Do Monaco Camelots ride this poorly?

[Cube]

I test drove a '06 Monaco Camelot 38.6' and was completely dissatisfied with the ride.  Let me set the basis for my comparison. I have had two other motorhomes, one being a Rexhall, the other a Georgie Boy.  The Rexhall was a great ride.  The Georgie Boy became a great ride after I added Konies, sway bars, steering stabilizer, and crank steer.  It took a lot of work but the final product was well worth the result.  The Rexhall did not rattle much but the Georgie Boy did.  I had to go through the coach and literally throw out or repair any thing that rattled.  The end result was good also.

This brings me to my dissapointment with the Monaco Camelot.  I thought, OK I have graduated to this point where I can afford a nice coach.  I expected a coach that would be quiet, would not rattle, and would drive straight like a car.

Well the quiet ride I can say is true.  The Monaco was incredibly quiet.  I expected this since the motor is in the rear.

The rattles were almost gone, but things still do rattle when you go over freeways that are made of concrete and have those ridges that they score in them.  When it hits washboard type of freeway ridges, I thought the dash was going to come off.  I was completely disappointed with this.  I figure if you are going to spend over $200,000 on a coach, this should not be.  Where in the hell do the engineers test these vehicles.  TO ALL MANUFACTURERS...Test your vehicles on the 15 freeway in Southern California, between Corona and Escondido.  OK I will get off of my soapbox.  Needless to say very disappointing to say the least.

As far as driving straight....my 34,000 Rexhall ran straighter.  I had to constantly correct this motorhome.  To me getting there is half the fun.  I love to drive, as I think that many of you do too.  If I am going to spend this kind of money, the coach better be quiet, not rattle, and run straight with no constant corrections.

Am I asking too much??  Is there a motorhome DP that can give me all of the above?? 

 

[Joe Bee]

Where are the Monaco owners?  I look forward to the replies.  I had a 2002 Monaco Windsor that did the same.
Joe Bee

 

[Jackliz]

>>>>>>>>>>
Am I asking too much??  Is there a motorhome DP that can give me all of the above?? <<<<<<

>>>>>>I figure if you are going to spend over $200,000 on a coach, <<<<<

Have you taken a used Blue Bird Wanderlodge for a test drive?  Try it. 


Regards,
Liz

 

[Rockcreek73]

Try something with a Spartan Chassis under it

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Dunno about the Camelots, but we test drove a Holiday Ambassador (same RR8 chassis, same parent company) and it was smooth,  quiet, and handled Indiana back roads with aplomb.  Camelots are quite a bit heavier, though.

 

[Tom]

We have a 2003 Camelot. When we first bought it, it wouldn't drive in a straight line and was a "hard" ride. After figuring out that the dealer had overinflated the tires to 140 psi and, with the help of another forum member, weighing the coach and adjusting the tire pressures accordingly, the coach has driven fine ever since.

On our 10,000 miles shakedown cruise we had one rattle that got progressively worse on rough roads. I figured out it was the microwave oven coming loose from the wall (actually, the mounting plate for the microwave was coming loose from the wall) and I subsequently had the guys at the Indiana service center work on it; They knew exactly what the problem was and how to fix it. It hasn't moved or rattled since.

All of the above was reported here in the forum in real time.

 

[Cube]

O.K. I can understand how the tires being overinflated can make for a rough ride, but...what about the wandering steering?  Is there some type of aftermarket something to take care of that?  A better question is,  why doesn't the factory know about this and take care of it.

With regards to the rough ride, would Koni FSD shock absorbers fix the problem?  I went on their website and read the specifics; it makes all the sense in the world.

I have read in other parts of this forum, that there is a specific tire that works better than others in providing a smoother ride.  However, I could not find out what tire it was.

I want to hear from Monaco owners.  Do your coaches run smoothly.  Are you thoroughly satisfied with the ride?  I understand that some owners reason that they spend more time in the coach, rather than driving it, therefore the creature comforts are more important than the driving dynamics.  If you are one of those...then please don't respond.  I want to hear fro om the drivers!

 

[Weewun]

I have a 2007 Monaco and it rides and runs great.  There is no wander in the steering even when being passed by Semis, but then I cruise at 62mph.

Why are you so interestred in slamming Monacos, if you are not satisfied with it there are plenty of other coaches available.  I think the Monaco gives the most bang for the buck.

 

[Ken & Sheila]

Cube,

I have driven my 2000 40ft Windsor 780 miles in a day with no fatigue. Rides great, no pull from semis or wind except really strong gusts. I really like this coach. I've had it since Oct 99. Fulltimed for the first year and a half we owned the coach.

My previous coach, a pre Monaco HR Imperial Diesel on a Spartan chassis, had all kinds of handling issues. HR paid to put on Bilstiens and a HD Steering stabilizer. This help a great deal. Finally change from Michelin's to Goodyears and that was a further improvement.

ken

 

[AlGriefer]

My simple suggestion is to try another Camelot!  Perhaps the one you test drove has been knocked about a bit by other test drivers, some of whom may have knocked the alignment off.  It's also not unheard of for the alignment to be off from the factory.

