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Hi We are Mario and Jennifer Hodgson. We are new Coach (554) owners for 3 years now but have not been actively using our coach due to medical issues. Recently we have been able to make our first trip out to Ozark Luxury RV Resort  http://www.ozarksrvresortontablerocklake.com/ and feel like we may be able to make more in the future. Wanted to introduce ourselves to the community as active users now! Hopefully we can contribute and use the forum as we learn along the way.

If you ever had one or more airbags replaced by any shop, would you please share info on how many hours of labor your repair shop charged you?
Please say how many airbags and how many hours of labor. You don't have to disclose the rate or total.

I am asking for this info from you because I just got an invoice from my repair shop. Kind of shocked to see the total labor charge of $9362 for replacing 6 airbags and 3 leveling valves.  This is labor only charge, not including material (air bags I bought from Newell directly, then brought to the shop). (Total bill is slightly over 10K which includes some other chargers like screws, washer, tire disposal fee $100, etc). I'd like to get some of your experience in replacing airbags/leveling valves.

Some background: 
Later in March this year (2022), I drove my 2004 Coach 701 to a repair shop because the coach leaned to the passenger side.
Upon inspection, the shop recommends replacing 2 airbags on the drive axle.  Newell didn't have the replacement airbags in stock then, so I bought 4 from Europe and sent them to the shop; I sent a total of 4 airbags (2 extra than originally requested), just in case they'd say all 4 need to be replaced.
The shop only used 2 of the 4 airbags supplied. When finished, the bill was over $4K. 

Then on the picking-up day of the coach, this happened, it was towed back to the shop. This time the shop suggested replacing all airbags and 3 leveling valves. 
So, the labor charge for replacing 2 airbags for $4k, then replacing another 6 airbag for $9K. These figures are labor only, not including any parts charge. 

I bought the needed hardware (airbags, leveling valves, new batteries, etc.) and then brought it to the shop. Although they did use some screws, washers, etc, those are charged separately from the labor. 
When I delivered the new 8D batteries, I took back the 2 dead ones in the engine bay (measured only 4V), and put them on a charger for 24 hours. Then tested with a battery tester; surprisingly, the test results show they are still good batteries and charges held well. These 2 batteries from the engine bay are dated 03/22. The 6 batteries from the house, with date stamp 03/19, they were also ~4v, most won’t charge, although 2 of them seem okay after recharging.

Saw 2 beutiful Newells traveling south on I35 today, in Oklahoma, headed towards Texas. One was towing a silver pickup truck and one had a GMC suv. The latter coach passed us twice. I imagine they stopped for something and we were going on, then they got going again and passed us. We were in the red Volvo with a smart car on the truck bed and a 45 foot Teton Reliance in tow. I was driving so I couldn't get a picture.
We ended up parking in Waco. During this stay we are driving east to see two Newells. We might just have one by next week........
Y'know those two Newells were eye popping! So different from other coaches. You can see them as Newells from quite a distance.....

1983 Newell - email me for more details. Email is [email protected]

Asking 25k or best offer - need it gone! [email protected]
Located in St George Utah

Hi all - I just saw this for sale in RVTrader: 

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2005-Ne...5023125673

Beautiful coach. It has over 200k miles. Anybody know anything about the history of this one?

Does anyone know where I can get the Tag axle airbags for a 1993 #312? Leo would have to call Newell to find them. I already left a message to Newell but hoping these maybe a generic part number we can get locally. This is the only hold back from the trip which is already a day behind.

Thanks guys!

I had taken my coach to a shop to have the air bag hoses replaced. At first, the coach would air down from left to right. First shop could not get hoses tight enough and charged me for other work not completed. I took the coach to Leo at All Aboard America and he, another guy and myself were under the coach shoving a 24" long wrench enough to tighten all the airbag hoses. We sprayed and checked every fitting related to that. I am super confident that we got the air hose leaks from previous shop. When I got home, I notice the coach now airs down from right to left. We are leaving for a cross country trip on Sunday and wondering if it will be ok. There were micro air bubbles in the tag bags but the rubber is not damaged. Leo felt they are ok for the run. Seems this coach degraded itself in the year I have had it regarding the suspension. Any words of encouragement? (Simon, stop worrying, air it down when you park and enjoy your trip!)?

This is yesterday at AAA in Mesa. Leo is an outstanding guy. At first it was like "hold the flashlight for me" and then it turned out to "can you lend an arm to push?!"

The last pic is the obligatory "Holding up the bus with one hand"!

Finally got a chance to do some minor engine detailing.  The chromed air induction pipes had spotted rust, road grime  & caked on dirt.  To say the least they looked bad.  I had tried several products in-situ with not much success.  I picked up some Bar Keepers Friend Soft Cleanse and a green Scotch-Brite pad to give it a try.  It worked so good on a spot clean that I removed the pipes for a thorough cleaning.  Literally within five minutes of scrubbing the pipes looked amazing.  I even scrubbed the SS clamps....if you look at the engine pic at the clamps you can see the difference from the ones I didn't clean. I then went after the stuff I didn't take off like stainless and bright aluminum.  The BKF worked better than I had hoped for and will keep it around the shop.

Today was the day to search for the leak between the supply and the drivers side rear slide seal.  I put a shutoff valve inline with a gauge to see how fast it leaks.  The bedroom slide cover at the ceiling was removed exposing the pneumatic connection.  The connection does not appear to be leaking, no bubbles and no acoustic noise.  Regardless of what I discover I will put a compression fitting on the air line.

My wife and I retired a few years back and travelled the USA and part of Canada in our 24' airstream interstate, we have put 55k miles on it in 6 years and its been a lot of fun and easy to just get in and go. We have decided to spend 3 months in a warmer climate but the 24' RV is a little to crowded for that amount of time so we have been RV shopping. Newell in Miami is just 50 miles as the bird fly's and we have always admired their coaches and quality so we are shopping for a Newell. 
I'm a gear head at heart and a retired electronic tech so challenges are so of fun for me.