Still happy owners of a 1991 Monaco Signature
We got a great little dog, Mei, at the pound. Lissa says she wants to take her "in her house everywhere". Welcome to RV'ing. After looking at about 30 units with some experienced RV'ers, we decided that the older affordable Monaco's we saw seemed to be real solid.
We found a very well-kept '91 L10 Cummins/Allison 2spd transaxel/4spd tranny, diesel pusher with 81k miles for $18k. It has good bones. It needed tires, dash AC repair, and later much more stuff (furnace relay, battery isolator, inverter, hydraulic fan motor- finding that thing was a trip). Not to mention a tow car that cost more than the coach (2012 Subaru Outback).
Funny things happened, like turning off and removing the ignition key and the coach continues to run (miswired relay for "Aux Radiator Fan"), and cabinet doors coming apart in your hands (easy- clamp and glue). I knew the expenses would mount up but we are "in for the long haul", pun intended.
We have missed out on a couple of planned trips, but are looking forward to finally proving out 'Chicken', as we like to call her. We spent one night in her, but awoke to 38 degrees F with a failed furnace and dead batteries. We have logged about 300 miles so far, with almost all taking her between repair shops. Still, it has been an adventure we have enjoyed and cataloged at our therapy blog.
I am interested in other folk's experiences with their older machines. We might have some common ground worth sharing. Any suggestions or insights? I found iRV2 looking for answers and have really appreciated the technical expertise you are all willing to share. Thank you.
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