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| SureStep:
I wanted something
other than those carpet covers for the steps. I found these heavy
duty ribbed rubber treads and step extenders from
RV Innovations. They are made of sturdy aluminum and increase
the step size by 12%. Each step extender contains a photo cell and
two motion detectors. At night, as you approach the step from either
the bottom or the top, a soft blue light bar on the top front edge of
each step comes on to light your way.
Click on the picture for a larger
view. Click
here for more information. |
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 Sylvania Silverstar
Ultra Headlamps: I was unhappy with the brightness level
of the OEM halogen headlights and wanted to replace them with
something brighter. The Sylvania Silverstar Ultras did the
trick. And the best part was that I was able to find both a
coupon and a mail-in rebate on these and saved a total of 60% on the
deal.
The replacement took
about five minutes. You just twist out the old ones and twist
in the new. High beams were size 9005, and the low beams were
9006. Click the two pictures for more details on these bulbs. |
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 Safe-T-Plus
Steering Control: I added
a Safe-T-Plus for ease of steering. In short, this unit is a self
contained, double acting hydraulic cylinder, placed between the front axle
and the steering tie rod, designed to absorb the impact of a front tire
blowout. The steering buffering effect also helps ease control in
such situations as side winds, passing tractor-trailers, uneven pavement,
soft shoulders, etc. Some folks might reasonably question whether
you really need one of those devices on a Monaco coach. The answer
is "probably not". The motorhome steers true without it, and even in
a front tire blow out situation you will not likely loose control.
But to me it was worth the $500 I paid for it. I simply enjoy the
ease in driver fatigue that this device delivers. If I ever do have
a front tire blowout, having a Safe-T-Plus will be a benefit, I'm sure.
I also enjoy the fact that once you install one of these, there's nothing
else to do - nothing to adjust, or control, or maintain. It's just
always there making the drive a little bit easier.
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Koni FSD
Shocks: I've been
reading about Koni FSD (Frequency Selective Damping) shock
absorbers in various motorhome forums on the Internet.
Everyone praises them for offering a substantial improvement in
handling performance and ride comfort. I've always felt
that the stock Monroe shocks are fairly harsh. So, I've
decided to install the Koni FSD's on the Diplomat and see what
all the great reviews are about. Each wheel location
has two shocks (one installed in conjunction with each air bag),
so you need a total of 4 pair for a full conversion. I got
them from
Shox.com for $129 a piece. You can read all about how FSD shocks
work on
this web page. You can find out which Koni shocks fit
your motorhome
here.
The results: After
installation, I took the coach out and drove around on different
roads to see how much difference the new shocks make. I
did some highway driving, and took the coach over railroad
tracks, bridge expansion joints, and onto some back roads.
Do the Koni's make a difference? The answer is decidedly
"YES", they do smooth out the bumps and the difference is
definitely noticeable. Handling is also improved with a
noticeable reduction in the amount of sway when going around
corners or over uneven surfaces. That said, I cannot tell you
that the improvement was tremendous, or that my coach now rides
like it was on a Prevost bus chassis. It doesn't.
So, I guess the next question would
be, "Was the improvement worth the thousand dollar investment?"
To me it was, because I enjoy the fact that my ride and
suspension performance are the best that they can be.
Others may be disappointed in the "return on investment"
considering the cost to replace the OEM shocks with Koni FSD
shocks. |
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The Sani-Con:
The Sani-Con Sewer macerating pump discharge system was not a
"mod". It came as an upgrade on the coach. But I have to
add it here on the enhancements page because for me, it simply
eliminates all the "annoyances" generally associated with the
conventional dumping method. The picture below shows the
difference between a standard sewer drain hose and this system.
What the Sani-Con does is take the discharge from your black and
gray tanks, grinds it up, and then forcefully pumps it through a 1"
hose to the sewer hookup. This makes both sewer hook-up and
emptying the tanks unbelievably easy, fast, and sanitary. The
system comes with 21' of expanding hose that just slides in and out
of the service compartment. For those times when more length
may be needed, I ordered an extra 25' of hose from
Sani-Con's web
site. Monaco uses the Sani-Con
model 5800 for their installation. The picture on the lower right
shows the pump that is installed behind the panel. Notice on
the far right side of the picture that there is a short clear hose
that bypasses the pump. (Click on the picture for a larger
view.) For extended stays, you can leave the knife valve to
the gray tank open, and it will empty as you use it without the need
to run the pump.
