If you’ve been longing to join that exclusive club that consists of owners of Monaco diesel pushers, your day has come. Monaco’s new 2006 LaPalma Diesel is at dealerships now, with a base manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $135,000. Yes, that’s less than many luxury gasoline-powered coaches, and, no, you’re not dreaming.

The LaPalma Diesel is a kind of fiendish plot by Monaco to make sure that the first diesel pusher you buy is one of theirs. I have proof of this, directly from one of the chief plotters. Mark Kealoha, Monaco national sales manager, let it slip: “The idea behind LaPalma Diesel is to get people in the Monaco family sooner, so they can experience sales and service the Monaco way in their first diesel pusher.”

Kealoha added, “The Monaco brand is something people aspire to. But if they only think of a Monaco product as a $300,000 or $400,000 coach, they’re missing out on the best possible ownership experience when they buy their first diesel. In LaPalma, we have a true entry-level diesel pusher that is every inch a Monaco product.”

That said, you won’t likely mistake a LaPalma Diesel for a downsized Executive. As Kealoha put it, “People can now buy an entry-level diesel at high-end gas prices with the horsepower and fuel economy of a diesel. It’s a very livable coach. We’re competitive in a market that fits our image of a great diesel motorhome.”

The big reasons why you wanted a diesel pusher are all here. There’s a roomy, flat-floor cab with the entrance door in front of the passenger seat; a rear engine you can hardly hear; good low-end torque; minimal engine maintenance at long intervals. An engine with a Methuselan life expectancy. Diesel fuel economy. And of course, the bragging rights.

Ride and handling by Roadmaster

Like all other Monaco pushers, LaPalma Diesel uses a drivetrain that marries a Cummins diesel engine to an Allison transmission in a new, custom-designed chassis made by Monaco Coach Corporation’s Roadmaster division.

Both floorplans now available are 34-footers. The newly-designed Roadmaster RSR rail chassis rides on leaf springs with gas shock absorbers, rather than the air-bag suspension we’re used to seeing on a Roadmaster. You’ll be amazed at how flatly and smoothly the coach corners and rides. I was. This configuration rides and handles very, very well.

The powerplant is a Cummins ISB-AD with 300 horsepower and 600 foot-pounds of torque at 1,600 rpm. This new Cummins design has a variable-geometry turbocharger; Cummins says the engine has slightly improved fuel economy, more power and is 80 percent quieter than previous versions. Also, the new turbo design provides improved engine braking, to the point of behaving as if it had an internal exhaust brake, according to Cummins. The Allison 1000 MH transmission is a five-speed, controlled, as on all Monaco diesels, by pushbuttons at the driver’s left hand.

Both models have a 22,000-pound gross vehicle weight rating with an additional 4,000 pounds of towing capacity.

Kealoha pointed out another big advantage of this coach’s riding on a Roadmaster, compared to other low-priced diesel pushers: “One coach, one warranty. We take care of the house as well as the chassis. LaPalma buyers get the same high-end sales and service experience as people buying any of our other products, up to a $500,000 Signature Series.”

Strong, weight-saving body construction

Body construction of the LaPalma Diesel is similar to that in other lower-priced Monaco diesels and the LaPalma gasoline models, which, by the way, are still proudly offered by Monaco. The company’s legendary Alumaframe® construction combines strength, weight savings and outstanding insulation properties. The roof is one-piece fiberglass, peaked for water run-off. The outer body is gelcoat fiberglass with full-body paint and vinyl graphics. Kealoha explained that full-body paint ensures the color will remain consistent and true for years on the fiberglass shell as well as on utility and luggage doors, compared to unpainted fiberglass and various door materials, which age and discolor differently.

There are new fiberglass front and rear caps, the latter with a built-in rearview camera. A single-camera system with audio is standard; two additional cameras for the blind spots on either side are optional.

