Any Info on 1984 Monaco Duke 33 - Considering One with 37K Miles for $12,750

[Jim_Manley]

Hi,

New member here looking for _any_ info anyone might have on the 1984 Monaco Duke 33, including manuals, brochures, drawings, etc.  I'm considering one of these that has 37K miles and the seller is asking $12,750.  I've only been able to find a vague reference to the existence of a 1984 Duke 28 with no other details.  There are references to Dynasty Duke 36s around 1996 -1998 and 2016, with other model years possible.

The available one needs six tires and a spare because the tire codes translate to no later than May 1993 ... and could be as old as May 1993 (a year before this MH was built?)!!!  The exterior and interior are nearly pristine, with water stains on either side of the forward A/C unit (so, a firehose test of the roof's integrity will be pursued).  There isn't a visible snagged or torn thread on any of the furniture cushions, there's barely any evidence of use of the drawers, closets, sinks, appliances, toilet, shower/tub, etc., and there are roll-up awnings over the side door and every window on both sides.

It has the typical 454 truck engine on what's probably a P32 chassis, it had a "maintenance check" in 11/2020, but no other details have been provided yet, other than the two front suspension airbags were replaced.  One photo shows a couple of thick binders with colored tabs that would be expected to hold any manuals, maintenance/repair paperwork, etc., that may be available.  I'll be looking at it by Wednesday, 3/3, and if warranted, it will have an RV and engine/chassis inspection.  It spent most of its life somewhere in Washington State, and is being sold by a retired couple who moved to Southern AZ and are unable to use it any more.

I'm aware of the potential problems of a low-mileage, 37 year-old denizen of the highways and byways, starting with old gas, oil, coolant, grease, etc., that most likely need to be drained/flushed and replaced with new, quality fluids and filters.  There's a photo of what's probably the original fridge/freezer with a Tele-Temp that has its sensor inside the fridge, showing 50.5 (F, I hope).  That's about 10 F above the maximum temperature that a fridge should be able to maintain for food safety, but maybe the freezer section could keep milk products, and other items with expiration dates, cold enough, if not frozen.  The full gas range and oven, time/power-dial microwave oven, and sinks are immaculate.

Thanks for any assistance in finding documentation and providing any thoughts.

All the Best,

Jim

OK, I really only want the countertop-integrated blender that just happens to be attached to a well-preserved vintage MH interior and exterior ... and the awesome awnings:

[Just Jim]

My 95 Dynasty has that integrated blender too, which I've never used.  I guess that is a dead giveaway that I'm a beer drinker.  Good luck on your search, she looks like a beaut!

[dl_racing427]

From that pic, this looks to be in awesome condition for it's age.
It might make a good weekend coach, but I wouldn't expect it to do too well beyond flat-towing a small car

Before I bought my Dynasty in 2000, I had a 1984 Winnebago Elandan, which had the same P32 chassis and 454 engine.

The house portion and interior was pretty good for it's age, but the chassis was extended in the rear to accomodate the length.
This caused the overhang to be way too long for the wheelbase. 

I had a custom hitch built, that extended up to the original chassis to strengthen the rear.

Even so, when towing my race trailer, using a weight distributing hitch, it would flex enough that the side door would bind when opening or closing. 😨
Once I'd get to the track, I had to put the trailer jack down to relieve the stress and let the door work smoothly. LOL

As far as mechanicals, after I replaced the mechanical fuel pump with electric, so I could run the carb dry between uses, went totally through the Quadrajet carb, fixing it's many design flaws, and added Thorley headers and high flow mufflers to replace the leaky manifolds, it actually ran pretty well, but was still underpowered for towing.

With the trailer I averaged around 4.5mpg.  I never ran it much without towing, but I'd guess 6mpg would be tops running solo.

After getting rid of it, I decided that I'd never again ask a gasoline engine to do any heavy-duty towing, and now my coach, pickup, tractor, lawn mower, and standby generator are all diesel.

[Jim_Manley]

On 2/28/2021 at 1:33 PM, dl_racing427 said:

From that pic, this looks to be in awesome condition for its age.

Hi David,

Thanks very much for your reply.  This would be for shorter-range trips (less than six hours from home), which would get us to most of the national and state parks, BLM sites, and other interesting Places within a day's drive.  We might tow the lightest street-legal UTV we can find just so we have something to get us around without having to move The Beast, as well as emergency and off-road transportation.  Once we've learned what we need to know about MH life (beyond my long experience with RV trailers), we'll upgrade to a diesel pusher in a newer coach.

We got to see it Wednesday and it's a 37 year-old MH in pretty good shape ... for that age.  I'm not sure whether it's just the kind of detail that can't be seen in photos, but years of handling drawers and other high-touch items were obvious by wear through the varnish, leaving the wood a bit dark in those places, but that's why steel wool, fine sandpaper, and new varnish are made.  The overall level of wear is what would be expected in a MH with 37K miles, no better or worse.  Mechanical, electrical, plumbing, shell waterproof integrity, etc., inspections will reveal what's actually working as needed, and what would need work, much of which I can do.  It's on its third owner and was bought by the current owner mostly to take a few trips in WA State and then retire to Tucson, where they haven't used it much.

We'll see how desperate the owners are to get rid of it.  At least the tags are good through August of this year!

All the Best,

Jim

[rpasetto]

Wow!  Our first coach was a 1984 Executive with the 454 on the P30 chassis.  It was 10+ years old and had more miles when we bought it than yours does.  Your Monaco looks a lot nicer than our old Exec did.  I remember a little... the built-in blender brought back  memories, though.  It had a Banks kit with KNN air filter.  I don't know how close Monacos and Executives were back then; think it was before Monaco bought Executive Industries.  So I'll focus on the P30 chassis.

Anyway the coach was heavy for the GVW rating of the P30 chassis... perhaps that was not unusual back then.  Weight would be one thing worth checking.  Another thing was handling. the airbags inside the P30's front springs were blown so I had to replace them; also put auxilliary airbags on the sagging rear springs, leaf springs if I recall.  One other recollection is changing the brake pads, something you may be facing too.  

Looks like a good deal.  Good luck and safe travels.

[Chuck B 2004 Windsor]

Great buy until you start trying to find parts for that antique.  Chuck B

[Frank McElroy]

Wow - A P-30 chassis with a countertop blender!  My first motorhome was a P-30 chassis Winnebago and yes, it had exactly the same countertop blender.  Lots of memories were made in that motorhome.