Our first season (March – November 2020) with Rosie the 2011 Monaco Diplomat went relatively smoothly. There were a few issues here and again but mostly just us figuring out the workings of a large home on wheels.
We rocked along through our Upstate New York adventures until Mid-October, with relative ease, until on our slow journey back to Florida, while parked in Cheaha State Park, the highest point in the state of Alabama, as a tropical storm was brewing in the gulf that had the potential to impact us — the Electrical Gremlin came alive and showed it’s true presence.
Up until this point, there were moments that you’d hear strange clicks in the belly of the rig, sort of like when your house creaks. We’d look at each other, shrug our shoulders, and think this must just be one of the odd things RVs do, right?!?
So while enjoying the lovely park hikes, sitting around the campfire with old friends and just enjoying the solitude…….out of the blue, the dash started beeping and lighting up with the WARNING “ENGINE NOT RUNNING” displayed on the led screen. Surprise! It’s hasn’t been running for more than 3 days… what?!?
What a predicament, the rig had been turned off with keys in the cabinet and parked, jacks down and slides out for three days! Why all of a sudden would these warnings come on? Prior experience had taught us that sometimes when weird stuff happens, if you “reboot” like a computer then somethings will magically fix themselves. We did this by turning both the chassis and house batteries off. But no luck.
We were really in a predicament because we couldn’t start the rig because the slides were out AND we couldn’t retract the slides because it thought the engine was running and the warning beeping would not stop.
So we called Coachnet, out roadside service provider and luckily enough they dispatched a repairman to us within an hour. Really lucky because the entire time these warnings are continuously going off. He removed some relays and than a wire from a solenoid, which allowed us to get the slides in and start the engine.
We made it home the first of November 2020 and promptly scheduled her for a visit to our mechanic that has done a good job with some previous items. As is often the case, nothing odd happened. Everything worked perfectly —- they were unable to get her to do anything odd after working with her off and on for several weeks.
We went ahead and agreed to replace the ignition switch along with a few solenoids. We did a test run near home and everything worked perfectly. Wa-lah we thought….. and the electrical gremlin laughed and laughed 😂🤣🤣😂
We were about one month into our 2021 travels when it began to happen…..again…. first the random clicking, then the warning lights and alarms.
We consulted with a friend that had owned a Monaco for years… no, he had no idea.
We consulted with the almighty internet via blogs and such…. no dice.
We consulted with recommended online forum, IRV2….. a few suggestions where things we had already tried. At least one person was having the same unresolved issue and of course, you always have the smart alecks that respond with “call ghost busters”.
We called our mechanic and were met with…. fresh out of ideas.
So for 6-months we rocked along with various work arounds by removing solenoids and fuses, tag teaming getting the bus started by turning on and off batteries cutoff switches and praying for it to start AND turn off. It was so unpredictable we couldn’t turn it off while fueling. It was like it simply was bypassing the key.
We arrived home in Florida early November 2021 and promptly began to schedule services to get to the bottom of this gremlin. Our chassis mechanic, whom we had been impressed with the first year, fell short in providing any kind of service. After several weeks we just went and picked up our rig shaking our head at what had went so wrong in one year with this highly recommended shop. 🤷♀️😢 Not only did they leave us with dead batteries that took 45 minutes to recharge, they got grease on our new carpets and did absolutely NOTHING that we asked them to do except a simple oil change that they charged us handsomely for.
Mike had done some research and although we have a Roadmaster Chassis (and no repair facilities in the state of Florida), the Orlando Cummins shop thought they would be able to help “diagnose” with their tools. This yielded ZILCH, after keeping her for a week and us paying the $500 diagnostic fee, they determined absolutely NOTHING.
In the meantime, Mike finally heard from the Monaco help line (incredibly frustrating how many times he tried contacting them to finally get someone who would respond) … anyway…. the Monaco associate helpfully recommended that we contact a group out of Ohio that rebuilds and repairs aging electronic equipment specializing in RVs ( M&M Electronics)
But now we have to schedule a trip to Ohio, at least so we thought. Upon googling them to do our due diligent research about their reputation, etc. we were thrilled to learn they winter in Florida and we were able to schedule an appointment for early February. After a reassuring phone conversation with these knowledgeable and friendly gentlemen, we were assured they would be able to solve our problem.
Out of options, we anxiously awaited our appointment……
The day of our appointment, everything went smoothly: we were able to start the rig, the drive was easy and smooth back roads, location was easy to access and we were checked in and having breakfast by 10 am.
To our amazement…. and I’m not exaggerating…. they called us the next morning saying they had diagnosed not one – but TWO separate problems and would be able to fix both and the most amazing part—- have us pick it up the next afternoon. Two days in an RV repair shop is almost unheard of (at least for us).
This is what they found:
The Electronic Circuit Board that holds about 70 fuses, had some carbon build up between various circuits. This is what caused the dash to act as if we had turned the ignition key. This problem is also what caused the outside steps to always retract. They cleaned off all the carbon build up and replaced one fuse holder.
The “maintenance” to solve this problem from continuing is to examine it periodically and brush the carbon off with a Fiberglass Scratch Brush Pen. This is now on our radar and will be part of our regular maintenance checks.
The other problem was due to a short in the Transmission Control Module. This prevented the bus from starting normally. What I mean by this is you had to turn the key all the way to start without allowing time for dash and relays to initiate and warm up. Without replacing the $2,500 part, they provided a work-around with an option to replace the actual part in the future. For now, the less expensive work-around solved our problem and provides the same safety features.
This year was an expensive one for us. Not only did we have the Gremlin Fix but:
- Replaced three inside blinds (all broke along the way during 2020-2021 travels).
- Washer Floor Rebuild and Knob Replacement. The floor under the washer had rotted which we discovered recently and the knob broke at the tail end of ’21 travels, we thought we could fix it and ordered the $100 knob but but you literally have to take the thing apart and unhook electronics so we opted to have the repair shop do both repairs at the same time.
- All (4) new house batteries ($360.00 each). After the incident with the first repair shop, we are not sure if it was their negligence or the age of the batteries (4 years old) but they needed to be replaced in order to feel comfortable if boondocking or if the campground looses electrical power.
- The Computer Board and Ignition Fix. That was a BIG one.
Other repairs that we are making due with:
- Awnings. Sewing small rips and unraveling until we can afford to replace them.
Regular Maintenance Stuff that we will do ourselves between seasons:
- Oil Changes on engine, generator and SUV. Mike is now doing this himself to save the $$$$.
- Grease Chassis. Easy to do, but the crawling on the ground is tough.
- Wash and Wax. We did this ourselves this year and I think we do a better job..
- Polished Rims. This can be tiring by hand.
- Clean Slide Toppers. Used Camco cleaner and 303 protector. Will use 303 cleaner next year.
- Inside Deep Clean. Every piece of wood is cleaned and conditioned. All cabinets are emptied so the inside can be done too.
- All Over Check. We spend the time to go through and look at screws and fittings to tighten and such so we don’t have water leaks, and things falling off or breaking. We do this randomly during cleanings while traveling but this once-a-year check has helped.
In short, with any kind of RV, always be prepared for the mechanical and house problems that you have with a diesel truck and brick-and-motor home to be bundled up in one that travels down the road. There will always be something….. so have an emergency fund and Plan B, try and shake it off, and ALWAYS have fun and enjoy the experience.
Dream Big, Travel Far, Live Well ……
What’s Next?
Next post will be: Showcase of some of Mikes favorite photographs from Tennessee
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