throgmartin

Looking at this I am not sure how I would tackle this without standing next to it and seeing first hand the extent of the damage and the issues. This post is timely though as we just finished rebuilding a wall next to the drivers seat as well as the cockpit floor leading back to the slide on a gorgeous Sig. It was a major job and the damage to the sidewall and floor was extensive. Guess what caused it ? A technician at another service place who used the wrong materials to re-set a drivers window. The side wall and floor rot was so bad we had to replace entire sections of floor and half of the interior wall.

I always call in my hired gun Ken, one of my techs to do these jobs. He is an old retired master tradesman highly skilled in paint, fiberglass, welding, fabrication, etc. and works part time for me. He has performed magic on some of my customers coaches and I am always amazed at how he blends certain materials and crafts things to arrive at a perfect repair that will last a lifetime. I am blessed to have an old school craftsman like this on my staff.

When we get jobs like this in Ken and I inspect the damage carefully and then start putting together the repair process together. Looking at your picture I can see a blend of materials being used -  3-M 5200 and POR 15 are 2 along with possibly using some Bondo products. If memory serves me correctly, that opening is framed in metal. If so then I would sand that metal down and apply POR 15. ( If anyone has ever restored a classic car then they know about POR 15 paint ). The integrity of the fiberglass wall looks good as does the refrigerator floor. I would seal that wall cavity at the top with a bead of 3-m 5200. For boaters/mariners you know 5200 not only seals but is one helluva adhesive. It is made to live its life underwater so is 100 % waterproof. The adhesive portion of 5200 is astounding. 

In regards to the frame, no rubber seal is needed. Those plastic covers are prone to cracking and by putting a rubber seal between the cover and frame will stress the cover and those 2 plastic screws causing it to crack and it will end up in the ditch of some highway after it blows off the side of your coach. The water damage in that area is normally caused by a leaking roof vent or ice maker water line. Check those 2 items. Going forward I would recommend 1.) Taking your time 2.) Don't make the job more work then it has to be 3.) double check the entire area around that area for damage. 4.) Think the process through and use high quality materials ( regardless of its cost ). Trying to pinch pennies on repairs will cost you a lot more down the road because the failure rate will be higher using cheap or the wrong materials or using improper application techniques.

With the horrific damage Ken and I have repaired on customer coaches, yours looks to be a straight forward job. Just double check and make sure there are no other problems that extend past that area. Remember, water runs all over inside wall cavities so check the lower belt line to be sure it isn't popped from rusted screws. Check for delamination of the wall underneath and 2 ft to the sides. Investigation is the key here. Ken and I never focus on a given area of damage. We always go further to see how far out the damage has extended. By the looks of things it appears the damage you see is very local to that specific area and you caught it in time to effect a great and lasting repair. Good luck.

7 hours ago, Ray Davis said:

I think all the upper end coaches of that era came with 295 / 80 / 22.5 tires,  my 03 Windsor did.

Ray, you are correct. The upper end Monaco's came on 295's.  What I meant to say is all Monaco brand coaches in the Diplomat/Endeavor lines as well as the Knight Ambassadors came on 275's.

Many of us with 275's have went to 295's. I know I did on the very first tire change out. I always felt the 275's were marginal on the Dip's and Endeavors as well as the Knights and Ambassadors. I wanted some extra safety margin with the 295'sand will never come close to overloading them. I also can run a little less air pressure which gives me a more comfortable ride. In as far as tire clearance issues, I have had none going to the 295's.

The Goodyear 275's as mentioned were standard equipment on all Monaco brand built coaches in the early to mid 2000's. My 05 came with them and while I didn't have any blow outs they rivered terribly. I ended up junking them after 3 years as I lost faith in them and the rivering was horrible.

In about 2015 I was on my way to a 419 MS. Up ahead of me was an Imperial with brand new Goodyears. He was cruising along at about 62 mph when he had a double steer tire blow up. He ended up in the ditch. The tires had less then 1,000 miles on them.

