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2000 Allure

Yahoo Message Number: 4489
Just about to take the plunge on a very well maintained 2000 Allure... any advise? Was wondering which tow bar is the best for a 2002 Honda CRV toad.
Thanks,

Perry and Lynda

Re: 2000 Allure

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 4492
Quote from: Perry Blanchfield
> Just about to take the plunge on a very well maintained 2000
Allure... any advise?

Quote
Was wondering which tow bar is the best for a 2002 Honda CRV toad.
Thanks,

Perry and Lynda
Hi Perry and Lynda,

You asked for advice on a 2000 Allure. My advice is to check it out thoroughly and to look at the maintenance records. Make sure everything works as it is designed to work. Check to see that all of the manuals are on board. Then if you buy the coach, enjoy it.
Please do not think that the coach will be problem free. It won't, but CC has been very good in providing support. Also, you have this forum for help as well.

I have a 2000 Allure and my wife and I love it. No major problems to date. We have had some minor things that needed repaired, but that is no different than the house we have that is built on a firm foundation.

I also have a Blue Ox "Alladin" tow bar for the Saturn we tow. It is a great bar that allows me to hook up the Saturn without any help in about 2 minutes.

Stay in touch.

Dave G.

2000 Allure #30491
Millheim, PA

Re: 2000 Allure

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 4502
-Hi Perry and Lynda,

Here are some major quick checks to verify Coach Condition:
1. Tire pressure cold - front 95 to 120 psi, read 95 to 110 psi, right and left should be close; check tire maker manual for correct tire pressure based on 3 or 6 (better) point weighing. Running tires at less than 85 psi can be a liability.
2. Is there wear on the dip stick housing due to rubbing on any other component.
3. Air system leak down rate sould be less than 3 psi per hour (factory spec). Run engine and after reaching 125 psi (both needles - shows pressure in each tank) and purge valve sounds, turn off engine for some period (10, 20, overnight hours) and calculate rate. Leveling working?
4. Fluid level in batteries - 1/2 inch max above plates.
5. Have all fitting been greased, transmission fluid and filters changed every 25k miles or one year, diesel oil and filter every 15k miles.
6. Is the coolant blue or green? If green, have coolant checked for
DCA additives and that the coolant filter has been regularly changed.
Read diesel manual carefully to understand this requirement.
Fred Kovol

Re: 2000 Allure

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 4504
The Independent Front Suspension was a huge difference that occurred, I believe, in the 2001 models of Allures, so you might want to test drive a coach with the IFS vs. the one you are considering. There's a big driveability factor there. Otherwise, they are great machines! We love our Intrigue.
Jan McNeill, Fulltimer
2001 Intrigue 11320

Re: 2000 Allure

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 4510
Hi, Perry and Linda. I also have the Alladin Blue Ox, the aluminum one. I find it very easy to use and have had it on three different coaches. One caution, though. If you decide on the Alladin check and see if the base plate requires any cutting of your grill. I had a Chevy Malibu which the dealer cut sizable slits in the front end. The car turned out to be a lemon which GM replaced, but it cost me $ 500 to replace the front bumper valance. On the replacement car I used a Roadmaster base plate with a Blue Ox adapter bar purchased from Camping World. It required no cutting. I highly recommend the Allidin.

Walt Rothermel

03Allure30811

Re: 2000 Allure

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 4513
Perry/Lynda

Congratulations! We did the same thing last June. We have really enjoyed it and do not regret it. It is our first. Never owned an RV before. We did rent many times in 80's, but I perferred camping with my Scout Troop backpacking with tents. Ground getting too hard now for me and this is the only way wife will camp. Hope you enjoy as much as we have so far.

You will find a file in the files section titled PDI Check List. I used that list to do my own inspection. I built on several lists that I had gotten from various sources and ideas from different people. I just updated it with a few more items to look for if you plan to do your own inspections. Hope you find it useful.

