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Old 10-31-2018, 05:49 PM   #1
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Advice please...thinking of trading

Call me crazy but I am thinking of trading my Thor Tuscany that i know pretty well for a Monaco Knight. '13 down to a '08. Why? Well, while we love the floor plan of the Thor (and that is THE reason we bought it) I am thinking the Monaco might be an upgrade. 360 ISC cummins engine, 55k miles. I've been told to avoid Monaco since they went out of business and support is hard but also Monaco in those years was superior coach. Your advice is really valuable.
Thanks
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Old 10-31-2018, 06:07 PM   #2
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Your post does not indicate what you plan to gain from the trade. What do you expect to gain from going to a 5 year older coach that has little or no manufacturer support?
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Old 10-31-2018, 06:47 PM   #3
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I’m pretty sure the Knight was a 4, rather than 8, airbag coach. It might also need trailing arms investigated. Some of that era have cracked. Others who chime in might know more.
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Old 10-31-2018, 07:31 PM   #4
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Your post does not indicate what you plan to gain from the trade. What do you expect to gain from going to a 5 year older coach that has little or no manufacturer support?
Good question. I am one who heartily believes in maintenance and repairs done right and immediately or you shouldn't have an RV.....or anything else for that matter. Ive thought for a while that Monaco is a top of the line coach while Thor, thought popular, doesn't reach the level of the Monaco. So when it comes to slide maintenance and adjustment, other coach issues issues like plumbing and electrical. Example, our backlit switches for the house electrical constantly burn out and need replacing rather then new bulbs.....been through that one. Another one, the slide outs need adjustment and I'm told that is not for the faint of heart and should be taken back to Elkhart. So I'm wondering if Monaco is more stout and has had time to work these issues out or if I would be hurting rather than helping my lot in life.
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Old 10-31-2018, 08:34 PM   #5
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Good question. I am one who heartily believes in maintenance and repairs done right and immediately or you shouldn't have an RV.....or anything else for that matter. Ive thought for a while that Monaco is a top of the line coach while Thor, thought popular, doesn't reach the level of the Monaco. So when it comes to slide maintenance and adjustment, other coach issues issues like plumbing and electrical. Example, our backlit switches for the house electrical constantly burn out and need replacing rather then new bulbs.....been through that one. Another one, the slide outs need adjustment and I'm told that is not for the faint of heart and should be taken back to Elkhart. So I'm wondering if Monaco is more stout and has had time to work these issues out or if I would be hurting rather than helping my lot in life.
I personally would take the Monaco over the Thor every time. IMO the quality of the coaches is not even close. I have friends with both, so am always hearing both sides. Good luck with your choice.
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Old 10-31-2018, 09:50 PM   #6
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Unless they are giving you $ back I don't think I'd do it. The chassis and systems in a 2008 are all 5 years older than your current coach. Also in 2008, Monaco was downsizing and 2009 was the very last year for the old Monaco. Your Tuscany is probably on a Freightliner chassis whereas the Monaco will be Roadmaster which is no longer made and will be more difficult to find parts. If you do buy the Monaco make sure it's on the 8 bag Roadmaster chassis. I do believe it was. I had a 2009 Cayman on a 4 bag chassis and it was a rough riding coach. I hope this helps....
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Old 10-31-2018, 10:32 PM   #7
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Good Day RookieRVer,
I would "strongly suggest" you read up on the Roadmaster 8RR chassis in the forums. Just use the search bar. The Knight does not have the trailing arm issue. However, the Roadmaster 8RR chassis has a tendency to sway. This is because of 2 reasons - sloppy steering box (Shepperd), which cannot be adjusted unless it has the TRW. Also the bushing (cheap) on the frame causes it to "twist" which in turn causes it to sway. These can be fixed by a kit sold by Source Engineering, but at your cost and time.
I am not a fan of Thor, but at least your you a "quality" frame - Freightliner and does not have any of the Roadmaster issues.

You only mention the issue of burn out back lights on switches. Find yourself a good electrical tech - not RV type that could change the bulbs to LED's. There maybe a an aftermarket switch that uses LED's??

It looks like you live in Colorado. Find yourself a good small independent shop in your area for repairs. Stay away from Camping World and LaMesa or any other dealer that sells. You are in need of a competent, technical, and experienced RV repair outfit, no need to go to the factory.

