Camp Monaco, Day 1 (of many more to come)

We had our meeting with our service adviser, Jeff set for 10:30 am. It is very similar to a car dealership; The service advisor writes it up, an estimator goes over the coach and totals the job, you approve it, the work gets done and you pay the bill! Jeff was prompt, very friendly and had a little dazed and confused look when we told him how many places we are leaking from. It helps that I did not clean up the water stains from above the door or the windows.

Our motorhome has 3 slides, one bedroom, two in the front. Basically each slide was leaking in some form or another. We also had a leak above the entry door and the window just behind the passenger seat. The total leak count is 6. There are other minor details; The steps like to come in and out while we drive, an access panel above the generator was taped in place when it should have screws. These are minor inconveniences compared to the leaks!

While I was working with Jeff, Laura was out taking a driving course! Here she is with the instructor going over things before heading out on the open road! I'll say this about Camp Monaco, they keep you occupied while your coach is in service. There are all kinds of activities and tours to keep you busy. They keep you well fed too!




Snuggy, meanwhile, was relegated to the back of the Suzuki. She was NOT happy about that.







After taking most the day to go over the coach we got the news and it's not good!

Basically, the box of each slideout needs to be rebuilt. The reasons are a combination of improper workmanship, lack of proper maintenance by the previous owners and at least one botched previous repair. Monaco is also concerned about what type of damage they might find inside the walls, on the floors and in the cabinet boxes from water intrusion. They also hope they don't find any black mold!

Since we are the second owners of the coach, there is no warranty! I asked them to take the leaks under consideration due to the age of the coach, only 2 years and the fact that we they could only get us into the factory 3 months after making the appointment, making any potential damage worse.

It turns out, the previous owners had made an appointment with Monaco for these very issues. They never kept the appointment. (obviously choosing to sell the coach, which we now own!) SO, it appears that we have a pre existing condition. The good folks at Monaco are going to pick up the tab for repairing the leaks and any subsequent damage that may have resulted! A good number of people on bulletin boards and in RV parks have said this would probably be the case. Monaco stands behind their product and wants happy customers.

That's the good news. The bad news is, it's going to take up to 3 weeks to do the repair! We are going to be in a hotel (Residence Inn) untill the repairs are completed. I guess there are a lot worse places then Eugene, Oregon to have to spend 3 weeks! Eugene has tons of stuff to keep us busy; Mountain biking, road biking, wine tours and Portland is only an hour away.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get some pictures during the de-construction and re-construction of our home, stay tuned!

-Rich-