Trailing Arms Cracked on Roadmaster

[Jim Stewart]

Jim the link you provided for R-Mechanic's installation of your Trailing arms is excellent. It does a great job of making it easy for anyone to understand the situation. Thank you!

I assume that Monaco had the parts, but would never ship them knowing the potential liability of the failed arms that they would be shipping. I also doubt they will stock the Source Engineering parts, again that would imply liability for their own part.

A reminder to anyone with the affected RR4R Chassis:

Your Trailing Arms will fail at some point in time. If you had the Monaco recall performed and you have the Monaco recall replacement arms, they will fail at some point in time. When the Trailing Arms fail, you could suffer severe damage to the Motorhome, although rare, possibly in the $10,000.00 range. To my knowledge no one has been injured in such a failure, but it remains a possibility. Monaco will not honor nor are they currently legally responsible for this failure due to their bankruptcy. If you have suffered this failure, you need to report it to the NHTSA. The reason for reporting is to at least get this information out to current owners of these Coaches, even if not a recall that is paid for by Monaco. The link below is to the NHTSA website to make a report!
Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), File A Safety Complaint

[MonacoMama]

rbeachy..welcome to iRV2 and the Monaco Forums...I am sure you will find some great info here. We hope you visit & post often

[mythplaced]

Here is what bothers me.....How many of these "defective parts" are out there. and the manufacturer is "skipping out" on their responsibility...Just like the use of hygroscopic material in caliper pistons.

Quoted from the posted site...
" ....... with Monaco replacement trailing arms listing in the $800 range. When we attempted to order the arms from Monaco, we were informed that they were no longer available, but that a specialty vendor had upgraded replacement arms for this chassis, however the upgraded arms list for over double the cost of the no longer available Monaco arms. We contacted the extended warranty provider, they required us to obtain written confirmation from Monaco that the factory parts were no longer available. Upon recept of the faxed document (after an extra week of waiting and phone calls!) the extended warranty provider approved the additional charges for the upgraded arms."

Roadmaster chassis owners....WELCOME to the "Orphans Club" (along with us Alpine and Alpha owners)

[rbeachy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Stewart If you have suffered this failure, you need to report it to the NHTSA. The reason for reporting is to at least get this information out to current owners of these Coaches, even if not a recall that is paid for by Monaco. The link below is to the NHTSA website to make a report! Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), File A Safety Complaint

I filed a complaint by phone today. Somehow it seems the old fashioned telephone may better insure a response, and minimize the risk of an online form getting lost in cyberspace. I was told I'll receive a a written copy/confirmation of the formal complaint, and that it will be tallyed with any others to see if there's a pattern here. Who knows if anything could be done anyway, but I encourage everyone to get their failure on record.

Bob

[Jim Stewart]

It would seem that just from this forum, they have received 5 or 6 reports in the last 30 days, think that might show them a pattern?

[millerpb]

In September we were on the freeway near Atlanta when our 2006 Holiday Rambler Neptune (34', 40,000 miles) started rocking from side to side and made sounds like something underneath up front was loose. We slowed down and made it to our campground and when I looked underneath I could find nothing loose up front. I went online and did a Google search and found a post on the FMCA forum about these trailing arms. I went underneath again and found the left rear trailing arm was completely broken with a 1 inch gap between the U-bolts, and the left wheel was no longer centered in the wheel well.

The FMCA post not only alerted me to the problem but gave me the source for stronger replacement arms. I called Scott Zimmer at Source Manufacturing and validated the information, so when I got to the repair shop I knew what needed to be done.

We had the trailing arms replaced at Apalachee RV Center in Auburn, GA, just outside Atlanta. I cannot say enough about how well we were treated there from the moment we arrived to the final delivery of the repaired coach. They are strictly an RV repair facility and they know what they're doing. This was the first time Apalachee had seen this particular problem on the Monaco RR4R chassis. I provided them with the information I had found and they contacted Scott Zimmer and found that the fastest way to get a pair of replacement arms was through Scott's POC in Melbourne, FL. Dan Kinard, the service manager, (770) 868-0999, did all the coordination with Easy Care under our extended warranty. When the arms arrived their technician did a meticulous job of making the installation correct, and explained to me exactly what steps he was taking. I was very pleased with the whole experience at Apalachee RV Center. Dan Kinard even called me several days later to be sure I wasn't having any problems with the repair. That's first class service.