This system can be added as an
aftermarket option to almost any coach. If one didn't come
with mine, I would have added it.
Here are some
useful tips I've
learned for using the Sani-Con system.
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Some Problems Resolved |
 Sound
System: Monaco features the
Magnadyne M9900DVDS radio/CD/DVD player along with the AMC XSA 5.1 Pro Home Theater Amplifier as
their sound entertainment system. This is a full featured system
with stereo AM/FM/Weather/Satellite radio output to a 5.1 surround sound
home theater amp. It also plays CDs, CDRs, and audio or video
DVDs. The DVD player is routed to the flat screen TV. An A/V
auxiliary input and two A/V aux outputs offer plenty of flexibility for
other audio and video components. I also like the large buttons,
which are easy to access while driving. The features are great.
The problem is, the system just doesn't work very well.
Several owners have reported that the DVD player begins to skip after a
while, and almost all owners have experienced an annoying audio hum in
the sound system inflicted by the coach generator, alternator,
inverter/charger, or even florescent lights in the coach.
 In
2007, in an attempt to fix the hum problem, Monaco issued Service
Bulletin 07-07-08, which installed a 120v converter for powering the
system while parked, and a relay controlled switch box for reverting to
12v power, and bypassing the home theater amp, while underway. The
"fix" is cumbersome, taking up way too much room in the A/V cabinet, and
it doesn't resolve the problem. I had these components installed
and have since removed them. What did resolve the hum problem for
me was the addition of the
Pyramid NS-20 15a noise suppressor isolation transformer, pictured
here. It is placed in the audio lines between the radio and the
home theater amp. Proper installation requires gender change
adaptors for the RCA plugs. It also helps to reduce the
left/right speaker volume controls on the home theater amp. (All
volume controls on the amp are originally set at max rotation.)
These controls are found behind plastic covers on the side of the amp.
I am currently looking for higher
performance ceiling speakers (in white) and a better radio to replace
the Magnadyne. But I'd like a radio/CD/DVD player with all the
same features. If anyone runs across a suitable upgrade for this
system, please drop me an email. |
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Wiper Problem: Many owners of
2006-2007 Camelots, Diplomats, Endeavors and similar Monaco coaches are aware of a problem
with the wiper assembly. In 2006 Monaco went to the one-piece "Panaview"
windshield on the raised rail chassis coaches. At the same time, they
also went to horizontally mounted wipers with large 32" blades.
Although the vender they used for the wiper assembly,
AM Equipment, of Jefferson, OR, is a quality supplier of OEM wiper
systems, the assembly they used for the 2006 and 2007 coaches was simply
not up to the task of "pushing" the longer heavier arms on that huge
windshield. In addition, the driver's side wiper tends to fly off
the left side of the windshield, which puts additional stress on the pivot
arm attachment point, as well as the light weight plastic ball-and-socket
joints that are used for the inside linkage. As a result the linkage
tends to come apart, and failure rate on the entire assembly is a problem.
 The
good news is that when the problem was realized, AM Equipment went to
work to develop a new heavier duty
Tandem Radial Wiper System that is up to the task of handling the
huge one-piece windshields that Monaco is now using. It has a
strong tubular construction with bolted joints replacing the plastic
ball-and-sockets. The diameter of the pivot arms are also about 50%
larger. Monaco started installing the new system on all 2008 coaches,
and in the Fall of 2007 they began providing some owners of 2006 and 2007 coaches with the
new improved system, on a "case-by-case" basis.
 I received one of the
new wiper assemblies under warranty in late 2007,
but since Monaco originally considered it an "upgrade" I was responsible for the
cost of installation. Later, in February of 2008 Monaco announced
a recall to begin installing the improved system on all 2006 and 2007
Diplomats and Endeavors. Both Monaco and AM Equipment offered excellent support throughout
the process. AM Equipment produced an assembly that was almost a
"slide-in" replacement for the original system. The only significant
modification that had to be done to the coach was to ream the holes in the
front cap larger to accommodate the larger pivot arms on the new assembly. Stoltzfus did a very
clean and professional job of installation.
The new wiper system looks good on the coach, and works very well. |
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See pictures below. Click on the
pictures for a larger view, click again to expand. Close window
when finished viewing. |
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Front View |
Wiper Arms |
Motor & Mount |
Right Pivot Arm Linkage |
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Mid Chassis Harness
Battery Connectors: From 2007
on, Monaco splits the chassis harness into three sections. There's
a "mid chassis harness that runs the length of the coach. It
contains all the chassis wiring that needs to run front to back.