I wouldn't run Goodyear's even if they were given to me.

Forgot to mention, I use a Dewalt 20 V grease gun when servicing my farm tractor, coach, show trailer, open trailer, Kubota RTV, etc.

Best investment I ever made. I bought it since I have a huge pile of other Dewalt 20v tools. Works awesome.

https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DCGG571M1-20V-Cordless-Grease/dp/B00FL2SOXW/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3TVKNI6KXRKDE&keywords=dewalt%2Bgrease%2Bgun%2B20v%2Bkit%2Bwith%2Bcase%2Band%2Bbattery&qid=1652969566&sprefix=dewalt%2Bgrease%2Bgun%2B20v%2Caps%2C127&sr=8-2&th=1

I used to do my own greasing but after a recent episode of going into heart failure and being locked up in a cardiac unit for a week I am cutting back on my project work. For years my son, a certified Cummins, Allison and Spartan technician did all my maintenance. I just concentrated on lubing the U joints periodically in between services.

My last venture doing the U joints found me being a Chinese contortionist laying on my back under the coach. Something caught my eye and it was a coral snake who coiled up 2 ft from my head. I had no way to exit quickly so I laid still and he moved away. Thank God.

I don't get along well with snakes and was once bitten by a pygmy rattler on the last day of a Monaco rally. The rattler was a stow away that somehow got into a basement compartment of my coach via a box I had sitting outside on the ground. Between that snake bite, nearly bitten by a coral snake in the face not to mention the brown recluse spider bite I had to endure I am not a big fan of wallowing around on the ground. The spider bite happened when I was servicing my car. The little jerk was hiding inside my mechanics coveralls.

These episodes I believe were all a sign from God saying " Chris, stay clear of servicing your vehicles ".

Ironically I have been in a cat and mouse game with a big copperhead on my property. He always shows up when I do not have my Judge ( 45 cal revolver loaded with 410 shotgun shells ). Makes me feel like the Coyote chasing the  roadrunner.  The joys of living in Florida where the land is populated with creepy crawling hazards that likes to interfere with your day. 🙂

This post was timely. I just replaced my cord last week on my 05. I lost one hot leg in the cord itself so essentially had 30 amps feeding the coach. I wont screw around with power cords. If it is suspect I toss it and buy a new one. The cost is worth the safety factor and knowing my coach wont burn to the ground because of a shorted wire inside a cord.

Many times we see the plug defective in our shop but we also see cords defective as well. I refuse to roll the dice on a plug, cord or suspect ATS. They all live under your bedroom and burning up in a fire is not the way I want to go. Find another way to save money. Skimping and trying to save dollars on electrical components will catch up with you.

FYI

The Omega I assembly has one spring located on the right.

The Omega II assembly has one spring located on the left. Both assemblies can be double sprung if the owner prefers. Talin RV stocks all Carefree springs and keeps an abundance of springs in inventory. They have one of the nations largest inventories of these springs along with various parts including the Omega question mark arms and locks. They are the only aftermarket manufacturer of these arms and locks and both are beefier then the OEM parts.

History info: The Omega II was used in only one model year by Monaco which was 2003. It was not used on Diplomats or those coaches below a Dip. We double spring most Omega II assemblies because of the weight of the outside aluminum cover. In the 2004 model year Monaco went to all SOK II assemblies as Carefree discontinued the Omega II at the end of 2003. Country Coach was the only manufacturer to continue to use the Omega II after 2003 and used them throughout the 2005 model years. CC bought out all of the remaining inventory of Carefree's Omega II's. That is why you see CC coaches with the Omega II assemblies.

Monaco has always followed Carefree's model year manufacturing. 2005 was the last year for the SOK II assembly. Monaco transitioned to the SOK III assembly part way through the 2006 model year.

Hope this info helps.

