Community Forums

edsalzer · 08-06-2009, 08:18 PM

Hi To All,

This is an update and review of the events which have transpired regarding the cracked trailing arms on my 04 Ambassador.

...Both arms were found to be cracked during routine maintenance and service at Kaiser Break & Alignment in Eugene OR.

...After reviewing the size and direction of the cracks and discussing the crack progression rate with Source Engineering, Scott Zimmer, and the techs at Kaiser it was determined that it was safe to drive back to LA and have the repairs done at Colton Truck in Colton CA. This repair facility was recommended by Scott, he has worked with them in the past as have the guys at Kaiser.

...Coach was taken to the Colton Truck facility, cracks were reinspected and found to have progressed 1/16 " further in both directions in 1123 miles of driving. This is a very fast crack progression rate.

...It took 4 days from the time the Source Engineering kit, PN TEA1002, order was placed till the parts arrived at Colton. Fast service.

...$1150. labor (10 hours at $115.00/hr), Trailing Arm Kit $1653.00 including freight. Total $2308.00. Colton was able to complete the installation in 1 day after the parts were received.

The following people and their respective companies and phone numbers are provided with their permission. They all have provided the best possible service and support during the complete process having to do with this problem. The should be contacted by everyone who has concerns and questions, they are one bunch of smart people who know how to get it done.

Kaiser Break & Alignment,
Contact is Jeff, Service Manager
Phone Numbers: 541-344-5887 or
800-877-5890.

Source Engineering
Contact is Scott Zimmer
Phone Number: 541-935-0308

Colton Truck Terminal Garage Inc.
Contact: Rich Doltar, Ed Doltar,
Steve Hammerschmidt
Phone Number: 909-825-4080

The total cost of the repair was covered under the terms of my Easy Care policy (less $50.00 deductible.

I discussed with Scott what should be the appropriate crack inspection interval for coaches with no current cracks. His recommendations were that the inspection should coincide with the drive shaft "U" joint lubrication intervals of 5000 miles (not 15000 miles). Any sign of cracks is cause for replacement.

Jim's repair success in Florida, Kaiser in Oregon and Colton in California give us some reasonable distribution of successful repair facilities, I am sure there are more out there, just nor discovered yet.

I am very pleased with the newly installed parts and am glad to get this behind me.

If there are any questions, thoughts, ideas or comments please post them, e-mail me or call me at 310-489-0031 and I will share what information I have.

Make sure you do the inspections at the 5000 mile interval, this problem can result in a catastrophic failure.

Regards to all,

Ed

Nonno · 08-06-2009, 08:41 PM

Ed,

In your discussions with Kaiser, Source, Colton and others, what is the correct procedure when checking for the cracks? Tires on the ground? Tires off the ground? Both?

edsalzer · 08-06-2009, 10:45 PM

Bob,

Inspection of the trailing arms in both modes, tires on and off the ground is the preferred process. Being able to see the cracks depends on the amount of dirt on the arm, where the crack is located and what the crack length and width is. The inspection is, at best, critical and is best accomplished by a qualified repair agency using the proper equipment to support the coach. Colton Truck has indicated they would accomplish the inspection at no charge to the customer.

Nonno · 08-07-2009, 07:51 AM

If only Colton were in NH rather than CA.

In addition to crawling under myself, I did take it to a local truck center. Since my jacks were not working when it came time for them to lift it they used a bottle jack, one side at a time. No sign of cracking but probably not the proper way you mentioned. Since the arms have rust they did suggest cleaning and painting because a crack would be easier to see. BTW I'm at approx 9k.

lhb cayman · 08-07-2009, 08:18 AM

Here is a copy of the Monaco letter sent to affected customers in 2005.

Nonno · 08-07-2009, 08:34 AM

lhb cayman

Thanks for the letter. What has been found is that the replacement part used to satisfy the recall is also failing. Like many others, my coach was not a part of that recall, in my case because it's an 07, and it should have the arm used to satisfy the recall but that is proving to be faulty also.

Up N Flames · 08-14-2009, 10:30 AM

Just picked up my 08 Cayman for a trip. Crawled under the RV. No cracks at almost 9K miles. I printed lots of the information from this thread and will keep it in my RV. I will add this to my things to check frequently. Thanks for the heads up on this issue.

edsalzer · 08-17-2009, 08:03 AM

Hi to all,

Have just past the 1000 mile mark since having trailing arms replaced at Colton Truck. Their recommendation of a torque check on the "U" bolts and other attach hardware has been completed. All attach hardware was found to be as installed, no fasteners were in need of being tightened.

