Well that didn't go how we planned for a first trip.

[GFC]

We took a 4 day trip to the Oregon coast last week and had a wonderful time. On the way back through Hood River, OR we were going to pick up the 2008 Monaco Cayman that we bought from a private party. Well, our last night on the Coast I got food poisoning and couldn't get out of bed for two days. So we postponed picking up the coach until I had the strength to handle it.

Some friends of ours jumped at the chance to join us on the trip (2.5 hours) from here to Hood River to pick up the coach. We had an enjoyable trip to Hood River, lots of conversation, lots of laughter and lots of fun. They dropped us off at the seller's home (seller is a great guy, BTW) and headed home.

The seller, Al, gave us a couple of hour tour and we took off for home with the coach. On ominous start was set up by our having to use the battery crossover to get it to start, and that only worked once, but it started. So we struck out for the just-under-an-hour trip to Biggs Junction where we were going to fuel up.

We stopped at Biggs and I couldn't get my TDS card to work. Dang. So I pulled from the truck pumps to the pickup truck pumps and had to use the battery crossover switch again. Dang. I put in 100 gallons (2.899/gallon) and all was good until I tried to start it again. No go. Dang.

So I patrolled the parking lot looking for someone with jumper cables. I found two guys who had them, but both sets had cables the size of pencils and neither could provide enough charge. Dang.

I called a wrecker and the gal who answered the phone said he was changing a truck tire and had no idea when he would be available. Now Biggs Junction isn't really a town. Or much more where a N-S highway meets the E-W freeway. No other wreckers to call. Dang.

2 hours later the wrecker showed up to jump start us. Wouldn't work. Dang. He determined the pair of 12VDC batts in the coach were toast. He made quick trip to his shop to pick up two replacement batts and got them installed post haste.

So far this trip hadn't gone as planned. We were in it $400+ plus the cost of the diesel which we had planned on.

So we struck out for home, glad to be on the road again. Oh, but I forgot to mention the 35mph+ crosswinds coming from the 10 o'clock direction, and that this was my first time driving this RV. And it made it tough for me to keep the coach in one lane.

We finally made it home OK. Later than we had planned and oh, BTW, those new groves in the steering wheel are not really from my white knuckling the wheel.

[Ray,IN]

The glass is half-full, you didn't get sick again, you didn't have a tire failure, you didn't have a drivetrain problem. ETC.

[Winterbagoal]

Welcome to the world of RVing. Dead batteries are nothing. Just wait until your first slide or leveler failure happens. Then you'll truly know the terror and frustration of motorhome ownership.
Seriously, good luck from here on out.

[GFC]

I hope you guys know that I was poking fun at myself. I loved driving it and will love it from here on out. I'm taking it to a battery shop tomorrow to get 4 new house batteries.

And the fun is just getting started.

[D Gardiner]

Sorry to hear your first trip was not the best. Glad you took it in stride, and can write about it with some tongue in cheek. Good idea to replace the house batteries. I'm sure you will find another thing or two during your next shake down cruise. Just remember it's an adventure.

[Winterbagoal]

Originally Posted by GFC

I hope you guys know that I was poking fun at myself. I loved driving it and will love it from here on out. I'm taking it to a battery shop tomorrow to get 4 new house batteries.

And the fun is just getting started.

We knew, because many of us have "been there, done that".
Again, good luck with it.

[momdoc]

The next trip will be better!
It sounds like you have the right attitude for RVing.
Continue to enjoy the adventure.

[153stars]

Check your Cayman year and if it falls under for updated rear Trac bars "expired recall" sorry I don't know the years or want to scare you about new rig. Source engineering provided recall replacements. My friends have source eng. on them somewhere. REV group is having them made now from what I have read. Maybe someone will chime in. Or check with previous owner maybe it was discussed .
The battery connect solenoid may need replaced or rebuilt.

[egwilly]

Wondering if the seller mentioned the battery issue during the 2 hour tour?

Or would be Minnow be lost?

[FL420]

Originally Posted by 153stars

Check your Cayman year and if it falls under for updated rear Trac bars "expired recall" sorry I don't know the years or want to scare you about new rig. Source engineering provided recall replacements. My friends have source eng. on them somewhere. REV group is having them made now from what I have read. Maybe someone will chime in. Or check with previous owner maybe it was discussed .
The battery connect solenoid may need replaced or rebuilt.

The OP's 2008 Monaco Cayman has the Roadmaster RR4R chassis which has a history of cracking trailing arms on the rear suspension. If one or both of the OEM trailing arms break a serious loss of control and crash may occur.
The beefed-up aftermarket replacement trailing arms from Source Engineering are shown in the second pic. If the ones on the OPs coach don't look like these he should call Source Engineering at (458) 207-9442.
[emoji40]

[Mile Marker 42]

Originally Posted by GFC

We took a 4 day trip to the Oregon coast last week and had a wonderful time. On the way back through Hood River, OR we were going to pick up the 2008 Monaco Cayman that we bought from a private party. Well, our last night on the Coast I got food poisoning and couldn't get out of bed for two days. So we postponed picking up the coach until I had the strength to handle it.

Some friends of ours jumped at the chance to join us on the trip (2.5 hours) from here to Hood River to pick up the coach. We had an enjoyable trip to Hood River, lots of conversation, lots of laughter and lots of fun. They dropped us off at the seller's home (seller is a great guy, BTW) and headed home.

The seller, Al, gave us a couple of hour tour and we took off for home with the coach. On ominous start was set up by our having to use the battery crossover to get it to start, and that only worked once, but it started. So we struck out for the just-under-an-hour trip to Biggs Junction where we were going to fuel up.

We stopped at Biggs and I couldn't get my TDS card to work. Dang. So I pulled from the truck pumps to the pickup truck pumps and had to use the battery crossover switch again. Dang. I put in 100 gallons (2.899/gallon) and all was good until I tried to start it again. No go. Dang.

So I patrolled the parking lot looking for someone with jumper cables. I found two guys who had them, but both sets had cables the size of pencils and neither could provide enough charge. Dang.

I called a wrecker and the gal who answered the phone said he was changing a truck tire and had no idea when he would be available. Now Biggs Junction isn't really a town. Or much more where a N-S highway meets the E-W freeway. No other wreckers to call. Dang.

2 hours later the wrecker showed up to jump start us. Wouldn't work. Dang. He determined the pair of 12VDC batts in the coach were toast. He made quick trip to his shop to pick up two replacement batts and got them installed post haste.

So far this trip hadn't gone as planned. We were in it $400+ plus the cost of the diesel which we had planned on.

So we struck out for home, glad to be on the road again. Oh, but I forgot to mention the 35mph+ crosswinds coming from the 10 o'clock direction, and that this was my first time driving this RV. And it made it tough for me to keep the coach in one lane.

We finally made it home OK. Later than we had planned and oh, BTW, those new groves in the steering wheel are not really from my white knuckling the wheel.

Why shut of the engine when refueling. I never shut off our diesel when refueling.

[GFC]

Originally Posted by Mile Marker 42

Why shut of the engine when refueling. I never shut off our diesel when refueling.

Thanks MM. That's a question I had but never could get a straight answer.