[Fulltiming]

#511 has just been listed on RVTrader.  You may remember it was listed at Motorhomes of Texas last summer.

Asking $114,995 which is about $25k less than last summer.

http://www.rvtrader.com/listing/1999-New...-114004919

[roadtriptammy]

#511 has just been listed on RVTrader.  You may remember it was listed at Motorhomes of Texas last summer.

Asking $114,995 which is about $25k less than last summer.

http://www.rvtrader.com/listing/1999-New...-114004919

Hellloooo, Everyone!  My name is Tammy, I live in Seattle, and I am transitioning to full-time this Summer.  I am in the process of looking at coaches, and I have fallen in love with Newells.  I don't understand why anyone would buy a new gas RV with no heart or soul in the $100,000 range when they can buy an older model luxury Newell!

My last day at work is March 31.  I am putting my house on the market on May 1, holding an estate sale the first weekend of June to sell all the furnishings and belongings, then moving into a coach and beginning my next chapter.

I am looking at #511 in Texas on April 2.  A few questions for all of you (and thank you so much for having this welcoming and informative forum): 1) Does anyone have any history on 511?  2) Can anyone recommend someone in the Dallas Fort Worth area who can meet me with the owner and inspect the coach (cursory inspection - not in a garage)?  I am in no way handy and would not know a diesel from a hot rock. If found some companies on Google, but I'm hoping for someone who is already a Newell owner, better yet someone here at the forum, whom I can compensate for his time.

By the way, here is a video of the coach when it was for sale through Motorhomes of Texas. I'd appreciate any thoughts you have after viewing it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKFBM4DAeDY

Finally, (and I read through all the forums here as a lurker before I joined), I welcome any thoughts and/or advice you have about: 1) full-timing 2) as a single woman 3) who relies on experts for mechanical repairs 4) in a Newell 5) with a dog and cat.

Looking forward to getting to know all of you and hearing about your adventures,

Tammy

[bikestuff]

Welcome Tammy,

I agree with the thoughts of a Newell vs any other motorhome. I travel with two large dogs and the coach is great for that. This particular coach does not have an air-door so it would be safer for pets. (Once an air-door starts, its going to keep moving even if a dog/cat is in the way).

The light colors in this coach are pretty, but my dogs bring in a fair amount of grit and grime. So a darker carpet color may be desirable.

As far as having work done...It will be important to find someone local who can do maintenance. (These are complex machines and even the best of them will require tweaks now and then).

Cheers,
bill

[encantotom]

hi tammy and welcome,

bill is spot on. even if you are pretty handy, you will still need a local bus/diesel mechanic familiar with detroits. hopefully someone that is in that area can offer some suggestions.

i tend to like smaller or more personalized shops as opposed to a large chain truck repair shop. but they are harder to find.

tom

[Yachts]

Tammy my suggestion to you would be as follows. Agree on a price subject to inspection. Have owner send it to Newell or you pay to have it sent to Newell. 300 miles cost about 150$ in fuel.. Newell for around 1000$ will go through the coach top to bottom and give you the true lowdown on any issues and a cost to fix.. Best money you can spend.. If you are looking for a double slide coach. Forrest Oliver's is same vintage and with the way he kept it up I would be comfortable not having it inspected.

If you have any questions feel free to call me at 918-852-4157

[Ozarkguy]

Welcome Tammy ..

Plenty knowledge here.. Worth the $$ if you can arraigne Newell look see.
Don't know if you've been to this site.. http://www.rvingwomen.org
Might give you some helpful tips..

[roadtriptammy]

Thank you, everyone, for the information thus far, and to Jeff Shoop for the PM. What a welcoming group! Makes me want to own a Newell even more.

[77newell]

I would like to offer a few cautionary thoughts, hopefully without being negative. These coaches are incredibly complex and while not requiring a lot of maintenance, they are not cheap to own, especially if you have to pay someone to do it. If i recall correctly (a risky proposition at my age) several people on this site and the former site have noted annual expenses in the $10,000 or more range, even while doing some of the work themselves. That is an average, some years are probably much higher with other years lower. My 77 coach ranged from $1,200 to about $7,000. My 93 coach is recent enough to me to be unknown. This is a problem for someone like Tammy only if they don't see it coming.

Another surprise for many is that financing is nearly impossible on these older coaches. If someone expects to finance the purchase they will probably be disappointed, especially if they have gotten excited about a particular coach and then find out financing isn't available.

Finally, we humans are lousy predictors of what will make us happy. Unless someone has spent extended time living in an rv they can't really know how they will react to the reality. It may work out wonderfully, but it may make you miserable. Unless someone has extensive experience living in an rv I would think it wise to have a clear exit plan, a plan for how to move back to bricks and mortar. It is awesome to full time, if it suits you. The only way to find out if it suits you is to do, but be cautious about making it too hard to reverse until experience supplies the answer.

I don't know enough about Tammy's situation to know how much of these thoughts apply in her situation. These are the thoughts I had as I read her postings here.

[roadtriptammy]

I appreciate your comments!  They are not negative at all; forewarned is forearmed.  Financing will not be an issue, and I'll be setting aside a "rainy day fund" for the unknowns, as well as funds for regular maintenance.  Before I read your post I was estimating $5,000 per year for repairs and maintenance, knowing of course that catastrophes can occur that no one anticipates.  Just to be safe, I'll work $10,000 per year into my budget, and hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised and a little flush at the end of a year.

Regarding full-timing, I have been a trailer owner for eight years, which gives me some experience (well, at least more than those who go to full-time who have never owned any sort of recreational vehicle!).  I have been reading, researching, and following full-timers' blogs for about two years now.  My plan is to full-time and travel the country for about two years, which is how I will choose the next place I want to live.  This is the next thing that leads to the next thing; it's not the last thing!     I'll eventually be back in a sticks and bricks ... maybe.  For the first time in twenty years, I can't tell you what I'll be doing next year, and it feels great.

[77newell]

Tammy, that's great. For at least my wife and I the transition to retirement has been littered with surprises. They have not been bad surprises necessarily, it's just different than expected in soooo many ways. We too used our Newell to explore where to live, our problem was that we loved virtually every place we visited. Ultimately it became clear that full-timing just isn't us, and we chose to live near our granddaughters. One huge surprise was for me to just fall in love with those girls and their antics (I may feel differently when they are teenagers). In the meantime, we are now in Florida enjoying the warmth instead of shoveling snow in really cold temperatures.

I wish you the best and you won't find a better support group than this one right here.