New Trailing Arms

[Star Blazer]

Thanks to all who posted re the trailing arm problem. We traded our 5th wheel in for a 2008 Cayman 35SBD while in Yuma in Feb. Upon returning to Colorado discovered these forums and the info on the arms. Rather than wait for something to happen, we had our service center order us a new set from Source Eng. Took 5 days to get them in and they were installed today. The old ones showed no cracks, but we now don’t have to worry. Also discovered the odometer was in kilometers. So thinking we purchased a coach with over 7000 miles, it really had only 4200 miles on it. Will be testing everything as we head to the Florida Keys next week. Thanks again.

[Knotdodger]

Let us know if it improved the ride. We are having ours replaced next month. Enjoy your trip to the keys.

[GoneFishin]

We had our trailing arms replaced by Brazel's (& Source) in January while in QZ. Yes, we noticed an improvement in the ride. We still feel the hard bumps, but the recovery time is quicker and the overall ride is generally smoother. We had Koni shocks installed at the same time and I believe the shocks are what's making the difference.

[Knotdodger]

I hope I'm not hijacking this thread and I don't want to get into a debate on whether or not to replace the trailing arms. That poor horse has been beaten as much or more than diesel versus gas. After reading the volumes on replacement I am curious to know if anyone has seen any numbers on how many failed, how many were replaced by Monaco under the original recall and how many of the replacement arms failed or were found cracked. I talked with a local shop (Charlotte, NC) about replacing mine a couple of weeks ago. These folks were certified to do warranty work by Monaco prior to the reorganization. I'm going for a visit next week but my understanding from the phone conversation they had not seen any failures and only a few that were "bent". What they said versus what I've read means I'll check these folks out further before letting them do any work on my motorhome. Again, I'm not challenging the fact they need to be replaced. It's just made me curious about the numbers if they're any available.

[Diplomat Don]

Knotlodger.....A Moderator removed one of posts (first ever) on this topic and I'm not sure why. Basically, there were three types of trailing arms used by Monaco. The ones that had problems were the square tube design that had the airbag pedestal on top of the arm. I checked a friends a few weeks ago and he had round tube arms. Not all of them went bad, just one design.