Community Forums

Nedra · 07-02-2008, 02:24 PM

Wow Don, great idea. I printed it off and will give it to Al. They might have to tweek it more on Tuesday but right now it's much better than it ever was.

Doc, I'm not sure who you can trust at this point. Seems we are the perfect example of the fact that you can't trust Monaco or the service centers. I think perhaps Monaco is seeing just how bad things can get on this issue and the Director of Customer Service was chuckling at the royal run around and incompetence we got especially by his own people. Can't wait until this is resolved and I call him back. We're gonna talk....

Yes we have been very patient but that wore thin some time ago and after this last service at Rocky Mountain when they swore it was perfect and set at 8 1/2 and we drove off into the sunset supposed to be happy. Well, it was the worse drive ever and I guess I should have said more right then and there. Things were flying off the shelves and clothes were falling off the racks. Things that never happened before but the kicker was my sheltie levitating off my lap and Al's inablility to control the drive because he was also levitating off his seat. That was a worse safety hazard than we ever dealt with and we certainly had some issues trying to drive that coach for the last year. Frankly this whole situation had turned me against Monaco as well as all the service centers that worked on it. I was beginning to think that not only did we have a lemon but that it would never drive safely or comfortably. At least now it's safe but it was a lemon by lemon law standards for over a year...from the date of manufacture until now.

Nedra

MonacoMama · 07-02-2008, 09:40 PM

Nedra...I am quite relieved that it looks likes thing are getting resolved. I am sure you will start enjoying your motorhome much more now that the ride issue looks like it is almost taken care of.

Doc...Diplomat Don may be correct about it being in your Owners Manual...the 2006 book we got for our 2007 Diplomat had it listed..BUT when we got the 2007 book..we found nothing listed in the book. We have called Monaco TWICE to get our ride height setting - which was different than what is listed for the 2006 Diplomat Owners Manual BUT we got the same numbers from both people on the phone....my suggestion...call Monaco and talk to 2 different people to double check your number...IF you don't find it in your owners book...

MM

Nedra · 07-03-2008, 04:26 AM

I agree with Monaco Momma to a point. The service people a year ago called Monaco and talked to two different service techs and got the same information...which was wrong. The service people this year called two different service techs and got the same information....which was wrong. They finally got to someone higher up and it was then discovered that the ride height was wrong in their system so it was corrected. So I cannot put a lot of faith in Monaco having the correct information either unless you talk to someone higher up the food chain.

I don't know if our setting is in the manual but if it was wrong in the system and 4 service techs didn't know any better why would I think the manual is correct.

Nedra

moisheh · 07-03-2008, 06:34 AM

I have been following this thread with interest. I have owned 3 DP's with air ride. I understand the procedure for adjusting the ride height. On our Bluebird the factory ride height is a litle low. Does not leave much clearance in the wheel wells. Most knowledgable shops no to set the height a little higher. Maybe 2 inches. I noticed absolutely no difference in the ride. But it does affect the handling. I fail to understand how an inch or 2 would make it ride harder or softer. The proper procedure for setting ride height is to adjust and then take the unit for a short ride and remeasure and maybe adjust again. If you just set the height valve without moving the vehicle it will often be incorrect. I also wonder if Monaco explains where you measure the height. Some mfrs. actually give you a spec that measures from a body line. Others measure from the plates on the top and bottom of the bags. I dont doubt that your unit is riding hard. I think you must look elsewhere for the problem: Wrong bags, improper sway bar, bad shocks and even bad tires. Monaco should have a Roadmaster engineer look at your unit. The next thing would be to sell it on Ebay!!

