Country Coach Friends Inc Raises Money for Veteran Assistance Dogs of TX

Country Coach Friends Inc Rally Raises $22,330 for VA Dogs of Texas

For Country Coach Friends Inc. (CCFI), an international chapter of Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA), giving back within the communities where club rallies are held is just part of what makes belonging to this motorcoach owners club special. When 86 motorcoach enthusiasts from 9 states stretching from Florida to Washington and from Minnesota to Texas rallied at the Buckhorn Lake Resort in Kerrville Texas this past May 12-17, $22,330.00 was raised to benefit a very worthy Texas charity, Veterans Assistance Dogs of Texas.  Veterans Assistance Dogs of Texas mission it to assist in the physical and emotional Recovery and Independence in American Veterans with Disabilities by providing Service Dogs to these Veterans.  You may learn more at http://www.vadogs.org/

Last year with just 36 coaches in attendance at its annual Friendship Rally in Albany, Oregon, this club raised $8,565.00 to benefit two food banks in the Junction City / Harrisburg area where all Country Coaches were built (God’s Storehouse, Harrisburg, and Junction City Local Aid). Earlier in 2014 at the CCFI Spring Rally in Beaux Bridge, Louisiana this club raised $10,435.00 for the Wounded Warriors!

Country Coach Friends Inc. was founded on Friendship with 42 motorcoach owners signing up at the initial rally in 2011. It now numbers over 300 Coach families and Growing! Members hale from coast-to-coast. Rallies offer that quality experience you remember from pre-Country Coach manufacturer's closure, only now by necessity on a smaller scale. Member Benefits include discounts nationwide on services, parts, resort stays and more. CCFI members enjoy a robust list of benefits from Family Motor Coach Association , too, as all CCFI members also maintain a membership in FMCA. Stay connected via a monthly e-newsletter Friends to Friends. Membership and Rallies are open to owners of all brands of qualifying motorhomes  (You must be able to move from the living quarters to the driver area from inside the coach).

For club information, to sign up to receive its monthly eNews, or to join this fun-loving, steadily growing motorhome owners club, you may visit online at CountryCoachFriendsIncorporated.com. Jerry OConnor, VP of Events & Promotion, 775-742-4627, assists in the coordination of CCFI rallies and its business sponsors.

Pictured  above, left to right: David Twilley and John Malabicky of Country Coach Friends Inc, Steve Volkman of VA Dogs of TX, military veteran John Bencken with Susie, and Jim Keefe, executive director of VA Dogs

Water Tight Slideout Room Seals

Tech Talk about Slide Room Seals

Guest Post from Oregon Motorcoach Center, Eugene, OR

It’s easy to see the benefits offered by slide rooms in your coach, most obviously the added living space. This article will address the topic of keeping the room(s) water tight.

The room’s ability to remain water tight. Wiper seals and sealed joints in the room’s structure are items that should be inspected periodically, annually at least. Wiper seals, which are installed to the opening of the sidewall and the room itself, are what most owners are familiar with. The seals that are often over-looked are the type that is applied to the joints and mating surfaces of the slide room structure.

Any leaks in these locations will allow water penetration into the interior of the side wall structure. This can cause water damage to several areas, such as ceiling panels/material, cabinets, interior wall panels, wall paper, flooring and subflooring. In addition, water penetration into the side wall can cause the fiberglass exterior wall panel to delaminate from the wall structure. These can be costly repairs, depending upon the extent of damage. These seals can fail due to the sealant deteriorating over time. What we see most often is a failure of the sealant, due to improper preparation of the surfaces to be sealed prior to application. 

Watch for wet ceiling panels/material, wet flooring, wet or delaminating wallpaper. Water, occasionally rusty, can be found dripping out of the bottom of the slide room. You may also see the ends of the slide room side wall pulling, or curling, away from the structure of the slide room itself, often referred to as delaminating.  If you find any of these conditions existing in your coach, you will want to get into a service facility as soon as possible. Water intrusion into the side wall of your coach is going to cause damage. By addressing these issues quickly you will limit the damage to your coach. 

To repair these types of seals,
All sealant will need to be cut away from the seams. 

The surfaces are then ground, or sanded clean down to bare metal, or fiberglass, depending on the location. 

The surfaces are then cleaned using Sika Aktivator 205, which is an adhesion promoter and cleaning solution. 

After the cleaning solution has dried, Sika Primer 206, a black moisture-curing liquid primer, is applied. 

After the mating surfaces have been prepared in this way, seal with Sika Flex 252, a single compound, high strength moisture-curing polyurethane adhesive.                  

 –by Vern Huber, Technical Specialist, Oregon Motorcoach Center.  

