The birth of Smoky and The Admiral's coach

[Smoky]

I will post some pics in this thread as attachments, with narratives in the message.? It will show how a coach is born at Newmar, and also include some shots of "Big Sky", our new coach.? Our boat (which has been sold) was named Montana Sky, and this coach is bigger, hence the name Big Sky.? We also have a Chesapeake Bay retriever names "Sky" (who actually thinks he owns whatever we travel in) so the Sky theme fits well.? Our new residence will be near Kalispell Montana.

The first shot here is of out tour group this past week at Newmar.

If this thread smacks to much of boring home movies, my apologies in advance and just tune it out.? ?;D

For those not bored by this, feel free to interject comments in this thread or ask questions at any time.

Smoky

 

[Smoky]

This shot is our tour leader.  Note headset on this and the prior pictures.  We all wore wireless headsets on the tour and her headset had a mike.  Made it easy to hear no matter where we stood.  The one disadvantage was that my camcorder could not pick up her narrative, as she did not have to raise her voice and the factory sound is all I can hear on my videos.

Behind my tour guide you can see the Spartan chassis, the initial flooring laid on it by Newmar, and the diesel pusher.

 

[Smoky]

At this station, we see walls going up.? Note the aluminum studding.? The carpets and flooring coverings are measured back from the edge of the floor so that walls can be set directly on the floor with no floor covering in between.

 

[Smoky]

Slideouts get added here.

 

[Smoky]

Here it is!? The first view of OUR coach, the "Big Sky"!!?

I had walked around the corner to where they were placing roofs, on the first day of my tour, and saw what was definitely a KS3910.? I could see the custom shoe box installed on the inside of the rear cap inside the wardrobe, and the rear view mirror hanging from the TV.? I knew the shoe box was a custom special order and not even an option, and the rear view mirror was an option few people ask for.? I originally thought rear view mirrors were silly in a coach that had no rear window and a very nice rear view camera.? But then i figured out that this mirror would come in handy if kids began running around in the coach or something fell over and caused a noise.? Looking through it at the inside of the salon is really not a bad idea when underway.? The mirror also has an electronic compass built into it and I think a thermometer or something.

At any rate I told the tour guide I thought it might be our coach.? When we got around to the front the order number was clearly posted in the window (see pic) and matched our order!? It was ours!

p.s.  You can see the mirror option hanging from under the TV cabinet above the dash in the center.

 

[Smoky]

Who is that ugly ole farte that just walked into view?

 

[Smoky]

At the end of day one I told the tour guide I would return the next day.  She told me to be sure to come for the morning tour as the line moved quickly.  If I was lucky I would catch my nearly finished coach at the pre paint prep area getting the outside sanded down and ready for full body painting.  She explained that customers were not allowed into the paint shop, so this might be my last chance to see my coach.

I could hardly wait during the second day tour to get to the pre paint area.  I got tapped on the shoulder when we reached the pre paint area because I had become distracted.  A fellow was trying to get my attention because the tour guide lady was asking for the Kountry Star owner to come forward.

I worked my way through the group and when I reached her she asked if I wanted to separate from the group for 5 minutes and look inside my coach.  I damn near suffocated her with my bear hug.  Everyone on the tour began clapping and cheering.  Even the workmen stopped what they were doing and clapped!  I felt like some kind of celebrity.  It was a truly awesome moment for me.

In retrospect, I am sure Newmar new exactly what they were doing.  I bet nothing helps sell a coach better than to watch an ecstatic owner viewing his coach for the first time!  LOL!  ;D

Here is a shot of the coach before I went inside.  I am wondering why, at this point, they have the slideout supported from the outside, since it had been installed the day before.  I forgot to ask that.  They did this with all the coaches in the pre paint area.

 

[Smoky]

The kitchen salon area.

Note the partly covered up hardwood on the floor.? Until I got home I was so excited I though they had not yet installed the hardwood (a special option).? Only after taking time to resize these pics did I notice that the hardwood was there, but partially covered.? Hmmm actually The Admiral was the one who noticed lol.

