Community Forums

georgebonord · 06-24-2018, 06:54 PM

I hope this is the right place to post this question. If not please advise where it should be posted.

I am very close to buying a 2003 Holiday Rambler 36' Vacationer w/a Workhorse chassis. This coach has 21,000 miles drives out great and can't find a thing wrong w/it. Does anyone have any experience or comments to offer a newbie on this brand and year?

Please comment away!! I need the help.

TJDave · 06-24-2018, 08:13 PM

I think they are great, but I am biased.
We traded a 2006 Four Winds class C for a one year older 2005 Holiday Rambler Admiral.
The difference in construction and workmanship was evident from the first time we looked at it.
Real wood cabinetry, instead of fake oak stickers on balsa wood.
Aluminum framing. Aluminum side walls and full body paint. Aluminum roof instead of rubber. Bus type cargo bays and doors instead of a door on a hole in the wall.

There are some issues to be aware of though. Small trim pieces on the side of the slides can let moisture past into the floor if caulking isn't kept up. This can be fixed easily if caught early before major floor rot sets in. Search "Guardian Plates." I just had some installed.

Just from reading, some Workhorse chassis had some brake issues. I don't know what models or years...I have the Ford.

We love ours. We looked at getting a new one recently, but was very disappointed in the quality. We'll keep this one for awhile longer.

I hope everything works out for you.

MSHappyCampers · 06-25-2018, 10:09 AM

Hi !

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

Sorry I'm not familiar with that rig.

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

WinnieView · 06-25-2018, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgebonord

I hope this is the right place to post this question. If not please advise where it should be posted.

I am very close to buying a 2003 Holiday Rambler 36' Vacationer w/a Workhorse chassis. This coach has 21,000 miles drives out great and can't find a thing wrong w/it. Does anyone have any experience or comments to offer a newbie on this brand and year?

Please comment away!! I need the help.

We owned an '01 HR Admiral for almost 10 years and an '03 HR Scepter for a couple of years before downsizing.
We wished would could have found another HR coach that fit our needs but decided to switch brands.

smith mark · 07-05-2018, 11:27 PM

Hi, i'm not sure if this is the right place to reply but in response to buying the 03 HR are you aware of the trailing arms on the rear axle that where recalled years ago. if they where not replaced you are looking at a cost of around 3 thousand dollars. look at recalls
for this coach.

Iceking69 · 07-06-2018, 08:51 AM

So my wife and I bought a 01' HR Endeavor in Dec. 2016. It needed some water damage repairs, but had low mileage (60K), and in general was in average condition, only being used twice a year for trips to FL from NY (snowbirds). I believe we got a very, very good deal on her. It's 38' with a 330hp Cummins diesel. She runs smooth and get very good mileage 10+.

I had to replace the interior wall section at the drivers seat where water damage occurred due to bad caulking around the window. It was a complete teardown to the outer skin, but I did it myself and she is watertight now and looks good ($200 in materials and 8 hours labor time). The best part of the HR brand is the aluminum frame, so making water damage repairs is easy, without any worry of wood frame damage.

I believe HR is a very reputable brand and you would be happy with an HR if it is what fills your intended use based on layout, engine size, etc.

I also replace the carpet with vinyl floating floor.

Best of luck!

Dynasty_09 · 07-06-2018, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgebonord

I hope this is the right place to post this question. If not please advise where it should be posted.

I am very close to buying a 2003 Holiday Rambler 36' Vacationer w/a Workhorse chassis. This coach has 21,000 miles drives out great and can't find a thing wrong w/it. Does anyone have any experience or comments to offer a newbie on this brand and year?

Please comment away!! I need the help.

George, do a thorough inspection before buying. BTW, your coach does not have the trailing arm problems. It wax only on diesel pusher with a RR4R frame.
Good luck...

georgebonord · 07-07-2018, 03:40 AM

Thank you for your reply. We have looked it over several times. The only thing that bothers us is the steering which seems to have a little too much play. The owner is getting the brake recall done next week. He was unaware of it's existence. So while it's in the shop I intend to have them look at the steering gear box.

There is one other thing we want to have looked at. The coach seems to have a lot of rock when driving. I want to get that looked at while it's in the shop. Do you have any suggestions?