2 hours ago, cbr046 said:

All that is probably hush-hush from throgmartin and the monacoer owner as he they be consulted during the (you know it's coming) litigation process.  It could be years before they can talk. 

But it does give credibility toward installing Tyron Bands.  If you don't know what they are . . . https://www.tyron-usa.com/  Of course, it won't happen to ME . . . right?

- bob

Bob:

You are correct. Dave Pratt and I are called upon from time to time to intervene for a member with an outside company. Both of us have been called to testify as expert witnesses. Sometimes settlements include a gag order which I religiously obey. Other times owners or members ask Dave or I to keep information confidential. 

In this case I am not discussing the accident because I do not have permission from the owner to post any details. I am a stickler about confidentiality and when someone tells me something it is never repeated. In this case I am giving him a couple days to gather their thoughts, find a place to stay and then will reach out to them. In the meantime my focus is not on what happened but how I can help them with their loss, living arrangements, etc.

Since the owner is a member here I figured that if he wants to discuss the accident later he can. In the meantime I have no information and even if I did I do not have permission to discuss anything other then they are fine and the coach was totaled. Hopefully everyone can understand my position. My contact with him has all been health/medical related. The accident has not been brought up.

Unfortunately this accident happened to a customer of ours. They were on their way to our facility for some service work.

He is a member here and has been a friend of mine for several years. He contacted us immediately after the accident. I am not going to get into specifics but he is a very conscientious owner who looks after his coach and pays attention to details. I did get an updated message from him yesterday and his wife did survive and will recover. He also is OK.

The coach is obviously destroyed. There is a lot of back story to this coach that I wont get into but I was called as an expert witness to testify on his behalf after a dealer completely screwed the coach up. Due to my testimony the dealers insurance company settled. He was on his way to our facility to get some final work done. I find it a shame that now the coach is totaled. This was their home as they were full timers.

On a positive note I am thankful both of them survived. It is a testament to how well our Monaco coaches are built. In regards to anything else related to this accident I am not going to comment. I know the owner very well and I can tell you he would never risk himself or his wife with old tires, fast driving or anything that would contribute to an accident. Even new tires blow and I witnessed an HR Imperial have a double blow out on new tires that had less then 500 miles on them. The only thing I will say is if you don't have Tyron bands on your coach...........Get Them.

Please keep this couple / fellow member and his wife in your thoughts and prayers.

Richard:

Glad you made it back home. In time you will get the coach straightened around. Your Dynasty will have a TRW steering gear. Have it adjusted before throwing a watts link on it.

In regards to inspectors ? There are very few in the country that really understand DP's and how to do an inspection. They are very complex with many systems that need to be checked and tested. Finding one who knows all the systems is hard and when you do many prospective buyers wont pay the inspectors fee thinking it is exorbitant. I sent two of my tech's to Orlando to inspect an Entegra Cornerstone. It took them 4 solid hours to do a top to bottom inspection and they found over $ 15 K worth of deficiencies that needed to be addressed before the coach could be delivered. The coach was scheduled for delivery in a few days and it wasn't even roadworthy as it had no working tail, brake or headlights and wouldn't air up properly. The air leveling system was bad and a host of other things. It was the last inspection we did. Prospective owners who wanted to hire us balked at the fee. 2 - techs off sight for half a day got expensive for me and no one wanted to pay the fee. I lost money on that deal. I personally quit doing inspections as they are so time consuming and the payout isn't worth my time. I remember my last inspection. I was so thorough and found so many things wrong with a coach that a couple was buying from a dealer that the dealership owner told me not to ever comeback on his property. I tried talking my son into being an inspector as his DP credentials are off the charts - certified Cummins and Allison tech, Certified Spartan chassis tech, Certified air brake and leveling system tech, Aqua Hot tech and one of the very best coach electronic guys I have ever seen. He said the same thing - " People are too cheap to pay for a complete and thorough inspection by an expert. I wont do inspections. " I am sorry you found a dud. It happens all the time. I have to shake my head when people say " get your coach inspected before buying it ". Why bother when the majority of the inspectors do not know how to complete a thorough inspection ?

