throgmartin

Joel, without seeing a picture of your current tank I do not know. There are many combinations of coolant surge tanks in Monaco coaches. Many think they all came with the standard plastic tank but that is not the case. A lot of the tank size and shape have to do with the model year, rear or side radiator configuration and of course engine. If you can send Amy a picture of your current tank then she can better assess if our tank will fit. E-Mail: amy@talinrv.com - Phone : 352-942-2653 I was just reading an article on how people are cancelling home building plans. The average added cost for a newly constructed home due to material increases is around $ 23,000. Lumber prices are outrageous. A lot of these price increases we are seeing on certain items is being blamed on Covid. My problem with this is that I cannot see how covid has effected the production of some of these materials. I call BS on some of these increases. For anyone here who has not priced lumber go to Lowe's website and start looking at the prices of dimensional lumber - 2x4's, 2x8's, 4x4's, etc. You are going to be shocked. It is not limited to just lumber either. Everything is going through the roof and there remains shortages of many products.

Just wanted to update everyone on our Surge Tanks. Our inventory is now gone. We have no more Vector tanks left in stock and will not be building anymore for the foreseeable future. I have instructed my staff to revisit the tank/stainless prices again at the end of the year. If the stainless prices are still outrageous then the vector tanks will be dropped from our product manufacturing list. If the prices drop on stainless then we will resume production. On another note. We just purchased a new industrial property to expand our service center. I am in the process of building out the offices and store front. Imagine my shock when I ordered lumber. If any of you have not purchased lumber lately I suggest you take along some nitro glycerin pills. The shock you will experience will be tough. Last spring I built a new pool house and equipment room and was paying $ 3.50 for a 2 x 4 x 8ft. That same 2x4 is now $ 9.79. So not only has metal, copper and stainless steel gone crazy so has building materials. It is absolutely nuts the price increases I am seeing on raw materials.

I would like to relate a story here that drives home what Scotty said. I knew a guy who had a stroke. He was an awesome individual and he wanted to get back into the online community as it was his only source of engagement with people. It also was great mental therapy being on a computer. The problem was when he joined a couple online RV communities he had members that brought up his lack of grammar and spelling. It was embarrassing to him. Sadly this gentleman was doing all he could to recover from his stroke which caused brain damage to his cognitive center. He ended his participation because of a few ruthless people. I find it sad when someone goes after another individual who lacks grammar, punctuation or spelling skills. It is a pet peeve of mine. No one ever knows what someone on a keyboard may be suffering from. Pointing out their lack of skills in writing is heartless and shows that individual has an ego that needs to be displayed to make himself feel good about himself. I see little difference between correcting someones spelling/grammar and dumping someone out of a wheelchair because they cannot walk. If you feel the need to correct peoples English skills may I suggest you get a job teaching at a local high school. The vast majority of our members here have compassion for one another. Unfortunately there is always one whose ego writes checks his rear end cannot cash. Thank you Scotty for addressing this. As the Grandfather of an amazing Grandson who suffers cognitive disabilities I get extremely irate over issues like this. Nuff said.

Gary: Yes we have been manufacturing Stainless surge tanks. They are made of 16 ga 304 Stainless with extra large 316 stainless site glasses with 1000 degree temp fused glass. They are the only stainless surge tanks on the market and were designed for us by an aerospace engineer and manufactured using a CNC machine and then welded by a certified welder. They are by far the most robust tank ever made. We have 4 left and once they are gone we wont be making anymore. We just got word that stainless prices shot up and will probably be climbing every month throughout the summer. Like everything else there is a shortage of stainless so the prices have gone crazy. I met with my staff and decided that because these tanks are low volume and our margins have been completely wiped away it is no longer feasible to manufacture them. I could switch to aluminum and continue to make them but refuse to do so. I have a strict policy that every product we make is the very best or I wont make it. Period. 304 stainless is far superior to aluminum and I wont cheapen a product to make money by using a material I can buy cheaper. We will not resume production of the tanks ( unless stainless prices drop ) and once the current inventory of our tanks is gone there will be no more production runs - Thus - no more tanks. http://talinman.com/talin-vector-coolant-surge-tank/

Over the years I have rarely heard of a tow bar that failed due to a factory defect. I cannot say the same of failing tow bars that were abused by the owners. Stressed by carrying heavy loads and of course the big no-no - Backing up with a car attached to a tow bar. My humble opinion is the owner may have inadvertently created a stress situation or at some point abused it without knowing. One other failure I have seen is the owner not paying attention when hooking up their car. They forget to insert a clevis into a pin or something else. I once towed my car from Florida to Indiana and forgot to put the locking cap on the pin. Thankfully it didn't vibrate out. I have seen base plates on cars get loose as well. I always suggest to once a year check the bolts on the base plate to be sure they are tight.

