10/07
[Ed Note: When doing what amounts to a "product review" at this site, our purpose is to report factually on our experience. We do not pretend to be "experts. Rather we are consumers, and as such we believe we're entitled to our opinions, and to comment honestly on what we've experienced. Unlike commercial publications, which have a financial incentive to simply heap praise on a new product, our approach is simply to tell it like it is -- both what's good, and where improvement is needed. We would caution readers to consider the following in the context of what was just described.]
Many RVers are reluctant to "purchase new", both because of the significant first year depreciation factor, but equally because the RV industry is well-known to produce products that require considerable warranty service during the first year. We found that to be the case with our first diesel pusher, and we have had a relatively similar experience during our first year of Alpine ownership. Our preference for purchasing a new coach was driven in part by the desire to get a coach designed to our particular specifications, and with such changes and options as we thought would best fit our RVing lifestyle. Our 2007 34' Alpine SE has been a good answer to our needs.
As with any new RV, the issue is not only what items may require warranty service, but just how well the manufacturer can and does support its buyers. Our first factory service experience was at the six-month mark, and is reported in our last article. Even more crucial to us would be our factory service visit at the one-year mark, as that would be the final opportunity to have any needed corrections done under warranty. We've now completed that service visit, and can offer a more comprehensive year-end review of our experience with our new Alpine coach.
During our mid-year factory service visit, we noted some items that were in the "needs improvement" category. Our year-end visit was a far better experience. During this period of time Western RV had been undergoing a significant ownership and management change. And the new management had clearly made considerable progress between our visits in May and October. On the date of our most recent service we were a bit apprehensive, recalling that at the six-month appointment we were kept waiting for more than an hour before a service writer was even ready to begin the intake process.
To test the waters, this time I made sure I was at the service center door at exactly 8:00 when it opened. I got about 10 feet inside, heading for the service counter, when Chris Scott came through another door from the direction of the service area. He held a clump of papers, and asked if I were Tom Gonser. He could not have been more on time.
Again thinking back to my experience six months earlier, I was concerned because the "list" of items I'd furnished, as requested, 30 days earlier, had changed a bit. A couple of items I'd been able to resolve, but a couple of new ones had popped up in the interim. Six months ago we were told "sorry, our schedule is so tight we're not able to add new items." This time Chris just wrote them down and asked "anything else?". Things were indeed looking different on this occasion.
At our mid-year appointment we left the rig and returned from Yakima to Bend (a drive of only about four hours) while our coach was in for service. It seemed as if the days stretched on well beyond the originally anticipated due date. So this time we were a bit reluctant to just leave the coach and "hope for the best". However Chris assured me he'd keep us updated on the progress, and on any changes from the scheduled due date. And he did just that. The coach was actually finished a day before the estimated completion date.
But there was more than just improved "procedure" here. While we had a number of minor items we wanted to have corrected, there was one in particular that had been troublesome. We were convinced that the HydroHot system was simply far less efficient in heating when using the diesel burner than it should have been. We had the precise same concern at the midyear service appointment, and expressed our strong concerns about it. We were told that the service crew had turned it on inside the shop, and later that day everything was "cozy inside". But that really begged the point. Our concern was that the airflow was completely insufficient. We even documented the fact that we'd used it one morning when the outside temperature was near freezing, and that the inside temperature had only gone up 5 degrees in one hour. To have our unit pronounced okay simply on the basis that inside the shop, where it was left on for several hours, and it got "cozy" inside -- was disappointing.
So this time we made the same request, specifically asking that Alpine's engineering team have a look at it. And look they did. This time our coach went not only into the service center, but for a couple of items (most notably the HydroHot issue) went to the production side as well. We were later contacted by Alpine's Chief Engineer with the news that they had modified the HydroHot system in a number of ways, including adding an additional air intake and two additional heater vents. The result has been a substantial increase in the effectiveness of the system.
Impressions at the One Year Mark
We continue to believe that Alpine deserves to lay claim to manufacturing the best driving coach in the industry. The custom Peak chassis simply performs better than any coach we have owned or taken for a test drive. Alpine owners, a congenial group of folks, never seem to tire of their discussions on "how fun it is to drive". And we now understand why.
Certain features of the coach have exceeded our expectation. The floor plan, which we compared with other high end coaches, is incredibly well planned -- and spacious. We initially did not order the washer-dryer unit because we believed that a 34' coach was too small to be able to dedicate that much space to a limited purpose amenity. At the six-month marker we'd concluded we actually have more space than we will ever use, even though we're on the road at least 6 months per year. So we decided to spring for the Splendide unit, for which it had already been pre-wired and pre-plumbed. Stephanie, at first leery of RV combination washer-dryer units, now counts this among her favorite features in our new Alpine.
