Info needed on a 2006 Beaver Marquis Topaz

[JourneyWinn]

Hi / I’m looking at a 2006 Beaver marquis - any thoughts? Good or bad?

[1doodadd]

I love my Coach and think Highly of the Beaver product. I know that the year you are looking at is a Monaco product, but still Quality. What engine is in it?

[JourneyWinn]

525 cat

[CountryB]

That's a great Coach. Probably the best year (before the CAT diesel exhaust emissions (2007+) and its built on the top-of-line Roadmaster S chassis).

IMO, the next best choice is the 2005 Beaver Marquis or Patriot Thunder. This is built on the SMC Magnum "Blue Diamond" chassis (SMC's top-of-line chassis) but does not have the "multiplexing" system the 2006 has. As nice as multiplexing is (less wiring and cool looking switch panels) the (Intellitec) system used by Monaco is not really something most can repair. I prefer the old fashioned hard wired setup.

[JourneyWinn]

What would the issues be for getting parts?

[Ivylog]

If you go to the new Monaco for a starter it sucks but in a minute on Ebay you can find one. Other than the front/rear fiberglass caps, Beaver/Monaco didn’t make much else. Beavers are noted for their woodwork but by 04 the other Monaco products were close to the same quality. The Cat Acert engines started in 04 and got even worse in 07 and in 09 Cat gave up trying to meet the increase pollution requirements. I’d do a search on Cat Acert engine problems... the bigger the engine the bigger the problems.

Maybe a moderator will move this to the Monaco section.

[pduggs]

You should post this in the Monaco forum. You’ll likely get a greater response.

[CountryB]

Originally Posted by Ivylog

The Cat Acert engines started in 04 and got even worse in 07 and in 09 Cat gave up trying to meet the increase pollution requirements. I’d do a search on Cat Acert engine problems... the bigger the engine the bigger the problems.

I'm not sure what you meant by "the bigger the engine, the bigger the problems".
Maybe you meant "the bigger the engine the more expensive it is to maintain and repair".

I think it is better to go bigger than smaller. Except that fuel economy would most likely be worse with the larger engine. A larger displacement engine produces more HP and Torque which means less stress on the internal engine parts than a smaller engine with the same load on it.

Sort of like a pickup truck with a 4 cylinder turbo engine -compared to the same truck with a V8. The larger engine will last longer (under high/full load. Not talking about idling).

[Ivylog]

“Bigger the engine the bigger the problems.” This is even more so with the 2007-2009 Acert engines.
The C9 gave more problems than the C7. $$
The C13 gives more problems than the C9. $$$
The C15 gives more problems than the C15. $$$$
The two turbos in series was prone to burning the second one up.$$$
In 2005 at a Monaco rally in Orlando there were a bunch of Beaver owners unhappy with the new Cat Acert engines that had decreased power and poor mpg compared to their previous non Acert engines. After multiple computer flashes (reprogramming) some of both was restored but never to the precAcert level.

Part of the problem was Cat had to actually meet the new pollution standards while Cummins was able to use credits from their 5.9 (different standard) to offset their larger engines that did NOT meet the stricter standards. Cat didn’t make a small engine so no credits.

[CountryB]

Originally Posted by Ivylog

Part of the problem was Cat had to actually meet the new pollution standards while Cummins was able to use credits from their 5.9 (different standard) to offset their larger engines that did NOT meet the stricter standards. Cat didn’t make a small engine so no credits.

Interesting.

[vito.a]

To answer his question, the Beaver Marquis is the top of the line Beaver model and is similar to the Signature expect for the Cat engine. The Beaver interior wood work is the finest ever installed in a coach at any price. Some of the rumors when Monaco purchased Beaver was they bought it for the wood supplies and wood shop.

I assume its a 525hp Cat C13. This is a great engine with great power and will pull almost anything. They tend to vibrate more than a Cummins when cold, but off idle torque is fantastic.
Check the coach lifetime mpg as some Cats can be a bit thirsty.
Remember to watch the pricing!

[CTIIpilot]

Originally Posted by JourneyWinn

Hi / I’m looking at a 2006 Beaver marquis - any thoughts? Good or bad?

Not to hijack your thread...but I am curious to what process you are using to come up with a fair price for an 06? I saw another 06 Beaver and I was trying to determine what the value was. Thanks

[vito.a]

Originally Posted by CTIIpilot

Not to hijack your thread...but I am curious to what process you are using to come up with a fair price for an 06? I saw another 06 Beaver and I was trying to determine what the value was. Thanks

There are several ways to check RV pricing.
The first is NADA RV Bluebook.
https://www.nadaguides.com/RVs
The online price guide is meant for consumers. If you want the dealer/wholesale guide, you will need to subscribe. I have subscribed to it in the past when we were actively searching for a used coach. It's well worth the cost.

Another way is to learn to perform Nationwide search's on RVTrader.com, RVT.com, eBay, and the classified section of this forum. Then you rank order by price with lowest first. This puts the bargains up front and the unrealistic dealers at the end. After a few weeks of searching you will develop a feel for the good deals as well as the higher priced places.
When we were searching we found as much as $100k difference on the same year make and model coach.
A few hundred dollars for airline tickets can easily be offset by the money you will save.

[Ivylog]

X2 on a $200 on a airline ticket and $800 in fuel getting it home saving me $$$$... $165k on a 08 Navigator instead of several for $220K two years ago.
OP, I would increase your search to include Monaco Dynasty, Executive, Signature, HR Navigator, and Safari Panther. A Dynasty will give the most bang for the buck and it’s still on the RR10S chassis.