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Are Newell's expensive to maintain?
#1

We looked at a Newell yesterday at a used RV Dealer and he told us that Newell's are not good coaches to own for full time RV'ers that want to move around and see America because of the high cost of repairing them, especially the air system that runs so many parts of the coach.  He told us stories of people that he knows that have paid $30,000 to $60,000 on repairs just so they could trade them in, any input would be appreciated.
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#2

So a used RV salesman said not to buy his coach cause it was expensive to maintain? That seems a little fishy to me. Maybe the coach was a consignment and the sales guy didn’t get as much commission?

I may be in the minority here but have owned my coach for 10 years. I have found that the air system is not all that complicated if you pay attention and are willing to do some work yourself. Newell used a lot of push-on air fittings which will start leaking over time. It is a simple matter to swap one out with a DOT type fitting. The air compressors are also fairly inexpensive. So 60k to fix an air system problem is not a reality.

Some folks have had expensive fixes (including me) but those are not specific to Newell. Blowing up a differential is going to be a bad day for a Newell or a Prevost or any other diesel pusher.

These are million dollar machines and just because depreciation has lowered the price of a particular coach doesn’t mean that it will be less costly to repair. A Newell just like any other coach will cost a fair bit to move up and down the road. Many folks use 10k per year as a budget for repairs. Take a few years off of keeping up with repairs and you may find 30k in deferred maintenance.

If you compare a Newell to a comparable Prevost you will find that one of the main differences is the number of slides. Newell has a ton of floor space (probably the most in the industry)…but this comes at a price. The slides are a source of expense due to the seals which need to replaced every 10 years or so. For coaches newer than 2003, the bearings can be a maintenance item.

Once last thought. What would the used RV dealer say would be a good coach for full timers? For me the safety and build quality of Newells are at the very top of the industry. Yes, you could buy a cheaper RV without all the bells and whistles of a Newell…it *might* be less expensive to repair…but it wont be safer than a Newell. And…at the end of the day….it wont be a Newell.

For what it’s worth.

Bill

Bill Johnson
Birmingham, Alabama
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#3

Yes, and No. It depends on the age and condition of the coach, and how handy you are with a wrench. If you are not oriented toward doing some tracking down of air leaks and depend on Newell to do it for you, that could cost you more than a thousand dollars a year. Tires on any large coach should be replaced every 5-7 years, batteries may need replacement on a similar schedule. Using any high quality products, you could be looking at $500-$1,000 per tire (8 tires) and $200-$600 per battery (4 to 8 8D batteries depending on the year model).

I don't doubt that some have deferred maintenance to the point that it did cost $30-$60,000 to bring them up to snuff but short of an engine or transmission failure in an older coach, that should be rare unless they have trashed the interior and needed an interior remodel which can be pricey. If you keep up with routine maintenance, and I include tracking down small air leaks in routine maintenance, there is no reason to have your coach get to the point that it needs that kind of maintenance. If you are talking about a fairly new coach, you are talking about very complex systems on a $2,000,000 vehicle/home and if $10,000 per year in maintenance is a big deal, you are in the wrong market since your depreciation on the vehicle will be many times that amount. If you are talking about a used Newell from the 1900's or early 2000's, and you have someone else do everything, $5-$10,000 a year for maintenance unless you have a major failure such as radiator, engine, transmission should be reasonable. If you do work yourself on the little stuff and find a local company to do oil changes, etc. You can cut those costs in half.

I have had my coach for 16 years and have lost much more on depreciation than I have spent on maintenance. Coaches that are not used are more likely to need more maintenance than coaches that are used regularly where the owner is aware of things that are not working properly and address them.

We have a number of handy Gurus on this site that could likely trade their coach in today and not have to spend a penny on it but I have seen coaches for sale that needed $10,000's of work to get them ready to go. When I bought my coach, I had to replace all the tires and batteries, although the prior owner paid for them. Those tires were 12 years old although they did have decent tread there was no question they were rotted and unsafe.