The coach is now handling better than it did when it was new as it rides over bumps much smoother.



I'm so lucky the failure didn't happen last year on our trip to Alaska.


I'll file my complaint to the NHSTB shortly.


This forum and others like it provide a valuable service to the RV community. Keep it up.

[millerpb]

I just submitted my complaint to NHTSA.

[MonacoMama]

millerpb...I just want to say welcome to iRV2 and the Monaco Forum We are glad to have you join us here. I am sure you will find lots more information that may help you here.

Again-welcome to the forums...we hope you visit & post often!

[edsalzer]

Hi to all,

I went through the 9 pages of comments and attempted to sort out and list the various repair facilities which have accomplished the trailing arm replacement so far. There may be some duplicates. Please excuse. If there are other repair locations which you have used please list them also. Hope this will help the folks who have not accomplished their inspection/repair to find a repair facility relatively near them.

Ed


Scott Zimmer
Source Engineering
541-935-0308 or
541-915-1149
E-Mail info4rvadvisors@yahoo.com

All 4 One Service
269-641-8029
Contact: Jeff Marner
19475 US Hwy 12
Edwardsburg, MI 49112

Kaiser Break & Alignment
541-344-5887 or 800-877-5890
Contact: Jeff, Service Manager
265 Taylor St
Eugene, OR 97402-4155

Colton Truck Terminal Garage
909-825-4080 or 951-966-5757 or 909-825-0322
Contact: Rich Doltar, Ed Doltar,
Steve Hammerschmidt
863 E Valley Blvd
Colton, CA 92324-3125

Glen's Tire and Truck Service
Phone 321-723-0751 or 321-729-6930
Contact: Sean
2726 South Harbor City Blvd. (US-1)
Melbourne, Fl 32901

Creative Coach
888-234-3439 or 863-984-1876
Contact: Lester Burgess
8250 State Rd. 33 North
Lakeland, FL 33809

Gabbert & Sons Motor Service
985-876-7873 or 985-876-7875
Contact: Larry
221 Venture Blvd.
Houma, LA 70360
lggrabert@bellsouth.net

Las Vegas RV Doctor
702-473-5362 or 702-473-5635
Contact: Darin
7770 Dean Martin Drive Suite 402
Las Vegas, NV 89139

Shorty Bear Safety
806-372-2126 or 806-372-4544
Contact: Danny
2801 S. Onsage St.
Amarillo, TX 79103

Spectrac
480-497-5864 or 480-497-5864
Contact: Jerry
405 East Baseline Rd.
Gilbert, AZ 85233

Fleet Services
928-704-6500 or 928-704-6499
Contact: Dave
4635 South Apollo Suite 1
Fort Mojave, AZ 86426
fsazio@yahoo.com

Ricos RV
732-872-7664 or 732-872-7664
Contact: Mark
25 W. Highland Avenue
Atlantic, NJ 7716

Delta Truck Center
209-983-2400 or 209-983-2499
Contact: Paul
10182 S Harlan Rd.
French Camp, CA 95231

Paso Robles Truck
805-238-1466 or 805-238-5189
Contact: Ryan
2348 Goldenhill Rd.
Paso Robles, CA 93446

Anderson Frame and Alignment
714-636-8662 or 714-636-8669
Contact: Gary
7521 Garden Grove Blvd.
Garden Grove, CA 92841

Desert Truck Service
661-824-4886 or 661-816-1536
Contact: Mike
1426 Hy 58
Mojave, CA 93501

Henderson Alignment
800-245-8309 or 541-955-6164
Contact: John
458 Redwood Hwy
Grants Pass, OR 97527

Cummins NorthWest
541-687-0000
Contact: Mike
91201 Coburg Industrial Way
Coburg, OR 97408

Cummins Cross Point
260-482-3691 or 260-484-8930
Contact: Steve
3415 Coliseum Blvd.W
Fort Wayne, IN 46808