The Smart Beds, Alpine's exclusive patented automatic slide out storage bins, offer massive amounts of storage, are extremely easy to access (with minimal challenge to the back), and provide a secure (always locked) place to keep all our "stuff". The specially designed three panel solar system is more than a match for a modern coach's battery-draining base parasitic loads (See separate discussion). And despite some occasional encounters we've had with MotoSat concerning our DataStorm installation, the ability to take our internet connection with us wherever we travel -- no matter how remote -- has let us continue with some key business activities and volunteer commitments that we simply could not have done any other way.
There are also a few items we'd like to see improved in the Alpine. The otherwise delightful A/V system uses a series of cooling fans that in the opinion of most Alpine owners are simply too noisy. We appreciate the need to keep heat from building up in sensitive electronics, but surely there must be a quieter way to do so. For reasons we've never understood, the power outlet next to the euro recliner and small table -- without question the most obvious place for a laptop, has the nearby power outlet wired into the refrigerator circuit. That means that without shore power, and even with the invertor on, that plug isn't hot. Hopefully that's being corrected in the current models. And the choice of an onmi TV antenna, instead of the directional "bat wing" type, clearly provides an inferior over-the-air signal when one wants to tune into the local TV stations. While not just an Alpine issue, we also think the SmarTire display is far too small to be useful, and in the Alpine is not really properly turned so that the driver can readily see it without moving. Similarly, the thermostat that controls the two heating/cooling zones, as well as the automatic genstart, is painfully difficult to see. This is due in part to where it is mounted. But even if it were mounted in a better spot it is still be difficult to read. We believe this issue is common to most coaches. Best would be a programmable, residential style thermostat that could be set to execute a command to turn on to a certain temperature each morning at a fixed time.
Despite the fact we see items that we'd still rate as "improvement needed", we'd have to rate our first year's experience with our new Alpine as most satisfactory. This is clearly one of the top coaches on today's market, and may have no equal in terms of drivability
Remember: You're Buying a Company, not Just a Coach
When doing our research both prior to our purchase of a Country Coach in 1999, and again before purchase of our Alpine in 2006, we were keenly interested in the reputation and character of the manufacturer. Shortly after our decision to purchase a Country Coach that company was acquired by National RV, creating a bit of an "unknown" status. And shortly after acquiring our Alpine, Western RV was acquired by Monomoy Capital Partners. Again creating an unknown. The Western RV acquisition was particularly complex, in that initially the acquisition was a combination of Monomoy and Bob Lee, the latter being the founder of Country Coach. Bob subsequently was involved with the re-acquisition of Country Coach from National RV, at which point he withdrew his participation in Western RV. During the transition period, and presently, Monomoy's representative, Richard Fish, has in effect been the CEO of Western RV. Fish is an industry veteran, having served in key positions both at Fleetwood and with Workhorse.
And personal experience has shown he's quite approachable, and interested in interaction with Alpine owners. We spent one full day in a focus group, comprised of a half dozen recent Alpine purchasers, plus Fish, the Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and Alpine's Chief Engineer. The WRV management team were both good listeners, and good contributors to the conversation. There is every reason to believe this type of interaction between owners and management will contribute positively to future product development -- and evidence that it already has. After our recent year-end service visit I spent more than an hour with Fish, getting a good dose of the current management philosophy, and specific programs being implemented to improve both quality and customer service. There is a clear recognition of the areas that need attention. For example, it seems evident that over the past few years employee turnover has been excessive, and employee morale less than satisfactory. Fish has implemented an entire new human relations program (which appears to have been long overdue) that has the potential to address these issues head on. While it's clear there is still much to be done at WRV, we were able to experience first hand the growing impact the new management philosophy is having during our recent visit. Employee morale was markedly improved, as was strong evidence of a significantly improved commitment to customer service and support. The management knows positive change will take time, but the plans are funded and in place, and implementation is in progress.
Bottom Line
As we now pass the one-year timeline of Alpine ownership the report has to be, on balance, positive. Clearly there is much room for improvement. But it would be difficult to identify a brand name in the RV industry that didn't fit that description. And on the plus side the trend line appears to be moving in a well-managed, positive direction. The Alpine coach is a well-designed, innovative high end motorhome that offers a driving experience arguably unequalled in the industry. One only needs to speak with an Alpine owner to confirm that opinion.
We will of course continue to report on our experience, particularly if we detect changes or trends which are out of synch with what we've described above.
Ed Note: We have one additional item we'll use to update this report when we're able to get additional information. Just before our last visit we weighed the coach on a seldom-used truck scale. While the front and back weights were in proper proportion, and the side-to-side weights were in proper balance, we had some unexplained anomalies in the corner weights. Once we're able to resolve that issue we'll amend the above accordingly.