Newell motorcoach

SeilerBird said:

I have a 2013 Hyundai Veloster and I would take that over a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud in a real heartbeat. Yes, the RR has a better ride but I get 40 miles per gallon and in the four years I have owned I have only had one $70 repair. Insurance, gas and repairs are all a lot cheaper. If I want to be comfortable sitting down I will sit in my recliner and watch TV. ;D I too used to own a hot rod. 1969 Cougar Eliminator 428 and I built it up. Did 12s at the Long Beach drag strip.

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My kid had a Velosaraptor, it was a nice car, but I had a real hard time getting in and out of it.  I was okay once I got in there, but getting out sucked.  Not knocking Hyundai's, just too big for them.

When we went full time we sold my wife's Subaru Tribeca, a '61 F-100 pickup(302 4bbl/C6 p/s p/b), a '54 Chevy panel truck(235/T5 5sp.)and 3 Harleys. 
I'm over hot rods, but apparently I'm not over working on cars.  I'm still thinking about adding some lift to my Wrangler after last winter in Quartzsite(not to mention some of the roads I've found in the Eastern Sierras so far this summer).

Larry, Every coach builder had systems that the specific implementation is proprietary. All that means is it is set up for that specific coach. The comfort drive on your coach is  proprietary to that make and model of coach. Let's put this to bead. There is no system on a Newell that a top level shop can't fix. I can think of at least 3 near me that can and if I had one I would be confident taking it there knowing they have the expertise to fix any problem.
Bill

Psheesh! I didn't think my statement was that argumentative!

Let me give an example of how custom designs can really hurt.
Recently a fellow got a great deal at auction on a custom Vantare coach from Featherlite. Vantares are in the same league as Newells, except that they start with a Prevost bus shell.  There had been a small fire caused by a short in the power distribution panel.  Very little damage except to the panel & wiring. No big deal, right?  Well, the power panel is designed and built by Featherlite and tailored as needed for the coach.  It was damaged enough that no shop would re-wire it, so the fellow tried to get a replacement. Featherlite wasn't using that base design in newer coaches, but said they could make one from the blueprints for an estimated $17,000 and 6-12 months lead time.  The fellow asked if somebody else could build it and Featherlite offered to provide the blueprints for free, but he could only find one place willing to do a one-of-a-king build and the price was north of $25k.  But WAIT!  That's not all. The estimate to repair and reconnect the wiring once the new panel was available was another  30-60 hours @ $125/hr.  So he was looking at well over $20k to replace a part that could have been done for around $1200-$1800 in production Class A coaches.

Old_Crow said:

My kid had a Velosaraptor, it was a nice car, but I had a real hard time getting in and out of it.  I was okay once I got in there, but getting out sucked.  Not knocking Hyundai's, just too big for them.

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Mine is a Veloster. Getting in and out is telling me do not gain another pound.

A while back I faced a choice between a Cadillac sedan and a Hyundai Azera (I had a Cadilac STS at the time). After comparing all technical specifications and driving both cars it turned out that the Hyundai had every bell and whistle that the Cadillac did and drove and rode just as well, not to mention being about $30,000 less. That model has now grown to be a Genesis.

I bought the Hyundai (2006) and last year passed it on to our daughter. Everything still works and it still drives like a luxury car.

Ernie

Ernie n Tara said:

A while back I faced a choice between a Cadillac sedan and a Hyundai Azera (I had a Cadilac STS at the time). After comparing all technical specifications and driving both cars it turned out that the Hyundai had every bell and whistle that the Cadillac did and drove and rode just as well. That model has now grown to be a Genesis.

I bought the Hyundai (2012) and last year passed it on to our daughter.

Ernie

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When I was car shopping for the Veloster a friend of mine who knows a lot about cars told me Hyundai was not the best brand of car to buy. I researched the issue and discovered that every single list of the most cars with the highest owner satisfaction that Hyundai was in the top five. So I investigated further because my friend was usually right about cars. Turns out that around 2000 the Hyundai was at the bottom of the customer satisfaction polls everywhere. So Hyundai decided to do something about it. They raised the quality control at their factories way up, went to a 60,000 mile warranty and put in a lot of changes to change their customer standing. I feel it all really worked because this has been the best car I ever owned. I had plans to replace it with a Tesla in the near future but I have abandoned those plans because I love the car so much. It will be paid off in two years and I will keep it as long as possible.

It is 25 yrs old. It doesn't have any slides which is kinda appealing to me.  It looks immaculate from all the pics we have seen. It's still a lot of money to pay for something that old and a long way to go just to see it in person. We have fell in love with the pics and can see ourselves in it but we keep coming back to its still pretty old and what will it take if it needs repairs???? Thanks for the feedback!!

