| |
Subject |
Author |
Date Posted |
Forum
|
 |
RE: Splendie Combo Washer/Dryer
If anything, let us know how your extended warranty did covering this claim.
|
amore
|
09/25/09 05:32am |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
RE: Last of the Bluebird Wanderlodges on the Auction Block
Gee, I didn't know they were having that bad of times. It seems strange that some other company didn't pick-up this operation and start a new at a extremely low enterance point. They made a good product.
|
amore
|
09/24/09 07:32am |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
RE: Front window electric privacy curtain
From our own personal experience, forget it, they are really expensive, they hang-up, warranty and support is a joke, if your coach wasn't designed for them, they don't fit tight and leave gaps where your privacy is compromised and when they don't work, they don't work; do know where that leaves you?
There is nothing more efficient and more reliable then the pull around curtain that originally came with your coach.....
If anything, we wish someone would come up with an insulated version that reflects heat and keeps more heat inside. NO Glass in any coach adds R value, the dual pane windows really only cut down on noise(an industry wide fact) and they do, do a good job of that, but when it comes to insulation value we all have the same problem.
So, save your money and enjoy the simple method.
|
amore
|
09/03/09 07:10am |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
RE: Roof AC Hum
I think you have a problem, your lucky just one is humming. The start capacitor has shorted out and the compressor is locked up. STOP using that unit till you get it fixed, it could start a fire. The hum is the compressor trying to pump. Call Duo-therm right away.
|
amore
|
08/26/09 06:39am |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
RE: Chrome Mirror Replating
Pitting Chrome Mirrors, Horns, Grab Handles and Door Hardware is wide spread problem amongst almost all brands of coaches since there are is a limited number of manufactures. Their "d-g-a-d" response is just about the same unless the coach is still under the factory's warranty. The Factory will generally just replace the defective units with new ones that eventually do the same thing. We've been there with all of them, I even make an extra effort to clean, polish and wax these items and the problem still occurs.
A company that can remedy this problem once and for all will sure do right by the RV Industry and all of us.
|
amore
|
08/09/09 04:40am |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
Blue OX repair fee at FMCA Rally, but well worth it!
We have grown accustom to Blue OX repairing our Advanta Tow bar at all the Rallies we have attened, but at Bowling Green and tough times for a lot of companies, we were surprised that it now cost $25. After giving a little thought, it was a small price to pay for an almost complete rebuild and having the product returned to LIKE NEW CONDITION. A piece of mine that we appreciate very much. Blue OX ranks up there with the RV Industries Top Suppliers with the very Best Customer Service. Thanks Blue OX, job well done and greatly appreciated, hey and even with a smile.
Rich & Vickie
|
amore
|
08/06/09 04:20pm |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
RE: Who is going?? The Monaco Rally in Tucson.
That's a thought, but don't know if we'll have time to attend. This is our first time to Tucson and there will be LOTS to see and we plan on seeing as much as we can. My wife has informed me "that we will be taking a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon", boy will that bring back memories of n-os h-a-l-os, but we're staying onboard this time.
Rich
|
amore
|
08/06/09 04:04pm |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
RE: Ceiling Mounted, Fold Down TV
We have the flip down Sharp Aquos LCD in our Dynasty which is quite standard for today, it would be no big deal to replace or even a plasma, al though plasmas are not recommended for this application.
You should give more information with your question as to thye year, coach brand and what is in there now.
I can tell you from our experience, we thought our high end Sharp Aquos died after 18 months, it would not power up, it was dead. Come to find out, the wire harness at the back of the TV came UNPLUGGED. Taking the decorative panel off was a chore, but it reveiled the problem real quick. The weight of the harness just hanging with no support caused it to work loose. It was a quick fix that could have lead us to a premature replacement that was not needed.
Imagine what that little problem would have cost(out of warranty) if a tech would have had to find the problem? Monaco would have fixed it at no charge, but another off brand tech would have had to charge.
|
amore
|
07/31/09 05:47am |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
RE: Back from ,New to Me Pusher trip!
Just go to Fantastic Vents website and read their instruction. Same goes a lot of items on your coach, the vendor's websites are just for this purpose. If you have a Norcold refrigerator make sure it is not on the RECALL List. If it is get it repaired right away---DON'T USE IT TILL IT'S UPDATED....
