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Its only a tree
#1

I took the coach into town to get it emissions tested today.  here in az we have to do that every year.  it is a pain in the neck.  

but first a little history with getting my newells emission tested.

1.  my 90 38 ft newell.  first time i took it to the testing place near our home in mesa.  you go through a gate and once you are in, you are in.  i pull into the stall and in front of the door is a block wall about 15-20ft from the door.  uh oh.  it took about a half an hour jockeying to get it out.  

2.  next year i go there and tell them it got stuck.  they gave me an exemption and for the rest of the time i had that coach they waived the testing.  dunno really why, just did

3.  enter the 45'8" 2002 newell.  i know it is not going to fit in that same testing facility.  i call the testing facility central number and they tell me to go to one in apache junction.  it is a serpentine entry i hardly made it through.  the test the coach and then it becomes obvious i am not going to get out the way i am supposed to.  they close the entire place down for half an hour while i manage the turn the coach around in the area and then go out the way i came in.  quite a spectacle. 

4.  the next year i go to the one that allegedly school busses and tour bus companies use in downtown phoenix.  i barely got in there and barely out as well.  the first thing they say is something like that is huge.  we dont get them that big.  

5.  then i move to the country.  i go to one in suprise az.  and surprisingly, if you get in the right stall, it is easy to get out of.  except that first time i go there my entry step gets stuck out and the width of the doors in the facility is so tight that i had to get the steps in before it would get out of the stall.   

6.  the next few years no problems at the same place.  

7. TODAY....a beautiful fall day here.  80 some degrees.  i put the slides in, air it up and pull out of the shop.  happy to drive the newell.  it is a bout 15 miles to the testing facility.  i know i need to be in the only stall that i can get out of without a hassle.  i get there and it is packed.  the stall i need is closed for repairs.  now i am in the line for the stall i know i cant make the turn out of .  the guy comes to me and says a word i dont use and i said i wouldnt be able to get out.  he said....i know, but you cant back out.  

so, i get tested, and the guy says something about driving a house.  now 3 guys are guiding me out.  i have to pull into their employee parking lot, then jockey around in reverse to back into a lane so i could get out.  as i was backing out of the lot, i hear scraping on the roof.  i motioned to the guy helping me to the tree.  i said it is scraping....he said the classic statement.

IT'S ONLY A TREE

I tell him i really dont want to hit it.  it seemed a foreign thought to him.  

i got out and enjoyed the drive home.  i park the coach outside the shop and wash it down before i put it away

as i was driving home i contemplated just keeping going , but alas, i needed to go home

happy monday

tom

2002 45'8" Newell Coach 608  Series 60 DDEC4/Allison World 6 Speed HD4000MH

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#2

Unfortunately, most folks that haven't driven a large coach have no clue!!

Michael Day
1992 Newell 43.5' #281
NewellOwner.com
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#3

You should have told him "since it's only a tree just cut it down to get it out of the way".
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#4

Haha! another great Tom life experience. Here in Louisiana anything over 10,000 pounds is exempt from emissions testing. But we still need a safety inspection each year. When I had the '93 I went to a local place that does DOT truck inspections. I knew his place had the room to maneuver around. I pull up and Sticky comes out and first wants a tour of the coach. After looking around the inside he and I walk around outside, looking at a few of the basement compartments and the engine. We then walk over to his office where he writes up my sticker and hands it to me. Huh? you don't want to see if the lights, brakes, etc. work? Nope! then he said next year to not bother driving the coach over but to just come pick up a new sticker. Gotta love a small town!

Forest & Cindy Olivier
1987 log cabin
2011 Roadtrek C210P
PO 1999 Foretravel 36'
1998 Newell 45' #486 

1993 Newell 39' #337 
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#5

(11-13-2017, 06:02 PM)folivier Wrote:  Haha!  another great Tom life experience.  Here in Louisiana anything over 10,000 pounds is exempt from emissions testing.  But we still need a safety inspection each year.  When I had the '93 I went to a local place that does DOT truck inspections.  I knew his place had the room to maneuver around.  I pull up and Sticky comes out and first wants a tour of the coach.  After looking around the inside he and I walk around outside, looking at a few of the basement compartments and the engine.  We then walk over to his office where he writes up my sticker and hands it to me.  Huh? you don't want to see if the lights, brakes, etc. work?  Nope!  then he said next year to not bother driving the coach over but to just come pick up a new sticker.  Gotta love a small town!

Small towns, love them. The first time I went the guy said why did you drive it over?Next time text me your insurance and the renewal notice and I will call you when your it is done.

1995 # 390
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#6

Good day all,
We just purchased our first Newell #1202 and will be licensing it in Tucson Arizona.  Tom's experiences are some I'd like to avoid as my experience driving are not as extensive and I sure want to avoid scratching or denting my wife's new home. I've been told by IN Self Storage, the only indoor storage capable of storing a coach this size in Tucson, that the emission testing center on Business Center Dr. is where a lot of their customers take their coaches.  But the caveat was "you might want to call them to ask about clearances".  I called the number listed which actually covers all the emission testing centers in Tucson.  A very pleasant YOUNG lady answered and also referenced the Business Center Dr. location. Are the recommendations trustworthy?  Will I be repeating some of Tom's experiences?  Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated, thanks.
Bob

Sandy and Bob McBratney
Previous owners of 2007 Newell #1202  "Boomer" 
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#7

Thank god we don’t have to fool with emissions testing and yearly inspections in FL.

Michael and Mona Corrigan
2008 Newell #1248
2010 Mini Cooper S
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#8

The truckers often have GOAL stickers on their mirrors. It stands for get out and look.

Given the consequences, I would take an inspection trip to the inspection place in a car before I wrestled the beast into a tight place.

Richard and Rhonda Entrekin
99 Newell, 512
Maverick Hybrid Toad
Inverness, FL (when we're home Cool )
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#9

Tom, I wonder where All Aboard America take their buses for inspections?  I had your experience  crossing the Canadian border in Washington state a few years back.  We were re-entering the States and the Canadians blamed the US for directing us into the wrong lane on their side of the border.

Tony Van Helden
2003 Newell #646 2 slide
Tow 2017 Grand Cherokee Trail Hawk
Citroen Charleston  2cv
Spencer, Iowa (summers)
Mesa, Az. (winters)
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