Scotty Hutto

I reached out to Lippert to ask about fitment on a Monaco coach (since the doors aren’t made by Lippert). Long story short I got a non-answer from their Tech Support, which was more or less “there’s no reason they shouldn’t fit, but we haven’t tried it and can’t guarantee it will fit. Let us know if it works…” They fit in the spaces between your existing hinges, so the install seems like it would be relatively easy. I haven’t tried them yet, but may… after I get my current list of projects worked down some. 😂

Chuck, is this it? UsedMHCheckList.pdf

I'm quite happy with my current coach and still working to improve it, but always thinking about what would I get next *if* something happened... I'm trying to keep a list of potential candidates... Monaco Diesel Pushers from 2005-2008 (i.e., original Monaco Coach Corp coaches) that have a bath-and-a-half floorplan (my DW's requirement). Here's what I have so far: 2006 Diplomat 40DST (my coach) 2005 Windsor 40DST 2007 Dynasty 43 King III 2007 Signature 45 Noble III 2008 Camelot 42DSQ 2008 Dynasty Renaissance IV 2008 Signature Cambridge IV My "wish list" includes Aquahot and side radiator... Do y'all know of any others?? Holiday Ramblers, Beavers, and Safaris would all be on my list... Just curious if I've missed any bath-and-a-half coaches from that time range with aquahot and side radiator... This group always seems to come up with answers I haven't thought of, so I thought I'd put it out there... 😁 Scotty

Moderators can delete a message if you need that done. 😉. You *should* be able to delete…. I’ll check into that.

Thanks @Tom Cherry! There you have it, everyone! The wisdom of two of the boards long-time authorities on the subject. They differ in opinion regarding which switch, and I think both sides of this long-time discussion are well represented here, but the one thing they don’t differ on is their recommendation to replace the Iota and add surge protection.

Don, That thought is based on a lot of conversation with my late friend Bill Groves. Bill was an engineer in the switchgear business for many years before he started his own company, GTEK. He preferred the way that the Southco (aka TRC) handled the switchover from shore power to generator and vice-versa - specifically the that the ESCO did not have mechanical interlocks for the neutral and was not UL1008 listed. That said, many have installed the ESCO LTP50RD (including myself) and have not had a problem. The key to "not having a problem" for me has been Bill's advice to make sure and unplug shore power BEFORE starting the genny, or shut down the genny BEFORE plugging into shore power. By doing that you bypass the potential issue of neutral current flow during a transfer. Below are Bill's comments from a February 2016 discussion on the subject. He was rather adamant... 🙂 But he also told me if I follow the advice above I shouldn't have a problem. He also recommended the Southwire product (they purchased TRC, mentioned below). ----- Gary, If you want the open neutral protection at and downstream of the ats and use a progressive ems at the pole or in front of the ats as recommended by many on this forum, then get the trc 41260 for 220$ from dyersonline or elsewhere. Stay clear of the lpt50brd. Here are just a few things wrong with it: 1. It is not a ul1008 listed transfer switch. This listing guarantees certain things that a transfer switch should have and do. 2. It utilizes general purpose double throw 40amp frame relays. 3. It has no ability to turn off both sources of power and thus cannot provide time delays needed if the shore power is on when you switch to genny. It's either shore or genny and cannot do neither, i.e. Both sources off. When you plug in a trc, no source is connected. Only after neutral and ground are validated and a time delay is the shore contactor activated. 4. In the case where shore is still on, if you start your genny, the neutral relay switched first , leaving you with open neutral on the shore for about two cycles before the line relay switches. The line relay is not allowed to switch until the neutral relay is confirmed to have been switched. This protects you from a burned out coil on the neutral relay but makes no assurance that the coil on the line relay is not burned out. For that they depend on shore being off. DO NOT START YOUR GENNY WITH SHORE POWER ON WITH THE LPT50brd. 5. It is not mechanically interlocked. If one relay gets stuck contacts you can end up with shore with no neutral. 6. It has no surge protection. 7. It has no open neutral protection. 8. It has no open ground protection. 9. It is not FLA rated to switch inductive loads. 10. The progressive ems50 at the post does not protect you from open neutral at the ats or errant genny behavior at all. Ats failure is often the problem as we have seen. The es50-65n is by far the better transfer switch. I used to sell transfer switches and went to square-d school for them. In a prior career I was the industrial field engineer for them in the New Orleans area. Believe me when I tell you that the lpt50brd is not an ats that should be allowed within 100 ft of your coach. Anyone who has been recommending the LPT needs to take another look at it from a technical standpoint. Just because some tech recommends it because it doesn't hum is not enough. I think a lot of shops use it because they can buy it for a few bucks less than a real ats. I see it for about 150$. Be assured that the 70$ you save now might cost you a lot more later with downstream damage. As far as field servicing, I don't know anyone who has repaired one. All that said, I have not used this particular trc ats but it gets high ratings. The one in the Dynasty is its big brother that also provides protection from out of band voltages and frequencies and so takes the place of the progressive ems50 also. And it's also UL listed as an ats. It's ties into the Aladdin system and displays plain English status, Volts , frequent, source etc. I see you have an 09 Dynasty. Does it not have the trc40250 or 40350? Those are the high end ones that have 130,000 amps of surge protection... And protect from all the other stuff like volts, freq, open n , etc. Why are you changing it.? Has it failed ? Mine is 11 years old and works every time. Bill G

