BAC Forum

General Boards => Technical Support => Topic started by: Jerry Emert on July 03, 2014, 12:46:18 AM

Title: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Jerry Emert on July 03, 2014, 12:46:18 AM
Its not that important but...I'm confused.   I've been told or seen on-line that my MH has an RR10S and a S series and the build sheet says it has a Magnum chassis.  Are they all the same thing?  Which is it and whats the difference?  Thanks in advance.
Jerry
Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Edward Buker on July 03, 2014, 02:15:27 AM
Jerry,

I think you have a Roadmaster S series in 2003. See this page. You can click on the S series and it will show some info.

http://www.roadmasterchassis.com/chassis/
Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Larry Williams on July 03, 2014, 02:41:35 AM
Quote from: Jerry Emert
I put this in general discussion because its not that important but...I'm confused.   I've been told or seen on-line that my MH has an RR10S and a S series and the build sheet says it has a Magnum chassis.  Are they all the same thing?  Which is it and whats the difference?  Thanks in advance.
Jerry
If you have the Roadmaster chassis, which I am sure you do, there is a nameplate for the chassis behind the rear radiator cover.

The Roadmaster chassis was made by Monaco in Coberg, Or and was used in all the Monaco products (including Beaver starting in 2003).

The Magnum chassis was the chassis used in 2002 and earlier Beavers and was originally made by Safari in Harrisburg, Or.

Edit: Are you sure you have a 2003? I don't think there was a Patriot Thunder in 2003. There was in 2002. And if your build sheet says Magnum, it is probably a 2002. What engine do you have? 2003 have Cummins and 2002 have Cat. I have a 2003 and some of your earlier post descriptions did not jive with my coach. Look at the brochures and manuals here:

http://alliedrecreationgroup.com/legacy/

Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Jerry Emert on July 03, 2014, 12:53:08 PM
Thanks Ed, what does the Magnum mean on the build sheet?
Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Jerry Emert on July 03, 2014, 12:57:24 PM
Quote from: Larry Williams
If you have the Roadmaster chassis, which I am sure you do, there is a nameplate for the chassis behind the rear radiator cover.

The Roadmaster chassis was made by Monaco in Coberg, Or and was used in all the Monaco products (including Beaver starting in 2003).

The Magnum chassis was the chassis used in 2002 and earlier Beavers and was originally made by Safari in Harrisburg, Or.

Edit: Are you sure you have a 2003? I don't think there was a Patriot Thunder in 2003. There was in 2002. And if your build sheet says Magnum, it is probably a 2002. What engine do you have? 2003 have Cummins and 2002 have Cat. I have a 2003 and some of your earlier post descriptions did not jive with my coach. Look at the brochures and manuals here:

http://alliedrecreationgroup.com/legacy/


The build sheet says 2003 but it may have been made in late 2002.  It has a C-12 Cat, 505 HP.  It has 505 on the back of the coach.  That web site doesn't look very complete probably because of all the times Beaver changed hands.  I've seen Patriots in the 90s and they are not listed here.  Thank you
EDIT:  PS, I'm going for a short trip today and I'll check in the engine compartment.
Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Edward Buker on July 03, 2014, 02:09:55 PM
Jerry,

I do not know what the Magnum means on the build sheet given that could be misinformation left over from the embedded information on the build sheets at that time. It is confusing during the Beaver transition time. I have a 2002 Marquis with a Magnum Chassis but on the back of the frame near my engine hatch there is a metal Roadmaster plate on it. The true chassis history is as Larry pointed out but 2002 to 2003 had a transition and you would have to have someone who knows both chassis sort it out. They are different so it would not be that hard for someone at a rally to take a look. On the quality end of things they are both good chassis.

Later Ed
Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Jerry Emert on July 03, 2014, 02:31:36 PM
Thanks Ed.  I've been searching the web and every reference I see to a Magnum chassis relates to two axle MHs like rr8r and rr8s.  Mine has a tag axle and everywhere with the tag seems to point to an s series.  Still curious.  
Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Edward Buker on July 03, 2014, 03:00:27 PM
There were tag Magnum chassis in 2002. The new Monaco Roadmaster chassis I think had pass through storage in the bay from side to side and offered 3 slides. If you had three slides then I think that would seal the deal. I think the hydraulic leveling to the axle ended on the new Roadmaster chassis so that could be another clue. Others can chime in if I have this wrong.

Later Ed
Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Larry Williams on July 03, 2014, 04:16:25 PM
Quote from: Jerry Emert

The build sheet says 2003 but it may have been made in late 2002.  It has a C-12 Cat, 505 HP.  It has 505 on the back of the coach.  That web site doesn't look very complete probably because of all the times Beaver changed hands.  I've seen Patriots in the 90s and they are not listed here.  Thank you
EDIT:  PS, I'm going for a short trip today and I'll check in the engine compartment.
You have a 2002 model year regardless of the actual production date. Monaco bought Safari/Beaver in 2001/2002 and continued to produce the Safari and Beavers for 2002 using the Magnum/Cat chassis but under the Monaco brand. It produced a 2002 Patriot Thunder. Starting with the 2003 model year they dropped the Patriot Thunder and put all of the Beavers on the Roadmaster chassis. They did not produce a Patriot Thunder again until 2007. So you have a 2002 model year.

