The Full Time Dream!

[Neweller]

I'm sitting here pondering and dreaming of full timing in a Newell? Some have done it, some are doing it and others are dreamin' about it.

Either way, it's all good.........:thumbsup:

Myself, I'm working on a happy medium. Hum..???

Now, to finish getting rid of a life accumulation of possessions (JUNK) for a simpler life of enjoying a condo on wheels...no more mowing the lawn (acreage) ugh! Actually really burned out on property ownership. I will miss the greenhouse, though. There has to be an alternative for that one?

What-cha thoughts....????:o

Ken W.

[ABnormal]

Put the greenhouse on wheels. Just like a see thru trailer.

Problem solved!

Larry P.
'

[Neweller]

Larry P., great idea! I'm going to play around with some designs to incorporate a greenhouse with an enclosed car hauler. And, of course stay legal on the length. :)

Ken W.

[fulltiming]

The legal limit on length with a trailer is tough on most Newells over about 40 feet, at least in some states. Georgia and I have been living and traveling full-time in an RV for over 10 years.

If anyone has any questions regarding benefits and downsides of this life style we will be happy to respond. You will get different answers from the two of us but that is what it's all about.

[Neweller]

Michael and Georgia, it seems there are two main types of full timing. One where the landscape changes often and the other when your in one place for a long time. The latter is what I've become more accustomed to, and would like to change it; to the change in scenery more frequently.;)

Ken W.

[fulltiming]

I hear that. We spent the first several years traveling most of the year. As our situation changed, we started being more limited in our travels and started being in a home base more.

Now that I am back to working full time, it has really torn up our ability to be mobile as much as I would like. But that too will change with time.

Many fulltimers do get to the point after many years of having a few favorite spots eventually and spending more time in those locations. I know several that have purchased RV lots, one in the northern part of the US and one in the southern part and their travels have become almost like driving from your summer home to your winter home.

I certainly understand where you are coming from. I also would like to change the scenery more often.

[tuga]

We are planning a trip to Alaska this summer, we leave June 5th next Saturday. We will be gone for 2 and 1/2 months. This is probably the closest that we will ever come to full timing. It will be a good test.

[fulltiming]

Tuga, after 2-1/2 months you will either be very glad to be back home or will become almost melancholy as you near the end of the trip wishing you could just keep going.

Enjoy your trip, it should be great.

[chockwald]

Tuga, we look forward to following your trip to Alaska....hope you will post pictures and update us as often as you can. Only 15 months until we release the mooring lines and shove off for a couple of years exploring this great country.

Michael, we'll be arriving in Austin tomorrow evening late (around midnight), but want to get together with you and Georgia while we are there. What day/evening works best for you? We'll be in town from Wednesday thru the next Monday afternoon.....let me know!

[fulltiming]

Clarke, you have email!!

[Neweller]

Tugu, hope your trip goes well and I too look forward to pictures of it. Share share alike.:thumbup:

[folivier]

Hey Clarke, how far east are you coming? We got free oil here in Louisiana if you need an oil change http://www.newellclassic.com/forum/images/smilies/w00t.gif

[chockwald]

Hi Forest.....just going to be in Austin for a few days for my niece's H.S. graduation, but wish we had more time to hope over and see ya'll.

[jrh_atl]

I'm dreaming of owning a Newell someday. Not going to happen just yet but maybe in the next few years. This is a great site to learn more about Newells. Hope to be a real part of the group some day.

[Neweller]

John, glad you are dreaming of a Newell. Keep hanging around and you will be an owner someday. A lot of owners were in the same position at one time and now live the dream.

Ken

[jrh_atl]

Thanks Ken for the positive reinforcement! I'm not getting much positives these days especially being out of work for 21 months.

I really enjoy this site.

Thanks!

[chockwald]

On February 1st we officially woke up as fulltimers. We've now been living fulltime in our Newell for one week today. We have been blessed to be accepted as "camp hosts" at Rancho Jurupa Regional Park (https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.riversidecountyparks.org/rivcoparks/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/Rancho-Jurupa-Park.pdf&pli=1) where we will be able to live rent free in the Cottonwood section until we hit the road.