Nedra · 07-03-2008, 07:08 AM

This problem has been going on since day one so perhaps all of the things you mention are factors and that would mean a lemon.....So, yes we could sell it on Ebay or we could hire a lawyer and sell it back to Monaco

BudtheDiplomat · 07-03-2008, 05:06 PM

Nedra;
I'm sorry to hear of all the problems you have had with your Neptune. I don't have any connections with Monaco other than owning a Diplomat, and wish you'd had the same experiences that I have had. I could site numerous service examples that served splendid results, but everyone has already expressed their faith/experiences in Monaco. I would unhesitatingly refer a friend for purchase.
I do agree with you, tho, so don't think I'm not in your camp as well.
When we purchase something that exceeds 100G's, we should be able to expect that everything will be perfect. To me, $1 is still a lot, but I lived during nickel cokes and 36cents/gal gas and 2 cents got you a mouth full of gum.
I wrote Monaco today asking for my height specs. Within minutes a fellow wrote me with the specs (but I wouldn't have a clue how or where to start an adjustment - I'm going to hunt down Diplomat Don and beg him to show me the coathanger trick.
I do hope your problem resolves to your satisfaction. As a devoted Monaco fan, I wish the
Best to you,
Bud

Les Stallings · 07-04-2008, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BudtheDiplomat:

When we purchase something that exceeds 100G's, we should be able to expect that everything will be perfect.

Have you ever bought a house, new or used that was perfect?? And they don't go down the road at 70 MPH!!

Ask an exotic or ultra luxury car owner if their cars are perfect and if they have ever been back to the shop.

Anything complex and subjected to a difficult environment will have problems, whether it is expensive or not.

I too, remember exactly the day I had to go back to my Mother to get a penny. That was the day Coke went up to 6 cents.

BudtheDiplomat · 07-04-2008, 10:35 AM

Les;
I understand completely your point. I found some screws and paper wrappers here and there under furniture and bedroom cabinets. It isn't a show-stopper for me.

I bought my Dip in February and haven't found a boo-boo that I didn't cause. The fit and finish was everything I could want. I did have a minor wind noise at the door that a 60cent piece of molding fixed. The ride is really terrific as far as I'm concerned. My rear says 'thank you' and 'aaahhhh' every time I sit in the driver's seat. It isn't a Newell, but then I didn't spend a million dollars - it just felt like it!

And, to be truthful, I haven't ever been in a Newell. Maybe I wouldn't like the ride - what am I saying...

It could be I'm one of the lucky ones. Maybe I haven't looked close enough to discover problems. Maybe I haven't been critical enough. I choose, however, to believe that my coach is the norm and Nedra's is the exception.

Nedra · 07-04-2008, 02:34 PM

Hi Les and Bud I would certainly hope ours is the exception and honestly I don't think we are looking for perfection nor do we expect it but we do expect to be able to drive down the road without everything breaking...including my back due to all these problems with the ride!

Nedra

crudeman · 07-06-2008, 11:56 AM

Hang in there Nedra, it will get fixed properly hopefully. Much to some that post here Monaco is far from perfect, nor the product that make, but given time you will be able to make them repair what is suppose to be right. I have been there and done that but for my universal joints it was not easy until I fooled the smart azz warranty person ( shawn, sean) or however you prounounce it back about 6 months ago. I had the goods along with the service records and he admitted as well that there was a issue so the story goes hang in there with them. Its amazing if its vendor issues which I had plenty the first year its not a problem but if it becomes something under their control it gets push back. I have been happy of late with our Ambassador but not always been the deal. Good Luck with your repairs and hope things work out for you.

Nedra · 07-06-2008, 01:44 PM

Hi Steve, yeah, I dealt with Shawn (and a dozen others) who actually denied that Monaco authorized any work on our air bags and ride height last June. I told him I had the documentation in my hands and read him everything on it which clearly stated the Monaco authorization number and the names of the service techs who gave the wrong ride heights. Anyway I finally got to his supervisor who admitted they did authorize that. So, Monaco is far from perfect in my books. Seems the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing.

I'm confident we will get it right but surely not because of anything Monaco has done....

Nedra

Nedra · 07-12-2008, 03:52 AM

The problem seems to have been resolved by Cummins finally after over a year of going round and round.

I won't go into details but a third party went and remeasured to ensure that it was set at the correct ride height this time. It was done at the place where we had the ding in our rear fixed this week. We also had them inspect the roof while it was there and they found that the caulking was very thin and needed to be fixed because it was on the verge of leaking. We had them reseal everything. They said it was not applied thick enough to begin with. Glad we had them check it and now that is taken care of.

Anyway, we were there when the air bags were re-measured and I even got to see where the bags were sitting and the cones. It was pretty darned close to perfect so it appears that Cummins did the job right.

