JimC295

I just want to give a shout out to Weller truck parts and to post the contact who is currently handling the Shepard to TRW gear box swap. Weller was awesome to deal with, I first emailed John Vanlaan who said he no longer handles the swap info but set me up with Nick Vangeest (Nick Vangeest nvangeest@wellertruck.com ) it was plug and play after that. Nick even offered to send one of their trucks to pickup the core. If you are contemplating the swap Weller is a great place to assist you in this endeavor. I am including a copy of Johns 1st email with Nicks name.

Good Morning Jim,

Thanks for reaching out to us. You have come to the right place. I am no longer in the Steering Department, however, I am still with the company and happy to point you in the right direction. We have sold many of the TRW replacement gears. They are not quite a bolt on and go replacement, however, a lot of RV owners have made the swap and are extremely happy with the change. The TRW gear you will need is the TAS65 052 and the NEW Pitman arm that will be needed for the swap too is 84242502. I have included some instructions from the forum (These instructions are older and we have sense updated which TRW gears and Arm works best but they are the same concept and should help you or your mechanic doing the swap). I have also included the Steering Department and counter sales Nick Vangeest who can better help you with questions, pricing, and shipping.

Hope this is what you are looking for and can help make your Monaco Coach more enjoyable for you.

John

Ive got my TRW gear box and Pittman arm ordered. Not sure when I'll get it installed but I'll have it if and when we get a mild day this winter. I emailed Nick Vangeest and he got my stuff coming right away. Great service. I started with John Vanlaan but he is no longer in the steering department but he was able to get me the number I needed and some instructions from the forum that he said were edited by Weller to ensure all the I's and T's were crossed and dotted and forwarded the info to Nick.

2 minutes ago, Rico K 2005 Knight said:

RoadmasterR4R_FMC1109-2.pdf 128.41 kB · 1 download

Read the attachment on rear suspension issues that caused the rr4 and rr4r chassis to handle poorly. Hope it's not you but just to be on the safe side.

Ive been alerted to that issue. Ive inspected mine but not really close. After I get my gearbox changed out that is next.

I have to give a shout out to Rev group. I determined I needed to ask for the build sheet for my coach. Ifound out I needed to verify the model number of my sheppard box. I emailed them yesterday mid afternoon and got an answer before 5 pm. AWESOME response! My Sheppard pn is PMN34 so now the hunt is on for a trw replacement.

10 hours ago, Robert92867 said:

What is the condition of your tie rods? Any unusual vibration, clunking noise, or pull to one side or the other? How do your track bars look, are the thru bolts tight? Check these before jumping into the steering gear. and yes, the h frame only applies to RR8 chassis. Many have advised 2-person inspection;  One turning the steering wheel while at idle, the other underneath observing for loose parts.

In the front everything appears tight. I asked a friend to observe the movement as I turned the wheel. I was just a little concerned when all were talking about drilling the hole for the adjustment screw when it appeared I didn't  need to. I am confident that it is the box causing the issue, it is a real white knuckle drive at times. I live on a dirt road and I can move the wheel several inches in either direction without changing direction while driving 15-20mph.

You mentioned the track bars I have what I think is the original design so I'm thinking I need the source engineering bars or at a minimum get mine welded up by a competent welder.

I have a filter and need to install. I've got a minor leak and because of my research into this topic I'm a little confused about my box. The pittman arm has the previous owners name on it so I'm wondering if he had someone make changes to the system. I don't think mine would work with it bolted to the frame because the generator is right against the frame.

OK this is probably a stupid question but as some will say "there r no stupid questions". I have been reading everything on the forum about steering issues I also have been consulting with Chad Young. I crawled under my coach and took pics and am pretty sure I have an M100 Sheppard box . My question is I thought these boxes were mounted directly to the frame and the hole that needs to be drilled was into the frame to adjust the TRW box. Mine is mounted a good 3 to 4 inches away from the frame so any adjustment could be done I would think with a wrench and a stubby screwdriver.

1 more question is the H frame everyone is talking about and the Watts X braces, is that only on RR8 chassis. I looked at the Monaco watts site and they do not have anything listed for RR4.

I am headed home today, once I fill it up then I'll compute it again. So standby for an update.