Thanks for stopping in Bill. Sorry I could not make it to the office to see you. It happened to be the week my staff banned me from coming in. We really appreciate your business and support.

Rich: Contact my wife Ingrid 352-942-0224. Ask her to send you the instructions for the Omega 1. If you want a new spring we have them in stock. If you need new fabric Ingrid can give you a quote. I do not advise you to release the tension on the spring. You have a 50/50 chance of it breaking when you put winds back into it. It is old, rusted and these springs hate to go from a completely relaxed state back to full factory tension settings. The best way to lube a spring is to remove it and coat it with wheel bearing grease. Spraying lubricant will do very little to help it. Many times when the Omega awnings start working real hard it is because one of the arms got tweaked ( bent ) a little. It doesn't take much of a bend to get the arm out of wack as the angles on the arms have to be perfect. We manufacture the arms and they are all bent and formed on a CNC bender to exact standards. We also manufacture the sliding locks for the arms. If you want to lube anything on your assembly try lubing the arms where they go into the roller tube. The arms actually act like an axle and the roller tube rotates on the arm. I suggest using T-9 Boeshield which is the best lubricant you can buy. Ingrid has instructions for all the Carefree assembly models. She would be more then happy to e-mail them to you or assist you in getting new fabric or a spring.

Richard, as always it was great to see you and to have the chance to have lunch together. You got to see me eat my first foot long hotdog made with gator meat. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and letting our team work on your coach. I am very proud of Dustin, and Mike as they are amazing Monaco tech's who are OCD and take time to do repairs the right way. The pride they take in their work and their very high standards on repairs is something our customers love. Amy is a rock star and really looks after our customers. I am grateful for the amazing team we have. Thanks again Richard. Great seeing you again. Phil, sorry I missed you during your visit. I do not get into the office much these days. I do make it a point to make a trip in if a member asks to see me. Thanks again for allowing us to work on your coach. We appreciate you and the trust you placed in our work. Safe travels.

Terry: I have climbed well over 2,000 Monaco roofs in my career and have seen it all. Depressions, rising spots, cracks, holes, you name it. The one thing many coach owners do not realize is the amount of torque and twisting our house frames go through over the years. Jacking, leveling, dropping a front or rear tire into a low spot on a driveway, uneven secondary roads, etc. The amount of flex applied to the bodies of our coaches is unreal. This is why we see so many popped belt lines in our shop. My suggestion is to leave your roof alone. If there are no cracks on the roof or the roof radius's or if there is no separation at the seams then leave well enough alone. By injecting an adhesive into those voids, you are going to create pressure points. The luann board has already warped and trying to get it back into its former state is going to be a waste of time. Your concern needs to be the super structure. If the wood is not rotted then leave well enough alone. If you start seeing cracks on the outside edges on the radius then you can go back and address it. Otherwise live with it. I cannot count the number of roofs I have walked on where the roof moved up and down under my feet from the roof floating and being separated from the cross members. The only roofs I have seen on Monaco's that needed attention were the upper end models and were all built in Coeburg. Some of the Dynastys ( and a few Exec's and Sig's ) were missing critical support cross members. This caused air con units to sag and drop. Bob and Sunny's coach is a perfect example.

Richard, this is the exact reason why I left the Pac Brake factory default alone. If your Pac Brake is activated it means you are slowing down. If I am slowing down for whatever reason I want the traffic behind me to know. The last thing I need is to get run over by an 80,000 lb semi who is on my tail. 70 % of the time when I activate the pac brake I have not yet touched the brakes so there would be no warning to traffic behind me if the pac brake/light function is changed in the ecm. I have never had a pac brake freeze up on me probably because I use it a lot to slow down. In the city I always have it switched on. I turn it off on the freeways but will use it on off ramps. My brakes will probably last 250,000 K miles. After my accident in December I am hyper vigilant of traffic behind me. One only has to get blasted at 55 mph in the back of your vehicle to fully appreciate alerting drivers behind you that you are stopping.