We began sifting through our stuff about one month before we moved in, and it was somewhat painful. I know....I only wore that shirt once in the past year, but I've had it for years, and I like it. We have managed to winnow down our clothing to actually fit the space we have available. Right now our enclosed trailer is acting as a storage shed for the rest of our stuff (3 bikes, one tandem, and two tadpole trikes, etc.) until we make final decisions.

We have had to reorganize our storage areas to reflect "fulltime" status from "travelling status" since we will now be parked most of the time now, and living in the coach as opposed to taking monthly 3-4 day trips.

While we looked forward with great anticipation to becoming fulltimers, and love our simplified life, the pull of our former status is still strong. A side benefit of moving our of our home was I found a lot of stuff I had been looking for on and off for a couple of years....very cool. Disabled Vets will be the beneficiaries of the "stuff" that didn't make the cut.

We are settling into our new lifestyle and with each passing day missing our sticks and bricks home less and less.

[zcasa]

Clarke and Elaine:

Yes, your adjustment from a 26 year comfortable home to full timing is a major life event. Thank you for sharing how you arrived at that decision and the process of going through with this decision. You are the envy of many on this site. The sharing of your thought process will, no doubt, assist others as they move to this wonderful lifestyle. Your five kids are probably extremely proud of your decades long marriage and lifetime commitment to each other. Soon you will be on the road with the adventure of your lives. Forest said about his retirement, "This didn't happen by accident, this was planned for the past 35 years". The same holds true for you two. We will, along with many others, follow your great adventure in the years to come. Safe travels and God speed, other than that you are on your own. lol.

David and Denise

[chockwald]

David, thank you for the kind, encouraging words. The biggest challenge for me, individually, is to develop new routines, and new organization....that is my nature, and having set routines and things organized creates a sense of peace and calm. I am getting there, and am enjoying the process. I've already had time to complete some minor repairs that have come up over the past few months, but since I didn't have daily access to the coach, were hard to complete. NOW I have daily access and things are getting done!

Three examples: 1) My coach has two slide out drawers in the storage just to the right of my mid entry door. The top drawer had a lot of odds and ends in it (automotive bulbs of all sizes and applications, extra windshield wipers, marker lights, headlights, misc. screws, bolts, fuses, etc.) The bottom drawer, the bigger one, had/has most of my tools, plus a spare house water pump. I went through all the bulbs, etc. in the top drawer and disposed of the uneeded and/or duplicate items. NOW I can find things! 2) Door latch - the original door latch (for the entry door) just wouldn't hold the door open anymore, even with me continually replacing the rubber gasket, so I bought a new latching type one 2 years ago, but had never installed it. We were holding the door open with a bungy cord. Now it is installed. 3) The lid that covers the stove top has stainless steel glued to the bottom side so when open it provides an attractive, cleanable surface. It had begun to come lose.....no doubt the 29 year old glue was giving out. That got fixed yesterday!

As I move through these projects my sense of well being increases. Like Wally says, often, "I like things to work" and look good on my coach. Soon, God willing, Steve Ward and I will get together and tackle the 3, or 4 electrical issues I have been stalled on.

So, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Just got a reminder on my Droid smart phone that I have jury duty today......uggh! I'll be off the office to set up my new laptop that arrived via UPS yesterday.....my old laptop is giving up the ghost, and I'm trying to be proactive in replacing it before it crashes for good. I've been able to resurrect it twice so far, but I'm sure it does not have 9 lives like our cats...haha!

[chockwald]

This coming Monday will mark 1 month living fulltime in our Newell. Every day we wake up and pinch ourselves to be sure we aren't dreaming. It's no dream, and we aren't in Kansas anymore....we are in Rancho Jurupa, and we are loving it!

Elaine and I have been going through orientation for our office duties....learning the ropes of opening and closing, using the computerized cash register, selling fishing tickets, checking people with reservations into the park, etc. Our duties relating to the cabins will begin in April when they officially start to rent them out (***just got an update....they begin March 1st***).

Our site (#215 - Cottonwood section) is nestled in between to enormous cottonwood trees....each is probably 80-100 feet high. When these babies are leafed out in the spring and summer we will be provided with a lot of shade in the afternoons, and some in the morning. There are probably a dozen of these stately old cottonwood trees in this part of the park, and hence the name given (Cottonwood) to this section. The RV park next to the fishing lakes is aptly called "Lakeview".

