What do you think about 2006 Country Coach Allure?

[Laara]

Hello, everybody!

Few months past after questions I asked here about choosing the right size motorhome. We were out of country. But we warmed up to a bigger motorhome after seeing few as we are going to live in it. So...

We are looking at 2006 Country Coach Allure Siskiyou Summit 470. It would be really nice if somebody who owns this model could write what they feel. Does it have any problems? What should we pay attention to except usual things as leaks, etc?

We are very nervous as it is going to be our first motorhome. We know it is big and it is diesel. We read a lot about motorhomes and how to check them, we saw many too. But we never considered Country Coach till this one came alone. Consumer Group RV rating is very high but they say the quality declined after a year of 2000. There are good reviews and very bad ones. It is scary because it is so expensive and we do not have any experience.

We did not see it yet but planning within next few days.

Any input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[plasma800]

I think you can't go too wrong there...

[Smitty77]

The coach and the model are spot on. They're what I consider the 'entry level' of the higher end of the Country Coach food chain. Inspire and Tribute are nice well built rigs, a cut above many others. But it is the Allure model that moves up the food chain enough to get Hydro/Aqua Hot, Heated Floors, Tag's too (for 38' and above) and a bit better insulation and other materials. The Intrigue/Magna and Affinity move you into more goodies, bigger engines, along with higher expenses to purchase and possibly maintain.

Look for three key areas, on top of the normal checking of battery and tire age and maintenance history.

1) Power Take Off - Wet or Dry? If dry, factor in the expense to adding the wet kit.

2) Problem Aluminum Radiator of Steel? Has it been replaced if it is the problem one? Factor in the expense to swapping this out if one of the problem radiators. (Do a search on this board, and on CC board, and you will find out more about these. Not just a CC problem, as this radiator came in the Alpines and Monaco coaches too.)

3) Micro Checking in the paint? Especially in the darker colors. Really nothing that can be done about this, and mostly a cosmetic issue. But, worth checking and it could provide a negotiation topic.


IMO, this is a great coach. Don't let those items above bother you, just make sure the PDI checks these, along with the overall general condition of the coach.

And yes, some say the quality of CC may have come down a notch in some of the later years. But this is relative, as even a slightly poorer quality of components and materials in the later years, on some models, is still above the quality level of most other coaches - So perhaps a A- to B+ coach, vs an A coach.

If you like the layout, and it is well maintained - factor the above items, and make and offer.

Best of luck, have fun,
Smitty

[Laara]

Thank you so much for the answer and suggestions, Smitty!

Just spoke to the owner. I did not see your answer yet so could not ask about things you listed.

He says all the things are running on electric except for gas cooktop. And there is a residential fridge in it. So, you have to run generator all the time or be plugged in to the shore. We are planning on doing a lot of dry camping, do you think it is possible with no electric hook-up? He also said that batteries are not holding the charge very good and for dry camping we may want to buy new batteries.

So, the question is: do you think it's possible to improve? maybe to put new batteries (will it be enough?) or solar panels (will this be enough?)? anything else?

According to the owner the coach is in great condition for the year.

Thanks again!

[smlranger]

We have the same coach, 42' 470 Siskiyou Summit, except the 2007 model year. We have had it since April 2013. In short, we love it.

Strengths and weaknesses as I see it:

1. Plenty of room for two. We just spent 106 days in it traveling across the USA and never felt crowded, and we travel with two dogs.
2. Rides and drives very well, few rattles and squeaks, solidly built.
3. Solid cherry cabinets, made very well, even what you can't see behind the doors and underneath is solidly put together.
4. King bed is wonderfully comfortable but hard to make. DW and I struggle to pull and lift the big mattress to get the fitted sheet on at the top.
5. Last year during a visit with family at Christmas, we were warm in very cold weather (low 20's, high teens). Aqua Hot did cycle a lot but kept us warm.
6. As noted, make sure the PTO has been upgraded to the 'wet PTO' or adjust your offer to accommodate that.
7. Mine has the suspect radiator but we have 49,000 miles and 7 years on the clock and no signs of any leaking at this point. My experts say to allow $5,000 - $7,000 for replacement of the radiator if it does fail.
8. We also have the Amana residential fridge. We do not do a lot of off grid camping but our battery bank and inverter allow us a full night of power without running the genet. The inverter will take care of the fridge while you are running down the road since your engine alternator keeps the batteries charged. I would also adjust my offer to accommodate new house batteries. I installed six, 6V AGM batteries at a cost of $1,700. Between a good house battery bank and judicious use of your generator (a few hours each day), you should be OK. I am not an expert on solar panels but folks who boon dock a lot say that is the way to go. We changed out most all the incandescent lights in the coach to LED so that saves on power consumption.
9. Two of our Aqua Hot heat exchangers (there are four in the coach interior) had noisy fans so I replaced them with more quiet fans.

