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Old 01-28-2017, 04:54 PM   #1
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2004-2005 Holiday Rambler Navigator - General Pre-Purchase Questions

We're considering a 2004-2005 Holiday Rambler Navigator 45' coach as an upgrade from our current coach.

Our primary question, basically is:

1. As an owner (or interested party) of a 2004 45' Navigator, what issues have you had and/or that you are aware of with this particular year and model of coach?

Thanks for any input. The 2004 Navigator seems to be a very nice, spacious coach with a strong engine and a great interior layout. Best of all, they seem pretty reasonably priced.

We're really interested in hearing people''s thoughts on it.
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Old 01-28-2017, 06:18 PM   #2
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These are some of the very best coaches ever built. We just purchased the close cousin to the Navigator, a Monaco Executive. They are almost identical except for the rear cap. Our list of possible coaches also included the Navigator and the Signature. If you can live with a Cummins ISL 400hp engine, include the Monaco Dynasty in your search. You will find it very close to the Navigator.
Just a word of caution, we spent well over a year finding the right coach.

We took a notebook and took careful notes on all coaches we looked at. On some coaches, our list was over 2 pages long of items needing repair/replacement (these were usually at large dealerships).
Watch for water leaks, especially in the slideouts.
Some coaches will have a bad smell. You will notice it as soon as you walk in.
Look for tire dates. Replacing 8 tires is $5000+. You can use this in price negotiation.
Look for awning and slideout fabric deterioration.
Check the generator for hours and make sure its been serviced regularly. The Navigator and Executive have a 10k and the Signature has a 12.5k generator.
Check the engine and trans for regular service.
Watch for rust and corrosion on the under carriage and front generator.
Watch for fiberglass side delamination and paint issues. Coaches built in this era are know to have issues.
2005 has extra headroom and a few other nice updates.
The Cummins ISM 500hp engine is standard (great motor!).
If you find a coach with the optional Detroit Series 60 or Cummins ISX 525 the power is very nice! These were both very expensive options.
We found some coaches that only had a single living room slideout. We were told to avoid these models.
Plan on replacing the televisions.
The carpet in most coaches this year is marginally worn out.
If the coach came with an absorption fridge, I was going to replace it with a residential, but we found most coaches in this range came with a residential fridge, extra batteries, and a larger inverter.
Last, Aqua Hot (source of both hot water and heat) was actually an option on the Navigator and Executive, but standard on the Signature. We refused to purchase a coach without Aqua Hot.

Don't trust anything a sales person says. Research for yourself. If you find a coach you are serious about purchasing, get the VIN and call Monaco for the window sticker.
Download and study the brochures here:
Holiday Rambler Brochures – RV Brochures – Past Popular RV Motorhomes
Monaco RV Brochures – Monaco Coach Luxury RVs – Class A Motorhomes | Monaco Coach

Best of luck!
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Old 02-01-2017, 06:52 PM   #3
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Great List from vito.a. I would add a couple other things to look at.
Does the Aladdin system work as it should?
Are the molding strips where the roof meets the walls tight or are there gaps between the molding and the wall?
I bet you know how I am aware of these issues. Neither is a deal breaker though.

Dave
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Old 05-18-2017, 07:42 PM   #4
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Thanks!

[QUOTE=vito.a;3436009]These are some of the very best coaches ever built. We just purchased the close cousin to the Navigator, a Monaco Executive. They are almost identical except for the rear cap. Our list of possible coaches also included the Navigator and the Signature. If you can live with a Cummins ISL 400hp engine, include the Monaco Dynasty in your search. You will find it very close to the Navigator.
Just a word of caution, we spent well over a year finding the right coach.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to our question. Sorry it took us so long to get back to this thread, but we've been insanely busy with work commitments and traveling back across the U.S.

These are ALL great points. It sounds like what we'll have our eye on is a 2005 Signature, preferably with the Detroit or the larger Cummins.

We're full-timers in our Diplomat, and won't need to sell it first to upgrade to the new coach. So we'll be taking the excellent advice and taking our time to find the right coach!
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Old 05-19-2017, 09:31 PM   #5
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Try for a 2005 Nav, Sig or exe. The 60 series Detroit is powerful bullet proof and trouble free. Cummins of this age have had valve problems. And when a valve breaks it takes pistons, turbocharger and heads with it. Were talking $30k or more to repair. While the Detroit has no history of issues. Just drove ours 10,000 miles and and used 0 oil.
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Old 05-21-2017, 05:22 AM   #6
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We recently upgraded to a 2005 Signature with the ISX 525. It is a very impressive coach.

We have some work to do (paint front cap, slide toppers, rechrome mirrors, defog a couple of windows) but nothing that prevents us from using it.

It was the only Signature we looked at in person, but I did extensive online research. There are different layouts and we like this one with opposing couches and a dinette with couch like seating.

To be honest, we were not planning to upgrade, but this one came up for sale locally so we went to look at it and ended up making a deal. Our 1994 Signature sold in 30 days.

Paul
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Old 05-21-2017, 05:35 AM   #7
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Check for drive axle vertical arm cracks. There have been some reports of cracks in these years. The arms were beefed up sometime in 2006 or 2007. Not sure exactly of the years.

This is a very expensive fix.
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Old 05-26-2017, 06:19 PM   #8
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We have a 2005 with a release date of 2006. We were not aware of the "checking" issues with the Fiberglas at the time we bought it and unfortunately we do have a couple of areas. We have an intermittent wiper issue we are dealing with and eventually we will replace the Aladdin system with the Silver Leaf upgrade. But Overall we absolutely love this coach. It is a joy to drive and the quality is far superior to newer coaches.
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