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Old 07-19-2014, 10:32 AM   #1
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06 Intrigue VS The world of other RV's

Funny title.

Interested in hearing more from CC owners. I've run across another CC, an intrigue.

And of course, within the price range of this 2006 model, there are a ton of other rv's that could be purchased for the same money - some nice, some not so nice.

One could, for instance, have a brand new tiffin RED, or a used newmar, monaco, american coach, HR etc...

Curious to thoughts on the intrigue VS the world of other rv's in general. Owners would certainly be more intimate with an intrigue, so what's your off the top of the head thoughts?

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Old 07-19-2014, 12:28 PM   #2
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I would rather push my dead Intrigue than drive one of the others. That is how much I like it.
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Old 07-19-2014, 12:39 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by dons2346 View Post
I would rather push my dead Intrigue than drive one of the others. That is how much I like it.
put a fork in it, folks. This thread is done, with a compliment that strong
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Old 07-19-2014, 12:56 PM   #4
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I am extremely comfortable driving my old Newmar around the country knowing they still have parts for my Coach...........and are going stronger than ever right now. I know CC has been trying to re-surface........ been 5 years now and was suppose to start building I thought in 2014? I have not heard of the production line starting back up as of yet. Time will tell. I sure like the styling of the Country Coach, always been on my favorites list........I am not sure how hard it is to get parts for them, I know they are open in Oregon, sales, some service, parts?
I am sure some CC owner's will enlighten us on this subject........
Looks like one can order OEM parts http://www.countrycoach.com/
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Old 07-19-2014, 05:30 PM   #5
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Horse, I would say that parts are easier than ever to get. All the good CC techs went out and started their own business and have good sources for parts. I haven't heard of any part that cannot be found just by contacting the right tech. But then again, not a lot of CC specific parts are needed if any. I haven't needed anything. It is a thing of knowing where to look for what you need
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Old 07-19-2014, 07:03 PM   #6
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Like all motorhomes, Country Coaches are mostly assembled from parts from someone else. Some parts will no longer be made, but there are acceptable substitutes. Country Coach has proprietary parts for anyone needing them. I'm not sure that is the case for other makes that has gone through bankruptcy, like Safari, Beaver, Monaco, Holiday Rambler, Fleetwood etc. How long does Newmar hold onto their forms?
Anyway, back to the original question; The Intrigue is a definite step up from the Allure. 2006 and up will have a larger engine than the Allures. They are a bit short of the items you'll find in Magnas and Affinitys. One issue that bothered me on the Intrigues was the lack of roll-out trays for the batteries. In a couple of Intrigues I've seen, it would be holy h_ll to get the coach batteries out. Test drove a 2006 Intrigue at the factory last year, and it drove very nice. Personally I would rather go for a Magna--a 2006 Magna 45-footer was just sold in Lewisville with an asking price of $179k.
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Old 07-19-2014, 07:08 PM   #7
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Several comments:

First, since the Intrigue is the next level above my Allure of the same vintage, I'd certainly expect it to be a joy to drive and own since we feel that way about our Allure. The original owner of our Allure ordered it with every option so it has pretty much everything the Intrigue had, except perhaps a bigger engine. I do like the exterior lines of the Intrigue better, especially the front.

I spent some time poking around in Premier RV (next door to CC here in Junction City) and they have some stunning used coaches for sale, including a couple of Intrigues. CC also has several for sale but Premier had a young woman detailing their rigs when I was there and they sparkle.

Finally, from what I have seen during our visit here at CC getting work done, they seem to be pretty busy doing service. While most of the coaches are CC's, I've seen them working on a couple of Monaco's and was told they will service any make. In talking with fellow owners in the lot here, most have been here before and seem very satisfied with their service experience. Some of these folks are having extensive work done.... remodeling, upgrading, collision repair. They have parts and offer tech support. They have all their fiberglass molds and can remake any body part/panel/door from any model year, I am told.