Elaine has done a wonderful job of rearranging the salon part of our coach to accomodate our need to use our computers, and to make it "feel" like a bigger area. I installed two new electrical outlets in the front of the coach....one on the console just behind the driver's seat that houses the Permapub, so now we can put the coffee maker there and take it off the sink/counter area, and one on the side of the center console between the driver's and passenger's seats so Elaine can plug in her computer there, instead of running an extension cord. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. I was able to run romex, cut out holes for the receptacle boxes, and install the receptacles in about 3 hours.

By going through all of the interior cabinets over the past few weeks I have found things I forgot I had (lol), and have been able to move many of them to our trailer for storage as they are only used when traveling, and now we will have the trailer with us most of the time when traveling.

Any way, LIFE IS GOOD, and we have no complaints.

[prairieschooner]

How is it going out there in the Camp Host World?
We left Parker a week ago and were at Stagecoach in Banning for a week. We moved to another CRA Park in Cherry Valley this morning.
I'm starting to think about a visit to the Wineries in Temecula, CA for a day of Wine Tasting.

[chockwald]

Camp hosting is going great.....we love the environment here at Rancho Jurupa....it is like living in parkland. The Rangers are great, and treat all the hosts like royalty. The other thing is it is soooo quiet at night here....occasionally hear coyotes in the distance. Life is good!

[chockwald]

Elaine and I have now finished our second month as fulltimers. We are having the time of our lives. I looked at Elaine the other night while watching American Idol (oops, did I say that outloud?) and said..."I wouldn't change a thing"....and, thankfully, she replied..."me neither". We love our smaller space, and the fact that someone else mows and edges the lawn surrounding our site every single week. The guys who detail our coach every month have found themselves with 5, or 6 new customers.

The weather warmed up for a couple of days this week into the 90's, but it's back into the 70's again....still cold at night. We'll be taking a vacation from the park to go up to Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Moutains for 3 days on the 14th of April with my brother and his wife. Got to get out and drive the Newell once and a while!

Finally was able to run the second coax cable from my satellite to the DVR so we can now watch a program while recording another, again, FINALLY! Only a dozen "honey do" items to go.

We have found a really cool "hole in the wall" Mexican restaurant in town called Tio's Tacos. Here are some pictures of this funky place which serves great food.

[folivier]

Ummmm green chili tamales! Some things you never forget.
Glad yall are enjoying your new experiences. We still have the house for sale, hoping the warmer weather gets people out.....We're anxious to start our travelling adventures.

[chockwald]

Forest, haven't forgotten about your "distress" while eating those green chili tamales in Santa Fe!

We finally leased our home out for 12 months. We'll look at the market again in a year, but I am not optimistic. Nevertheless, we shall proceed with style. The California market is terrible, and our unemployment is still over 12%.....can you imagine if that was the national average?

[chockwald]

Heading to Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains tomorrow morning.....still snow on the ground up there....wasn't expecting that! Will post pictures. Going to Serrano Campground (think it's a State Campground). Taking a vacation from our fulltime vacation....lol!

[folivier]

"Taking a vacation from our fulltime vacation...."

Love it! When I talk about vacation my son says "what's the point?"

[chockwald]

Our view this morning.....Serrano Campground on the shores of Big Bear Lake, CA....36 degrees at 7:50am.

[Neweller]

Clarke and Elaine, Tios place looks pretty cool! Glad to see you two having the time of your lives.

How did the coach pull the hill up to Big Bear?

Ken W.

[chockwald]

It pulled just fine....temp never got over 190. Went from around 700' elevation to well over 7,000' in less than 40 miles. Thanks Ken, we are having the time of our lives and we haven't even really hit the road yet. It can only get better! Thanks for asking.

[prairieschooner]

How is Riverside during this heat wave? good thing that they gave you 50 amp service.

[chockwald]

It was about 98 yesterday.......had both AC's going for the better part of the day. They did a wonderful job of giving both of us "brain freezes" at some point during the day. We were using around 45 amps at one point, but well within our 100 amp allowance. My concern is outage.....the whole campground lost power for a few hours over Memorial Day. Don't know if it was all the RV's drawing max power, or what. So far no blips.