Sherry’s Note: Oregon Motorcoach Center of Eugene, OR is one of the wonderful Oregon RV Repair Centers that are among the Best of the Best nationwide. Come home to Oregon for your motorcoach related needs and to enjoy the wonderful sights and attractions of this Pacific Northwest gem.  In fact, some say the Lane County Oregon area is the Mecca of Motorcoaching Repairs, Sales, and Renovations. Premier RV Services, Carrier & Sons, Carr Industries, Davis Cabinets, Innovative Coachworks, Country Coach Corporation, Millie's Draperies, Countryside Interiors, and many other shops are the place to go for your motorcoach needs.  You may Visit www.Come2Oregon.com for many great RV related resources

Club Rally Fun in Redmond Oregon this August!

The place:      Redmond, Oregon
The event:     Country Coach Friends Friendship Rally
The dates:     August 17-21, 2015
The location: Deschutes County Fair & Expo/RV Park
The agenda: FUN, FOOD, ENTERTAINMENT AND FRIENDS
                      EXPLORING A PREMIER OREGON AREA!

If you own a motorhome, love to meet new friends, and enjoy exploring new areas, Redmond Oregon this August is the place to meet up with some of the friendlies club members on the planet at the CCFI FRIENDSHIP RALLY!  A registration form for one of the most fun, well organized, high quality annual Oregon motorhome club rallies you'll ever take in is now posted at the club's website, www.countrycoachfriendsincorporated.com!

An entire sheet of activities and tours has been prepared already by rallymaster Pat Detloff. That sign up form is posted on line too.

Among the things to do while in this area:
Golf outstanding courses like the one at Eagle Crest
Hike Tumalo Mountain
Take a Balloon ride over Smith Rock State Park
Enjoy a winery tour or beer pubs tour (both are outstanding here)
Explore Redmond Caves Recreation Area - a hidden gem in this city
Revisit history at High Desert Museum near Bend (just minutes away)
Take in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument
Shop Bend Factory Stores

REGISTER TODAY AT THE COUNTRY COACH FRIENDS WEBSITE

Susan Graham Highline Motorhome Sales Specialist

A Spotlight on Susan Graham....20 Plus Years Highline Motorhome Sales Excellence

Susan Graham joined this industry a couple decades ago, back when the RV industry had very few female sales personnel selling highline motorcoaches. In a field where turnover is high, being a female sales person back in the early days was even more challenging. Susan would tell you she loves a challenge. She launched her RV sales career in 1994 with Guaranty Luxury Showcase in Junction City, OR.  When Country Coach LLC was building motorhomes (closed 2009), she was recognized repeatedly for being one of the top sellers in the nation on the Country Coach Sales Team.  She prides herself on availability to clients many of whom become her friends. Adept at knowing what a highline buyer most appreciates in a motorcoach, she has extensive product knowledge and knows engines, chassis and the nuts and bolts of a coach as well as the “house” and floorplan features. 

Today, Susan works alongside Louie Courtemanche (co-owner of Premier RV of Oregon) in the consignment coach division. Susan’s unique personality and tenacity serve her well in the competitive world of motorcoach sales. She has a cell phone that is never “off duty." After the sale you’ll find Graham’s available, too. She will relay questions she can't answer to the service manager, be it “remind me again, how do you turn a particular gismo on?” or “this light is blinking, what does it mean?” to those more serious roadside service issues that require immediate technical assistance. The deep loyalty of Susan’s customers speaks well of her care and attention to a coach buyer’s needs. Getting out to rallies and shows, meeting new people, and introducing clients who visit Premier in Junction City, OR to the beautiful well maintained pre-owned highline coaches she’s marketing these days are things she enjoys about her position in the coach sales division.  

Premier RV of Oregon is located on 20+ acres of the original Country Coach campus where all Country Coaches were built. 
The business has three separate divisions: Service/Paint&Body/Parts, PreOwned Motorcoach Sales, and Storage.  

Specializing in Country Coach, the company services all brands of motorhomes and RVs. Premier RV is known for its seasoned highline service technicians, extensive knowledge of Highline motorcoaches (especially Country Coach and Monaco), outstanding preowned inventory in the sales division, and the friendly and competent care extended to clients by all members of the Premier RV team.

Open Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm, Premier RV invites you to stop in and visit with Susan Graham and the company co-owners Louie Courtemanche and Gary Obermire. Take a tour and consider giving this outstanding Oregon company the opportunity of earning your repeat business and referrals. Address:  Premier RV, 325 E 1^st Avenue, Junction City OR 97448.  

Telephone: 541-998-2640.

Website: www.premierrvservices.com