Diplomat Mods

Garmin StreetPilot 7200: The day I took home my new Dip, I bought a "house warming" gift for it... the Garmin StreetPilot 7200. Instead of the Garmin stock mount, I mounted it on the dash using a Ram Mount with two ball joints. Click here for the Ram Mounts parts I used. The SP7200 is a great GPS mapping system that is large, easy to see and intuitive to use. And it comes loaded with features. This model also plays Audible Books, MP3 music, and even XM radio. You can plug in an SD card to store a vast amount of music, audio books, and POI's. I wired the audio lead into the Aux #2 input of the dash Magnadyne Radio. The 12v lead is spliced into the radio power lead. That way, it works with the ignition off, and I can control both the GPS and the radio with the radio dash switch. To accommodate the wires, I drilled two small holes in the dash right beside the mount. There are no wires laying on the dashboard making for a very clean installation.

Unified Tow Brake: Before I picked up the motorhome, I had the dealer transfer the US Gear Unified Tow Brake controller from my old coach. All new Monaco coaches are pre-wired for it. The US Gear system is my choice of tow brakes because it provides both progressive and proportional breaking, and there's nothing extra to do when it's time to tow. It's just always ready to go. Here is an interesting article about this system that appeared in the May 2008 edition of Motorhome Magazine.

Brake Controller, on left side of dash, is wired into existing Monaco harness.

PressurePro™ Tire Monitoring System and Aladdin Monitor

The PressurePro system gives me piece of mind that all my tires are properly inflated. You can monitor both the motorhome and the toad. Caps with small transmitters screw on to each valve stem. You can read the pressure of each tire on the monitor and it it will alert you if the pressure on any tire drops below 12.5% The mounting position I chose under the driver's side window allows unobstructed signal reception and is easy to reach while driving.

Click here for more information from Advantage Enterprises (the manufacturer). Click here for some interesting details from Doran about how this system works and some FAQ's

Auxiliary Monitor for Aladdin System: I wanted to be able to see the engine data from the Aladdin system and my back-up and turn signal cameras at the same time. Therefore I bought a small 5.6" TFT-LCD monitor for only $72.50 from Overstock.com (an Emerson MT-1564R). It came with it's own dashboard mounting kit, which I mounted just above the transmission pad. I spliced the power leads into the power feed for the original monitor before the fuse, so that each monitor is on it's own in-line fuse. The video feed was connected to the #2 video output on the Aladdin box (see picture). The original monitor input was not changed, but I can now dedicate that monitor to viewing the rear-view camera and the side cameras only. The Aladdin data output and trip data are permanently routed to the new monitor. Click on the picture to the right for a larger view.

Turn Signal Trigger Switch for Camera Display: I found that I did not like the fact that the rear view camera display was automatically replaced with the side camera display whenever the turn signal was engaged. The pictures from the side cameras had no depth of field, and I'd rather see what's coming up behind me when turning, anyway. The solution was to buy a small DPST (double pole single throw) toggle switch for the camera trigger leads in the camera wiring harness behind the dash. These wires are not the video leads, but the wires labeled "trigger #2" and "trigger #3" that change the display when the turn signal is on. I mounted the switch next to the video display. Now I can turn the turn signal camera triggers on or off as desired. (Pre-2007 camera triggers and displays work a bit differently. Please see this note that applies to pre-2007 coaches.)

Disable TV Cut-out: The overhead TV won't work with the ignition switch on. It's a safety feature that prevents people from watching TV while driving. However, there are often times when you may want to momentarily turn on the ignition without interrupting the TV. There is a very easy solution... Disconnecting the 12v lead going to the TV receptacle box disables the relay inside. You can easily access the wires behind the TV through a removable wooden vent on the back of the cabinet. Disclaimer: You should only do this if you are relatively certain that you can muster the self-control never to watch TV and drive at the same time.

There is a fuse in the front run bay that can be pulled to disable the TV shut-off feature. However on many coaches, including the Diplomat, that same fuse also feeds a safety circuit that will enable the jacks to retract when the parking brake is released or when the coach is put in gear. If you consider that jack retract feature to be a worthwhile safety feature, then you may not want to disable the TV shut-off by pulling this fuse. Pulling the 12v lead to the TV electrical receptacle is a better idea.

Wilson Antenna / CradlePoint Broadband Wireless Router:

My wife and I each carry laptop computers with us while on the road. This is how we access our email and the web. I've installed a very small wireless router along with a USB EVDO Broadband Rev-A aircard in the top right cabinet next to the TV above. Even with the wooden cabinet door closed, the router offers excellent connection quality anywhere in the coach. The aircard is fed from a remote Wilson Truckers cell antenna mounted on the roof above the cabinet. Now any laptop in the coach has full high-speed access to the internet as soon as it's turned on.

