Any Monaco Vesta Owners Here?

[MARKROMERO]

Originally Posted by balto

anyone drive both a ‘11 and ‘12 and feel one is better than the other? How big a deal is the engine break on the 12’s? Thanks

hey balto, the '12 is 300 hp w/exhaust brake, '11 is 260hp. Mine is a 2011, i have 300hp, i installed the exhaust brake....won't drive the mountains towing without it! If i was buying this mh i would get a 2012 that has it already. Cost of brake install was around $2500.00 and i did all the work.

[Balto]

Originally Posted by MARKROMERO

hey balto, the '12 is 300 hp w/exhaust brake, '11 is 260hp. Mine is a 2011, i have 300hp, i installed the exhaust brake....won't drive the mountains towing without it! If i was buying this mh i would get a 2012 that has it already. Cost of brake install was around $2500.00 and i did all the work.

Do you do that "flash" I've read about here that some do to get it up to the 300HP zone? Can you really tell a difference between the 260HP and 300HP? Does Diesel get sucked up more Or maybe the flash also helps MPG?

I won't be towing anything(at least that's the plan)

[Rodg495]

Balto,
I have the 2011 with out the exhaust brake. I tow a jeep and have it set to really help brake on the hills. I take the down-hill grades slowly and I DO WISH I had an exhaust brake ! Yes, put that brake on your priority list.

With regard to the 260 hp vs 300 hp., that does not change the torque output, 660 ft/lbs. Mark would know about the payback on that change and if the MPG suffers.

[MARKROMERO]

Originally Posted by Balto

Do you do that "flash" I've read about here that some do to get it up to the 300HP zone? Can you really tell a difference between the 260HP and 300HP? Does Diesel get sucked up more Or maybe the flash also helps MPG?

I won't be towing anything(at least that's the plan)

balto, as i explained in other post here, i did do the reflash thing with venom diesel. that was a mistake cause he just flashed the 2013 program, which is 300 hp, but that left me without cruise and trans downshifts when slowing down didn't happen, only when i press the accel. it would downshift. i was explained that we have a "hardwired cruise and speed output signal on 2011 and 2012 monaco without the navistar body module which is part of a "central area network". so the ecu couldn't recognize the steering wheel switches for cruise because monaco uses the VIP smart module to send hardwired voltage or ground to the ecu. i got money back from Venom Diesel and went to a international dealer to reflash back to 2011. when they did this i provided a vin for a 2012 engine with certified calibration sticker, which is the emissions certification and they flashed it in. now it took some talking and two months to get this done. we had to act like a new ecu was installed. the dealer was very good to do this but no other flashing or up dating can be done from here. the vin don't match anymore. on the power, yes it remains at 660 torque, but on the upper rpms limit, it raised it 200 rpms and it upshifts up hills and rarely downshifts on cruise going up over passes where it used to down shift regularly. before on long 7-8 grade long pulls it would top out in third gear, pedal to the floor and not get enough speed to shift forth. letting off pedal alittle it would up shift but when pressing pedal down it would downshift again. so i was stuck behind 18 wheelers and couldn't pass um. now i can! on fuel mpg's average is 11.2 after 300 gallons of fuel where is was 10.4 consistently. this is always towing a cargo trailer with two harleys and/or double pull with a s-10 truck too. without towing it wil get up to 14 mpg's, never made a long trip not towing.

[Balto]

Originally Posted by MARKROMERO

balto, as i explained in other post here, i did do the reflash thing with venom diesel. that was a mistake cause he just flashed the 2013 program, which is 300 hp, but that left me without cruise and trans downshifts when slowing down didn't happen, only when i press the accel. it would downshift. i was explained that we have a "hardwired cruise and speed output signal on 2011 and 2012 monaco without the navistar body module which is part of a "central area network". so the ecu couldn't recognize the steering wheel switches for cruise because monaco uses the VIP smart module to send hardwired voltage or ground to the ecu. i got money back from Venom Diesel and went to a international dealer to reflash back to 2011. when they did this i provided a vin for a 2012 engine with certified calibration sticker, which is the emissions certification and they flashed it in. now it took some talking and two months to get this done. we had to act like a new ecu was installed. the dealer was very good to do this but no other flashing or up dating can be done from here. the vin don't match anymore. on the power, yes it remains at 660 torque, but on the upper rpms limit, it raised it 200 rpms and it upshifts up hills and rarely downshifts on cruise going up over passes where it used to down shift regularly. before on long 7-8 grade long pulls it would top out in third gear, pedal to the floor and not get enough speed to shift forth. letting off pedal alittle it would up shift but when pressing pedal down it would downshift again. so i was stuck behind 18 wheelers and couldn't pass um. now i can! on fuel mpg's average is 11.2 after 300 gallons of fuel where is was 10.4 consistently. this is always towing a cargo trailer with two harleys and/or double pull with a s-10 truck too. without towing it wil get up to 14 mpg's, never made a long trip not towing.

