Buying A Used BEAVER or Country Camper

[airstreamlife]

I currently have a 1995 Airstream Classic Pusher 36 and am looking to sell it and buy something newer... I started looking and have found out that BEAVER is a good one to consider. I understand that Monaco bought them years ago, screwed it up, and then went out of business.... but that if I can find one that is a 2002 or older it would be one to consider! I am not sure what the story is with Country Camper other than they had some issue a few years ago and were bought back by the founder/investor? and are now struggling to make a comeback.

So, does anyone have personal experience with either? Was one considered better than the other? Were there model years that were stellar and should be sought after?

Also, are tag axles something to consider? Thanks in advance for whatever responses I might get!

[airstreamlife]

Well, I was just emailed and that person stated that a 2003 Monaco Dynasty is TWICE THE RIG that his '05 Country Coach was or a Beaver.... is that what others think as well?

[chucknewman]

We had lunch in the Country Coach parking lot last year while doing some other things in Junction City. The factory was totally deserted. A local upholstery shop that did work for CC in the day said nothing of it coming back to life. And even if it did, it would be a vastly scaled down operation like Monaco is now. And in my opinion, that is not a reason for selecting or rejecting a well maintained and cared for used coach.

In 1996 we purchased a new Beaver Patriot, then made by Safari Motor Coach (SMC). In 2009 we purchased a very well maintained, barn housed, very low miles Safari Serengeti built in 1998 by SMC. Basically the same chassis and quality construction as the Beaver. We weren't looking for any particular brand. Just that the Safari was the best condition at the best price of all the coaches we looked at covering 5 states.

New at the time, the Safaris averaged about $200K, the Beavers averaged about $222k, and the Country Coaches averaged around $300K. Plus or minus depending on model and options for each. SMC engines were CAT and CC engines were Cummins. SMC brakes were either hydraulic disc or air-over-hydraulic disc. CC were drum and block air brakes. Both manufacturers had hydronic system upgrades and so forth. Safaris used Velvet Ride torsolastic suspension while Beaver and CC used air bag suspension.

Be aware that SMC sold out to Monaco around early 2000. Being a member of the Safari International FMCA chapter I found out there, and from other sources that Monaco built Safaris/Beavers circa 2000 to about 2002/3 using mostly SMC parts/designs. But some of the builds apparently were hybrid designs that have had issues. Friends have a 2002 Safari Zanzibar that has had several problems. The largest being that Monaco mounted the wrong sized (too small) Velvet Ride assemblies on the coach. The owner now has to install the correct ones at his expense. And apparently during this transition period not every model Safari and Beaver coach came off the assembly line the same. I personally saw a Beaver coach of this period in Arizona that had Safari name and logo on the side, and the Beaver name and logo on the rear. And it had several differences inside. The owner told me it was a hybrid design and Monaco built 5 of them.

The main point here is I would recommend a Safari or Beaver built in 1999 or earlier, OR after 2003. And of course, the Safaris and Beavers built by Monaco after about 2003 all look like Monaco coaches of that era. That is an issue only if you prefer the classic Safari and Beaver look of the mid 90's.

The most important thing is to thoroughly inspect any used coach you are interested in. We found photographs, even high resolution, can mask certain defects on the body of a coach that are very apparent when standing next to the coach. The same for the interior.

I told the salesman for our Safari to go away for 2 hours. I brought my coveralls and while Elva scoured the interior, I was on the roof and under the coach checking brakes, suspension, tranny and engine. The last thing I wanted to do was a test drive. We knew what we wanted and had the cash, and have never looked back at our decision.

Good luck to you in your search.

Chuck

[chucknewman]

airstreamlife,

Regarding your second post which went on the air while I was typing, we purchase our 1996 Patriot 3 months after our next door neighbor purchased his 1996 Monaco Dynasty. I liked some of his features more that the Beaver, and I liked some of my Beaver's features more than his Dynasty.

Both were very good coaches for the money. The MSRP of each varied with model length, but were priced about the same at the time. If you are going to rely on subjective phrases to describe and recommend a coach you might as well go to the nearest dealer and listen to the hype.

Your initial question was about Beaver and Country Coach. They are good coaches as are Monaco's and many others. I suggest you "look and feel" various coaches within your price range. Maybe have your mechanic evaluate it, and if all is well, go for it.

Chuck

[airstreamlife]

airstreamlife,

Regarding your second post which went on the air while I was typing, we purchase our 1996 Patriot 3 months after our next door neighbor purchased his 1996 Monaco Dynasty. I liked some of his features more that the Beaver, and I liked some of my Beaver's features more than his Dynasty.

Both were very good coaches for the money. The MSRP of each varied with model length, but were priced about the same at the time. If you are going to rely on subjective phrases to describe and recommend a coach you might as well go to the nearest dealer and listen to the hype.

Your initial question was about Beaver and Country Coach. They are good coaches as are Monaco's and many others. I suggest you look and feel various coaches within your price range. Maybe have your mechanic evaluate it, and if all is well, go for it.

Chuck

You're right Chuck, there are a lot of variables to consider... and I am trying to narrow down the selection pool to either a Beaver or a CC but his thoughts about Monaco did make me think twice. The one sad thing about these brands are that none of them have survived - so now what does someone do with one? I'm looking at a '98 Beaver with an interior that looks quite nice and seems to have been taken care of. I'm just afraid of having something no one wants to work on because it isn't "theirs."