As noted, even if the original CC operation ceased to exist for service, there are several other nice shops in this area who have CC repair expertise.
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Old 07-19-2014, 07:47 PM   #8
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Another beef we had with some Intrigues that we also had with some Allures is the fact you can't use the shower with the B/R slide on that side in, due to the swing of the shower door. Probably wouldn't be an issue most of the time, but you never know. If we were to buy a coach with that issue, we would have the door swing reversed.
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Old 07-19-2014, 10:04 PM   #9
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Jay and Andrea -

"One could, for instance, have a brand new tiffin RED, or a used newmar, monaco, american coach, HR etc..."

A Country Coach Intrigue is way higher level of construction quality, quality of materials, and what is included as standard than a Tiffin RED. One of my close friends just bought one of those new. (The price he paid I would think is higher than an 8 year old Intrigue) It is a nice basic coach. Certainly no upgrade from what you have. Newmar and HR are in the same level as Fleetwood. So why is that an upgrade for you? Now American is a high end maker. Not as high end as Country Coach. They do not make their own chassis would be one reason. All the true high end coaches come with a chassis made specifically to be a motorhome. Monaco made coaches down the street from CC until recently. Their higher end coaches seem nice to me. However, the RVCG that rates motorhome quality ranks them significantly below CC.

Country Coach Intrigues from the years 2004-2006 are some of the best motorhomes ever made. Those coaches do live up to the CC by line "World's Finest Motorhomes". You do get a bit more things standard in the Magna's and Affinity's, but I don't think you can go wrong with an Intrigue. That particular model and Foretravel from the same years get the highest ratings from the RVCG. Way higher than any of the other alternatives you mentioned.

You do live in Texas. Foretravel is made in TX. If you can find one in the price you want to pay you might give that strong consideration. I have been to the Foretravel factory. It is the only other production motorhome I would consider besides CC.

As for whether they build them again or not. Who cares. Right now with no changes the existing factory is doing a great job of servicing the coaches, and there are many other great places to get service.

Here are some significant points in favor of CC - In my opinion.

1. Comes with a custom RV chassis, not someone else's standard chassis. The best motorhomes come with this. On your list only Monaco makes their own chassis.
2. Consistent high rankings from the RVCG. Higher than any other motorhome except Foretravel.
3. All Country Coach motorhomes 36' of longer come with chassis long enough or longer than needed for good highway handling. This is an area where all of your alternatives sometimes use the proper length and sometimes do not. Only (Again) Foretravel does that same thing and all their coaches 36' or longer come with proper sized chassis. This is not a little deal. Make sure the coach you buy has a chassis long enough and with enough CCC's to suit your coach.
4. Very good factory service. My friend that bought the new Tiffin earlier this year waited a week!!! even when he had an appointment at Tiffin six weeks ago to get warranty work done. We waited not at all a month ago when we had service done at the CC factory. We made an appt. They were ready for us. And they finished when promised.
5. Very high quality components. Our coach looks like a Ritz Carlton suite inside. You would have to shop Henredon, Century, or Bernadette to get better cabinets and upholstery than what we have.
6. High end big motors. No cheeping out here like many other makes.
7. Full documentation. I have a full set of paper books with me in case I need information when on the road. So even if I cannot get an internet connection I have what I need for mechanical work. CC, Foretravel, Blue Bird all do this. Do the others you mention?
8. No corners cut. Wires all marked. Solid counter tops. Very high end paint and exterior materials.

But in the end. Buy what you like the floor plan of AND you are most comfortable driving. I love driving my coach. I look forward to it. When an 18 wheeler passes me I can hardly tell it went by. Goes up big hills with little effort and no overheating.
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Old 07-20-2014, 09:02 AM   #10
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B Bob brings up two good points that about the CC ownership experience; the chassis and the CC service center. I had heard about the Dynomax chassis but never really investigated it. After crawling around under my rig and inside the storage bays, I was amazed to see the boxed 8" frame rails. I believe FL and Spartan both use C channel frames. I can never feel any flex or hear creaking when driving this coach over uneven surfaces. Mine has porcelain tile from the bedroom to the front door and there are no cracks (it always amazes me that you can put tile in these things, drive them down the road and have no cracked tiles).

