[Junior Guru]

You'll find a biased crowd here fo certain!

I was in the same shoes you were a couple of years ago. Older Newell vs newer XYZ brand. And it was our first motor coach purchase. After renting two different class A's, I decided if I couldn't get better quality than what I rented I wouldn't get a motorhome at all. My thought were these $300k motor homes I rented were essentially travel trailers with a motor/chassis as far as interior quality and I expected more. We looked at other newer models of other brands too.

Let me explain what I mean by quality. I see quality as the quality of the end user experience, not necessarily the technical reason behind it (although they are usually related). So here are my initial experiences that led me to Newell, but as I dug in deeper there were many reasons.

1. Cabinet and doors. We ripped off a flimsy cabinet door and our bedroom door wouldn't shut on our first trip in other coach. My family is rough on this kind of thing. I saw a Newell and knew this would not be a problem. My opinion is if corners are cut on something that you can see, what corners are cut on things you can't see?

2. Driving experience. I live in constant 20-30mph winds across Kansas. The other two coaches were terrible to drive in cross winds and were very rough and difficult driving in general. It was a chore driving the others. Every bump was accompanied by rattles and shakes. Newells both old and new drive like butter in comparison and no rattles other than your dishes! This was a HUGE difference in experience. It's actually pleasurable to drive Newells and most owners prefer driving them long distances than their cars. I know I do.

3. Insulated and quiet. In the heat of the summer or cold of the winter the others didn't stay as warm or cold. But worse for me was how loud they were. Newells are almost air tight and very quiet in comparison. Bedrooms are like a cocoon!

4. Stability. Floors are like walking on concrete in a Newell! The others felt like a trailer in comparison. A good test is to jump up and down and compare. Be careful though, if you're over 200lbs you might break the floor of some coaches. You'll just break your back in a Newell!

5. Windows and views. Newells have bigger windows and more light. Lots of motor homes feel closed in to me.

6. Slide outs. The Newell years I was looking at had bigger slides and had flat floors. We had a slide out get stuck in other coach. The quality of slides were not comparable.

7. Appearance. I've owned two Newells a 2003 and 2013. The 2003 paint job and side panels looked like it was brand new and almost no difference compared to newer one even after 11 years. Newells look "new" for a very long time. This is not the case with most other coaches of any brand.

8. Factory support/sevice.

I am not the most technically educated or mechanically inclined either but I've managed to fix many things on both Newells. The factory support is second to none. They have helped me with many things. Secondly this forum and the folks on it are a huge help. As you learn how the various systems work it gets easier and before too long you will be helping some other Newell owner fix his coach!

Good luck!