[tomgauger]

Some of you have been extremely helpful with information about specific Newells that I'm looking at.
One of them (at Trawick in Fort Worth) has a ZF tranny.
My present coach and the one before both had Allison trannies and I know nothing about the ZF. What is it like to drive?
So, your input is hoped for!
Also, I've heard some negative stuff about the Caterpillar engine in some Newells. Your thoughts on that?
...and finally, what do people do without towel racks in coaches with air-operated doors? I don't see towel racks in the rear bath. I hate to just hang them on the shower wall...looks tacky.
This is the most helpful coach site on the Internet. You guys are the best!
Tom Gauger
'01 Monaco Exec 43DS, 515 Cummins, Allison
'10 Chevy Colorado toad

[bikestuff]

Tom,

I have what I believe is the first Cat in a Newell. (C-12 505hp). I could not be happier with the caterpillar. Recently I have been getting around 7.9 mpg (no toad vehicle) and that is for a heavy four slide coach.

I have not heard of any complaints from other cat owners.

cheers,
bill

[Fulltiming]

Bill, I had also been told by someone at Newell that you had the first C-12 and as near as I can tell you may have the first 505 HP C-12. #509, a 1999, had a 500 HP C-12. Those are likely the first two C-12's installed by Newell. Coach 723, a 2005, had a 525 HP C-13 and 728, also a 2005, had a 550 HP C-15. By 2006, most Newells were using the 625 HP C-15 Cat. The C-15 was Newell's standard engine until 2011 although there were a mix of Cats and Cummins ISX in late 2010.

ZF transmissions: Pro's and Con's
In the mountains, it is hard to beat the ZF transmission. With its ability to skip gears or use all 10 or 12 gears, ZF keeps the engine running in the sweet spot up and down mountain grades.
For more rolling hills and flat land driving, nothing beats the smoothness of the Allison 6 speed. The Allison, on level ground, will out accelerate the ZF and give the passengers a smoother ride while the ZF will give the driver more exact control of the coach on winding, mountainous routes.
They are both good transmissions. The Allison has a larger repair network in the U.S. than ZF does. Different strokes for different folks.

Since most of my driving is not in the mountains, I would probably give the nod to the Allison BUT I would not turn down a coach with a ZF transmission if it had a color, floorplan or price I liked better.

Looks like you have the towel bar situation nailed. Again, not a deal killer for me but I do enjoy having towel bars inside the shower, on the back of my bathroom door and behind the toilet in my coach. Never can have too many towel bars.

[Dmatz]

In our Prevost we used the command hook towel hooks as there were not enough towel bars. They worked great.

[encantotom]

my rear bath has enough towell bars in it. at least for us. there is one next to the shower and then a couple of smaller ones on the vanity.

tom

[tomgauger]

My concern about the Cat was a posting, perhaps on this site. Someone was discussing another Newell and said that "It had the dreaded Caterpillar engine."
That's the first negative word I'd hear about the Cat. "Dreaded?"
Tom Gauger
Newell coach-in-waiting
Now with an '01 Monaco Exec

[Fulltiming]

Although some people have their personal preference (the old Chevy vs. Ford debate) I don't think there is a significant difference in end result from the CAT or the Cummins. As the years went by, Detroit. who had been the primary supplier of engines for Newell for 20 years, had been acquired by Daimler and moved out of the market for other than Daimler products after 2006 and CAT became the mainstay of Newell engines by 2007. CAT followed the same course after developing a strategic alliance with Navistar and selling 2010 emission compliant engines for over the road service to other manufacturers.

I would not rule out any of those three engines.