My '95 Airstream is quite a unique unit and I am happy with her as she is.... but I don't see her having enough room for us as my 2 year old daughter gets older.

[chucknewman]

airstreamlife,

I had exactly the same reservations when we looked at our Safari. And the truth is I was focusing on Monaco's when looking at coaches for that very reason. Monaco is a shell of what it used to be, as is their service facility, but at least they are in business.

Since then I have found that parts are available and good service facilities can fix or replace whatever. For example, all the appliances and light fixtures still are being made and/or parts are available to repair them. When I had my engine serviced I went to a CAT shop. When I had my Allison tranny serviced I went to an Allison facility. When I broke a slideout hydraulic line several RV shops could have replaced it, but I opted to do it myself. I saved money, had the self satisfaction, and learned all about hydraulic jacks and slides.

Our friends with the Zanzibar dinged one of his aluminum side panels and he found a metal guy who fabricated a new one for him. I saw it and initially thought it was original factory. But it wasn't.

We were into bus conversions for several years and found out that buses built in the early 60's still have parts available.

The point being that their are many excellent craftsmen and mechanics out there that can do whatever is necessary.

The challenge is not finding parts, but selecting the quality service dealers from the mediocre ones. And their are web forums like this one that can help you do just that.

Chuck

[bbnuttmann]

airstreamlife -

Country Camper is the original name of Country Coach. The current company named Country Coach Corp is in the same facility as the old factory and is run by Ron Lee the brother of Bob Lee. Bob Lee currently runs OMC in the same general area in the Eugene OR vicinity. Bob Lee also was one of the founders of Monaco, which was down the street basically from Country Coach. I am not sure of Ron Lee's involvement if any with Monaco. Beaver was a long time maker also from Oregon that made very high quality motor homes for many years and competed directly with Country Coach and Monaco. Safari was another Oregon maker that built good but lower priced motor homes. And that is the short history from what I know.

I was at the Country Coach Corp facility two months ago so I can tell you they are in business. Are they the same as 2006. No. But neither is General Motors. The General is a new corp with less than half the divisions / brands of the former corp. I know I am a stockholder of the new GM. I also lost money on the old GM. Monaco is also currently in business similar to CC, but Monaco has continued to make the Monaco line with little interruption. Again, they are a different corp.

In my humble opinion Beaver, Country Coach, and Monaco all produced products of somewhat similar quality. In the opinion of the most thorough Consumer Reports type organization rating motor homes the RVCG Country Coach makes a far superior product than either Beaver or Monaco. As the owner of a Country Coach Affinity I can tell you that the quality of our motor home is as good as it gets in production type motor homes. We looked at a lot of Country Coach motor homes two years ago when we bought ours and it seems that regardless of year or model the quality and performance standards of CC is all good. When we were looking at motor homes two years ago our second favorite brand was Beaver. We loved the beautiful interiors of Beavers. When you look behind the glitz of these high end RVs Country Coach is more consistent with making sure their chassis was long enough to give you a good freeway driving experience and CCCs were large enough so you could take all your stuff. Beaver and Monaco have plenty of models with chassis long enough and CCCs great enough, but you have to check to make sure. CC almost without exception checked this for you.

Lots of people focus on companies that "survived". And yes that is part of the equation for comparing motor homes. But when looking at used ones over a couple of years old it is of little significance. Motor homes are not at all like cars. Motor homes are mostly bought parts such as motors, transmissions, axles, wheels, and so on. 95% of the focus should be on what is in front of you in THAT coach. Does the floor plan work for your needs? Does it have enough CCCs to carry all your things? Does it drive well for you? Do you like the looks? Do you love it? If the answer is yes to these questions than this is a very good candidate for your purchase. In the bloodbath of motor home and 5th wheels starting in 2008 mostly the cheaper lower quality products drove the really good ones out of business. People had less money and bought cheaper machines. That is a generalization, but relatively true. Blue Bird, Country Coach, Travel Supreme, Alpine, Monaco, Teton, Beaver, all went broke or had to reorganize. It is try National, Alfa, and Fleetwood also went bust, but it seems like the higher end got the worse end of it.

Conclusion. Concentrate on the Beaver, Monaco, or Country Coach in front of you. If it fits your needs you will have no worries about getting parts or service. None of those need many repairs anyway. For years I have a 30+ year old motor home that had not been made for years. I never had an issue with parts or service.

[Koliver]

When we bought our first Motorhome this past spring, we had looked for a few years, and had a long list of cheaper rejects that we had seen. We hadn't yet seen either CC or Beaver. The first one that was good enough to put an offer on was a 2000 CC 40'. It had the layout that we wanted, was in good condition for its age, and had fairly low mileage.

Once it was tied up with our offer, I got my coveralls on and stayed with the guy the dealer hired to do the PDI. I asked him to explain to me what he was looking at, what he expected to see, and what he actually saw, as he went thru all of the systems. The most interesting, to me, were all under the coach. I got a pretty good education in what quality was built into the CC by doing that. unfortunately, as I wanted to import to Canada, and CC hadn't done any CSI inspections before 2004, I couldn't buy that unit and let it go. The next MH that interested us was a Beaver, a 98, 38'. It has the same layout that we liked in the CC, just short the washer/dryer and one cabinet.

Again, as part of the process, I spent quite a while under the coach, and was happy with the quality of everything I saw. We have put only about 5000 miles on since buying this coach, but so far, it has been exactly what we expected. The critical thing is to get familiar with whatever you are going to buy, so there are fewer unexpected events.