[hcvdg]

Hi,

I'm Henry and I live in Palm Coast, FL (near Daytona Beach). My job here in SoCal will be ending this month and I hope to get a new job In Melbourne, FL (1+45 hr commute). I've been a fan of Newells for many years, and I'm a recovering Bus Nut (owned a pro converted PD-4106). My plan is to buy a Classic and keep it in Melbourne and live on it during the week and use it for trips when able.

I'm 58, so will any luck I'll get to retire soon and enjoy travel in my yet to be acquired Newell.

Here are a few links to the type of Newell I'm looking for (can afford).

1984 Classic

1984


1978 Classic New Motor

I think you get the idea.

I'd like to take the Newell to the National Parks, I hear the the 38' can pass for a 35' (not sure if that's true).

I look forward to participating in the Forum and would welcome and help and advice from the gurus.

Thanks,

Henry

[Fulltiming]

Welcome Henry. You should certainly be able to find a Classic in the price range you are considering. I would think that trying to get a 40' to pass for a 35' would take a bit of luck. Additionally, trying to physically fit a 40' into a National Park space designed for a max of 35' might be easy and might be very difficult.

If National Parks are very important to you, I would research the length limits at the parks you would likely frequent the most and work from there. Some have limits as low as 32' and some can accommodate 40' motorhomes.

[hcvdg]

Welcome Henry.  You should certainly be able to find a Classic in the price range you are considering.  I would think that trying to get a 40' to pass for a 35' would take a bit of luck.  Additionally, trying to physically fit a 40' into a National Park space designed for a max of 35' might be easy and might be very difficult.

If National Parks are very important to you, I would research the length limits at the parks you would likely frequent the most and work from there.  Some have limits as low as 32' and some can accommodate 40' motorhomes.

Thanks "Fulltiming",

I've surfed the board and I can see you are a true guru.
Yes, I can't see 40' passing in the national parks.

Can you point me to a buyers guide, or please give me your thoughts on the best options for my price range.

What are the advantages of the 38' 40' over a 35' , or the downside of the 35' I listed?

Thanks for engageing

Henry

[Fulltiming]

If you are spending a great deal of time in a coach, bigger is better. That being said, we lived full time in 36' RV's for several years. We got into many National Parks with a 36'. It was a little tight a couple of times. Each foot you add makes some area of the coach larger. In some cases, the extra space seems wasted, in others, it really adds to the usefulness. My wife loves to cook so to her, having a good sized kitchen is important. To others, they would consider a large kitchen/gallery a waste of space. Same with the bathroom. Layout is frequently more important than absolute length IF the layout works for you.

Longer coaches typically have more bay space but they can have a slightly reduced weight carrying capacity until you get to 40' with a tag axle. The tag axle is a dead giveaway at National and many State Parks that you are too big but it can add thousands of pounds of extra weight carrying capacity. Just find something you are comfortable with and remember that the maintenance and condition are critical in an older coach. You can fix most problems but sometimes it is cheaper in the long run to buy a coach that is in better condition to start with. Many/most of the Classics will have already had many of the more spendy items replaced (AC's, furnaces, refrigerators, electronics) but they may need replacement again when you are looking at a 30 year old coach. Look for one with good bones and it should give you years of enjoyment (as well as an opportunity to develop your mechanical skills).

[MrE]

Henry, there are other members here, like you, that prefer the shorter classics to the newer 40+ footers. I used to own a 1973 33' Newell that I never did full time in, but could have. @Fulltiming is probably the best resource in this forum for differences between model years, but I'm going to give you my unsolicited and probably inaccurate views.

1. I would want to get an 8 airbag suspension. My '73 had a combination of leaf springs and airbags, which doesn't include any kind of leveling system.
2. I would want a diesel generator, my '73 had a POS gas generator and I had to have a separate tank for gas.
3. Realize that many of the early Newells had motors that would better serve as boat anchors. There is a very simple calculation to determine how much torque you'll lose on a V verses inline configuration. There are several members on the forum that have had re-powers from boat anchors to more modern inline 6's, (myself included once I get my donor bus to the mechanic). If you're looking at under 40', an 8.3 Cummins and Allison 6 speed transmission will give you all the power you need. Talk to @Retro, he's got a beautiful '77 that's been repowered to the Cummins 8.3.
4. Don't give low mileage coaches an advantage over higher mileage coaches. The Newells will easily go a million miles and the lower mileage coaches probably sat for long periods of time (that's a bad thing).

