We're planning on buying a "new" (used) Monaco

[anthrosciguy]

Originally Posted by Chuck 1935

I had two fogged widows that I fixed myself. I mean de fogged them and resealed them. The cost was zero. If you are handy it can be done. If not there are places that will repair them for you. You can do a search on here or someone will give you the name of repair people.

Okay, fair enough. Probably I could do it; I'm at least semi-handy.

One other question that came to mind is are these wired for solar? and I mean with decent size wiring, regulator? We've got a couple panels on our Trek we'd be bringing over to either add to or create a solar setup.

Thanks again for the helpful responses, BTW.

[B52Guy]

Hi,
We bought the HR last year and have been really pleased. Each day goes by I learn that the quality of my unit is really top-notch. The unit has 75K miles on it which seemed to indicate it was used by a a full-timer like person. All the maintenance records were available and the owner had done several nice upgrades including satellite and solar. I bought it from a smaller dealer who had dealt with this customer before...this was the second trade-up. When I picked up my unit, it had been spruced up with new carpet and fully serviced (and I mean completely!).

We've put on about 10K so far and love it. I think your idea of buying quality is really smart. If you are still unconvinced, just read through all the complaining by newer coach owners...some of them have 20, 30 or more issues with a brand-new coach...and many with 2 and 3 year old coaches are seeing problems that older Monaco coaches laugh at! Good luck.

[Mutt]

The Holiday Rambler unit is a little nicer than the Diplomat. It seems to have better quality in assembly. I have the Diplomat(2002) with the 8.3 Cummins 330 HP that has 950 Foot Pounds of Torque, which was standard starting around year 2000 I think. The ISB units have 275 HP, but only 660 Foot Pounds of Torque. The weight is too much for the ISB, and some of my friends who have the ISB Cummins, or the 3126 Cat units say they are underpowered. Be sure that you get the 8.3 engine with either 315 HP or the 330 in the Diplomat or Endeavor. And, I would at least try to find one with multiple slides in lieu of the single slide because of resale. Also, fuel milage is around 8mpg. Just my thoughts.
Mutt

[anthrosciguy]

I just took a look at HR's and see, besides the Endeavor, the Imperial and some newer Neptunes available some places in our "maybe" price range. Are these also good -- say as good as the Endeavor and Diplomat?

I like the idea of 3 slides, since you get the much bigger living room, but 2 slides doesn't interest us as much. We don't feel we really need the extra space in the bedroom as much (we've been doing without a bedroom in the Trek for 15 years. But most 3 slide coaches are too expensive for us. Resale value also doesn't come into it for us, because we plan on getting something we'll just keep. Say every 15 years we need a new coach; by the time we need a new one we'll be past caring,( ) and we'll just run it until it's dead.

[Mutt]

I can't say that the Diplomat's are that great. They are in the medium category as far as quality. The Holiday Rambler Imperial on the other hand is a high quality coach. I might say one thing as far as slides go. If you don't necessarily need the room in a coach, I would stay away from slides. They need continuous work and the sills will have to be replaced. Don't let anyone kid you, slides will leak. If someone doesn't have a leak, it's more than likely because they haven't found it yet. I think mine are doing good as far as leaks, but then I find something else to work on, like keeping them lubed and the tops of the slides washed to clean the debris off to try and keep the slide sills from having excess wear. MH's are a choice vehicle. If you have the time and money, buy as much product as you can. You mentioned Air Bags as far as ride goes. Remember, these units that you are considering for the most part have 8 Air Bags on the Roadmaster Chassis(Some of the older ones may have used the Freightliner Chassis). Air Bags do split and need to be replaced occassionally. I had one go out while traveling through Lincoln, NE in June of 2009. The temperature was about 100 degrees. We were just pulling into a Walmart as the bag blew out. I would describe that as a blessing from the Lord. At least we were not in the middle of nowhere. It took two days to get a new bag and get it replaced. Total cost installed, $330, and that included the use of my road service. Again, remember, these things have 8 of these. I shutter to think of having another go out somewhere. Need to keep a spare I suppose. In any event, good luck with your search.
Mutt

[rpasetto]

Originally Posted by anthrosciguy

One other thing I wanted to ask about your replies was the cloudy windows thing. Is this a Monaco thing or general? (I've never heard of it) Is it like fogged over looking or etched or what? I would assume if this happens you have no option but to live with or replace, right?

There are places that fix 'em. We've been to one last year (Suncoast in FL) and noticed a wide variety of coaches there... from Airstream to Prevost. SO, no, it's not a Monaco thing. Certain coaches/manufacturers may tend to have more or fewer problems but if you check the forums you can find these things out. Suncoast told us that Monacos' typical problem is the entry door window, for example.

[rpasetto]

Originally Posted by DiplomatDave

.... There are some features that we think we'd like to have. A second vanity sink, Aqua Hot, power awnings, power sun visors, slide out generator, slide out battery tray, etc. .....

Remember that some of this stuff adds weight, so, be cautious about the CCC of the coach.

[rpasetto]

Originally Posted by anthrosciguy

I just took a look at HR's and see, besides the Endeavor, the Imperial and some newer Neptunes available some places in our "maybe" price range. Are these also good -- say as good as the Endeavor and Diplomat? ....

The HR diesel pusher line, from "entry" to top-of-line:
Neptune Ambassador Endeavor Scepter Navigator
(The Imperial now gone, used to be between Scepter and Navigator)

The Monaco Coach line products matching these...
Cayman Knight Diplomat Camelot Dynasty Signature
(The Windsor, now gone, used to be between Camelot and Dynasty)

Going up the line, more features == more $$.

Considering "as good", better", etc, will depend on what you want and will accept. Both these lines have archives so you can compare feature to feature.
Holiday Rambler RVs: Products
Monaco Coach - brochures

Happy shopping.

