particular storage location at home.
We targeted Newmar and American Coach since they were still in business and have a good reputation for customer support (we were also looking in the 2006-2007 year range due to budget). Looked at used Mountain Aire, Essex, Revolution and fell into the Allure. It was one-owner, well kept and met all our basic requirement. I knew CC had been a victim of the economy but was back for service, parts and tech support. Even still, we were hesitant to purchase an 'orphan' coach. However, I was impressed with overall build quality when compared to others we had seen. While I agree with the other Scott that all of these things have their quirks and issues, I have not had the problems he has experienced yet. Mine did not have the aluminum radiator and previous owner had done the wet PTO upgrade. We do have four fogged double pane windows that will need to be fixed and I am getting new slide topper fabric from Stone Vos in Florida.
Overall, we really like the coach and it is a pleasure to drive and use.

Gary

'07 Allure 470 #31578

Re: Country Coach Questions

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 92476
As an old tire kicker the things I noticed from my experiences are for instance were while visiting the Monaco factory, the cable runs were sloppy, welds on the chassis looked like poor solder joints, wood work wasn't always installed in a professional manor, doors, hinges, cabinet drawers weren't square, the Monaco's didn't have a steel reinforced floor, the way the chassis was under coated was hap hazard and the paint jobs second class. When a 2004 Intrigue paint job and exterior fit and finish can out perform a new 2008 Signature something is wrong. I do think the Monacos in some instances had better Audio visual products, I much prefer the Cummins engines and Allison transmission combination. Monaco was using Michelin tires while CC was using Toyo and the cabinet materials and drawer hardware was superior until CC changed to better drawer glides. I much prefer CC wiring practices, but sometimes Monaco made better use of space for storage especially on the Holiday Rambler models. Of course Beaver had the fancy wood finishes. Monaco could always seem to be one step ahead off CC on gadgets and innovations. That doesn't mean they always worked: full length slides for instance. I prefer the large air bag suspension on a CC to the multiple smaller bags on a Momaco. I liked Holiday Ramblers Aluminum roof they kept for a while. Monaco had a different solution for the one piece front wind shield mounting that makes for easier replacement, but a least CC windshields don't fall out on the ground when ever you go across a severe speed bump or curb has been what I noticed. Get a hold of Damon Rapozo for a bunch more info as he sold both for Guaranty RV back when. He has his own website about CC. TWI 2004 Intrigue.

Re: Country Coach Questions

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 92478
Scott, I own a 2005 CC Inspire with the Cat C9 400 HP engine. My personal opinion is that Country Coach's attention to detailed workmanship and general quality construction is superior to many of the coaches on the market. Also, I wanted at least a 400 HP engine, many coaches of my length run with smaller engines. I'm very satisfied with my Cat Engine although it is noisier than the Cummins. I can't make any direct comparisons to Monaco because I don't have any experience with them. All coaches have issues that you need to be aware of before buying any make or model. I would research the models issues and make sure they have been addressed before you buy.
Good Luck,
RJ

2005 Inspire #51264

Re: Country Coach Questions

Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 92479
Scott Phillips,

We have owned our 2002 Affinity for just a little over four years now and I love driving it. Unlike one of the previous posters I really like most things about our vehicle and love quite a number. In the love category are the driving (in everything but 50+ mph winds and maybe going east out the Eisenhower tunnel) how it looks when freely washed and polished, the interior, it's beautiful. Also in the really like category is how well several service people in Oregon have treated us and taken care of our bus problems. This most definitely includes the Country Coach factory who we have had a number of visits and dealings with. They are super and price fairly.
That said several of my friends own Holiday Ramblers. One has a very nice 2003 Specter 39'. They are very good coaches. But you indicated you were looking at Intrigue-Magna, and that is a jump up on cost and quality from an Endevor. The RVCG strongly recommends Country Coach over Monaco products. They actually rate coaches for a living so what they say is more important than what I do. When we looked at coaches extensively four years ago we liked Country Coach, Foretravel, Beaver, Alpine, and Monaco. There were not a lot of Foretravels for sale in our area and really did not look at them carefully. We did drive several Beavers. I loved the interiors of Beavers. We also though Alpine was a good driving coach, but were worried about parts. I do think Country Coach is a better motorhome than Monaco, but there are many similarities. The Lee family basically started both. They used to be made down the street from each other, so commonality is expected.
As far as motorhomes being magnets for repairs. All of them need repair. When you drive your house down the road at 60mph repairs are to be expected. But motors, transmissions, generators, tires, fridges, heaters and so on are in most cases the same. A Cummins is a cummins is a cummins no matter if in a Holiday Rambler or CC. What the factory can do though is to spec out parts that are right sized or oversized or scrimp. They are almost entirely responsible for building a solid house that does not leak. They need to organize things like wires, plumbing, and heating so if a fix is needed it can be done as easily as possible. I think Country Coach has done a good job in this area. They are one of the few makers that always put long chassis on their motorhomes with the exception of the 32'. This is an area Monaco and Beaver fall far short on (pun intended) With many Beavers they have short overloaded chassis. Some Monaco's too. Not all, but you have to check to make sure. CC has very good documentation. They organize the wires correctly.
We have had all kinds of repairs on our coach. But the previous owner did not fix things and I just expect it from vehicles like this. At one time we had a 45' Cat Ketch sailboat and it had WAY more repairs. One recurring problem has been slide leaks. It is really the only area on the coach I am unhappy with. I have replaced the front slide seal twice and the rear one once. I have to head back to the factory to see what they can do to re-fix the front slide they replaced last summer. We are hundreds of miles from the factory or I am sure they would have fixed that already. Lets just say though that I am very happy with our two slides and do not want more. My wife and I have tons of room with our existing floor plan and even if free or no more expensive I think we would stick with two drivers side slides. The only change I would like there is to have the kitchen not be in the slide like ours is so the slide could go out farther.
The interior of our coach sold us. It is beautiful. Like being in a traveling Ritz Suite. Even though our coach is 11 years old with 114,000 we plan to keep it for a while. Every time we look at new coaches or newer used ones we go back to ours and are very happy. But if we did at some point want a new / newer coach it would be a Country Coach. I doubt we would even look at other brands. One of our best RV friends has a 2004 Foretravel. I like ours quite a bit better. And really if you look at coaches in the 2002-2008 time period the best built are CC and Foretravel.
Bob & Barbara 2002 Affinity 42' with tag.
 