1st choice when people buy an RV is the floor plan- which you like on your Thor. We all have some sort of problem that we face no matter what brand you buy. I have a 2008 Newmar Kountry star with a Spartan K2 chassis (i.e. gold standard). All Newmars with electric slide motors have a tendency of the bolts coming loose from the motor to the housing. Also, the locking arm motors have a defect in my opinion that use too small of screws to keep it together - the motor pulls apart, - I know since I have fixed this recently.
A good RV shop will know how to fix problems that you have and fix them right the first time.

Unfortunately, we are all facing the crap quality that these manufactures push out the door for profit and are not held accountable for their actions.

Unless you have some serious problems only facing irritating issues, stay with your Thor and work through them, saving you both money, time, and other headaches with the Monaco.
Best Regards
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Old 10-31-2018, 10:37 PM   #8
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Unless they are giving you $ back I don't think I'd do it. The chassis and systems in a 2008 are all 5 years older than your current coach. Also in 2008, Monaco was downsizing and 2009 was the very last year for the old Monaco. Your Tuscany is probably on a Freightliner chassis whereas the Monaco will be Roadmaster which is no longer made and will be more difficult to find parts. If you do buy the Monaco make sure it's on the 8 bag Roadmaster chassis. I do believe it was. I had a 2009 Cayman on a 4 bag chassis and it was a rough riding coach. I hope this helps....
You're right, Im on a Freightliner with Cummins 360 HP. Systems are pretty good. Quality of coach could be better.
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Old 10-31-2018, 10:43 PM   #9
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Good Day RookieRVer,
I would "strongly suggest" you read up on the Roadmaster 8RR chassis in the forums. Just use the search bar. The Knight does not have the trailing arm issue. However, the Roadmaster 8RR chassis has a tendency to sway. This is because of 2 reasons - sloppy steering box (Shepperd), which cannot be adjusted unless it has the TRW. Also the bushing (cheap) on the frame causes it to "twist" which in turn causes it to sway. These can be fixed by a kit sold by Source Engineering, but at your cost and time.
I am not a fan of Thor, but at least your you a "quality" frame - Freightliner and does not have any of the Roadmaster issues.

You only mention the issue of burn out back lights on switches. Find yourself a good electrical tech - not RV type that could change the bulbs to LED's. There maybe a an aftermarket switch that uses LED's??

It looks like you live in Colorado. Find yourself a good small independent shop in your area for repairs. Stay away from Camping World and LaMesa or any other dealer that sells. You are in need of a competent, technical, and experienced RV repair outfit, no need to go to the factory.

1st choice when people buy an RV is the floor plan- which you like on your Thor. We all have some sort of problem that we face no matter what brand you buy. I have a 2008 Newmar Kountry star with a Spartan K2 chassis (i.e. gold standard). All Newmars with electric slide motors have a tendency of the bolts coming loose from the motor to the housing. Also, the locking arm motors have a defect in my opinion that use too small of screws to keep it together - the motor pulls apart, - I know since I have fixed this recently.
A good RV shop will know how to fix problems that you have and fix them right the first time.

Unfortunately, we are all facing the crap quality that these manufactures push out the door for profit and are not held accountable for their actions.

