Once we'd made our decision and placed an order for our new coach, we began looking forward to the day we'd actually complete the purchase transaction and take physical possession of the new unit. As it turns out, those would be at two distinctly different locations -- though both in Junction City, OR. When we placed the order for the new unit, we'd made a decision to "take delivery" not at the Dealership (Guaranty RV), but rather at the factory. We've taken delivery of other RVs at dealerships, and the experience has been somewhat uneven. In some cases it seemed as if the person at the dealership was not entirely familiar with the particular brand of unit we'd purchased. We have no idea concerning the qualifications of Guaranty's personnel to do what is sometimes referred to as the "pre-delivery inspection", or "PDI". We did anticipate, though, that by taking delivery at the factory we would likely have the benefit of doing the PDI with someone who is intimately familiar with Country Coach products. And we were not disappointed.
But before we could get on to that process, we of course needed first to experience the downside of buying an RV -- paying for it. We arrived at the Guaranty dealership in Junction City midmorning on September 9th. Our salesperson, Susan Graham, had just returned from the factory where she'd apparently completed her own inspection of the new unit, and told us she found everything in good order.
But first the paperwork. Just as in the purchase of a new car, there are forms for everything. We were interested to note that one documented the number of miles on the rig at the time it was ready for delivery. That number was 93, and represented the total distance driven during the testing process on the new coach. As we'd learned, this included not only routine testing to ensure the systems were all adjusted properly, but also a choreographed series of maneuvers, such as easy, moderate, and hard "stops" to ensure the brakes were properly adjusted at the time of delivery. Other tests include instrument measuring of the interior "road noise", to ensure the unit would fit within the manufacturer's continuing claim to have the "quietest" units in the industry.
The paperwork was handled in Guaranty's Business Office that day by Polly Wells, who obviously knew her way through the paperwork. She was fully conversant with the options for buying a rig in Oregon which would be licensed elsewhere. Oregon, sigh, has no sales tax. But our state -- Washington -- has a hefty one. So we'd have to get a 10 day "trip permit" to allow us time to get home and cough up the extra funds for the Washington sales tax and registration fees. We're aware that some would argue in favor of "creative ways" to avoid payment of these fees, but in our view they are both risky and wrong. We'd figured the cost of tax and registration into our budget before buying the unit. So at least there were no surprises here.
Polly provided extensive information about an available Extended Service Protection plan available through United States Warranty. This plan, which must be purchased before the last six months of the manufacturers warranty, extends the warranty mileage to 85,000 miles or 7 years. The list of items covered by the extended warranty is extensive. And of course the cost is substantial. We ordinarily do not opt for extended warranty protection on new purchases. But a purchase of this magnitude is at least cause for careful consideration, since major repairs on motorhomes can be substantial.
We'd note in passing that some readers had offered up a recommendation that when we took delivery we should "hold back" a portion of the purchase price -- perhaps 5% -- to ensure that any corrective work that was found would be promptly handled. However, we had not made that part of the original "bargain". And beyond that, our post sale experience with both Susan and representatives of Country Coach had given us confidence that we were dealing with reputable individuals.
With the paperwork completed, we packed up our stack of papers and went off to the Country Coach facility to begin the delivery process.
We arrived shortly after lunch, and were taken into the "delivery room" -- a large carpeted indoor facility big enough to handle multiple large coaches. Our unit was spotlessly shiny, and standing as it was on its own "carpet" seemed as if it were being prepared for pictures in a new brochure. After a quick walk around the exterior, we went into our new "home away" for the first time. When we'd picked out the interior fabrics, colors, woods, and tile we'd been working with swatches and samples. Now, for the first time, we were seeing it all "put together". We were both excited at what we saw, and relieved we hadn't made a major miscue in selecting interior colors or textures which wouldn't work well together. On the table was a big basket of made-in -Oregon goodies, wrapped in sparkling celophane, which was from the "Country Coach Team".
We were shortly introduced to Shannon Thatcher, who had been assigned to do our "PDI". Shannon was a bright and professonal young employee of Country Coach who had spent previous time doing deliveries of their Prevost bus products. More recently he'd been assigned to the motorcoach side. He'd already done a number of Intrigues like ours, and he had with him an extensive checklist of the items he wanted to cover. He asked whether one of us would like to carry the checklist and tick off the items as we went along. Stephanie volunteered to do just that. And so we began what was to be an extensive process exending well into a second day.
