CONTINUING THE FACTORY TOURS...
A Tour of Country Coach, Junction City, OR
Country Coach, through Carol Taylor-Clay, its Marketing Director, had responded to identical email inquiries we'd made of Monaco, Alpine, and Country Coach. The purpose of our inquiry was to let them know of the "mini-series" we were doing, and to ask if they had overnight facilities we could use when making the tour. Monaco and Alpine both replied. Carol said that although CC owners had "first call" on the overnight spaces, we would be arriving at a relatively quiet time, and they would be delighted to have us overnight at their service facility. We thought their preference for CC owners was completely appropriate -- and exactly what we'd want if we owned one! We subsequently exchanged a few emails in preparation for the visit. She was the "first impression" we had of Country Coach, and it was in all respects highly positive.
Early on March 18, 1999 we awoke in the "overnight facilities" for Country coach in anticipation of a 9:00 a.m. tour. The office building across the street handles the tours, and provides the customer lounge for owners having their RVs serviced. Where multi-day service projects are involved, the customer lounge becomes the home base during the day. At 8:00 Am. a service technician arrives to take the coach to the appropriate service facility; and each day at 4:00 PM the customer's coach is delivered back for overnight accommodations.
The customer lounge, while not as new or spacious as the Monaco, is nevertheless quite comfortable. We noted the amenities available for service guests included coffee, juice, and pastries in the morning, a comfortable lounge, and a dedicated set of table phones suitable for modem access. But best of all is the assigned "Activities Coordinator". This person is Kim Hills. Part of her job is to assist service guests with whatever needs they might have, from directions to local attractions to help with reservations, etc. We understand from the service guests we spoke with that they receive regular reports during the day on the status of their RV, and estimated times for completion. If Kim's job is in part to keep them happy, she certainly was succeeding! It was clear from speaking to the RVers there for service that there that they were highly satisfied with the care and attention they receive. By now we'd become more alert to watching for and noting these types of "customer relations" attitudes, because they seem to be extremely important in gauging a manufacturers "commitment" to the owners of its product.
At 9:00 a.m. Jim Reab appeared, introduced himself as the tour guide, and off we went in a company van to our first stop -- the chassis plant a few blocks away. We again found ourselves the only persons on the tour. As we'd found at Monaco, Country Coach manufactures its own "tailor made" chassis, which is specifically designed for the "house" portion it will support. The Dynamax chassis manufactured by CC for all its units is of semi-monocoque construction. We again saw airbag suspension, using a total of 8 airbags. However, the placement of the airbags was considerably closer to the center of the coach than we'd seen on the Monaco chassis. The theory of placing the airbags closer to the center is that it will absorb more of the road vibration, tending to create a "softer" ride. As we understand Monaco's choice for more "outboard" placement of the airbags, the unit should be less susceptible to "leaning" on corners, or to cross winds. Assuming both theories are correct, the difference would seem to be sort of a "driver's preference" item.
We rode by van to another building a few blocks distant where the finished chassis is rolled in, and the "house" is assembled on top. First the floor, then the walls, and finally the roof component. We saw the various phases of assembly, and each phase involved what appeared to be highly skilled workers applying their particular craft to the coach. As at Monaco, we sensed a very positive employee relations environment -- a kind of "good team spirit" that one could sense just by walking around. We saw the "in-house wire harness construction" surrounded by hundreds of spools of colorful wire. Somehow all these wires resolved into a finished, integrated, and color coded set that would service a particular size and model unit in production.
We spent a bit of time seeing cabinets being constructed, fitted, and installed. The craftsmanship and materials both seemed excellent. In fact perhaps more so than at any other place visited, we found less emphasis in the number of units produced per week or month, and instead an overriding commitment to getting each unit done as perfectly as possible.
To this end a "book" was being compiled at each stage of the process, with each page listing the tasks accomplished, who accomplished them, and a notation of quality check. At the end of the process, there are two separate (and deliberately redundant) post delivery inspections (PDI's). We observed both. In the first PDI, inspectors go through the coach looking for any imperfection; and all house systems are tested. As we passed through, we saw one of the quality control persons noting dissatisfaction with one of the burners on the stove top, which was determined to be too difficult to light. Once all the punch list items are noted, each is addressed by someone skilled in the required craft. And again there is a sign off on the corrections.