As to their service here in Junction City, I can attest to their accommodating the customer. I made an appointment with CC only for replacement of a damaged compartment door, including paint work associated with it. They knew I had a longer list of items but I had previously made an appointment with a competitor service in this area for those items. CC finished up the door/paint work (stellar job), charged me exactly what they estimated, and sent me on my way. For a multitude of reasons, I could not get the rest of my list done at the other shop without waiting days and without conflicting with another appointment we had to have some furniture replaced. So, we drove back to CC on Friday without any appointment and asked if they could work us in to do the rest of the work. They invited us to get back on a spot in their lot with 50 amp service and a tech will be out early Monday to get the coach.
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Old 07-20-2014, 09:31 AM   #11
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Jay and Andrea -

"One could, for instance, have a brand new tiffin RED, or a used newmar, monaco, american coach, HR etc..."
What Bob said. We traded our 2003 Windsor for a 2002 Affinity (same year, make, model as Bob's). After looking at the Affinity DW said, "it spoke to me."

What she was experiencing was the sensation of everything being the right size, right location, right quality, correctly integrated, and appropriate to the coach.

There was nothing wrong with the Windsor and there are many attractive features of the Monaco line. But with the Country Coach one never gets an impression of compromise.

FWIW
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Old 07-20-2014, 11:19 AM   #12
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I'm interested in the opinion of how the Intrigue 'ride' may feel different to you then the Allure's. I did back to back drives, on the same road course. Mostly good roads, with a steep hill in the mix for climbing, and for Jake Braking on the way down. I drove the 2004 Allure 40' ISL we now own, and a 2005 40' Magna with CAT, and a 2005 Monaco Dynasty with ISL too.

The Allure did good on the hill climb and overall ride felt OK. It did have a front end bounce, on one area with dips that I did not like. The Magna did the same hill just a tad faster (more weight, so much of that CAT extra power went into pulling the extra weight), the front end did not bounce as much on the same dip at the same speed. Braking compression with the Big CAT was for sure better then the ISL in the Allure, with the Stage 2 being about the same as the ISL's High. The Dynasty rode about the same as, except it seemed a bit more 'planed' around curves. Attribute that to being about the same weight as the Allure, but with more air bags and shocks. Hill climb and Jake braking were about the same as the Allure.

Working with a good salesman, we walked over the coaches afterwards. The Magna had new front shocks, installed by the dealer as bringing the coach up to snuff. They were 2nd generation Koni Adjustable, and the Service Manager confirmed they always set the front Magna's on level 3. The Allure's were the OEM Koni Adjustable SP1, that were undersized for the front end duty. (Lots of threads on how Koni strongly encouraged CC to not use that shock on the IFS front end of 40' + coaches. National insisted, as they wanted the 'softer floating ride' for the CC line.)

I have walked thru Affinities, never drove one. At other times and not back to back, I've driven Foretravel U295 and U320's, as well as Wanderlodge LXI's. Plus I drove one Newmar Mountain Aire. This was all during a 6-8 month search for our retirement rig.

We bought the Allure due to the DW saying 'This Galley Is Mine!' - game over for Smitty on getting into a Big Block! Or retarder in the Foretravel.... We got the owner, selling on consignment thru the dealer he had bought the coach from, to cover some repairs that Cummins Cal Pacific inspection determined were needed. (At the same time, I had Cummins do a recommended Slobber Tube upgrade on my dime.) The owner also provided credits for 8 new tires, front shocks, and a few other minor items.

We put new shoes on with Michelin XZE* tires replacing the OEM Toyo's. And I had Road Kings installed all around. I also had Super Steer Motion Control Units (MCU's) installed on front and drive axles. I like the feel of our coach, handling, and how much faster it 'sets' when driving in back and forth S Curve body shifts (MCU's).

What I really wonder now, is if the higher end Affinity 'road feel' would compare? I believe it has more airbags than the Allures? (I think Magna/Affinity use two airbags on the front and drive axles, and one on tag. Allure and I think Intrigues have one airbag front and drive axles and tag one too.)

