Monaco Says It Isn't Their Problem . . .

[Las Vegas Rambler]

BEWARE! I was enroute to Alaska.. 5 miles south of the Alaskan border when the problem began. Seems as though all the coolant was leaking out of my 2007 Diplomat. I pulled over, cooled it down, added water and made it across the border to a gas station / Rv Park.

I was informed by Monaco that the "closest Monaco Certified Service Center" was 300 miles away in Fairbanks.... A $2900 tow later here I am at the service center.

I was informed that the radiator looks like someone shot the inside of it with multiple shotgun blasts......

Small rocks from the gravel road where they temporarily patched the roadway had been picked up and propelled at a high rate of speed by the cooling fan into the radiator. Therefore because it is "road debris" it is not Monacos problem. They also elaborated that there is a rock shield that prevents this problem. They told the repair center that the radiator is $1900 plus approximately $800 in shipping from Indiana....

Hmmmm....I learned that there IS a rock guard in place on the Roadmaster Chassis - BUT that rock guard is right below the fan.... it only helps with "road debris" coming in from right below the fan..... I also learned there is NOTHING to prevent "road debris" from coming up from the tires on either side of that rock guard, or from the Monaco installed rock guard that hangs down the back of the coach that throws the rocks back in towards the fan which in turn propels those rocks into the radiator.

I know I went extremely slow over the gravel patches - and I learned that it wouldn't matter as the vortex that is created by the MONACO Provided rock guard traps rocks, throws them back towards the fan and even if I was going two miles an hour I would probably experience the same issue. Other roadmaster chassis coaches have had the same problem.

Hold on guys - there is a fix!!! I learned that you can use screening wire attached on both sides with wire wraps (tiewraps) to prevent any side entry of "road debris" If you didn't want to do it yourself, I learned that wire is $20.00 and the installation labor is approximately $45.00! When it comes time to service the filters etc, you can easily cut the tiewraps and reinstall them after service. I wish I had known - I would much rather have paid $65.00 then the $5600.00 I am looking at right now.

Just wanted to help others to know about the design flaw and to know there is an inexpensive fix.



John Bobe
Las Vegas Nevada

[Las Vegas Rambler]

BEWARE! I was enroute to Alaska.. 5 miles south of the Alaskan border when the problem began. Seems as though all the coolant was leaking out of my 2007 Diplomat. I pulled over, cooled it down, added water and made it across the border to a gas station / Rv Park.

I was informed by Monaco that the "closest Monaco Certified Service Center" was 300 miles away in Fairbanks.... A $2900 tow later here I am at the service center.

I was informed that the radiator looks like someone shot the inside of it with multiple shotgun blasts......

Small rocks from the gravel road where they temporarily patched the roadway had been picked up and propelled at a high rate of speed by the cooling fan into the radiator. Therefore because it is "road debris" it is not Monacos problem. They also elaborated that there is a rock shield that prevents this problem. They told the repair center that the radiator is $1900 plus approximately $800 in shipping from Indiana....

Hmmmm....I learned that there IS a rock guard in place on the Roadmaster Chassis - BUT that rock guard is right below the fan.... it only helps with "road debris" coming in from right below the fan..... I also learned there is NOTHING to prevent "road debris" from coming up from the tires on either side of that rock guard, or from the Monaco installed rock guard that hangs down the back of the coach that throws the rocks back in towards the fan which in turn propels those rocks into the radiator.

I know I went extremely slow over the gravel patches - and I learned that it wouldn't matter as the vortex that is created by the MONACO Provided rock guard traps rocks, throws them back towards the fan and even if I was going two miles an hour I would probably experience the same issue. Other roadmaster chassis coaches have had the same problem.

Hold on guys - there is a fix!!! I learned that you can use screening wire attached on both sides with wire wraps (tiewraps) to prevent any side entry of "road debris" If you didn't want to do it yourself, I learned that wire is $20.00 and the installation labor is approximately $45.00! When it comes time to service the filters etc, you can easily cut the tiewraps and reinstall them after service. I wish I had known - I would much rather have paid $65.00 then the $5600.00 I am looking at right now.

Just wanted to help others to know about the design flaw and to know there is an inexpensive fix.



John Bobe
Las Vegas Nevada

[rvtips]

Turn it into your insurance co.
That's what you have it for.

