06 Country Coach Allure 470

[BarbDan17]

We are looking at an 06 Country Coach Allure 470 on Saturday w/95K miles ($129k). Any known issues with this year of CC that we should be aware of?

Thanks,

Barbara & Dan

[wfalch]

I would say the PTO, would be a biggie.
Maintenance Records?
if I ever do this again, I would have Kevin Waite, go from top to bottom and have someone explain everything to you.

[Peralko]

You can also take it to Country Coach. They charge $200 for complete check-out. Radiators were also an issue in 2006 Allures. Country Coach bought some really cheap radiators, and some have started leaking. Many owners have replaced the radiator--something to look for.

[dons2346]

I would have Kevin Waite or Bob Vinson inspect it. Both are x CC techs and know their stuff.

You need to hear the tale of woe from 2 Stroker about the factory "inspection"

[2 Stroker]

Originally Posted by dons2346

I would have Kevin Waite or Bob Vinson inspect it. Both are x CC techs and know their stuff.

You need to hear the tale of woe from 2 Stroker about the factory "inspection"

Yep, it is a tale of woe, may even be a best seller
2 stroker

[Mr_D]

Maybe I should add my ISX dropped a valve story!

[2 Stroker]

Originally Posted by BarbDan17

We are looking at an 06 Country Coach Allure 470 on Saturday w/95K miles ($129k). Any known issues with this year of CC that we should be aware of?

Thanks,

Barbara & Dan

As stated check for the wet PTO
http://www.jdrv1.com/sitebuildercont...s/pto-101a.pdf
Check for fogged windows, should show up with sunshine
With 95k and if it is a 400 Cummins the wrist pins should be OK but
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f123/06-c...ms-233849.html
Radiator, mine has been changed.
2 stroker

[BarbDan17]

All great suggestions. Thanks!

Where would one find Mr. Waite or Mr. Vinson?

I thought someone told me CC went out of business in '08. Is that not true?

[Peralko]

Originally Posted by BarbDan17

All great suggestions. Thanks!

Where would one find Mr. Waite or Mr. Vinson?

I thought someone told me CC went out of business in '08. Is that not true?

Country Coach went bankrupt in 2010. Ron Lee, one of the original founders who left the company in 1995, bought up the intellectual property, to include original molds and build information on Country Coaches. He has set up a service and consignment sales center in some of the original factory buildings, and wants to restart production of Country Coaches. To this end, he has just finished building a prototype copy of the 2010 CC Allure with many improvements, and is hoping to raise funding for full-scale production. While there may be some sour apples, the vast majority who get service at Country Coach are very satisfied. You should definitely check them out if you go up to Junction City.

[wfalch]

You need to have a INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT done.

Kevin 541-953-6162
Bob 541-870-6233

[BrianGlenn]

I bought mine used - no problems with the coach; I am very happy.

2Strokers post #7 is good info and things that I checked for before I bought my 2007 Allure 470.

My coach does not have the radiator replaced, and the PTO is still a dry spline (no retrofit wet kit). I have inspected it, and greased it - and it is OK for now. I may replace radiator on a preventative measure, probably when I make a trip to Junction City and get OMC or Premier, or Country Coach to replace. Have not decided as of yet.

My coach has a couple of fogged windows; I will be ordering the kit from Dave Root in the near future.

My 400 Cummins serial number falls after the wrist pin issue.

I did my own assessment, but I have always worked on my own trailers/coaches and repaired everything myself. I can share all the things I looked for before I purchased my coach - send me a PM if you want me to share info.

My experiences,
Brian

[BarbDan17]

Thanks Peralko-I had no idea they were back in business, even for parts. I looked them up on the Internet and was happy to see help is available, even if it's just by phone.

I'm afraid we won't be visiting their location anytime soon. We are in the suburbs of Chicago until I retire (hopefully 1st Qtr 2016).

Brian-I sent you a PM.

Thanks everyone. We're looking forward to having our first look at the rig tomorrow.

Barbara & Dan

[B Bob]

Barbara & Dan - A survey by a technical person is always a good consideration. I took another path which was to by the best extended warranty I could find. That company is in the Chicago area and is called Xtraride. They basically fixed every problem we had. No hassles. And we took our coach to a number of different places when we had a problem on our travels.

At the end of the 3 year period I tried to renew the warranty but was just past the 100,000 limit they had. Just a suggestion. Lots of people may write in this forum that extended warranties are not worth it, but that is not our experience. XtraRide paid out more than the warranty cost us.