Once this PDI is completed, it goes to another set of inspectors for a complete second round of PDI. At this stage, the coach has been thoroughly cleaned, polished, vacuumed, etc to a high level of visual perfection. Again all systems are tested, and a thorough visual inspection is made. Do the drawers close properly, are they perfectly fitted, is there the slightest flaw in the paint? Again a punchlist is prepared, and again the items are fixed or replaced, tested, and signed off. Jim estimated that test driving of each coach was approximately 50 miles, with some requiring perhaps three times that if problems were detected. About 11 coaches per week are manufactured here in total. Most of the tours (offered 4 times a day) involve only one or two couples. In slow periods, there are often several consecutive days when no one shows up requesting a tour.
We learned from Jim that about 50% of the customers take delivery at the factory, rather than having the final PDI at the dealer. That way a knowledgeable person will do the delivery walk through. The owners typically stay a day or two to detect anything that requires attention -- which is promptly fixed. We also learned that most coaches are almost routinely outfitted with certain upgrades, such as the extra batteries on Allure and Intrigue, a compressed air outlet, coach armor, etc. Since each manufacturer "includes" and "excludes" a different set of items as standard equipment, making a precise "apples to apples" comparison is rendered almost impossible!
As we had done earlier at the National RV factory in Perris, CA, we asked about the relationship that ensued as a consequence of National's acquisition of Country Coach. Owners we'd talked with had uniformly spoken very highly of Bob Lee, Country Coach's CEO. He is often credited not only with the quality of the product, but with the "customer relations" philosophy of the Company. While he is still CC's top person, CC owners have expressed some concern that the ownership by National might portend changes at CC in the future. At Country Coach we were again told the two manufacturers operate quite independently from one another. While common sense would suggest that National should do everything possible to preserve the independence of the two coach builders, it's at least an issue which hasn't entirely eluded our notice.
At the conclusion of our tour of the Country Coach facilities, we felt we had again enhanced our education of RV manufacturing processes, materials and even to a limited extent, engineering. Quality construction and Company commitment to owner support were the primary impressions we would take away from this visit.
A Visit to Western RV (Alpine), Yakima, WA
Our visit to Western RV would be different from other factory visits we'd made. We have owned three Western RV products. Our first was a 26' Alpenlite fifth wheel. After a couple of years with this product, we couldn't resist the temptation to upgrade in late 1995 to upgrade to their new 1996 "Anniversary Edition" 29 foot single slider. And just last year, with both our children having young families, we acquired a 10 foot slide in camper unit, which we can also use with our one ton Dodge dually. It is precisely because we have had such a favorable experience with Western RV that we knew it's new Alpine motorcoach would be among those we'd want on our "consider seriously" list.
We arrived at the main offices of Western RV in the late afternoon of Sunday, April 4th. There were two Alpine units already parked and plugged in for the evening. We had an opportunity to talk with Bill Stringer, who had purchased one of the 1998 models in his home state of Louisiana. He was in Yakima because when Alpine had made certain improvements in the 1999 models, they decided they'd upgrade the 1998 models with many of these changes at no charge to the owners. The Stringers expressed nothing but the highest opinion of the way they had been treated by Western RV. They certainly made an excellent "first impression" on the important issue of how Alpine treats its coach owners.
On April 5, 1999 we toured the new Alpine facility in Yakima. Tours are ordinarily given on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but Mike was kind enough to accommodate our schedule (which involved Easter with our daughter and her family in Yakima). While we would have preferred a tour WITH other visitors (since we've learned their comments can be most interesting), our schedule didn't have the extra day we'd have needed to take the "regular" tour. Our tour guide was Mike Parker, a factory sales representative. The tour was the most detailed we've had, in terms of chassis design, construction and components. It was relatively lighter in terms of the "house" components. At some 3 hours in length, it was the longest in duration.
This was the first week that both the Alpine chassis and "house" were being assembled at their "new" facility. The chassis had been assembled in this new facility for the past seven months, but now it was all under the same roof. The overnight hookup facilities for both Alpine and towables are still located at the original plant on Washington Blvd, which accommodates about 12-15 rigs with electric hookups only. We met at the main offices at the original plant at 8:30 a.m. and drove to the new Alpine plant some four miles away. It is housed in two new manufacturing buildings, one for chassis assembly and the other for adding the coach.