[Robin_M]

Thanks John. That's good information to have. Sorry about all the problems. Hope it didn't put too much of a damper on your Alaska trip. Alaska is a beautiful state.

[TXiceman]

I would go higher up the food chain at Monaco and tell them that they did not adequately protect the radiator from road debris. I would be pretty sure that this will not be the first time they have heard of this issue. They should work the issue with the chassis manufacturer and help you.

Ken

[William Willard]

Monaco is the chassis mgf.-- Bill Willard

[BHEMOTH]

Thank you for the info. We have an'08 Diplomat and will be attending to providing protection for our radiator before our next trip.

I am a little surprised that Monaco would not help, with motorcoach sales down 60% in North America you would think that manufacturers would want to hold on to every customer they have, especially Monaco, their share price has been sliding for 8 years.

[Nonno]

John, thank you for the warning. Sorry it took what it did for you to discover the problem

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">there is a fix!!! I learned that you can use screening wire attached on both sides with wire wraps (tiewraps) to prevent any side entry of "road debris" </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I'm assuming the "fix" you refer to is a homemade one? What type of screening did you use? Anything close to the guage of the rock guard below the fan?

[TXiceman]

I would think that as much as a Monaco coach cost, they would step up and do something other than expecting the owner to jury rig a fix with screen wire, tie-wraps and chewing gum.

Just do not take no from an underling and go to the top.

Ken

[MonacoMama]

John...
Thank you for the "Heads Up" that you have given everyone else here. ...I am just sorry you had to experience it in order for the rest of us to learn from it.
I agree with TXiceman. You need to take this up the "Monaco food chain"..even if you can get them to pay half the bill...would be a big help.

Good luck and please keep us informed as to what happens.


MM

[Robin_M]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by BHEMOTH:
I am a little surprised that Monaco would not help, with motorcoach sales down 60% in North America you would think that manufacturers would want to hold on to every customer they have, especially Monaco, their share price has been sliding for 8 years. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>...or the other way to look at it is that perhaps they are trying to hold on to every dollar they have in an attempt to make it through what they are hoping is a "temporary crisis". It's not hard to imagine that with massive layoffs also come directives from the top to follow established policy to the letter with regard to things that effect cash outflow.

[RustyJC]

As Robin says, in today's economic conditions companies tend to really clamp down on warranty and "customer goodwill" costs as any dollars not spent in these areas will fall straight to the bottom line. I'm not saying that it's right - just saying that such is the way things tend to be.

Rusty

[Las Vegas Rambler]

Here is an update for those that are interested and have no vested interest in protecting Monacos back.

I made multiple calls to "all" levels of Monaco management including Toolson on down and they would NOT accept any liability for this issue!
The response was that owners should take the necessary precautions to protect their coach before making a trip.....

I knew of protecting the headlights and the risk of gravel into the windshield BUT who would know that I should install barriers in the engine compartment????

Today I called Customer Service about "other issues" ....my front slide doesn't seal when extended and my front roof air is inop...During the call I digressed into my disappointment concerning the blown radiator caused by rocks being blown into it from the tires.. The technician said that if I had called him, he would have told me of that issue and what steps to take to prevent it....Boy am I sorry I didn't talk with him before this event - curious how one technician at Monaco knows the issue and the fix and no one else that I talked to
at Monaco Corporate knows.

I had stopped by Coburg enroute, met with several people in customer service, had talked about our planned trip to Alaska and No One there or at the other dealers that I have been to enroute ever mentioned taking addional steps..

I am waiting for the new radiator. Should be next week sometime. I understand that this repair center will install what is aluminum screening that is quite similar to window screen to prevent it from happening again.

Stuck in Fairbanks

John

[Robin_M]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">curious how one technician at Monaco knows the issue and the fix and no one else that I talked to at Monaco Corporate knows. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>John,

I've often found that to be the case. I guess it all depends on how long a particular tech rep has worked in that department. If a person works there long enough, he's probably heard of just about anything that can go wrong. Unfortunately, they don't seem to have a very good system for sharing information, and it's often hard to find the one who knows what you need to hear at any given time.

One consullation... If you've got to be stuck somewhere, Fairbanks is not a bad place to be stuck in this time of year. So many interesting things to see and do near there. Does the sun set in Fairbanks at the end of June?