The Dometic fridge, and Norcold basement fridge both did wonderfiully....kept the Norcold at 35 and the Dometic at 36. Steve I discovered, quite by accident, that I have TWO fans in the chimney behind the Dometic. The lower one I knew about....you have to plug it in to run it, but upper one I did not know about until I flipped on a green toggle switch wondering what it was several weeks ago. The first time it got a little warm the upper fan came on....apparently on some sort of thermostat. So, with 2 fans venting the chimney it is much easier to keep the Dometic absorbtion fridge in the 30's. We'll see how it fares today when it's supposed to get over 102. Keep the fridge 60 degrees below ambient temperature seems pretty good to me. I have always had problems in the past with other absorbtion fridges in the heat and humidity. So far our humidity is staying lower, and that is probably the key.

One of the pleasant surprises is that our propane tank has yet to be refilled. We have a 60 gallon capacity tank, but, as you know, you can only fill 80% of that. So, we have 48 gallons, and have only used 2/3 of that in 5 months! We run the water heater, stove, oven and BBQ off propane.

Since we added the RO system we, obviously, are dumping our gray tank (120 gallon capacity) more often. Prior to the RO system we dumped about every 5 days, but now it's every 3 days, or less. I think the representation of 1:1 is off Steve, just as you surmised. I would say it is closer to your estimate of 4:1 (4 gallons of waste for each gallon purified). Nevertheless, we are very happy with out setup. We dump the black around once per week (40 gallon capacity), and that has stayed consistent.

Over all we are very pleased with how our Newell is holding up to full time living, which is no surprise at all. By the way, I have been doing work on the car hauler trailer by bringing electrical into the trailer with lighting, and outlets, and have installed a work bench. Here are a couple of pictures of the new work bench folded up, and in the "down" position.

[The Newell]

That is a very thing to be able to keep cool. We in California like to keep ourselves and our refreshments to a nice cool norm.

[chockwald]

Tom, what have done in the past when leaving on a hot day (certainly not as hot as 110) is we freeze two 1 gallon jugs of water and put one in the freezer and one in the fridge portion and it speeds up the cooling when starting from scratch, and gives a few extra degrees of cooling....sometimes the difference. When Elaine came home from shopping Friday and put a bunch of room temperature food, etc. in the Norcold and the Dometic it took the rest of the evening until after midnight for them to get back to normal. Once there they have held their own, but I really don't want to find out how they do in 110 degree temperatures....haha!

[prairieschooner]

We do something very close. All of the incoming food goes in the NORCOLD that is in the Bay until it is cold enough to transfer inside to the DOMETIC. We also leave any item that is accessed more often in the NORCOLD say drinks and condiments when the temperature goes up. The Ammonia or Absorption type does present some challenges but I still prefer it to the electric counter part so that we can dry camp easily.
Even though we use our coach more in the winter (to evade that white s__t) I am interested in the fans that you say you have. Could you take a couple of pics or describe the location a bit more so that I can go looking or install some in case we need to travel some in the summer?

[chockwald]

Yesterday around 10:30am the ranger came to the Kiosk (on holidays we help out because sooo many people are coming into the park) and said the voltage in the Lakeview campground was down to 107, and in Cottonwood (where we are) down to 110. So we had to go around and ask everyone that had two AC's going to shut off one, or if they wished change over to genset power for a few hours. We managed to avoid a power outage, but everyone was a little uncomfortable for a few hours.....better than no AC at all.

The fridge and Norcold held their own all day. We got out the old ice chest and filled it with ice for the drinks so we didn't have to open the fridge, or Norcold too often.

Steve, the upper fan is not visible from below, but I can hear it running. I might have to take off the cover on the top to get a view of it, but I will take a pic of the lower fan, which is easily visible when the exterior vent cover is removed. The lower fan looks like a large computer fan, and it runs off AC, not DC.

[Neweller]

That is why I like to have a little solar power. I seen a bus conversion recently that ran all electric with two 4200 watt inverters and solar across the roof. They also had a genset for backup. Nice set up though.