Ed: Like Frank and I both said there are various ECM models for these engines. I believe the 330 has 3 or 4 ECM variants and none of them apply to RV"s. Transit Bus is one, OTR, Trash trucks and I forgot the other application. Monaco seemed to use all of the variants in their coaches. I do know that since your coach was made ( 2005 ) there have been 6 upgrades to the software. Those changes were very minor by the way. You would be surprised what can be changed in the ECM. Like Frank said many parameters can be changed. Even the brake light deployment can be changed in regards to the Exhaust brake. You can switch the brake light to be off when the exhaust brake is on ( not advisable ) or leave it on. Your best bet is to take it to a Cummins facility and have them plug into the ECM and check your ECM model, update your software and be sure and ask them to do a data dump with print out for you. That in itself is very interesting. It has a host of information and gives you full operating data from the first time the engine was fired up and started its life. Max speed, max temps, hours in first gear, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th. Averages of fuel burn, etc. The information is endless using the data dump feature. It is great to have if you ever sell your coach to show prospective buyers your engine was never hurt or abused. I believe Cummins charges $ 200 - 250 to access your ECM and make changes and give you a data dump. There are other changes that can be made in regards to engine function but I advise against letting just any Cummins tech making engine operating changes. Those changes can impact a lot of different things such as EG temps, fuel mileage, etc.. The last thing you want is a poor performing engine or a burnt valve. Frank and my son are the few I know who have a good grasp on engine operation and how different parameters effect performance. In other words they know how to tweak an ECM without hurting your motor. Not all Cummins techs are created equal.

Ed: There has been a lot of mis-information over the years about boosting the ISC from 330 to 350. First of all it is not a a re-chip process. The entire change from 330 - 350 is done with a lap top that is running specified Cummins software. Secondly what many RV'ers do not know is that not all 330's can be boosted. It all depends on the ECM model your coach has. There are several types of ECM's for 330's. My 05 Ambassador cannot be boosted because it has a transit bus ECM which is locked in at 330 HP for life. My son, a certified Cummins tech and an ECM expert sat down one day and connected to my ECM and found the ECM was a transit bus type. It cannot be boosted to a 350. I asked him about the banks kit and he told me to leave the engine alone. I have discussed this with other Cummins techs that are friends of mine and they said the same thing. I wanted the extra HP because I was going to be towing our show trailer. Turns out I didn't need it. Our trailer is 26 ft and I did a trip out West with it and when I ran across the scales I weighed 8,500 #. I had no issues in the mountains and used strategic shift points to climb grades. Since you are a retired 747 Captain think RTTO's ( Reduced Thrust take off's ) and max power TO's. The trick with the 330 is to squeeze all the torque you can from the engine by gear selection and maximizing your RPM range. Always strive for a minimum of 2,000 RPM's. This is where the 330 will produce the max torque plus give you max cooling. Back to the 330/350 issue. The problem with boosting HP is it will do little in regards to pulling power. More Torque is what you really need and our Ambassadors are pretty much limited in torque by the transmission. The whole 350 HP ISC and 330 HP was nothing more then a marketing ploy used by the manufacturers. It was a way to separate different model coaches such as the Ambassador/Endeavor and get more money. The ISC, simply put, is an ISC. The only difference between the 330 and 350 is the programming in the ECM. For those who did end up with 350's all they got was 20 more HP. They got no increase in torque. A 330 and 350 produce the same amount of torque. Just a little bit of history. Shortly after HR released the 350, Cummins shops started to offer an upgrade for the 330 HP owners. For $ 250 they would reprogram your ECM and give you 350 HP. This was offered in 2005 and 2006. In 2007 Cummins discovered when they " flashed a 330 to 350 it created more emissions. To keep the EPA off their backs they quit offering the reprogramming service and refused to boost any more 330's. My advice is to leave your 330 alone. In its current state it is the most reliable engine Cummins ever built. There have been no issues with them whatsoever. Before you start looking at performance enhancements consider an in-frame rebuild for a 330 is $ 20,000. A new engine is $ 28 - 30 K. A new Allison is $ 8 K. Do you want to roll the dice for 20 more HP & zero torque ? As I stated my Ambassador routinely pulls 8 - 9000 lbs without a problem. I am currently at Perry with my trailer and I ran across the scales on my way here. It weighed 8,700 loaded. Not one issue towing that much weight. My concern has never been engine HP but rather hitch ratings. I am getting close to max hitch ratings and I will probably have my hitch upgraded just to give me a warm fuzzy feeling while I am driving. I probably will never have a hitch issue but would rather be safe then sorry. --

I am disappointed to see Steve Parvin wont be there. He owes me big time which is why he probably is avoiding Perry. His excuse will be " I have to work ". Yeah right, as if Veterinarians work for a living. 🙂 I arrived Sunday and will have a Stone Vos / Talin RV booth. Be sure and stop in to say hello. I will also be cruising the parking area's in an orange Kubota RTV. Flag me down to say hello. Have a cup of coffee ready for me. 🙂 Hope to see you all there.

