Perhaps the most valuable information we'd gathered in this research project came not from our assessment of the three coaches, but from comments of the RVers who own them. We have received a significant volume of helpful information from owners of these and other units, some of which we will be posting in due course. We had also made a practice of gathering this information when we visited factory service departments. This trip to Oregon gave us one final chance to stop by the service areas of Country Coach and Monaco to chat with owners who were there for service. Friday afternoons and even Saturdays are a great time for this type of reconnaissance, and we made the most of it. We preface this by underscoring that most folks at a service center are there to fix a problem. We know there are "problems" with every unit on the road. What's really crucial to us is how the company responds to them.
Monaco
At Monaco we found about 20 coaches there staying over the weekend. We talked with several of them. The most common problem reported by those Monaco owners with whom we spoke related to the slider's tendency to leak. In some cases the leaking had caused some fairly serious problems with the interior of the coach. Most of the owners were comfortable with their choice of Monaco, and they all expressed a positive view of the way the were being treated at the modern Monaco service center. [It's affectionately known locally as "Camp Monaco".] We were a bit surprised at the length of time most units were spending there, and with the fact that appointments had been made as long as four months in advance.
Our summary impressions of Monaco, as with all three, are a mix of perceptions. We've concluded that if we opt for a Monaco, we would have a preference for a non-slider. We've seen first hand a number of slider problems (certainly not unique to Monaco alone), and our general feeling towards sliders is ambivalent. The interior of the new Dynasty 2000 is in our view exceptional. We liked the new cockpit layout, the gauge package, and the conveniently arranged controls on the driver's side panel. The exterior finish of the Dynasty seems superior in terms of finish coats. And we infer an overall commitment to quality from two features which most coaches overlook. First, the solar package offered by Monaco is clearly top line. They use the better 36 cell panels, and a pulse width modulated voltage regulator. It's a total system that's been designed, not assembled. It's a quality offering many RVers may not fully appreciate.
Second, and again from personal experience, the Trace inverter system offers features which both Alpine and Intrigue overlook -- the control panel. The Heart 2KW inverter system comes with a "Freedom 20" control panel. This marginally helpful LED set doesn't really tell you what you most want to know: the exact status of the battery bank at the moment. We have the Heart unit on our present Alpenlite fiver, and we opted to add a "Link 10" unit which gives all sorts of useful information -- again too complex to be detailed here. While the Trace monitor panel is something we haven't yet researched thoroughly, it's clearly a far more sophisticated device than comes with the Heart unit. These solar and inverter touches imply Monaco really understands quality components, and what serious RVers are looking for in a top quality coach.
Country Coach
At Country Coach we found the smaller service facility populated this weekend with 7 units. All were unquestionably pleased with their choice of Country Coach, and with the way their service needs were being addressed. However we again found some evidence of sliders leaking, though our non-scientific sample would lead us to infer this is a less frequent issue with Country Coach. Again we were surprised at the length of time some of these folks were spending at the factory to have service matters addressed. We did learn from 2 Country Coach owners that the Cummins 350 had experienced a fairly high "failure rate". Something had been causing the computer system in these engines to threaten to (and in some cases actually to) shut down. Two owners expressed the opinion that they thought Country Coach had been a bit slow to recognize the extent of this problem, having first taken the position that this was essentially an issue for Cummins.
Our overall impression of Country Coach is that it offers the best quality control in the construction process, and that CC units are likely to experience the fewest service issues after delivery. Their attention to detail is, in our view, the best we've seen. And when service is required, the Company's commitment to affording its owners the best possible experience stands out. This was confirmed to us time and again by CC owners -- both here and elsewhere.
We had more opportunity to meet Country Coach representatives than any of the other manufacturers. Actually we invited this sort of contact by sending an email to each of the three manufacturers before we launched our "search". Of the three, Country Coach clearly stood out in its effort to ensure we would have the best possible look-see at not only Country Coach (the product), but Country Coach the company. Since both of us have corporate backgrounds, we think we know a bit about evaluating a company. And what we found at Country Coach (the Company) was impressive at every level. Perhaps this explains why we were finding that Country Coach owners seem uniformly supportive of this Company and its products. And perhaps this explains as well why these products are virtually sold out a half year or more in advance.