I have been very pleased with my older Newell and do not consider the maintenance costs I have incurred to be unreasonable. That is the reason that having maintenance records is important.

Michael Day
1992 Newell 43.5' #281
NewellOwner.com
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#4

Are you mechanically inclined? If so don't be afraid. From what I've read on this forum and been told they are only expensive if you let someone else do the work.

There is a thread where one Guru tracked down his air leaks and never went under the coach. It amounted to replacing all push on fittings with DOT fittings. Push-ons are great for manufacturing speed but not for long term use. Some Gurus have gotten their air systems to not run the compressor once or twice in 24 hours from every 30 minutes.
I plan on spending a few thousand dollars each year for the first two years to get my coach up to snuff. After that it is mostly preventive maintenance and fixing things as they fail.

Of the coaches I've looked at Newells are far better for full timing than other conversion buses. These have a lot systems but they aren't complicated to trouble shoot when we stop and think about common sense troubleshooting techniques (after we get over jumping to the worst conclusion possible). This forum is a huge repository of information and experience. The Gurus have helped me and I expect to pass that help along to others.

Salesmen speak --- be wary of it.

Fulltiming said it better than I could. I agree with him 100%.

Hank & Natalie Bensley
2001 Double Slide #586. 
2021 Cherokee Trailhawk Toad
We've been RV owners since 2002.
Port Orange, FL. Soon we will travel full time for "a while" Smile
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#5

To add to all of the above excellent responses Newells are one of the very few coaches that are built to be used fulltime. They are all custom built to the owners desires. Unfortunately especially in these crazy times not all Newells for sale have been kept up and maintained to a high standard. This is where a bargain may turn out to be expensive. Deferred maintenance on a Newell (or any other SOB) can turn a bargain into a money pit.
Also except for a very few used RV dealers most other dealers don't have a clue of what a Newell actually is. They are probably more used to selling SOB's that cost new a fraction of what a Newell did.
Having owned 2 Newells and now in a Foretravel there is nothing out there that can compare to a Newell, these can be exceptional bargains used.

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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#6

My epiphany came when I bought a bicycle from a friend that owned a bike shop. He said, "buy quality, it only hurts once". Basically, if you don't enjoy using what you're buying, it won't get used. This is very true in the RV field, there are a lot of RVs out there that are not a pleasure to drive.

This only applies to initial build quality, after that it's care and maintenance. I believe you to be taking the correct approach, check out owner forums on anything you're thinking about buying, much better information than you'll get from an RV salesman with unknown motives.

Jon & Chris Everton
1986 40' Dog House #86
450 hp ISM 5 spd ZF Ecomat 2
2004 Range Rover L322 Toad
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#7

TravelAmerica,

The short answer is yes.  Now for the long answer:

Three years ago I was in your shoes.  People telling me point blank that you shouldn't own a Newell, a Prevost or a Foretravel because of the maintenance costs.  Yet, despite everyone's opinion I still went with the Newell.  Why?  Because the Newell spoke to me, just like it spoke to you despite of what your used RV salesman said.  You're doing your due diligence and verifying for yourself because deep down, you really want the Newell.  I've got good news and bad news.  The bad news is that you're always going to want the Newell over the Winnebago, the Newmar, the Country Coach, the Tiffin and the Monaco.  The good news is Newells can be just as expensive or inexpensive as the aforementioned coaches, depending on your desire to learn and educate yourself to do the work yourself.  In order to answer your question intelligently we need to clarify two things: what is your definition of "expensive" and how much do you like getting your hands dirty?  

If you can't budget $5000-10,000 per year for maintenance or choose not to do the work yourself to own the "Bentley of coaches" then your search for a Newell should stop right here.  Thanks for stopping by, good luck in your search and it was a pleasure knowing you.



