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RE: What's the latest on Monaco?
Southpark - actually Monaco is closing or has closed the Indiana factory. The plant they are keeping open is the one that they are coupled with International to build the Roadmaster Chasis. Anyone looking for service in the Elkhart area - the service manager from DeMartini's dealership (just outside the Monaco plant) is opening a service center this month. DeMartini is closing the HR dealership the end of this month so JD (service manager) has lined up several techs from Monaco and one from DeMartini's to support his new venture. I have dealt with him for the past year since buying my Dip and we are heading his way in October for 2 small warranty items and annual service. Don't have an address of his location yet but it will be in Elkhart. Just FYI.
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bdemattia
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09/06/08 06:16am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Factory Tours in Indiana?
Saw a post somewhere that Monaco changed it's mind about closing the Indiana plant. Anyone else see it?
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bdemattia
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08/27/08 06:55pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: 2009 Dutch Star/ 2009 HR Endeavor
We spent 2 years researching before going with our 2008 Monaco Diplomat 40SKQ. Great floor plan, Monaco support has been right on (called twice and resolved issues - my fault both times) and we have had no problems to speak of. We full time and storage below is a big issue - the ride is great as Dick Mason said, workmanship is top notch. Closing the plant in Indiana is a little worry some but Monaco still has 2 repair facilities (Florida and Oregon I believe) which is more than others. By the way we were living in Maryland when we purchased and when you get ready to deal I strongly recommend you check out DeMartini's web site. We went with the Monaco line vs the HR line (just a personal preference) - they are made side by side with just very small cosmetic differences. We picked up our Monaco at DeMartini's Indiana site but they deliver anywhere in the nation for free (at least they did a couple of weeks ago). Haven't seen a single bad comment about DeMartini in the years we have been on these forums - to me the drive was worth it - not to mention their price about 10k less than others. Good luck.
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bdemattia
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07/21/08 07:20am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Are Dealers not hungry for Sales right now?
It is tough now but doable. I'd try a different dealer - like De Martini - if they won't deal closer to what you want then maybe you need to adjust your numbers. They sell a great coach and customer service is second to none. Period.
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bdemattia
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06/28/08 06:32am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Thinking about a Monaco Diplomat 40 SKQ
We have a 40SKQ - picked it up last August - great coach - no problems at all - no factory visits - no issues.
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bdemattia
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05/29/08 04:55pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Gieco RV Insurance
I checked with GEICO a couple of months ago and they did not cover full time RVers - said they were working on it.
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bdemattia
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05/25/08 09:30am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Workamper Needed in Augusta/Gardiner Maine KOA
Everyone has opinions, just like ... ..... - Saw your entry on the other workamping and just so long as you are happy great. 12 hours a week works just fine for me for all perks. I retired from a job that paid about 10 times your $8.00 an hour and don't need the hassle. Just keep paying your taxes on that $8.00 an hour so my retirement check hits the bank the first of the month. Wonder how many hours a week your are required to work?
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bdemattia
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05/15/08 07:34am |
Workamping Forum
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Workamper Needed in Augusta/Gardiner Maine KOA
Brenda and I are currently working at the Augusta/Gardiner KOA in Maine for the summer. Additional workampers needed due to previously committed workers having medical condition. Campground is close to Augusta with all the stores and shopping (Walmart, Kmart, etc. etc.) Owners are super and extremely easy to work for and fair. 12 hours per week per person or 24 total for hookups, water, electric, heated pool and honey wagon pump out. Wooded sites and lake access (13 miles long) with boats, canoes to use by all. Campground opening this weekend and closing on 15 October. Call 207-582-5086 and ask for Nancy - tell her you heard of it on RV.NET. Needed ASAP.
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bdemattia
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05/13/08 12:19pm |
Workamping Forum
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RE: Waterheater Check valves
I had to have mine replaced after just a couple of months (2008 Monaco Dilomat) - I had the bypass removed and just replaced with PCV - we full time and will not be winterizing so the check valve has no real purpose in life except to stop you from getting hot water. If I ever have to winterize I will just put a gate valve in the line to keep the anti-freeze from routing through the heater. (The old fashion way)
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bdemattia
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04/08/08 06:33am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Montana LLC in Florida
I'm sure it is stated somewhere in the 5 pages of comments regarding LLC's and taxes for motor homes but I couldn't separate it out from all the reasons why not to do it and how the state will get you. If you have residence or initate residence in Florida you just need to own the new vehicle for more than six months, then you will not have to pay sales tax. We registered our coach via LLC in Montana when we got it last year and will tagging it in Florida shortly (once Montana tags expire). No sales tax to pay - our home of record was recently changed to Florida when we sold our house and went full time. Getting a Florid Drivers license is eash also - and there are no restrictions on size of RV vs CDL as is the case in many states. To each his own - I'm sure my not paying the sales tax has a major impact when compaired to all the large corporations that pay about 1 percent tax on their billions.
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bdemattia
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04/02/08 06:52am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Fireplace
We ve one under our main tv and love it. We full time and the space that we might have lost is really not noticable. Being in Northern Florida now and in Southern Maryland before we use the fireplace to keep the living area warm and haven't used our furnace at all and only the heat pump about twice. A little chill in the morning makes the fireplace worth while as far as we are concerned.
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bdemattia
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03/19/08 09:47am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: 2008 Diplomat Price
AJ,
We ordered a 2008 Diplomat 40 SKQ last year with just about every option available except the solar panels. We also added a stack washer and dryer (dealer installed) and we were right at $200k (sticker was around $275k) Echo previous entry to look at DeMartini - if you need specifics call Ron Cole at the Indiana location and work with him. You can not beat DeMartini as far as I am concerned. By the way - we love the 40SKQ - only issue to date is one cracked tile which will be replaced next month - not one other item needing attention. PM me if you like for any additional details or comments.
