Community Forums

Bronccat · 04-17-2016, 06:24 PM

First two thoughts after 250 miles, at night, with average load and full tanks.

HEADLAMPS AND SHOCKS

I love this coach and she did fine pulling our 4700 lb toad through the mountains of E KY and E TN but MAN that porpoising and wiggle + "oh I can't see more than 20' in front of me".

I hope shocks will be enough but I am a bit lost on the headlight situation.

A lesser issue was the T stat being off 3 to 5 degrees.

Any insight welcome. Thanks!

gemert · 04-17-2016, 06:43 PM

I think there is a fix for the headlights. Not sure if your year was the same problem but watch the video and see if it will work for you. Good luck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmYyoILEhMY

jacwjames · 04-17-2016, 06:45 PM

Check tire pressure and make sure it is correct. I actually run mine at ~10psi over recommendation.

Are you headlight lenses hazed over. I had that problem in my 2002 Windsor and replaced both headlight and it helped significantly. Make sure that the headlights are pointed/aligned in the right direction. You might also try replacing the bulb itself. I replaced mine with Sylvania SilverStar Ultra Headlight Bulb.

Some people actually put in a relay system with larger wire positive feed which reduces voltage drop. I haven't done that but understand the concept. You basically take a normally closed relay, use the current headlight power feed as the trigger to close the relay, and use a separate power feed.

I don't know if the thermostat has an adjustment or not, we usually run ours on a cooler setting to a temp that is comfortable to us. I know that the RV does not retain heat or cold like a house so it will vary more then what you would be use to.

Bronccat · 04-18-2016, 09:00 AM

Thanks to you both. Lenses are crystal clear, need bulbs + voltage I suppose.

Is there a resource online for bulb ID or do I just need to pull one?

barmcd · 04-18-2016, 09:43 AM

I don't read many threads about an 8 air bag Roadmaster chassis porpoising, especially a 38 footer. You frequently see threads about that issue with the four air bag chassis from the early to mid 2000s. Someone with more experience may offer a suggestion, but I'd start with making sure your tire pressures are correct for you weight, that you are not overloading one end or the other, and that your suspension doesn't have an obvious problem like a broken shock. Did you have anything in your fresh, gray or black tank? We typically keep the fresh water tank close to full which puts a lot of weight just in front of the rear axle and don't experience any porpoising eventhough we have 16 year old shocks and over 100,000 miles on the coach.

Bronccat · 04-19-2016, 06:22 AM

Thanks.

This could just be my inexperience as far as not knowing what to reasonably expect. it wasn't like we were flying out of the seats - although dramatic road dips were a little bit exciting.

Tires were at spec based on the goodyear chart - but we didn't weigh the corners. LP is near full, fuel was full, fresh was full.

I think the shocks are factory and have 50k on them.

I think the "rolling" was more or a concern - but again not severe. I just feel like it's moving more than it should.

Hammer bird · 04-19-2016, 06:30 AM

Same rig as me...very interesting!

jsmmonaco · 04-19-2016, 06:41 AM

just curious, any chance you were on 23 south............we headed that way soon...................

barmcd · 04-19-2016, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bronccat

Thanks.

This could just be my inexperience as far as not knowing what to reasonably expect. it wasn't like we were flying out of the seats - although dramatic road dips were a little bit exciting.

Tires were at spec based on the goodyear chart - but we didn't weigh the corners. LP is near full, fuel was full, fresh was full.

I think the shocks are factory and have 50k on them.

I think the "rolling" was more or a concern - but again not severe. I just feel like it's moving more than it should.

Take this with a grain of salt because I am by no means an expert on how a motor home should ride and drive, but I have driven ten different motor homes since November looking for ours. They are all over the place in how they handle and ride. However, I would say we experienced no noticeable porpoising in any of the ones we drove which were 38-40 footers made by Monaco, Newmar and Country Coach. The Monaco were all 8 bag chassis.

All exhibited some wandering (one a whole lot) and all exhibited a lot of roll if you encountered any bumps or dips that only affected one wheel of the coach at a time. The Dynasty we ended up buying rides pretty well except for the roll I mention. It's not intrusive driving down the road, but if you leave a parking lot at an angle where the wheels hit the low spot at the curb at different times, the coach rolls back and forth quite a bit. I can see why they become a handful if you have a blow out and leave the paved road at speed.

Bronccat · 04-19-2016, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsmmonaco

just curious, any chance you were on 23 south............we headed that way soon...................

We were mostly on I75 KY and TN

Bronccat · 04-19-2016, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barmcd

Take this with a grain of salt because I am by no means an expert on how a motor home should ride and drive, but I have driven ten different motor homes since November looking for ours. They are all over the place in how they handle and ride. However, I would say we experienced no noticeable porpoising in any of the ones we drove which were 38-40 footers made by Monaco, Newmar and Country Coach. The Monaco were all 8 bag chassis.

All exhibited some wandering (one a whole lot) and all exhibited a lot of roll if you encountered any bumps or dips that only affected one wheel of the coach at a time. The Dynasty we ended up buying rides pretty well except for the roll I mention. It's not intrusive driving down the road, but if you leave a parking lot at an angle where the wheels hit the low spot at the curb at different times, the coach rolls back and forth quite a bit. I can see why they become a handful if you have a blow out and leave the paved road at speed.

That sounds about right. Maybe the porpoising was over stated but the wander was there and the "I'm in a curve at speed, hit a bump and a drawer opened" was definitely there lol

Bronccat · 04-19-2016, 08:47 AM

On another note, I forgot to mention one other frustration (that perhaps deserves it's own thread)

We have the Aladdin system and the cameras are all over the place. The PO replaced the cameras and harness but you still get screen roll at times (gets progressively worse, maybe caused by heat?) some bizarre interference / change in brightness that improves when you accelerate and the fact that the side cameras wash out completely white when signaling at night (I assume the markers are doing this).

I am to the point of putting in a wireless camera and being done with the Aladdin.

Bronccat · 04-19-2016, 08:48 AM

Oh, I'll add. About half the time you pan the rear camera up, it will go back down to the bottom in 5 mintes

barmcd · 04-19-2016, 10:10 AM

There are lots of threads on the Monaco forum about how to improve all of those issues. I lost a bottle of Tito's Vodka on my last trip. I didn't slow down enough for a dip in the road and the coach rolled right and left four times, once for each tire. By the time the fourth wheel hit the dip it was rolling pretty good and the bottle got spit out of the pantry onto the tile floor!