Community Forums

hpykmpr47 · 03-05-2014, 05:32 PM

My wife and I got to see the new 2015 Monaco Dynasty today at LazyDays in Seffner, FL.We were very impressed overall with the coach. The bedroom is great has 2 large windows which will be great for cross ventilation . Very nice bathroom with the biggest shower we have ever seen in a coach' There are some things I would change in the living area of the coach but overall we liked it ....Alan

osok · 03-05-2014, 05:41 PM

So when do you take delivery?

Dutch Star Don · 03-05-2014, 06:40 PM

They sound very nice, but the only thing on it that is a Dynasty is the name tag. The rest of it is a rebadged Fleetwood product. I don't understand how they can call it a Dynasty when the chassis the Dynasty was known for is gone.

In all honesty, the Roadmaster chassis was probably ready for retirement or some serious tweeking, but I find it silly to take a new coach, built by a builder who already has a high line series of coaches, and call it a Dynasty.

nforus · 03-05-2014, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

They sound very nice, but the only thing on it that is a Dynasty is the name tag. The rest of it is a rebadged Fleetwood product. I don't understand how they can call it a Dynasty when the chassis the Dynasty was known for is gone.

In all honesty, the Roadmaster chassis was probably ready for retirement or some serious tweeking, but I find it silly to take a new coach, built by a builder who already has a high line series of coaches, and call it a Dynasty.

Don,

it's a sad state of affairs but you're right!!. We are previous multiple Monaco owners and while we really like our Newmar coach, we hated to see Monaco brand go away. From what we've seen in the print ads for the new Dynasty, they have tried to remain true to the legacy woodworking in the Dynasty but it looks like it goes down the same production line as a Fleetwood or American Coach ( Not that it's a bad thing Just not a Monaco line in Coburg anymore) I never understood the Monaco, Holiday Rambler thing either though, just branding, and being able to have more dealers in the same area. So I guess that there are enough consumers who actually don't know whats going on.

Papa_Jim · 03-05-2014, 07:05 PM

I'm guessing that the folks that know the old Dynasty semi-monocoque chassis design on the outboard bag Roadmaster chassis probably aren't going to be in the market for a new coach any time soon. The folks that will be in the market for a new coach probably don't know anything about the old Dynasty chassis design, and probably couldn't care less.

While I believe that the new Dynasty is nothing more than a rebadged Fleetwood coach, I do believe that it's a high quality product.

Jim

deSanford · 03-05-2014, 07:18 PM

Can't help jumping in here and adding my .02 cents. I believe ASV got a good deal on all the real estate and other items like a large tax write off on destroying the jigs and and anything to do with the Roadmaster chassis. Sold all of the Monaco "campuses" and made a profit etc. So why not just use their existing management team and be a lean and mean corporate company and make a high line coach? Of course if they want to call it their high HP line of coach a Monaco so be it. Everything else can be manufactured in their shop or purchased from outside vendors. If they (ASV) wants to have different dealers sell their goods then they can give the dealers different franchises to sell the different lines of their coaches. Monaco as we know it is GONE, and like it has been said before rebadging an RV is not the same as a separate RV manufacturer making their own line of RVs. Thanks for reading my thoughts on this. deSanford

nforus · 03-05-2014, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deSanford

Can't help jumping in here and adding my .02 cents. I believe ASV got a good deal on all the real estate and other items like a large tax write off on destroying the jigs and and anything to do with the Roadmaster chassis. Sold all of the Monaco "campuses" and made a profit etc. So why not just use their existing management team and be a lean and mean corporate company and make a high line coach? Of course if they want to call it their high HP line of coach a Monaco so be it. Everything else can be manufactured in their shop or purchased from outside vendors. If they (ASV) wants to have different dealers sell their goods then they can give the dealers different franchises to sell the different lines of their coaches. Monaco as we know it is GONE, and like it has been said before rebadging an RV is not the same as a separate RV manufacturer making their own line of RVs. Thanks for reading my thoughts on this. deSanford

Can someone please explain the Tax break for destroying the Roadmaster Jigs that I've seen referred to here more than once? Did it have a taxable value and then not have a value when destroyed? I'm sure it makes sense to someone but I don't get it. The Jigs were bought out of Bankruptcy at a bargain price, had probably been depreciated by legacy Monaco for Tax purposes?????

deSanford · 03-05-2014, 07:37 PM

I'm not a tax accountant, but I believe when ASV had "tax" auditors watch the destruction of the proprietary Roadmaster assembly equipment they wrote off. They figured I believe it had some value as a "write" off. deSanford ..........What difference does it make to make a Monaco on an other companies chassis? That was an important part of the Monaco line of motor homes. 8 or 10 outboard air-bags.

nforus · 03-05-2014, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deSanford

I'm not a tax accountant, but I believe when ASV had "tax" auditors watch the destruction of the proprietary Roadmaster assembly equipment they wrote off. They figured I believe it had some value as a "write" off. deSanford ..........What difference does it make to make a Monaco on an other companies chassis? That was an important part of the Monaco line of motor homes. 8 or 10 outboard air-bags.

