Newbie looking for Diplomat opinions

[srrobe]

Hello- My wife and I are searching for our new land yacht (yep, I'm a former boater!)We've been to a show sooked atr many,and tend to favor the Monaco Diplomat. I was wondering if anybody has any opinions on the new 2011 they would like to share. Since we are raw at this, I can't help but feel i don't know what I don't know. We've learned, as in boating, there are trade off's and the "perfect coach" doesn't exist. We intend to travel extrensively i.e. 3-4 months at a time several times a year. I'm not one for staying in one place for a long time. Please share your thoughts and point me in another direction if there is something better in our price range of 225-250K

Thanks!
Rich

[LewF]

Rich, not sure you will find a 2011 Diplomat for the price range you are looking for. Looks to me like they are about $325K with the usual dealer spec'd suite of options. The Diplomat is now a tag axle, 43 ft diesel pusher with features that approach the high end rigs. May be wrong on the price but my quick check on the internet found the price above. Good luck - life on the road is good.

Can offer opinions on our preference on features, etc, but be prepared to have your opinion change as you use the coach. We are in our third coach and we still wish we had done one thing differently selecting this coach - we need more bathroom space and a "power room" - oh well.

Lew

[srrobe]

Thanks Lew- The RV show we attended had the Diplomat @ $245K. No Sat but from what I could tell from the literature, it was pretty decked out. My wife likes the double sink in the rear bath. What's the deal with aqua hot vs propane heat? I get the "all the hot water you want" but is it a better way of heating the coach? The Factory rep said they would build one with it if I want.

[JMonroe]

25% off MSRP is pretty standard, so you could conceivably be looking at rigs with a list price of up to $335. As to what rig is best for that price, you'll get almost as many opinions as there are members on this board.

I just went through the research phase and at that price point I'd also suggest you look at and consider the Newmar Dutchstar. The Itasca Elipse (the new QD floorplan is outstanding) was also in that price range. We ended up ordering an American Revolution for just a bit more, MSRP would be between $360 and $370k, depending on floorplan and options. We felt it to be worth every penny of the extra.

Good luck!

[trouble&rose]

Hey Rich check out the HR ENdeaver same as diplomat but might have the 40ft your looking for
we have th endeaver and have never been sorry

[hardy1000]

As stated above the Endeavor and Diplomat are the same. I have a 2007 Diplomat 40PDQ that I ordered new and we love it. We camp with our friends who also ordered 2007 Diplomats at the same time as us and all are happy. One of the Dips has had a couple of slide problems that were fixed and mine had a boost gage that quit working and it was replaced for $40.00. The obvious best advice that I could give you is drive a few MH's to verify that it is right for you. You will know when you walk into to one that feels right but you will want to drive it also to verify your decision. Making that kind of investment I would drive Newmar, Tiffin, and Winnebago just to make sure that the Diplomat is right for you. I have been very happy with my Diplomat but if I was in the market I would also consider looking at the mfg's that I suggested. Myself, being a happy Monaco owner, they would definalty be my first choice but I would still look.
Good luck and welcome to the huge RV family.

[danes-on-tour]

Hi Rich

I frequently see nice deals on Diplomat's at www.rv-online.com

Here is an example I Googled today. $210,000 for a new 2010 tag axle Diplomat.

Good luck hunting

[I-LOVE-RAMBLIN]

We bought a new 2011 Diplomat DFT in June from Lazydays. We love the new coach. We had a 40' Endeavor PDQ prior to the Diplomat. The Diplomat has tons more rooom and many high end features. You can expect to pay in the $230's plus TTL for the coach pretty tricked out. We especially love the residential refrigerator since we lost our Endeavor to a refrigerator fire in the Norcold Gas frig.
Ed Robbins
2011 Diplomat DFT
League City, Tx

[Bonanza]

We are pretty much newbies also, we looked for 2 years before we bought. We looked at new mh's but decided to go with a used model so we could decide if motorhoming was what we wanted to do, so if you are just getting into it I would suggest maybe a smaller investment on a coach you think you would like. We looked at every make of motorhome and settled on a 2004 Monaco Diplomat and we love it, we have a bath and a half DFT with 74,000 miles and have had it for a year and a half now and have not had any problems to speak of. I found the Roadmaster Chassis to be great for us because of the ride we get, we drove, Monaco, Tiffin, Newmar, American Eagle, Fleetwood, Wini, Travel Supreme and many more and decided on the Monaco. Now when we retire and go full time we will look at the Tiffin again and most assuredly Monaco. As stated above you need to drive as many as you can to see what suits your taste and comfort level. I personally prefer Monaco and like Tiffin because of their service. Good Luck in you search.

