Community Forums

Stratman50th · 08-27-2014, 08:14 AM

Hey all,
I joined the forum back in the beginning of May this year. Now I can't recall if I'd already bought my coach or was right in the middle.
Doesn't matter I guess but anyway, I'm Don! My wife and I decided that maybe instead of being stationary when we retire (she says 5 to 7 years, I'm trying to convince her otherwise) we would buy a small retirement home in one of the no income tax states as a base, and then put the real money into a coach so we could spend our time traveling. I am not a camper, well, not in 40 years or so. Have no experience on land. Have had several boats that could be lived aboard so I'm not completely clueless as to the general house systems. I planned to purchase a new Class A DP when we retired.
I made the mistake of starting to do my research now, including looking at coaches to get the idea of layout. There was a nice looking coach on the back lot of our local small town Chevy dealer so I decided to "Just look at it". I loved what I saw. 42' 2006 Country Coach Magna 630. 7k original miles, garage kept by both previous owners. This coach was purchased by the owner of the dealership as his personal vacation coach. He always bought high end, and took super damn good care of all of his toys. About a year ago, the owner died from cancer. He had only put about 3k miles on this bus and most of that was bringing back to Maryland from Cali. Family business. I was dealing with the son and daughter who now own the dealership. Mom worked there too but she no longer had any interest in the bus so it went up for sale. The price was just amazing as they had lowered it 40k from the previous asking price. I researched as many Country Coaches as I could and found the current asking price was spot on for this coach. I told them I was in. My only worry really was the low mileage. That told me that it hadn't been used much over an 8 year life. Imagine having a house unlived in for that long. The other was the vehicle part. Low mileage for being 8 years old.... was there problems from lack of use? Finally, nobody had it long enough to find all the new bus bugs and work them out. I bought it anyway. I have been finding and fixing little things. I also have been upgrading. Electronics, LED lighting, that sort of ting. They also transferred a bumper to bumper premium warranty that I have for another 4 years. So I feel pretty well protected. The bus was immaculately taken care of during it's life. The two children of the former owner are both 5er owners did all the right things as far as maintenance and upkeep on this bus.
So that's probably more than anyone really needs or wants to know in a greeting post, but I wanted you to know where I was coming from and where I'm at now.
Nice to meet you all!
Don

**TonyDi** · 08-27-2014, 08:19 AM

Hi Don

Glad to have you here with with us.
Congratulations on your new Magna. I'm sure you have conecerns over the low mileage. However, if you have good maintenance records, and is sounds like you do, I would not be overly concerned. Enjoy this great coach. Post pics when you get a chance.

Best of luck and Happy Trails!!!!

Stratman50th · 08-27-2014, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonyDi

Hi Don

Glad to have you here with with us.
Congratulations on your new Magna. I'm sure you have conecerns over the low mileage. However, if you have good maintenance records, and is sounds like you do, I would not be overly concerned. Enjoy this great coach. Post pics when you get a chance.

Best of luck and Happy Trails!!!!

I gots lots of pictures! But forgot how to post them on a forum. Used to have to have something like a Photobucket account or something? They can't be uploaded directly correct? Also, where is the correct place to display pictures, here or is there a specific section?
Don

**JohnRR** · 08-27-2014, 10:23 AM

Better late than never.

Stratman50th · 08-27-2014, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnRR

Better late than never.

Thanks John!

Skip426 · 08-27-2014, 10:35 AM

Welcome to iRV2.
Information on posting photos is in the " FAQ" drop box in the blue bar below your welcome message to the right of " User CP "

Under the Lake Weir banner ad at the top of the page " Photos " would probably be the spot to post.
But I've been wrong before.

Medico · 08-27-2014, 11:36 AM

Welcome and glad to meet you!

Don, glad I was able to supply some info to you. I would check the date codes on the tires carefully. Even though tread wise they are probably close to new, generally the life expectancy of RV tires is 7 or 8 years. Plus with that super low mileage it has been sitting a lot. The tires should be exercised periodically, which these probably were not.

Also run the Hydro Hot to ensure all the heat exchanges give off heat. The boiler anti freeze can gum up the works if not used regularly. I was told at least once per month to run the system for a while. Yours might need flushing and replacement.