Thanks deSanford, there are a few tax guys on this site so hopefully they will weigh in. Usually when assets transfer, their tax "basis" is adjusted to reflect some notion of the adjusted market value. Since the Roadmaster chassis had sold at a devalued price to both Navistar and ASV, and had sold very few coaches since 2009, I would be surprised if that value was very high. It will be interesting to find out the real answer to this!! If I was Newmar or Entegra, I would be interested in getting my hands on the Roadmaster or the Country Coach ( Dynomax) chassis for a whole bunch of performance and marketing reasons!!

Dutch Star Don · 03-06-2014, 03:07 AM

Here is something I discovered when I bought and began working on my Dutch Star. Others may have already figured this out, I'm a little slower though. Monaco, being one of the few proprietary chassis builders had an advantage when building a coach. Since Monaco was making their own chassis, they could place things like fuel tanks, air tanks, fuel filters and other engine/chassis items where ever they wanted because they were also building the body.

Other builders, who use Freightliner or Spartan chassis, don't have the same options. When Freightliner builds a chassis, they're possibly building it for Tiffin, Newmar or Winnebago. Consequently, everything has to be integrated within the frame rails or parameters of the chassis, so that each company gets an item that they know their coach body will fit.

For example, Monaco placed the fuel filters and air dryer in a storage bay. Freightliner has to keep the filters located close to the engine. On my new Freightliner, they squeezed the air dryer into an area high on the frame between the frame rails. I'll have to hire a small boy to get in there to service it.

Another prime example was the rear radiator coaches made by Monaco. Since Monaco was designing both the chassis and body, they placed the Charge Air Cooler on top of the radiator. This meant it was stacked high up into the back cap. Freightliner had to sandwich theirs together so they didn't interfere with the rear cap of other manufacturers. This made for a better performing rear radiator and less problems with clogging and cleaning.

So it's sad to see a proprietary chassis disappear, but Monaco just wasn't building what people wanted. I personally wanted a shorter coach in a high end model. Many new I was searching for a 2009 Dynasty Bishop IV that was 39' with a tag, but Monaco was making the Diplomat and higher in 40' + models and the Navistar motor. I'm sure I'm not the only one who felt they just were not building what the public wanted.

My new Dutch Star is a true 40' (exactly cap to cap) has a tag and comes with Cummins high HP motor. They're also building a 34' and 37' with big motors. Why couldn't Monaco do that....Tiffin and Newmar saw the demand and responded.

I loved my Diplomat, it was management that disappointed me.

hpykmpr47 · 03-06-2014, 04:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by osok

So when do you take delivery?

Not likely to happen any time in the foreseeable future.

nodine · 03-06-2014, 04:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nforus

.....If I was Newmar or Entegra, I would be interested in getting my hands on the Roadmaster or the Country Coach ( Dynomax) chassis for a whole bunch of performance and marketing reasons!!

Probably the real reason ASV destroyed the Roadmaster chassis. Keeps another company from purchasing and using it. Although the Roadmaster chassis has a large fan base, the truth is that it was becoming dated and needed to be updated. ASV choose to use a Freightliner chassis instead of updating the Roadmaster. I bet the main driver was cost. Freightliner can get a better price on the Cummins engine than ASV could building their own chassis.

Bob

hpykmpr47 · 03-06-2014, 04:39 AM

A lot of good points have been made here in the previous posts but I guess I look at it in a different light. We love the 2012 Monaco Knight we have. It is not the same as the older Monacos. Maybe the older ones were better,don't know I did not have one. There are a lot of improvements that could be made in our coach. I'm sure that can be said for most coaches be it Fleetwood, Tiffin ,Monaco of whatever. I would have liked Navistar to make a go of the Rv business ,that unfortunately didn't happen .The old version and the Navistar version are gone. Maybe the new Monaco is just a Fleetwood in Monaco clothing but I am excited that someone has taken over Monaco to keep the name going. There are only a few motor home manufacturers left and they make a lot of different models so maybe just maybe the Monaco name will evolve into a model that is different than the other Fleetwood, American Coach models only time will tell. Apparently the Roadmaster chassis is gone for good,maybe it was time and maybe there will be a better chassis developed because of it, weather it be by Fleetwood , Spartan or whoever.I for one am willing to wait and see what the new owners of Monaco comes up with over the next couple of years before saying they are just another Fleetwood....Alan

atamians · 03-06-2014, 05:42 AM

Just to make it more fun, I was talking with one of the regional guys from HR at the RV show and he says ASV is going to re-create the Beaver line with a single coach. Their plan according to him is to rebadge a unit from the Monaco line up. He was thinking it would either be the Dynasty or the Diplomat.

Chris