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Compare Monaca and Holiday Rambler Endeavor

bazdad
Explorer
Explorer
First time motor home buyer. What is the story about Monaco and Holiday rambler? Were they a split? As I look at units it is confusing which units are which. Which is the better unit and the most valuable? I want to buy used and spend around $100K. I think my choice will be Monaco over the Newmar, I presently pull a Newmar 5th wheel. I am very tight with my dollar and do not wish to make a mistake. Thanks for your replies.
32 REPLIES 32

NeverHome2
Explorer
Explorer
lanerd wrote:
Well, I gotta say that the info provided in that iRV2 post, doesn't really convince me that these problems (trailing arm bushing & H frame deflection) were a major problem with the early Monaco/HR 8-bag chassis. As I mentioned previously, I have friends in our rv club who do have Monaco 8-bag products who have never experienced these problems and have no complaint about the ride/steering.


Do you think they might be interested in an improvement for $150? We thought ours was ok until we invested the $150 for the fix. It made a HUGE difference.

The point is...if the OP is making a decision on the handling of a coach, he should be aware that there are some cheap fixes for specific models out there.
Lovin' Life!!!!

2005 HR Endeavor

lanerd
Explorer II
Explorer II
Well, I gotta say that the info provided in that iRV2 post, doesn't really convince me that these problems (trailing arm bushing & H frame deflection) were a major problem with the early Monaco/HR 8-bag chassis. I checked back on recalls (again, of those problems) by Monaco in those years and found nothing. As I mentioned previously, I have friends in our rv club who do have Monaco 8-bag products who have never experienced these problems and have no complaint about the ride/steering.

For the OP, with all things considered, I would recommend either the Diplomat or Endevor. However, with that age of a coach, you are going to have to expect problems...just the nature of the beast. If you are inexperienced with DPs, I highly recommend that before purchase, that you hire an expert to inspect it first.

Good luck

Ron
Ron & Sandie
2013 Tiffin Phaeton 42LH Cummins ISL 400hp
Toad: 2011 GMC Terrain SLT2
Tow Bar: Sterling AT
Toad Brakes: Unified by U.S. Gear
TPMS: Pressure Pro
Member of: GS, FMCA, Allegro


RETIRED!! How sweet it is....

J-Rooster
Explorer
Explorer
I've never owned a HR product, but the HR Endeavor would be high on my list if I should buy a DP.

dons2346
Explorer
Explorer
Executive wrote:
hanko wrote:
Im sure Monica would be more fun


Ask "Bill"...:B...Dennis


You guys are bad:B

bazdad
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks for replying. If the purchase would be a Diplomat or Endeavor in the years 03-07 would it need to update the chassis? If the purchase is a 03-07 unit will there be any built in problems such as chassis, electrical, or engine? Which years would more likely be most problem free. Which years are the engine a problem? Which engine gives the best fuel mileage? I will probably choose a 2003-07. Sorry I have so many questions.

Mr_Mark1
Explorer
Explorer
JimM68,

I just want to say owning a 10 air-bag Roadmaster chassis drives nothing like a Prevost. The Prevost is much smoother and quieter (steering, ride, handling). The thing that I didn't like about the Roadmaster chassis is the rough 'tight' ride. Otherwise, I liked our Dynasty.

MM.

PS. Could the mods correct the spelling of the title.... driving me nuts.:R
"Compare Monaco and Holiday Rambler Endeavor".
Mr.Mark
2021.5 Pleasure Way Plateau FL Class-B on the Sprinter Chassis
2018 Mini Cooper Hardtop Coupe, 2 dr., 6-speed manual
(SOLD) 2015 Prevost Liberty Coach, 45 ft, 500 hp Volvo
(SOLD) 2008 Monaco Dynasty, 42 ft, 425 hp Cummins

JimM68
Explorer
Explorer
That post on irv2 is old, before they tossed me for being a smartass...lol.

It was mostly driven by 2 people, one who didn't like the way his coach handled, and another who was a vendor with something to sell.

What they basically said was the coach would get wiggly if the suspension bushings wore out. (makes sense)
They also said the coaches would handle better if the H frame had 2 lateral (side to side) locating arms rather than just one. The vendor active on that thread was desinging a kit to add a second lateral arm.
I haven't been on that site for 2 years, not sure where it's gone in the meantime.

But Monaco's 8 (and 10) outboard air bag roadmaster chassis remains as one of the best handling in the industry, with peers including Prevost, MCI, & Foretravel.

Back to the Monaco/HR/Beaver/Safari... As they grew, Monaco purchased all those other companies. HR was first, and was merged into Monaco very quickly. It was more of a Buick/Oldsmobile thing than Chevy/Pontiac, the paired models were VERY similar. I've seen '08 HR's with the exact same paint scheme as my monaco, but in different colors!

Beaver I think remained different the whole time. (Beavers were top of the line stuff back then)
And Safari "picked up" a couple clone Monaco models, but also continued producing their own.

