Are Holiday Ramblers good rigs?

[Roamin Mike]

I'm looking for a used DP. I've found a 2003 Neptune 34PDD. Was curious if people in the RVing world consider HR to be a quality rig?

[vsheetz]

Kissing cousin to Monaco. Yes, generally considered a good coach build. I will let other speak to specifics of the model you are looking at.

[John Jones]

I think the Neptune is comparable to the Monaco Knight. There were certain years that had some frame issues. I am sure people will chime in with some additional info.

[Crawfish39]

Some of the Holiday Ramblers DP were built on the Roadmaster Chassis R4R and RR4R and did have a problem with the trailing arms breaking. However once replaced with the improved model the problem was solved. Check with your mechanic to see if they have been replaced. I would think the trailing arms has already been replaced.
I have a 2011 Holiday Rambler Neptune DP; bought new, on a Roadmaster RR8R chassis, and other than a few minor problems it is a good coach.

[Dutch Star Don]

"Roamin Mike"......As noted above, Monaco made their own chassis, called the Roadmaster chassis. It was/is well known for good handling. Their most popular chassis was called the RR8R. This designation meant that it had four air bags and four shocks on the front and four air bags and four shocks on the rear. The air bags and shocks were mounted out by the wheels at the four corners of the front wheel wells and rear wheel wells (not at the frame).

They offered a less expensive chassis on their entry level coaches called the R4R. This was more like other brands with one shock and one airbag at each wheel. Many of these models had a trailing arm issue (arm that holds the rear end in place) that broke after a few years. The repair was about $3500.00. I'm guessing that most of the coaches have had the repair, but you need to check.

With all that said, stay away from the R4R chassis. It is one of the roughest riding chassis' on the market. Our friends have an 07 Neptune 37' at it's miserable. I added Koni shocks, adjusted the ride height and lowered the tire pressure to as low as it was safe and it still rides rough. Typically, when they arrive at a campground, all of their clothing will have been knocked off of the closet hangars.

Monaco made some great coaches and they're all good as long as they have at least the RR8R, 8 airbag chassis. You'll get some people who own an R4R chassis that will come on and argue they are okay, but it will be a huge mistake to buy one. (I owned a Monaco with the RR8R chassis for 10 years.)

[TMan59]

HR is basically the same coach as a Monaco.
As was stated above the 4 bag was not the best chassis. They offered I believe 5 models from entry level to high end.
I have to guess even the en

[grthigpen]

As stated earlier, the RR8R is a great chassis and I have a 2003 HR with the RR8R unfortunately, the Neptune has the RR4R and a lot other stuff about the Neptune is inferior to the upper level of that year like it only has 4k towing capacity where the RR8R has 10K and it only has a 2000 series Allison and not the 3000 series (the best ever built) and regular hydraulic brakes....this are just a few. Look for you a HR with the RR8R chassis and never look back my 2cents anyway

[draboo]

We have an 02 Neptune ppd 34 foot. We traveled 4K mi round trip from central OR to the UP of MI and back last summer towing a Geo Tracker with a dolly. I thought it rode just fine.

It is limited in it's towing capacity and the air over hydraulic brakes are rather odd, but we are enjoying it full time, for the time being. It is rather limited in room for full timin.

Make sure the trailing arm issue recall is done. We had a brake job done on it because of it's lack of use. The rear ABS module needed to be replaced. I also replaced the headbanger monster TV with a flatscreen in front and bedroom. Replaced light bulbs with LEDs. Replaced both slideout awnings with new material. New tires also. Tossed out the jack knife sofa and replaced it with a loveseat. Replaced the backup camera,too, along with the radio/dvd player.

Check the roof for seams being in need or resealing. Also, the walls will get wet from condensation from the single pane windows. Water leaked a bit from the window behind the passenger seat because of caulking gone bad. I recaulked every seam on the whole rig. I haven't had any leaks of any sort. The headlight switch started going south and the dash lights began not coming on, so I replaced that. Replaced both bathroom and shower ceiling fans with 6" 12v computer fans. Less noisy and have a nice blue LED when running.

We are planning a 3400 mi trip in a few weeks to Myrtle Beach for the winter and then back again to the UP of MI to host a campground for the summer. Looking forward to the adventure. It will be a bit different because I ll be driving the Neptune and the DW will be in the F250 towing a cargo trailer. Myrtle Beach is going to be our future home base instead of OR. Gonna miss OR. It's a beautiful state to live in.

If you have any questions, feel free to pm me.

Brad

[Jocko462]

Originally Posted by grthigpen

As stated earlier, the RR8R is a great chassis and I have a 2003 HR with the RR8R unfortunately, the Neptune has the RR4R and a lot other stuff about the Neptune is inferior to the upper level of that year like it only has 4k towing capacity where the RR8R has 10K and it only has a 2000 series Allison and not the 3000 series (the best ever built) and regular hydraulic brakes....this are just a few. Look for you a HR with the RR8R chassis and never look back my 2cents anyway

You took the words right out of my mouth.

[kiethco]

Our 1998 is like a time capsule. It looks brand new on the inside with only 60k miles on it. We bought it from the original owner and as with an older coach, you buy the maintenance records. The original owner had every fill up, every filter change logged and more.
1998 HR Endeavor, 5.9 cummins, Allison 3000 trans. Our 4th coach, 2 class A's, one class C and now 2 years with the HR. Love it.

[mojoracing]

The new Holiday Ramblers are duplicates for the most part with Fleetwood rigs. I know for a fact the gas rigs are but cant confirm the DP's. Saw it first hand at the louisville dealer show. Both Fleetwood and Holiday rambler are both owned by the same company and share many floorplans just different fluff.

[barmcd]

Here's my take on the HR brand. The coaches on the 8-bag chassis are great right out of the box, buy one and drive on. The 4 bag chassis needs the trailing arms replaced and probably the suspension upgrade kit. Here's the rub, the 8 bag suspension didn't come along until 2005 on models like the Ambassador, which means the prices start significantly higher. The 4 bag unit can be had for less than $40K. That makes the 4 bag unit an affordable alternative.

[USA-RVNomads]

We purchased our used 2004 HR Ambassador 38' and love it albeit is hasn't been without a few issues.

Trailing arms...even though ours wasn't within the quote unquote recall window...one failed on us. More about that here: RV Breakdown - Not Enough Muscles in those Arms

We had to replace all of the tires too...which was expected since the ones on it were the OEM tires it came with. If the tires are over 5 years old...negotiate NEW replacements in the deal.

Even though our HR is twelve years old, its build quality is still better than many new rigs on the market today. Its 330hp diesel powerplant isn't hampered by complex emission systems that rob hp away from the wheels. I get on average 8-10 mpg towing our car/dolly combo.

We also have had some minor repairs...microwave, lamps, switches...all little stuff you expect to fix with age and wear and tear.

Other than routine servicing...oil, filters etc she's one well built ole gal that is often mistaken for being newer than she really is.

[grthigpen]

HR, to me, is only rivaled by a Tiffin coach. I bought a 1 owner 2003 Endeaver 36 foot triple slide with 32K miles and i will gladly put it side by side one of the new ones....of course mine would be used LOL