I think Dometic has a recall also, I'm not 100% sure, but it doesn't hurt to check there if you have a Dometic, the same issue and concern applies.
Hopefully the person who gave you this coach, was smart enough to keep all the original papers that came with the coach. The manufacture furnished a BIG folder with each coach containing warranty cards and product literature information. If you don't have this or maybe some information is missing, just right down the informatiom from the production information label, add it to your file, then go to that manufactures website for any information you need. Getting the facts from the source is always your best route, especailly if there is a recall on an item that could be a hazard.
If you haven't already, joining FMCA(Family Motor Coach Assication)& attending an FMCA International will be well worth the investement with a lot of great benifits. Take the Safe Driver Course offered there!!!! This will be the best thing you can do for yourself and you'll save money on your insurance.
Then there is the Tiffin Coach Owners Association where you can get a world of information and help anytime.
Just a couple pointers, tires are good for maybe 5 to 7 years. Batteries about the same if their were taken care of(distilled water only).
NEVER CONNECT TO ANY SHORE POWER WITHOUT A SURGE PROTECTION DEVICE INLINE (such as Surge Guard by TRCI).
Hope this helps.
|
amore
|
07/05/09 06:42am |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
RE: Monaco Engineers (and Most Others)
Now it's my turn!
We started looking for a nicer coach in 2006 after winnie almost burnt our journey down, because of really stupid design and assembly. While at Hershey PA for the Fall RV Show, we spent some time with a Monaco Sales Rep(Joe Elmore). It was a slow day, so we had a great opportunity to quiz the heck out of him. My wife DID NOT like the Dynasty we were sitting in while talking with Joe, she pointed out many problems that plagued it. Compounding it, she had a mind set on a Country Coach Intrigue. I remember oh so well, one of Joe's remarks that stayed with me, "tell me what you want and we'll try to build it for you". Well, I have to tell you, that was not an expression given by CC back then and for me, CC had more issues than the Dynasty.
So let me get to the chase, the problems we were caused by W finally took their toll on our patience. I pushed the issue of a new coach and called Tim DeMartini. After expalining my position and our situation, Tim relayed an easy working relationship, one that allowed me to have control of the product we wanted. Keeping Joe's comment in mind along with another, that being, "the Dynasty is the best bang for the buck" I started researching the model.
As a result of my position in the RV Industry, I had the opportunity to see a lot of coaches and to pick out design flaws that needed change. In Febuary of 2006 I put all my thoughts together into a well planned request for quote. I sent it off to Tim, who wisely suggested I work directly with Monaco. This was the smartest thing he could have every done, because I had 29 modifications that my wife and I had aggreed on. Now keep in mind, she still wasn't happy with the Dynasty, but that was based on her dislike for the show model at Hershey, not one that would comprise things she would like. My paper work was received by Mike Snell, who then sent them off to Engineering. Within a couple days I received a call from Monaco Engineering asking me to explain a couple of my thoughts in more detail. When we finished, they accepted 28 of the 29 changes we asked for which did not include any options, these were actual changes that fine tuned the coach's design to make it fit our needs. Come to find out later, some of our changes ended up in preceding models, so they weren't to far out of line.
Next we were directed to a great guy, who became a good friend, Fred Donnley. Fred was the coordinantor who kept in close communications with us all the way through the build process, and thank god for that! We had a couple of instances where things almost got out of our control, but Fred was there and save the day. In all, the build process was fun, especially when folks on the assembly line building our coach would call and ask our thoughts about things or they had questions. Example: we wanted 3 drawers under the gas cook top and not an oven. We had a Advantium Speed Cook replace the original microwave, so we didn't need an oven. The size of the drawers were important to us and we were appreciative of them asking. I laid out all three drawers just as we would use them. This was one a many times we were able to control in the build in the way we wanted the coach.
To sume it all up, "it worked out perfectly". When we arrived at DeMartini's to pick-up our coach, we had tears in our eyes. The coach turned out better then we could have every dreamed. It was our dream and it was beautiful. When Joe said, "the Dynasty is the best bang for the buck", he was right. We incorporated some designs concepts from the Executive and Signature as well as our own which made the coach very comfortable and very user friendly.
