[Foodsman]

Hi Guys,

I'm just curious about something. I understand that Newell builds around 28 coaches a year. Do you have any idea how many coaches some of the better Class A's make each year?

Coaches like American Eagle, Entegra Cornerstone or Newmar Essex?

Is it also true that Foretravel is the only other coach that, like Newell, builds their own chassis? Any have an idea of how many they build?

Thank you one and all,

Harry

[Fulltiming]

Most companies do not publish their production numbers.

Eagle is one model of the American Coach line. American Coach is a division of Fleetwood created in 1991. You might be able to get some production numbers from a Fleetwood forum, nothing pops up in a quick web search for production numbers.

The Cornerstone is one of three models made by Entegra which became a part of Jayco in 2008.

The Essex is one of six Newmar diesel models in addition to three gasoline models. The Essex is built on a Spartan chassis. No idea what the production is.

Foretravel has three lines of motorhomes at significantly different price points. Again, I have no idea of their production quantities.

Newell's production varies from year to year but has averaged about 30 coaches per year since its inception in 1967. There have been several years where Newell production exceeded 35 units, reaching a high for model year 2007 where 45 were built. 40 Newells were built for the 2009 model year.

I am sure you are aware that all of the other motorhomes you listed are fiberglass rather than aluminum.

[Foodsman]

Hey Michael,

Thank you for that and you brought up a very important question that I've been wanting to ask.

Michael said: "the other motorhomes you listed are fiberglass rather than aluminum."
• What are the important differences between aluminum vs Fiberglas construction?
• How many years can you expect the paint on aluminum to last?
• Is Newell the only coach with aluminum?

Michael I'd love to hear of any other chassis features that are unique to Newell. There is nothing you could tell me that I'm not interested to hear!

Harry

[Ozarkguy]

Harry back a few years ago I was on mission to find the best of the best. I toured almost all the RV mfg at the time. There was a significant difference between makes. The sidewalls are sandwich construction, glued and vacuum- bonded together. ARIZONA HEAT debonds some of the sidewalls , you can see the waves. .some have fiberglass roofs some rubber, some of the fiberglass roofs are a flat sheet and rolled over the edge..cracks form there. Some are molded. At the time I was looking at a new Mountain Air. The warranty was better on the rubber roof. I looked at New Monaco's. They built most stuff. They had a wiring harness dept .. My selection was a country coach. Then 2008 happened.. That's when I learned about Newell's and was very happy I didn't buy the CC. The only way to really understand is to see em built. Most of them build more in a mo than Newell does in a year. I grew up in the industry. My dad's factory pushed out 17 14x70 homes a day.. Many RV factories exceed that many times over.
Another point that concerned me the most, was front end collision safety.. Some only have a bit of fiberglass between the driver and the impact zone. Some of the lessor coached have refrigerators in the cockpit...

My advise take factory tours.. N compare.

[Dmatz]

Look at 15 year old coaches if you want to see the quality and how a particular brand may hold up.

[kb0zke]

From what someone said on the Foretravel forum, it sounds like Foretravel and Newell will build similar numbers of coaches this year.

Doug, you hit the nail right on the head. Some friends of ours bought a popular brand of DP brand new. Less than a year later they traded it even up for a 10-year-old Foretravel because they could see that the quality just wasn't there in the popular brand.

Jimmy, we didn't get a chance to tour Newell before we bought our coach, even though Newell is less than three hours away. We did get to tour Foretravel a few years ago. As you say, factory tours can really tell you something about the coaches AND the company. We originally thought we would get a 5'er for our full-time coach, and even thought we knew what it would be. The factory tour changed our minds. One of these days we'll get down to Miami and take the tour.

[Fulltiming]

Typically, only the top end coaches are metal. Safari used to make coaches with aluminum sidewalls but after they got gobbled up by Monaco, they switched to fiberglass. You can make a good product or a lousy product from either aluminum or fiberglass but it takes more craftsmanship and expense to work with aluminum.

Besides the delamination issues, fiberglass can become brittle. It gives but when stressed it breaks. Aircraft and boats that see severe use are made of aluminum rather than fiberglass. The older Newells used rivets, the newer ones use a 3M adhesive to bond the panels to the superstructure. My coach is 23 years old and I have replaced a total of two body rivets.

As far as paint is concerned, if you know what you are doing, and Newell certainly has a superb paint shop, paint will stay on aluminum as well or better than on fiberglass. If you don't prepare the surface properly, you are going to be in trouble.

About 10 years ago we toured numerous factories and it is an eye-opener. Some of the materials, construction techniques and lack of quality control will really scare you. It will also make you appreciate the care and craftsmanship that goes into every Newell. Add to that the support and customer service provided by Newell that more price point sensitive companies can't afford to offer.

[Ozarkguy]

Michael.. Didn't Newell experiment w a Prevost conversion, or was that just Country Coach ?

[Fulltiming]

I am not aware of Newell ever experimenting with a Prevost conversion.

[Yachts]

Heresey I do say heresey, lol