Dennis H

The reason most campgrounds allow the mobile guys in and frown on us doing our own repairs is because there are a few, an y'all know who you are, are slobs when it comes to cleaning up and not leaving behind a mess. Same with washing your coach. I use a bucket and rags and never leave the hose running in the street. Never had a problem working on the coach or washing it in a campground. I ask first and assure them they won't have a mess when I'm done. Just my observations and experience......Dennis

Since we have been full timing for 16 years now with about 110,000 miles on our coach, mostly back roads of the USA, I'll give you my perceptions for what they're worth. First, decide where you'll call your domicile State. It can be any of the 51 States. We chose SD for no income tax and now 4.2% sales tax. Should you decide to buy a new(er) coach that could save you a bunch of money on sales tax vs say California. There are several mail forwarding places in SD. We chose Americas Mailbox for several reasons. They have an actual commercial building with a campground attached. As opposed to someone's home that they operate out of. When you want your mail, we pay all our bills the first of every month, paperless of course, simply determine where you'll be and have the mail sent via General Delivery to that city's post office. Once you choose your State the next thing is to transfer everything to that State, bank accounts, driver's licenses, voter registration etc. Keeps your current State's tax collector from following you. SD requires you to spend ONE night in their State to obtain a driver's license. (They'll ask for a campground receipt) You'll then have to stop by every 5 years to renew. Next thing will be insurance. There used to be many companies that offered fulltimer insurance. Now there are only a few. Geico, Progressive and Nationwide are three. We chose Nationwide because they were the least expensive for our needs. We used FMCA for their discount. Same with towed vehicles. Used to be many, now few. We tow a Chevy Equinox. Good Sam publishes a yearly magazine to assist you with which vehicles are towable four down as well as weight etc. Choose your own poison. Next consider discounts. TSD for fuel, camping, Passport America, Resort Parks International (RPI) Thousand Trails, Coast to Coast, Hosts, there are many others too. This will save you $$$ every year. Join FMCA for discounts on tires and stuff. Finally, we spent our first year going from point A to point B to point C etc. to see the things we "always wanted to see". We missed everything in between. After that we simply traveled, spending six weeks in every State. Two in the northern part, two in the middle and two in the southern. We travel 3 but no more that 4 hours to get to our next destination. This allows you to relax and have coffee/breakfast in the morning before breaking camp, and gets you to the next destination for easy set up and relax before dinner time. Remember you don't really HAVE to be somewhere, you're already there. 3 hours also allows you to take the toad and visit somewhere you noticed while you were traveling. Backroads are much more relaxing, interesting and informative than any of the interstates. Of that previously mentioned 110,000 miles less than 15,000 are freeway miles.....Dennis

Age is just a number. 🙃😁 Determined by the number of creaks and cracks when you get up from sitting....Dennis

Absolutely get that tire taken care of immediately. Until you know why it's leaking, it's an accident waiting to happen. I've had two blowouts. The first one did no damage other than to my nerves and that of my DW. The second took out a bunch of wiring and the hose to the driver's side rear slide. After waiting 3 hours for the replacement tire, I had to drive almost 100 miles with the rear slide out to get it fixed. Don't take a chance. Get it fixed.....Dennis

MJ....hope to save you hours of Google time with your coach. 1. Headlights are 2004-05 Dodge Ram 2. Taillights are 2002 Lincoln Navigator. Monaco used knockoffs which are no longer available anywhere. Stock Nav lights will not fit. I purchased ANZO taillights, (https://www.jmautosports.com/product/anzo-211109-taillights-chrome-211109) and had to modify the housing a bit. No biggie, a dremel is no match for the fiberglass. 3. If you still have the plastic "protector" on the front, it will cost about $1,000 to remove. I had mine removed and never replaced. Mold will get behind it if you travel to and/or spend any time in the southern states with high humidity. If you decide to have it removed, I have a phone number for the guys who removed mine.4. Assuming your macerator is still in place and functioning, the wiring installed by Monaco is 18 gauge and way too small which causes the macerator to malfunction. Lots of folks simply removed it and went back to the stinky slinky. Run a new 10 gauge wire from your battery bank, fuse it at the bank and run it across behind your black/grey water tanks and into the water bay. Your macerator issues will disappear. 5. Get yourself a decent TPMS. I've used the 507 system from TST for many trouble free years. I mounted the antenna in the water bay for the towed. There's tons of other stuff you'll most likely have questions about. Any help I can provide, simply ask...Dennis