I am elated you got a coach that will work great for you two. I wish you many miles of safe and fun travels my friend. Call if you need anything. I am always here for you brother.

This report is just an FYI in case anyone is considering selling or buying a coach.

RVIA Report: Monthly Shipments Continue to Set Records - RV PRO (rv-pro.com)

Talin is now the new Southern Monaco experts since Alliance went out of business. We do all service work except engine, transmission and chassis services. Our specialty is slide adjustments and repair as well as awnings and all house portion work.

Unfortunately the word has gotten out and people are coming from all over the country for service work so we are booked months in advance. 80 % of our work is done on Monaco brand coaches with a sprinkling of other brands including Newmars, Prevosts and Entegra's.

Hands down - T-9 Boeshield. This is what we use on all of our customers slides.

I don't have  horse in this race as I am not an owner or moderator but rather a member/user. I have to go along with what Dave Pratt said about clubs. One of the issues I have seen in the past is that these off-shoot clubs take on a life of their own, splintering the original group and then cannibalizing the original association. With that said I do believe any club formations within this forum would, in the end, be a detriment to the Monocoer's group causing ongoing issues and harm in the future. JMHO.

You do an amazing job with this site Scotty. I appreciate the amount of time and work you put into this and am grateful for your ongoing assistance in keeping the site up and going.

See you all at the Gathering.

It is a Carefree SOK 2. The supply of end caps in the USA are pretty much gone. I have not been able to find any.

They rarely ever mixed fabrics ( leather and vinyl ). All of the leather seats I have seen in Monaco's were all leather including the skirts.

Paul:

Those are vinyl for sure. Normally the felt backing on leather seats is grey and is a thick felt. Your fabric is vinyl.

Yes. You will know if it is leather by talking the skirt and flipping it up and looking at the backside. It should have a heavy felt on it if it is leather. As a rule of thumb, if it says leather in the name it is vinyl. Confusing I know. Most of the REAL leather seats had no name on them like Ultraleather, Leatherette, etc.. 

If you are attending the gathering see me and I will come to your coach and inspect your seats and tell you what type fabric you have - vinyl or leather. For the most part, only the upper level Monaco's had leather - Executive and Sig's. Everything else was vinyl unless leather was custom ordered.

As a side note, vinyl has come a long ways in the last couple years. Some of it you would swear is leather. On the downside of this is that most of the vinyl used today in coaches is much cheaper and wont last as long as what was used in the past. Whenever I spec out vinyl for a customer who is looking to recover their seats I tell them to look for industrial grade vinyl like that used on dentists and medical chairs. I also always check the rub rating of each vinyl. This will tell you how well it will hold up. Finishes are also key ( UV Ray and anti mildew finishes ).

By the way, I no longer do upholstery work. I have 2 seats in my own coach that need recovering and have put it off for over a year. 🙂 My 2 buddies who I used to send customers to and who were master upholsterers both retired, otherwise I would recommend them. For those of you in Florida, Dave Pratt has a contact at an upholstery place near him in Melbourne. I have seen their work and they are good and reasonable.  

With 40 years as an upholsterer sewing, cutting and repairing every fabric imaginable, you need to be careful what you use on vinyl. My suggestion is to use 303 protectant for simple cleaning. For heavily soiled vinyl use Murphy's soap, towel dry then follow up by a treatment of 303 protectant. The 303 does clean lightly soiled vinyl but also leaves behind a protective layer to prevent UV damage. The biggest killer of vinyl is UV rays.