Jim & Barb Hughes
Jacksonville, FL
2000 Allure #30511

Quote from: Perry Blanchfield
> Just about to take the plunge on a very well maintained 2000
Allure... any advise?

Re: 2000 Allure

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 4531
I have a 2000 Allure with IFS. It was built in Jan 2000.

Jim Hughes

Jacksonville, FL
2000 Allure #30511

Quote from: janmcneill
The Independent Front Suspension was a huge difference that

occurred,

Quote
I believe, in the 2001 models of Allures, so you might want to test > drive a coach with the IFS vs. the one you are considering. There's

a

Quote
big driveability factor there. Otherwise, they are great machines!

We

2000 Allure

Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 4839
We are looking at possibly getting a 2000 Allure. We would rather get the quality of a Country Coach than a brand new coach of lesser quality for our first DP. Are we right? We would appreciate any feedback that any of you Country Coach vets could give us as to what we should look for in options and the condition of the various systems on the coach. Thanks in advance.

John and Merilee Flynn

Re: 2000 Allure

Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 4843
Hi John and Merilee,

We did the very same thing last June. We purchased a used 2000 Country Coach Allure 40' Chandler floor plan. Do your home work and know more about the Country Coach and its systems than the salesman/owner. Check out the files section and you will find a PDI check list I put there. I have updated it a couple of times with things I wish I had checked so that others may benefit. Ask to see all maintenance records as part of your PDI. I also, had the dealer give me the name and phone number of the original owner. I called him to talk about any problems he had with the coach. Know what the commercial version of the NADA book says the coach is worth.
Especially the wholesale value and don't forget to include only the values of the options listed in the NADA. Any others have no value when it comes time to finance or do a trade in later. Paying 5-7% above wholesale should be a target number and is not unreasonable.
Especially if the unit has been for sale more than a few weeks.
Dealers like to move inventory. We purchased ours for just under 7% above wholesale value.

Know up front that no coach is perfect wether it is new or used. I find that for the most part that a good used coach is a better deal than new. Initial depreciation and many of the bugs have already been experienced.

My coach was not perfect by any means. We purchased it from Lazy Days in Tampa and when I made the deal it was conditional on correcting all the discrepancies that I found as well as zero base lining the scheduled maintenance items. I had a 12 page list of discrepancies that I found and gave to the dealer for correction.
There were some small items that I accepted and a few new ones have cropped up since the purchase. Height control valve failure, roof air seal leaking condensate in bedroom, batteries had shorted & weak cells and water heater control board bad. I just had the height control valve replaced when I could not maintain a green travel light on the HWH panel. Found left side three inches lower than right side. The A/C units have a seal between the case and the roof surface that is originally about 1" thick. I found the bolts on both A/C units loose and was not compressing the seal to the required specifications of 1/2" that was identified in the installation manual. I reset all the bolts evenly so that the seal had a 1/2" compression all the way around. This was all done from inside the coach. I replaced the two 8D coach batteries with four T-145 Trojans golf cart batteries and the 8D engine battery with a new Exide 8D.
The water heater control board would not allow the Atwood WH to stay lit on LP. I found the control board bad, so replaced it with a Dinosaur board. The dealer had plastic film on the carpet and we did not notice the stains in it, so after pulling that all up we had to have the carpet cleaned and most of the stains came out.
As someone already mentioned, Independent Front Suspension (IFS) and the larger 12R22.5 tires (mine are Toyo's) are highly recommended for the best ride.

Take your time and do not let the salesman/owner rush you into a decision. Let your gut tell you to walk away or not. Otherwise, I think you have made a wise choice by selecting a used Country Coach.
You will find the technicians at Country Coach very helpful and pleasant to deal with even though you are not the original owner.

Sorry for the length of this post. I get to rambilin' on.
Congratulations and good luck!

Jim & Barb Hughes
Jacksonville, FL
2000 Allure #30511

Re: 2000 Allure

Reply #14 –
Yahoo Message Number: 4854
You're on the right track. Why not consider a higher-line in a CC? Quality and amount of standard amenities increase as you go up the line. Going older you can still stay in the same price-range.