Oh, you're still here?  See, I knew you wanted the Newell.  Ok, a couple things you're going to need.  You're going to need a BIG toolbox (I have yet to see any coach on the road without a toolbox.)  Second, you're going to want to cancel Netflix and spend all your free time reading this forum.  Every question, every problem, every ankle biter has been asked three different ways and answered ten different ways.  The answers you're looking for is buried in these threads.  We are here to help you just like they've helped me.

I've written that maintenance check in the past for $30,000 to make someone else wealthy.  Ouch!  After that financial holocaust I chose to keep the Newell and would never make such a stupid mistake again.  With the knowledge that I gained from reading this forum I could've done that same job myself for less than $7500.  Yes, you have to crawl under the coach, yes you will have bleeding knuckles and grease up to your elbows, and yes you will drop the f bomb a few times.  BUT, when you're done and pop a beverage of your choice and can sit back and admire your work; knowing that you just saved thousands of dollars AND you get to keep the Newell AND you get to keep the knowledge that you gained forever.  People ask me all the time how I can afford a Newell.  The answer is this forum.  Everything on a Newell is fixable.  It's a marathon, not a sprint.  Unless you're on the side of the road nothing has to be fixed right then.  Schedule your maintenance out strategically so you don't get hit one year and nothing the next two or three years.  The Newell will last.  There are several coaches in the 1990's era that are still on the road and looking sharp!  How many 90's Winnebagos or Tiffins do you see on the road?
 
Lastly, let's not forget two more HUGE advantages of a Newell over the ex-brands.  1.)  Newell has 24 hour emergency assistance.  If you're stuck on the side of the road at 3am on Christmas Day, you make one phone call and within 20 minutes they will help you through it for free.  That same scenario in anything else and you're on your own.  That perk alone is a reason to go with Newell.  2.) Have you ever seen a motorhome accident?  I have and it isn't pretty.  At least I thought it was a motorhome.  I couldn't tell since it was completely destroyed and ripped into a million pieces with the "glue together screw together" production line brands.  On the contrary, a Prevost, Newell and Foretravel are basically steel shells and will remain intact even after a rollover.  You asked if a Newell was expensive to maintain.  There are several other factors that you need to take into account that doesn't have a price tag attached to it.  What is the price of a life?

I hope that helps.  Don't take a used RV salesman's advice.  He just wants to get that Bounder off his lot.  But seriously - Newells can and will eat you alive if you don't know what you're doing.  Knowledge is power.  You're doing the right thing by doing your research and making an educated decision.

Vinnie 

2003 Newell Coach #667, Triple slide
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#8

Vinnie,

Good to hear from you! Your words are dead-on accurate.

bill

Bill Johnson
Birmingham, Alabama
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#9

TA, Vinnie mentioned the destruction of the RV if an SOB, some other brand, which he listed, is involved in an accident. One of the forums I read recently had pictures of an SOB that came down an exit ramp, got off the road, glanced off of a tree and rolled. The highest part of the wreck was chest high. The first responders dug him out of the wreckage and took him to the ICU. They dug his wife out and took her to the morgue.

So, I and the folks posting here own, maintain and drive coaches that will survive a crash, our fault or not. Lots cheaper than replacing the wife.

Rudy Legett
2003 Foretravel U320 4010
ISM11 450 hp Allison 4000R
Factory Authorized Aqua Hot Repair Center
Southeast Texas Area
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#10

A friend bought a Wanderlodge. It has cost him a surprisingly large amount of money in repairs, but then again, so did each of the 3 American Eagle RVs and the Airstream that he had, -- SO -- maybe it is him & not the RVs.

Some people are better than others at budgeting than others.

My experience with my classic is that if you start with $10,000 (above purchase cost) and budget another $500 each month --- then you should have enough to maintain it - or at least get home ( even if it is by plane, train, or automobile ) Big Grin

1987 classic #159
8V92 MUI , Allison 740
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