Clarke, I have to say that your new work bench in your mobile garage now makes it a nice garage/shop.:thumbsup:

[prairieschooner]

Clarke,
bet that made you popular! right in the heat of the day ask everyone to turn off their A/C :o but it does sound like fun :thumbsup:.
gotta say that your are earning your keep

[rheavn]

I commend your ranger for being on top of his job! I would be much happier being told to go off the electric grid and running on genset, than burning up an a/c unit from low voltage. Kudos to your ranger.

[chockwald]

Elaine and I just passed the 5 month mark living full time in our 1982 Newell. The time has flown by, and neither of us has had, or is having second thoughts. Elaine officially retires 9/30/2011. Our departure date is still sometime after Christmas, 2011.

Had to unhook everything this past Saturday to go and fill up our propane tank. As many of you know we have a "60" gallon tank, but typcially you can only fill it to 80% of that capacity, or 48 gallons. We filled up January 31st, the day we moved into the park, and went over 5 months. I took on 45.5 gallons, so I was 2.5 gallons away from no hot water in the morning....haha! Good to know our gauge is pretty accurate. I figured we would take on over 40 gallons. Paid $3.00, including tax, per gallon. In order to stretch this tank to January I will stop using hooking up the gas BBQ to the quick connect, and use a 5 gallon bottle to run that from this point on.

The two original equipment roof A/C's are performing wonderfully, and we've been able to keep our fridge under 40 degrees even with temps up to 104 over July 4th weekend. As I mentioned in another post I discovered just recently that we had 2 chimney fans, not the one I could see, venting the chimney behind the fridge. The upper fan is controlled by a preset thermostat to come on at a certain temperature, and the lower one is plugged in manually to run it. Between the two, the fridge is performing above expectations.

[prairieschooner]

The fan in the picture looks like it was added at some time. It looks like a "computer" type cooling fan. You say that it is controlled by a thermostat? This could help increase the performance by helping with the vent. I am interested, could you get a picture of the thermostat.
Still, I prefer 70 degrees!

[chockwald]

The picture is of the lower fan that I must manually plug in to run. It is the upper fan that is controlled by a thermostat. Here is a picture of what I am calling a thermostat. It is set to come on at 105 degrees right now. It also controls a fan in the through storage compartment that will vent heat generated by the Norcold refer.

[prairieschooner]

ok but I am not sure how a temperature controlled switch in the bay would help with the refer. I am sure that it would help with the refer in the bay though. I will have to do some poking around now.
thanks for the pics

[chockwald]

Steve, the switch in the refer bay turns on the upper chimney fan automatically when the air temp inside the bay gets to a certain temperature. It works well in combination with the lower fan. I had installed something similar to this on my class C Tioga motorhome, and it helped a lot. The two fans I installed were solar powered, and so were on whenever the sun was out, whether or not it was hot. I can see the quantifiable difference on a hot day with and without the fans on. The switch in the bay is set at 105. I'm sure the temp inside the chimney gets hotter than that, but the low threshold in the bay, which when closed, and sun is hitting the door heats up quite quickly inside, and, therefore turns on both fans (the one venting the bay, and the one helping vent the chimney. It's what I would call a pro-active setup.

[chockwald]

It's been a couple of months (almost) since I wrote here.....we are now within 29 days of Elaine's official retirement....we are no longer talking in terms of months, or weeks, but now DAYS until we escape the workaday vortex of our lives. I have been reducing my time spent in the "office" to a couple of days a week now. It has been hard for me to start the "withdrawal" process. For a number of weeks I struggled with feelings of guilt, remorse, etc. about not "being" in the office 5 days a week. When you have been doing something for 40 years week after week it is hard to change that habit. Intellectually I understand that it is not necessary for me to be physically in my office every day anymore, but psychologically it was a struggle. I felt like a slacker, to use the term from "Back To The Future" by the principal, Strickland. Today I can say I don't feel those feelings anymore, and I no longer feel like a "slacker"....haha! My business is under control, my customers are happy, and could care less where I physically am when I speak with them over the phone. They just want to know that I am solving their problem, or answering their concerns about their insurance, etc.

