Community Forums

RickT · 01-03-2010, 08:58 AM

My wife & I are ready to upgrade from our older 33' gas motorhome to about a 38' DP. We pull a 6500 lb trailer most of the time or will tow my Silverado pickup. We want the roadability and comfort of a DP. I've been looking at used 2000 to 2003 Monaco Diplomats, Windsors and Holiday Endeavers with a 330-350 hp Cummins ISC. From my reseach, the Roadmaster 8 bag chassis with 10,000lb towing is 1 of the best out there.

Your thoughts, pros or cons espeacially about the reliabilty, quality, ride and stability of these models would be very helpful.

Thanks, RickT in Oregon

P. S. I'm new here, this forum is Great.

Mandys Man · 01-03-2010, 05:23 PM

Rick,
Welcome to the forum. We also have an active Monaco section. As far as coaches for sale, you may want to take a look here.. There are a few Monaco and Beaver badged ones on pg 3.
Visit and post often.

Oldrtrcr · 01-03-2010, 08:10 PM

I know it's a long ways away, but a friend of mine traded his 2000 HR Endeavor for a new '09 Endeavor. The unit is at Coltons RV in Buffalo, NY and can be seen here, 2000 Class A Holiday Rambler Endeavor Diesel 34WDS

I will guarantee this is as nice of a coach you'll ever find. However. Happy Shopping

skipwil · 01-04-2010, 06:07 AM

I would suggest you ck these responses on the Roadmaster Chassis section on this forum. It scared me enough to not consider that brand. As usual M H OPINION.

Trailing Arms Cracked on Roadmaster
Safe Travels.

Jim Stewart · 01-04-2010, 06:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skipwil

I would suggest you ck these responses on the Roadmaster Chassis section on this forum. It scared me enough to not consider that brand. As usual M H OPINION.

Trailing Arms Cracked on Roadmaster
Safe Travels.

The only Roadmaster Chassis on Monaco products that was affected by this problem is the RR4R Chassis. It is the majority of the RR4R Chassis made. If you look at the Monaco archives for any model you are interested in, you can see if it has that Chassis. Most of the Monaco products do not have this Chassis.

hardy1000 · 01-04-2010, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Stewart

The only Roadmaster Chassis on Monaco products that was affected by this problem is the RR4R Chassis. It is the majority of the RR4R Chassis made. If you look at the Monaco archives for any model you are interested in, you can see if it has that Chassis. Most of the Monaco products do not have this Chassis.

Ditto, what Jim says

Snowman 1 · 01-04-2010, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldrtrcr

I know it's a long ways away, but a friend of mine traded his 2000 HR Endeavor for a new '09 Endeavor. The unit is at Coltons RV in Buffalo, NY and can be seen here, 2000 Class A Holiday Rambler Endeavor Diesel 34WDS

I will guarantee this is as nice of a coach you'll ever find. However. Happy Shopping

I think the man is looking for an eight bag coach...this unfortunately would not be one of them. Your friend traded a 4 bag motorhome for a tag axle 10 airbag coach. It is a clean looking rv for sure, though.

There is a lot of stuff posted on this and other RV blogs about the incredibly rough ride of the 4 bag Roadmaster chassis. Do your homework and test drive a few of each manufacturer's chassis, Freightliner, Spartan, Peak(Alpine), Roadmaster. Believe me, you do not want to be in some of these "luxury coaches" as they pound down the freeway. I have been on test drives and said "no thanks, this is not the kind of ride we are looking for" when asked If I was ready to drive. A guy down the street from us has had a 34' Monaco Cayman sitting in his driveway for the last ten years. Why, the ride sucks but doesn't want to trade in or get rid of it.

An eight bag Roadmaster (and above) or the 4 bag Alpine (4 huge air bags) are two of the better riding coaches that you will read threads on. Our coach glides and floats down the road like an older Cadillac or Lincoln (remember those days?), squeaks. rattles and groans are virtually non-existant even over rough roads and I can literally drive this thing with one finger in heavy crosswinds (not that I will admit to doing it). I am not exaggerating one iota. Ask what chassis is under each coach you are looking at, if the salesperson doesn't know, get another one. Take notes. Everybody talks flooplans, if you don't enjoy driving it what good is the floorplan? Getting there should be half the fun, not an ordeal. Good luck in your search.

Monaco38 · 01-05-2010, 02:01 AM

Rick, welcome to the forum and good luck in your search. Others have already given you some good information. This is a great place for information before...and after the purchase! This is a good time of year to make a great deal, and I am sure once you have narrowed your list of what you are looking for a diligent search will turn up that right MH for you. One suggestion, once you have done your homework, narrowed in on what you are looking for, and begun your search in earnest, be prepared to act quickly when you find that one right MH. The good ones and the good deals usually go quickly. There are good used coaches out there for a good price, and the internet is a great place to find that one special unit that you are looking for.