The age wouldn't bother me as long as it is well kept mechanically and cosmetically.  The potential cost of repairs, though, is a bit daunting.

andersonchix said:

It is 25 yrs old. It doesn't have any slides which is kinda appealing to me.  It looks immaculate from all the pics we have seen. It's still a lot of money to pay for something that old and a long way to go just to see it in person. We have fell in love with the pics and can see ourselves in it but we keep coming back to its still pretty old and what will it take if it needs repairs???? Thanks for the feedback!!

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Go read what I said about having it inspected.
If you can live with no slides and are looking for a quality coach look here there are several. Not a Newell but on the same level of quality.
https://www.motorhomesoftexas.com/Pre-owned-Inventory-2000-Foretravel-Motorhome-36-U320-6964258?ref=list
Look at some of the outhers on there and tell me what you think.
Gary, who was the people who they tried to get to make the panel?
Bill

I have a near 20 year old Rexhall 35BSL ..(a bottom dweller in the motorhome hierarchy) and it's fine, nothing really ever goes wrong that can't be be fixed with a screwdriver.

I'm sure a 25 year old million dollar coach (even one without slides) is probably amazing..but don't so be afraid of slides,  they work fine and make a world of difference in RVs. For whatever reasons the high end rigs were slow to come the Slide game.

Too many newcomers in the RV world are told by 'others' that you should only buy high end rigs because everything else is just problems.
While some of that may be true because of price point workmanship, most of the components are all the same,  so IMO there are still plenty of very good used RV's out there that are not million dollar rigs.. with slides,  that are still dependable and worth spending your hard earned dollars on.

if you are not a handyman defiantly pay to have it inspected,  good luck and have fun 

SeilerBird said:

Mine is a Veloster. Getting in and out is telling me do not gain another pound.

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I know, I just used to give the kid a hard time and call it a Velosaraptor, like the movie.  I don't have to worry now, he sold it and got a Subaru shortly after he got married.  Not that the Subaru is a whole bunch bigger, mind you.

Gary, who was the people who they tried to get to make the panel?

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I have no idea - didn't pay any attention to it.

Typically, a shop's repair estimate is directly relative to the vehicles initial cost. 

An "uh-oh" working on a Rolls... costs way more than it does on a Hyundai ..

Gary RV_Wizard said:

I have no idea - didn't pay any attention to it.

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That whole storey sounds like an urban legend tale, or they went to Camping world.
I am pretty shure the part could be modified from a current production part or made from standard electrical components.
I would never buy anouther coach without slides. But if you have to have a no slide coach MOT had several realey nice ones.
Bill

WILDEBILL308 said:

One thing you should do is have whatever RV you are thinking of buying inspected by a  NRVIA certified inspector.
Bill

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HOGWASH!

NRVIA certified inspectors take zero responsibility if they miss anything.The contract states your damages if anything is missed is no more than you paid the inspector.
Worthless piece of paper.
Better off with a knowledgeable  mobile repair person

darsben said:

HOGWASH!

NRVIA certified inspectors take zero responsibility if they miss anything.The contract states your damages if anything is missed is no more than you paid the inspector.
Worthless piece of paper.
Better off with a knowledgeable  mobile repair person

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And you know one where ever the OP is that you think knows what to look at on a motorhome. So enlighten us.
Bill

I know one here in Central NY and I know one in Casa Grande, AZ.  So my needs are taken care of. However I am sure the community here would have some input as to good mobile repair people wherever  the person is. Another source could be RVSERVICEREVIEWS.COM and possibly take the rig to a reputable lace.
But an RV expert who will not guaranty substantially to not miss the obvious is like  CW repair places. Generally talk a good game but usually do not give good service

A mid-90's Newell would still be a great coach IF it was properly cared for.

I first became acquainted with Newell coaches in the late 90's when a friend of my aunt & uncle in their motorhome club purchased a 1988 Newell 40'.  I learned a lot about it while working on various minor issues for them and at that vintage the systems were pretty discrete and nothing like the multi-plexing and CANbus systems that are being used now.  I worked quite a lot on that 1988 Newell and to be honest access to things was much better than most coaches I have worked on.  It seems like Newell anticipated certain repairs and at least provided room and access to various components.

The couple that owned that coach in the early 2000's sold it to their son (who still has it) and they purchased a used 1994 43' unit.  This was a big step up but still carried with it the same discrete wiring and circuitry as well as accessibility but a pretty big step up in amenities.