It would be worth a call to Navistar…

Yikes! That would cause a “pop” AND let the magic smoke out!

The two most popular on this board are the ESCO LPT50BRD (in your post above) and the Southwire 40100. I have the ESCO, but if I had to do it again (and I hope I never do) would likely go with the Southwire. @Tom CherryTom Cherry provides excellent advice about changing the Iota to a ESCO. Search the board for "transfer switch" and look for his name by the post 😉

Todd, I still have access to the old Monacoers email database and have counted 9 instances of Monacoers member's coaches having "meltdowns" of their Iota ITS-50R. Keystone and Navistar (who owned Monaco at the time) issued a voluntary recall of coaches made while Navistar owned Monaco. Unfortunately, coaches build prior to Monaco Coach Corporation's bankruptcy and acquisition by Navistar in 2008-9 were not included in the recall. Rather than share my opinion, I'll simply post the text for the NHTSA Campaign Number 12V060000. I replaced mine. There is another thread all about replacement options, so I won't belabor that here. Scotty February 16, 2012 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 12V060000 AUTOMATIC TRANSFER SWITCH ELECTRICAL OVERLOAD OF THE TRANSFER SWITCH COULD LEAD TO OVERHEATING, AND A FIRE, INCREASING THE RISK OF PROPERTY DAMAGE, PERSONAL INJURY, OR DEATH. NHTSA Campaign Number: 12V060000 Manufacturer NAVISTAR, INC Components ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Potential Number of Units Affected 249 Summary NAVISTAR IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2008-2010 BEAVER AND CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2009-2011 MONACO, AND CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2009-2011 HOLIDAY RAMBLER RECREATIONAL VEHICLES, MANUFACTURED FROM OCTOBER 25, 2007, THROUGH AUGUST 26, 2010, EQUIPPED WITH IOTA ITS-50R 50 AMP AUTOMATIC TRANSFER SWITCHES. THE IOTA ITS-50R 50 AMP AUTOMATIC TRANSFER SWITCH BUS BAR AND/OR ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS MAY BE INADEQUATE TO HANDLE THE ELECTRICAL LOAD. Remedy NAVISTAR WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE IOTA ITS-50R TRANSFER SWITCH FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MARCH 15, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT NAVISTAR AT 1-800-448-7825. Notes NAVISTAR'S RECALL NUMBER IS 12504. CUSTOMERS MAY CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153); OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.

The “pop” is the Intellitec system doing what it’s designed to do - manage the load. It has a relay at each AC unit and if the total coach power exceeds 20A (assuming you have it set to 20A and not the default 30A), it turns off one of the ACs to keep from overloading the shore power system. Even if set to 30A, it will likely shed load when the second AC comes on. Each AC unit typically uses about 14A, so just normal lights, etc, plus 1 AC unit will run on 20A, but add a second AC and you blow through both 20A and 30A, so it sheds load. The Intellitec is controlled by a board usually located in the breaker panel. Hope that’s helpful.

Sharon, Sorry it's taken so long to respond. That's really a question that only @David Pratt can answer, and I believe he's on the road right now. I mentioned him, so hopefully he'll see this and respond. Scotty We'll send out another email update in August that will go out to everyone on the site that has not opted out of receiving emails (if someone opts out, we're prohibited from sending them emails.)