Last year we started our search about this time of year and found exactly what we had been looking for...and more. The MH we found for a great price from a dealer in Tempe, AZ, was a very low mileage 2003 Monaco Camelot 38PST with a Cummins 350 ISC, Allison 6 speed Transmission, and Roadmaster RR8 (eight air bags) chassis, three slides and full body paint. We are still so very excited about our find. The dealer was meticulous in servicing and detailing the coach before the sale including a full set of new Michelin tires. There are those that are understandably not happy with Monaco and the bankruptcy that have left the owners of newer Monaco coaches in the lurch without warranty protection, but in our case our coach was by year out of warranty anyway, and so the low mileage and condition of the coach was the important consideration.

Good luck in your search and post often with questions...or pictures of your new MH.

Beaverfamily · 01-05-2010, 08:20 PM

As far as the misinformed person telling you to stay away from Roadmaster, don't listen. Driving is what you need to do. Mine has a tag with 10 airbags and it drives better than my BMW! I LOVE driving it. Yes there are some 4 bag early ones with trailing arm recall but if the recall was done then there is no problem. As far as Monaco I have a pretty expensive coach and I will with no doubt give them money again, they make a great product! Good luck now is a great time to buy.

JPMaly · 01-05-2010, 09:26 PM

RickT, I have a 1999 HR Endeavor. It sits on a Freightliner 4 bag chassis with only a 5000 towing capacity. I think the H R products are of good quality. With the 4 bag chassis, I feel it rides rather well, maybe perhaps a bit too soft. When it comes time to replace the airbags, plan on spending $450 each, as I had to replace one last year. I have not towed anything as of yet, but every one that I towed in the past, handled quite a bit different, so I think the only way your going to be certain, is pull your toad on your test drive.

hardy1000 · 01-06-2010, 06:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickT

My wife & I are ready to upgrade from our older 33' gas motorhome to about a 38' DP. We pull a 6500 lb trailer most of the time or will tow my Silverado pickup. We want the roadability and comfort of a DP. I've been looking at used 2000 to 2003 Monaco Diplomats, Windsors and Holiday Endeavers with a 330-350 hp Cummins ISC. From my reseach, the Roadmaster 8 bag chassis with 10,000lb towing is 1 of the best out there.

Your thoughts, pros or cons espeacially about the reliabilty, quality, ride and stability of these models would be very helpful.

Thanks, RickT in Oregon

P. S. I'm new here, this forum is Great.

Welcome Rick

I can tell you that My RR8R chassis rides and handles great and I have not had any problems.
This is my second Monaco
DeMartini RV Sales, Recreational vehicles (RVs), Holiday Rambler, Holiday Rambler Motorhomes, Monaco Motorhomes, Monaco Coach, Monaco Coach Corporation, Used Diesel Pusher, Used diesel, Endeavor, Scepter,** Imperial, Dynasty,* Windsor, Camelot, Navig

Monaco38 · 01-06-2010, 01:45 PM

I may not have responded directly to your specific questions in my previous post. I have been very impressed with the quality, workmanship and attention to detail apparent in the 2003 Monaco Camelot. It also has a 10,000 # rated capacity on the hitch. The ride on the RR8 chassis is comfortable and stable. I have not had the opportunity to compare the ride to an RR4 chassis, so will defer that comparison to others that have.

There is the problem with the trailing arm failure on the RR4 chassis that has been covered extensively on this board. The specific models and production years involved have been listed in several other posts on this forum. You would want to factor that into the equation when considering any coach that fell into this group as to whether the trailing arms had been replaced with the re-engineered trailing arms. To be aware there was a replacement trailing arm provided initially by Monaco that also has failed so it would not be enough to find out on any coach in the "at risk" group if the trailing arms have ever been replaced, but to find out specifically which replacement trailing arms were used.

All of this said, I would certainly not hesitate recommending you add the Monaco Camelot to your search list.

CruisinCondo · 01-10-2010, 07:30 PM

Hi Rick, In October 2009 I purchased a 2004 Monico Diplomat. The 8 bag suspension drives like a dream. My last coach was a 1994 gas Winnebago Vectra on the Chevy P-30 chassis. There is no comparison on the ride. We have 3 slides and purchased with only 19,000 miles. Interior was like new and only 125 hours on the inverter. My only concession was the smaller ISC 330 engine. I would have preferred the ISL 400 which was available in the 2005 model year. My only recommendation would be to stay with the big block cummings engine or the C9 400 horsepower CAT. We paid $80000. Good luck on your search. Mark

RickT · 01-13-2010, 03:34 AM

Just wanted to thank all you guys for the help

We think we've found the one, a 99 Windsor 38' with low miles, new tires, the right colors (if that matters) and lots of options. We can't go get it til late Febuary and thats good, should be better weather by then. It,s really too bad we have to bring it home from 1/2 way across the USA don,t ya think. Humm, let me see, how far is Las Vegas out-of-the-way.

Thanks again, Rick

P. S. Can,t wait to start doing some of the mods and upgrades I,ve read about on 40 or so pages here.