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Old 07-19-2013, 11:45 PM   #1
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Monaco Cayman 36ft

Hello,

Looking for advice into buying a used Monaco Cayman 36ft. Will like to hear the con's and pro's and the most practical MH insurance.

Thank you.
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Old 07-20-2013, 07:16 AM   #2
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Yukon,

I have a Monaco Cayman and love it. You didn't say what year... and it matters. The Cayman uses a Roadmaster RR4R and some have had significant trailing arm problems. If your's is in that group, make sure you have a qualified mechanic check that the originals have been replaced. In my mind, there are only two replacements that are acceptable... One is made by Source Engineering and includes a general upgrade of all major components. The other is the second revision produced by Monaco (produced around 2010). Monaco had an initial recall of their trailing arms, but the replacement wasn't much better. The second replacement (after Navistar bought Monaco) was much better.

Other than the trailing arm fiasco, I have been very pleased with my coach. I upgraded the shocks and that greatly improved my ride. Other than that, it's been left untouched.

As far as insurance, there are going to be a lot of opinions... kind of a Ford vs. Chevy thing. I use Progressive and have been pleased thus far.

Let me know if you have other specific questions.

Ron
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Old 07-20-2013, 05:20 PM   #3
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yukon2011....Our friends have a 2007 36' Cayman and it's the roughest riding DP I've ever been in. The Caymans use the 4 bag system while the models in the levels above that use an 8 bag system. Monaco is known for having a little rougher ride because of the multiple bags, but it's also one of the best handling.

The Cayman was plagued by bad trailering arms. They are the two large arms that extend under the rear end (trailing) that support the rear end, shocks and air bags. There were three different designs used over a period of a few years and two of the designs will crack and the rear end will literally break loose.

No offense to "RonaldNC", but as I said, many have dumped the Cayman because the ride has beaten them up so badly. On "RonaldNC" his is a 38' and probably has a better ride. I put new shocks on our friends 36' Cayman, adjusted the ride height and tire pressure and it still has a harsh ride. It's so rough in the back, that it throws their clothing off of the closet hangar rod.

They do make a ride enhancement kit for this coach which includes the new trailering arms, softer air bags, new shocks and additional air tanks. I think the price is in the $3500.00 - $4000.00 range.

I would take a long test drive in the coach you're looking at and don't let anyone tell you it's riding rough because it's not full of water, fuel and supplies.
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Old 07-20-2013, 06:14 PM   #4
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Ditto on Diplomat Don. I own that same coach in a 38 and was so disgusted with the ride that I changed out all the bags,shocks and trailing arms,as well as the engine cooling fan; the changes made a huge difference but the ride is nowhere close to my 96 Exec.
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Old 07-20-2013, 06:57 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Diplomat Don View Post
yukon2011....Our friends have a 2007 36' Cayman and it's the roughest riding DP I've ever been in. The Caymans use the 4 bag system while the models in the levels above that use an 8 bag system. Monaco is known for having a little rougher ride because of the multiple bags, but it's also one of the best handling.

The Cayman was plagued by bad trailering arms. They are the two large arms that extend under the rear end (trailing) that support the rear end, shocks and air bags. There were three different designs used over a period of a few years and two of the designs will crack and the rear end will literally break loose.

No offense to "RonaldNC", but as I said, many have dumped the Cayman because the ride has beaten them up so badly. On "RonaldNC" his is a 38' and probably has a better ride. I put new shocks on our friends 36' Cayman, adjusted the ride height and tire pressure and it still has a harsh ride. It's so rough in the back, that it throws their clothing off of the closet hangar rod.

They do make a ride enhancement kit for this coach which includes the new trailering arms, softer air bags, new shocks and additional air tanks. I think the price is in the $3500.00 - $4000.00 range.

I would take a long test drive in the coach you're looking at and don't let anyone tell you it's riding rough because it's not full of water, fuel and supplies.
Don,

No offense taken. I guess it depends on what your experience and budget is. I upgraded from a 32' Rexhall and the ride in my Cayman is infinitely better and much more stable. I also drove a Knight (8 bag) and liked it better... but it was $50k more! My guess is that your Diplomat rides even better. I have a friend with a 10 bag system and it is awesome... of course not as good as a Prevost I rode in once.

My only real complaint was the "porpoising" (sp?) when I hit big bumps. I upgraded to some really nice Bilstein shocks and it cured the problem. At the price point of my Cayman, I figured I could buy the Source Engineering ride enhancement kit and still save a bunch of money. However, after driving the Cayman for 17,000 miles... I think I'll keep my money.

Drive safe!

Ron
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Old 07-20-2013, 08:09 PM   #6
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I have an 07 Neptune which is the sister to the cayman. Compared to a ford and workhorse chassis my Neptune rides really well. Also, my dad has national rv trade winds on freightliner chassis and has driven mine and says mine rides and drives much better than his. Mine is definitely not a Cadillac but at its price point I'm just saying that its a fair ride. Of course that's an opinion so I suggest the OP make his own decision. I can add that new bilstein shocks and air ride adjustment made my coach ride better and after 6000 mile trip out west not a one hanger flipped off closet rod.
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Old 07-20-2013, 09:34 PM   #7
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RonaldNC.....Make sure your ride height is adjusted exactly (pretty easy to check). If it's off a little, it will substantially affect the weight transfer and not ride as well as it can.

