Monday, February 29, 2016

Country Coach LP Red Failure Indicator Light Question


QUICK RV QUESTION
This morning we awoke to a red failure indicator light for LP which controls the
water heater. As we tried the stove, it wouldn’t ignite either.
Where should I look first to troubleshoot this? –2000 Intrigue Owner
 
Make sure your LP detector is on, as this device controls the shut off valve at the tank.
Because of where it is positioned it is easy to bump it off the LP Detector unintentionally.
If resetting this doesn’t solve it, I would recommend a technician check your LP system.
 
Dave Rousey, Service Division, Premier RV of Oregon

3 Highline Motorhome Technical Questions Answered

Questions from Coach Owners
answered by Kevin Kiscoan
Premier RV of Oregon of
Junction City Oregon

Q) My Country Coach Shower Door Handle is loose. How do I tighten it up? What sort of bolt head is inside?

A) A loose shower door handle can usually be tightened up at the mounting screw. Depending on the material used, the screw hole can be stripped out, thus, not allowing the screw to tighten up anymore. If a replacement handle is not available, a slightly larger screw or a screw with a different thread pattern can be used in the place of the original screw to tighten the handle. Use a thread lock sealant to help keep it tight from that point on

Q) The Engine Light on my 2005 Inspire comes on and off. My Silverleaf is not giving any error message? Ideas on what might cause the engine light to come on and off?

A) There are only a couple things that come to mind that would cause the check engine light to come on and off: 1) low coolant sloshing around in the expansion tank can cause this as the coolant covers and uncovers the coolant level sensor, 2) at an idle, the oil pressure can become too low and cause a temporary fault. 3) voltage caused by dirty or corroded connections can be the cause.  I recommend having your local engine dealer take a look for history and/or inactive codes that may be causing the light to illuminate.

Q) We bent our ladder. Where do we go to replace the original ladder for a Country Coach?

A) You can call Kevin at Premier RV and he will be happy to help! If you have the Country Coach part number located in the white tab (parts breakdown) section of your house user's guide, then we will be able to provide an exact replacement. Please know that ladders can take a couple of weeks once it is ordered but it can be shipped directly to you via freight truck.
 
Thank you!
Kevin Kiscoan, Parts Department.


Premier RV of Oregon
Telephone: 541-998-2640
325 E 1st Avenue, Junction City, OR 97447
*Located on 20-plus acres of the former Original Country Coach LLC Campus. Premier RV of Oregon is owned by Country Coach Specialists, All Brands Serviced by Highline / Country Coach Trained Technicians

Friday, February 12, 2016

Today is one for the Birds!


So I have been receiving motivational jumpstarts from DarrenDaily via text. This a.m. I listened and was reminded it isn’t WHAT is ahead of me today, it is HOW I view it, how I tackle it. I decide the mindset with which I invest my time today in various areas. Through the window as I’m doing the morning routine prior to heading off to Premier RV of Oregon the birds are singing at the top of their lungs in the big old wedding tree in our pasture. 
Like "capture my full attention and consider sneaking out and recording  them" singing! 
Then I drive the 15 minutes over to  my ‘job’ for the next 7 hours at Premier in Junction City, settle into my desk and start my day. Again I hear birds singing, so loudly that I hear them through the closed door, above the busy road traffic.  So I open the Premier RV front office door and there they are. Perched atop a leafless tree birds are massed in a large choir, singing to high heavens!
Never mind the sky is dark and overcast with a guarantee of soon to come rain. They are singing nonetheless for the sheer joy of the morning. 

The rain did settle in now and they’ve flown off I see to an evergreen tree with more cover.
Where ever I find myself today, whatever I set my hand to doing and my mind to accomplishing, I GET TO CHOOSE whether I sing.

Attitude is EVERYTHING.  Today is one for the Birds!

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Do I Need Specific Coolant for Motorhome Hydro Hot Unit



Quick HydoHot Question
A Premier RV of Oregon customer recently asked, “Do I need to use a specific coolant to top off my Hydro-Hot unit?”   

Simply put, YES! Older units use engine coolant-type antifreeze while the newer units use boiler coolant. Do not add antifreeze to a newer style Hydro-Hot unit! This requirement is due to a change in the internal construction of the heat exchanger of the unit. Newer units require a coolant that is rated as “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) by the FDA. This rating is most commonly found on boiler coolants. Boiler coolant is generally available at heating or plumbing contractor supply houses - as well as some hardware stores. It’s easy to identify which generation of Hydro-Hot you have by taking a look at the pressure cap on top of the unit. Older units have a large 4” diameter cap, while the newer units have a smaller, standard automobile size radiator cap.