For those of you who have had your trailing arms replaced do NOT forget to get them checked at about 1000 miles since repair.

Ed

SPA48 · 08-18-2009, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonacoMama

Monaco38...I think you might not have looked thoroughly enough for all your bags. You might see from this link where you should find the other 4 missing bags. You can check the specs of the 2003 Camelot or even the 2002 Windsor specs to see both rigs came with the RR8 chassis.

Well Folks---My Diplomat says it has the RR8 chassis and it ONLY has six air bags on it---When I questioned Mopnaco in Oregon They told me to read the fine print on the manual----They have the right to change anything Monaco wants to and You have nothing to say about it as long as it doesn't cause a danger!!!!! Make You wonder -why they went under ?????

Steve
2006 Diplomat DST

Flagelpater · 08-19-2009, 12:07 PM

SPA48, Can we assume the missing 2 bags are on the front Axel? Can you elaborate a little more on the configuration? I thought the RR8 stood for Raised Rail 8 Bags. You would have thought they would have called yours RR6! Do you have any pictures?

SPA48 · 08-19-2009, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPA48

Well Folks---My Diplomat says it has the RR8 chassis and it ONLY has six air bags on it---When I questioned Mopnaco in Oregon They told me to read the fine print on the manual----They have the right to change anything Monaco wants to and You have nothing to say about it as long as it doesn't cause a danger!!!!! Make You wonder -why they went under ?????

Steve
2006 Diplomat DST

spa48

ADD ON
2 bags on front---no pictures--- I do believe, that does makes a difference on ride!!!!!!

walt2137 · 08-19-2009, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPA48

Well Folks---My Diplomat says it has the RR8 chassis and it ONLY has six air bags on it---When I questioned Mopnaco in Oregon They told me to read the fine print on the manual----They have the right to change anything Monaco wants to and You have nothing to say about it as long as it doesn't cause a danger!!!!! Make You wonder -why they went under ?????

Steve
2006 Diplomat DST

You need to look again Steve, the 06 Dip is a 8 bag Roadmaster chassis.

Walt

nplenzick · 08-27-2009, 08:40 AM

For those of you who have had your trailing arms replaced with the ones from Source MFG was it a pretty straight forward procedure? After two weeks mine are finally on there way to my repair facility today. They'll start doing the work tomorrow. I'm hopping that they can finish it as I we would really like to take our niece to Assateague this weekend and it would be the third time we would have had to cancel because of problems with this coach.
This is a 2003 Safari Sahara, the drivers side was completely cracked in half and the passenger side was cracked half way thru. They couldn't believe I didn't make the six o clock news.
Here's another question for you. If your on the road and one of these trailing arms fail and does damage to your coach, how do you get it to a repair facility? I wouldn't think a tow truck could pick up the front. I wouldn't think they could or would tow it by picking up the rear. Maybe they would have to flatbed it? Then again that may be a problem for clearance issues.

Jim Stewart · 08-27-2009, 10:08 AM

Hello,

I had mine done and once the arms are received, it takes about 8-10 hours for a shop to take off the old and install the new. Since this affects so many different Coaches, there are some variations.

On mine, 2005 Safari Cheetah 38PDQ, there was a centering pin on the axle. The plate on the new arm did not have a hole for the centering pin, so the pin had to be ground off (all new shipments have the centering pin hole).

I ordered the newest version with larger U-Bolts and the existing plate had to have the holes enlarged for the larger u-bolts. My original arms had a shim welded to the bottom where the plate bolts on (not all units do) and the shims had to be added.

The above describes some problems with trying to make a standard replacement part for many variables on installation. So far it would seem that Source Engineering is adapting well and you need to have the installer talk with them about any problems they encounter before they take it upon themselves to solve the problem, this will save time and money.

Be sure to take it back after 1,000 or so miles to have the torque checked on all bolts as a precaution.

It is my understanding that if no other damage is done (Bags, etc.) and the arms are not completely broken, you may be able to drive a short distance to a repair facility. If already in bad shape, a flatbed, if you can find the proper one that allows for the height problem could be used, but they are few and far between. Don't know how you tow a motorhome with the rear tires off the ground, but I suppose it is possible.