Is Older Better?

[Cardsfan]

I've been reading for some time about several of you fellow Alpine Coach owners who are having a great deal of problems with your newer coaches. By no means am I intending to be glib, but I'm thankful for this site where I have read of the problems that some of you are having. I've owned a well-cared-for 1998 coach, number 49 off the assembly line, for a little over a year now. My wife and I have 'cut our teeth' on this coach as it is our first RV, and were considering moving up to a newer Alpine. We really like the layout of our coach, the quality materials that are in it, and those wonderful large windows. I've had very few problems with our coach, so after reading so many discussions on problems, we decided instead to keep the '98, and spend a few dollars upgrading it. This would be significantly cheaper than upgrading to a newer coach, and possibly run the risk of getting one with problems that the previous owner got fed up dealing with.

As I write this our coach is being transformed to have wood plank flooring throughout except in the bedroom, a new front bulkhead with wide screen TV, bi-parting window curtains, electric sun shades, new fabric window valences (there were none on the '98s), wood trim on the inside edge of the slideout (white fabric padding on the '98s), lighted mirrored-riser entry door kit, King Dome, automatic patio awning, pass-through basement slideouts, color camera and Panasonic in-dash radio/DVD that will become the rear camera monitor. I pick it up on December 15th. Can't wait. Hopefully I'm not an isolated case, and there are other Alpine owners with older coaches who have had very few problems as well.

[Cardsfan]

I've been reading for some time about several of you fellow Alpine Coach owners who are having a great deal of problems with your newer coaches. By no means am I intending to be glib, but I'm thankful for this site where I have read of the problems that some of you are having. I've owned a well-cared-for 1998 coach, number 49 off the assembly line, for a little over a year now. My wife and I have 'cut our teeth' on this coach as it is our first RV, and were considering moving up to a newer Alpine. We really like the layout of our coach, the quality materials that are in it, and those wonderful large windows. I've had very few problems with our coach, so after reading so many discussions on problems, we decided instead to keep the '98, and spend a few dollars upgrading it. This would be significantly cheaper than upgrading to a newer coach, and possibly run the risk of getting one with problems that the previous owner got fed up dealing with.

As I write this our coach is being transformed to have wood plank flooring throughout except in the bedroom, a new front bulkhead with wide screen TV, bi-parting window curtains, electric sun shades, new fabric window valences (there were none on the '98s), wood trim on the inside edge of the slideout (white fabric padding on the '98s), lighted mirrored-riser entry door kit, King Dome, automatic patio awning, pass-through basement slideouts, color camera and Panasonic in-dash radio/DVD that will become the rear camera monitor. I pick it up on December 15th. Can't wait. Hopefully I'm not an isolated case, and there are other Alpine owners with older coaches who have had very few problems as well.

[EngineerMike]

Older is always better.
Older is always better.
Older is always better.
I chant this to the mirror in the morning. Some days I even beleive it.

[SteveS]

EM - I've tried saying that too but it doesn't work when I say it to my wife just after she catches me oogling some young thing. I tell her, "That's OK dear, older is always better" and get belted anyway.

[Dave Fernandez]

Hello Steve:

You need Sun Glasses that cover your eyes, and learn not to turn your head and just follow with your eyes. Yes Older is Better.

Dave

[VAGABONDMAN]

David D.

I too had an early '98 coach and pretty much made it into a 2000. You might consider having the WRV people install a new front cap and add a paint job. The newer front caps have BMW head lights that are sooo much better than the original ones; they get rid of the water vapor issues as well.

I think all the Alpines handle well, and if you're content with your floor plan you should be happy for years to come.

[Cardsfan]

Yes, Vagabondman, it would be great to have the new front cap. Depends on the cost, though. It might be doable in two years when I retire, and can spend the time needed in Yakima to have the work done. I received a paint bid when I dropped the coach off a couple of weeks ago for the upgrade work. $10K just for white paint on the white gelcoat above the beltline and the teal stripe. I thought that was a bit much; however, it sure is a pain to keep waxing the gelcoat. Some day........

[SteveS]

David - You are correct, $10K is too much for a bare minimum paint job. I have seen several 36 ft coaches painted with nice designs and clear coated, for that much, and sometimes less. You need to shop around some I think.

[Shamrock]

We also have an "oldie but goldie" 99 Alpine.
David - who did the modifications to your coach?

[Cardsfan]

Classic Coach Works (CCW) in Lakeland, FL, Shamrock. Are you a fellow Irishman? I searched and searched for something closer to St. Louis, but could only find them, one place in Maine (not this time of year!), and several on the west coast. There have been positive comments about CCW on various MH chatrooms, so we'll find out how good they are in a couple of weeks. CCW apparently had a couple of coaches at the FMCA rally in GA last year. Word from my local chapter folks who went was that they looked pretty good.

[Webstress]

In my opinion older is only better if nothing goes wrong! We recently had some damage to the rear air ocnditioner on our 98 coach, and we discover that it's obsolete, replacement will require replacement of the theromostat, re-tooling of the front AC (which is fine)

Getting any help for this has been frustrating, to say the least.