Scotty Hutto

Welcome to the Atlanta-area chapter of Monacoers 🤣! Seriously, welcome and we hope you find some useful info here. Scotty

Yes, I moved the heater over to the right to make room for the pump, and removed the vanity panel around the Sani-con. I also replaced the 4” port with a 6” port to make dumping easier.

I don’t have any really good pics, but will post what I have and take more soon.

As it turned out, I had two separate but related issues. I replaced the diverter valve which corrected my fresh water tank overfilling, and also added added a backflow valve exterior to the Remco 55AquaJet-ARV (and removed the internal backflow device). That did not correct the periodic pulses of my pump, so I reached out to Remco Tech Support. After walking though troubleshooting with them (including sending a video of the pump cutting on every 20 seconds for about 1-2 sec), I sent it back for warranty replacement. The Tech explained that very rarely, the diaphragm in that pump gets damaged and will cause that behavior. The Tech explained that very rarely, the diaphragm in that pump gets damaged and will cause that behavior.The new pump solved that issue and all of my water system problems are now corrected. When replacing the pump, I added a mounting board (Trex composite decking) with closed cell foam backing to further quiet the pump. It is now fairly quiet and I have superior water pressure. 😉 IMG_5739.mov

I had similar damage on my 06 Dip after an “incident” with one of those pesky short bollards that you can’t see in your mirrors — maybe a little worse. 🙄 Looked and couldn’t locate a new one, so the body man removed that panel and straightened it. Had to paint it, too… Looks great.

Dave, 2006 Dip and not sure how that compares in terms of antenna location, but my experience was using the existing cable to pull new coax. On my coach, the antenna sits about a foot behind the front cap on the roof (just over in front of the passenger seat). My coax routes into the front cap, straight to the font, and across (between the TV and the windshield), then into the AV cabinet above the drivers seat. Mine wasn’t “secured” anywhere along the route. There was a bit of a snag passing through the aluminum roof supports at the roof/front cap junction. Hope that helps. scotty

He did. I bought one two years ago and just now put it in… 😞 There was other work associated that I didn’t detail out.

So I got the coach back yesterday, and all is well! (Except my wallet, which apparently went on a significant diet…) All numbers include parts, labor, etc. CAC Removal, Cleaning, and Repair Estimate - $1,200 Actual - $1,075 Radiator Removal & Replacement (includes new radiator, all new hoses, clamps, and coolant) Estimate - $4,000 Actual - $4,033 Not included in original estimate, but added at my request during project: Replace water pump & belt - $754 (shaft had significant play, minor leak) Install stainless steel surge tank (labor only) plus new hoses, fittings, and clamps, and reattach snorkel (air intake) piping - $350 Dash A/C - Evacuate, test, replace leaking quick-connect with crimp-on fitting, vacuum test again, charge and test system) - $385 Please note that most of these items were very labor intensive, and the cost of repairing the same items on your coach - even at the same shop - would likely be different. Typical engine temps on the drive home… low of 177°F once warmed up, peak of 190°F during a long hill climb on I-575. Dash air blows cold for the first time in ??? 🥶 The leak was a fitting that was apparently added when my compressor burned up about 3 years ago. (Different shop) I’ve been chasing that leak ever since… I am extremely pleased with MTR Fleet Services, the quality of the work, their prices charged, and the speed of their service. The only delay came when they called me on Friday to say they were putting off finishing my coach until Monday because they had a regular customer who had an emergency repair on his revenue generating vehicle. I had told them I needed it by this Friday 7/28, so it still fit my time frame and I still got it early. Will definitely be using them for future service, even though it’s about a 1-1/4 hr drive.

I replaced mine with a King Jack antenna 5 years ago. Been happy with it. If you use the King Jack, make sure and order the plate they make to cover the hole from the Winegard antenna.

