davidmbrady
04-14-2012, 01:51 PM
Folks,
My neighbor recently bought a 2002 dual slide newell. Being a busnut and a wanderlodge owner, rabid dogs couldn't keep me away from sizing it up. Well, I must say, it's a very nice piece. We only had time for a quick walk around, but my initial impressions are very positive. Things I noticed:
1) The engine compartment is very tidy and well organized. Lots of space to work. I was impressed with the tray that the S60 mounts on for easy engine removal. The two piece FRP (fiberglass) fan shroud hugs the fan with a wide flange. The fan itself is a work of art, I didn't count the number of blades but there were many more than the standard nine, and each blade is bolted to it's own aluminum perch (it looked like the pitch could be adjusted, but I only took a cursory look). The welds on the engine tray and trailer hitch were second to none.
2) All the house and chassis electrics are 24V.
3) The suspension appears to be Ridewell throughout. The tag axle suspension is truly independent from side to side. The steer axle is independent. I believe it's Ridewell but I'm not sure. The steer axle is equipped with Michelin 360/22.5/70 tires. The suspension is equipped with front and rear anti-sway bars that appear to be sized about right. I tried to spot ping tanks but wasn't able to.
4) The chassis is hard to make out from simply looking under the bus - I didn't open any basement bays. I was impressed with the size of the chassis framing above and around the drive/tag and steer axles. These are high stress areas. Blue Bird doubles the c-channel in these areas resulting in a frame member that's two 10.125"x3.5" members high, each 5/16" thick, 20.25" high total. It looks like Newell uses a frame component of similar section but it's one component. It looks like on chunk of c-channel steel 20"x3.5". These horizontal components run at the top of the axles, the axle perches are bolt to them. At the basement interface there's another pair of large tapered vertical sections that connect the 20" sections to the basement. The basement structure between the front and rear bulkheads isn't easy to make out, but there appears to be heavy gauge longitudinal box sections running the length of the basement at the base of the doors, another pair of longitudinals closer to the center of the coach, and lots of transverse tubes and diagonal bracing. I'd love to see an actual diagram of the basement framework. It does look very stout.
5) I quickly walked around the coach sizing up fit and finish. I wasn't disappointed. The gaps between the slide bodies and the bus body cutouts were small and uniform. The side body moldings are uniform and continuous with no misalignment at the slide openings. I didn't see any paint lifting. It was clearly assembled and painted with care.
From my quick walk around, a Newell is definitely a contender for my next coach. :)
David Brady
'02 Blue Bird, Wanderlodge LXi
NC
My neighbor recently bought a 2002 dual slide newell. Being a busnut and a wanderlodge owner, rabid dogs couldn't keep me away from sizing it up. Well, I must say, it's a very nice piece. We only had time for a quick walk around, but my initial impressions are very positive. Things I noticed:
1) The engine compartment is very tidy and well organized. Lots of space to work. I was impressed with the tray that the S60 mounts on for easy engine removal. The two piece FRP (fiberglass) fan shroud hugs the fan with a wide flange. The fan itself is a work of art, I didn't count the number of blades but there were many more than the standard nine, and each blade is bolted to it's own aluminum perch (it looked like the pitch could be adjusted, but I only took a cursory look). The welds on the engine tray and trailer hitch were second to none.
2) All the house and chassis electrics are 24V.
3) The suspension appears to be Ridewell throughout. The tag axle suspension is truly independent from side to side. The steer axle is independent. I believe it's Ridewell but I'm not sure. The steer axle is equipped with Michelin 360/22.5/70 tires. The suspension is equipped with front and rear anti-sway bars that appear to be sized about right. I tried to spot ping tanks but wasn't able to.
4) The chassis is hard to make out from simply looking under the bus - I didn't open any basement bays. I was impressed with the size of the chassis framing above and around the drive/tag and steer axles. These are high stress areas. Blue Bird doubles the c-channel in these areas resulting in a frame member that's two 10.125"x3.5" members high, each 5/16" thick, 20.25" high total. It looks like Newell uses a frame component of similar section but it's one component. It looks like on chunk of c-channel steel 20"x3.5". These horizontal components run at the top of the axles, the axle perches are bolt to them. At the basement interface there's another pair of large tapered vertical sections that connect the 20" sections to the basement. The basement structure between the front and rear bulkheads isn't easy to make out, but there appears to be heavy gauge longitudinal box sections running the length of the basement at the base of the doors, another pair of longitudinals closer to the center of the coach, and lots of transverse tubes and diagonal bracing. I'd love to see an actual diagram of the basement framework. It does look very stout.
5) I quickly walked around the coach sizing up fit and finish. I wasn't disappointed. The gaps between the slide bodies and the bus body cutouts were small and uniform. The side body moldings are uniform and continuous with no misalignment at the slide openings. I didn't see any paint lifting. It was clearly assembled and painted with care.
From my quick walk around, a Newell is definitely a contender for my next coach. :)
David Brady
'02 Blue Bird, Wanderlodge LXi
NC