Simply wire and 'extra' 1157 bulb in the circuit. Hide it somewhere so it doesn't show and you're good to go. Only one bulb should be sufficient...Dennis

Phil, it's wired in series with your tail lights. Simply follow the wire down to where it connects. Mine connects on the passenger's side. Open the connection and clean it well. Use compressed air in case there's water intrusion causing the short. Worst case replace the wires...Dennis

Understand you can adjust your tag as necessary. More pressure on the tag, more pressure on the FRONT axle. Allows you to change it depending on your weight distribution. If you need more weight on the drive axle, reduce the pressure on the tag. Just remember with less downward pressure on the front axle/and tag, it could affect your steering....Dennis

My doorbell is in the bottom cabinet in the main bathroom. No one ever uses it. They simply knock...lol...Dennis

Ok, I changed my profile pic to one taken two weeks ago. 🙂

There are about 6 different radius available for Monaco coaches. Make sure you get identical radius or they won't fit. Want to know how I know? I have a brand new set that don't fit....Dennis

My door seal is air filled when I start the coach. Make sure yours is not the same. Different animals....Dennis

Paul, just click on the bottom of my post or go to executive45.com. Either will get you there...:) Dennis MJ Congrats on the purchase. You'll love the coach. If you've never had a tag axle coach you're in for a pleasant surprise. No sway when trucks pass you and no sway in the wind. As for towing, four down is best but there are fewer vehicles that can be done so every year. We love the Equinox simply because it has a lot of room inside. Consider the ReadyBrute towing system. We've used ours trouble free for the past 15 yrs. It features a built in braking system so there's nothing else to hook up. They also have, at an extra cost, a ReadyBrake system which simply is a cable hooked to the towed vehicles braking system that has a one way switch in the event the towed becomes disconnected. The towed veh brakes lock and it stops without killing someone. IMO worth the $$. You'll find the coach easy to work on as Monaco did a great job back in the day. Northwest RV supply in Oregon bought all of Monaco's parts when they went bankrupt so put them on your speed dial. They still have a warehouse full of stuff. The part numbers on the switches are Monaco specific but they are simply Carling switches, readily available. Keep asking questions. Someone on here will know the answer....Dennis

MJ. Take a look at my blog for upgrades and mods to your 'soon to be yours' coach. The tvs and gps units are junk and VERY heavy. The residential fridge comes in thru the drivers side window. The old fridge goes out the same way. I used a fork lift, laid the fridge on it's side and slid it in thru that window. It's an emergency access window so easily removed. Be sure to check out the manual section of this forum. Lots of good stuff on there. I also have the original CD that came with the coach. Forget about repainting it. That is simply a waste of money. The checking will simply come back. One important thing I've found is stop by Home Depot and get 1000 zip ties I went over my entire coach just after buying it new and zip tied all the wiring every 12-18 inches. That way none of the wiring wiggles back and forth eventually breaking and/or shorting out. You have fuses in the front run bay as well as the rear in the engine compartment. Look at my blog for pics of upgrades I've done to my coach for more info.....Best of luck....Dennis

Thanks Paul. I'm going to search for mine tomorrow. knowledge is a good thing. It's still 100 degrees in Arizona. Guess they saved a couple days for us Easterners just to show us what hell might be like. Ugh!

Keep in mind one of the best and easiest means of mounting your equipment is to get a thin sheet of scrap aluminum, trace your design, then have it water jetted. My dash bezel was broken where Monaco didn't leave enough room along the edges for the screws. I traced the design on the aluminum and had it water jetted. Some glue to attach the plastic bezel to the aluminum, drill the holes and perfect fit, tight and solid. I also used it when I swapped out the factory GPS unit for the Garmin 680. You can peruse my blog at Executive45.com if you're interested....Dennis

Thanks to everyone who has replied. I'm still researching. A bit of this is over my head. I like mechanical stuff. This electronic stuff is for much younger folks. Either that, or maybe I just haven't kept up. Regardless, I'll do some further research before shelling out 400 plus bucks. I appreciate the input...Dennis Paul, is there a way to 'check' the Gateway to see if the issue is there? Sorry if that's a dumb question but inquiring minds want to know...thanks...Dennis

Look on the INSIDE door panel of the front run bay. Mine has a decal posted that shows the location of hidden fuses. Open the front run bay door and look up...Dennis