I remember my first trip to CA - 1975. It was miserable - Marine Corps Boot camp. My wife and I went back in 2006 and enjoyed Chula Vista, San Diego, Pismo Beach, the mountains and the deserts. It is a gorgeous State. Unfortunately I will not return. Been there, done that, paid crazy prices for everything and do not care to go back.

Captain Fogle: If you can get that basement door closed and taped up I can have a new door made for you here. I just seen you are schedule to visit us soon. Contact Amy and send her pictures of her door. I will show Bobby and see if he can fabricate a new one. He has done them in the past and does an awesome job. If you let me know which basement door it is I can also take him one of mine to duplicate it and have it ready for you when get here. I believe your coach is identical to mine - 05 AMB / 40-PLQ

Here is one that is PC based and notifies you via text message. I personally do not like using phone based software as I find it hard to see and my fat fingers never types well on a tiny keyboard. I know nothing about this software but will probably buy it and give it a try. I can use it for the coach, Genny, car, truck, tractor, and RTV. I have been needing something like this to keep track of everything I own and need to maintain. Software: http://automotivewolf.com/index.htm

Tyron all the way. If the Retrobands were that good the military would be using them. Instead they use Tyron. No idea what the price differential is between the two but for me it wouldn't matter. I refuse to pinch pennies on safety items. My life is worth a lot more then the few dollars I would save by buying an inferior product. JMHO

James: The 93 inch strap is for pull down patio awnings. The window awnings can vary in size. Some are 27 " and some are 29 ". It all depends on where they mounted the strap holder on the side of your bus. If you give Ingrid ( my wife ) at Stone Vos Awnings a call she can walk you through the process of how to measure correctly. ( Her phone number is 352-942-0224 ). She can also make custom straps for you. Tell her you would like the double loop straps. These straps have two loops - The first loop allows the window awning to be deployed and latched down in a normal position ( with the awning arms parallel to the ground ). The second loop allows the window awning to be deployed at a higher angle to allow more sunlight in. All of the straps made my Stone Vos are sewn with lifetime thread and they use a high grade UV protected polyester strap. Installing them is a piece of cake. Simply take a 3/8 " drill bit and drill out some of the channel on the roller tube ( do not drill through the tube ). Next slide the polyrod sewn into the strap into the roller tube groove, position it in the center of the tube and you are done. Hope this helps.

Hopefully Richard ( Dr4Film ) will jump in here. No one on this forum has more miles towing an enclosed trailer then he does with a coach. As for myself we have a show trailer I haul to RV rally's. It is a 26 ft V nose custom built with an extended tongue and vendors window. I have towed a flat nose trailer and will never do that again. I nearly punched a hole in my rear cap making a tight turn once. My trailer typically weighs 8,000 # loaded with parts and products plus my Kubota 900 RVX. I have towed all over the US including out West with no problems with my Cummins 330. You will be illegal ( over length ) but you will never have a problem with law enforcement as they always give RV'ers a pass. This is NOT true in CA. They will nail you in CA, ticket you and make you drop your trailer and arrange a tow for it. Know several people who have had it happen. I am 70 ft long and been towing this show trailer for several years now, been in and out of weigh stations and have never had a problem. I routinely go through weigh stations to get the trailer weighed as my weight changes for every trip. Not one weigh master has ever said a word about my length. In regards to campgrounds you will have to drop your trailer at their storage area. I have done it numerous times without a problem. You can also drop it in the parking lot and have one of the campers with a pickup move it for you. I have had guys with pickups move my trailer around fairgrounds when attending rally's and I buy them beer for their troubles. Having a trailer is pretty convenient with regards to having your own garage on wheels. I highly recommend you invest in a tire monitoring system. For people who tow trailers it is a matter of when not IF a tire will go flat. I have had it happen 3 times to me in the last couple years. I have customized my trailer since buying it by installing a Girard roof mount patio awning, solar/battery system, electric tongue jack, 30 amp power, etc. 🙂

I went with this same fridge but in stainless. Been going strong for 6 years. Never have had an issue.

