[rheavn]

Finally started for home on another rainy day. All but two of our travel days have been in the rain. Today's drive was on four lane highways & the Newell continues to purr like a kitten. Mileage has leveled out at 8.48 mpg. Got in early for a little pool time, but instead spent the afternoon getting Suzy's IPhone fixed. Suzy not happy when phone doesn't work.

[whatsnewell]

Ron, I tell Elaine every day we are on the road...."she's purring like a kitten"......I guess that is the only way to describe it.

[rheavn]

After almost a month, we very fittingly arrived home in some well needed rain. When we left it was 106 degrees and we hadn't seen rain in a month. It was a very interesting and fun trip. We covered 3,651 miles and 12 states. The series 60 ran perfectly the entire trip. Mileage was 8.5 when we left the Interstate, but the trip through the Ozark mountains dropped it to 8.39 for the entire trip. As we headed for home we saw a lot of electric company assets headed to the Gulf.

We arrived home with a very short repair list. All maintenance is still up to date. I checked the alternator voltage output when I got home & am only seeing 8 volts. I'll have to discover if my voltage regulator has failed or if my alternator has failed for a second time. Other than that issue, I have lots of cleaning to do.

We met many interesting people on the trip. There were many Newell admirers. Some were familiar with Newells, others had never seen one. The most common comment was, "that is the biggest motorhome I have ever seen". We saw only three other Newells and all were seen going the opposite direction. We met two women that stand out. Both were driving large motorhomes alone. The first was driving a 45' Bluebird and the other was driving a 40 foot '97 Foretravel that she had totally updated. The Foretravel had an updated nose and a 2005 paint job that was done by Extreme Painting--they paint coaches for Foretravel. It looked like a 2005 Foretravel, except it had no slides.

We stayed in nine different RV parks. Five were 45 foot friendly and are included in my posting for Campgrounds for 45 footers. Four of the parks we stayed in I classify as 45' tolerant. That is I fit in the site, but trees needed trimming, roads were too narrow and not enough room given for turning easily.

Now if Hurricane Isaac leaves the Gulf coast standing we have to get ready for our next trip to Bella Terra RV resort in Foley, Alabama. We love this resort and look forward to hopefully being down there in ten days.

[RussWhite]

We are not home yet, but noticed on startup from Utica, IL that the alternator was not charging the batteries. Now we are dry camping at a friend's place in Rochester, Indiana and I removed the alternator and it was picked up by a local repair service yesterday. I did not even bother to check for proper sense and ignition signals before removing it. I figured at this age and mileage it's time for a rebuild. It was not a difficult removal and I can even drive without it as my belt turns only it and the dash A/C compressor. I'll post back the outcome.
After three months on the road the 100 foot rule should probably be applied.

[MarkofSJC]

I've gotta bite....
100 foot rule?
3 foot rule?

I'm I missing the secret decoder ring???

Mark

[encantotom]

when we were at steve and suzy bare's place last summer, steve taught me about the "rules"

i was saying that there were some things on the coach exterior that bothered me. he said "5 foot rule" and i said huh?

he said, stand back 5 foot and see if it still bothered me. if it does, then the "10 foot rule" applies.....

russ meant that his coach was really dirty after being on the road for months and the "100 foot rule" should apply.

there will always be something that isnt perfect on our older rigs.

later

tom

[whatsnewell]

I've been using that rule, but had not quantified it......when you travel full time you tend to want to clean you coach all the time. I finally realized that if I gave into that urge, I wouldn't have time to do anything else. I looks really good from 30 feet....