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Re: Thanks for your reply's on buying a CC, I have some more questio

Reply #25 –
Yahoo Message Number: 67863

Thanks for the info on the brakes, always learn something from people who are doing it in real life. How many slide through bays are their on a 36' intrigue for storage? Is it one or two? I need to think about M/H length if I am going to boon-dock it and if a 40' is to long for pulling off on the BLM and N/F lands and dinging the under carriage up. I saw on a review of 2001 Intrigue I think about the air unit lifting the M/H different height's. Is that for parking it or driving and how much can you raise it if I need to pull off and set on up desert land to miss rocks and junk on the ground? (not talking about big rocks just the stuff like cantaloupe size and such.) Thanks Greg

Re: Thanks for your reply's on buying a CC, I have some more questio

Reply #26 –
Yahoo Message Number: 67864
More war stories. Not just the ground clearance, which is not as much as a SUV because of the basement storage. Two winters ago made a trip to Quartsite with a gas unit on a Ford chassis and experienced the dry camping sites. First one was o.k. to pull into, all flat. The second time there was ditch to go through and a rise on the other side. Hung up the coach with the trailer hitch digging into the pavement with the trailer attached and front end up on the rise. Rear wheels just spinning. Unloaded the Jeep and tried to pull the coach, no go. Unhooked trailer and with much frustration got the coach on high ground. Had to call for a pickup to move the trailer.

Not more then a couple of hours later saw a big diesel unit do the exact same thing just yards from where I got hung up. It is not just belly clearance but vertical curves one has to think about as in steep road junctions, drive ways etc. The other thing to be careful is when you level. With air level the coach goes down. One has to be careful of what is underneath. Another area of caution is the engine oil pan. One wants to be sure there is nothing under it when one levels as it can drop and damage the oil pan. Also watch the exhaust pipe from the generator, especially for dry tender grass etc. Hate to start a fire underneath the coach.

Not trying to scare you off. Have had ours in many dry camp areas with no problem. They will not go the same place a pickup and trailer will go. One just needs to know where you are going and if possible scout the parking area ahead of time. These rigs take a lot of room to turn around also. The Ford gas unit I could craw under and lube as it set. This one has to be raised for almost all underneath access.

Hope to make another trip to Quartsite soon and will park in some of the same areas with this coach. Will miss the ditch this time. They will limit some access but once you stop, it is all so worth while.

It is not the overall length as much as the wheelbase that will be the limiting factor. Longer wheelbase the more bridged area to hang on vertical curves. Again don't let this scare you off. You should see all the BIG RV's pulled off everywhere at Quartsite. Just requires a little more caution and thinking.

Leonard

97' Magna 5418

Re: Thanks for your reply's on buying a CC, I have some more questio

Reply #27 –
Yahoo Message Number: 67865

Thanks Leonard, these are the things I need to know. But I guess a 36' length has a shorter wheel base then unlike a 40' would have? My pull 33' trailer has the axles flipped and it still hangs up at the bumper on stuff an M/H would never go through if I don't watch it. My Traveco ( think Fore-travel now) was 23' if I remember right and I took into some pretty wicked places on BLM in NV and Lake Meade area. If go with a 36' footer I guess I need to worry about engine size if I am pulling about 7 to 8 thousand behind me then. Thanks Greg

Re: Thanks for your reply's on buying a CC, I have some more questio

Reply #28 –
Yahoo Message Number: 67873
Greg,

What ever unit you end up with also make sure you have a plan for when the weather gets cold. I remember when I had a class C motorhome, the water tank was under the bed but the black and grey water tanks were under the coach and exposed to the elements so I was constantly using alot of RV antifreeze. I think most of the country coaches and many other SOB's have heating systems that keep the tanks and pipes from freezing and run off the diesel/electrical water heaters that provide heating for the entire coach.
That goes for where your water pump is located also. It it freezes and cracks then game over. I would assume that you will still travel around CO so that would be important to know that the the coach will not freeze up.
I take my 42 ft up snow skiing and have been in 10 degree weather and the plumbing bay stays at around 42. I have a temperature monitor located next to the waterpump that sends a signal to a temperature gauge inside the motorhome. Something I picked up at costo for monitoring indoor and outdoor weather using a remote battery operated sensor that can be placed a 100 feet away. Peace of mind.

Dallas 2004 intigue ovation 42 w/tag c12

Re: Thanks for your reply's on buying a CC, I have some more questio

Reply #29 –
Yahoo Message Number: 67876
Greg,

There are 2 slide through bays on a 36' Intrigue 2002 model. One of my bays however is partially obstructed with the power cord retractor--I don't know if this is the case on all these coaches or if the cable retractor was an "add-on"?

Fred Compton

2002 Intrigue # 11407

Re: Thanks for your reply's on buying a CC, I have some more questio

Reply #30 –
Yahoo Message Number: 69158
Check out the consignments on Country Coach Corporations website@
www.countrycoach.com. They have these and many more and can find what you are looking for, or sell yours. By doing business with them, you are guaranteeing their growth and stability, which will improve the value of your investment. They need all of our help and support during this rebuilding stage.

