[nfpa1041]

Hello,  

I'm thankful to have found this group and wealth of knowledge/ information/ experience. I was already able to get the correct ignition solenoid part number by searching thru the forum. I purchased this coach about a month ago. They didn't have the owners manual anymore and I'm not sure where they came up with the model number but?  I'd say it was meant to be since it was within budget and only 20 minutes away ! The previous owners bought it in 82/83? from the original owner who was a friend and apparently always regretted selling it. They took great care of it over the years and hated to sell it, but they just couldn't safely operate it any longer because of some health issues. So far seems to run great with just over 140k miles. Tires are new along with all the batteries. Given the current price of diesel I don't have any plans to take any long trips anytime soon. It's going to be my primary residence for the next few years at least. I don't have a project list yet but plan on going over all the systems and update/ fix any issues I find. At least the built in toaster works ! What more could I need, lol . 

Cheers

                   

[encantotom]

looks really nice. congrats.

there was not much of a owners manual back then anyway

tom

[MrE]

Congratulations on your purchase and joining this forum. Newells don't have model numbers, every coach is either built to customer specifications or built to be a show coach. Based on the information you have provided, it the 8th coach built in the 1981 model year. They're built to go a million miles+ so yours is a baby milage-wise.

Look into joining TSD Logistics and getting their fleet card for diesel purchases. Search the forum for details, but they have an app for your phone that will find the best deal in a 150 mile radius. You'll get a substantial discount and you don't have to go in and pre-authorize your purchase. If your tank fills from both sides like mine it also takes less time to fuel up.

[Tf175]

Congrats ! Neat looking coach , certainly appears to have been well taken care of .
Good luck !
Chris

[The Bus Crew]

That is a good looking coach, I did the same thing thinking I had a1984 Newell based on the build tag (later found out it is a 1985). Then someone on this forum pointed out they are built to order so it takes a year, so the model year starts the year before. So you do have a 1981. There are some members on here that really keep track of the history of every Newell built. I spent months trying to figure out how stuff worked or what did and didn’t work. This included many questions asked on this forum, being around cars most of my life some seemed stupid that I was asking but I just could figure some things out. There are still things I do not know what they do (seems to be nothing) or what they probably used to be for.

[MrE]

Joel, Mark makes some excellent points. Although Newell has always used top of the line parts, technology has advanced, especially in electronics. The battery chargers from our era are now known as battery boilers. Not an expensive upgrade that will help the life expectancy of your batteries. Battery technology has also changed, lots of posts here about AGM and lithium technologies. Another simple upgrade is to the headlights. From the factory the full amperage runs through the headlight switch, wearing them out. The fix is to use the headlight switch to activate relays located by the headlights and new wires from the fuse panel to actually power the headlights. Many of the people on the forum have also replaced their incandescent bulbs with LED which require less amps for better light. The fluorescents can be replaced with LED light strips. Lots of inexpensive upgrades to modern technology.

[Fulltiming]

I would have made that assumption also but with the A in the 10th digit, it was registered as a 1980 even though it was built in Nov 1980. The 1981's would be B.

Congrats on your new purchase!!