They had that coach until around 2009/10 when they purchased a 45' 2002 unit.  Again big jump up in amenities but you could tell it was still a Newell by the quality and designed in access and a dual slide model.  I really liked the engine access on this coach as the whole rear end opened up for access.  One issue I was concerned with was the way the hitch mounted to the monocoque style chassis.  It looked a little anemic to me but Newell rated it at 10k and they never did have any issues towing their 24' enclosed trailer all over the U.S. including Alaska multiple times but they only had that coach for a few years but the couple were full-timers by this time and it didn't stay parked much.

In about 2013 or maybe 2014 they had a slight incident when rounding a curve at relatively low speed the passenger side of the coach dropped off the edge of the pavement into a rather deep hole.  By the time they arrived at the campground where we were, as we were camping at the same place that weekend, he could not the slide out more than about 10 inches before it bound up.  He tried to retract it to try again but it racked quite severely and stuck about 6-8 inches in the extended position.  We messed with it for the better part of the afternoon even having Newell on the phone but the owner opted to take it back to the factory the following week as they had plans to head east anyways.

Upon arriving at Newell and having it inspected it was determined that the entire monocoque structure had shifted which in turn wedged the slide.  It would cost quite a lot to repair and ultimately the couple arrived back home a few weeks later with a 2005 47' (yes that is correct, 47 foot) factory reconditions unit.  He said he had always wanted one with the steerable tag axle and this thing was a monster in size.  It was hard to believe that only 2' gave the coach such a different overall feel compared to their previous 45-footer.  This also had the front pneumatic pantograph style door whereas all of their other Newells all had mid-entry doors.  I never really got a chance to work on that coach and they only had it about a year or so before they had health issues and had to sell it and hang up their keys but it was a gorgeous coach.

Newells are great coaches but like others have stated they are not cheap to maintain and definitely not to repair.  I was able to quite a lot of the work on all but the last Newell of theirs but it was getting more and more difficult once you got into all of the multi-plexing as these are really set up to be plugged into at the factory and diagnosed by proprietary operating systems and computers.  I do LOVE the way their build out their engine bays though.  Fairly easy access and all of that polished stainless steel in the engine and service bays definitely screams luxury, and that's even before you walk into the casino feeling interior.  If I had any one thing I disliked about most of the Newells it would be the "hospital-like" interiors.  The aluminum contoured cabinets are VERY high quality but from the "cold" feeling of the cabinets to the chandeliers they don't have that warm and homey feeling that I like with a oak or walnut interior.  I think they do that for weight because these things are beasts, both figuratively and literally at 45' long and well over 50k pounds, most in the 52k-54k pound travel weight.

Mike

I met with the folks from Newell at their Miami, Oklahoma plant several years ago when we were looking for a vendor to build special medical units for our company.

They are very well built coaches but they are more of a one off custom manufacturer.

I ended up working with both Newmar and Country Coach as they were better suited to design the type units we were looking for.

We designed eight different type units all based on a 40 foot DP for different medical functions. If anyone is interested I will post some floor plans to show how a 40 DP can be designed for medical use.

This would be the kind of coach that scare me a bit -

https://www.rvusa.com/newell-515-1999-class-a-denton-tx-2469817  Maybe a $1.5M coach when new, but hey, now I can afford it right!.  Problem is:

#1, it now has 130,000 miles on it and it's 20 years old. 

#2, It's dated - (either you love it or hate it) landline telephones, early multiplex wiring, day/night shades, and someone has already started changing things that compromise the original decor - (sink has white faucet, brass soap, and chrome hot-tap).  Typically to update these, you go to a coachbuilder for an update like a yacht and get it done right!

#3, No matter how high of quality, some things wear out!  That fridge was installed and the coach built around it.  Same with the TVs  There is no tolerance around them to find something at Sams Club that is going to fit, and no one repairs TVs or Fridges anymore - so back to a coachbuilder you go to retrofit in a new fridge or TV.

#4, It's in gadget overload - electric pocket doors?  When this stuff breaks you either leave it broke or spend a ton of time trying to chase down repairs because that stuff is just not something you order from Amazon.

#5, Not to mention a 20 yo extremely high end suspension made of degrading air bags and rubber parts, and expensive Detroit diesel, and even the slide mechanism with flush floor was about 10 years ahead of it's time, ahead of Foretravel I think.

I love it - beautiful coach and as a hobby or just plain old nostalgia fun, I would love it.  There is nothing more that I would like do do than travel around in a classic like an old Blue Bird for fun, but given what I already do is hard to justify the cost of, something like that could sink me in a hurry - buyer beware!