Not Tom, but I’d suggest POR-15 for the frame. POR stands for Paint Over Rust. Pretty sure Tom has a process he can share, but my understanding is the POR chemically bonds with the rust to form a barrier to protect the remaining metal. I have no information on using POR on the engine??? Not sure how it might react with the heat I’ll be curious to hear Tom’s report on this. I’m pretty sure he’s the one who recommended it to me years ago for my rusted battery tray. 🤔

Jason, I don’t know if this is the answer, but at least it should give some clues. This is from my 2006 Dip (which has a 2005 ISL 400 and Allison 3000MH transmission. The other clue is if you look at the “Vendor P/N”, that’s tells you the part wasn’t made by Monaco, but purchased from a vendor. Sometimes you can search for the vendor part number and find who the OEM was. Alternatively, @David Pratt has encyclopedic knowledge of who the OEM vendors were on our coaches. REV apparently still offers this part, though it’s “not in stock” but may be available special order in 2-3 weeks

Monacoers, Thanks to everyone who participated in the poll. Based on the unavailability of Lazydays due to reconstruction, difficulty in finding a suitable, reasonably priced venue, and lack of sufficient interest in alternate venues, Bill D’s Monacoers will skip 2024 and not hold a formal gathering. Several members are planning to attend the Cajun Rally in New Iberia the second week (April 11-15, 2024). I have spoken with the organizers, and they welcome our participation and have offered their meeting facility if we want to hold some sessions there. If there is sufficient interest, we *may* hold some sessions and a round table there. Please Note: If you are interested, please note this rally fills up quickly. As of today, they have about 25 spots left. For more info or to register for the Cajun Rally, visit their website at: http://www.cajunrvrally.com/ Another alternative is the Ramblin’ Pushers’ Maintenance Session, May 3-9, 2024 in Goshen, IN. For more info, see their website: https://www.ramblinpushers.org/ Best Regards, Scotty & Dave

I only have that one data point. It would be useful to find out, tho!

From the “For What It’s Worth” department… My DW’s family owns one of the largest big vehicle towing services in the Southeastern US, Simmons Wrecker in Meridian, MS (shameless plug). My brother-in-law has been in the towing business almost 50 years, and my father-in-law (God rest his soul) was in it over 60 years. All of which qualifies me to say “I know a guy…” 😂 Ricky and I have had many conversations about towing motorhomes. The short answer is motorhomes (more specifically the frames) aren’t designed to be “towed”. He purchased a “bus carrier” (basically a specialized lowboy flatbed with winches and such), and uses that exclusively to “tow” motorhomes. His advice is fix it onsite if you can. (Yourself or mobile tech) It will almost always be cheaper. But some things can’t be fixed on the side of the road. If you can’t fix it, make sure you find someone that knows what they’re doing towing a motorhome. He told me (and I quote), “ I don’t even answer the phone for Good Sam. They beat you (the towing company) down on price, then don’t pay on time. CoachNet is very fair and pays on time.”

To add just a bit of color to Tom’s excellent advice… - Code (that is, the NEC) indicates a refrigerator or freezer should not be on a GFI protected circuit. I made this mistake when I first installed my residential refrigerator, and it created a LOT of nuisance trips. Once moved the fridge circuit off the GFCI outlet, no problems. Fortunately on my Diplomat, the “ice maker circuit” (tied into the inverter power) at the GFCI outlet in the rear bathroom, so it was an easy change to move that connection ahead of the GFCI outlet. Problem solved. - A bad motor or capacitor (like in an AC!) can cause a GFI to trip in a seemingly unrelated circuit. Especially and old GFI. Think of it like crimping a hose where the pressure backs up all through the plumbing. A bad motor can cause “dirty power” throughout the coach as it begins to fail - If you still have the problem after working through Tom’s process, I would suspect your front AC as the culprit - especially if it’s been acting flaky.

I mis-read your note and mis-spoke. 🤦🏻‍♂️ I have the Sam’s Duracell group 31 AGM batteries; not the maintenance-free lead acid batteries. FWIW, I do have them on “Float” all the time, but realize you’re asking about a different animal 🦔 I likely won’t go back to flooded cell. I’ve had too many issues with them over the years and 2 different coaches (likely self-inflicted, for the most part) My next house batteries will either be AGM (again) or Li-PO4 (the ones that don’t catch on fire. CORRECTION: The ones NOT subject to thermal runaway like the NCA batteries most electric vehicle manufacturers use.) Li-PO4 will require a new inverter. My next staring batteries will be AGM Part of the wisdom of growing older is learning one’s self…. I have learned that two things I don’t “gee and haw” with are Fescue grass and lead-acid flooded batteries.

I’ve had those exact batteries for about three years and not a moment’s problem out of them.

