04 Monaco Dynasty 42 Regal or 2007 Tiffin Allegro Bus 40 QDP

[HailYes]

Hello all. New to the Class A world. Have owned 3 fivers, love the RV lifestyle, and it's finally hit us that it's time too move into the world of the Class A. I'm retired military and wife will finish her Army career in 4 years, and our plan is to full time shortly after that.

We are very close to pulling the trigger on one of the two models I listed above. Obviously, the Tiffin is newer, 26,000 fewer miles, but the Dynasty is also in great condition. The Dynasty is currently 12-14K less, but the Tiffin is located less than an hour from my home. The dynasty would require shipping across country.

While we won't be traveling a great deal over the next few years, I would like to get something now and take the time to become familiar with the ins and out of the coach.

Any thoughts on these model years would be greatly appreciated.

[moparmaga2]

I would buy the Monaco. In my Used Diesel search 1.5 years ago, I considered Monaco, Winnebago, Newmar, Entegra, etc etc. The only brand I absolutely would not consider is Tiffin.

I would never consider any Tiffin due to Fiberglass Cracking issues, using wood in their slide out floors, roof cracking issues, and using wood in their understorage compartment floors. I think some years used substandard paint that also had problems cracking.

I don't really care if Tiffin will the fix these items or not, I don't have time to run to Alabama each time one of the issues crop up. I would rather have no issues at all.

Your Mileage may vary, but in my research this was the right choice for me.

Would you rather have an orphan coach with no design defects and harder to get parts, or a coach with tons of design defects and easy to get parts, but you have to drive to Alabama each time you need a defect remedied? Easy choice for me.


So far in my used 2009 Safari(Monaco) Cheetah, I have encountered 0 design defects, and has never been in the shop (Except for engine work)

[Mr_Mark1]

Monaco's only had a one year warranty. The appliances had their own warranty's as did the engine and transmission. The one year warranty was gone in a blink of an eye.

The new Monaco is there for all Monaco owner's for parts and tech support. I just bought a new coolant box from the factory that was made for Monaco's application.

The new Monaco, in my opinion, keeps the value up on our unit as parts and technical advice is just a phone call away.

MM.

[The_Texan]

steveownby wrote:

John S. wrote:
THey are not really in business as they went bankrupt and the they were purchased out of it by Navistar. Then they were sold by navistar to Allie Specialty vehicles and they were servicing the coaches but no required to hour any warranty or recalls.

Navistar only purchased assets and did not assume any warranty responsibility. ASV purchased a business and any warranty liability in effect with Navistar is now assumed by ASV . Nothing goes back to coaches built by the old Monaco Coach Corp except parts & tech support. Still a better situation than CC or National or Alpine.

Only partially true. ASV destroyed all parts for the Roadmaster chassis, so if you need any chassis parts, you are SOL. ASV is NOT the great champion of Monaco that some would lead you to believe. They terminated the Monaco employees that knew the older coaches and there is NO tech support like there was, even when Navistar had the company.

[steveownby]

John S. wrote:
THey are not really in business as they went bankrupt and the they were purchased out of it by Navistar. Then they were sold by navistar to Allie Specialty vehicles and they were servicing the coaches but no required to hour any warranty or recalls.

Navistar only purchased assets and did not assume any warranty responsibility. ASV purchased a business and any warranty liability in effect with Navistar is now assumed by ASV . Nothing goes back to coaches built by the old Monaco Coach Corp except parts & tech support. Still a better situation than CC or National or Alpine.

[John_S_]

Funny thing is I was saying that Monoco was dependent on one major dealer in FL and country coach was getting killed by National for a couple years, and Fleewood was getting killed by warranty expenses. I was told I was wrong and I just shook my head and said oh well, but I do feel sorry for the owners. It is all in the reports of public companies and available to anyone who can read them. Foretravel had its own near death experience and know the pain it can cause and what happens to the prices. So, yes they have the name and there is some support but it is not unlimited like it would have been before the bankruptcy.

So, it there is a recall item by Monoco they do not have to honor it as a recall as the old monoco is not in existence. Time will tell if there are more of them and if they will step up and fix them.

[John_S_]

THey are not really in business as they went bankrupt and the they were purchased out of it by Navistar. Then they were sold by navistar to Allie Specialty vehicles and they were servicing the coaches but no required to hour any warranty or recalls.

