[whatsnewell]

After taking numerous trips in our class C in the early 2000's, some as long as 3 weeks, we decided we wanted to work toward fulltiming when we retired.  Of course 'when' is always the $64,000 question.  We knew we wanted something much bigger than the class C (26') and we began to look for our 'next' motorhome in 2007.  In the interim we began talking about how it would work, what our travel style would be.  We spent countless hours sitting outside by our outdoor fireplace discussing it all.  I began reading the blogs of people who lived full time in RV's of all types and descriptions (Tioga and George, RVdreamsjournal, Technomadia, Malimish, Man in the Maze [formerly Airstream Life], WheelingIt, etc) to get a sense of their separate experiences, and what worked for them.

When we began our search for a larger RV we had decided we wanted a 36-38' Class A diesel pusher.  We went to RV shows, looked at a lot of Class A's that were in the 8-10 year old range, and our budget.......we wanted to pay cash....we did not want to be paying on a large loan for years.  We found that virtually all of the coaches in this age range were beginning to look threadbare after just 8-10 years of part time use, which was discouraging.  We wanted to live full time in whatever we bought, and not have to be refurbishing the interior every few years.  One day in February of 2008 I came across a 1982 Newell - 36' on Craigslist of all places.  I had never heard of Newell before, but was totally intrigued and captivated by the look of the Newell Classic.  It was down in the Palm Springs, CA area......we lived about an hour away.  It happened we were going to a wedding in that area the next weekend, so Elaine and I decided we would call the gentleman advertising the Newell and take a look at it while we were in area.  I was a little off put by it's age......26 years at the time........some of these old motorhomes can become money pits.

Well, we arrived at the storage facility where Fred was keeping his 1982 Newell (by the way, up until 2006 the coach had been kept in a climate controlled barn when not in use).  Elaine walked up the steps into the coach first, and before I managed to get to the top of the stairs following her, she was sold......seriously.  I was playing catch up from that point on.  I knew nothing about Detroit Diesel Series 92 two stroke engines.......I knew nothing about diesels period.  We spent close to 2 hours looking into every nook and cranny of the Newell, and then a couple of days after that learning everything about Newells.  I joined the original Newell Classic website and introduced myself.  I received almost immediate responses from Richard, Michael, Tom and several others.  Suddenly I felt like I wasn't all alone if I bought this 26 year old coach.  Well, the rest is history.....by March 1st the 1982 Newell was ours.  

Originally we thought the 1982 Newell would be an interim coach, but the more we got to know 'her' the more settled we became on her becoming our full time home on the road.......we originally planned to retire at the traditional age of 65 and a few months, but after attending a few unexpected funerals of contemporaries we decided to retire at 62, whether, or not we were totally prepared financially and just make it work.

I never doubted we would make the transition with ease, but Elaine was concerned about a lot of things, including living with me 24/7 in what amounts to about 220 square feet.  In December of 2010, a little over a year before we would retire, I suggested to Elaine that we lease out our home, and move into the Newell in a local Riverside County RV park (Rancho Jurupa Regional Park....about 13 miles from our home) for a year before she retired, so she could see if it would work for her.  She agreed, and by February 1, 2011 we had tenants, and a one year lease signed, and had moved out of our home, and into the Newell.  To keep costs down we became volunteers at the park cleaning their 6 park model cabins once a week.  In exchange we lived rent free for 12 months.....we spent about 10-12 hours combined per week cleaning the cabins, and it worked out quite well.

Within 6 months Elaine told me she would see herself living full time with me in the small space that was 1/10th the size of our 'sticks and bricks' home.  As of today, January 1st, we have been living in our Newell for 47 months, and have been traveling full time for the past 35 months.  

Since we bought the Newel (it had 103,000 miles on the Detroit Diesel 6V92) we have put on 47,000 miles.  The only major mechanical issues have been replacing the gear driven water pump on the 6V92, which I did myself, replacing the front and rear air ride valves which I did with the help of Tom at his home in Arizona, replacing the cruise control, and just regular maintenance stuff life replacing tires that have aged out, changing oil, and filters.  Otherwise it has not been a money pit at all.  We have found we live quite well on the road on way less money.....we have no utilities, no car payments, no motorhome payment, no mortgage payment (the lease covers that), etc.

We love the life style and being able to change our view on a regular basis without going through escrow.  After almost 3 years on the road we cannot see and end point at this time.  We are both in good health with no on going medical issues.....no medications, etc.  We are so glad we hit the road early.......you do not know when your number is going to be up, so don't put it off too long.  We have barely scratched the surface "seeing everything".  We have met some amazing people along the way, and have developed this sort of mobile community of people we see a few times a year as we all criss cross the USA.  Our purchase of our 1982 Newell came with something we did not anticipate, or expect.....a whole new circle of amazing people who have become very good friends.  We have attended 3 Newell mini rallies organized by the good people of this website.  

In short, you do not have to spend 300-400,000 dollars to enjoy this life style.  We paid $39,000 for our coach.....we own it.....no payments.  While we always enjoy the much larger 46 foot Newells with their slides, we love our small space.  Of course, over the 6 years we have owned our Newell we have made some changes to the interior layout that better suit our life style, which has made it even more comfortable.