[srrobe]

Thanks All for the input! I really appreciate it!. So it's off to see ( and drive) Itasca 42qd this weekend. We'll see if the Dip is a passing fling or a true love affair. I'll keep you posted.

[deaton]

HI Rich -

I thought I'd address you question on the Aqua Hot. We're on our second Monaco coach and the first one (a Knight) had a conventional propane heater. When we traded that in on our Camelot, it had the Aqua Hot and, frankly, we thought it was just an expensive hot water heater.

We quickly learned that it's a lot more than that. The AH provides hot water heat throughout the coach - including the basement - and even pre-heats the engine. Since it runs on diesel as well as electrical power, you have flexibility in terms of power supply - although the electric heating element really can't handle the load when the temps get down into the low 40's.

When going down the road in cold weather, the engine will provide heat to the AH which, in turn, provides even heating to the coach.

So, while it does provide "instant" and "unlimited" hot water, it does a lot more and we really love the quite, even heat that the hot water radiators provide.

There are maintenance issues, and we just had our first "annual" maintenance performed on our Aqua Hot. I had it done this time by a guy who spent 11 years working at the AH factory and knows this gear inside and out. I felt the bucks I paid him to service the unit were well spent because I learned a lot of details about how to maintain the system and what to do to avoid future problems. It seems the biggest cause of failures on an Aqua Hot system are related to owners who fail to properly winterize the unit when putting the coach into cold weather storage. A frozen AH can be a VERY expensive problem. I plan to do the future maintenace myself, as it appears to be a relatively straight-forward process, once you've seen it done.

I would recommend you consider this option as you consider what coach you may want. We've been very happy with our two Monaco coaches and we would definitely buy our next coach with an Aqua Hot system.

[srrobe]

Thanks Dan! I spoke with a Mountain Aire owner who shares your opinion. Heat is going to be a big deal since we will sometimes leave (Michigan)in mid December and head south. So now that I think of it....how does that work? Winterizing...leave mid December...? Confused again!

[deaton]

Rich -

A lot depends on your storage situation.

The Aqua Hot has two liquid circuits. It works by heating up an enthylene glycol solution using either the electric heating element or the diesel fuel burner. The glycol solution in turn transfers it's heat through a built-in heat exchanger to regular water. It's that regular H2O side that can freeze up if the coach is sitting idle and not winterized. That can damage the heat exchanger and that costs big $$$$$.

Happily, you can solve the problem without winterizing if you can store the coach in such a way that you have enough electrical power available to run the electrical side of the Aqua Hot. While that electric element will not keep the coach toasty warm on a really cold day all by itself, it will suffice in a storage situation to keep the unit from freezing up.

In my situation, I keep the coach in an unheated garage, but I have a 15 amp electrical circuit that is enough to handle the heating element of the AH and the reefer. It doesn't get very cold here in Beaumont, Tx anyway and the few days we get where the temp does drop below freezing, that garage still doesn't get very cold with the AH on standby. I only have to worry about the power going out and I monitor that pretty closely.

If you park the rig outside, you can leave the diesel burner engaged, but that would burn up a fair amount of fuel on a coach you are not using.

Otherwise, you need to winterize the non-glycol side using the pink stuff, and this is handled at the same time you add the anti-freeze to the water loop of your coach.

If you did not have the Aqua Hot and you let that water loop freeze up, you would have a lot of damage to your water connections in the coach, and to your water pump, etc., but with the Aqua Hot freezing as well you would be adding about eight grand to the repair bill. So you need to avoid that by proper winterizing or simply keeping it hot.

[srrobe]

Thanks Dan for the education! Now I get it. I'm lucky to have building, not heated, large enough to store with ample power. Now that I get the concept it will just take a little planning depending on dparture time. Idealy I would like to head south before winterizing becomes an issue but that won't often be the case. I've done some additional reading on this and it is on the list of wants. Again my sincere thanks! BTW, as we make our bucket list of things and places, Texas is one of the tops!.