For the balance of Day One, we began at the front door and progressed over the next few hours through each of the bays -- going clockwise around the unit. Each door held some new surprises. For instance, the first bay door encloses the Intrigues propane tank. This isn't like the propane tanks we've seen on our other RVs. This one is huge by comparison, having a total capacity of 42.7 gallons. By the time we reached the second bay door, we'd already begun to appreciate the fact that to open these doors there is only a single latch in the middle -- not two separate latches on each side of each door, as we'd seen on last year's models. Behind the second bay door we got our first look at the first portion of our storage area. Here's where we'd opted to put a sliding tray, which pulls out to provide access to all the gear that would soon be stored on it. This bay extends clear through to a bay door on the driver's side -- a volume of space which seemed cavernous compared to other RVs we've owned. And if that weren't enough, the next bay door revealed a second "clear through" storage space.
As we progressed further back, things became a great deal more complex. When we opened the battery bay door, we saw three enormous batteries -- two house batteries and one chassis batteries -- all equipped with disconnect switches. Together, these would provide some 720 amp hours of energy to power the chassis and house.
Approaching the back of the rig we began encountering engine components, including two diagnostic ports for the Cummins 8.3 ISC (350) turbo diesel engine. In the engine compartment itself, we found an engine kill switch -- a safety feature to protect against surprises while working in that area. Another helpful device was a light on a "travel cord" which helped visibility while working in that area.
We made careful note of the various places to check fluids, and literally took notes on some of the more complex (to us) things to check, watch for, and if necessary replace. Shannon was not in a hurry to just "get this over", and patiently responded to our questions -- of which there were many. By the time we'd "rounded the corner" from the engine compartment, we were already approaching two hours into the process. We were hoping we'd make it back to the front of the coach before Day One was completed -- which at times seemed somewhat in doubt.
Passing by a section devoted to radiators for several chassis components, we made it to the plumbing bay. Here things began to look much more familiar. We were pleased to note a feature we'd missed earlier: a switch that could be turned while attached to city water which would automatically fill the coach's water tank, and then shut off. The phone connection was a marine style connector, but happily comes with an adapter which will work with any standard phone connection.
In the next compartment, which was mostly storage, there was a carpeted segment of "box". Inside this unit was the 50 amp shore power cord. The 2000 model Intrigues offer an optional power reel which feeds out the cord using a toggle switch, and reels it back in when it's ready to be stored for travel. When this was demonstrated however, it didn't respond to the toggle switch. As it subsequently turned out, the cord had been extended out too far, causing a glass fuse to blow. When this happened a second time, some of the service personnel went into action to find out what was causing the problem. Before we departed, they had talked to the unit's manufacturer, who had authorized replacing the fuse with one of larger amperage -- which appears to have resolved the problem entirely. Another storage bay door revealed a winch handle just below the slider unit. Shannon explained how this could be used to manually wind the slider back in if there was ever a malfunction of the slider mechanism.
After spending a bit of time in the generator bay, we finally reached the forward part of the coach on the driver's side. This last bay too had a number of "must learn" items, including three air lines with valves which should be "blown off" briefly after being parked for a few days. This apparently helps keep moisture out of the air lines.
With only a few minutes left in the normal working day, Shannon gave us a quick tour of the inside -- just enough to make sure we'd know how to operate the essentials inside. Happily, this was much more familiar territory, and the intricacies of the coach interior would have to wait for Day Two. Since we hadn't been through all of the various driver's controls yet (and also because I was a bit timid about backing the thing out of there!), Shannon was kind enough to move our new coach out of the delivery building, and over to where we'd have it parked for the night.
That night we reviewed our notes and mental impressions from what we'd learned that afternoon, and made up a checklist of items we'd want to inquire further about the next day. We also did some exploring of the interior, in preparation for the next day's continuation of the PDI. We found that the sheer mass of data we'd received had been almost more than we could digest, even though Shannon had been extremely careful and patient in explaining each item to us. We'd lost track of what the "echo charger does", the check points on hydraulic fluids, where to find the low point water drains, and other matters that simply hadn't registered permanently with either of us.
After reviewing these items with Shannon the next morning, we began our tour of the coach's interior. This time we started at the driver's seat, examining the purpose of each button, switch, guage, or other item. I can reliably report that it took quite a lengthy time to progress beyond the driver's chair! Since we hadn't driven a diesel pusher before, much of this was new to us. But by asking lots of questions, and soaking up the answers as best we could, we soon felt we had at least a comfortable starting point for driving this new machine. Once out of the driver's seat, we hit another point that we wanted to understand with absolute certainty -- the slider.