Tires on that coach are aged out (if the original tires). A new set will cost $6 - 7,000 so factor that into your negotiations if the tires are original.

No coach is perfect but we have absolutely no regrets buying the Allure.

[plasma800]

Originally Posted by Laara

Thank you so much for the answer and suggestions, Smitty!

Just spoke to the owner. I did not see your answer yet so could not ask about things you listed.

He says all the things are running on electric except for gas cooktop. And there is a residential fridge in it. So, you have to run generator all the time or be plugged in to the shore. We are planning on doing a lot of dry camping, do you think it is possible with no electric hook-up? He also said that batteries are not holding the charge very good and for dry camping we may want to buy new batteries.

So, the question is: do you think it's possible to improve? maybe to put new batteries (will it be enough?) or solar panels (will this be enough?)? anything else?

According to the owner the coach is in great condition for the year.

Thanks again!

This depends on the draw of the fridge. My new cheap as can be residential GE fridge draws 4 amps with compressor off, 12 with the compressor on. Don't turn it to super duper freeze your milk cold and the compressor will turn on less - and disable the ice maker (use ice cube trays)

Replace the batteries right away, no big deal... if you have room for two more, go for it, but unlikely.

For dry camping, you might need to run the genset for a while in the am, and some in the evening, no big deal.

Here's some interesting postulation on solar

- had a long chat with my RV guy about this and he said "Ya know Jay... I'm just a big fan of generators..."

[plasma800]

sorry forgot the link

HandyBob's Blog « Making off grid RV electrical systems work

[becks]

smlranger has given you great advice, and I agree totally. Country Coach was on our buy list when we were buying.
We also have a res fridge and six AGM batteries along with all LED lights and can go all night and then some before needing to run the genny. We boondock a fair amount.

[smlranger]

Originally Posted by plasma800

Replace the batteries right away, no big deal... if you have room for two more, go for it, but unlikely.

The 470 Siskiyou has space for up to four 8D house batteries plus the two chassis batteries. My six GC2 6v batteries fit easily in the space and I could have put two more in there.

[Laara]

Wow! So much help! I cannot thank you all enough!

As for now, work in progress. Somebody suggested to check if the engine was on recall list as it is Cummins ISL 400 that had a recall for 2006 models. So, now we are trying to get from the owner an engine serial #.

Thank you very much again!

[Smitty77]

We went with X's 4 L16's Lifeline AGM's, sitting in the same footprint as the two 8D that came stock. This gives us 800AH capacity. I looked at going with X's 5 8D's for 1000AH, but doing the math based upon our power usage - the 800AH gives us 2 1/2 days of usage without requiring any charging.

As we added 1200W of Solar Panels, we are usually fully charged by 11:00AM, even with partial shading.

I would not get too hung up on the mostly electric. If the coach meets your needs, and checks out good. Then go out and use it for awhile and learn how much power you consume while boondocking. You can then make an informed decision on battery and solar panels. We budgeted this in our plans at time of purchase, but waited two years before making the changes. IMO, we could have easily gone with less battery capacity and a smaller solar panel bank, and been very well supported. I wanted to be sure we never needed to worry about this, so went 25-25% over capacity on both amp hour bank solar panel.

In addition to Handy Bob, also check in and read AM Solar, as they have very good and easy to understand Solar Education info. And Jack Mayer's site has great info too, with a easy to use calculator to assist.

Welcome to AM Solar_Your RV Solar Specialists since 1987

Jack and Danielle Mayer


Best of luck on your search. And lots of good coaches are available, even some that are not CC! So don't feel you need to buy the first coach you look over!

Smitty

[Laara]

Originally Posted by smlranger

We have the same coach, 42' 470 Siskiyou Summit, except the 2007 model year. We have had it since April 2013. In short, we love it.

...
6. As noted, make sure the PTO has been upgraded to the 'wet PTO' or adjust your offer to accommodate that.
...

The owner says there is no PTO on his. The brochure shows that there "is" PTO. I now know where it is located but how to tell if it is wet or dry?

[deandec]

Posted in error.

[smlranger]

Originally Posted by Laara

The owner says there is no PTO on his. The brochure shows that there "is" PTO. I now know where it is located but how to tell if it is wet or dry?

Perhaps this web site will help:

CHELSEA PTO