Click here for more details.

Seat Upgrade: We had 31"buddy seats" installed in our last coach and really got spoiled by the comfort. So in the Diplomat we also upgraded the seats to wider, larger seats for more comfort. These are 29" wide - 2" wider than the originals, and they also have a little more padding. The differences in the upgraded seats are not great, as the Diplomat comes with fairly good seats to begin with. But for us, the larger seats do make a big difference in comfort level. The Flexsteel seats were ordered in the same fabric color as the originals to match the dash and side panels.

Power System Enhancements

EMS HW 50C Power Protector:

In the power compartment, I added an HW 50C power surge protector from Progressive Industries. It also protects against low voltage, open neutrals, reverse polarity, etc. - all those nasty things that can damage your coach's electrical system. There's a digital display (mounted on the front of the power cord reel) that gives you voltage and amp draw for both legs, as well as diagnostic information about power faults.

The unit mounted easily right under the transfer switch. The original pigtail from the power reel to the transfer switch was disconnected and routed to the input side of the HW 50C. That left enough extra cord to turn the power reel around (see below). Click on the picture for a larger view, or click here for more information.

Reversed Power Cord Reel: Monaco originally installed the power cord reel (made by TDI Products) with the pigtail in the back and the motor in the front. That caused the cord to come off the bottom of the reel which would cause it to bind when pulling it out and reeling it in. (See picture here.) When I installed the Progressive Industries EMS I did not cut the pigtail, which left enough room to turn the power reel around the other direction as you see in the picture above. Now the cord comes off the top of the reel and does not bind when going in and out.

The Echo~Charge by Xantrex: There is what I consider to be a design flaw on all Monaco coaches below the Dynasty in that the charger does not charge the chassis batteries along with the house batteries. Therefore if the coach is parked for a while the chassis batteries will discharge until they are dead, even though you may keep the coach plugged in to shore power. Xantrex makes a solution for the problem. Their echo~charge unit will "echo" the three stages of the coach 12V charging system performing the same charging function on the chassis batteries. It puts out 15 amps when needed, but goes into a low amperage float mode along with the charger to keep the chassis batteries fully charged without over-charging. When the house batteries drop below 13V (indicating that the charger is not on), the echo-charge turns off, until it again senses an input of 13V or more. This feature avoids draining the house batteries.

You can pick this unit up for about $100 at many online marine or RV supply companies, like this one. As you can see in the pictures below it is easy to install. One wire goes to the positive terminal on each battery bank, and a third wire goes to the grounding lug. Click here for more information, or here to see a large blow-up of the installation.

The Diplomat (and similar Monaco coaches) does have a factory installed system for charging the house batteries from the alternator while driving the coach, via an Isolator Relay Delay module. Click here for more details about how this works.

Update (April 2009): Sometime in 2008, Monaco did attempt to rectify this shortcoming. Now there is an alternative to adding a module like the Echo~Charge described here to keep the chassis batteries charged. See the updated information here.

Right Side of Battery Compartment

PowerPulse Battery Maintenance System: Another addition to the battery compartment is the PowerPulse Battery Maintenance System for the house batteries. The PowerPulse sends a pulsating DC current into the batteries which prevents sulfates from building up on the battery plates. They advertise that this will prolong the life of the batteries by about 3 times. One unit will maintain all four 6V batteries. Some owners have installed a second unit for the two chassis batteries.

Left Side of Battery Compartment

Other Enhancements

Air Hose Storage: This was an easy one. I thought it would be convenient to have the air hose stored where it was handy to the air chuck in the generator compartment. So I simply screwed a piece of wood between the two door mounts, painted it black, and secured a large hook and an elastic bungee cord to it. The hoses and wires for the windshield washer were re-routed out of the way.

Then I got a heavy duty tire inflator with a gage that reads up to 120 lbs. and added a chuck with a spring clip. Makes tire inflation really quick and easy.

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.

Grab Handle Light: I wanted to light the grab handle, so I went to this web site and bought a socket for a standard 1156 automotive bulb and a 9-LED 1156 replacement in amber and white. I added a ground wire and arranged the assembly in the base of the grab handle as shown. Then I put in some adhesive rubber foam weather stripping to hold the socket in place. Next I drilled a hole into the motor home for the wires and connected the 12v+ side to the porch light switch return wire, and the ground to a nearby ground wire. The whole project cost about $12 in parts, and took less than an hour to do.

After trying both bulbs, I decided on the amber light because I thought it complemented the amber porch light and under-step light, and also just because I like to be "a little different" It shows very well at night, don't you think?.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Mod I Didn't Do

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.