Stranded!! Urgent help required!!

[consortium]

Hello!

I am the owner of a 1998 Monaco Windsor on a Roadmaster Chassis driving from Southern Florida across the US to California and then back. At present I am stranded in Biloxi, MS where it seems that the bushing on the passenger side rear flailing arm (panhard bar??) has "fallen off" (somewhere down the I-10). This has obviously rendered the RV undrivable due to the back end almost trying to overtake the front end on the highway.

My problem is this. I have taken the RV into Empire Truck Sales of Gulfport, MS (who thus far have been very helpful) but they are unable to trace a replacement bushing from anywhere in the US and say that there if no alternative part that can be used . . . . . . . . . . . and are being told that the only place to get it is from Monaco direct, who would have to manufacture a replacement bushing (??) which of course is impossible given the current zero trading situation of Monaco.

Firstly does anyone have any experience of this? Secondly, what can I do?

Any advice MUCH appreciated . . . . . . . .

Charles

[Richard S.]

Have you tried the Roadmaster chassis service center phone number, 24/7
Callus at 877-4-MONACO (466-6226) for a facility near you.
Worth a try

[RustyJC]

The rear trailing arm (runs parallel to the chassis and locates the axle fore/aft) and Panhard bar (runs transversely across the chassis and locates the axle side-to-side) are two separate items. Irrespective of this, what material is the bushing you're needing?

I'm suspecting that it was rubber. If I were in your position with no replacement available, I'd ask the local technician to get his micrometers and calipers out, have him determine the OD and ID along with length, locating shoulders, etc. and go to a local journeyman machinist and have him turn one out of Oilite bronze in probably less than an hour.

Rusty

[jacmat]

I agree with Rusty's reply, and I am sure that having one machined at a local shop will cost you quite a bit less, then if one was available from Monaco or Roadmaster.

On a previous RV it happened a few times that I had a replacement part machined at a local shop because the original part delivery was taking days and once more than 2 weeks. I compared prices of the original part excluding shipping, with the locally machined and prices of the local part was approx. 25 to 50 % of the original.

[moisheh]

I worked in a large HD truck chassis shop many years ago. Ther are a lot of solutions to your problem. I understand that these fellows have been helpfull but you really need a HD spring/chassis shop. There are parts books that list rubber bushings by size. This type of shop should have a bushing that will fit. If it is too long it could be cut. Failing that they could find a rod with bushing and weld a new end onto yours. Or as suggested a bronze bushing could be pressed into your rod. All is not lost. Sorry for your problem and good luck.

[EngineerMike]

I'd use a bronze bushing in a pinch, but wouldn't leave that as a final solution if the original was rubber. Too much vibration translated w/a hard bushing where a soft one was expected.
Might call Henderson's Line-Up in Grants Pass, OR as bushings are somewhat of a specialty there (they offer a lot of aftermarket polyurethane bushings as upgrades over OEM rubber), 800-245-8309, or 541-479-2882.
Failing that, Moisheh is right, you are in the wrong shop (no offense to those guys, they just are not the right guys and should be honest enough to refer this out locally if that's the best thing for you).

When I start getting some story that it can't be done, that usually just means the guy talking can't do it. Tho I have to admit, I usually forget this sage advice when I'm the one doing the talking.

[moisheh]

When you go into the parts room of a big spring shop they have bins fill of rubber/steel bushings. There cannot be anything that strange about the one that Monaco used. It is off the shelf. Monaco did not make that bushing. They may have built the rod as it is nothing more than a piece of steel. The end of that rod was built to accept a stock bushing. Even if the ID of the new bushing is not the same as the original a larger bolt could be used and a new bracket easily fabricated. This type of repair is an everyday occurence in a big shop.

[Bushman512003]

If in dire need look in the yellow pages under Big truck repair and take Your toad and do some home work Talk to the shop repair tec.or main spring and under carrage person they will know where to go if they are not ready to do the repair there self..Just My thoughts as to what I would do if on the road..At home I would fix it My self not that big a deal most shops should be a piece of cake to do that repair...But the place You are at is not the one ..Bushman

[Diplomat Don]

Charles......I would shoot Monaco parts an email. Their parts department has been accepting emails. I would explain the urgency and ask if they have the part or who supplied it.

[Rex]

Call Monaco Tech Support. They are back in business answering the phones. 877-4MONACO 877-466-6226.3

[RustyJC]

Just for the record, I would like to state the following regarding my suggestion to use an Oilite bronze bushing as an interim fix.

The original poster (OP) titled this thread with words such as "Help - Urgent - Stranded" which, to me, constitutes an emergency situation. His RV is dead in the water and isn't moving. He further states that his emergency service provider is "...unable to trace a replacement bushing from anywhere in the US and say(s) that there is no alternative part that can be used."

Given that specific scenario, I prefaced my remark with "If I were in your position with no replacement available..." and suggested that a bushing could be fabricated to get the OP back on the road. If a replacement rubber bushing is available, by all means use it. If not, and one is stranded, I stand by my suggestion as a viable fix to get him and his RV back on the road.

Rusty

[wa8yxm]

I have, on occasion, gone to a machine shop and paid 20 bucks where a new part would have set me back 80

Now, that was not your bushing. (it was a gear) but hey.. I like the machine shop suggestion.. A good machinist is one level below Wizzard and a great machinist is Well. even better

[consortium]

Many thanks for everybody for their suggestions.

Sadly I am no further on and have just run out of propane too, so no power either!

I gave up with Empire yesterday afternoon when they came back to me and said there was nothing further they could do. I limped a little further down the I-10 to New Orleans (which produced some interesting back-end manoeuvres when having to brake on the interstate) and am currently in an industrial estate somewhere near Harahan where a garage removed the offending trailing arm last night (thus rendering me completely immobile) and has been taking it around New Orleans all the morning trying to get either a replacement bushing or a new one made. He has just returned to say that it is a no-go, doesn't know what to do and we are now back to square one.

Following up on one suggestion I emailed Monaco parts early this morning and have just received an auto-reply back stating that they are not answering any emails while they are re-stocking and taking inventory and to try again in a few weeks.

Can anybody suggest a suitable shop in the New Orleans area please? This is getting ridiculous.

I am beginning to wish that I never ever sold my house and went into RVing full-time, added to which my partner is very upset and we now have two extremely hot dogs too!

Any help much appreciated . . . . . . .

Charles

[DonavonP]

There is an Amerigas propane outlet 3 miles east of you. They might be able to set you up with a temporary gas supply.


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