Tammy, based on what I read, I predict you will be just fine. Perhaps budget more the first year to be sure the tires, batteries and other maintenance puts the coach in top shape. Take a good look at Forest's coach which is at Motorhomes of Texas, and be absolutely sure to attend the Newell Guru rally it Lake Taho in early June. Meet the folks and you will learn more about a Newell that you can obtain anywhere else. Good luck.
Sounds like you have done your homework. In many years, maintenance will not be terrible but when it comes time to replace tires or batteries you will be glad you have a nest egg saved up.
We sold our home of 15 years back in 2000 and fulltimed for 9-1/2 years. Don't regret a minute of it.
(03-09-2015, 08:26 AM)Chester Stone Wrote: [ -> ]Tammy, based on what I read, I predict you will be just fine. Perhaps budget more the first year to be sure the tires, batteries and other maintenance puts the coach in top shape. Take a good look at Forest's coach which is at Motorhomes of Texas, and be absolutely sure to attend the Newell Guru rally it Lake Taho in early June. Meet the folks and you will learn more about a Newell that you can obtain anywhere else. Good luck.
Looks like Forest's coach is already "sale pending."
Welcome Tammy to the best Coach forum on the net. The people on this site are as helpful a group as you will ever find. One item that has not been mentioned, so far, is the option of buying directly from Newell. Not knowing your budget, you may want to visit the Factory, they are extremely pleasant and have quite a few trade-ins on site. It's a plus just getting to meet the people you may be dealing with in the future and they will give you a tour so you'll see how this great product is built. If you purchase a coach directly from Newell, and it is less than 10 years old it comes with a bumper to bumper warranty, which can be very valuable since most surprises of owning a "previously loved" coach will occur early to the new owner. We bought our coach directly from Newell and our alternator quit working on our way home from the factory delivery. Old tires, batteries and other areas of neglect may be easy to determine by an inspection but some other items can just give out. Not trying to sell a coach for Newell, but just giving you another option, especially since you'll be traveling alone and have very little experience when it comes to a complex Motor coach. The 24/7/365 service line is invaluable. Good luck in your quest and future travels!
Interesting. Two roof airs and two basement airs. The roof units were added later by the looks of the ceiling shot.
Looks like, at least on the curb side, that the basement a/c units have been removed.
Chester, they are on the drivers side. Mine are both on the drivers side and I like it that way because it is less noise while visiting outside.
Hi Tammy and welcome to the group! You are one the very few brave women treading these waters. My wife and I have been full-time on/off for over 15 years and have owned #478 for about 6 months. We have put in way over $10k in our first year (just the new tires and upgraded rims which are HIGHLY recommended for our vintage) were close to $10k... Don't let this scare you though, I look at it as insurance, a blow out on the road will cost way more than a tire/wheel does! You are getting good advice for the slush fund. Plan to spend $10-15k the first year fixing what the previous owners did not fix (there WILL be some things you or an inspector will not see!) and then after that I always figure $1/mile for maintenance and that has always worked for us. I will say this MOT is honest and David the owner is a very nice guy! We were dealing with Mel Cordray and he was just awesome to deal with. If we hadn't have found this coach sitting in a barn waiting for us we would have definitely bought from Mel!
They have a 'PDI' Pre-Delivery Inspection that you can pay to have done or take it across the street to Foretravel and have one done (or do your own). These coaches and systems are very similar (other than the basement airs and the PDI would cover 90% of the problems easily. Tires (7 years max) and batteries (have them stress tested independently) are the big money gobblers along with the slide seals. We are finally breaking down and buying awnings for our slides from ZipDee because they have newer ones that do NOT lock down (they get ripped off the coach if you forget to unlock them). There are a ton of systems on these coaches. Bring a VIDEO camera (or your phone) and video the whole coach while someone walks through showing you everything! You can review it on the plane ride home if nothing else!
Have you considered RENTING a coach to find out if you really like living in one or have you been in one for weeks on end? As far as knowing about diesels you are getting into the right vintage, these S60 Detroits are awesome beasts and don't have many problems (get the fan checked on the coach and the radiator too), the transmissions are pretty much bullet proof and honestly the drive train is the least (although expensive) piece of the pie...
Good luck and let us know how it all comes out - just remember there are lots of coaches out there and you will find the perfect one for you!