For real leather one of the best leather treatments is Chamberlains leather milk. You can get this on Amazon ( $ 16 ). Leather seats should be vacuumed a couple times a year and treated once a year. If you are using some other leather treatment product always try it in a hidden area. Some treatments can leave the surface sticky, can discolor the leather leaving it darker, etc. You want to accomplish two things when cleaning leather - 1.) Clean the leather 2.) Treat the leather by replacing oils back into the leather to prevent drying and cracking. Whenever wiping down leather use a fiber towel with plain H2O. Do not use cleaners.

One last thing, do not believe the tags on your seats such as Ultraleather, Leatherette, etc. Those tags are all Bulls***. They are vinyl but use these leather names simply for marketing purposes. Very few Monaco coaches were ever made with true leather. Some of the vinyls look and feel like leather but are not. Vinyl and leather are two different animals ( no pun intended ) and need to be cared for differently.

Progressive did the same to us. Doubled their rates in one year. Never had a claim, perfect driving record, excellent credit rating. Called around and ended up going to Geico. Much better rates and service.

Wow............ Didn't see this coming my friend. Awesome. I am so happy for you both. Looks like it will be a great coach and it is a fact 2005/2006 were some of the very best quality years for Monaco.

Funny that despite our seniors years we sometimes keep reaching for change or something different to make our golden years more enjoyable. While we will hold onto our coach we are now looking at fun things that are different to enrich our lives. We have traveled extensively all over the USA and are now looking at staying closer to home. This very well could mean a yacht is in our future as we have the desire for seclusion in order to unwind and de-stress. Just so happens we both love being on the water fishing and lounging the day away and live minutes from the Gulf.

As if a coach isn't a maintenance headache a yacht presents all new possibilities of even more headaches. God help us. If I ever mention I am considering buying an airplane, someone please head to Florida and hit me along side the head with a 2 x 4. 🙂

So happy for you both Richard. Call if I can do anything for you.

Nick:

I am sorry to see that you are suddenly in this predicament and have to sell your coach but I completely understand. In my many years of involvement in the RV community I have had the displeasure of seeing scores of people sell their beloved rigs and move out of RV'ing. Medical, financial, age, death and other related factors have forced several of us members here to witness great people leave our group. It is always a loss when wonderful people leave us for whatever reason.

I pray you're family member recovers while I also wish you the very best in selling your coach and moving forward in life. May God bless you during your sale and transformation into a new path in life. I hope you will someday make it back into RV'ing.

I also want to thank you for the kind words. It was a pleasure meeting you in GA. I have been blessed with having the opportunity to meet so many amazing and kind people like yourself and Ingrid and I remain grateful for the support of so many in the Monaco/HR community. Best wishes Nick,

Talin no longer manufacturers the tanks. The price on stainless went nuts.

Sorry

My bedroom AC unit gave up the ghost a month ago. It took that long to get one of my techs here to check it out ( there is no benefit to owning an RV service company. I still have to wait in line for service 🙂

Turns out the AC unit blew its charge. The downside ? It is a brand new penguin II. The Upside ? It is still under warranty. I have been advised by my director that despite being the owner of the service company I have to go to the back of the line and wait to have it replaced. I have no travel plans so I wont pull rank and demand it is fixed immediately. 🙂

14 hours ago, flynnwalter said:

Chris, Ingrid & Dustin

Ya'll replaced our '09 Cayman slide toppers quite a few years ago. Our Cayman sat on Camping World parking lot in St Augustine, Fla for 444 days while MCC went belly up. It was several years before replacement, but the toppers are still fine now even though our coach has never been inside out of the sun and we live in Florida. Wish a lot of other items we replaced lasted nearly as long as your stitching. 

You are the real deal, and thanks!

Frank & Jeannie Walter

 

Thank you for the kind words Frank. A lot of people know we suffer from OCD issues at Stone Vos and Talin. We all drive each other nuts with perfectionism and trying to find the very best in materials when making products. It has to be the very best or I don't sleep well at night. Buy quality the first time and it saves you money in the long run. 🙂