More the 180 prospective Monaco Coach buyers have toured our coach and from that more the 70 new Monaco Coach Products were purchased. We are extremely proud of our coach and very happy with ever change we made. We always look at new coaches to see if there is anything new or exciting that would stir out attention, but we can honesty say, nothing compares to our Dynasty 43QIV Ralph Lauren Limited Edtion, there is only one of these and we're keeping it.
I think this story is proof, that Monaco Engineering needed improvement and direction, but it also revealed that they were willing to listen and make changes as changes were needed.
As far as the New Monaco RV LLC & Navistar is concerned, we wish them the very best, we also hope they never forget who got them where they are today. The folks that spent their hard earned money on Monaco Coach Proucts, deserve to be treated with respect and given the same considerations they were promised in all the advertisements.
Monaco Coach, Monaco RV LLC & Navistar may have been or are the builders, but the folks who own these Monaco Products are the real MONACO. "Without us, as they found out over the last year, they are nothing"....
|
amore
|
07/02/09 08:30am |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
RE: Equal - Good or Bad? What's your experience?
More times then I care to mention, the road surfaces today are not as smooth as they look. I find some roads really wobbly and then the crowned roads create the pulling effect. Equal has been doing a great job for me.
Rich
|
amore
|
06/22/09 05:44am |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
RE: TA Express Lube
If it's any consolation, there are a couple good places here in the RV Capitol of the world(Elkhart, IN) that have extended a warm welcome to the Motor Home Owners. Master Tech at 28717 holiday Place Elkhart IN. Easy access from the US 20 Bypass north on 19 to Mishawaka Road west to 28717 Holiday Place(866-895-4556)ask for Tim.
You can also exit US80 at Elkhart, take 19 south to Mishawaka Road.
Then in Mishawaka, Indiana which is just west of Elkhart, is a facility I just used and am excited about is Zoleman Tire at 2014 McKinley Ave, from US80, take
the Capitol Ave exit and go south McKinley Ave turn west and go to the first stop light- it's on the right.
Zoleman's just set up a couple heavy truck/motor home bays, one with a state of the art alignment machine. They are capable of doing all kinds of service, tire sales and service, suspension & Chassis work, with parts being readily available. Ask for Brian at 800-582-2833
If you would tell them Rich told you about them. It's nothing for me, just that these businesses helped me out and I recognize good places and people that we all need to know about.
Rich
|
amore
|
06/03/09 08:33am |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
A proposed parking ban in Hobart, Indiana
Link to Story
Thank you Councilwoman Wiley, your exactly correct.
I think the addition of RVs to the porposal by Councilman Jerry Herzog is a big mistake and a foolish one at that. Herzog must not have anything better to do then to kick the RV Industry when it's already down and trying to make a come back.
It's time to send them a message...
Rich
|
amore
|
05/27/09 07:12am |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
RE: Getting a Monaco Dynasty Yorkshire, inspection thoughts?
Hey mr hawkins and you Monaco fans, Monaco isn't out of business! Navistar bought the Monaco product line and will have the company up and running shortly. They will be building about one coach a week to start, mostly the high end products. The transistion is taking time, but you can look for Monaco to be back and carry on the tradition of building some of the finest coaches in the industry.
Bro, if you did indeed buy this coach you got a great deal, but most importantly you got a fantastic coach. I'm on dial-up, so I had to wait to view the pictures. My reply came prior to that, but non the less the facts are the facts and you did yourself proud.
We have a 2007 Monaco Dynasty 43 QIV Ralph Lauren Limited Edition #1 of 1 and are very proud to own it.
|
amore
|
05/18/09 04:47am |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
RE: RV shipments down again from 2008
Grimshaw, you report grim news that could be written in such a way to actually shine light on the RV Insudtry. Those numbers may not be what some would like to see, for some it's great news inthat "RVs are selling"! The RV News publications do not take into consideration all the private sales that have taken place, because they don't report them, because they don't track them.
I've been in the Industry since 1976, yes this may be the worst down turn in history, but it's certainly not the first and probably not the last. I can recall down turns no less then 3 other times and after each one the Industry came back and came back better then before; kind of like the Stock Market. Take a long look at what the Stock Market has done over the last 90 years and what it just did recently. The RV Industry is still evolving and from my point of view it has a long way to go.
Now that you have me at the podium, allow me to fire on the RV Industry for reasons that contributed to their decline Lets start, poor quality, poor Customer Service & Support and most of all SLEAZY Product Warranties.