8 hours ago, dl_racing427 said:

Not to doubt you, but 12-13 MPG just seems unbelievable. 
Keep a running total over 10 or more tanks, and you may find it closer to 9 or 10.
I agree the 8.3 does quite well on fuel, but that's a lot more than anyone I've seen post here.

I tow closer to 9,000 # with my 36' Dynasty, and I'm usually in the 8-9MPG range.
If I ever drove it without the trailer, I suspect I could exceed 10, but not by much.

It's possible that your trip had an overall decrease in elevation, or a tailwind, which can both drastically affect mileage.
Another possibility is if your odometer is not accurate.
Some GPS devices can record cumulative mileage, and would be a good way to verify your odometers accuracy over a 1000 miles or so.

David, I agree it seems high. I did have an elevation decrease. Where we live in N GA its about 1200 feet and I traveled to N FL. Im gonna track it the rest of the trip and  reevaluate.

10 hours ago, lake49068 said:

Very surprised at 10+ mpg!  If you're stopping your fuel fill when the pump turns off, you may not be adding the same amount as consumed.   My Neptune has a goofy fill neck and usually takes another 8-10 gallons after pump shutoff.  I use a flashlight and continue adding until it is visually up into the filler neck.  On our first long trip, actually ran out of fuel at the pump since I was mentally calculating published tank capacity x approximate mpg.  Gage was surprisingly accurate...as in E.  Was very lucky with location!

I ran mine over twice on my last 2 stops, truck pumps have a lot of volume. Flashlight is a good idea, thanks

Well, I guess my expectations were to high. I had a 2007 Ram with the Cummins 6.7 and on cruise it never dropped off cruise and it would fly down the on ramp if I floored it. I also had a tune in it so maybe I should think about that for this. I'm guessing I was pushing about 375hp and this one is rated at 300. But yall have given me some perspective.

Maybe I screwed it up. I've go  more legs on this trip so I'll keep checking it. I have not been down shifting but may start doing that. Just trying to understand what is normal. My main concern is on ramps and merging into traffic. I have not scaled it yet but GVWR is 27K and I towing a camry fairly light.

I read somewhere that the 8.3 was much better on diesel than the 5.9 and seems like I remember 12-13 mpg. If I did not screw this up I got 13.4 with my toad in tow, WOW. I have a question though, is it normal for the tranny to not down shift with the accelerator floored? I changed the fluid and this was the 1st time I got it hot enough to run the diagnostics and turns out I was a couple of qts low. This is my 1st MH so not sure what normal is. Thanks in advance

Tom I do have a (edited) CO or Carbon Monoxide detector on the baseboard in the bathroom. I am aware of the deadly consequences of a gas leak inside an RV. I am just wanting to get this coach back up to spec so we can enjoy it and feel safe traveling in it. I spent 25 years in the USN and every sailor is a firefighter we received extensive training on fires and causes of fires and gases in enclosed spaces. If deployed on a ship and you have a catastrophe  u can't call the fire department. LOL

2 hours ago, Georgia Mike said:

Jim, like others are saying it’s probably a co2 detector if you don’t have one in the bedroom. You should have a propane detector near the kitchen somewhere as well. BTW Don Carter State Park is one of our favorite parks next to Vogel in Georgia.

Don Carter is just a short hike down the road from our house in Cleveland. I checked out Vogel once and decided it was to tight for my 5th wheel maybe I'll take another look since I no longer have to bend in the middle. LOL

4 hours ago, Robert92867 said:

That would be for the O2 detector

I would have never guessed Co2 but makes sense especially since you sleep over the engine.

2 hours ago, Chuck B 2004 Windsor said:

I am lost!!!!!!!!!!!!  I need to see a picture of the hole, not the front end of the coach.  I am Not a Mind Reader!!!  Chuck B

Here you go.

6 hours ago, Martinvz said:

Could you post a photo of the hole and wire?

Here you go

This coach needs LOTS of TLC but every thing seems to work. We are at Don Carter state park near Gainesville Ga, on Lake Lanier. Still repairing and replacing Many 12VDC items, switches, bulbs ETC. I have a question, Next to the bed there is an empty hole with a black and red wire coming out of the wall, what do you think should be mounted there.  The other side has a switch for the Radio and an 120VAC outlet.