Re: Thanks for your reply's on buying a CC, I have some more questio

Reply #31 –
Yahoo Message Number: 69167
Greg,

A lot of the posted prices are as much as a year old, some even longer. Most mid '90s coaches had no slides. They came into fashion in the late '90s and early 2000. There are a lot of sites for used RVs. I believe the single most comprehensive listing is oodle.com.
A lot of manufacturers made non slide coaches in the mid to late '90s. The CC Concept never offered a slide and they were produced from 1989 to 1999. This would be my first choice. Any CC Concept, Affinity or Magna from the mid '90s to late '90s would be an excellent choice, as would a Beaver Marquis, Monaco Signature, Executive or Dynasty and Foretravel U320.
The only price guide for RVs, that I am aware of, is the NADA. I believe most people use that to determine their asking price. Makes no difference what the asking price is or when it was priced. In todays market a good offer would be about 75% of the low retail base price as delineated in the NADA. Don't add on any options. From there you can negotiate a price that you and the seller can agree on.
I'm not an expert nor a dealer, just my observations from forums and what others have posted.

Jim E

Re: Thanks for your reply's on buying a CC, I have some more questio

Reply #32 –
Yahoo Message Number: 69212
We tow our '06 Honda Element 4 wheels down.

Denis Vogel

'06 Allure #31409

Re: Thanks for your reply's on buying a CC, I have some more questio

Reply #33 –
Yahoo Message Number: 69215
You can save a lot of money buy getting an older coach. Three years ago we bought a 95 Intrigue with100K miles for about $55K. Today's price would be $40K. Very simple by comparison to more recent coaches . No slide, 300 hp mechanical Cummins, standard furnace and few problems. At this low price you can afford new tires and batteries when needed and depreciation is low. You will not go wrong with any CC that has been well maintained. Also consider Foretravel and Alpine for similar quality. RUSS WARREN 95 INTRIGUE 10070

Re: Thanks for your reply's on buying a CC, I have some more questio

Reply #34 –
Yahoo Message Number: 69247
Greg,

My advice, for what it's worth, would be to stay away from any Safari coach. I have talked to quite a few Safari owners, or ex-owners, and all have talked about the engine overheating problems they had with those coaches. A lot of them, or maybe most of them, had rear radiators which do not have enough cooling capacity for their engines. Basically, the Safari was a low budget coach.
Also, sounds like you are planning to tow a pretty heavy load, so engine & transmission cooling issues could be a real problem.
We have a 2000 Magna with a 385HP Cat, weighs 35,000 pounds, and have towed very heavily Tahoes (as high as 7200#) without ever having any overheating issues. Been up the the grades in Nevada and the Grapevine and others in CA, and OR & WA.

Just my opinion.

Brad Ward

2000 Magna 5916

Re: Thanks for your reply's on buying a CC, I have some more questio

Reply #35 –
Yahoo Message Number: 69249
Brad,

Just an observation, wouldn't towing a 7500# vehicle put you over your GCWR?

Jim E

Re: Thanks for your reply's on buying a CC, I have some more questio

Reply #36 –
Yahoo Message Number: 69252
As a previous Safari owner. I agree that many had overheating problems. I fixed mine by adding a shroud between the radiator and the rear grill. This prevented recirculation of the hot air back to the front of the radiator.
RUSS WARREN

95 INTRIGUE 10070

Re: Thanks for your reply's on buying a CC, I have some more questio

Reply #37 –
Yahoo Message Number: 69253
Another issue with Safari was the fact they used OEM chassis, and quite a few owners had serious vibration issues in the drive line. I am not sure, but Spartan seemed to be the culprit. Some of the older Marquis, Beaver coaches were very well made, but a few were known for having plumbing issues. You might look for a 36' Foretravel with a 450, or 500 HP ISM. Talk about a hot rod. Stay away from 03 and 04 units though, they had fiber glass cracking, radiator and charge air cooler issues big time off the production line.
TWI 2004 Intrigue 11731

Re: Thanks for your reply's on buying a CC, I have some more questio

Reply #38 –
Yahoo Message Number: 69254
You wrote "Stay away from 03 and 04 units" What 03 and 04 units were you referring to, Country Coach or another brand?

Walt
 

Thanks for your reply's on buying a CC, I have some more questio

Reply #40 –
Yahoo Message Number: 69179
You can buy full the NADA RV Appraisal Guide, which is what the dealers and insurance companies use, with full wholesale pricing etc., lots more info than the free online NADA listings. I ordered a single issue online from http://www.nadaappraisalguides.com/ for $69, it's published 3 times a year.
Has MSRP, wholesale tradein, and 'low retail' for all coaches, low retail is what insurance companies (and extended warranty companies) are using. It also lists invoice prices for many of the 2011 units, so you can get a good idea what retail markup on a new RV is. Yikes. But very helpful in figuring out depreciation, as I (personally) wouldn't expect to pay any more than new dealer wholesale for an almost-new unit. Also of course would be very helpful to anyone purchasing a new unit.
I personally found that few used coaches seem to be trading hands for over the wholesale tradin value, and often noticeably less. I did much of this by emailing folks and dealers with 'sold' listings and asking what the sold price was, most of them told me.
Also, there are tables for options etc., but nobody - no dealer, no insurance company, etc. cared in the least. Make, model, and year, and they looked across the NADA guide and that's the value they used.
As I said, even the NADA wholesale tradein value seems high to me, at least for what I was looking at (large diesel pushers). True value is what they are actually selling for on the open market, no more, no mess. There in currently plenty of supply of good condition units for under the wholesale tradein value. I don't know if this is normally the case or not, this is my first time in the market.

-Jim

In a lot of cases you are looking at old posts. For example, the asking price may be $100K but the current market price would be $75K because the asking price was a couple of years ago. I think most dealers are selling consignment coaches and some trade ins. The only pricing guide lines for individuals selling a MH is the online NADA book. IMO, those prices are unrealistic. I would bet no one gets their asking price. Same for dealers. They always seem to be really high.