06-11-2018, 11:33 PM
We love to boondock, and we did so in our Newmar before we got the Newell. We retrofitted the Newell specifically to improve dry camping longevity (power, water consumption), although those improvements also make transit from one RV park to another more pleasant as well.
After two months on the road now full time, I can tell you that our 44'8" Newmar was slightly more flexible off road than the Newell. The Newell has a broader array of stuff hanging down low that reduces clearance, and curbover strikes more often. (However, being able to manually air up to clear something can really help with one-shot obstacles where you have time to dial in the bags.) The Dutch Star we drove before also had a low-hanging Aquahot exhaust, but otherwise I think it was about two inches higher. Those two inches were significant.
So far I have dragged the Newell into some muddy roads (not too bad, but not great), power-slid it around a corner on a loamy dirt road where a big rig going the other way (in an oil field/national grassland) forced me to the side, camped on the alkali flats for Burning Man, and driven about a mile across a bumpy grass field for the solar eclipse. I have NOT tried a packed sand beach, although I asked the lead mechanic at Newell if he thought it could pull it off, and he said "maybe." Ha, ha.
I've had some issues with dust and dirt. Namely, at Burning Man, my jury-rigged genset filtration eventually failed, and I had to remove it to make power. That ingested dust eventually killed the blower fan motor, although it took a while for it to die. Also, lately on a few dry dirt roads, I've observed a fine dust making it through the edge of one of my rear slides. Not sure if that means I'm about to lose a slide seal or what, but I didn't get dust incursion on the Newmar.
In general, I think the differences between a Tiffin/Newmar and Newell are not that much insofar as boondocking is concerned. You can get in a lot of places if you're careful and a little reckless. You definitely have to be willing and able pay for repairs and towing and whatever else. We are; it is just part of the operating cost for us. All of which is absolutely worth it, for the unique spots and experiences, for us.
Good luck...
After two months on the road now full time, I can tell you that our 44'8" Newmar was slightly more flexible off road than the Newell. The Newell has a broader array of stuff hanging down low that reduces clearance, and curbover strikes more often. (However, being able to manually air up to clear something can really help with one-shot obstacles where you have time to dial in the bags.) The Dutch Star we drove before also had a low-hanging Aquahot exhaust, but otherwise I think it was about two inches higher. Those two inches were significant.
So far I have dragged the Newell into some muddy roads (not too bad, but not great), power-slid it around a corner on a loamy dirt road where a big rig going the other way (in an oil field/national grassland) forced me to the side, camped on the alkali flats for Burning Man, and driven about a mile across a bumpy grass field for the solar eclipse. I have NOT tried a packed sand beach, although I asked the lead mechanic at Newell if he thought it could pull it off, and he said "maybe." Ha, ha.
I've had some issues with dust and dirt. Namely, at Burning Man, my jury-rigged genset filtration eventually failed, and I had to remove it to make power. That ingested dust eventually killed the blower fan motor, although it took a while for it to die. Also, lately on a few dry dirt roads, I've observed a fine dust making it through the edge of one of my rear slides. Not sure if that means I'm about to lose a slide seal or what, but I didn't get dust incursion on the Newmar.
In general, I think the differences between a Tiffin/Newmar and Newell are not that much insofar as boondocking is concerned. You can get in a lot of places if you're careful and a little reckless. You definitely have to be willing and able pay for repairs and towing and whatever else. We are; it is just part of the operating cost for us. All of which is absolutely worth it, for the unique spots and experiences, for us.
Good luck...
2008 Newell #1234
Boulder, CO