I would like to debate this statement with you during our next phone conversation. Never seen a small animal Veterinarian work full time let alone work hard. You seem to find the time to use your coach long enough to steal my scallop dinners. Obviously you had an accomplice in that event.......... that other slacker......Scotty Hutto. I foresee a free Vet office call in the future for my 2 German Shepherds. 🙂

Wow, I thought for sure you had Omega's. A Monaco with a Zip Dee awning assembly is extremely rare. Monaco did use Zip Dee but only on a couple models and only for one or two years. I believe they were an option which is why you never see a Monaco with a Zip Dee. I suggest you go over the install procedure to replace the spring carefully. Zip Dee's are different then Omega's and require a different procedure. A lot of technicians curse them and very few technicians really know Zip Dee's well enough to work on them. As Richard stated, the Zip Dee is one of the best assemblies out there which is why Prevost, Foretravel and Newell used them. If you get stuck let me know by sending me an e-mail: chris@talinrv.com or call my office and tell Amy you need to talk with Dustin - 352-942-2653. Dustin is a Zip Dee expert and can answer questions for you. The factory is also good with tech support. Be safe and be careful.

For some odd reason we have had a run on replacing AC's at the shop. We have done 16 AC unit change outs in the last few months. You are correct getting the Penguin II 's has been an issue but we have been blessed with a wholesaler who has " steered " new stock to us. I wanted to upgrade our AC's on our coach so I ordered 2 - 15 K's. A customer came in needing two AC's so he got mine. I re-ordered two more and another customer came in and took them. Finally after reordering the third time was a charm and they got installed. In almost all cases our customers have elected to replace all of their AC's at once. We have done two triple AC unit change outs on a Dynasty and Sig in the last 30 days. My impression of the 2 - 15 K's ? Amazing. I am really happy with them and enjoy that new thermostat. They put out a lot of air - much more then my older penguin's. Living down here in the swamp ( Florida ) you tend to appreciate a healthy AC unit and the new 15 K's are solid performer's. In regards to installation I would check with Elite Repair & Renovation located in Harrisburg, Oregon. They are the West coast Monaco experts and all of their techs are from the old Coeberg factory. I also suggest you go with two 15 K units and skip the smaller unit.

I got a phone call from Dave Pratt telling me about Bill's passing. I am still in shock. Both Dave and I agreed that his passing is a huge loss to Monaco owners. Many of us relied on Bill's expertise in solar charging systems, the latest in batter technology, ATS switches, charging systems, etc. Many people did not know that Bill spent countless hours every week researching new technology and with his vast electrical background he was able to decipher many things and lend his professional opinion on new products. I get a lot of industry reports on new technology - products and systems - and I would pass them on to Bill for him to research the items. A week later he would get back to me and tell me if this system or component was good or bad. I forgot how many rally's Bill and I attended together through the years but it was a lot. Whenever I wanted to upgrade an electrical or battery system I would call Bill and let him spec the system out for me. He was always spot on and every system he told me to buy performed flawlessly. He spec'ed out my house battery system and at a gathering a couple years later I seen him inside my battery compartment. He was load testing the batteries and seeing how the batteries and charging system was performing. He spent time talking my Tech through electrical troubleshooting and the many Monaco owners he helped over the years behind the scenes through phone calls and e-mails is amazing. One thing that has not been mentioned was all the 4 corner weight weighing Bill did at Monaco Gatherings. I will miss Bill and our phone calls back and forth to one another solving coach electrical problems as well as solving the worlds problems. It is a stark reminder and something that Dave and I discussed yesterday on the phone - as time goes on we seem to loose more of our Monaco experts who has always been there to assist us. Bill was one of these individuals. May he rest in peace and may God hold Peggy and the family close during this difficult time. God speed my friend..............

Kevin, 96 EVO is correct on adjusting the rollers. In regards to the popping sound you are hearing it could be your gear pack is going. You may have a tooth missing on a gear and when it gets to that spot it jumps and makes a slight popping noise. On a wardrobe slide you can sometimes adjust the slide to work better despite the bad gear pack but on a slide with a bed it is next to impossible. The best thing to do is replace the gear pack it if that is the problem. Replacing the gear pack on a bed slide requires you to remove the bed. I would have to be standing next to the slide and watch and hear it operate in order to give a definite diagnosis. 😞