Cross County in a Newell

[prestadude]

Well, here I sit in a hotel room in Goshen, Indiana. I just dropped off my Newell for a handicapped conversion. I had brought up the issue of handicapped conversion previously in the forum and I was encouraged to contact Newell. I did and they just didn't seem to be able to pull together a complete response to my request. Not that they didn't try, I just think that they were too busy to work on something like this (add lift seat at entry door, build ramp up to elevated bathroom in rear of coach, fabricate automated hinge device to lift toe of bed to clear ramp, retrofit shower to remove step over). I ended up selecting a duo of firms in Indiana that specialize in such work and coordinate their efforts (one firm, Startracks, does seat lifts, the second firm K & D Custom Coach does interior modifications).

My solo trip started in Sacramento, California. Day 1-Sacto to Salt Lake City, 650 mi, Day 2-SLC to Cheyenne, 500 miles, Day 3-Cheyenne to Omaha 500 miles, Day 4-Omaha to Goshen (acutally nearby Elkhart), 550 miles. A total of 2,200 miles. Due to my lack of experience driving RVs (much less 45' long coaches) I was in a pepetual state of mild anxiety. I would complete one task I was worried about (how am I going to park in that little campsite), only to have a new worry pop into it's place (how am I going to drive out of this little campsite).

My calculated mileage was interesting. My first fillup was in Wyoming, mileage for that leg was 7.49 mpg. The second fillup was in Omaha, mileage for that leg was 9.97. No other fuelings after that. I drove at speeds no faster than 65 mph. I don't believe the 9.97, maybe the pump kicked off early and I didnt get a completely full tank. My coach also had the Detroit Diesel info center (I don't know the real name) that displays mileage. The mileage on this device slowly climbed throughout the trip reading 8.14 mpg at the end of the trip. Of course, I did drive slower through Illinois since 55 is the speed limit for motorhomes.

Mechanically the coach did well. I checked the oil every day and did not see a need to add any. At the end of the trip I noticed a little play in the steering (I can rotate the steering wheel maybe 3/4" from "stop to stop" before actually turning the wheels). I assume this can be fixed with some adjustment. I will swing by Newell on the way home next month and was going to have them look at it then but if the forum members think I need to have this attended to now, then I will make arrangements to do so.

The other glitch was an error message on the Detroit Diesel info center display "TPS Circuit Failed Low". A check engine light also illuminated on the dashboard. I turned off the cruise control (so that I could feel the response of the engine to the throttle) and that corrected the error. I used the cruise control for the rest of the trip with no other problems. With the manuals provided by Detroit Diesel, I was able to determing that TPS stands for throttle position sensor. Beyond that, I have no idea if this is a simple random electronic glitch that will not soon return, or if I need to have the TPS examined/replaced. Any suggestions?

Lifestyle Note: I fueled at Flying J which has big fried food displays right at the cash registers. I tell you, the last thing a long haul trucker needs is to stockup on fried chicken or cheese sticks at each stop.

Signed, a tired, stressed but happy Newell owner.