Monaco owners

We have a 2009 Holiday Rambler Endeavor SKQ and would definitely consider another Monaco product.

Things we like:

Fit and finish.
Cummins ISL engine.
Roadmaster chassis, great ride & NVH.
Full body paint job excellent.

Things gone wrong:
All slide seals needed replacement.
Dash audio system is greatly lacking.
Shower valve knob broke.

Otherwise "knocking on wood" very happy.

We bought our Holiday Rambler (AKA Monaco Diplomat) new and would definitely buy another in that same time era. Never any major problems and love the 4 slides with the N/S bed floor plan.

The Cayman has the 4 bag chassis, which is not the best riding of the Roadmaster chassis but is not that harsh. I do not remember if they had corrected the trailing arm problem by then, but I don't think they had, so make sure the trailing arms are the new style or plan on spending $5K on the first day, for the upgrade. That is a major major safety factor and I personally would not drive away from where it is parked, if the old style trailing arms are on the coach.


Here is a link to the brochure for the 2006 Monaco Cayman .

This may be one of the 4-bag chassis that need the replacement control arms.
Check with Source Engineering at http://sourcerv.com/trailing_arm

My Monaco is a 2012 gasser. I drove it out the door NEW loaded with extras I couldn't find on other brands for $100K. Electric heater in wet bay, EMS, heat pumps, air bed sofa, electric shades front, central vac, washer/dryer, heavy duty cargo doors. Had a few problems but Monaco took care of me very well and repaired warranty problems. I only had 3 warranty problems. Jacks, leaky front window, and broken bracket on gas filler hose. All repaired. Unfortunately they only make one model now. That will be the Dynasty. Dealer was dumping all Monacos because Monaco had financial problems. We're happy.

Monaco is on my short list of quality coaches:

1) Monaco
2) Beaver
3) Newmar

JMO of course. Based on resale value, initial quality, and serviceability. And reading consumer praise or complaints on forums like this for 12 years.

I wouldn't turn down a nice Fleetwood Bounder though.

We owned a 2008 Monaco Dynasty, 42 ft., 4 slides, special ordering it and taking delivery in April of 2007. We drove it just shy of 70,000 miles in 7.5 yrs.. just selling it on consignment last summer (2014).

Looking back, we had extremely good luck with it NEVER having anything major with the motor or drivetrain. I did need four coolant boxes including the original. Finally, I think the last one was made properly using non-defective material.

We did have a couple of leaky windows (caulking seemed like a temp. fix) that I would probably have replaced if we had kept it. I would buy another Monaco product again. I'm not leaning towards the new style of the new Dynasty but the insides do look nice.

When we started thinking about upgrading, I first looked at the Newmar King Air (beautiful coach), then the Newell coach and finally the Prevost. Buying a Prevost is a major commitment but I wanted the robustness of the best chassis on the market with real front and rear bumpers. They do seem to be built like tanks. Our exterior is made of a Kevlar composite which gives an extremely smooth surface.

I think in 2008, Monaco started putting in flat screen TV's.

The vibration going down the road seems to loosen screws, etc. I had to tighten my shower apparatus every couple of months.

Good luck on your search,
MM.

The new Diplomat is also out there...but it is basically a rebadged and dressed up Fleetwood upper level DP...Mine is as solid as a rock and although there were issues, (including the Monaco legal mumbo jumbo), they were taken care of by the manufacturer of the components..it's one of the reasons we ended up keeping this coach rather than trading right now (that's a long story)...If the coach were maintained and kept up with , no reservations about the one you are looking at (note if it was the RR4R chassis, than the previous trailing arm issue brought up comes into play)

Like many others I have owned two Monacos, the first was a Diplomat and now a 42' Dynasty. I wouldn't even think of buying any thing else.
I have been looking at a beautiful 05 Signature and would buy it in a second if I really was in the market. My rig is tight and rides like a Greyhound. Like Executive said, look the Cayman over very closely and ask lots of questions. Good Luck. Macktee

Thanks for the replies, and the information

How can I tell what model chassis is on this coach?

It has 8 air bags, 2 at each wheel.

Looked at coach today for first time, it is very clean and appears well kept. A few minor issues that you might expect on any coach that was 9 years old.

All cabinetry seams solid and no parts are falling off.

Unit has had living area carpet has been replaced with tile, which makes DW happy. All lighting has been upgraded to LED.

Got to work some numbers out on our end, and we'll see where we go

Doug