WOW that sounds like a very nice upgrade and worth the flash! Did they charge you for this? If someone else wanted this done would it be almost impossible(sounds like yours was a 1 time "why not" for you)? OR could a person simply show up at a International dealer, give them a 2012 VIN # and ask them to flash my 2011 engine?

[msmith9744]

Originally Posted by MARKROMERO

hey balto, the '12 is 300 hp w/exhaust brake, '11 is 260hp. Mine is a 2011, i have 300hp, i installed the exhaust brake....won't drive the mountains towing without it! If i was buying this mh i would get a 2012 that has it already. Cost of brake install was around $2500.00 and i did all the work.

Hey Mark,
Could you repost the info on the exhaust brake? I've been looking through past posts and haven't found anything yet.

Thanks, Mike

[MARKROMERO]

Originally Posted by msmith9744

Hey Mark,
Could you repost the info on the exhaust brake? I've been looking through past posts and haven't found anything yet.

Thanks, Mike

This is for everyone......exhaust brake....1- # 7090495c92 valve kit....... 2- # 3721735c92 heater return pipe. You will parts from other source.... 1- 1/2 inch pipe tee, 5/8" hose to 1/2 inch adapter, to connect heater hose back to new pipe. And a 1/2 inch to 3/8" hose barb to get the return from valve to heater hose. 5 ft of high heat 3/8" coolant hose. Earl's 1/2" hose insulation to cover that 3/8" hose from valve to heater pipe. Go to carlile switches website and order the exhaust brake rocker switch to install on your left behind the mirror switch console. The backside of the console panel has it already stamped just got to cut it out. After install you'll need to get a factory engineer at a dealership to access and program it cause it is j1935 cans operated. When this is done they need to set it to "latching" so it don't activate untill you press brake one time. My phone number is 985-397-0693 if need to talk about it. Mark

[MARKROMERO]

Originally Posted by Balto

WOW that sounds like a very nice upgrade and worth the flash! Did they charge you for this? If someone else wanted this done would it be almost impossible(sounds like yours was a 1 time "why not" for you)? OR could a person simply show up at a International dealer, give them a 2012 VIN # and ask them to flash my 2011 engine?

well long story. after the Venom Diesel reflash, the dealer couldn't find why the cruise didn't work. wasn't till three months later that the dealer talked to a factory rep and took a look at the program and he noticed the wrong operating software. that when the idea of the 300 hp came into play. like i said the dealer has to be willing to do this and they were not at first but it happened eventually with alot of talking and also yes they charged me for this for sure. the idea came from a post in another forum on this site a guy did this with a breeze and a engine from a 2012 serrano he got the engine from at a salvage yard that still had the calibration number sticker on the engine. so i figured i can get this done! "act of congress" later done.

[VestaDave]

Originally Posted by msmith9744

I've been reading through this forum for the last couple of days and there is so much good info on the Monaco/HR line. I have a quick question about trailer brakes. I know that there is a connection for a brake controller under the dash I just can't find a connector that matches it, am I looking at this wrong? I purchased the MH in Feb of 2018 and have put about 5000 miles on it. Our last trip we drove from Oklahoma up to Niagara Falls, back down though D.C. and through the mountains of West Virginia. This was out first experience in a MH pulling a car which had a Ready brake setup. Some of those really long 7 deg grades in West Virginia had the brake smoking and that scared the crap out of me. If the car hadn't had a brake setup this might have been disastrous. Since this was our first real experience we learned way more than we wanted in a short period of time. We are going to Colorado this summer pulling a car hauler with a couple of off road vehicles on it and I'd really like to make sure we have a good trailer braking system in place. I'm still learning how to use the down shifting on the transmission but would really like to find a exhaust brake to install on the MH.

I live in California so we have really big hills here. Your comment about your brakes smoking caught my attention. It’s critical to drop gears before you start applying your brakes on a hill. You need to use the transmission to slow you down. Watch your tach and try to keep your rpms under 3k. As you approach 3k on your tach hit your brakes hard, reducing rpms to 1500 or so. Lift your foot off the brake and let the speed build back to 3k then reapply the brake hard. Repeat the process. If you start down the grade in the proper gear and use the brakes as described your brakes won’t be smoking. Rule of thumb on gear selection is that you use the same gears going down the grade as you did going up.
So, what I do as I crest a hill is choose a gear lower than I might need. I do this because it’s easier to shift up than down on a hill. On real steep grades I usually choose 3rd gear as I start down.
Sadly, I’m not aware of an exhaust brake for the 2011 Vesta. However, if you use the technique I describe you’ll be fine and you won’t burn up your brakes.