Like all 2006 Monaco Class A motorhomes, the coach has a huge Panaview™ one-piece windshield with wipers that rest horizontally at the bottom of the glass. If you haven’t test-driven a new Monaco coach with a Panaview windshield, you should. The extra visibility makes a big difference. It’s easier to see stoplights overhead, objects right in front of you, like bicycles and tricycles and those who ride them, and traffic approaching from either side. It also gives you a beautiful unobstructed view of the countryside you’re driving through.

In control

Sitting in the cockpit of a LaPalma Diesel is bound to get your juices flowing. The silver graphite instrument panel displays large, easy-to-read analog gauges. You settle into the comfortable six-way power driver’s seat and you can’t wait to rev up that (distant and barely audible) 300-horse diesel and hit the road.

“People can now buy an entry-level diesel at high-end gas prices with the horsepower and fuel economy of a diesel. It’s a very livable coach. We’re competitive in a market that fits our image of a great diesel motorhome.”

Standard features include tilt and telescoping steering wheel, cruise control, front-mounted power-controlled heated mirrors and fog lights. A fully automatic hydraulic leveling system is also standard. Just get her parked and push the button.

There’s a stereo/CD/DVD unit with weather band radio (Sirius radio prep and digital satellite prep standard), six speakers, and, overhead, a 24-inch flat-screen TV. (There’s a 20-incher in the bedroom, and you can play your DVDs through either one). Power sun visors are standard, and there are all the cupholders, storage and lighting you could want.

The flush power stepwell cover is the same as in the high-end units. And you can option a six-way power seat for the copilot.

Designed for living

The two floorplans are both 34-footers. The coach I toured was a 34 PBD — a novel layout featuring a desk hung on the front end of the curbside dinette. Want to use your computer? Just swivel that passenger seat 180 degrees and have at it. Give me one of those in-motion satellite systems with an Internet subscription and I could drive all day while my wife worked to support us.

The floorplan has two driver-side slideouts. One houses the sofa and galley, the other a bedroom wardrobe. The bed is positioned lengthwise in the coach. That’s something you don’t see often these days, but it allows for two large nightstands and two good-size closets. Pocket doors seal off the bath fore and aft, and there’s a private water closet.

This floorplan is a great design for couples, especially for those who work while they’re on the road. The sofa is about right for two adults (even supersized ones); however, if you plan to regularly share the space with a second couple or kids, you can option, in lieu of the dinette, two leather recliners with heat and massage features (sweet!), ottomans, and a table between the chairs. A free-standing dinette is also available.

The 34 PDD is an interesting alternative to the PBD. It has the kitchen on the curbside with the slideout housing the sofa and dinette. Between the galley and the copilot seat is a swivel barrel chair with a party table; this chair can be upgraded to one of those beautiful, leather-clad euro-recliners. The bed is transverse, with the headboard in a curb-side slide-out.

Interior décor is worthy of a diesel pusher coach, with liberal use of hardwoods, solid-surface counters, solid-wood drawers on ball-bearing roller guides and all the little things that Monaco does so well.

Outside, you get all the storage and convenience features you’d want. A standard polyweave-vinyl patio awning, double-pane tined windows, cable and phone hookups, and a water-service bay that puts all the controls in easy reach at one location. The huge pass-through storage bay has a one-piece polyethylene liner, and it’s well lighted.

Unfortunately, while there is an amazing amount of storage space inside and outside the LaPalma diesel, the space available to me in this issue of Lifestyles is limited. I couldn’t begin to describe all the details that go into making this a great coach, but I hope I’ve piqued your interest. You can research this coach in depth at the website noted above, or at your local LaPalma dealer. The latter choice is best, since you need to see, drive and explore this coach to appreciate what a great job Monaco did at packing value into a diesel pusher priced near the rock bottom of the market.

The real beauty of this coach is that you can get into a diesel at a gasoline price without feeling as if you’ve settled for something cheap, underequipped or made by a marginal manufacturer. You can pay a lot more for additional space, luxury, bells and whistles, but if you’re aspiring to own your first diesel pusher, this is the option that doesn’t force you to compromise. It’s very well equipped, beautifully designed and appointed, great on the road, and it has Monaco Coach Corporation behind it.

Welcome to your first diesel pusher.