Unless you have some serious problems only facing irritating issues, stay with your Thor and work through them, saving you both money, time, and other headaches with the Monaco.
Best Regards
Dutch Master
Yep, we're in Colorado. Just South of Denver. I'm leaning toward staying with Thor as my wife is the driving factor for the floorplan. Happy wife..... Problem is I have yet to find a good independent RV guy. Everyone I call is booked to February and I can't wait three months to get things repaired on a coach. But that does speak to your comment about the crap put out by manufacturers. If everyone is out 3 or 4 months that is a lot of repair going on. BTW; good idea on the electrician. I'll see if I can find one to do that as well as convert my house lights to LED's. Do you have experience with conversion to LED's??
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Old 11-01-2018, 12:26 AM   #10
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I have a 2005 Monaco Knight M40PLQ. That same coach and floor plan was produced as a Safari Cheetah and as a Holiday Rambler Ambassador.
It took me 2+ years to whittle the field down to that floor plan, a year to find the specific coach we ended up buying and 6 months for the dealer to finally accept my offer.
I have had no problems or concerns with the Roadmaster RR8R chassis. The 8 denotes 8 airbags and the last R denotes a rear radiator. The 2005 Cheetah has an RR4R chassis which IIRC is the one with the cracking trailing arm problems.
I choose the 2005 with its Cummins ISC 330hp 8.3 litter engine and Allison 3000MH transmission because a few years newer I would have to deal with things like buying DEF and regeneration. I also liked the 2 piece windshield thinking it would be less likely to crack and cheaper and easier to replace if only one side cracked. One thing I didn't fully understand was what the RVA 3 jack levelling system would be like compared to the more common 4 jack systems. I do not like the 3 jack system at all. We prefer to boondock instead of being squeezed side by side in a crowded parking lot called an RV Park or RV Resort. That means sometimes having to park on a spot that isn't very level. In my experience it is fairly easy for the front jack to slide sideways off the jack pad. Recently when dispersed camping in the Rockies my front jack pad foot and springs were torn off the shaft when the front of the coach rotated more than a foot sideways downhill. It took me half a day under the coach on my ample stomach digging my jack out of the dirt with a folding trenching tool. I'm pretty sure a 4 jack system wouldn't have done that.
Overall we have been very pleased with our Monaco. Since it is our first RV after years of tent camping the the learning curve has been very steep but is slowly lowering.
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Old 11-01-2018, 06:44 AM   #11
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I don't think moving back 5 years is a necessarily a bad thing and I wouldn't worry about the original Monaco being out of business. The fact is, all the chassis and house systems are made by someone else. REV, which is the latest owner of the old Monaco, will sell you parts for the older coaches, but you can get the same exact parts cheaper at other places.

My opinion is, I would not move back 5 years for a Knight (or similar co-branded coach), but would seriously consider it for a Monaco Windsor or Dynasty and Holiday Rambler equivalent. You can probably find one for not much more than a Knight and you would be getting a lot more coach.
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Old 11-01-2018, 10:09 AM   #12
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Good day again Rookie RVer,
We are all facing the problem of getting in for service. Dealers are serving newly purchasing owners, scheduled customers, etc. Many people are getting their coaches ready to go for Winter Birding. Thus they are booked. Since most likely your coach is not covered under warranty, you are "free" to chose who works on it. There are good RV Mobile Techs out there. However, they are most likely around RV parks, as business in cities is low. There are RV "heavens" like in Yuma, AZ - have a plethora of mobile RV techs. Other good RV parks have recommendations on who to recommend. You may look into this situation.
Yes, I have experience with LED's. I have converted most of the ceiling fixtures in my Newmar that used CCFL's. But I did it the "correct way" using a BUCK/BOOST converter and LED strips. Funny, there is a current reply on the IRV2 about LED conversions - http://www.irv2.com/forums/f258/flic...ts-417168.html. Read up on it!
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Old 11-01-2018, 02:03 PM   #13
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As you can see below I recently upgraded and stayed with Monaco...after 04 they were all built on the same line. Not worried about “Monaco parts” as other than the front/rear caps, Monaco made very little else.

Not sure I’d take the hit to trade unless you go to a Dynasty...a really solid coach.
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Old 11-01-2018, 02:22 PM   #14
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I had a 2006 Monaco Knight, my first DP, and it was ok. No major problems. It was a four airbag chassis and did NOT have the problem with the cracked trailing arms. That was in older units, like 2004.

After two years trouble free (I bought it used in late 2007), I traded it in for a new Monaco Camelot. Bigger engine, tag axle, side radiator, three AC’s etc. Never looked back.

Now I have friends with a Tuscany one year newer than yours. Next week, we are headed out to our group’s Christmas rally so I texted them to see if they will be there. Got an answer back that the coach is in for service at Camping World. This is not uncommon for that particular coach. So I understand your pain.

I think REV group, just like Navistar before them, has missed the boat by not providing better support for the legacy Monaco, Holiday Rambler, Beaver, etc units. One of the reasons I now drive a Newmar Dutch Star is the lack of support for my Camelot.

If you are looking to trade into a quality used coach, my recommendation would be to check out Entegra, Tiffin, and Newmar, unless you can find a nice 2008 or 2009 Dynasty.
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