I've been talking to the Tech Support Manager in Oregon and he is going to approve to have some of the things fixed that got messed up again after this last go around when the bags were set at 10 inches in errorand the ride was so bad.

Once that's all done I will talk to the Customer Service Director again. But the bottom line now is that after going from bad to worse we are finally at good and the coach rides like a dream rather than a nightmare (or as close to it as you can get with this coach).

Nedra

Nonno · 08-03-2008, 05:03 PM

Nedra, in an earlier post you mentioned the shower door fell off a few times. How did you get it fixed so it would stay on? Looking at ours there isn't much that holds it onto the bottom track.

Reason I'm asking is that our shower door fell off too. One of the four plastic rollers came off the post has a little chip in it and a couple of the ball bearings are missing. Will have to order a replacement.

How has the ride been since it was last adjusted?

Nedra · 08-04-2008, 06:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob Russo:
Nedra, in an earlier post you mentioned the shower door fell off a few times. How did you get it fixed so it would stay on? Looking at ours there isn't much that holds it onto the bottom track.

Reason I'm asking is that our shower door fell off too. One of the four plastic rollers came off the post has a little chip in it and a couple of the ball bearings are missing. Will have to order a replacement.

How has the ride been since it was last adjusted?

Hi Bob,
The door was fixed 3 times and the last time Rocky Mountain fixed it. Then on our next trip out (that was when RM supposedly fixed the ride issue and actually made it worse) it fell off again. When RM fixed it they replaced the rollers and when the door fell off the last time Al tightened the nuts on the roller. They aren't the best shower doors that's for sure
and if there was a way to get a shower curtain up there I'd do that instead. But it seems to be ok now that Al tightened the nuts.

Al said the shaft of the rollers can rotate to lessen the distance between top and bottom roller. This is how you make the door tight in the track. Use a flat blade screw driver to rotate the shaft and tighten the nut to secure. You probably have noticed that the shaft has a cap nut on the end to finish. Take that off and it reveals the screw slot. The nut that is still on the shaft is the one you tighen.

As for the ride, it's much better thanks to Cummins. That was one of the funniest experiences. Rocky Mountain was so adament that they had done it right and Cummins did it wrong that they wanted a third party to check the ride height. Well they did and we were there at the time. The ride height was perfect. The interesting thing is that when I talked to the Service Manager at Monaco in Oregon he told me that his conversations with Cummins he found out that the bags were fully extended when it was brought into Cummins and he was not happy that he paid RM and they had messed up. He said that the original rods were the right ones and RM had told them they were too short. So Cummins had to cut the rods to get them back down to the right size. He also said that the ride height might have been set wrong but the original rods were correct.

Wnen we brought it back to Cummins for the Asst Service Manager from RM called and gave them a hard time and came over while our coach was there to check the ride height himself. Guess what, it was still right when he checked it. I guess his master certified service tech measured with his eyes closed and he must have taken his word for it and not actually checked it personally as he told us he did. ARG

The bottom line is the ride is much better and after more than a year of dealing with the nightmare we can enjoy the ride. We do have some issues that have surfaced since all this happened, like the vinyl flooring separating and slide trim and compartment trim that have vibrated off and some of the caulking is separating again but I'm working with someone at Monaco and I will talk to him about it when we get back from vacation. I'm hoping we can come to some agreement on some of our out of pocket expenses due to all of this.

After all of this we have decided not to do business with RM again. Not just because of the service issues but also because of a very bad experience with their sales department, the sales manager and Manager over a deal they had made with us on a new coach. And if their "master certified" techs who they claim are the best screwed up so badly it kinda makes me gun shy about their service dept. We did find a really good RV service center (not a dealer trying to sell new rigs) who is very good, very honest and very highly recommended. He did some work for us after all of this and didn't even charge us. Resolved some ongoing issues that RM and Camping World did not fix and they were easy fixes and solved the problems. Makes me wonder why the other places with their master certified techs couldn't have figured it out.

We bought this in April, 2007 and this is the first vacation we've been able to take in this. Our little weekend trips all ended up with the coach going right back in for service. This trip has been wonderful. While it will need to go back in for some work when we return it's all stuff that actually happened before the ride height was fixed and now relatively minor.

Nedra