I have the 36' Diplomat with the 8 airbags and I've done a LOT of work to make mine ride decent. Because it's so short, it doesn't ride as well as the longer coaches. Even going to 38' substantially improves the wheelbase/ride. My wheelbase is the same length as my previous 32' Workhorse chassis.
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Old 07-21-2013, 05:23 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Diplomat Don View Post
RonaldNC.....Make sure your ride height is adjusted exactly (pretty easy to check). If it's off a little, it will substantially affect the weight transfer and not ride as well as it can.

I have the 36' Diplomat with the 8 airbags and I've done a LOT of work to make mine ride decent. Because it's so short, it doesn't ride as well as the longer coaches. Even going to 38' substantially improves the wheelbase/ride. My wheelbase is the same length as my previous 32' Workhorse chassis.
Don,

I don't know how to check ride height... or adjust. Do you have any instructions or documentation? I always like to make things better on my coach... especially when they're free!!!

Thanks,

Ron
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Old 07-21-2013, 02:34 PM   #9
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RonaldNC...Checking is easy. Look in your owner's manual and see if they give you the ride height numbers. If not, send an email to Monaco with your coach number and ask them for the ride height. If you send them an email, also ask them for a copy of your data card. This card has all of your build information, including serial numbers for things like your engine and trans. The card is free.

Once you have the ride height numbers (they'll be something like 8 5/8" front and may be 10 3/8" rear. Your front air bags are controlled by one valve, so you only need to check the height on one side or the other. While kneeling down near either front wheel look in at the air bag. The airbag is mounted between two metal plates. You need to measure the distance between the two metal plates, not the plates themselves, but the distance between them where the rubber bag is attached.


I use this to make the measurement. I open it up until the distance between the two ends is the ride height number. This works well because it fits around the airbag. You can see that I have my ride height numbers marked and I leave this spanner in the coach. I stiff piece of wire/rod bent in an arch so that the distance at the end points is correct wells too.

The rear has two ride height valves, one for each side, so you need to do the measurement on both sides. If the ride height needs adjustment, the rears are done first so that it's sitting level side to side. The front is then adjusted and you air down the coach. Air it back up, roll it forward a few feet and check the measurement again. The ride height should always be done on a level ground with the coach fully aired up. When I finally checked mine about a year after first buying it, I found the rear was one inch too low. Once I corrected it, it fixed some tow bar height issues and made the coach ride substantially better.

Check yours when you get the numbers. Your manual may have the info on how to adjust them. At some point, Monaco quit putting the info in the manuals. If yours needs adjustment and you can't find the info, send me a PM and I will explain how to adjust.
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Old 07-21-2013, 03:40 PM   #10
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Don,

Thanks! I don't have the info in my owners manual, so have sent an email to get it... plus the data sheet.

Ron
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Old 07-21-2013, 05:01 PM   #11
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Ronald:

Attached are a few details on the 2009 Cayman/Neptune ride height adjustments.

1. An e-mail that I received from HR Tech giving the ride height for 2009 Neptune. (There is an error in the e-mail, 2009 models of the Cayman/Neptune have two ride height control valves not one - they are located in the front wheel wells).

2. Photograph of simple plywood jigs.

3. Photograph of front RH side ride height control valve.

4. 2003 adjustment procedure - identical to 2009.

Dennis
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Old 07-22-2013, 10:17 PM   #12
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Dennis,

Thanks for the info!

Ron
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Old 07-28-2013, 04:06 PM   #13
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We just purchased an 05 38' Cayman and absolutely love it. We have put about 3500 miles on it since we purchased it in April and are leaving this week for a 3000 mile trip to North Carolina and back. I have no complaints about the ride although I hear that the difference between the 36' and 38' is quite different. Handling wasn't that great when we bought it but 2 new steer tires and an alignment have cured that. Overall we are extremely satisfied with the coach. We are not full-timers so the more entry level coach fits our needs just fine. Our coach had 25,000 miles on it and we purchased it privately for $59K. It is just like new so we feel we did pretty well on the purchase. We have used Progressive for years to insure our RV's and have no complaints but we also have never had a claim. I'm sure that day will come and we will see just how good the insurance is.
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Old 07-31-2013, 08:48 AM   #14
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Cusn Edy I would strongly you verify that your trailing arms have been replaced. We bought a 2005 32' Cayman with 22,000 miles Jan'13 and found that the trailing arms had not been replaced. Upon inspection we found that both were cracked! We had them replaced with upgraded ones from Source Engineering. Old ones weighed 60lbs or so and the new ones more like 160lbs.

ASs for the ride, the Cayman was far superior to our previous 32' Winnebago with an Oshkosh chassis. We did choose to have the Source Engineering ride kit that replaced the original air bags with ones with more travel, replaced the original Monroe shocks with Bilsteins tuned to the airbags and added a ping tank to the front. The net effect was a much better ride that I thought possible in an RV. My other half who is prone to motion sickness is happy - hence I'm very happy.

Good luck!
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