[Balto]

Test drove a ‘11 vesta this weekend. Needs a little TLC but overall looked good for a 9 year old RV.

One big issue I’m trying to figure out(not much luck with searching)...Is the leveling system when driving started to beep and would not stop while moving. The owner had me pull over and they tried to mess with the buttons(drive/auto/manual). But it didn’t help. Then we went outside and near ther right side of the door was a air pump area maybe? The owner turned a couple knobs off and then on again saying this has worked in the past to fix this issues, usually needing to wait 10-15 mins before starting her back up. Well we didn’t have that much time so we drove it back beeping the rest of the way.

Sorry for my very very rough description but does anyone have an idea what’s going on and a fix? Thanks

[Rodg495]

Balto,
The air tank and the air pump for the leveling system are on the driver's side just behind the headlight and can be seen from front with the 'hood' up. I suspect that the switching he was doing was an attempt to reset the electrical. The cut off switch for the coach is in the compartment just forward of the doorway on the passenger side. I think the best way to reset the system is to pull the fuse. I think the leveling system is powered by the chassis battery.
You should check the air pressure for the system as that can cause faults also. Was there a 'fault" lit up in red on the control panel? If you need the information on diagnostics I can send you a copy of the manual.
You didn't state whether the coach was at 'ride height' while driving. If you have a valve failure in any of the dozen solenoids you could be getting that beeping also. This condition should have the red 'fault' showing on the panel.

[Balto]

Originally Posted by Rodg495

Balto,
The air tank and the air pump for the leveling system are on the driver's side just behind the headlight and can be seen from front with the 'hood' up. I suspect that the switching he was doing was an attempt to reset the electrical. The cut off switch for the coach is in the compartment just forward of the doorway on the passenger side. I think the best way to reset the system is to pull the fuse. I think the leveling system is powered by the chassis battery.
You should check the air pressure for the system as that can cause faults also. Was there a 'fault" lit up in red on the control panel? If you need the information on diagnostics I can send you a copy of the manual.
You didn't state whether the coach was at 'ride height' while driving. If you have a valve failure in any of the dozen solenoids you could be getting that beeping also. This condition should have the red 'fault' showing on the panel.

Yes it did show the word fault in red. Seems the front lights were red too.

Interesting about switch location. We were for sure on the passenger side and two valves switch on and off in that compartment. Seemed to look like sit tanks?

I’d assume that you’d suggest this issue be found out before agreeing to purchase? Seemed to ride fine even with the fault and beeping going off /shrug

[Scott Barker]

Originally Posted by Balto

Test drove a ‘11 vesta this weekend. Needs a little TLC but overall looked good for a 9 year old RV.

One big issue I’m trying to figure out(not much luck with searching)...Is the leveling system when driving started to beep and would not stop while moving. The owner had me pull over and they tried to mess with the buttons(drive/auto/manual). But it didn’t help. Then we went outside and near ther right side of the door was a air pump area maybe? The owner turned a couple knobs off and then on again saying this has worked in the past to fix this issues, usually needing to wait 10-15 mins before starting her back up. Well we didn’t have that much time so we drove it back beeping the rest of the way.

Sorry for my very very rough description but does anyone have an idea what’s going on and a fix? Thanks

We experienced this problem on a trip to New Mexico. Found a mechanic at a truck stop who diagnosed a solenoid issue. Called the manufacturer of the air bag system who was no help. Had problem checked at authorized service center in Albuquerque, NM, where the problem was temporarily resolved until it rained and problem reoccured. Problem was subsequently resolved at an authorized repair center in Gayton, OH, Russ Truck Center. Good luck.

[Balto]

Originally Posted by Scott Barker

We experienced this problem on a trip to New Mexico. Found a mechanic at a truck stop who diagnosed a solenoid issue. Called the manufacturer of the air bag system who was no help. Had problem checked at authorized service center in Albuquerque, NM, where the problem was temporarily resolved until it rained and problem reoccured. Problem was subsequently resolved at an authorized repair center in Gayton, OH, Russ Truck Center. Good luck.

Did the second truck center also think/repair a solenoid? How long has it stayed “fixed”? May I ask what the cost was to finally fix the issue?

Thanks again