--Kevin Kiscoan, Premier RV of Oregon, www.PremierRVServices.com

Outstanding Country Coach People-The Energizer Bunny



I MET A LOT OF OUTSTANDING PEOPLE DURING MY TENURE IN THE COUNTRY COACH MARKETING DEPARTMENT.  
ONE SUCH PERSON WAS THE ENERGIZER BUNNY.

The Energizer Bunny
Once upon a time there was a bright little red haired girl. Her mom and dad divorced and so she bounced from one to the other. She tried to be worthy of the love of both her parents. She grew up doubting herself. It was very important to her parents to have a pretty daughter. She didn't really feel like she fit in… She was feisty, though, and not a quitter. She taught herself to dance, and she was the BEST dancer in the school (and something I witnessed firsthand at a rally years later).  It was a difficult childhood. One day her mom brought home a new boyfriend. Opal had a bad feeling about this one…and she was right. When Opal was feeling brave enough, she went to her mother, who became very angry at her ‘lies” and kicked her daughter out on the spot. Scarcely into the double digits in age, with only her little Girl Scout metal dinner kit tucked under her arm and the clothes on her back, she left that house. She found work in restaurants lying about her age. She determined to rise above her situation, she worked hard!  She put a roof over her head, and she survived. Not only survived, but eventually thrived. She learned the 'business' from the ground up eventually managing catering operations. In a sad turn of fate, her mother passed away later in life from a terminal illness and she bequeathed quite an inheritance to her adult daughter. I like to think it was her way of making amends for letting her daughter down decades ago. My friend told me she’d rather have had her mother than all the money in the world. That’s just the kind of person she is.

I met her when she walked in for a job interview. Petite little gal. Long red hair and the most beautiful bright eyes. Always impeccably dressed and yet, what I was most struck by was her personality. I knew I liked her within moments of hiring her. And smart, my word, I envied her knowledge. In her role as Events Coordinator, she taught me so many things I didn't know of the catering business! What entrees to choose because they plate well for a huge group, which entrees to avoid. What items to Always require on a breakfast buffet, what is appropriate pricing for a pony keg, so many details. I was a rally planner of owners events with huge budgets and she was my right hand. This woman was the Energizer bunny! Our company’s management at the time had us severely understaffed in my department and I was working 60 hour weeks. She matched me hour for hour, week in and week out. When she said finally, “We need more help or I need to look elsewhere,” I did everything but throw a big girl fit asking for extra help for her. I failed. She left ...Today this little dynamo is very successful with a beautiful family. Anyone meeting her would never guess the road of hard knocks this girl traveled. 

I came out of that work experience a far better person for having spent this time with her. I think my work ethic grew even stronger because of her. To this day, she is a kick in my butt when I need one. I am  reminded No Obstacle is a dead end if you have the will to keep fighting, the determination to rise above your current situation, and the belief that there IS a way through it and beyond it. Never say quit. Always get up and try again.  Believe in oneself even if it may seem no one else does.

This amazing Country Coach friend is an Overcomer in the purest sense of the word. 

(story shared with her permission) 

Country Coach Marketing Tales--What Happens at a Show...


I love the RV industry. I especially love the people who own motorhomes. They’re a gypsy breed with a spirit of adventure. They are predominantly the kindest and friendliest of people too I have a thousand friends across the U.S. whom I would never have known if not for my job in this industry. Some are now “family” adopted into the Fanning clan and constantly in  thoughts no matter the distance that may separate us. Over the past quarter century that I have enjoyed my tiny corner in this massive recreation vehicle industry, I have accumulated a lot of memories. I have started to put some of them to paper and see where it takes me. As the old CC Destinations magazine masthead said, it isn’t just the destination; half the fun is getting there.

Let the Water Balloons Fly!

At a show in Billings Montana, my boss who always went to every show and me (who didn't normally go to FMCA shows at that time) got in a late afternoon water fight with the sales staff just before show’s close. There were four or five salesmen, water balloons, and ourselves involved in the fray. Most likely in other companies, it might result in some heads rolling for not tending to the business at hand til the show officially closed for the day. In our case it resulted in the company owner himself taking note of the stacked numbers in favor of Sales staff over Marketing staff. He took it upon himself to man the spicket and fill the water balloons for us to toss. What a crazy water fight that was! No damage to coach interiors or exteriors occurred, but there were a lot of wet salesmen…They didn't toss balloons back with nearly the same fervor we exhibited. For that few minutes we played just as hard as we all worked during that show!