37 minutes ago, Scotty Hutto said:

Fear not, the moderators and admins have a handle on it. At least 3, sometimes 4 of us read every post every day. We give posters great latitude to express what they need to, so long as it’s somewhat RV related.

We literally communicate daily about how to handle posts that are “out of bounds”. Y’all never see the result (and never will), because we “praise in public and discipline in private.”

’nuff said.  

That is a rule of leadership I learned in the Navy.

UPDATE; I am feeling a little foolish but in the interest of clarity here we go.

I took what the previous owner said for gospel since I have not owned a MH before. What I was seeing was the oil fill cap with no dip stick and the other tube protruding from the back was told me to be the trans dipstick.. I have spent many hours reading the owners manual and have learned a lot. I took what I was told initially as gospel, turns out he was not as knowledgeable as I thought he was.  Thank all who commented and tried to help me with my non problem, I should have trusted my instinct and realized when I pulled the other dipstick that he was wrong.

27 minutes ago, 96 EVO said:

How did you pull that off?

That filter is not a Ecolite filter.

*edit* Now I recall Monaco built a few diesel models with permanent air filter housings! You may be one of the lucky ones.

The rest of us are now paying $200+ for our disposable can filters!

Glad you edited and explained. I was gonna ask you what an ecolite filter was .LOL  I just purchased my coach and I am going through and bringing it up to my standards, it needs a lot of TLC. Believe it or not it had a birds nest in the old filter. The date written on the end of the filter was 2015. Forgot to add that I have a Donaldson Filter housing.

8 hours ago, jacwjames said:

X2 on prices, they are all over the place and change.

I used Goggle shopping "Froogle.com" and do a search and then compare and sort by price.  Big range but the best price is from Amazon $159

I believe this is the same filter I use and in the past have purchased Baldwin filter.  If you have a preference you can do a cross reference search for different brand.  I have a filter minder on my coach but have never really seen it indicate I need to change a filter so I just change every ~3 years. 

I second the Baldwin recommendation. I just replaced mine with a Baldwin RS3548. I paid 60.00 for it. It had a carquest filter in it and the price on that was 159.00. I use Amazon for most everything however I do comparison shop with Google shopping also.

1 hour ago, Ivan K said:

Jim, if you have Xantrex inverter, you can adjust the incoming power rating and percentage of it to be used for charging to its minimum. I routinely run one AC unit on 20A when parked at the shop. One time I accidentally had engine preheat ON and kept throwing the breaker. I never use it so it was the last thing I suspected.

Ivan, I do have the Xantrex.  I also think I have an owners manual on it so I'll read up on this subj.

7 minutes ago, cbr046 said:

THAT'S GREAT!  But I already had the below all typed up!  It still might be a good guide . . . . .

 

On generator everything should work, except the amps display on EMS (normal).  Just don't forget all the built in delays. 

On 50A shore power everything should work. 

On 30A shore power one AC should work. 

On 20A shore power one AC *might* work, or microwave.  You have to pick one or the other. 

On 15A shore power you can run the refrigerator and charge batteries.

If your EMS is set (shore power 30A,20A,15A) the EMS will automatically shut off different devices (AC, water heater, washer/dryer?) 

If your EMS is set on 15A maybe the AC will never start?  I'm not sure . . . .

If you have a long extension cord your voltage will drop when switching on a major load (AC, microwave, elec water heater, space heater, etc)

- bob

Bob, thanks, I only tried to run the AC on my 20amp circuit because I was able to run my 15K rooftop unit in my 5th wheel. I was unaware the inverter would also kick on which is what make everything overload and trip the breaker. So I guess one of those soft start high dollar units is needed but for now only on Generator.   I learned the value of a forum to access shared knowledge years ago and so I will be more careful in the future as I go about learning about this coach. Again thanks all for your help

6 hours ago, klcdenver said:

Check your breakers on the generator. They are by the start switch on the generator itself. Stop using 20 amp shore power from your house, that will not run your AC because of the invertor/charger also drawing power. It takes about 20 amps or more just to start a roof mounted AC and about 13-17 amps continuous amps to run. 

This was the solution to not seeing the intellitec light up. Then the info provided by Tom on resetting my thermostat got my AC's running again. You guys are awesome I was really upset about this issue because I did the typical guy thing and did not read the Thermostat instructions before I started pushing buttons. I'm all good now!