[steveownby]

John S. wrote:

Ivylog wrote:
Welcome to the forums and you are in luck... look at my signature and I woke up early. I've owned it for 10 years and plan on using it for another 10-15. If I had to replace it I'd probably look for a 06 Exe with a Detroit Diesel (DD) engine (a personal preference) BUT I'm getting ahead of myself. Forget any 40' coach that does not have a tag axle for full time (FT) use...PERIOD as it will not have enough Cargo Carrying Capacity (CCC) for FT. If the Dynasty is the one at DeMartini forget it as it's overpriced with 67K miles and it does NOT have the wonderful AquaHot heating system so it's worth less than $110K. Yes, I keep up with Dynasty and EXE prices such as the 05 EXE that recently sold on CrankyApe for $90K, 60K miles, and DD engine. I came close to bidding on it but the hassle of changing MH's and selling mine... plus I really like my Dynasty. The tag axle Monaco's all handle extremely well and I enjoy putting in back to back 750+ mile days when coming and going out West. I'm surprised Dennis/EXE would suggest a non tag axle MH... guess he's forgotten how much better the RR10S chassis handles over the RR8R he used to have. OP do a search in Class A on RR10S, CCC, Aqua Hot, 5 7 years tires, Good Year rivering, Girrard awning, & monoplex for starters.
Back on subject: Now that we've ruled out the two you have the hot's for... you need to slow down, get a little more educated about big diesel pusher's (DP.) PRSTIK gave you some good advice about keeping the 5er for another couple of years or even another couple of months until you CALM DOWN. MM brought up tires and TVs... most replace their tires before they get 7 years old and the 04 at DeMartini has non digital TVs in it. I replaced my 32" with a 40" LED that I mounted on the face of the cabinet, not in it as the LED's are very thin.
OP, you need to put Class A in the top R box and read the articles by Johnny T although you are on the right track with buying big and buying used.
I'm surprised John S did not say "forget both and buy a Foretravel" as we all tend to say "Buy what I have" as we do not want to admit we made a mistake and yes Foretravel makes a great MH that rides on a 10 airbag chassis like Prevost, Newell, and the bigger Monaco/Beaver/Safari/HolidayRambler (HR). My mistake was listening to those on here that said 36' is the biggest for NP, SP, USFS, COE, BLM CG's... I'll let you figure those out. Did not take long to figure out 36' was not too big so went with a 40 single slide, but for half time use 42' and 3 (if two are in the LR) or 4 works best for us. As a CG owner I like to stay in all those abbreviations above and the beauty of a big DP is how well you can boondock for 5-7 days without cutting back on anything.
Good luck in your search and did I mention... slow down.:W

I liked the 42 foot Executive as well. If they were still in business I would look at it closely. I like the upper monacos and agree with get a tag and get a 42 and I have fit in lots of places.

They are still in business and support the older Monaco coaches with no problem.

[JetAonly]

For full time there are three things that will define the experience. Tag axle, Aqua-Hot and Air Leveling. Floor plan includes length. Consider one with two sinks. Put a large premium on storage underneath. We never seem to have enough. Expect to have to upgrade the TV's and Sat Dish, I just did this and is fairly easy. Enjoy the search, it is part of the journey.

[Ivylog]

"in our great state, a tag requires a special license" well that's almost accurate as there are a few DP that are 40' with a tag. CA requires a special license for rigs over 40' and yes most of those have a tag.

[KampingKris]

We have an 08 Tiffin Bus. We liked the full tile (hate carpet) and quality of the interior. It is nice that the stereo system is all digital (although newer tvs would be nice) Ours also has a dishwasher which turns out is pretty handy. And the separate washer/dryer is pretty nice too. And we would recommend an Aquahot. There's a Tiffin forum of owners which can provide you with more info. Get what you like the best. I would, however, be careful with buying anything without inspecting it.
Forgot to add... in our great state, a tag requires a special license... so we didn't go that big.

[John_S_]

