Any Monaco Vesta Owners Here?

[WALTAJ]

I guess you cannot believe all you read. I just read on line Vesta has independent front end.

Sorry I mislead.

Walter

[WALTAJ]

Originally Posted by Globecruiser

Not really... Last time I was under it (last weekend- installing the 2000w inverter), it looked pretty solid (axle) to me.

I talked with Monaco this morning after receiving the message from Globecruiser, What I read and reported on the forum was WRONG, and even tech support for Monaco did not know the turn radius.

I guess I should not believe all I read on the web.

[wilco1]

I had needed new wiper blades earlier in the year and had switched out the 32" ones for 28". I made the size switch mostly because I'm cheap and Monaco wanted $80 for the 32's and Costco had 28" Michelins for $11.

Apparently I didn't do it soon enough (ref the earlier discussions on wiper problems). Out last weekend in the first rain in weeks and the drivers side started flapping around like a wounded duck. The fitting in the arm that fits over the drive shaft had cracked allowing the drive shaft to rotate inside the socket.

No replacement blade available locally so switched the passenger side blade over to driver side to get home.

Called Monaco and they are shipping me a new arm...and now the point of this sad story: If you haven't changed from the 32" blades to something smaller, you should probably do so. IMHO the 28" give plenty of field-of-view and place much less stress on the mechanism. And you don't want to over stress this mechanism. New arms cost a stunning $270 each plus shipping! Yikes! If you happen break the black cover at the bottom during the removal...thats another $55.

Cheers,
TFW

[Sircampsalot]

Can someone tell me what this is and what it is for? I never noticed it before and then when I opened compartment it was hanging there?

It has a white plug on end (hard to see) and a fuse in the middle and located in the outdoor shower compartment.

[wilco1]

Originally Posted by Sircampsalot

Can someone tell me what this is and what it is for? I never noticed it before and then when I opened compartment it was hanging there?

It has a white plug on end (hard to see) and a fuse in the middle and located in the outdoor shower compartment.

I just looked and I can't see anything like that in my water compartment. I have red and black wires that are for the water pump but they are not encased in the plastic covering.

Are you the first owner? If not, perhaps the original owner added a heater or something.

[Sircampsalot]

I am 2nd owner. 1st was from Michigan. Funny I never noticed it as it was tucked to the side. It is a 2012 35'

[Globecruiser]

This is mainly a question to the 2011'ers of us, the ones without the exist brake system...

How do you keep your decent speed in check? What speed would that be? I am talking about 6% plus roads, for Fenway miles, and for this example, let's say no speed limiting curves.

Let's try to have a discussion about this as I do not recall reading about it here...

Thanks, GC.

BTW attached pic camp spot would require quit a few miles of this

[VestaDave]

Originally Posted by Globecruiser

This is mainly a question to the 2011'ers of us, the ones without the exist brake system...



How do you keep your decent speed in check? What speed would that be? I am talking about 6% plus roads, for Fenway miles, and for this example, let's say no speed limiting curves.



Let's try to have a discussion about this as I do not recall reading about it here...



Thanks, GC.



BTW attached pic camp spot would require quit a few miles of this

Great pic! Yes, driving down hill can be exciting for sure. When we first got ours it was actually quite scary because on steep long grades it would slip out of gear into neutral! So we would have to rely on our brakes because it would not come out of neutral until we slowed. When we complained our Allison was reprogrammed. Much much better since that was done. Now we reduce speed at the crest of the hill and select the lowest gear we needed to get to the top of it. Watching the tach, I try to keep rpm under 3200, stabbing hard on the brake as needed. Our transmission holds the gear selected fine now. If there's a long straightaway toward the bottom, traffic permitting , I just slip into 4th and let it run. Honestly, it hasn't been a problem since the fix. Glad you brought this subject up. I'd also like to hear from folks who have the exhaust brake. How does it work? Any downsides?