Bill
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bdemattia
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03/09/08 05:23pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Direct TV
We have Direct TV and it works fine. One issue is the availability of different channels on the different satellite. When we are in Maryland we receive the entire package, including the local channels on our roof dish - everything is broadcast on 110. We are now in Pensacola Florida and after trying to get the local channels here I called Direct TV and they hooked me up. However, the local channels are broadcast on 119. I picked up a 3 LNB dish for $10.00 and just hooked it up to the satellite input back in the power compartment. Everything goes through the distribution box over the drivers seat so all I had to do was move one coax. Nice thing about the 3 LNB dish is it has 4 outputs so we can run more than one receiver at the same time. It also comes in handy if we are parked under heavy trees and can't get the roof top dish locked in.
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bdemattia
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03/05/08 07:05am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Looking at an 08 Diplomat
We have the 40SKQ 2008 Diplomat - Tommy Bahama - Love it - no problems to speak of - the only thing on my "fix list" is one cracked tile by the bathroom - we will be in Wildwood Florida the 9th of April to have it fixed. We had a washer and dryer installed by DeMartini when we bought it an it's great. Can't find anything wrong yet - picked it up in July and are full timing - in Florida now and will head to Maine in May for the summer. We tow a 2004 Nissan Titan 4 x 4 and don't even know it's back there. You will love it.
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bdemattia
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02/29/08 06:49pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Tiffin Keeps Bad Company!
While we were shopping for a new RV we went through most makes and models before settling on Monaco and DeMartini. After the same frustrating responses from several different dealers and sales people at shows and at their facility I took a little different approach to sort of weed out the less than desirable ones. I made it a point to talk to sales people by first thing telling them I was NOT buying today. Secondly I made it a point to dress my way - jeans, T shirt, sneakers - I'm retired Navy so my beard comes with me :) It was amazing on how I was greated and treated at several locations. My favorite was at McGeorge in Virginia. I had to wait about 15 minutes to even get a salesman to help me and they weren't busy. Actually 2 customers came in and were taken care of before me (guess they looked like money). They wanted to "pre-qualify me" before we even got to look at anything. Didn't play that game but finally got to look at a couple of coaches - the sales person hurried me through each one and when back at the office got the same pressure "What can we do so you buy today?" Repeated that I told them I wasn't buying but the next step was the sales manager to come and "work" with me. I was even told that maybe I needed to look more at a travel trailer that didn't cost so much - almost started laughing at these guys. Any way we did purchase a new Monaco Diplomat from DeMartini in Indiana and the experience was nothing short of fabulous. I stopped back at McGregor's coming back from a weekend adventure with the new coach (they do have a fair parts store and it was on the way) - Obviously the guy that helped me didn't see me park my coach in the lot and came up to me in the store and sort of remembered me. He even started off - want to look at some of the travel trailers? I said how about if I show you a coach? Almost wet me pants looking at the expression on his face - wish I had time to do this for a living. :B
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bdemattia
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02/27/08 07:24am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Where did you buy your RV? for a cheap price?
Bought a 2008 Monaco Diplomat 40SKQ from dealer for $70K under retail.
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bdemattia
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02/22/08 08:20am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Washer/Dryer Opinions Please
We had the dealer put a washer and dryer in our new Monaco - it only had the combo option but we did not want that. They did a great job and it works almost as good as the ones we had in our house. We run both at the same time - washer and dryer are on separate breakers. I don't do much of the wash but my wife advises she can do everything from a week or so in about 3 loads. You know when the washer is going through the spin cycle as you get a little rumble when it first starts up. As far as we are concerned it was one of the best decisions we made - just saw our camp neighbor going over to the comfort station to do their wash - it's raining like crazy here and it looks like they are going to have to dry the cloths they are wearing too!:D Not to mention it is hard to carry a cooler with you and all those cloths - no place like home.
The space loss issue is all in what you need - we full time and the space we gave up for the W/D isn't noticed.
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bdemattia
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02/21/08 11:32am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Presidio 39F vs. Diplomat 40SKQ
We have the Diplomat 40SKQ - bought it from DeMartini through the Indiana store (they only have a HR franchise but can work with you) - very, very small differences in the HR and Monaco but there are some - cosmetic only. We ordered ours and have just about every option - not including the solar panels - listed about $275k - deal with Ron Cole at the Indiana store if you are in that area - final price will be below what you listed above.
We love ours - the list of problems is so minor it's not worth mentioning and DeMartini and Monaco both are superb in customer service.
PM me if you want some more on the pricing.
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bdemattia
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02/17/08 07:41pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: anyone from northeast purchase from DeMartini's?
I too can echo the comments on Demartini in Indidana. We purchase our 2008 Diplomat 40SKQ when they first came out last summer and have been totally satisfied. We drove from Southern Maryland twice to do a factory tour and talk with DeMartini - went through Ron Cole - also met Rod and everyone is top notch. They don't have a Monaco franchise (last I heard) but they will work through their California office and it's no sweat. As you know Holiday Rambler and Monaco come off the line side by side. Feel free to contact Tim DeMartini in California if you have any other concerns.
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bdemattia
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01/26/08 10:11am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Fleetwood or Holiday Rambler
Lots of choices out there - keep in mind that HR and Monaco come off the same assembly line - the differences are very, very small - difference front windshield, my Monaco has a computer tray built into the dash - dash is a platinum color - can't see much else. Pricing is up to you - I bought mine from DeMartini and got it about 25% off - 2008 Diplomat and have had ZERO, absolutely ZERO problems. On our way back from Florida now and getting about 8 mpg towing a 2004 Nissan Titan (5,500 lbs).
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bdemattia
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11/25/07 02:09pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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