I hope we made the right decision with hardwood.? We struggled mightily over that agonizing decision.? They also offered genuine ceramic tile, or the artificial tile (standard).? One big factor was that the genuine ceramic tile is quite heavy.? Time will tell, I guess, if the hardwood was the best way to go.? It sure looks nice!? And it is not an irreversible decision, we could always change to ceramic later.

To the right of the refrigerator you can see a plain wood wall.? A full length mirror gets mounted on that.?

A custom order we made (not even an option) was to move the full bed sofa from the driver side over to the door side, eliminating the second sofa on the door side.? Then place two free standing recliners on the drive side.

The advantage of these recliners is that they can be moved to the center of the salon, facing the TV over the dash, with a small table between them.? The Admiral and I expect to watch a lot of TV that way in the evenings.? When company come, or when we move on, we move the two recliners back to the door side where the sofa used to sit.

We also installed an extra pair of ac outlets between the two recliners on the door side.

 

[Smoky]

Bedroom dresser area.

The top of the dresser can also be used as a bench seat.? TV sits above double door shelf area.? Double doors to right of TV house the washer/dryer combo.? Full wardrobe out of sight to right of washer dryer.

 

[Smoky]

Custom head board.

One thing we hated about the Kountry Star, and there was not much to hate, was the frilly headboard.? Newmar claims the customers love those frilly headboards.? We hated it.?

The Admiral hates it because we like to pile up pillows against the headboard and read and watch TV late at night.? She thought a year of this would ruin all the lace and frills.

I hate it because it is sissy stuff.? Not manly like a hardwood headboard.?

'nuff said.

At any rate we came up with an absolutely brilliant idea.? We noted that on the Essex (top of the line Newmar coach) that they have a hardwood headboard.? Give us that one!? No, they said, certain things "earmark" our top of the line coaches, and sculpted cabinetry is one of them.

Then we noticed at the foot of the Essex is a "footboard" the same size as a headboard.

Give us that!? And they did!? I believe this may be the only KS pusher with a hardwood headboard. LOL!

Overhead cabinets are out of sight in this picture above the freshly installed "Essex footboard" headboard.? ?

Matress and bedspread not installed yet, obviously.

 

[Smoky]

This will be the only time we ever have the scenic view of a coach factory outside our front windows.

Hopefully.

 

[Smoky]

Option - our computer worktable.

Which also converts into a dining table with 4 chairs.? The slideout leaf for dining has not been installed yet.

I put in a custom order to have two additional cable jacks installed next to the standard cable jack outside the coach and runs to the worktable area.? This will allow Ron to install a tripod outside the coach with inputs to the receiver and transmitter Internet satellite modem.? I am hoping the cable will also be sufficient for ham radio use.

 

[Smoky]

The Throne!  ;D

 

[Smoky]

Here is that slideout sitting on supports.  Anyone know why they do this at the end of the line?

 

[Smoky]

As a wrapup, here is what the painted coach should look like.? This pic is at our dealer's and is the one we almost bought off his lot before we starting thinking about customizing it.

 

[BernieD]

Here is that slideout sitting on supports.  Anyone know why they do this at the end of the line?

Smoky

Actually, it isn't the slide out sitting on supports, it is supports holding the skin against the slide out while the bonding glue dries.

 

[Ron]

Smoky,  Have enjoyed reading and seeing photos of your new coach during manufacture.  I can just imagine the excitement and anticipation you and the admiral are experiencing as you wait for delivery time.

Sam & I are looking forward to seeing Big Sky when you arrive in Big Sky country.  That was a great idea to have the cable pass throughs installed.  Will sure make it convenient.

 

[Tom]

How exciting Smoky. Glad to see it all coming together for you both.

BTW as someone else suggested, the pics are now in our forum library and viewable as a slide show. Click the Library button in the toolbar above..

 

[Smoky]

Thanks all, and thanks Bernie for that explanation.  It was driving me nuts trying to figure out what they were doing.

 

[DonJordan]

Smokey and the Admiral,

How exciting!  Your new coach looks like it is really going to be a beauty.  Thanks for the "tour"  .  May you both enjoy many happy miles and years in Big Sky!!