[Zots]

I am always concerned as I come down the Colorado mountains frequently as we have a place close to the east side of Wilkerson Pass. However, I would never come down Hoosier Pass in an RV without an exhaust/engine brake.

I also brake at the crest and down shift; however, I never let it get above 2300rpm - usually applying the brake around 2000rpm to slow down again so I never get going very fast - unless there is a long straight or an uphill at the end of the down. This process has worked very well with infrequent braking. I am a slow moving mass towing a jeep and I am not concerned how they feel behind me.

[RETRO]

Originally Posted by Zots

I am always concerned as I come down the Colorado mountains frequently as we have a place close to the east side of Wilkerson Pass. However, I would never come down Hoosier Pass in an RV without an exhaust/engine brake.

I also brake at the crest and down shift; however, I never let it get above 2300rpm - usually applying the brake around 2000rpm to slow down again so I never get going very fast - unless there is a long straight or an uphill at the end of the down. This process has worked very well with infrequent braking. I am a slow moving mass towing a jeep and I am not concerned how they feel behind me.

My machanic tells me never to get up to 3000+ rpm on down hill grades, that the MaxForce 7 could come apart at high rpm so your doing it right at 2300 rpm. Peek power is at 2500 rpm for up hill climbing and 1600 rpm is peek torque. I used to let it roll at 3000 but now I'm going to brake at 2500 as a safe guard.
My Allison down shifts weird, I have to keep pressing the down arrow button until it down shifts, even while slowing down, the numbers don't make any sense to me so I just keep pressing until I get the gear I want? Any of you have this issue with down shifting on a grade?

[orpco]

Originally Posted by RETRO

My machanic tells me never to get up to 3000+ rpm on down hill grades, that the MaxForce 7 could come apart at high rpm so your doing it right at 2300 rpm. Peek power is at 2500 rpm for up hill climbing and 1600 rpm is peek torque. I used to let it roll at 3000 but now I'm going to brake at 2500 as a safe guard.
My Allison down shifts weird, I have to keep pressing the down arrow button until it down shifts, even while slowing down, the numbers don't make any sense to me so I just keep pressing until I get the gear I want? Any of you have this issue with down shifting on a grade?

I too limit rpms down hill to about 2500. My transmission is responsive when manually downshifting with the arrow down. If rpms are too high it won't downshift. I start downhill in same gear I climbed uphill, that seems to keep rpms and speed under control with intermittent braking on steep mountain passes.

[Globecruiser]

Thank you all for the quick replies. It looks that the consensus is that you select the proper gear, usually 3rd, and apply the brakes intermittently to keep the decent rpm from going to hi. My tanny is very responsive and stay at the selected gear so it is a matter of watching the revs increase to the limits ( I usually let is go to 3k) and pressing the brakes fairly hard to get it back down to 2k. This makes the decent speed oscillate between 35 to 45 mph.

Did anybody smells the brakes using this method? I did and this is what got me to ask the question...

Alternatively you could ride the brakes keeping a consistent speed. Did anybody tried that?

[imbutafool]

Originally Posted by Sircampsalot

Can someone tell me what this is and what it is for? I never noticed it before and then when I opened compartment it was hanging there?

It has a white plug on end (hard to see) and a fuse in the middle and located in the outdoor shower compartment.

is it the power supply for your basement light in that cabinet?

[imbutafool]

Our bedroom slide started slipping a few weeks ago. We really thought that it was the only transmission from the motor to the drive shaft, but we couldn't find the transmission only anywhere. The motor by itself and the entire assembly were available, but not just the right angle gear box. We ordered the assembly from a retailer on EBAY HERE and it arrived quickly without issue. The replacement was fairly straight forward and completed in under an hour. We wanted to post pictures of the gearbox after disassembly and offer the parts number label in case any others of you have the same issue and are able to buy the gearbox only.









Have fun!

Kim & Darren
Barking noMad