George

BigLar368 · 07-07-2018, 04:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iceking69

So my wife and I bought a 01' HR Endeavor in Dec. 2016. It needed some water damage repairs, but had low mileage (60K), and in general was in average condition, only being used twice a year for trips to FL from NY (snowbirds). I believe we got a very, very good deal on her. It's 38' with a 330hp Cummins diesel. She runs smooth and get very good mileage 10+.

I had to replace the interior wall section at the drivers seat where water damage occurred due to bad caulking around the window. It was a complete teardown to the outer skin, but I did it myself and she is watertight now and looks good ($200 in materials and 8 hours labor time). The best part of the HR brand is the aluminum frame, so making water damage repairs is easy, without any worry of wood frame damage.

I believe HR is a very reputable brand and you would be happy with an HR if it is what fills your intended use based on layout, engine size, etc.

I also replace the carpet with vinyl floating floor.

Best of luck!

My neighbor had a 2006 HR and it had that exact same window leak on the drivers side. He said he had read that was an inherent problem with HR. It took him a while to figure out where it was coming from before he was able to finally fix it.

5Beethoven · 07-08-2018, 07:05 PM

We have an '05 HR Vacationer with 8.1l gas. Solid rig. That being said, you are driving a large vehicle on top of which is a small house you shake and shake. Something will come loose!

Here is what we have done.

Track bars in the front. Over $2k but it really helps the steering, worth the money spent. Also the alignment did wonders.

The wardrobe slide underside had a gash. Thought perhaps a screw or bolt got caught. No! Whatever the bump-out slides on (roller? skid?) missed the structural element in the slide by 1/2 inch and simply punched through the thin laminated plywood. Fixed with piece of aluminum box beam, epoxy and paint.

De-varnished the Onan generator carb a couple of times. Keep running it regularly.

Replaced the side & rear video cameras with wireless unit. The problem was bad design in the original cable connections.

Screws holding the huge rear view mirrors came loose. They are just wood screws into a 1/2 plywood backing. Drilled all the way through and replaced with stainless bolts.

Replaced converter with one that didn't cook the house batteries. Think the previous owner replaced it with wrong unit.

Added inboard surge protector for peace of mind. Added pyramid turning lights in front of front wheel wells. More peace of mind.

Not much prep area in the kitchen. Replaced sink (previous owners put in crappy replacement) and made sink covers from plywood. Works great.

Good rig, we enjoy it. Good luck.

Dkisler · 07-08-2018, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgebonord

Thank you for your reply. We have looked it over several times. The only thing that bothers us is the steering which seems to have a little too much play. The owner is getting the brake recall done next week. He was unaware of it's existence. So while it's in the shop I intend to have them look at the steering gear box.

There is one other thing we want to have looked at. The coach seems to have a lot of rock when driving. I want to get that looked at while it's in the shop. Do you have any suggestions?

George

If you go to the Monaco Owners forum : monaco technical information it will tell you all about the steering problem. The Monaco coaches generally used Sheppard steering boxes which have play which is just they way they were built. I just ordered a new steering box based upon the recommendations in the post. You will also find a post in the same section regarding wandering. Read both of those posts. I just finished installing the Watts systems front and rear as well as the cross bars from "MonacoWatts.com". Mike Hughes builds the parts and i can tell you they are high quality and great service from him. I cant believe how great my 2005 Monaco handles now. Good luck in your research but go to the posts i mentioned as it will address many of your concerns.
Don

MSGDLD · 07-08-2018, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgebonord

Thank you for your reply. We have looked it over several times. The only thing that bothers us is the steering which seems to have a little too much play. The owner is getting the brake recall done next week. He was unaware of it's existence. So while it's in the shop I intend to have them look at the steering gear box.

There is one other thing we want to have looked at. The coach seems to have a lot of rock when driving. I want to get that looked at while it's in the shop. Do you have any suggestions?

George

The P30 and Workhorse chassis with the independent front suspension have a great ride, but the price is they rock more. Also, part of the steering might well be the steering idler arms, also called bell cranks maybe? There’s a lot of info on the workhorse out there. It costs some $$$ to upgrade the chassis, but I feel it’s worth it. iRV2 has a Workhouse forum in the chassis section, there’s a lot of info there.

Happy hunting!