Our particular coach is equipped with a "galley slide". The slider is comprised not only of the galley, but the driver's side couch. This encompasses virtually all of the area between the back of the driver's chair and the wall which separates the galley from the shower/vanity area. The slide out width is approximately 20". When the slider is "in", the presence of any slide-out space is almost completely "invisible". And when it's out, the coach simply seems more spacious -- again with the specifics of the "slider space" being almost invisible. But having had a slide-out unit in our Alpenlite fiver, we were savvy enough about sliders to want to make sure we understood *everything* about its operation.
To begin with, the slide is not operational until two separate keys are "on". One is the ignition key; and the other is a separate key which activates the slider control panel. As soon as both keys are switched "on", one is treated to a synthesized voice message which cautions about checking to ensure that the driver's chair is forward, the bay doors are closed, etc. There is one more check "the voice" doesn't tell you about -- and it's very important. Before sliding the unit out, Shannon opened the driver's window and invited us to stand near it as the unit was sliding out. As soon as the unit began sliding out, there was a huge rush of air coming in through the open window. No light breeze this -- it was a STRONG wind. Shannon's point was well made: before sliding in or out, it's imperative that one or more windows (or the door) is open so that air can freely flow in or out. Otherwise, the trapped air will have nowhere to go except through the seals which surround the slider. This has apparently been a problem with motorhome sliders generally -- and this was the first we'd heard of it. We were aware of RVers having lots of problems with sliders (though fewer with Country Coach than most), and we now of course wonder whether some of these problems may have been caused by RVers not having been properly instructed in the procedures for sliding in and out.
By the way: Once the slider has been extended, we needed to be reminded to shut off the ignition key AND the slide control panel key. And especially if kids might be around, it's a very good idea to take the slide control panel key and store it in a safe, out of the way spot.
Another interior feature totally new to us was the air leveling system. While the coach can be leveled manually, by touching keypads to let air out of either side or end of the coach, the "automatic" mode will take over if the keypad is tapped twice. There is a diagram of the coach on the panel, with LED lights which show which portion of the coach is "high". By using the automatic function, the system will first let air out of the "high points" to achieve a level posture. If this is insufficient, it will begin inflating the low points until the unit is level. Each airbag has approximately 7 inches of travel, which we've found so far has been satisfactory for even fairly uneven surfaces.
By the end of the morning we'd thoroughly canvassed every nook and cranny of the interior. We let Shannon explain to us even the things we thought we already knew. And occasionally we found we really didn't know it quite as thoroughly as we might have. We'd saved the awning system for last (it was a new type for us), and we decided to complete that part after lunch. Meantime, a few items had been noted (like a bay door which latched imperfectly), and Shannon called in the service techs for some final adjustments. In the early afternoon we reviewed the remaining questions we had, got checked out on the awning package, and were about ready for our first solo travel in the new rig. But before we departed, we had a number of visitors from Country Coach, the main purpose of which was to know who it was at the factory we'd be calling if we had questions or service needs. Everyone seemed to be sharing in our excitement. Just maybe we were experiencing the first of the "Country Coach Family"...
By mid-afternoon the process was complete. We felt a bit overwhelmed at what was for us almost "information overload". We were extremely happy, in hindsight, that we'd arranged for the PDI process to extend over a two day period. I'm sure we were able to absorb more by breaking up the process a bit.
We think our decision to opt for a factory delivery was -- at least for us -- the right one. We had the benefit of being coached by someone (Shannon) who is completely schooled in Country Coach -- and only Country Coach. At a typical dealership, which may handle RVs from a number of different manufacturers, it's hard to imagine that any individual could be expert in all of them. Moreover, when we did find a few items which required immediate attention during the delivery process, we had experts right there on the spot to address these issues. We're aware that many manufacturers either do not offer factory delivery, or actively discourage it by placing an unreasonably high pricetag on it. We don't pretend to know the reasons for why some manufacturers offer a quality factory PDI, and others shy away from it. But again with the benefit of hindsight, we're glad Country Coach makes it an easily available part of the purchase experience.
As of this writing we've put some 1700 miles on the coach in the first 10 days. Our next installment will talk about what goes right, and what does not -- and what our experience in dealing with these initial matters has been. We'll also offer comment on two aftermarket products -- a MotoSat dish, and a Blue Ox towing system, along with the folks who do the installations.