Now, I get up in the morning with my wife and see her off on one of her last days "on the job" and then call my office to check for voicemail, check my e-mail, and then the FAX queue. If there is nothing awaiting my attention then I spend time reading a number of "fulltimer" blogs, read some political articles, and then work on the latest mountain bike I've bought to take apart and sell on Ebay. My last bike I bought and parted out was a 2003 Trek Fuel 9.8 (most of you will have no idea what that is, but Richard may) which I bought on Craigslist for $300, and sold part by part on Ebay for $900. I keep looking over my shoulder to see if someone is there saying "you can't do that!", but there is no one there, and my PayPal account continues to grow.....very cool to make money at something that gives you a lot of pleasure, and provides many buyers with a bike part they need at a reasonable price....win, win for sure.

Elaine and I spend about 10 hours a week, combined, cleaning the cabins and preparing them for occupancy the next weekend. We've settled into a nice routine that does not seem burdensome, and gives us some options when we are on the road to do some workcamping in other locals we may choose to spend a few months enjoying. This has been a great experience, and in the process we have made some new friends with quality people. The County of Riverside has treated us well, and provided us a great place to live, and we are truly grateful for this opportunity!

We are thoroughly enjoying fulltiming, and completely consider our Newell to be our "HOME" now. I love waking up in the morning realizing I am waking up in my Newell. Our two roof A/C's have worked marvelously this summer. We have most often only had to run one at a time, because with two on I get a brain freeze...lol!

We have been going on bike rides of varying length almost every weekend lately.....two weeks ago we embarked on a 45 mile tandem ride, and had a blast. Last weekend we rode, together, up to the top of Mt. Rubidoux and then on to breakfast at a local popular breakfast spot in Riverside, and then home...about 10 miles. Three weeks ago we did a 27 mile "trike" ride on our Terra Trike tadpole trikes on the Pacific Electric trail. The main thing is we are riding on a regular basis, at least once a week, and getting more seat time on the bikes....whether it be 10 miles, 27 miles, or 45 miles, we are getting out and doing it, which is a big change. It will only get better when Elaine no longer has to show up for work.

Well, that's my story. Life if good, and the future holds untold adventures yet to be experienced. We are on the threshold of a brand new life.

[folivier]

Good to hear all is well.
Cindy is in her third week of retirement, still waking up too early, but hey, the coffees ready when I get up!
Yes, it does take time to truly enjoy retirement. Been through most of the mixed feelings, now watching Cindy go through it. Counting the months until we hit the road in the spring, but we will spend 2 weeks diving in Bonaire next month. Then might take a few weeks to see the leaves change after we get back. After that, who knows?

[fulltiming]

That is great Clarke. I hope you and Elaine have as much enjoyment with the freedom of fulltiming as Georgia and I did for over 10 years.

[zcasa]

Hey Clarke:

Great Posting of the process that many of us will/or have experienced. Thank you. Congratulations to you and Elaine. I'm sure that you will have the Champagne ready, following her last day. You two raised 5 children, each of whom is very proud of your accomplishments and now each of them are going to be very happy as they hear of your adventures. What you are about to experience on the road is what Forest says is no accident. This planning began at least 30 years ago. Now it becomes reality. I think that the greatest thing about being retired is the freedom of time and choices that can be made. A wonderful time in life and one that I wouldn't want to trade. A 45 mile bike ride may be a little bit extreme, lol, but I am just leaving on a twenty mile training run. I run my 57th marathon in three weeks, this one in Germany. Crazy, yes, but the choices that each of us has is so fulfilling. Life is good and we hope to host you and Elaine in Colorado, as soon as you can get here. I might even save some of my honey do's, just so that you can feel productive, when here. lol. Enjoy counting the days to the end of September and may the two of you have many great years of continued prosperity, happiness, good health and safe travels together.

David and Denise

[chockwald]

David, I think the warranty on your knees is only good for 60 marathons....lol. A 45 mile bike, to me anyway, seems a little less extreme than running a marathon, but that's just me...haha! This past October Elaine and I rode 110 miles over two days from Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA down to San Diego, and then took AMTRAK back.

I can see the tension draining from Elaine day by day as she winds down to September 30th.....27 days to go!

Going to celebrate my grandson's 11th birthday today, so it's all good.