Re: Country Coach Questions

Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 92494
Scott--

I agree w/ Ron's post. We have a 2005 Affinity, which is our 3rd coach. The 1st was a Newmar Dutchstar 40' w/ 2 slides then upgraded to a 2004 Monoco Signature, 45' w/ 4 slides because we wanted more room & dual axles. We had to replace the radiator twice on the Signature, thankfully under warranty, as well as replace the turbo on the engine.
Having some experience w/ different coach mfg., we are still very satisifed with our 8 year old coach. Granted...we had had our share of problems w/ this coach too. Going through CC's bankruptcy & wondering how in the heck were we going to continue maintaining it, we got through it by dealing directly w/ the equipment companies.
We are in a park in FL for the winter season and occasionally Prevost/Liberty/Millinimum bring show coaches in to try & sell. Plus anytime we are near Lazy Days in Tampa we stop by to look @ the new ones. Always leave happy w/ what we still have.
Keeping up w/ the maintenance is the key. Observe any minor changes in equipment operation & deal w/ it promptly. Hubby accuses me of OCD, but it may save you a lot of agrevation in the long run. The big owners manual is your friend. Prior to this coach I had NO EXPERIENCE reading schametics. When you are forced to figure out the solution to the problem, you learn fast. We just joined this forum prior to having HWH install their new Active Air system. It is really informative to ask others for tips on solving problems.
Good luck finding your "perfect" coach. Our Country Coach is going to be hard to replace, when & if that time ever comes.

Gayle & Wayne

rom: "rfcntwo@..."

To: Country-Coach-Owners@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, November 18, 2013 4:29 PM Subject: [Country-Coach-Owners] RE: Country Coach Questions

Scott Phillips,

We have owned our 2002 Affinity for just a little over four years now and I love driving it. Unlike one of the previous posters I really like most things about our vehicle and love quite a number. In the love category are the driving (in everything but 50+ mph winds and maybe going east out the Eisenhower tunnel) how it looks when freely washed and polished, the interior, it's beautiful. Also in the really like category is how well several service people in Oregon have treated us and taken care of our bus problems. This most definitely includes the Country Coach factory who we have had a number of visits and dealings with. They are super and price fairly.

That said several of my friends own Holiday Ramblers. One has a very nice 2003 Specter 39'. They are very good coaches. But you indicated you were looking at Intrigue-Magna, and that is a jump up on cost and quality from an Endevor. The RVCG strongly recommends Country Coach over Monaco products. They actually rate coaches for a living so what they say is more important than what I do. When we looked at coaches extensively four years ago we liked Country Coach, Foretravel, Beaver, Alpine, and Monaco. There were not a lot of Foretravels for sale in our area and really did not look at them carefully. We did drive several Beavers. I loved the interiors of Beavers. We also though Alpine was a good driving coach, but were worried about parts. I do think Country Coach is a better motorhome than Monaco, but there are many similarities. The Lee family basically started both. They used to be made down the street from each other, so commonality is expected.

As far as motorhomes being magnets for repairs. All of them need repair. When you drive your house down the road at 60mph repairs are to be expected. But motors, transmissions, generators, tires, fridges, heaters and so on are in most cases the same. A Cummins is a cummins is a cummins no matter if in a Holiday Rambler or CC. What the factory can do though is to spec out parts that are right sized or oversized or scrimp. They are almost entirely responsible for building a solid house that does not leak. They need to organize things like wires, plumbing, and heating so if a fix is needed it can be done as easily as possible. I think Country Coach has done a good job in this area. They are one of the few makers that always put long chassis on their motorhomes with the exception of the 32'. This is an area Monaco and Beaver fall far short on (pun intended) With many Beavers they have short overloaded chassis. Some Monaco's too. Not all, but you have to check to make sure. CC has very good documentation. They organize the wires correctly.

We have had all kinds of repairs on our coach. But the previous owner did not fix things and I just expect it from vehicles like this. At one time we had a 45' Cat Ketch sailboat and it had WAY more repairs. One recurring problem has been slide leaks. It is really the only area on the coach I am unhappy with. I have replaced the front slide seal twice and the rear one once. I have to head back to the factory to see what they can do to re-fix the front slide they replaced last summer. We are hundreds of miles from the factory or I am sure they would have fixed that already. Lets just say though that I am very happy with our two slides and do not want more. My wife and I have tons of room with our existing floor plan and even if free or no more expensive I think we would stick with two drivers side slides. The only change I would like there is to have the kitchen not be in the slide like ours is so the slide could go out farther.

The interior of our coach sold us. It is beautiful. Like being in a traveling Ritz Suite. Even though our coach is 11 years old with 114,000 we plan to keep it for a while. Every time we look at new coaches or newer used ones we go back to ours and are very happy. But if we did at some point want a new / newer coach it would be a Country Coach. I doubt we would even look at other brands. One of our best RV friends has a 2004 Foretravel. I like ours quite a bit better. And really if you look at coaches in the 2002-2008 time period the best built are CC and Foretravel.

Bob & Barbara 2002 Affinity 42' with tag.