Considering 03 HR Endeavor 34pst-questions

[permitwriter]

42591 miles. One owner but at a dealer now. Top 100 dealer at rvreviews.net. Dealer fixed some things and said all is working ok. Seems in good shape, seems to meet our needs. I've downloaded the brochure and owners manual. Read the brochure & some of the owners manual. I'm new to motorhomes but I think this is a good model from what I've seen & read.
Question - the owners told the dealer that they took it to the factory & had the original suspension replaced with airbags. But the brochure and owners manual only mention airbags. Does anyone know what the original suspension was? What else could have been upgraded?
Another question - asking $50K but came down to $41K and $45K out the door. That seems a bit high. NADA says avg. is $35.5K Any comments?
Lastly - anyone who has had experience with this or similar models - over all impression and are there problem areas I should look for?
Thanks!

[8.3Oilbuner]

Good evening Permitwriter; Just got finished reading your post. Back in 2003 I looked at a 2003 Monaco Diplomat. The Endeavor is it's cousin in the H.R. line up. Very nice coach. Would have bought it back then, but the price was too far up the food chain for me at that time. The chassis is an 8 air bag chassis similar to my 01 Windsor. You get the 8.3 330 H.P. Cummin's engine along with the M.H. 3000 series 6 speed Allision transmission. Great combo for the coach. In the factory brochure it mentions hydraulic leveling. Does not show air leveling as an option. Sooo, wondering if the original owners had air leveling installed at the HWH factory. Do you know what leveling system the coach has? Otherwise the coach came from the factory with 8 air bags. Hard to tell on the price. Short, well cared for diesel pusher coaches are hard to find. Ask me! Took 2 years to find our first 2000 32' Monaco Windsor and after selling that took another 2 years to find the replacement 2001 34' PBD Monaco Windsor. Price could be supply and demand. Someone here in the last 3 months asked about the price of a short diesel pusher and the answer was, how many are out there. If this is your first coach pay for an inspection of the house and chassis. This is cheap insurance if something is wrong with either and can affect the purchase price. Have the bottom lower edge of the slides checked for water intrusion. Monaco coaches can have this problem because of a not so great design. The problem is fixable if not too far gone with Talin stainless plates that attach to the bottom of the slides. Just have the inspector make sure every system in the coach is running properly. Don't forget the refer. If a Norcold, is it in the recall. Check the serial number on the back of the refer and go to their web site to check on recall status. Any previous maintenance records are a plus. Hope you get some answers from actual owners. I am happy with both my Windsor's. Hope this gets you going on a decision. Again, short, well maintained diesel coaches are hard to find!

[dca81]

Well Permit Rider I am new to Monaco ownership, but have had various RV's for last 35 -40 years. In February of this year I purchased a 36' 2004 Windsor with 85K miles and a 400 hp Cummings. I looked long and hard to find an RV meeting my criteria (36 ft under with at least 1000 lbs torque, and jake brake). Short ones are hard to find, could have had all the 38'-40' at a very good price and locally, but I only had 38' in my storage barn. Finally found one in Florida (1900 miles away) and paid $60 K. So not the expert on price, but that is my experience.
The RV I had immediately before this was a 1997 basic DP 36' Damon with a cat 3126, Freightliner chassis, HWH hydraulic levelers , lp generator, no slides, 4 airbags, etc. It rode/drove like a truck, but in 20 years I owned I had it in the shop twice, once to replace an injector ($850) and once to replace the air brake regulator ($250). Wife and I are aging so thought it would be nice to have a nicer/comfortable RV...so the Monaco. The Monaco is certainly more comfortable in both the ride and comfort. However, In the 4-5 months since buying the Monaco I think I made a huge mistake! Repairs are outrageous and engine access very limited. Monaco owners pay $6000 to get a radiator replaced, or $400 to just buy a plastic radiator surge tank. IMHO these costs are so high because Monaco built its own chassis (Roadmaster). Therefore there is not as much demand/competition for chassis unique items such as there would be for common chassis like Freightliner or Spartan. Also, engine access is very limited. On my Monaco there are two doors to access the top of the engine. One in the closet and one relatively small door on step up to closet. My Damond had easy and complete engine access by just lifting the bed. The Monaco has an oil leak on the front passenger side that I have tried to find since purchase, but I simply cannot see /find the source of the leak ( made an appointment at mechanic for next Thursday). I am not a mechanic but like to work on my vintage race cars and Model As. So sort of felt competent to at least find an oil leak.
So what's my point of this long tale of whoa??? Based on my experience I would not purchase an RV with a custom chassis. Monaco (Roadmaster) and Country Coach ((Dynamax?) are two I know of. Strangely these are the two RV's I most considered, but the CC's were plagued with fiberglass issues. Also note that Monaco and CC both have declared bankruptcy. Please, not looking for controversy, or stealing a thread here. Just a IMHO based on my experience...maybe valid...maybe not.

[MSHappyCampers]

Hi ! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

The Monacos and HR's were great coaches back then! Have fun and keep her between the ditches!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

[permitwriter]

Thanks for all the great information. I don't know what level system is used in this coach. I'll write the salesman. They took it in on a trade & should be able to contact the original owners. Reading posts in this forum & others, some units using this chassis had serious wandering problems. Maybe the original owners had something done to fix that. Yes, I've noticed that short diesels are not common. Funny, a 30 footer just showed up at a dealer about an hour from here. I'm not sure if I can find another nearby dealer to do an inspection. This one is in a small town about an hour from a bigger city. Appreciate the concerns about a custom chassis. I didn't know that. I've done a lot of my own auto repairs over the years. Not sure about tackling chassis things. House stuff would be OK.

[Robert T]

These coaches had a problem with alarms going off while driving in the rain. Easy fix . Clean the electric connectors on the alternator, air tanks, fuel gauge, temp and oil sending units.

Safe-T-Plus helped handling A LOT!!

[Rusty Kramer]

Go to Monacowatts.com email Mike. If he has the products for the chassis on that coach, I think he has the root cause solutions. I just placed an order for the cross bars. watts is next.