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Hi,

i am not advocating any one tire brand here. that said, i put all new michelins on my 2002 a couple of months ago. I used the Micheline Advantage Program to do it. If you are not familiar with it, let me explain the best that i can and share the prices that i got through it.

I also upgraded to the 365 tires for the front since there were no modifications required on my coach.

first of all, the Micheline Advantage Program is a group buying program that requires a membership or belonging to some group. I did it through Dupree Products where i bought the parts for my air dump valves, but a more common place is to do it through FMCA.

It is an unusual process but worked just fine and easily for me.

here is the link to get to it from the FMCA site. you have to have an FMCA account to see it this way.

http://www.fmca.com/join-family-motor-co...how-to-use

if you do not have an FMCA account, here is the direct site at Michelin

http://www.michelintruck.com/michelintru...jsp#mapTop

from dupree products i got a letter with all the info i needed to register on the Michelin site.

i had problems so i called the Advantage help number and a very helpful fellow helped me get registered.

once my account was set up at Michelin, i had to register the credit card i wanted to pay for my tires with. this sits in the account and is not charged till you actually get your tires.

btw, once you have an account you can look at or download the entire product catalog of tires that are available through that program AND the current prices and FET taxes.

now i will share how it worked for me.

i called my local truck tire shop i have used for years. he was very familiar with the advantage program.

here are the prices quoted and they match what i paid.

(for drive and tag) 315 80r 22.5 michelin xza2 energy 586.18 52.83 plus sales $690 total each

(front) 365 70r 22.5 michelin xza 589.36 33.08 $672.00 total each

he didnt have all of them in stock so he ordered them from michelin. (he didnt have the 365's)

about a week later they came in. he required no money from me so far.

i took the coach in and he installed the tires. the way the advantage program works is that you pay the tire shop directly for the mounting and balancing, stems etc so you have to understand what that is going to cost AND they entire in their system that you got the tires and then Michelin bills your credit card for the tires once it goes through their system.

btw, i bought brand new rims for the front tires. i paid ~$1100 for the two rims and sold the old ones for $300 for the pair, net cost of $800.

given that you can keep the front tires on an additional 2 years from an aging perspective (what newell says), it becomes a wash after the first tire change.

so, that is what i did and how it worked for me.

the tire shop had no issue with it at all and said they did it fairly often and it was the best way to get the best prices.

later

tom

            Here is a tool I made to change the gas springs on the side compartment doors.

TIP: If you have the glass mercury tilt switches for the basement light, move it out of the way prior to removing the gas spring or you may break the switch.

i have spent months getting the 2002 all ready to go on a long trip. i took 3.5 weeks vacation and darlene and i, our oldest daughter laura and her two children (yea we have grandkids) willy and katy. 4 and 9 headed off.

i had spent a ton of time working on the newell but no time actually using it for what she was intended for. i dont think they were made just to work on...ha

we did 12 states, about 4300 miles. ran the genny every second we were driving (darlene likes it cold inside) and besides the arizona heat followed us for the first week or so. we did arizona, new mexico, texas, oklahoma, missouri, illinois, indiana, west virginia, kentucy, tennesse, arkansas, kansas.

had small issues but nothing that was a show stopper.

had some of the best newell mechanics work on my rig while we were out. richard, steve bare, jimmy, and a few at newell too while we spent a day there on the way out.

the 5 of us had plenty of room. there were lots of movies watched on the matching 43" 3d tv's and my oldest daughter and i rocked out streaming bluetooth rock and roll to the new kenwood car stereo.

i never did do a complete mileage, but i think it was around 7.5 or so mpg.

since i ran the generator all the time i subtracted 1 gallon for every hor i ran it and then figured the mileage. on smooth flat long roads it was nearer to 8mpg and closer to 7mpg in the hills or mountains.

it pulls the super long steep grades out of arizona just fine, though i did have to slow down to 45mpg or so.

i had the jake brake reprogrammed to come on in 4th gear and it is taking some getting used to but i like it.

i love driving the newell. it is relaxing and like driving a race car.

longest day was 600 miles and most were 400 or so.

we visited lots of friends and also spent almost a week with our son scott in dayton ohio where he is stationed at wright patterson AFB. we spent two days at the air force museum and it is absolutely amazing. i was in the air force for 6 years and worked on fighter bombers and i loved looking at all the planes.

some time with the entrekins who were a fantastic host, the same for the bares and the webbs.

the grandkids loved traveling in the coach and did extremely well.

now once the heat breaks here in arizona in the fall, i will finish the bedroom and other things.

thanks to all of you who have helped me

tom and darlene

I was not asked to do this but i need to make sure all of you know about All Aboard America and Leo the Service Manager in Mesa, AZ.