The Alpine chassis is different from all others we'd seen. It is build on a heavy duty frame rail concept, using huck bolt fasteners. As we learned, huck bolts look like very heavy bolts, but they are fastened with such great torque that the bold literally snaps off outside the nut. The advantage of bolts over welding is said to be, in essence, that a bolted frame is not subject to stress fractures. Welding, it seems, weakens metal. While the proprietary Alpine chassis uses an air bag suspension system, it is based on four, not eight, air bags. The two forward airbags are 12", and the two rear airbags are 15". They are mounted inboard, even more so than in Country Coach. While that would seem to minimize road vibration, it would seem at first blush to allow for more "rolling" on corners. Yet the Alpine folks all uniformly say "drive ours last" -- because it will handle better than any other RV on the road. We'll be testing that soon.
The braking system is based on very large anti-lock disk brakes, rather than air brakes. The claimed advantage of the oversize disk brakes is that they will not "fade", they will run cooler, and they have a back-up hydraulic system in the unlikely event of brake failure. Reportedly air brakes have no back-up system. An engine exhaust brake is also part of the package.
The entire Alpine chassis is painted white, after being thoroughly "sand blasted" by baking soda. Reportedly this process cleans the metal more thoroughly, and makes the bonding of the white protective finish more complete. As we saw the beginning of the construction process, we could see that Alpine's concept is decidedly in favor of assembling parts, rather than manufacturing them. Thus the heavy steel components of the chassis arrived cut precisely to length, and pre-drilled for huck bolt assembly. The wiring harnesses, which we saw being created from an infinite number of wire spools at the Country Coach factory, are instead supplied as a finished product to Western RV. Even the front windshields are not custom designed for Alpine, but instead are standard issue for Greyhound buses (theoretically making replacement easier, with available products and lower costs). By concentrating on assembly, rather than component manufacture, Alpine apparently seeks to be a lower cost producer.
We noted that the chassis includes both an air chuck and an Echo Charger. Options included on most coaches include the 7.5 KW diesel genset; engine upgrade to the Cummins 330, Winegard DSS receiver, two solar panels, and the four point computerized leveling system. While the inverter is typically the Heart 2K, the control panel offered is still only the "Freedom 20" panel. They recently have added to the standard battery bank.
The house assembly was viewed from a "catwalk" observation platform in the second new building. The walkway was so new the flooring had not yet been completed. The house assembly process seemed both simpler and slower than in other factories we'd visited. Perhaps this is due to the fact their current production is approximately 4 units per week. We discussed briefly the cabinet construction, but at some distance we weren't really able to see the detail of materials or assembly for cabinet components. We understand the aluminum tube sidewall construction is quite similar to what's used in the fifth wheels. The roof is also fiberglass. There were fewer "stations" along the house construction line, with more processes performed at each "station".
The painting facility appeared to be thoroughly high-tech, with graphics being painted on, followed by one or more coats of clear finish. Mike was uncertain about the specifics of the painting process, in terms of number of coats. We did notice that the units in the "painting process" showed some signs of "overspray", which seemed already to have been detected and marked for correction. At the end of the assembly process there are two final quality control inspections. Each coach is test driven, using the same routes and personnel, during the manufacturing process. Mike estimated the total miles driven to be slightly in excess of 200 miles.
When we finished the tour, we began to reflect on the fact that each of the three manufacturers we've focused on present -- purposefully or otherwise -- a slightly different emphasis. At Western RV, the emphasis is on a chassis which has been redesigned in every detail, all for the purpose of providing the most "driveable" highline motorcoach on the road. At Monaco, we sensed a strong emphasis on the components and construction of the "house"; on paint quality with multiple clear sealing coats on all models; and the tempting look at the finished products that had just come off the assembly line. At Country Coach the tour focus was approximately equal between chassis and "house" construction. But the predominant emphasis here was one of quality control.
While each of these tours was quite different from the others in terms of presentation and emphasis, each contributed significantly to our growing "education". While we knew we were about to face some hard choices in the next few weeks, it would be difficult to do so based solely on "factory tours". So we're now on to the final round of our learning experience: to drive each of these three coaches, and evaluate their relative performance.
NEXT: The "Driveability" Testing