[chockwald]

Well, we are no longer counting weeks, or days, but now down to hours. At precisey 5pm tomorrow, 9/30/2011, Elaine will no longer be a "working girl". October 1st we start the next countdown until we pull up anchor and set sail for new frontiers...I know, I'm kind of mixing metaphors here. Nevertheless, on October 1st it will be approximately 93 days until we depart Rancho Jurupa Regional Park. Tomorrow will mark the end of our 8th month fulltiming in our Newell, and what a wonderful 8 months it has been!

We have begun to sift through our "stuff" again, this time the trailer is our focus. I moved a bunch of stuff that was in the trailer, but not being used, to our office warehouse for storage this past week, and we will continue to further "slim" down. Come January 2nd we will need to be able to put the T-Bird in the trailer. What we still have is manageable, and we will be installing wall cabinets shortly which will hold a lot of what is now sitting on the floor. The rest will go into storage, or be given away.

The weather here continues to be cooler than normal. September temps have been in the mid to low 90's, and down in the high 80's often. We had 3 100 degree days this month (September), but again low 100's. The feel of Fall is in the air, and we have not been running the A/C as much, and then it's only on for a few hours as opposed to all day as it was in August often.

We woke up this morning to "low voltage"....around 30 volts. It must have happened around 5:15am, because the clock was still on then, but 15 minutes later the clock was off. I got up and turned off the stand by power for both TV's, the satellite receiver, automatic coffee pot, and unplugged the computers and cell phones. And, finally, switched the fridge over to gas. Right now we are running off our small Honda 1000w generator....cheaper to run than the Kohler....about a gallon of gas every 5 hours, or so.

OK, that's the update from the Hockwald's for September.......93 bottles of beer on the wall, 93 bottles of beer....take one down, and pass it around, 92 bottles of beer on the wall....

[Barry Rooker]

Full timing? We are half-timing. It's a compromise I've reached with my wife. Four months in Indio in the winter, one month in northern Michigan in the summer & some odds & ends here & there. Could be the best of both worlds. At least it's my world and when home I'm always tinkering with the Newell or planning a trip. Lately, I'm online with Newell Classic. And that's pretty good too.

[afrench45]

Barry,
We will be at motorcoach country club from Dec.25 until Jan 4. Envious of your 4 months! Until kids are out of school it will be a dream!

[MarkofSJC]

Thanks so much for each of you sharing your experiences. While "full timing" during the summer is fun, I'm very envious of your chance to share fall on the road. No more big crowds, you get to enjoy the warm days & colder nights (Campfires!). Soon you'll be cycling off those A/C's for the last time! Please keep all the great updates coming!

Mark

[express1]

Barry,
We will be at motorcoach country club from Dec.25 until Jan 4. Envious of your 4 months! Until kids are out of school it will be a dream!

Hope to be that way also... along with Ron Skeen... however we have not secured lots yet.... any good deal you know about?

[folivier]

Hey Clarke, happy hour yet?
Tell Elaine congratulations.
Cindy and I are sitting in the airport on Curacao waiting on our plane to Bonaire for 2 weeks. Life's great!

[chockwald]

Happy hour right now....haha! Enjoy your fortnight in Bonaire!

[Summersgal]

Congrats Clarke and Elaine!!

Woohoooo Let the fun begin for BOTH of you!

Looking forward to seeing you this spring!

Pam

[chockwald]

OK, we are now about 60 days from pulling up anchor. I have been in communication with an authorized representative of AM Solar who will most likely be installing our solar charging system in early February after we leave our host duties and hit the road. Installing the solar charging system is a big part of our travel plan, which will enable us to dry camp as often as we wish, thereby keeping our overhead on the road low. With rising diesel prices this installation becomes even more important.

Winter, and that is a relative term in Southern California, is here......our electric heaters have been coming on at night, which means it's getting into the high 50's at night inside the coach, which means it's getting into the low 40's outside, if not into the high 30's on occasion. We've had record Santana winds the past 24 hours, with gusts of 100mph in the San Gabriel Valley last night. Fortunately we live in Riverside, a long way from there, and only had gusts in the 50mph range last night. Had to crank down the satellite dish last night, and switch over to cable feed (Time Warner). The window awnings, and main awning are stowed, and everything not nailed down is in the trailer (garage to us).

