Safari Serengeti

Go to this website and I am sure they can help: Safari forum

The trans is good, I know that much. Overall they are supposed to be pretty good coaches. The age of course as you mentioned will be the main thing you need to consider. Also tire age.

Not familiar with the exact unit however I enjoyed my Safari for ten years. Safari made a great coach back in the day. I had the torsalistic suspension and that I wouldn't recommend but I don't believe it would have been available in 99 anyway.

Safari's are very nice coaches. I remember it was over a decade ago, I was fueling up in a city called Coberg, Oregon. After fueling we stopped to get something to eat and met a couple who were in Coberg, due to there Safari RV caught on fire and burned to the ground. I believe the couple told us the fire was due to bad wiring? The Safari Forum should be able to give you more info. Good Luck with your new coach.

safari's are about the same as Beavers. I have a 2001 Beaver with the same engine and transmission you are looking at. Tire age needs checked. Any high dollar stuff to check ie: frig,a/c,heat,water heater operation, maintenance records, has a valve lash adjustment been done, oil changes done yearly. Check in the cabinets for water leak residue or rotted wood in the walls, especially near windows where water causes lots of issues.

What suspension? If Torsilastic, check ride height! Can be expensive if out of spec (too low) and also out of adjustment shims.

In addition to Safari International, there's a Yahoo group with a lot of info on all Safaris as well as documentation for most models. Also, iRV2 covers Safari owners in the Monaco Owners forum.

The only "known issue" with these coaches are the Velvet Ride suspension. Ride height is a big concern, and there are after market fixes for the problems. Velvet Ride would have been an option in 1999.

As mentioned, they are high initial quality and built well. The CAT engine is pretty much bullet-proof and the transmission likewise. Mine is stainless steel and aircraft aluminum and still in excellent shape after 20 years on the road.

The reason they're similar to Beaver is because Safari Motor coach was founded by a former VP from Beaver. Also, SMC developed their own chassis (the Magnum chassis) and Beavers were built on that. Eventually, SMC bought out Beaver, and then the whole thing was bought by Monaco in 2004. Monaco made a few models for a couple of years until the industry went on it's ear.

Never heard of any bad wiring on a safari from the factory