And that legacy page only shows coaches produced under the Monaco brand. It does not have 2002 brochures since they were identical to the previous Beavers but they do have Monaco produced 2002 manuals for the Patriot Thunder. I suggest you download and use that manual for operating your coach.

EDIT: Gerald corrected me below. So you could have a 2003 Thunder with a Magnum/Cat chassis. If you look at the 2003 Patriot brochure, you can see the Thunder is an option package that year with the Cat 505 HP engine instead of the Cummins 400 HP engine. So you only need to verify that you have the Magnum chassis instead of the Roadmaster.

Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Gerald Farris on July 03, 2014, 05:03:02 PM
Jerry,
The tag axle Magnum chassis started with the 42 foot 2000 Marquis. The first Patriot and 40 foot Marquis with a tag axle was the 2003 model. There was a little blurring of the lines between the SMC designed Magnum chassis that was built at the plant in Harrisburg and the Roadmaster chassis that was built in Coburg as Monaco integrated the SMC purchase in 2002 into its production.  

Gerald  
Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Gerald Farris on July 03, 2014, 05:56:10 PM
Larry,
You are in error about Thunder production. The very popular Thunder option to the Patriot line was never stopped after it was introduced in the late 1990s until the Monaco bankruptcy in 2009. In fact there was at least one 2010 model Thunder that Navistar finished after the Monaco purchase. Towards the end of Monaco production, the Thunder was the only Patriot that was manufactured.

If you are using the Monaco website as a reference, it is very incomplete. You can find a list of all Beaver coaches that were manufactured at the Nada website under the used RV price guides.

Gerald  
Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Larry Williams on July 03, 2014, 06:41:22 PM
Quote from: Gerald Farris
Larry,
You are in error about Thunder production. The very popular Thunder option to the Patriot line was never stopped after it was introduced in the late 1990s until the Monaco bankruptcy in 2009. In fact there was at least one 2010 model Thunder that Navistar finished after the Monaco purchase. Towards the end of Monaco production, the Thunder was the only Patriot that was manufactured.

If you are using the Monaco website as a reference, it is very incomplete. You can find a list of all Beaver coaches that were manufactured at the Nada website under the used RV price guides.

Gerald  
Thanks Gerald, I stand corrected. Looking at the 2003 Patriot brochure does show the Thunder as an option that year with the 505 HP Cat.

Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Joel Ashley on July 04, 2014, 06:35:11 AM
I'm not as up on this as others that have already commented, Jerry, but I was under the impression the RR stood for Roadmaster Rail and if followed by an 8 it was a coach with 8 airbags;  a 10 meant 10 airbags.  The last letter I've little clue about since you've seen "R" and "S" and mine has an "M" which I speculated meant it was based on an older Magnum design, but it was just a guess.

Joel
Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Jerry Emert on July 04, 2014, 07:27:23 PM
Hi Joel, I've been told the r or s at the end meant rear or side radiator. Mine does have a side radiator. Still confused but having a good time at Wekiva Falls Resort 36 miles from home anyway!
Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Don Stewart on November 20, 2014, 11:20:34 PM
I'm not as up on this as others that have already commented, Jerry, but I was under the impression the RR stood for Roadmaster Rail and if followed by an 8 it was a coach with 8 airbags;  a 10 meant 10 airbags.  The last letter I've little clue about since you've seen "R" and "S" and mine has an "M" which I speculated meant it was based on an older Magnum design, but it was just a guess.

Joel

I know this post is a little older, but I am confused about my chassis and I can't find any real information regarding it. Our 2002 Beaver Contessa was built in February, 2002. It has triple slides, not offered in the 2002 brochure, only in the 2003. It has a Cummins ISL engine, not the Cat. Finally, it has a Roadmaster Magnum Chassis M-3200, built in Coburg, OR? It has the SMC leveling system with 8 air bags. We will need to be replacing shocks soon as we believe they are the original Bilstein shocks with 94,000 miles on them. May be looking into a tru center system for it as well. Can anyone shed any light on this for us? Please see attached photo.
Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Gerald Farris on November 21, 2014, 01:04:23 AM
Don,
You have a Magnum chassis that was built after Monaco bought SMC Corporation (Beaver and Safari). Your chassis was probably built in Harrisburg before Monaco moved all chassis production to Coburg.

Monaco used the SMC leveling system on the 2002 and 2003 production until the supply was exhausted.

If you are not having a problem with your Bilstein shocks, there is no reason to change them just because of mileage. However, if you are trying to correct something, that is another issue. My 2000 Marquis has about 145,000 miles and it still has the original shocks that I do not intend to change until they start causing a problem.

