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Old 09-21-2009, 02:08 PM   #5
fulltiming
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There are likely few posts that go into detail about Newell's chassis. I will quote Karl Blade, the Owner of Newell:
Quote:
Today's Newell chassis is a much-refined version of the rear-engine chassis originally developed by L. K. Newell in 1970. The chassis has no features that Newell picked up from Foretravel. That said, Mr. Newell did do a bit of copying. He used the rear-engine chassis of a 1950s era Fitzjohn bus as his model when he designed the Newell chassis.

Mr. Newell purchased a used Fitzjohn, took the body off of the chassis, and built the first rear-engine Newell frame using the Fitzjohn as the model. The features Mr. Newell found attractive in the Fitzjohn were the bridge-construction frame vs. conventional frame rails, allowing open bay storage below the floor; and the fact that this style frame was strong enough to support the vehicle without relying on the sidewalls. Some 25 years later, the strength of the Newell frame allowed for multiple slide-outs, eventually four, to be incorporated, cutting large openings in the sidewalls, with very little modification required to the rest of the structure. The self-supporting chassis is also the key to understanding why Newell has been able to utilize more and larger slide-outs than monocoque bus shells.

This style frame was a Newell exclusive for many years. However, after rear-engine motorhomes began to become popular in the 1980s, many manufacturers developed frames very similar to Newell's, including Foretravel, Monaco, and Country Coach. However, to this day, Newell is the only rear-engine motorhome that combines this style frame with an aluminum framed, aluminum skinned body rather than fiberglass laminated sidewalls and roof common to most Class A motorhomes.


Attached at the bottom of this post are a couple of photos of the Newell Chassis. The rear radiator model is a 1990 model and the side radiator model with slides is a 2006 model I believe.

This is a photo I took of a chassis under construction at the factory in Miami, Oklahoma a couple of years ago.



This is a photo of the slide being constructed. The lower brace on the slide is the same bridge type construction used on the chassis.



Attached Images
   
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