Yet could this same success at some point create just a touch of complacency? One small example might be less attention to the serious RVer's desire for something a bit more useful than the existing Heart "Freedom 20" panel. Could this be influenced by the fact that since these units are completely sold out for many months in advance there isn't really an urgency to respond to these "minor" items? This of course is pure speculation. But given the extreme popularity of these top line units, it's at least an issue worth watching.
Apparently each year Dynasty and Intrigue "step up" the competition by adding new features. We've seen the outstanding features introduced with the "Dynasty 2000" line, and we suspect Intrigue will respond in kind. But we don't know at this point what that response will be, even though were we to order one today the unit we'd get would be a year 2000 model. No doubt this dilemma is caused in part by considerations relating to the long lead time for delivery. But a dilemma it is.
Alpine
Regrettably we did not have the opportunity to get as much feedback from Alpine owners -- mostly because there aren't many out there yet. What we've learned from email comments has been somewhat mixed and inconclusive. Alpine certainly has a share of strong owner support which we've heard from owners. But there's simply not enough track record out there yet to gather as much information as we've been able to do with Monaco and CC owners. We're well aware that the first year's production experienced a high number of problems, most or all of which have been addressed by now. And to Alpine's credit, it appears the older units have been invited back to the factory to be retrofitted to match the present production models. The flooring material has changed, and the carpets recently switched to a contour style only to be changed again (possibly because of a conflict with the slider?). The headlight design resulted in moisture penetration, and most recently has been replaced with more visually appealing fully sealed units. The interiors in the original models were quite bland, but apparently due to dealer and customer feedback, Alpine is beginning to show some of the splashes of color and style that make for such elegant interiors in other high line coaches. And changes appear to be ongoing at this point. One would have to conclude that further design and engineering improvements will be made to Alpine units rolling off the assembly line in Yakima as this is written.
The Alpine coach is unquestionably "fun to drive". Stephanie's decided to wait until we actually take delivery of a unit before she bites the bullet and takes one of those units down the road (predictably a fairly wide and deserted one!). After the driving phase she asked which of the three I thought she would find the easiest to drive. I said Alpine. There are two reasons I said Alpine. First, its handling is much more like driving a comfortable car, with its "car like" orientation of pedals and gauges. The more traditional (and seemingly responsive) feel of disc brakes, combined with peppy performance and stable cornering make the experience less intimidating to someone unfamiliar with driving large rigs. But second, and I fear not inconsequential, is the fact that by the time I drove the Alpine coach this novice part-time writer for RVers Online was beginning to get much more comfortable with driving big rigs. Even with this consideration, however, I think Stephanie would find the transition to the Alpine driving characteristics the easiest of the three. Of course, whether the easiest transition translates to the best result is a different question.
With Alpine, it's only logical to consider whether it might still be premature to invest in this product. Of course no product will ever achieve perfection, so the more finely tuned question is whether the evolution of these highly drivable units is now substantially complete. The other aspect of "prematurity" relates to Western RV's commitment to owner support. One of the real benefits we see in established high line coaches such as Monaco and Country Coach are the owners' groups supported by the company. Rallies and pre-rallies for these groups feature many benefits which owners clearly appreciate. At such rallies the company typically provides educational programs and free tech service support for the owner/attendees. Although the number of Alpine owners is still relatively small, we think Western RV should have prominently articulated precisely what level of support it contemplates extending to its Alpine owners. The only thing it has done thus far is to extend a membership privilege to its Alpenlite Club, comprised of fifth wheel owners. This surely won't suffice as even a medium term strategy, and if not addressed could impede the acceptance of a product we think deserves careful consideration by any RVer considering purchase of a diesel pusher.
These observations about Alpine do not change the fact that this is an exceptionally easy and pleasant coach to drive. Some features we find very attractive. The windshield is easily replaceable with a standard "Greyhound bus" issue. The holding tanks are considerably larger than either Monaco or Country Coach. And what it lacks in interior elegance is presumably reflected in price.
NEXT: Getting to the "Buy" Decision