I hear that the Newells and Provost Type coach rides are in another league than the middle to high food chain DP's. Probably a good thing I did not drive one. I know one former Magna owner that did, and sold his coach with two slides, and now live FT in a Prevost line coach with no slides... He said he liked the Magna, but no contest on the ride performance and handling of the Prevost.

Enough of Smitty rambling.... Please let us know how you like the ride of the Intrigue vs your bit newer Allure. Best to all,
Smitty
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Old 07-20-2014, 11:45 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Smitty77 View Post
I'm interested in the opinion of how the Intrigue 'ride' may feel different to you then the Allure's. I did back to back drives, on the same road course. Mostly good roads, with a steep hill in the mix for climbing, and for Jake Braking on the way down. I drove the 2004 Allure 40' ISL we now own, and a 2005 40' Magna with CAT, and a 2005 Monaco Dynasty with ISL too.

The Allure did good on the hill climb and overall ride felt OK. It did have a front end bounce, on one area with dips that I did not like. The Magna did the same hill just a tad faster (more weight, so much of that CAT extra power went into pulling the extra weight), the front end did not bounce as much on the same dip at the same speed. Braking compression with the Big CAT was for sure better then the ISL in the Allure, with the Stage 2 being about the same as the ISL's High. The Dynasty rode about the same as, except it seemed a bit more 'planed' around curves. Attribute that to being about the same weight as the Allure, but with more air bags and shocks. Hill climb and Jake braking were about the same as the Allure.

Working with a good salesman, we walked over the coaches afterwards. The Magna had new front shocks, installed by the dealer as bringing the coach up to snuff. They were 2nd generation Koni Adjustable, and the Service Manager confirmed they always set the front Magna's on level 3. The Allure's were the OEM Koni Adjustable SP1, that were undersized for the front end duty. (Lots of threads on how Koni strongly encouraged CC to not use that shock on the IFS front end of 40' + coaches. National insisted, as they wanted the 'softer floating ride' for the CC line.)

I have walked thru Affinities, never drove one. At other times and not back to back, I've driven Foretravel U295 and U320's, as well as Wanderlodge LXI's. Plus I drove one Newmar Mountain Aire. This was all during a 6-8 month search for our retirement rig.

We bought the Allure due to the DW saying 'This Galley Is Mine!' - game over for Smitty on getting into a Big Block! Or retarder in the Foretravel.... We got the owner, selling on consignment thru the dealer he had bought the coach from, to cover some repairs that Cummins Cal Pacific inspection determined were needed. (At the same time, I had Cummins do a recommended Slobber Tube upgrade on my dime.) The owner also provided credits for 8 new tires, front shocks, and a few other minor items.

We put new shoes on with Michelin XZE* tires replacing the OEM Toyo's. And I had Road Kings installed all around. I also had Super Steer Motion Control Units (MCU's) installed on front and drive axles. I like the feel of our coach, handling, and how much faster it 'sets' when driving in back and forth S Curve body shifts (MCU's).

What I really wonder now, is if the higher end Affinity 'road feel' would compare? I believe it has more airbags than the Allures? (I think Magna/Affinity use two airbags on the front and drive axles, and one on tag. Allure and I think Intrigues have one airbag front and drive axles and tag one too.)

I hear that the Newells and Provost Type coach rides are in another league than the middle to high food chain DP's. Probably a good thing I did not drive one. I know one former Magna owner that did, and sold his coach with two slides, and now live FT in a Prevost line coach with no slides... He said he liked the Magna, but no contest on the ride performance and handling of the Prevost.

Enough of Smitty rambling.... Please let us know how you like the ride of the Intrigue vs your bit newer Allure. Best to all,
Smitty

Smitty, if I could talk myself into heading down to Grant's Pass (we are slated to head north to the coast then into Washington before starting home), I would get a set of MCU's installed at Henderson's. I plan to check with CC on Monday (we believe we have two days of stuff to be done), to see if they can get a set shipped and installed before we leave. DW is getting tired of spending days in the car with me and two dogs while we get stuff done .
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Old 07-20-2014, 01:02 PM   #14
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thanks for all the tips. I understand what you mean when you say it "speaks" to you
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