03-04-2020, 06:02 PM
My wife and I have purchased coach 637. We take possession on the 17th.
637 is a 2002 45-foot, four-slide, mid-door, one and a half bath, Series 60-powered coach with an Allison transmission. It was originally built for NASCAR driver Jeff Burton. It does not have over a million miles on it, though it does have over 200,000. I figure the engine should be broken-in nicely by now. During our test driving, my wife and I were impressed with how quiet the coach is. Not a rattle, not a squeak. Virtually no road noise and I could barely hear the engine (with all the interior doors open.)
This will be our third coach. From 2008 through 2014 we lived full-time in a Country Coach Intrigue (with a Cat C12 and a tag axle). We put about 40,000 miles on it, mostly in the west, with three trips east to visit family and friends there. We also spent a wonderful summer working and living at Desert View in Grand Canyon National Park. In 2014 we moved into a new home in Marana, Arizona, a burb of Tucson, and sold the coach. I though we were hanging up our keys for good.
But my wife doesn't want to travel without her beloved cat. He adopted us in early 2009 and was with us for most of the 40,000 miles. So in 2018, we had need to go east for a wedding in Wisconsin and a family reunion in Maryland. I looked at renting something small like a class B Sprinter and had lined one up to rent on the internet. I suggested that my wife go to a few RV dealerships and check them out for size. She decided that the class B was too small and said there was a Winnebago View for sale that was “perfect.” I have a friend with a View -- I do like the Mercedes-Benz chassis. We ended up buying it and we did take it east in 2018 and we went to Banff and British Columbia in 2019. After each trip we cursed that the View was way too small and we needed something bigger.
We were planing to take the View to the Four Corners this summer. But a few weeks ago a YouTube video caught our eyes and we again thought of The Newells. My wife and I looked at them in 2007, including a trip to Miami, when we were shopping for our first coach, but none of the units in our price range had Series 60 engines. We bought the Country Coach, but never stopped looking at The Newells.
So when 637 popped up for sale at a price that seemed doable, we jumped on it. We are a little overwhelmed and our not sure exactly what we are getting ourselves into maintenance-wise, but please believe me when I say that I don't think we would have ever purchased a nearly 20 year-old coach if this blog did not exist. I do know that there are much older coaches than ours still being used and loved. It is a tribute to both Newell Coach Corp. and the community of owners that keep them on the road.
We look forward to becoming part of that community.
We have many questions and will post them in the appropriate forums.
Glenn and Jill
637 is a 2002 45-foot, four-slide, mid-door, one and a half bath, Series 60-powered coach with an Allison transmission. It was originally built for NASCAR driver Jeff Burton. It does not have over a million miles on it, though it does have over 200,000. I figure the engine should be broken-in nicely by now. During our test driving, my wife and I were impressed with how quiet the coach is. Not a rattle, not a squeak. Virtually no road noise and I could barely hear the engine (with all the interior doors open.)
This will be our third coach. From 2008 through 2014 we lived full-time in a Country Coach Intrigue (with a Cat C12 and a tag axle). We put about 40,000 miles on it, mostly in the west, with three trips east to visit family and friends there. We also spent a wonderful summer working and living at Desert View in Grand Canyon National Park. In 2014 we moved into a new home in Marana, Arizona, a burb of Tucson, and sold the coach. I though we were hanging up our keys for good.
But my wife doesn't want to travel without her beloved cat. He adopted us in early 2009 and was with us for most of the 40,000 miles. So in 2018, we had need to go east for a wedding in Wisconsin and a family reunion in Maryland. I looked at renting something small like a class B Sprinter and had lined one up to rent on the internet. I suggested that my wife go to a few RV dealerships and check them out for size. She decided that the class B was too small and said there was a Winnebago View for sale that was “perfect.” I have a friend with a View -- I do like the Mercedes-Benz chassis. We ended up buying it and we did take it east in 2018 and we went to Banff and British Columbia in 2019. After each trip we cursed that the View was way too small and we needed something bigger.
We were planing to take the View to the Four Corners this summer. But a few weeks ago a YouTube video caught our eyes and we again thought of The Newells. My wife and I looked at them in 2007, including a trip to Miami, when we were shopping for our first coach, but none of the units in our price range had Series 60 engines. We bought the Country Coach, but never stopped looking at The Newells.
So when 637 popped up for sale at a price that seemed doable, we jumped on it. We are a little overwhelmed and our not sure exactly what we are getting ourselves into maintenance-wise, but please believe me when I say that I don't think we would have ever purchased a nearly 20 year-old coach if this blog did not exist. I do know that there are much older coaches than ours still being used and loved. It is a tribute to both Newell Coach Corp. and the community of owners that keep them on the road.
We look forward to becoming part of that community.
We have many questions and will post them in the appropriate forums.
Glenn and Jill
Newell #637, 2002, 45', 4 slides, center door, 1.5 bath, Series 60, Allison 4000, ex-Jeff Burton NASCAR coach
Honda 2009 CR-V equipped with M&G Engineering Brake System
)
