Community Forums

Jim Stewart · 09-01-2009, 05:22 PM

No I have not, but you may want to call Source Engineering and ask if they know of any plans, their number is in this thread somewhere!

YehtiCoPilot · 09-28-2009, 11:36 AM

Last month on a trip from Colorado to Califonia to Oregon, on I-5 just south of the Oregon border, driving straight & flat -- heard a large "clunk" from under our 2006 Monaco Caymen XL. We saw nothing in the road we could have hit but we pulled over & looked underneath -- saw nothing obvious so we drove on. Stopped for the night & awoke in the morning to continue our drive where we found that on application of the brakes, the rig leaned down in the front driver's side. Being in the middle of nowhere & only 100 miles from our destination, we continued carefully on. We suspected the problem was something with the chassis so immediately made an appointment with a Freightliner dealer (although our chassis is Roadmaster). After a test drive with their tech, it was discovered that the right rear suspension control arm was completely broken and the left one was cracked! The rear axle had shifted back enough that it broke the right rear shock & dented the air tank! It took only a couple of days to get the new control arms & all hardware from Scott @ Source Engineering in Portland, OR and the guys at Pacific Power Products in Bend, Oregon were fantastic! They worked really hard to get the repairs made and Scott Zimmer was very helpful to them since they had never made this type of repair before -- he took their calls, sent installation instructions & made himself available to answer questions. We were back on the road in a week. Here is what I have found out since then: we were never notified by Monaco of the problem (recall) since our rig is listed as an '06 BUT our CHASSIS was built in '05 (which was included in the recall)!

This could have resulted in a very serious accident that could have cost us our lives especially since we drive steep mountain roads all the time! There are people out there in the same situation so if you have an RR4R system GET IT INSPECTED! And specifically ask them to check the rear suspension control arms. These pictures show the broken right arm & the cracked arm on the left.

YehtiCoPilot · 09-28-2009, 11:39 AM

For more information or questions:

Scott Zimmer can be reached at Scottz.z@source1mfg.com
Source manufacturing LLC
(541)935-0308 -- office
(541) 915-1149 -- cell

losttj · 09-29-2009, 09:46 AM

What length coach is your Caymen? I read that there would be some research as to what length coaches have had the problem. One person reported that he had over 100k miles on his 34 ft. motorhome without any problems. I would like to know if anyone with a 34 ft Monaco or Holiday Rambler motorhome has had any of these problems.

R&J · 09-30-2009, 12:21 AM

In one of his early post he say 36ft Cayman XL

Thinking of taking a trip mid to late September to Mt. Rushmore. Looking for recommendations on places to stay as close as we can where they can accommodate our 36 footer...
Any help would be appreciated.

Rich (R&J)

YehtiCoPilot · 09-30-2009, 07:52 PM

We have a 36 foot Monaco Cayman -- And Rich, it's a she.

losttj · 10-01-2009, 05:13 AM

Thanks, I'm trying to determine if the 34' Monaco Cayman-Holiday Rambler Neptune have experienced this same issue. So far, all I have seen have been 36' +

YehtiCoPilot · 10-01-2009, 10:45 AM

I do not know specifically about the length but here is a list of units affected from Scott Zimmer at Source Manufacturing ... looks like your rig may be on the list...

Monaco Rambler Neptune 2002-2009 -- Sorry.

losttj · 10-01-2009, 01:15 PM

Thanks, I've seen that list from Source. I called Monaco to ask if my unit had the new Monaco arms installed, but they said that the recall was still active on mine so I still have the original arms on mine. I guess the original owner never bothered to get the arms changed or he never received a notice.

Check with Source and they said I have to go through one of their authorized dealers to get the parts even if I don't have them install them. Price is now $1800 for the parts.

bkphotog · 10-01-2009, 02:57 PM

Hi all:

I have been watching this thread and the one that is in the ROADMASTER Chassis area of IRV2 concerning this "trailing arm" issue and have decided to do the prudent thing for safety and have my MH changed out later this month. My 07 Neptune has only 9000 miles on it but I really do not want to take any chances. As far as I can tell right now, I do not see any cracks on my unit. Some of the stories I have heard are very scary

and I am very concerned. The work to change these out will be performed on the 19/20th of this month. I am also having KONI Shocks installed at the same time. I will post again after the work is done and and pass on any comments and evaluations of the work and if it improves the ride of this coach. The change out will be performed by a central CA truck / RV service center in Paso Robles CA. They are on the list provided by SOURCE MANUFACTURING LLC as a authorized service center for the "trailing arm" replacements.

YehtiCoPilot · 10-02-2009, 09:49 AM

Yes, an expensive part but worth every penny! The replacement parts made by Source are substantially stronger & significantly better than the replacement parts supplied by Monaco/Roadmaster we have been told. The original arm is to the forefront & the replacement arm manufactured by Source Engineering is to the rear (on the hydraulic jack) in the picture below. Our extended warranty policy covered about 70% of the costs for the parts & the repair. So you might check with yours if you have coverage -- the company came out & took pictures & eyeballed it all before agreeing to cover it. On the upside, the ride is so much better now & I am grateful every day we weren't seriously hurt or didn't have our break while 10 miles out on a dirt road somewhere in the middle of the gorgeous Colorado backcountry which would have been a lot worse hassle. The time it took to get parts & make repairs allowed us an extra week of vacation spending time with some of our dearest friends in beautiful Bend, OR!

... Overall, Life is Good so do what ya like, like what ya do.

Jerry & Sydney · 10-02-2009, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by losttj

Thanks, I'm trying to determine if the 34' Monaco Cayman-Holiday Rambler Neptune have experienced this same issue. So far, all I have seen have been 36' +

We have a 2008 35' Neptune and with only 7300 miles we had cracks in our trailing arms...they weren't detected until Scott @ Source coated them and put them under an ultraviolet light...we are so thankful to have replaced them before they caused any real damage. Better safe than sorry!

YehtiCoPilot · 10-02-2009, 10:19 PM

Yes, I wish we had known about hese postential cracks before we had the failure -- always in the back of my mind what else we don't know about???

MonacoRich · 10-05-2009, 08:40 PM

Hi Robin,

I have a 2007 Dynasty and I agree that the ride is not what I was hoping to have. In reading your comment, I'm not sure if you plan on Konis or already did Konis. If you already installed them, what difference did it make in the ride? Thanks in advance for your comments.

Rich

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robin_M

Jim,

That IS good news for those with the RR4R chassis. I have the RR8R on my Dip, of course, but even that ride does not compare favorably with the 4-bag Freightliner Custom Chassis that my previous coach was mounted on. Monaco loves to talk about their 8 airbag suspension, and I listened to all the hype from the salesman when we were coach shopping. After the test ride, I knew it didn't ride as well as my old coach, but I had already fallen in love with the floor plan and other amenities on the Dip. I ended up installing Koni FSD shocks to make the ride tolerable, after doing the ride height adjustment and tweaking the tires pressures. (And I padded the front TV with weather stripping so it wouldn't bang against the cabinet anymore.)

The difference is the size of the bags. The small "double-donut" bags that Monaco installed on the front of my coach seem rather pitiful when compared to the bags Freightliner used, which were beefy and twice as large. There is a trade-off however. The Freightliner did dip and sway a little more. But as for me, I'd rather have the smooth ride.

I think the sway can be controlled in other ways (Koni FSD shocks, for example). I'm hoping that one of the changes that Navistar makes, when they start re-designing chassis for the Monoac raised rail coaches, is in the suspension system.