We are currently in the Junction City area where Country Coach has their factory. As of earlier today they are very much in business. We went in to take a look at the new 2016 model they have built. We have had work done in this area a number of times and it is a place where many motorhomes have be built over the years by Country Coach and Monaco so there are lots of repair places. Country Coach Corp did file for bankruptcy back in 2010 when lots of people were having problems, even General Motors. The original founders of Country Coach Bob and Ron Lee bought the intellectual property from the bankruptcy sale. A couple of years later Bob Lee sold out to his brother and Bob started OMC repair, service, and upgrade in this same area. We have never had any problems getting parts or service for our coach.

Some Cummins motors on CC motorhomes have had issues with the power take off (PTO). Yours has likely already been fixed if it has 95,000 miles on it. But worth checking. This consists of a modification to the PTO and is not something that would stop me from buying a rig I liked. But as I said, likely to have already been done if needed.

We bought our rig with 85,000 miles on it. Our previous owner drove to NASCAR races and drove lots but hardly used the house. I do not consider miles on a diesel coach to be the same deterrent as miles on a car. Low miles can be an indication of two issues 1. The coach is not fun to drive and therefore not many miles. 2. The coach was full timed in and while there are few miles on the chassis many of the house items are wore out. 3. Worst - the coach sat idle for long periods of time and got lot rot. I know that is three items.

In my humble opinion Country Coaches are heavy built rigs that like to run down the road. I love driving mine. Ours has 125,000 miles on it now and just glides down the highway. We have no intention of replacing ours any time soon.

Hope the coach looks good. Have fun test driving it.

[37driver]

We're one year into ownership of our 2005 Allure 470, so here are a few of my observations for what they're worth.

We paid $100000.00 for ours, one owner with 48000 miles and then put another $35000.00 into it with most being interior remodel, new flooring, blinds, two new tv's, etc. Also new tires, new shocks, unless they have been replaced, at that mileage it will need shocks. We were told to just replace the front shocks which we did. Later we replaced the other four and the improvement was dramatic. My point is that buying a coach that is priced lower is not always the bargain that it seems.

Have a reputable truck shop do a thorough inspection of the chassis, suspension, drivetrain, brakes, transmission and engine. It's worth paying to have done because these are the components that will cost you a small fortune if something is amiss.

If the seller does not have maintenance records, you're rolling the dice. The previous owner of my coach was loaded and owned a warehouse and trucking company. I was told the service department at his trucking company did all of the required maintenance but he didn't keep records. In hindsight, I should have walked away at that point. Even rich people can be cheap when it comes to maintaining a coach. Luckily he did keep up the engine and drivetrain, but not much else. The sway bar link bushings (both) were completely missing as an example.

My radiator is still good but I keep a close eye on it. My PTO had not been converted to the wet lube but the splines on the shaft were perfect even though it had never been checked or lubed. I did have the conversion kit installed. My engine was not in the bad wrist pin era. All of this was due to pure luck as I did not do my homework and had no idea that they were problems.

The 10K Onan generator had never had the belts changed. My fan belt broke during a power outage at a state park in July. Changing it requires that the fiberglass body on the slide be removed and the generator removed from the slide with a fork lift to access the rear of the generator. I had the fan converted to direct drive (Cummings Onan kit), the remaining belt changed along with the fuel filter and temp sensor, all of which are inaccessible with the unit in the coach. $2100.00 bill.

The Hydro-Hot is something else you need to have checked by someone who is factory certified. When working correctly it's a wonderful thing. When not it can be a money pit. A complete new unit can be upwards of $10000.00. Individual components can be very expensive.

If the coach has a residential fridge, it will have extra batteries, more than likely 8D AGM's. I had to buy four new ones at about $3000.00.

The point is that having to spend money to have the coach checked over is worth it.

As pointed out in a previous post, all lot of folks on the forum poo poo the notion of an extended warranty or a service contract which is what it really is. All I can tell you is that I bought one with ProTrek through Wholesale Warranty. It cost me $4400.00 for 48 months/48000 miles with a $200 deductible per visit, not item. It's been a great deal for me. So far it has paid for the following:

1. Allison Factory Rebuilt Transmission
2. Hydro-Hot motor, temp sensor and float switch
3. New Entry Door Awning Motor
4. Onan Generator Drive Belts (only about half of the labor charge, never, ever go to a Cummins Atlantic Shop and make sure whoever you choose does not use flat rate book labor charges)

Good luck and I hope this helps.