[Coma]

Hill climbing is fine. West bound up I70 over Eisenhower was 35mph in 3rd uphill in the steepest sections and 30-35mph down hill. They've added a 35mph limit for over 26k gross, which is new.

[walt2137]

Originally Posted by anthrosciguy

That's probably (we'll be getting something, and I think Monaco is very high on the list of possibilities). We started looking around online and were surprised to find how (relatively) inexpensive diesel pushers are, and we're planning on buying one. I've thought the Monacos would be out of our price range but it seems there's quite a few, especially Diplomats around 1999, about. I'd think a used Monaco Diplomat with low(ish) miles would be a great purchase. (We've had a 93 Safari Trek, the small diesel Isuzu chassis, for 15 years and put a lot of miles on it -- 200,000 ourselves -- and the idea of a back bedroom, a quieter and hopefully smoother ride, and of course more room in general sounds pretty good. So we're thinking it's likely that we'll be looking for a 1999 Monaco Diplomat or around that year.

I know this kind of question asking is always a bit vague, since I don't know what might be a problem, but hopefully you folks won't be too annoyed to see this post. If you are, just avert your eyes.

Are there are quality control problems around that time, or specific problems we should look for? (I've looked a bit through the forum here, but any details would be greatly appreciated)

Any problems with the airbag suspension? Is it really smooth? (compared to the Trek I'd assume it will be, since the Trek is kind of a rough rider, albeit -- or because it's -- tough as nails)

What kind of real-world fuel mileage should we expect to get? (this was one nice thing about the Trek, especially back when diesel was cheaper than regular)

I'm assuming that the engine and trans should be good for several hundreds of thousands of miles, given decent care; true? 300,000? (again, Treks with the Isuzu engine/trans are pretty darned good there, given that they have to work pretty hard)

How's hillclimbing in the mountains, and does it have any tendency to overheat? (Treks are slow there, but steady, except that in the last few years ours tended to overheat too easily and we'd have to give it breaks; by slow I mean that going up into, say, the Bighorn Mts. or over somewhere like Wolf Creek Pass, we'd slow right down to 15-20mph -- the Trek having just a 4-speed didn't help there either)

Thanks for any replies and info. Wish I had more specific questions instead of this sort of fishing expedition, but this is a new search/research for us.

We had a 99 dip and was a great coach and the ISB engine was also, I did chip my engine from the 275 to over 300 hp and it improved the mpg and power we were in the hi 8 and low 9 at 62 mph towing around 3800 lb toad with the coach weight at the limit. The only thing I can say negative is the shepard steering gear it is a M80 and the M100 is a much better gear and on all Dips from 2000 to ? Our present coach has the ISC 350 engine and the ISC is in some of the Dips in 2000 and all later. The 3060 allison is a super trans just keep it serviced, the overheating problem is generally because the CAC and engine radiator has not been cleaned, the Monaco coaches do ride firm but handle great so air ride will be firm. On the warranty that would be your call I dont like them.

[SpursMVP]

Originally Posted by anthrosciguy

Ouch. For 6 grand or around I think we can self insure for breaking bits.

We purchased the Good Sams warranty for about 1.5 years, but after my first run in with them on a claim it was quickly cancelled. As someone else has said, it's your choice, but be prepared for them to find a 'not covered' clause.

Had the Gold Plan WITH seals protection; however they declined to pay a claim on a hydraulic leveler after the seal had failed. Went round and round and talked with 3 managers and more round and round.

My only wish is that the experience was a good as what some on this forum have experienced. Best of luck and I know you'll love your Monaco product.

We've got an '01 HR Endeavor and love the 8 bag system on it. Switched out the stock monroes with Bilstein shocks, added 400 watts of solar power on the roof and we're set.

One thing you might consider is paying someone that is certified to inspect your coach. We did NOT do this and eventually had to have our tile floor replaced, but I used that as an excuse to put wood flooring in its place.

Have fun and welcome!

[anthrosciguy]

Originally Posted by walt2137

We had a 99 dip and was a great coach and the ISB engine was also, I did chip my engine from the 275 to over 300 hp and it improved the mpg and power we were in the hi 8 and low 9 at 62 mph towing around 3800 lb toad with the coach weight at the limit. The only thing I can say negative is the shepard steering gear it is a M80 and the M100 is a much better gear and on all Dips from 2000 to ? Our

How much to chip the engine? Would you say that's something a basic mechanic could do given the parts? And on the steering gears, what's the difference between the two (in what way better)?

[walt2137]

The chip that I used is no longer available and it just required you to plug it in the the fuel control I also installed a exhaust temp gauge or pyrometer gauge to be able to watch the exhaust temp in the hills. If you chip your engine you will have to be careful with the exhaust temp and keep the RPM up on large hills or you could damage the engine severely. If you decide to chip your engine do your research carefully.
The M80 steering gear is just to small for the coach, I felt like that it tended to wonder more than it should and so did a lot of other folks, Monaco changed out some of the M80 to the M100 because of that.

[JimM68]

I love our Knight, though it is a bit newer than what you are looking at.

Monaco Corp makes thier own chassis, Roadmaster. There are 2 basic versions, the 4 bag was in the less expensive coaches, and has a known problem with trailing arms breaking. (There are heavy duty replacements available.

The more expensive coaches, including our knight, have the 8 bag chassis. This is an exclusive roadmaster design, and ride and handling are amazing. The axles are mounted in giant Steel H beams, located by trailing arms and panhard rods. The air bags are out at the corners of the H, 2 per wheel. Really reduces body roll and sway. So much so that these coaches do not have standard anti roll bars.

Holiday Rambler and Monaco are basically clones, kinda an Oldsmobile / buick thing. The pairs of models are very similar other than trim.