This is a large charter bus company that has a large repair facility in Mesa, AZ. they run a large fleet of Prevost's and work on high end Coaches. they are outstanding and Leo the service manager is the most customer oriented person you will ever meet. i have taken quite a number of my newell friends there and i believe all have been impressed.

they are very fair and allow you to be right there and even help with the work if you want.

they have a bus lift, full paint booth, and a wealth of knowledge on the 2 stroke detroits (xv92's) and series 60's and newer ones.

it is not uncommon to see celebrity tour buses there or race coaches from the big racing circuits.

Leo has become a friend of mine and i have used him for both my 1990 and my 2002 coaches.

i highly recommend this shop.

All Aboard America
Leo is the service manager, ask for him and tell him Tom sent you

230 South Country Club Drive Mesa, AZ 85210
(480) 222-6940

http://www.allaboardamerica.com/web/Maintenance.aspx

Gang,

I should know the answer to this but I don't. Ok. I admit it!

When I an traveling down the road, with the generator off....am I draining my house batteries to run refrigerator and other stuff? Or, is there some magic way that the house batteries take voltage from the alternator?

Let me ask this another way. If I left Birmingham at 6am and drove at 60 mph for 12 hours. Would I still have ice in my freezer?

Somehow I always assumed that when driving the house batteries were kept charged...but now I don't know. I have not had any troubles...but I had time on my hands so I started thinking...

I know dangerous!

Thanks,
bill

hi all,

i have quite a few of the small inverters that powered the 12" and 18" flourescent bulbs that were in my 1990 ceiling fixtures. they take 12v and turn it into 110v for the tubes. each fixture had one inside it. they have the bulb holders still attached to them yet.

they all worked when i took them out and converted the fixtures to totally LED's.

i gave a bunch to dean and if someone doesnt want them i am going to throw them away soon. first come first serve.

they are free you just have to pay whatever it costs me to ship them.

tom

Many of you enjoy a trip to the "mother ship" in Miami, OK. A visit to the factory can be fun, educational and an opportunity to meet fellow Newell owners. This morning I took a time-lapse movie of the service department waking up.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpNuqXr0Pbk

thought i would welcome the addition of two new Guru Super Moderators.

Clarke and Forest. both graciously accepted to help look over the site and make sure none of you hooligans get out of line.

yea, i did modify the titles a little, the power is going to my head.

please tell anyone you want about our site. it doesnt even show up on google search yet. and we are too cheap to pay for showing up.

our son scott has been really the one doing the hard work so hats off to Scott. (he is an electrical engineer and a Lt in the USAF)

in addition michael has been willing to be tricked into being one of the site admins. such great power he never imagined. along with darlene, scott and I.

thanks to all of you for being so supportive. other than scott and michael, the rest of us dont know what we are doing...

tom and darlene

Don't know if this is something in the forum software or my browser (Firefox 13.0.1) but when I click on a thumbnail picture in someones post it opens in a new tab. Is there a way to have it open in the same tab?

Since I bought my 2002 I have been keeping my precious 1990 in storage.

I have been so busy getting the 2002 fixed up I have not gotten the 1990 ready for sale.

I will add more later, but I have redone, or replaced a ton of things including a complete interior restoration. HDTV's, new coach systems, and been through i think every system in the coach. many of the people on the forum have been inside it and know what i have done. there are pictures and an exhaustive journey of what i did to her at the newellclassic forum. if you look in the gallery there (i will post them on this gallery as well) you can see the pictures.

currently all is well with it other than it needs a good exterior polishing and she will shine like new. i will add more as to what has been done as i get time.

the Price is fair and if you contact me i can tell you more.

yea, i know, i am not much of a salesman.

but if you see her, you will fall in love. Drives and rides like a big caddy and is much more nimble than my 45' tag 2002. the 90 is a single rear axle.

tom in mesa, az