No other Automotive Industry treats is customers with such shamefull warranties! RV Manufactures put products out their doors that never should have been allowed to leave the building. Then, when they get to the dealer, in a lot of cases the dealers aren't qualified to handle the Pre Delivery Service. By this time in the deal, the Dealer has the Customers money and signed documents and they shift unresolved issues on the customer. The customer is then put between the manufacture and the dealer, and forced to face situations they never dreamth of before, which should have never happened.
The Auto Industry got is fanny kicked well back in the 80's and 90's and learned a most valuiable lesson-- "Engineer the best product you can and stand behind it and the custormer."
Pumping incompleted, defective products out the door and having the customer run around to get things resolved is another contribution to this down turn.
I can assure you, there are a lot of folkes out that know all about the RV Industry and the way they do business. Their years of RVing experience told them it's not a good time to buy, when so many manufactures are having dificult times. They know, if it was hard enough to get the warranty service they deserved when things were doing good, what do they think the situation is going to be like now when some are gone and some filing bankrutsy. The thought alone should scare the heck out of folkes, I know it would me. Anyone in their right mind has to be a fool to spend their hard earned money on a New RV that they know has no warranty or factory service. It doesn't matter wether the RV was built by a company that uses the phrase "the Worlds Best Motor Motorhomes"
or "Customer Service is our #1 Goal"; if their in chapter 7 or 11 or shut down the customer is on it's own and that's a lot of money to have spent to be on your with. Then there's the other side of this coin the customer has to face, and that is service and service after the sale. We already established that in the condition mentioned above, there is no service or warranty service, but when we have to take our RV's in for service look at what they do to us then.
I just read a reply the other day, where a couple took their coach in to a Freightliner dealer for regular maintenance. The hour cost for service went from $90 an hour to $135, "what the he__ is going on here?" $90 an hour is crazy, especially when there is no guarranty the work done will resolve the problem, but now they want to charge us $135 and hour! Nicely put, this is _____ crazy and totally unacceptable.
And you wonder why the RV Industry is down!!
|
amore
|
04/29/09 07:51am |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
RE: not even new yet - Help
I just emailed you Alan.
|
amore
|
04/15/09 06:34am |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
RE: Monaco 2007 Knight Owners Manual ERROR
You can add a solar panel to the roof and it will do the job also. Most higher end coaches have solar chargers standard, it's an option on others. Just like Surge Guard devices, which no coach should be without. Never connect to ANY shore power without having a surge protection device on line...
|
amore
|
02/13/09 06:36am |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
RE: How do you rid vechicle of Cigarette Smoke?
ozone-iator will work but it will ruin anything that has rubber in it, especially air mattresses.
rgamore
|
amore
|
02/09/09 03:00pm |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
RE: How much lift does air vs hydraulic leveling?
Caymann,
Having a similar coach, the travel distance will depend on how level the site is. Just from my experience, I prefer the air leveling over the hydraulic. Although, it has it limits, I have no problem adjusting the coach so the air will level out. So we don't have a high step to enter the coach, I dump the air first and then let the Advant Auto Level take over. It's fast and very secure.
The hydraulic, as you you know, is a 3 point system. This system can actually case problems if the site is not close to being level. From my past experience, even at the Monaco Rally in Salem Oregon, the 3 point system has more limitations which if over ridden can cause the winshield to pop out on the upper corners. My experience, the 3 points
if allowed to or over ridden will twist the chassis way to much.
To answer your question, it's not the amount of travel to be concerned about, it's more important to find a pretty level site to begin.
One important issue to beware of also, is pay close attention to the stone guard. When you dump(lower)the suspension in either system, you need to have someone make sure the stone guard doesn't get crushed under the trailer hitch/chassis during the process. From your signature picture, it looks like you may have already experienced that problem. The exterior window shade wand works fine to pull the stone guard back when the coach is lowering....
|
amore
|
01/16/09 06:42am |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
RE: Corpus Christi - Where to stay - What to see??
Willy,
It's really a bad time to plan a trip there without a reservation. You'll be lucky to find a spot, even if some folks don't show up for their reservation---due to the economy. There aren't that many places
in the area. Maybe head north to Dallas or Galviston.
|
amore
|
01/14/09 05:54am |
Class A Motorhomes
|
|