Ivylog wrote:
Welcome to the forums and you are in luck... look at my signature and I woke up early. I've owned it for 10 years and plan on using it for another 10-15. If I had to replace it I'd probably look for a 06 Exe with a Detroit Diesel (DD) engine (a personal preference) BUT I'm getting ahead of myself. Forget any 40' coach that does not have a tag axle for full time (FT) use...PERIOD as it will not have enough Cargo Carrying Capacity (CCC) for FT. If the Dynasty is the one at DeMartini forget it as it's overpriced with 67K miles and it does NOT have the wonderful AquaHot heating system so it's worth less than $110K. Yes, I keep up with Dynasty and EXE prices such as the 05 EXE that recently sold on CrankyApe for $90K, 60K miles, and DD engine. I came close to bidding on it but the hassle of changing MH's and selling mine... plus I really like my Dynasty. The tag axle Monaco's all handle extremely well and I enjoy putting in back to back 750+ mile days when coming and going out West. I'm surprised Dennis/EXE would suggest a non tag axle MH... guess he's forgotten how much better the RR10S chassis handles over the RR8R he used to have. OP do a search in Class A on RR10S, CCC, Aqua Hot, 5 7 years tires, Good Year rivering, Girrard awning, & monoplex for starters.
Back on subject: Now that we've ruled out the two you have the hot's for... you need to slow down, get a little more educated about big diesel pusher's (DP.) PRSTIK gave you some good advice about keeping the 5er for another couple of years or even another couple of months until you CALM DOWN. MM brought up tires and TVs... most replace their tires before they get 7 years old and the 04 at DeMartini has non digital TVs in it. I replaced my 32" with a 40" LED that I mounted on the face of the cabinet, not in it as the LED's are very thin.
OP, you need to put Class A in the top R box and read the articles by Johnny T although you are on the right track with buying big and buying used.
I'm surprised John S did not say "forget both and buy a Foretravel" as we all tend to say "Buy what I have" as we do not want to admit we made a mistake and yes Foretravel makes a great MH that rides on a 10 airbag chassis like Prevost, Newell, and the bigger Monaco/Beaver/Safari/HolidayRambler (HR). My mistake was listening to those on here that said 36' is the biggest for NP, SP, USFS, COE, BLM CG's... I'll let you figure those out. Did not take long to figure out 36' was not too big so went with a 40 single slide, but for half time use 42' and 3 (if two are in the LR) or 4 works best for us. As a CG owner I like to stay in all those abbreviations above and the beauty of a big DP is how well you can boondock for 5-7 days without cutting back on anything.
Good luck in your search and did I mention... slow down.:W

I liked the 42 foot Executive as well. If they were still in business I would look at it closely. I like the upper monacos and agree with get a tag and get a 42 and I have fit in lots of places.

[Ivylog]

The best prices on RV's I've found is Cranky Ape and most are in Lake Elmo, MN. Since you are in Michigan you could go and look but tag axle DP do not come up very often. Partly why I like this site is you get to see what they sold for. Keep looking.

[HailYes]

Great advice all. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with me. I'll do some searches on the topics suggested, and continue to build my data base. My older brother has had Dp's for years and currently owns an 01 Dynasty. I started this search for a Monaco but I have heard many good things about the Tiffin's. I also started this process with the a tag axle as a priority.

Thanks again for your input fellas.

[Ivylog]

Welcome to the forums and you are in luck... look at my signature and I woke up early. I've owned it for 10 years and plan on using it for another 10-15. If I had to replace it I'd probably look for a 06 Exe with a Detroit Diesel (DD) engine (a personal preference) BUT I'm getting ahead of myself. Forget any 40' coach that does not have a tag axle for full time (FT) use...PERIOD as it will not have enough Cargo Carrying Capacity (CCC) for FT. If the Dynasty is the one at DeMartini forget it as it's overpriced with 67K miles and it does NOT have the wonderful AquaHot heating system so it's worth less than $110K. Yes, I keep up with Dynasty and EXE prices such as the 05 EXE that recently sold on CrankyApe for $90K, 60K miles, and DD engine. I came close to bidding on it but the hassle of changing MH's and selling mine... plus I really like my Dynasty. The tag axle Monaco's all handle extremely well and I enjoy putting in back to back 750+ mile days when coming and going out West. I'm surprised Dennis/EXE would suggest a non tag axle MH... guess he's forgotten how much better the RR10S chassis handles over the RR8R he used to have. OP do a search in Class A on RR10S, CCC, Aqua Hot, 5 7 years tires, Good Year rivering, Girrard awning, & monoplex for starters.
Back on subject: Now that we've ruled out the two you have the hot's for... you need to slow down, get a little more educated about big diesel pusher's (DP.) PRSTIK gave you some good advice about keeping the 5er for another couple of years or even another couple of months until you CALM DOWN. MM brought up tires and TVs... most replace their tires before they get 7 years old and the 04 at DeMartini has non digital TVs in it. I replaced my 32" with a 40" LED that I mounted on the face of the cabinet, not in it as the LED's are very thin.
OP, you need to put Class A in the top R box and read the articles by Johnny T although you are on the right track with buying big and buying used.
I'm surprised John S did not say "forget both and buy a Foretravel" as we all tend to say "Buy what I have" as we do not want to admit we made a mistake and yes Foretravel makes a great MH that rides on a 10 airbag chassis like Prevost, Newell, and the bigger Monaco/Beaver/Safari/HolidayRambler (HR). My mistake was listening to those on here that said 36' is the biggest for NP, SP, USFS, COE, BLM CG's... I'll let you figure those out. Did not take long to figure out 36' was not too big so went with a 40 single slide, but for half time use 42' and 3 (if two are in the LR) or 4 works best for us. As a CG owner I like to stay in all those abbreviations above and the beauty of a big DP is how well you can boondock for 5-7 days without cutting back on anything.
Good luck in your search and did I mention... slow down.:W