After that show wound down my boss said, “We are going to be flying home on the private plane, not commercial.” OK, I thought, that will be fun!  Well, that was until we got to the airport and I realized it was a little four-seater plane not nearly big enough to appease my apprehension of going from Montana to Oregon in a small aircraft. It took every bit of self control and "mind over matter" to go ahead and load up in one of the two back seats of that little plane! I have to say the scenery was amazing, and the trip was smooth and very entertaining. We landed safely in Eugene Oregon as scheduled with me none the worse for wear. 

In fact I consider it now among the once-in-a-lifetime experiences I was only able to experience because of where I worked!


What happens at a show stays at a show!
Then there was a CC employee charged with setting up all motorhome rallies sales coach displays and at national shows. He traveled in ahead of the show or rally and set the coach display area. He rented landscaping, seating, and show display décor. He made sure there were telephone lines and power set for powering up the display motorcoaches so they could run a/c or heat as the case may be. He was charged with taking care of the display throughout the duration of the event. He had a staff who tidied the coaches each early a.m. of the show…He was a jack of all trades. He was the first in and the last out from the sales and marketing departments for any show my company attended. 

Boy, he had a lot of stories—things that happen on the road during shows and after hours. The first advice he gave me was, What happens at a show stays at a show.”  Well, in his case, sometimes it does travel home with someone. We were at a show in Minot North Dakota years ago, and a spark was ignited between one of the girls he hired through a temporary staffing agency to ‘watch the doors’ of our coaches. (We’d do this so we could limit the number of people who got into a coach to look around at a time. They were always outgoing, and had a certain “look” --the coach door girls. John interviewed them ahead of the show and chose the staff himself.)

At this particular show, a door girl and John struck up a friendship. By show’s end he had decided to rescue this girl from a bad situation by loading her belongings on the show truck and moving her back to Oregon with him. And that's exactly what he did! They went on to marry and I believe have built a good life together.  You just never know what might happen at a show.


....Again I say, Country Coach, Thanks for the Memories!

Country Coach Club Charities Benefit from Badgeless Offenders


Another Memory of Rallies I Had the Privilege to Help Plan...

Sheriff on Patrol

Motorhome owners are generous souls. Our Country Coach rallies always had a designated charity, Children's Miracle Network, Dogs 4 the Deaf, Wounded Warriors, Junction City Local Aid, and others. 

The rally “sheriff” patrolled the rally grounds looking for people who DID NOT have a rally badge on. 

Joe Mills was the sheriff for years. Then we designated a West Coast and an East Coast Sheriff. John Malabicky was the West Coast Sheriff. He assessed a $1 fine to all badgeless offenders, and he was VERY GOOD at his job. He had ingenious ways to catch you without your badge. He’d knock on your coach door in the morning. If you stepped outside to see who that was, he’d step up and fine you for being with out your badge. Nevermind you were still in your robe!   

At one rally on the East Coast, there were two sheriffs. Joe the old timer and John the new sheriff. As I recall, Joe watched John like a hawk at that rally. And sure enough before rally’s end he was able to catch him out on the beach walking without his badge! A fine was assessed, a photo taken, and it was the highlight of Joe’s rally I think! 

Every dollar raised went for charity and it was all in good fun. Rally attendees LOVED to play along. Some would say when caught badgeless, “How much to have you not bug me for the rest of the rally?” John would say "one hundred bucks" or some outrageous amount, which many times the attendee paid and  had a badgeless rally. Those dollars sure added up--to the benefit of charitable causes in the area where the club was rallying!
CCFI Auction Item Country Coach Wagon crafted by Vern Meighen. 
These days there is a large charity raffle and auction at a rally. Attendees bring gift basket, and art pieces, and jewelry, and many clever things to donate. sponsors donate stays at their luxury resort. Club members have hosted elaborate dinners and wine events in their casitas at luxury resorts. They auction is always fun to watch as the auctioneer is entertainment in itself! 

The best part is that it all benefits a good cause and owners just seem to always get on board and play along....

Country Coach Friends Incorporated is an outstanding example of Club Charitable Giving.