I can echo Joe’s comments. I’ve had the Micro-air for several months and have been very pleased. I also have (almost) full time WiFi, and being able to check on the status is nice. I’ll also echo an earlier comments… being able to see a FPC change the temp from anywhere in the coach is very convenient. The interface isn’t the prettiest software I’ve ever seen, but it does everything I need (and a few things I don’t). Probably the biggest compliment I can give is that my DW loves it and can operate it without having to ask for assistance. (She doesn’t love the NEST in our bricks & sticks).

Short answer: Yes. I’ve done it. Make sure you match the color sequence of the wires. I cut the wire and added RJ-11 plugs on each end with a phone jack crimp tool, then used a double-female phone connector. You don’t have to use this (I already had everything on hand)…. Just make sure your connections are secure, insulated, and somewhat resistant to vibration. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D2Y5DFW/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_MT568QB1NDHKYNQ309D1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Drums that large aren’t typically turned is what I’ve been told by those more knowledgeable than me. Unfortunately, I didn’t take pics, but the driver’s side front drum was cracked all the way through — you could see a big crack on the inside of the drum and the same crack - slightly less obvious - on the outside. I’m no expert, but I sure didn’t want to drive anywhere with it like that! The passenger side front looked to have gotten overheated, but no cracks.

My coach is at Jack's as we speak having the front bearings replaced (I had a bad bearing) and new brake drums and shoes installed. Garrey was super helpful.

Found it! The drums are made by Webb Wheel Products, part number 65555B. https://www.webbwheel.com/online_catalog_drumdetail.php?dn=65555B Found them in Birmingham for $1k/ea. The local NAPA counter guy couldn't find it, but they do have them (pricey!!): https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/TWR65555B Now that I have the specific dimensions (and not worried about the three assembly holes) I'll find a cross available locally. Will post details once I have it. Thanks Everyone!! Looks like our July 1 trip is still on!!! (I was worried). Scotty

Thanks Chuck. I have the steer axle assembly (I202BN201-1) and the Bendix brake assembly (ES-150-4L). Just not the drum. There is a "Hub & Drum Assembly", part number 975352, but I don't need the hub, and can't find the drum. Perfect!! That helps!!!

Yes sir. No joy.

I need help sourcing steer axle brake drums for a 2006 Diplomat. I've been through 1) the Parts List, 2) the downloads section (LOTS of brake info - but nothing on drums) 3) the roadranger.com site (Bendix brakes), and multiple web searches with different search engines. The existing drums are corroded to the point where you can't see the part number. (15 years of road grime will do that.) We've also tried taking the drums to some local parts suppliers (Atlanta area). I've yet to find an exact match; the problem seems to be the three small bolt holes used to attach the drums to the hub before you put the wheels on. Otherwise they can match the drum dimensions. Any help appreciated.

Bob, 1. Where did you put the Seelevel sensor strips? I was thinking curb side, but don’t see how I can get one on my gray tank fresh water and black water look relatively simple… 2. did you use the existing wiring, or run new for the Seelevel? Thanks, Scotty

Bruce, I believe my 2006 Dip has the same tank setup as your 2004. Where did you mount the sensors, and did you use the original wiring, or run your own? I have my gauges in hand and will be installing them in the next couple of weeks, and planning for that… Thanks, Scotty

Yes, the TireMinder Smart TPMS will work with Android devices. (Just not Windows tablets 🙄) It doesn’t need to be the latest device…. My iPad mini is a first generation unit, but it does this just fine.

I’ve used TireMinder for 4 years and have been very pleased with it. It has alerted me to a few issues before they got serious. Just keep the batteries up-to-date. 😉 Tire Minder sends you new batteries for free once per year - you just have to remember to ask for them. Pressure Pro is probably the most loved system on this board (and the old Yahoo Monacoers group.). The only downside I’ve ever heard to Pressure Pro is that you can’t replace batteries in the sensors, although anecdotally they seem to last a long time… when the battery is toast you have to replace the sensor (unless they’ve changed that recently). I chose TireMinder because I can use an old iPad mini for my monitor - having had a system with dedicated monitor before, I like the flexibility of a device that can be upgraded. TM is coming out with an upgrade for that system later this year that will show all tires at once.

The entire floor over the hatch lifts off. It is normally held in place by Velcro. Once you lift the floor off, you can open the hatch.