Because CC uses high end products, most systems should be fine, just a little old in technology. My satellite for example only has one LNB (eye) so I can only point to one satellite at a time. Plus it's not really high definition, although not bad.

These coaches are heavy, so give a great ride with the tag. Even so I still get around 6.5 mpg average.

We love our Magna. You will as well. With that mileage, I would also do a complete service on the engine and generator. Oil, filters, fuel filters, lube, etc. I doubt the oils have been replaced annually.

If you get to Florida, stop in at Wilderness RV Resort of Silver Springs outside Ocala. We own a lot in the Preserve Estates (Class A) section and would love to compare notes. I see you are in Maryland. Our daughter is in the Baltimore area, so we get there occasionally. Still looking for a better park. We have stayed in Woodbine twice, but are not really happy with Rambling Pines. If you know of any better places close enough to Baltimore that would be great.

Boy if I had your coach I would be hard pressed to wait so long to use it FT. Good luck with that!

Stratman50th · 08-27-2014, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Medico

Welcome and glad to meet you!

Don, glad I was able to supply some info to you. I would check the date codes on the tires carefully. Even though tread wise they are probably close to new, generally the life expectancy of RV tires is 7 or 8 years. Plus with that super low mileage it has been sitting a lot. The tires should be exercised periodically, which these probably were not.

Also run the Hydro Hot to ensure all the heat exchanges give off heat. The boiler anti freeze can gum up the works if not used regularly. I was told at least once per month to run the system for a while. Yours might need flushing and replacement.

Because CC uses high end products, most systems should be fine, just a little old in technology. My satellite for example only has one LNB (eye) so I can only point to one satellite at a time. Plus it's not really high definition, although not bad.

These coaches are heavy, so give a great ride with the tag. Even so I still get around 6.5 mpg average.

We love our Magna. You will as well. With that mileage, I would also do a complete service on the engine and generator. Oil, filters, fuel filters, lube, etc. I doubt the oils have been replaced annually.

If you get to Florida, stop in at Wilderness RV Resort of Silver Springs outside Ocala. We own a lot in the Preserve Estates (Class A) section and would love to compare notes. I see you are in Maryland. Our daughter is in the Baltimore area, so we get there occasionally. Still looking for a better park. We have stayed in Woodbine twice, but are not really happy with Rambling Pines. If you know of any better places close enough to Baltimore that would be great.

Boy if I had your coach I would be hard pressed to wait so long to use it FT. Good luck with that!

Hey Ted, Thanks again, for all the info. I figured the engine and trans need service. It's on my list. Front tires and wheels were replaced by the most recent owner about two years ago now with a larger set. He wanted reliability and a better ride so got the Alcoa wheel and new Michelin 385/65 R 22.5.
Before I bought I had them replace the 6 rears as they had a 2005 manufacture year. I didn't have a say as to what went on. They replaced the Toyos with Firestone FS560's. I researched them and really didn't find anything bad about them. So they are brand new 2014 tires and they get good reviews. They ride fine it seems as well.
Good point on the Hydro Hot. Previous owner took it camping the weekend before I took it over. They used the radiant heat, so I assume that's the Hydro hot? He also filled up the ant-freeze. It's the correct stuff, plus he had several bottles he left in the basement for me.
I haven't crawled under and checked which PTO I have yet. I have my fingers crossed that it's wet. I'll check on RV parks for you. There are several. Are you looking for proximity or a better park? Heading down to Naples for Christmas. First long distance run.

myshaggydog · 08-27-2014, 05:48 PM

Welcome to the Forum and congrats on the coach. We hope you all have many great camping adventures. Best of luck.

Happy RV'ing

Chiefbvfd · 08-28-2014, 05:06 AM

Welcome...

MSHappyCampers · 08-28-2014, 08:01 AM

Hi Don! Sounds like you found yourself a real diamond!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

Medico · 08-28-2014, 12:23 PM

Don, Call CC with the VIN number. They might be able to tell you if the recalls have been done. The PTO was a recall. If an authorized dealer did the recall (assuming it was needed on your coach) they would have registered it with CC.

Hudgens · 08-28-2014, 09:52 PM

Welcome to the irv2 gang, Don! Congrats on your CC wheels! Sounds like you made a really good purchase. Good luck with fixing things up and hitting the road for some real fun!