I'm on my second Monaco and can't complain at all about the steering.

Al

 

[Carl L]

O.K. I can understand how the tires being overinflated can make for a rough ride, but...what about the wandering steering? 

Oversteer can be induced by tire inflation.  The classic American sedan is set to understeer -- that is it wants to go straight ahead and it takes effort to force it into a turn; it ploughs a turn.    Oversteer, the plague of the old VWs and Corvairs, causes a vehicle to want to go into a turn.  As starts to turn it wants to turn even tighter.  Such steering feels nervous and unstable.    One can increase understeer by inflating the rear wheels relative to the front, and oversteer by inflating the front relative to the rear.  This is why it is important to follow mfr reccomendations for tire inflation in any vehicle.

 

[Phil]

I want to hear from Monaco owners.  Do your coaches run smoothly.  Are you thoroughly satisfied with the ride?  I understand that some owners reason that they spend more time in the coach, rather than driving it, therefore the creature comforts are more important than the driving dynamics.  If you are one of those...then please don't respond.  I want to hear fro om the drivers!

I love to drive my Monaco Windsor.  I have had it for 7 years and it runs great and does not wander at all.  I test drove a lot of motorhomes  that were not fun to drive before purchasing the Monaco.  I like my Monaco because it is fun to drive.  I live in a house and I use the motorhome as a vacation home.  In the summer I travel in the western states and the rig sees a lot of mountain roads.

In 7 years of driving, I have had engine coolant, transmission oil and tires replaced.  All the chassis components are original.  I get my service work done at Freightliner.  The only thing Monaco had to change for me was the dash air blower motor after 5 years.

PhilB

 

[chrpennings]

Hi,

We purchased a Monaco Dynasty new in 2000. We now have 78 k miles on it and it  drives like a dream. No blisters in my hands after a one day non stop trip of 720 miles (Moab-Bakersfield) with very heavy winds and by the way I'm not that young anymore. We have been rv'ing since 1955, trailers, motorhomes.
The coach is all standard, no modification to steering or drive train.
Regular scheduled service done at Cummins. The coach has never been at a dealer or other repair facility except when we attend one of the Monaco rallies, they take care of 2 items that may need attention free of charge.
We replaced the tyres at 60 k miles and we love the new Goodyear RV tires. Correct tire pressure is very important for a good ride. If I would have a need to change anything in the future it would be Koni's shocks.
In my young years I was very active in the European rally events,  Monte Carlo, Tulips rally etc. We always used Koni's. The factory would fine tune them at their factory and of course they were free.
Take another ride in a Monaco and whatever you decide I wish you the best of luck.

chris

 

[Cube]

Thank You all for the comments.  I was not trying to slam Monacos.  In fact it was my first choice for a DP since I know that it is the best bang for the buck.  But my experience on this particular coach was very real.  I am still thinking on pulling the trigger and purchasing it though.  I will check the air pressure on the tires and if I purchase it, the first thing that I do is to install Koni FSD shocks.
Merry Christmas

 

[Tom]

O.K. I can understand how the tires being overinflated can make for a rough ride, but...what about the wandering steering?

As I mentioned in my earlier message, correct tire inflation fixed the wandering steering issue.

 

[29er]

Bilstiens are the choice of high performance automobile manufacturers. That's Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Jag, Ford GT's, etc,. I realize we are talking motor homes but Bilstein is a top of the line shock company. Most all dragsters use Bilsteins.

A lot of good advice was posted about TIRE INFLATION..

There is sometime wrong with spending 200K(your quote) and then having to modify it to get a good ride/drive. Respectfully, it might be time to "fall out of love" with this particular motor home and try another.

 

[Tom]

There is sometime wrong with spending 200K(your quote) and then having to modify it to get a good ride/drive. Respectfully, it might be time to "fall out of love" with this particular motor home and try another.

Not at all. In my (real life) example, the problem was with the tech at the dealership being completely ignorant of the tire manufacturer's inflation table(s) and the need to weigh the coach. There was a public scale adjacent to the dealership, so there's really no excuse for the gross over-inflation other than ignorance, neglect or incompetence.

 

[Shayne]

Neither Incompetence nor ignoirance to me,  I call it plain ole asinine stupidityand erogance on the dealers end for not making the call to correct those situations. They do cuz they can get away with it.

 

[29er]

Reference reply #13. Cube stated he would check the tire pressure and if he decided to purchase the vehicle, the first thing he would do is swap out the shocks. Spend 200k and then modify it to get a good ride. What am I missing?

 

[Tom]

...the first thing he would do is swap out the shocks. Spend 200k and then modify it to get a good ride. What am I missing?

I don't see any reason to change the shocks on a new Monaco. I sure didn't and the ride improved significantly by correctly adjusting the tire pressures based on the measured weights of the coach.

What am I missing  ???