Anyone seen and buying a 2011 Monaco?

[bigdomino]

Wondering if anyone is thinking about buying one of the new modles coming out from Monaco? The Diplomat with a tag axle looks very nice. Not sure about quality and longevity of Monaco.

Went to the Tiffin plant last week and they had a backlog of 500 units.

Steve__

[DriVer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigdomino Not sure about quality and longevity of Monaco.

Steve, In regard to longevity, I do not expect that Navistar will allow Monaco to fail or close its doors. Navistar has wanted to be in the RV business for a long time and now that the RV business is turning around some, I believe that Monaco will be around for quite some time.

[The Texan]

While in Bend OR a couple weeks ago, we spent one morning crawling through, under and in, both a 2011 Endeavor full wall slide and the Neptune 4 slide model. There is a major difference in materials quality between the 2, but build quality seemed very good in both. Where there used to be all kinds of debris left by the builders on the line, they are spotless today. The hidden fit and finish seemed way above average, from the past and the materials used in the Endeavor were a big step up from those used in the Neptune. Is there a valid $75-$85K difference between the two, IMHO yes, the 43' Endeavor was on par with what the last of the old Dynasty's were in the 08/09 models. Would I buy a new 2011 Endeavor 43DFT at $335K, I don't think so, as the day of the behemoth is about to come crashing down.

The salesmen there had attended a Navistar meeting within the past month and said that Navistar was going to offer an entire new line of aerodynamic, fuel efficient class A, with the roll out to be in June/July and they will be displayed at the FMCA rally in Redmond in August. They are expecting to see the current lines dropped or greatly reduced starting with the 2012 model year. Hope this fills in some of the information you were looking for.

[Bill2]

There are ten of the new units here at the diesel pusher rally in Goshen, In. They have the endeavor, neptune and ambassador here. I think there is also a navigator. They are a great MH. and I believe will be around a long time. The HR name is one of the best in the industry.
Bill

[ImagineIF]

Bob,

What did you mean by this, "Would I buy a new 2011 Endeavor 43DFT at $335K, I don't think so, as the day of the behemoth is about to come crashing down." I just bought a 2008 Beaver Contessa Westport 42. Unless my research was wrong, the 42 didn't do any worse in fuel burn than most 38s. My decision on a 42ish versus a 40ish was really about getting that 3rd axle that, I believe, greatly improves the ride.

Just curious,

Gil

[The Texan]

I was talking about the day of large RVs ending, with high fuel prices and loss of income by potential RVers. The industry itself is also betting on this, as they are downsizing their offering and in just a few short years, I don't even see a 40' and over motorhome being offered by the industry. If you attend the FMCA Rally in Redmond OR this August, you will see what they are going to, as the manufacturers will show their new lines there.

[ShapeShifter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Texan and in just a few short years, I don't even see a 40' and over motorhome being offered by the industry.

They may cut back, and you may not see as many of them, but I just don't see them going away. There will always be a certain segment (that I'm not a part of) that doesn't care about cost, and simply wants the best. Even if it's limited to the Prevost and Newell crowd, I still see them being available one way or the other.

[The Texan]

Here is a link to the info I was trying to convey, directly from Monaco RV, LLC. I agree that maybe one or two high end manufacturers will continue to build a few for the super rich, but the typical RV manufacturer will not be there.

[ramblin10]

At the HR pusher rally in Goshen there were 3 Neptunes (all 40s) sold and one pre-owned 2008 Scepter the same dealer also planed on bringing a 43dft Endeavor and a 37 Neptune but sold them just prior to to coming to the rally. There was a lot of buzz about Navistars potential to be a real game changer.

[BillFleming]

I drove 1600 miles to execute a prepurchase arrangement on a new 2010 Diplomat. I currently owned a Monaco 38PDQ. Both my wife and I were terribly disappointed in what we found. This was a Navistar Monaco and the quality of construction was inferior as comparied to Monaco built prior to the bankruptcy. Long story made short is I found and bought a 2008 Executive with 8k miles and am so very happy I did. It is so much more coach and much better built than the current Navistar Monacos.

This is only one mans opinion, but hopefully it may cause one to carefully consider purchasing a Navistar. They aren't the Monaco of yesterday.

Best to you,

Bill

[Diplomat Don]

You wouldn't know by the new Diplomats that offer nothing under 40' that Monaco is downsizing.

Personally, I think they made a big error moving the Diplomats to 40'+. Winnebago is going back to offering 34' and 36' diesels.

I get so tired of hearing the RV inductry and dealers telling me that everyone wants 40' plus coaches. When we were shopping for ours, they couldn't keep the shorter coaches on the lot.

[itdave]

They either needed to lighten the Diplomats or make it long enough to add a tag axle. It is almost impossible to keep the rear of my 40 ft PAQ (actually 40' 11") under 20K. Without adding any personal stuff I think my rear comes in at about 19,800. So if they want to keep the tile, washer/dryer and other built in stuff they needed to add the tag axle.

[AKBrick]

itdave,
Last week at thier barbeque, I was told by a salesperson at Guaranty RV in Junction City that one of the reasons Monaco added the tag to the Diplomat is because of the new Cummins engine's low NOx system. Apparentley there is a box with some sort of desicant/chemical in it's emmision system that is very heavy and put the coach over the weight limit. That was good to know. The new Navistar/Ingersoll Rand engine that will be put in the coaches in the near future does not have that system. I believe Driver explained that somewhere in one of his posts.
Later,
AKBrick

[Denali]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Texan ...The salesmen there had attended a Navistar meeting within the past month and said that Navistar was going to offer an entire new line of aerodynamic, fuel efficient class A, with the roll out to be in June/July and they will be displayed at the FMCA rally in Redmond in August. They are expecting to see the current lines dropped or greatly reduced starting with the 2012 model year. Hope this fills in some of the information you were looking for.

I was at the factory three weeks ago. They were building six coaches per week, and none of them are "aerodynamic, fuel efficient class A" rigs. They were Diplomats, Caymans, Neptunes, etc. I counted 42 brand new coaches sitting in the lot next to the factory. That's seven weeks of production. No new models there.

The only potentially "aerodynamic, fuel efficient class A" I saw was a chassis (no body) of the new front end diesel coach. It will be the Monaco Vesta and Holiday Rambler Trip. It's a 32' coach. Three weeks ago they were no where near completion of the prototype of this rig, though.

There are selling a Class C, the Montclair, but those are being built in Elkhart so I did not see that assembly line. All diesel rigs (plus lots of towables) are built in Coburg, OR.