Gerald 
Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Don Stewart on November 21, 2014, 03:25:52 PM
Thank you Gerald, this clears up a lot. We still are not able to find any documentation on the M-3200 chassis. We are looking at the Safari Zanzibar and think that this MH is probably built on the same frame?

Don
Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Jerry Emert on November 23, 2014, 04:12:44 PM
I'm not as up on this as others that have already commented, Jerry, but I was under the impression the RR stood for Roadmaster Rail and if followed by an 8 it was a coach with 8 airbags;  a 10 meant 10 airbags.  The last letter I've little clue about since you've seen "R" and "S" and mine has an "M" which I speculated meant it was based on an older Magnum design, but it was just a guess.

Joel

I know this post is a little older, but I am confused about my chassis and I can't find any real information regarding it. Our 2002 Beaver Contessa was built in February, 2002. It has triple slides, not offered in the 2002 brochure, only in the 2003. It has a Cummins ISL engine, not the Cat. Finally, it has a Roadmaster Magnum Chassis M-3200, built in Coburg, OR? It has the SMC leveling system with 8 air bags. We will need to be replacing shocks soon as we believe they are the original Bilstein shocks with 94,000 miles on them. May be looking into a tru center system for it as well. Can anyone shed any light on this for us? Please see attached photo.

If you figure it out please let me know, I'm still confused.  I "think" that mine is a Magnum left over from when Beaver was owned by Safari.  Mine has 10 airbags though.  I also have a Roadmaster plate in the engine bay but every piece of paper I can find says it's a Magnum.  I suspect that Roadmaster just put their plate on it since it was right on the edge of the ownership change.  Good luck!
Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Don Stewart on November 23, 2014, 05:37:42 PM
Hi Jerry, that is probably what happened to mine. We have the Roadmaster placard, but it says Magnum on the placard, please see phota I attached in previous posting. It then goes on to say M-3200, which I haven't been able to find any documentation on. Your chassis differs from mine as it has 10 air bags and mine has only 8, so probably not at M-3200 chassis. I am still somewhat confused but feel that my chassis was definitely produced by SMC.

Don
Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Gerald Farris on November 23, 2014, 06:12:12 PM
Jerry,
Your chassis was definitely built after Monaco purchased SMC. Therefore, since Monaco used the Roadmaster designation for all of the chassis that they built, your chassis is a Roadmaster. However, it was probably built at the Magnum factory in Harrisburg Oregon before Monaco closed it and moved all chassis production to the facility at Coburg Oregon. 

There are several features that set your chassis apart from the SMC designed Magnum chassis that was used on earlier model Thunders. The most obvious is the addition of the tag axle for a much higher weight capacity. The only tag axle chassis that SMC used was for the 42 foot Marquis. The other significant change was the installation of Bendix Spicer ADB22X brakes to replace the problematic Meritor ADB brakes used on the 2002 Thunder or the air over hydraulic brakes that were used on the earlier Thunder coaches.

Don,
If you have a 2003 model coach, it has a Roadmaster chassis that was probably built at the Magnum facility in Harrisburg.

Gerald
   
Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Edward Buker on November 23, 2014, 09:22:14 PM
Gerald,

I know my chassis is a Magnum but if you open the engine compartment hatch there is a plaque on the frame that says Roadmaster with some info on it. It certainly is confusing in the 2002 to 2003 era as to what was built on what frame given there seemed to be some leftover Magnum chassis.

It would be helpful if a feature could be identified that was unique to the true Roadmaster chassis like a full pass through basement or a hydraulic tank placement etc that would make it clear because the Magnum chassis never had that feature....just a thought.

Later Ed
Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Jerry Emert on November 23, 2014, 10:38:54 PM
Jerry,
Your chassis was definitely built after Monaco purchased SMC. Therefore, since Monaco used the Roadmaster designation for all of the chassis that they built, your chassis is a Roadmaster. However, it was probably built at the Magnum factory in Harrisburg Oregon before Monaco closed it and moved all chassis production to the facility at Coburg Oregon. 

There are several features that set your chassis apart from the SMC designed Magnum chassis that was used on earlier model Thunders. The most obvious is the addition of the tag axle for a much higher weight capacity. The only tag axle chassis that SMC used was for the 42 foot Marquis. The other significant change was the installation of Bendix Spicer ADB22X brakes to replace the problematic Meritor ADB brakes used on the 2002 Thunder or the air over hydraulic brakes that were used on the earlier Thunder coaches.

Don,
If you have a 2003 model coach, it has a Roadmaster chassis that was probably built at the Magnum facility in Harrisburg.

Gerald
   

Thanks Gerald, so does that make it the S Series?
Title: Re: 2003 Thunder Chassis
Post by: Don Stewart on November 24, 2014, 12:03:28 AM
Thanks Gerald, ours was built, according to the placard, 02/02. It has many of he 2003 features such as a triple slide that was found in the 2003 brochure and not the 2002. Please see the Manaco side placard attached. I would like to find some kind of documentation on my chassis. I have googled every which way I know how, but no reward. Please advise if you have any additional info. We will be in Indio in January to pick some brains there.  8)

Best,

Don