Just found a 1985 Monaco Crown Royale

[Arricejr]

I was wondering if anyone new anything about these coaches ..it looks great inside its diesel i believe some kinda of cat engine
Owner says it runs but batteries are dead 150k miles sitting almost a year my fear is i dont know much about cat engines..i know Cummins i know Detroit.. they are practically giving me the rv at 3 grand ... but i like some pointers ...and the bathroom is huge as far as any other i have seen in a rv..so im not sure what floor plan it is but that. stuck out.. its about 36-40 ft.. double spot lights on top if that sounds familiar to anyone.. curious on what you guys have to say

[guardrail53]

That vintage Monaco Crown Royal, were very well made coaches for the time period! It probably has the non-turbo 3208 Cat, and a four speed Allision! No power house by any means, but will get you there! Also not a stellar fuel mileage motor either, so don't expect good MPG!
Just remember, something that old will need a lot of work, if it has been sitting a long time! Just tires and battery's will exceed your purchase price! Not counting all the other things that have been neglected by it sitting! Check the plate to see when it was last registered and on the road!

Myself, I would keep looking for one that has been taken care of and used regularly, but if you want a project, and are going to do all the work, this may be the right one? Remember, water leaks, rust to the underneath, making sure all the systems work, just to name a few, of the things, and I would never buy one that you can't hear run and drive! JMHO! Rail!

[HJLowell]

I saw one similar in a campground in Ohio about a month ago.
Looked original.
All polished up.

So you spend 140,000 for a 15 year old diesel pusher.
Its easy to spend 20 to 40 thousand to fix it up and personalize, remodle.
New tires
Brakes
New and full awnings
Carpet, hard wood flooring, Etc, Etc

Its still worth 140,000 book value
But its your creation.

Now you spend $3,000.
DIY what you can
Get a DOT servey and have a shop get it in 100 percent safe driving mode.
Now you have a beautiful Classic head turner for $43,000.
Use it 10 years or more, heck

Just realise that you will be a great DIY guy or spend Big Buck's $$$$
Creating a safe, roadworthy RV.

[Arricejr]

Thanks alot very good information!

Originally Posted by guardrail53

That vintage Monaco Crown Royal, were very well made coaches for the time period! It probably has the non-turbo 3208 Cat, and a four speed Allision! No power house by any means, but will get you there! Also not a stellar fuel mileage motor either, so don't expect good MPG!
Just remember, something that old will need a lot of work, if it has been sitting a long time! Just tires and battery's will exceed your purchase price! Not counting all the other things that have been neglected by it sitting! Check the plate to see when it was last registered and on the road!

Myself, I would keep looking for one that has been taken care of and used regularly, but if you want a project, and are going to do all the work, this may be the right one? Remember, water leaks, rust to the underneath, making sure all the systems work, just to name a few, of the things, and I would never buy one that you can't hear run and drive! JMHO! Rail!

[Arricejr]

Also the owner has not driven it in a year but has been living in it about as long as its been sitting..i also have a old overland mallard with a 460..in it im only getting maybe 6 to 8 mpg... the Monaco has the lpg genny which i no nothing about..

Originally Posted by Arricejr

Thanks alot very good information!

[vito.a]

What are your plans for this motor home?

This is going to be a lot of work and money to bring back up to speed.

Propane powered generators are considered a negative option on a diesel coach. You generally have 125-150 gallons of diesel, but only 20-30 gallons of propane. A generator will run through the on board propane in 2-3 days and leave you with nothing to run the furnace, cooktop, or refrigerator.

[Greg5OH]

We bought an 89 36'with a cummins. It was very well cared for origibal owner since 89 and from AZ.
i did gut the inside new subfloor in areas tiles and still working on it. I have a thread here. "Our 1989 crown royale"
Also stole it for 3600, good tires and batteries and exterior is very good condition brand new frudge and rooftop ac units.
Also has propane generator which im not thrilled about but it is very small volume co pared to same size diesel generator as this one is air cooler. 7kw.
Mechanicaly ours was perfect.
yours looks like a 40', do you have bathtuv and washer dryer too?

[Arricejr]

I fulltime so plans are to do the same ..i was never a fan of the propane units.. inside is great..i wont need to do much inside.. i just wanna travel with it and live in it..

Originally Posted by vito.a

What are your plans for this motor home?

This is going to be a lot of work and money to bring back up to speed.

Propane powered generators are considered a negative option on a diesel coach. You generally have 125-150 gallons of diesel, but only 20-30 gallons of propane. A generator will run through the on board propane in 2-3 days and leave you with nothing to run the furnace, cooktop, or refrigerator.

[Arricejr]

Originally Posted by Greg5OH

We bought an 89 36'with a cummins. It was very well cared for origibal owner since 89 and from AZ.
i did gut the inside new subfloor in areas tiles and still working on it. I have a thread here. "Our 1989 crown royale"
Also stole it for 3600, good tires and batteries and exterior is very good condition brand new frudge and rooftop ac units.
Also has propane generator which im not thrilled about but it is very small volume co pared to same size diesel generator as this one is air cooler. 7kw.
Mechanicaly ours was perfect.
yours looks like a 40', do you have bathtuv and washer dryer too?

It doesn't have the tub... wish it did have the Cummins..

[Arricejr]

Plans to fulltime in it as iam already fulltime

[Arricejr]

Originally Posted by HJLowell

I saw one similar in a campground in Ohio about a month ago.
Looked original.
All polished up.

So you spend 140,000 for a 15 year old diesel pusher.
Its easy to spend 20 to 40 thousand to fix it up and personalize, remodle.
New tires
Brakes
New and full awnings
Carpet, hard wood flooring, Etc, Etc

Its still worth 140,000 book value
But its your creation.

Now you spend $3,000.
DIY what you can
Get a DOT servey and have a shop get it in 100 percent safe driving mode.
Now you have a beautiful Classic head turner for $43,000.
Use it 10 years or more, heck

Just realise that you will be a great DIY guy or spend Big Buck's $$$$
Creating a safe, roadworthy RV.

I plan to most of the work myself..

[Greg5OH]

Being an 85 i believe thays a gillig chassis instead of roadmadter. Thats a plus in my book as its a commercial chassis rsther than home built like the roadmaster.
All the welds on my 89 roadmaster are cold with undercut. Not a single would pass inspectoon, franly anywhere. I dont think monacos weld inspector was in the day the apprentice built my chassis

[Sandy Swede]

If you plan to buy it, do you plan to buy it prior to driving it? If you buy it under that scenario, you could end up paying the seller $3k for the privilege of you having to pay someone to tow the coach off of his property. Hmmm, I wonder how much it would cost to have a MH towed to the junkyard? May start a thread on that.

On the other hand, if you buy it after a test drive you could have a great project to keep you busy for a while. At worst, you could wind up with a "Hunter's Special."

[speed racer]

I wouldn't touch it till I saw it rum and move. The drive train is the most expensive parts. In my experience if it is a 3208 non turbo engine they really don't have a lot of power and have a tendency to use oil. The put them in a lot of industrial uses like water pumps. The turbo charged engine was a better engine but they still use what I would say is to much oil.