sdgorvr@cox.net

It was interesting to read the replies that have been added. In November of 1998 I purchased a 1998 HR Imperial that had been manufactured in August 1997 and had kicked around on a dealer's lot near Santa Barbara, CA. We thought we got a fairly good deal. The sticker price was $225,000 & we paid $165,000. The coach had just about everything that was available, except washer & dryer (hookups are there). The one slide really opens the kitchen & living room up a lot. However, we typically leave it in when just my wife and I are traveling, when we stop for just one night, or when we park on a street (which we do often as we travel and stop to visit friends & relatives). The coach is fully functional with the slide in. The bed is fore & aft, and all the closets are easily accessed when traveling. (That's something to consider with the current new coaches.) We have 86,000 miles on it now, (I'd have to check, but I think there are over 400 hours on the 7.5 KW diesel generator) and have always towed a Jeep Cherokee. We used to get 10 mpg with the 325 hp engine, but with the current ULSD, now only get between 8 & 9 mpg. The miles have all been in the western part of the US (oh yes, in 2004 we did drive it to Alaska & back, then halfway across Canada), so we've driven it (towing the Jeep) up most mountain grades. It has gone over Loveland pass in Colorado quite a few times and traveled Hwy. 15 through the desert. It also has been driven through AZ more than once in the summer, when the outside temperature was 110 degrees. It has never overheated, although once when I was pushing it up the mountain grade going west from El Centro to San Diego real hard (sort of racing someone else), the overheat alarm came on. In that situation, after passing the other guy, I simply let up on the accelerator somewhat, continued driving, and the alarm soon stopped. The coach has given us very good service and is running fine now. Oh, I recently lost the power supply to the water pump, and I needed help to track it down to a "Radio Monoplex" that is located behind the small door in the wall that hides the alternating current breaker panel and a third (small) dc fuse panel, between the bath & bedroom. The refrigerator is a Norcold, and Norcold has performed two recalls on it (the door gaskets are getting a bit hard now & I've been told that Norcold will sell gaskets, so soon I'll try to replace them myself). I don't have much experience regarding driving other types and brands of coaches, but I remember the driver that delivered it to us in Las Vegas was very impressed with how well it handled. As for me, more than once I've driven 500 mile days and the coach is much much easier to drive than an auto. I do wish that it turned sharper, like some of the newer ones. Now, for the bad news. When we got the coach, it turned out to be a piece of junk. I had twenty some typewritten pages of problems, including what was done or not done by the San Diego Monaco dealer to repair it. Once, we were parked next to a Monaco (probably a Diplomat) and compared coaches. Although the two coaches were built on adjoining assembly lines in Wakarusa, IL, there was a great difference in the coaches. The Monaco's electrical wiring was neat and orderly. The Imperial's wiring was a nightmare. (Believe it or not, there is a fuse panel next to the driver's left knee, a second one behind the drawer that is below the radio, a third one ((I mentioned above)), and a fourth one under the bed near the rear heater.)During the summer of 1999, we took a two week vacation (from San Diego) to the Washington. On our way back we stopped at the Monaco factory in Coburg, OR. We sat down with someone and handed her a copy of the twenty some pages of problems, etc. She was a bit shocked. Monaco offered to fix everything on my list (either then or later) at the factory, and Monaco extended our warranty to two years. Yes, it took most of two years to get everything fixed. So we have found that new motorhomes aren't always perfect. Over the almost 12 years that we've had the coach, things have broken, but most of the problems occurred in the first year. In recent years, I replaced some parts on one of the windshield wiper mechanisms, the alternator has been replaced, the step motor system has been replaced, I've replaced the water pump (I never use shore water pressure), the cd changer, and the black tank dump valve. Oh, there is a single solar panel on the roof. Believe it or not, my house batteries lasted 9 1/2 years. Bottom line: I'd like to replace the coach but my wife says definitely not, she really likes it. If you have questions about the HR Imperial, you may email me at sdgorvr@gmail.com. David Wilson