Apalachee RV Center
(770) 868-0999
Contact: Dan Kinard
1364 Duncan Ln
Auburn, GA 30011

Sacramento Truck Center
800-300-1175
Contact: Brian
100 Opportunity St.
Sacramento, CA 95838

Brazels RV Performance
360-736-9494
Contact: Mike
3912 Harrison AVE.
Centralia, WA 98531

Cummins Power Systems
717-564-1344
Contact: Scott
4499 Lewis RD.
Harrisburg, PA 17111

Iron Horse RV
800-974-2572
Contact: Matt
6414 Randolph Blvd.
San Antonio, TX 78233

Bergeys Truck Center
215-721-3440
Contact: Mike
462 Harleysville Pike
Franconia, PA 18924

Cummins Cross Point
865-523-0446
Contact: John Jones
1211 Auit RD
Knoxville, TN 37914

South West Driveline
928-782-3611
Contact: Malinda
2490 East 15th PL
Yuma, AZ 85365

Trans West Truck
303-902-8638
Contact: Dez Hunter
7550 East I 25 Frontage RD.
Frederick, CO 80516

Tony's RV Service
505-323-2080
Contact: Tony
1831 Wilmoore DR. SE.
Albuquerque, NM 87106


Redlands Truck and RV
888-249-0124
Contact: Keith Shomaker, KC Cummins, Rolando Flores
510 Amigos Drive
Redlands CA, 92373
www.redlandstruckservice.com

[millerpb]

Please add the following shop to the list:

Apalachee RV Center
1364 Duncan Lane
Auburn, GA
Dan Kinard (770) 868-0999

[Neptunes]

Could those of you that have had this issue fixed, post the total cost. After following all posts on this thread, there seems to be spread between $2000 and $3000 . If you could breakdown parts and labor it would be helpful. This issue is about the last straw for this RV lifestyle for me. It seems to be one big money pit. Just a couple years back I traded a 2 year old fifth wheel with major suspension problems that the manufacturer would not address. I guess I'll have this repair done ,cut my losses and unload this unit. I couldn't in good faith sell this to someone as is. Hotels are really starting to look good to me at this point.

[Jim Stewart]

Current retail price for the Trailing arms is $1,800.00 the Dealer can charge freight. Depending on where you are the freight could be between $150 and $300.00. Installation is 8-12 hours, count on an average of 10. Dealers charge anywhere between $90-$150/hour for labor depending on what part of the country you're located. Call the Dealer nearest your location from the list abovve and ask for their hourly rate.

The range would be $2,850 to $3,600. Hope this helps. Any hobby can get expensive!

[edsalzer]

My total cost (includes everything from start to finish) was $3175.00 at Colton Truck in California. My Easy Care policy covered all of it except for the $100.00 deductible.

Don't get discouraged, the RV life style is the BEST of the best things out there. Even though there are some big hits to the wallet, over the past 35 years, the average cost is very reasonable.

Best wishes for lots of good times out there.

ED

[Nonno]

A few weeks ago I received a list of 25 stocking dealers from Scott Zimmer. Post 121 included all but 9. Not sure if a cut and paste from an excel document will work here but I'll give it a try.

Was able to edit after posting. should be a little easier on the eyes.

Sacramento Truck Center
100 Opportunity St.
SacramentoCA95838
Brian 800-300-1175

Brazels RV Performance
3912 Harrison AVE.
CentraliaWA98531
Mike360-736-9494

Cummins Power Systems
4499 Lewis RD.
HarrisburgPA17111
Scott717-564-1344

Iron Horse RV
6414 Randolph Blvd.
San AntonioTX78233
Matt800-974-2572

Bergeys Truck Center
462 HarleysVille Pike
FranconiaPA18924
Mike215-721-3440

Cummins Cross Point
1211 Auit RD
KnoxvilleTN37914
John Jones865-523-0446

South West Driveline
2490 East 15th PL
YumaAZ85365
Malinda928-782-3611

Trans West Truck
7550 East I 25 Frontage RD.
FrederickCO80516
DEZ Hunter303-902-8638

Tony's RV Service
1831 Wilmoore DR. SE.
AlbuquerqueNM87106
Tony505-323-2080