Couple of Google searches that can be used to find coaches on Craigslist. "newell site:craigslist.org/rvs" without the quotes, searches all Craigslist sites for RVs by owner. "newell site:craigslist.org/rvd" without the quotes, searches all the Craigslist sites for RVs by dealer.

1986 was the first year for 102" wide-bodies. Most of these were powered by the Detroit 8V92 two stokes. Not very many coaches under 40' have been manufactured since 1986, @fulltiming can give you the stats. Last year of the 'Classic' style was 1989.

Good luck in your search, and welcome to the forum!

jon

[whatsnewell]

I believe we have the only coach built in 1982 that is under 38', but Michael can confirm, or deny that for sure. Most coaches in the early 80's were at least 38', some were 40'. Our 36' easily passes for a 35'.....have taken it to several National Parks including Yosemite. My wife and I are quite comfortable in our 36' and have been living and traveling in it full time since 2011. The biggest thing we lose by being only 36' is that our through storage bin is only half as wide as the 38' ones, but we still have oodles of space for storage. Also, our kitchen is 2' shorter than the 38' foot ones.

[pairodice]

I almost hate to say this out loud on this group but you may also want to consider a BlueBird Wanderlodge. You should be able to find a 1988+ (wide body) in your price range. Several things I really miss: 1) having a ladder... 2) a second aluminum skin (diamond plate aluminum) on the roof to walk/have parties on 3) hydraulic leveling system - I hate feeling like we are in a boat all the time - if anyone has a fix please let me know...
Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE our Newell (and this forum), but there are definitely alternatives out there, especially for vintage coaches and the Wanderlodge forum is also very helpful.

[hcvdg]

Thanks to all for the good info so far.

I'm now narrowing my search to Newells 35-36' (will also check out Wandering Lodges)

That said, please reply with preferred powertrain options, other options to seek out.

I've seen some with 6V92TA engines (seems better to me)

Washer dryer? Better gensets? Suspension?

Thanks,

Henry

[whatsnewell]

Our 1982 Has the Detroit 6V92TA, and of the options available at the time it was the best one as far as I am concerned.  I know several here have removed their series 92 Detroits and re-powered with a more modern Cummins, but if re-powering is not on your bucket list go with a well maintained 6, or 8V92.  When we purchased our Newell it had just over 103,000 miles on the chassis and engine.  The prior two owners had deferred no maintenance and the entire coach including the power plant was in above average condition.  Since then we have put over 50,000 miles on the coach.....over that time the oil consumption has decreased from 1 quart every 8 hours of operation to about 1 quart every 13 hours of operation.  As you probably know the series 71 and 92 engines do consume oil.  In that 50,000 miles all we have had to replace is the gear driven water pump back in 2012, which I did myself.  Other than that we have changed the oil and all filters on a regular basis, and the tires when they aged out.  Ours came with a Splendide washer/dryer combo and we love it!

Good luck on your search and feel free to ask questions!

[hcvdg]

Thanks, I'd like a turbo motor (like the 6V92TA). My 4016 had a NA 8V71, and lost power at higher altitudes.

I noticed a 78, 35' in CO, with a Cat 3208 (not sure if is a turbo), I've also seen 35 footers with a Cummins 903 (not a repower).

I plan to buy a coach that doesn't require a re-power (or any other major work for that matter).

I like the idea of a Splendide (sure my wife will), what do you give up to make room for a washer drier?

Also, is it standard operation run the generator (to power the A/C) while going down the road, or do the coaches of this era have enough main engine driven A/C?

Thanks for getting me up to speed ob Newells, keep an eye out for a good coach for me.