Good evening everyone! It's been awhile since I've been on. With me turning 80 next year, we decided maybe we should consider "settling down". With that in mind we purchased a regular sticks and bricks home in the Mount Rushmore State. With the home being 120 years old, it was in need of some modern fix up stuff. So, that's what I've been working on the past year and some months. After spending a not so pleasant, (read colder than a witche's bosom) we've decided we need to be snowbirds. When I bought the house, we put our coach in a climate controlled storage garage at a friend's house. So, we decided to head to Arizona for the winter. I put new tires on and even changed out all the air bags, (one failed), had the rig serviced and ready to roll. However, I discovered some issues I'm hoping someone on here can help me with. First off three of my gauges have decided they're irritated with me for abandoning them for so long. This is the oil pressure gauge and both the air pressure gauges. The oil pressure simply stays put and doesn't move. Since I have the digital display via the outdated Aladdin system this doesn't bother me too much. The air gauges will not register until the ambient temperature rises. When it's 40 degrees or below the simply sit on zero. Once it warms up the function perfectly. Since we are now in Arizona where it's warm, both gauges work as they are supposed to. However, I don't like things that are supposed to work and do not. So I'm looking for advise on how I might go about fixing these things. My research so far indicates the gauges are no longer manufactured nor are they available anywhere. I tried Northwest Supply in Oregon, no joy. I assume all these gauges are electrical. I haven't yet dissected the dash to find out. I'm hoping someone has had a similar experience and can help with a solution or direct me to where I might get the help I need. Thanks for listening and your support....Dennis My coach is a 2005 Monaco Executive 45PBQ.

Having owned mine since new, now at 105,000 miles, I've experienced just about everything you can imagine with this coach. That said, it's been relatively issue free. The engine is probably one of the best ever put in a coach. There are some small issues Monaco skimped on. The macerator runs on 16 ga wire causing it to fail prematurely. I ran a separate 10ga wire from the batteries to the pump and the problem went away. Girard no longer makes a kit to repair the anemometer so if that fails, you'll have to buy the entire piece. You will have a steel frame in the coach, not the aluminum. Paint checking can't be avoided and will return shortly after any repaint so I'd really consider whether that is worthwhile. Your clear coat usually fails first anyway. If the washer/dryer is original Splendide no longer makes parts for that model. Ours still works and I use it probably 3 times a week as we are full timers. Does it have leveling jacks in addition to the air shocks.? If so, that's a plus. Air shock replacement will run you around 10k, ask me how I know. One nice feature is that you can raise the tag if necessary making your turning radius shorter. I had the plastic coating removed from the front as the muggy weather from the souther states caused mold to begin forming underneath it. Finally you mentioned one to the tail light lens is broken. Which one? I have an extra you can have for the cost of shipping. I replaced the Notsocold with a Samsung, replaced the 32" TV and the outdated GPS unit. Lots of pictures and write ups on my Blog. Ask any questions as I might have forgotten some. You don't say where you are but we are in Arizona at the moment....Good luck...Dennis

I had mine re-upholstered in Mesa AZ a couple years ago. Not a big deal but they have to remove them to do so. I picked out an above average leather and the total cost was about $1000 for both seats. The passenger seat has an electric leg platform. Also, the seat belt protrudes thru the top of the seat where they installed a plastic feeder. Only notable difference is the comfort of the seats, (better as they refilled them) and they were not able to reproduce the Monaco emblem on the original. I'm extremely satisfied with the quality and comfort of the new seats. They took two days to disassemble and reassemble the seats and reinstall them....Dennis

My fuse was behind the panel above the macerator. Like previous posts, the gauge wire used by Monaco was insufficient for the extra load. I ran 10 ga from the battery compartment, installed the fuse there, because it's more accessible and fed the wire through behind the grey water tank into the wet bay. Haven't had any issues since. Going on three years now....Dennis

My cost was about $1800 to replace all 10 air springs, about 2 months ago....Dennis

For the water and electrical hoses, I simply use a rag. Cheap easy solution. Wet the rag and wrap it around the hose and place it in the compartment. When the rag dries, it fills all the gaps. Mouse traps are cheap and efficient. I paid $1.97 for four at Home Depot the other day.....Dennis

I installed the Samsung myself in the campground. Took me a few days because I was working by myself but it was a relatively easy install. See the link below for steps and pics of the installation process....Dennis https://executive45pbq.blogspot.com/2014/06/samsung-refrigerator-install.html