Per Korslund
Affinity 5259

Re: 2000 Allure

Reply #15 –
Yahoo Message Number: 4858
Hi David and Karen,

Thanks for the useful information. We have printed this out to add to our file. Shows that anyone looking to buy a coach should look for a forum of that brand.
John and Merilee

Re: 2000 Allure

Reply #17 –
Yahoo Message Number: 4860
John

Ron brings up a good point on the engine. I did the same thing to check for any applicable recalls or unusual service bulletins. Also, you can have the dealer give you a complete dump of the stored engine and tranny history data. It will tell you about any overtemp problems in the past as well as out of tolerance performance values.

Remember to have coach number, engine and equipment numbers when calling the manufacturers. I used a digital camera on macro zoom to take photos of the data plates as well as the list of equipment on the inside of the cabinet in the bath.

Jim & Barb Hughes
2000 Allure #30511

2000 Allure

Reply #18 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87295
I am brand new to RV ownership and recently purchased a 2000 Allure with a cruise control issue. Does anyone know if on a 2000 CC the exhaust brake needs to be off for the cruise control to work?

John Sweeton
2000 Allure

2000 Allure

Reply #20 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87299
John,

Welcome to the group! My coach is a year older, so do not know if the controls are the same. On the far left is the cruse on switch, the set is the middle switch. On the cars that I have owned, to set the cruse, the bottom part of the switch is pushed . On my Allure, I push the top of the switch to set the cruse speed. Once the brakes are applied, the bottom of the switch is pushed to resume. You probably know all this, but just in case.

Bill Dane

99 Allure 30326

Re: 2000 Allure

Reply #21 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87300
John The cruise works either way. If the cruise sw is on and 'set' does not activate it then it could be the brake switch needs to be adjusted. Pulling up on the brake pedal might help to see if it works. Not a guaranty but its a start.

Dave

aka Billy Byte (trusty hound)
2000 Allure #30443

Re: 2000 Allure

Reply #22 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87302
In the last three diesel pushers I have had, a 1999 National Tradewinds, a 2004 Itasca Horizon and the current 2007 CC Inspire, the cruise control should be OFF for the exhaust brake to function properly. In the first two coaches the owners manual was very clear on this. I haven't checked the CC manual, but experience has shown this to be true.

Jim Hodges

2007 Inspire 360
51969

Re: 2000 Allure

Reply #23 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87305
My ISL 370 engine brake works with the cruise control on. With the CC on, the engine brake will engage when the coach speed exceeds selected CC speed and will disengage when the coach speed falls below selected CC speed. Applying pressure on the brake pedal always disengages the CC and engages the EB until the CC is resumed/reset. My EB switch is on the high setting 100% of the time.

Larry, 03 Allure, 30856

Re: 2000 Allure

Reply #24 –
Yahoo Message Number: 87306
I have a 1996 CC (one of the few 32') with a PAC brake (exhaust brake). I have updated the brake, replaced the solenoid, the on/off switch and checked the plug-ins (Trans and black box).
When the PAC brake is working it is a big help. However, the PAC brake is always intermittent. I never know when it will work for me or remain off.

Sometimes going down a grade it will work just fine. The next time the PAC brake will not come on no matter what the speed. I have tried recycling the on/off switch, lower gearing, different entry speeds, etc. I have found that when the PAC brake is working (going down a hill) and I need to accelerate, the PAC brake will not come on again. The PAC will work with the cruise control on but it is still intermittent. In the three years and 22,000 miles this has been the most frustrating.
I have not found any maintenance tech's that really understand the PAC brake interface with the engine and trans. If I were to point in any direction for cause of the intermittent service it would most likely be in the tran/engine protect mod. But his is just a guess. Does anyone have any ideas?
Thank you.


Randy 1998 CC