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Old 01-23-2015, 02:53 PM   #1
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2008 Monarch questions

Hi folks. I just bought a 2008 34 Monarch on the ford chassis. I've had TTs before but this is my first A. Unfortunately the coach did not come with the manuals so I am using what I found on the Monaco site in pdf format. I have a few questions now, and I am sure will have more later. First, i see in the manual that for slide deployment and retraction, the coach should not be on the levelers but all weight on the tires. I found this strange as friends with other makes insist that the levelers should be down prior to slide deployment. During the PDI they did not make mention of this, I just saw it in the manual. Is this correct?

For leveler deployment, they say ignition "on", transmission in park, with parking brake deployed. So once the levelers are down, do you have to leave the emergency brake "on"? The reason I ask is that when I am in cold country in my autos, I never use the emergency brake as I have had it freeze up. Do you Monarch owners deploy the emergency brake to get your levelers down then release it if you are in cold country?

Thanks for any information, looking forward to getting on the road with the "new" coach.

Bill
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Old 01-23-2015, 03:09 PM   #2
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I always level mine before I deploy slides. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but that seems like the sensible way to do it.
As far as e-brake is concerned, I leave mine on, but I live in Florida. No chance of a freeze up.
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Old 01-24-2015, 07:11 AM   #3
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Monaco always states to deploy slides before leveling and to only retract slides after lifting and inflating air bags. They do this because the slides were placed into the motorhome when it was level based on air suspension not the jacks.
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Old 01-24-2015, 07:15 AM   #4
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This has been covered a thousand times before and is a good question. Dave is 100% correct. You do not want the chassis in a twist from the jacks when you move the slides.
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Old 01-24-2015, 08:37 AM   #5
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Slides are well covered so far, but you ask another question:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Billinwoodla View Post
So once the levelers are down, do you have to leave the emergency brake "on"?
It is not an "emergency" brake, it is a "parking" brake. You DO want to leave this "on" (button pulled up) whenever you are parked.

Your transmission does not have a parking pawl that locks the wheels when you put it in park. If you look at your transmission pad, you will see that there is no "P" position, the closest you have is neutral. If you don't set the parking brake, your coach can roll. The parking brake is the ONLY thing holding you in position when parked.

You still want your parking brake "on" when you are on the leveler jacks. The jacks do not have a lot of lateral stability, the are only designed for vertical loads. They are not designed to handle the horizontal loads needed to stop the coach from rolling - they could jam up, or be damaged. By the same token, you shouldn't lower the jacks so far that they pick a rear wheel up off of the ground, because those wheels are the only things holding you in place.

ALWAYS set the parking brake before getting out of the driver's seat.

I have had problems with cable driven parking brakes in the winter: you pull the lever or step on the pedal, and there is enough force to pull the frozen cable to set the brakes, but the springs in the brakes don't have enough force to pull it back when releasing it. I also don't use cable driven parking brakes in the winter, but then those cars have parking pawls in the transmission that lock the wheels when parked. The air operated parking brakes on the motorhomes are very different, I always set it, even in the winter.

You will find that in cold country, a common problem you will have is getting the jacks up. The hydraulic fluid gets thick and the jack springs have trouble overcoming the resistance. People have been known to need to use a 2x4 as a lever to get them up. That's much more of a concern than releasing the parking brake. Worry about the jacks, not the brakes.
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Old 01-24-2015, 08:45 AM   #6
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My manual states that slides out - lower air then level. the air brake switch should be pulled - no parkinf pawl in the transmission.
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Old 01-24-2015, 09:00 AM   #7
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And if you have kids, or grandkids or a dog or cat then always put a wooden clothes pin under the parking brake knob so it can't be accidentally pushed down.
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Old 01-24-2015, 09:57 AM   #8
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Quote:
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And if you have kids, or grandkids or a dog or cat then always put a wooden clothes pin under the parking brake knob so it can't be accidentally pushed down.
Thanks everyone for the info. Sorry the subject has been covered earlier, I did use the search function but was searching under monarch. I may have beeb too specific.
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Old 01-25-2015, 05:05 AM   #9
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ShapeShifter:

The OP has a Ford gas chassis. He has a park prawl and juice brakes. Your statements are true of most diesel pushers but I don't think apply to his gas rig.

I don't live in cold country, but his parking brake concern may be legitimate if he is referring to the rear parking brake shoes binding in their drums.
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Old 01-25-2015, 05:22 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Canter View Post
This has been covered a thousand times before and is a good question. Dave is 100% correct. You do not want the chassis in a twist from the jacks when you move the slides.
These facts are correct but if you use good judgement and park on a fairly level site you can get by with opening and closing the slides with the jacks down. I have done it a thousand times. To each his own, but we have put 55,000 miles on this coach and used it for over seven years, and in that time we have only deployed and retracted the slides at ride height maybe a dozen times.

Bob
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Old 01-25-2015, 10:42 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blahargoue View Post
The OP has a Ford gas chassis.
D'oh! I see that now, right there in the first sentence. I'm sorry I missed that the first time. Of course, that means all of my comments are completely baseless.

Quote:
I don't live in cold country, but his parking brake concern may be legitimate if he is referring to the rear parking brake shoes binding in their drums.
Yes, freezing may indeed be a valid concern. I've had it happen before in cars when driving through slushy roads, and then the temperature drops to sub-zero numbers, and the parking brake is frozen. My experience has been that water enters the sleeve of the parking brake cable, and then freezes in place. It's usually not within the brake drums themselves since normal driving gets them warm enough to eliminate most moisture.
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Old 01-26-2015, 10:56 AM   #12
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Quote:
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D'oh! I see that now, right there in the first sentence. I'm sorry I missed that the first time. Of course, that means all of my comments are completely baseless.


Yes, freezing may indeed be a valid concern. I've had it happen before in cars when driving through slushy roads, and then the temperature drops to sub-zero numbers, and the parking brake is frozen. My experience has been that water enters the sleeve of the parking brake cable, and then freezes in place. It's usually not within the brake drums themselves since normal driving gets them warm enough to eliminate most moisture.
So should I block the wheels and release the parking brake after deploying slides and levelers? What is the best practice if in below freezing conditions?

Oh, and BTW, for the leveler operation in cold weathere, there is a cold weather fluid that can be added to help normal leveler function. I came across it on the manufacturers site.
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Old 01-26-2015, 01:58 PM   #13
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So should I block the wheels and release the parking brake after deploying slides and levelers? What is the best practice if in below freezing conditions?
Someone with more experience with your chassis will have to comment on that. From my earlier comments, that obviously isn't me!

I can't speak from experience because not only do I have air brakes and no parking pawl in my transmission, but I don't drive my rig in the winter! (It's currently winterized and shivering behind a plowed pile of snow, wondering why I don't love it enough to take it to Florida or Arizona!)
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Old 01-26-2015, 03:04 PM   #14
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Well up here in Maine in the wintertime we never use our parking brake on any of our vehicles. What normally freezes is the water that gets into the cable and not the brakes. If the brake shoes are wet then they are going to dry real fast after a couple of brake applications. Never the shoes to the drums just the cables. I would say you are safe and don't Have to worry about it unless you have driven through rain or had your mh washed then parked in sub freezing weather.
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