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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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Water Pump
Switch in Bathroom: We have a
separate full bathroom, as you can see on our
floor plan. But the fact that that there was no switch for the
water pump in there has always bugged me. So I replaced a
single light switch with a 3-gang assembly to also hold a switch for the
pump
and an indicator light. It was fairly easy, since our main control
panel was located right on the other side of the wall. You can add as many water pump switches, and
indicator lights as you want. You simply wire them in parallel
with each other. Turning on the pump from any location will light
all of the indicator lights. |
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First, I removed the single light switch
from the bathroom wall that was next to the Fantastic Fan control.
Then I extended the switch cut-out, making it wide enough for a 3-gang
switch assembly.
Next, on the other side of the wall, I
opened the main control panel to expose all the wiring, found the wires
leading to the switch and light, and spliced into these wires, using
standard automotive type clamp splices. Then I routed the new
leads through a hole in the wall stud and into the the bathroom through
the switch cut-out I had just made.
I then reinstalled the bathroom light
switch into the new 3-gang assembly and completed the assembly with a
momentary switch for the pump, an LED indicator light, and a red lens.
That's all there was to it. The entire job took less than an hour.
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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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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. |
Since
the new radio has an amplified subwoofer output, I scrapped the
original cheap subwoofer that was located in a cabinet under the
table in the galley area. Now we can use that cabinet for much
needed galley storage. Instead I installed a
Kenwood KSC-SW10 powered subwoofer system with duel 5 x 7"
woofers and a wired remote control for adjusting the gain and the
cut-off frequency. This unit was compact enough to just fit on
the floor in the area behind the driver's storage drawers, where it
is completely out of sight and out of the way. (Click on
the picture to the left to show more detail.) I sat the unit
on a foam mat so that it wouldn't vibrate against the floor.
The remote fits nicely on the dash under the radio switch, which now
controls both the radio and the subwoofer. I was truly amazed
at how much better the music sounds now that you can actually hear
the bass. This new subwoofer was a great addition to the sound
system. 