It takes my flashing green light several seconds to go off, but if it’s staying on for “minutes” I would go ahead and do a hard (power) reset. If that doesn’t work, call Magnum tech support. My problem turned out to be a bad ME-ARC. I thought I was looking at a new inverter ($2,000), but it was just a flaky remote ($200) causing the whole system to not work properly. I confirmed that by completely shutting down the 12v and 120v, removing all of the network connections, and powering back up. (The inverter runs in “default” mode). When I did that, I had normal power and charging. Then, I added back components one-by-one (removing 12v and 120v power each time) until I found which one was causing the inverter to show a fault.

I found the replacement board (EMS Control Board Kit, Model 760, Intellitec 00-00894-200 at rvpartscenter.com for $284 plus shipping. Right at $300 delivered. @pwhittle might be able to help, also. He's an authorized Intellitec rep. Scotty

Just for the record, Bill Groves did have a Diplomat before he bought the Dynasty. May not be the coach discussed here, but he did have one. On my Diplomat, the front AC does go through the Intellitec. I know this because the relay burned up and I had no AC in front until I temporarily bypassed the Intellitec. Had to replace the board.

BlueFire does have logging capabilities, and the app gives you a choice of downloading the file or emailing it. Apparently its a CSV spreadsheet that allows you to manipulate it. I wish I could tell you more, but I haven't used any of those capabilities... yet! but you've piqued my interest, so logging will be turned on from now on...

First, try a soft reset of your inverter. If that doesn’t work try a power (hard) reset. Here are instructions from the Magnum manual: Under some fault conditions (e.g., an internal fault), the inverter will need to be reset. Prior to performing any reset, ensure all AC power (utility, generator, shorepower) is removed from the inverter's input. 4.4.1 Performing an Inverter Reset To perform an inverter reset (also known as a “soft reset”): 1. Press and hold the Power ON/OFF pushbutton (see Figure 4-1) for approximately fifteen (15) seconds until the Charging/Inverting Status LED comes on and flashes rapidly. 2. Once the rapid flashing has begun, release the Power ON/OFF pushbutton. The Status LED will go off after the pushbutton is released. 3. After the inverter reset is completed, press the ON/OFF pushbutton to turn the inverter on. If the inverter reset fails, you will need to perform a power reset using the procedure below. In either case, if an internal fault does not clear, the inverter will require repair at an Authorized Service Center (ASC). Info: The Power ON/OFF pushbutton is a small momentary type switch which operates by lightly pressing and releasing. Be careful not to apply too much force when pushing or the switch might break. 4.4.2 Performing a Power Reset To perform a power reset (also known as a “hard reset”): 1. Open the inverter's positive DC disconnect (or disconnect the positive battery cable to the inverter). CAUTION: If removing all battery power (positive and negative) to the inverter, remove the positive battery connections fi rst, then remove the DC negative connections to the inverter or to any accessory. This will prevent damage to the inverter or to any network connected accessory. 2. Ensure the inverter and the remote are disconnected from all AC and DC power (the remote display will be blank). 3. After the inverter has been disconnected from all power for 30 seconds, reconnect the inverter DC disconnects (or reconnect the positive battery cable) and resume operation. Info: If DC disconnects are not used, there may be a momentary spark when the positive battery cable is connected to the inverter's terminal. This is normal and indicates that the inverter's internal capacitors are being charged.

Yes. My CAC is being tested and repaired (if necessary) today.

Jeff, There’s another recent thread with info on alternators (but not belts) for 2006 Diplomats. Since your coach does not have a DUVAC alternator, you might rethink rebuilding your old L-N. You may be able to use a Delco 28si or similar, or purchase a new L-N for close to the cost of a rebuild. I searched for a reputable rebuild shop for quite a while, and when I found one the cost of the L-N brand parts plus the rebuild was a major portion of the cost of a new alternator. Also, I would rely on Cummins QuikServ before the owners manual for this specific part. My owners manual for my 2006 Dip had the incorrect part number for the belt. (And I only have one belt for the AC compressor and alternator, not two separate ones as indicated in the Owners Manual.) This is from the Dealer Parts list for my 2006 Dip: …and this is from the Owners Manual: Both came from Monaco 🤦🏻‍♂️