Gurus,
I'd like to give everyone an update on the outcome of this incredible ordeal.
I spoke with a few of you on the phone and carefully read all of your advice and suggestions. I also spoke to a couple attorneys. But the common denominator was "get the coach off their lot now before further damage occurs!" And that's exactly what I did. But first, here is the story.
Richard and Bill both came to the rescue and helped me evacuate the coach from Nichols RV & Truck last week. Huge kudos to them - I could not have done that without them and the coach would still be sitting there today if it wasn't for their expertise. The operation wasn't exactly 'Zero Dark Thirty' but it felt like it to me. It's the same feeling a soldier would get when he knows the Blackhawk helicopter is coming to evacuate him out of a war zone. The coach was found in the same spot, same problems, massive air leak in the seal control bay, a leaking air bag, both air compressors inop, windshield still cracked, and a few days prior to our visit had rain water in the coach with a tarp over one side of the rear with rear slide stuck out. The mechanic admitted that he forgot to put pipe dope on one of the airbags. He also didn't know the coach could flood when the seals are deflated but slides are retracted.
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During this time I was on the phone with Newell explaining what was happening. Newell was rather upset with Nichol's for not calling them 5 months ago and was embarrassed to consider Nichol's RV & Truck as a 'preferred service provider'. They immediately recommended that I contact Kris Jones at Precision Coach Works in Zephyrhills FL, since he's an expert on Valid slides and physically works on Newell coaches all the time. Kris was booked until April but given the circumstances he said come to his shop ASAP and put me down as an emergency arrival.
Richard and I went over the invoice that Jim Nichols finally wrote up. Since they only charged for 'work completed,' Richard and I agreed that it was better to just pay the 20k bill and get the coach off the lot and into Kris's hands, rather than get an attorney involved. So after two days of repair, Richard, Bill and I were able to get just enough air pressure to float the coach on the airbags and get out of there! Off to Precision Coach Works we went: leaks, broken slides and all.
Kris Jones looked at my coach and found the slide control plumbing and wiring completely wrong (including a red wire tied in with a black wire) and rewired and plumbed the whole thing over.
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Within 8 hours Kris had all 3 slides working properly, seals inflated and air leak fixed.
In conclusion, I have learned an unequivocal lesson: educationally and financially. I am much wiser now and are already taking steps so this never happens again. Do I recommend Nichols RV & Truck for your Newell service needs? Rather than tell you my honest thoughts, I would instead direct you to Kris Jones at Precision Coach Works where I HIGHLY recommend without reservation and trust him with my coach and yours 100%. He is a professional who diagnosed and fixed the problem in 8 hours compared to the former who still couldn't fix it after 5 months.
Thank you to all who helped me in this endeavor, and look forward to seeing most of you at the rally in 6 weeks.
Vinnie