[chockwald]

OK, even though I've only owned two coaches I'll describe each from my limited comparative experience:

1987 Fleetwood Tioga Arrow, 26' Class C: Prior to buying this motorhome back in 2003 I had owned a small tent trailer back in the early 80's. It (the Tioga) was very unstable in cross winds...actually scary. Passing semi's would cause me to wrestle the steering wheel to keep the beast on the road. The driving compartment offered little room for seat movement, so the only comfortable way to drive was on cruise control, otherwise my right foot would get a cramp from the akward angle needed to press on the accelerator pedal. I always felt like one of those little old ladies who drive hunched over the steering wheel. It had the large block Ford 460ci engine with carb....I think fuel injection was introduced to this power plant in 1988. When I first got it the mileage was around 4.5 to 5 on a flat road with a tail wind. I found out that one of the heads was warped, so it had to be removed and machined. The next thing I found was the carb had been rebuilt, but some parts put in backwards, so it had to be rebuilt. After numerous other work, and emptying my bank account to the tune of a few thousand, I got the mpg up to 6.5-7. It had a 40 gallon tank, but I could only get 32 in as the pump flow was too great for the filler tube configeration. I had to hand pour in the last 8 gallons to get a full tank that would take me, on a good day, 280 miles, so I was always thinking about the next tank of gas. I added rear air bags, which improved the ride, replaced the tranny which went south due a bad fan clutch, which was not activating the radiator fan at low speeds (think climbing a 9% grade at 20mph), so when I climbed Towne Pass into and out of Death Valley that toasted the tranny as the tranny fluid passing through the cooler located near the radiator was not getting enough air flow at low speeds. I hated the bed, which was located in the right rear corner of the rear bedroom....guess who slept next to the window...me, of course, so I had to climb over Elaine to get out of bed. Lost track of the number of times I banged my lower back on the hanging closet. Had to rebuild the cabover due to water damage....common problem in the older class C's. At any rate, I learned a lot from owning that rig for 5 years, and knew exactly what I wanted in the next motorhome.

1982 Newell 36' Class A DP: Prior to test driving our Newell I had driven a Safari, and Fleetwood (both Class A DP's). Both seemed sluggish accelerating, and the suspsension seemed mushy. What I was looking for in our next motorhome was a walk around bed, a washer/dryer, diesel pusher, comfortable driving compartment with highly adjustable seat, big front windows, stable ride in wind, no evidence of water leaks ANYWHERE, separate bathroom and shower area, under 38', and basement storage. As soon as we entered the Newell for the first time, Elaine was sold. I spent a few days playing catch up...LOL! First of all I had never heard of Newell, EVER. My friend who owns the Bluebird had, and eased my fears. I did a Google search and found an article about LK Newell, and was very impressed. I checked pricing on other 1982 Newells, and thought the asking price was about $20,000 below the market. This coach had been kept inside a climate controlled barn for 22 years, and then in a climate controlled warehouse the next 2. It was only kept outside the 2 years prior to my purchasing it. It had been well maintained. I have all the maintenance records going back to it's construction in 1982. The test drive was the clincher....quiet, no rattles, stable ride (it happened to be windy the day I drove it), it tracks well, meaning I can take my hands off the stearing wheel for 20 seconds and it tracks straight on a flat road, and everything worked except the cruise control and dash A/C, walk around bed, washer/dryer, basement storage, and under 38'! Well, the rest is history. We love our Newell, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!