Each end of the harness consists of two 42-pin connectors and two
Deutch
Jiffy Splice connectors for the two battery cables that run to the front
of the coach. All four connectors on each end mate with the the
front chassis harness and the rear chassis harness.
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Above is a diagram
of the mid chassis harness. To the right is an actual
photo showing the two rear 42 pin connectors and the two Deutch
battery splices connectors (before I replaced the battery
splices). |
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| The Jiffy
Splice connectors look like the the picture on the above
left that I took of one of my actual connectors after it was
removed from the coach. A male and female pin are
pushed together inside a metal sleeve, which is contained
inside an outer silicon insulation shell. You can
clearly see these in the upper right harness photograph.
When assembling this connector, you are supposed to push the
pins together until they lock in place and you hear an
audible click. The pins fit very tightly and it can
sometimes be extremely difficult to get them to mate
properly inside the sleeve. Consequently, sometimes
the
Monaco builders do not get them pushed together to the locking
position while assembling the coach.
When this happens, the pins can arc inside the sleeve. In the picture to the left, you can see
a
hole on the left side of the metal sleeve burned by arcing
current. Three of my four connectors had burn holes
similar to this one.
If not locked in place, the pins can also work apart to the point where they
completely separate. The consequence is that you can
loose all power to the front of the coach (including the
ignition) and the coach simply shuts down while you are
driving. This has happened to me twice.
The second time it happened, I suspected what the problem
was. After verifying the failure by checking voltages at
the lugs in the front run bay, I was able to perform a "jury-rig
fix" along the side of the road by connecting the two
battery input cables with a jumper, effectively by-passing
the defective cable.
The black jumper wire I installed can be seen in the above
photo to the right. I am showing this picture so that
others might know where to install a jumper for a temporary
road-side fix, should this problem happen to someone else.
My permanent solution was to
have my local mechanic replace all four Jiffy-Splice
connectors with solid splice links that were both crimped
and soldered. Then the splices were wrapped in
heat shrink sleeves and nylon cable loom taped in place on
each end. I should never have this problem
again.
Here is a picture of the
front end of the harness that I took during the repair.
It's really hard to reach. The coach was up on the
lift
you see here. |
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The Mod I Didn't Do |
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 The BrakeSwitch, from
Brakeswitch.com, offers an
enhanced and more efficient way of using your exhaust brake on
many coaches including the 2006 (and prior)
Monaco Diplomat.
You can simply switch it on and leave it on all the time, even
while using cruise control. With the cockpit switch in the
on position, the unit allows the exhaust brake to be
controlled simply by touching the brake pedal or the throttle.
The exhaust brake stays off while you drive and does not come on
when you take your foot off the throttle, so you can coast when
you want. That should save some diesel fuel.
A light touch of the brake pedal will engage the exhaust brake
(and also disengage the cruise control, if that's on).
The exhaust brake will remain engaged until you touch the
throttle. So essentially, the exhaust brake stays off
until you either lightly tap or press on the brake pedal.
Operation is completely automatic, which enhances safety.
I was all set to install one of
these on our Diplomat. However I've since found that there
were many differences in the chassis electrical system for 2007
and later Diplomats and Endeavors. One of these changes is
in the way the exhaust brake interacts with the cruise control.
It is now possible to use both at the same time. With the
exhaust brake on and ready, you can now also have the cruise
control engaged. A touch
of the brake pedal will first disengage the cruise control, and then
engage the exhaust brake and cause the transmission to seek 2nd
gear. Essentially, that means that you can now leave
the exhaust brake switch on all the time, if you want to.
Another change for 2007 is that
many of the relays and fuses that used to be in the front run
bay were moved to the rear electrical bay. The brake light
relay and the exhaust brake relay are two of these. It is
no longer possible to pick up the needed +12v brake lamp signal
in the front of the coach when the exhaust brake is on but the
service brake pedal is not depressed. That makes
installation of the BrakeSwitch impractical. So while the
BrakeSwitch is a GREAT enhancement for 2006 and prior model
years, it's not really needed, nor is it practical to install,
on 2007 and later Diplomats, Endeavors, and similar Monaco
coaches. |