And Monaco did have 2 distinct lines. The "expensive ones", Signatures, Executives, Presidents, Dynasty's, etc shared little with the lowly knight/ambassador/endeavor/diplomat.

From 05 on, the only real diff between a knight/ambassador and a dip/endeaver was the engine, ISC vs ISL. Floorplans, trim, even colors were identical.

Also worth noting, all these had a "stacked" rear radiator system. Where most manufacturers put the charge air cooler in front of the radiator in a sandwich (a BEETCH to clean) Monaco put them one above the other in a stack, much easier to keep clean, and much better cooling.
Jim M.
2008 Monaco Knight 40skq, moho #2
The "68"
My very own new forumfirstgens.com

My new blog

Ivylog
Explorer III
Explorer III
Pretty sure all of the Beavers have Cat engines and the 03 and older are good engines. The bigger the engine starting in 04... the bigger the problems. Even worse after 07.
This post is my opinion (free advice). It is not intended to influence anyone's judgment nor do I advocate anyone do what I propose.
Sold 04 Dynasty to our son after 14 great years.
Upgraded with a 08 HR Navigator 45’...

westernrvparkow
Explorer
Explorer
gemert wrote:
dougrainer wrote:
HR and Monaco were like Chevy and Oldsmobile. Monaco and HR had the same basic models, but each had items that were just for that brand. Some think Monaco was the slightly better and some think HR was slightly better in the same basic floorplan. BOTH are equal. Doug

And Beaver, also part of the Monaco family were the best of the bunch! Just saying!! LOL
Many of the Beavers had Cat engines, which in my mind disqualified them for any consideration as the best of anything. They did have the best looking cabinetry, however.

Ivylog
Explorer III
Explorer III
I asked him for the link and page 74 is where it starts. I'm not at home so did not pull it up yet. I love my 10 airbags handling.
This post is my opinion (free advice). It is not intended to influence anyone's judgment nor do I advocate anyone do what I propose.
Sold 04 Dynasty to our son after 14 great years.
Upgraded with a 08 HR Navigator 45’...

lanerd
Explorer II
Explorer II
Hummm.. I have lot of friends with the Monaco 8 bag chassis and not one of them have ever mentioned the problems Neverhome describes. We had the R4RR chassis in our 08 Safari Simba and it was a rough riding rig. We had to replace the trailing arms after two years of ownership. Of course, the dealer never mentioned this problem to us when we bought it new. Fortunately, our extended service provider picked up the whole bill.

I will check out the post at IRV2. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Ron

PS... ok, went over to IRV2 and looked up that post...There are over 100 pages for this post.... I went through the first few pages before I got really bored with it and never saw anything about trailing arm bushings or H frame problems. Can you be a little more specific as to where I can find this info you're talking about?
Ron & Sandie
2013 Tiffin Phaeton 42LH Cummins ISL 400hp
Toad: 2011 GMC Terrain SLT2
Tow Bar: Sterling AT
Toad Brakes: Unified by U.S. Gear
TPMS: Pressure Pro
Member of: GS, FMCA, Allegro


RETIRED!! How sweet it is....

Ivylog
Explorer III
Explorer III
OP, do a search on RR10S... You'll save yourself a lot of $$$.

X3 on the 8 airbags handling very GOOD but the 10 handle even better.
This post is my opinion (free advice). It is not intended to influence anyone's judgment nor do I advocate anyone do what I propose.
Sold 04 Dynasty to our son after 14 great years.
Upgraded with a 08 HR Navigator 45’...

JimM68
Explorer
Explorer
If you look at Ron's list, Knight and Ambassador dropped off the "bad 4 air bag trailing arms list" because they were put on the rr8r chassis in 2005 and on.
We are very happy with our 08 knight.

As for the Windsor, some of these had "cheater" rear axles, with a 23,000 pound rating axle on a non tag chassis. CCC with these is huge.
Our knight is heavy in the back.

I'm not sure where NeverHome's remarks are coming from.
Our knight is a smooth rock. Never bothered by anything, steer with one hand, etc...
Jim M.
2008 Monaco Knight 40skq, moho #2
The "68"
My very own new forumfirstgens.com

My new blog

NeverHome2
Explorer
Explorer
Ron,if you look at pictures and specs of early 2000 to 2006 the Endeavor and Diplomat they are exact copies including paint and interiors. If you have ever driven a coach on a RR8R Roadmaster chassis it steers itself and you have to constantly saw at the steering wheel to keep it on the the road. When a truck passes you the air it is pushing pushes the coach over and when you make a quick lane change it has so much yaw that it becomes almost out of control. When a wind comes up it is almost undriveable. This is caused by the H-frames moving due to trailing arm deflection. In the early Monaco coaches the bushings in the trailing arms were of a too hard durometer and they would break. The fix is a softer thermoplastic encapsulated bushing but because they are press fit the recall replaced the whole trailing arm. All the history and detailed engineering to fix the problems are in a large thread on Irv2.com. the thread is titled "Wandering, swaybars, alignment, ride height, oh my..." Take the time and read it, it is very educational.
Lovin' Life!!!!

2005 HR Endeavor