Getting more excited by the day...the next 8 weeks will go fast!

[Neweller]

Solar will be great Clarke. Looking forward to some day checking it out. I love the option on my coach. Heck you might as well load the top of the trailer if you're alright on weight.:thumbup:

[prairieschooner]

Do you know what Solar Panels and Regulator that will be installed?

It was a bit windy up here the last couple of days and we got a little snow as well. 30's wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't the high. We are off to Earp just outside of Parker, AZ just before Christmas. I am not looking forward to a white Christmas!

[chockwald]

We will do a consultation with the installer just before Xmas, and will decide what works best for our situation. Will let you know as soon as we have the rest of the details.

[chockwald]

The installer from A.M. Solar will be dropping by our park on Monday morning (19th) to do an assessment of our coach, and to determine what system we will install. We are very excited, to say the least....we will then head down to Temecula on February 1st to stay at the Escapee (SKP) park in Jojoba Hills where the installer is spending the winter to have the system installed. Just 6 weeks to go.....

It has been a very cold 3 weeks.....we've even had it get below freezing several days in a row, and have had frost most days for the past 10 days....it is indeed winter. Rained all day Monday, and Elaine and I spent the day inside reading and listening to the rain on the roof.....one of my favorite things about living in the Newell.

[folivier]

Hey Clarke, let us know how the Escapees park works out. We're still thinking of joining if it will save money.

[chockwald]

Will do Forest.....looks like daily rate for full hookups is $20 for members.

[chockwald]

Elaine and I were going to take a long bike ride yesterday (Christmas Eve), but the ongoing Santana Winds that have plagued our area for the past month, intervened. We should have known better than to redeploy the awning....no sooner had we put it up than it went from completely windless to 25mph winds from the north.....ugh! So, after taking the awning down, we spent the afternoon reducing the inventory of "stuff" in our trailer, or else we would have to slide the TBird in on its side when we leave on February 1st....lol. Much to our relief the process was not that difficult, and the TBird will fit with the rubber side down after all! It is amazing how we have been able to let go of things we thought we had to have, and are really traveling light now.

All those bikes in the pictures will be kept at the front the trailer in the work bench area where you see the tandem. The two recumbent trikes will be mounted outside on a rack above the "tool box". I wish I had taken a picture before we started removing stuff....you couldn't see the floor.....lol! There are still a few things in the trailer that will be stored in the basement area of the coach, but are being left in the trailer for now for convenience's sake.

[prairieschooner]

George Carlin called it "stuff" but in your case it is a trailer not a house;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtX3yZmzfUU

[LynnJeff]

Does anyone have any interesting stories or advice regarding being pulled over or getting permits to travel re: the length or weight? Our new 42'6" Newell and the stacker (no, I'm not saying the length :) ) is starting to get me worried....thanks, Lynn

[chockwald]

LynnJeff....if you've got a stacker your total length is probably "slightly" over 65'. There are some state (I think Ohio is one of them) who are real sticklers for length and will pull you over. I'm sure there are others on this site who can give you good information on how they avoid trouble. Good luck!

[larryweikart]

I've been pulling my 26' trailer for over 200,000 miles and have been stopped once by a D>O>T> officer in Ca.(of course) Received 1 ticket for being 71' overall, another for being 45' (at that time 40' was the maximum length coach allowed in Ca., since changed to 45') and another, believe it or not, for being too wide. He said my awning made me wider than 8.5'. When I suggested that he was mistaken on the over width charge, he asked me, "Just how many F-----g tickets would you like?" I never made another sound. I drove for a long time after that looking over my shoulder but have been cross country so many times I can't count them and have never had another problem!

[larryweikart]

By the way, living in Mi., I have to pass thru Ohio often and have not had any problems with the length, but I have never been able to enter the Ohio turnpike without being told my axle weight distribution was not proper. Most Newells will experience the same problem. They used to make you turn around and go thru again before they would issue you a "special" ticket and send you on your way. They have changed that practice and although we still do not show proper weight distribution, we just wait at the booth until someone comes to give us the "special" ticket without turning us around.

[LynnJeff]

Great. Thanks...yes...they do make 30' stackers...what were we thinking?

[MarkofSJC]

Does anyone have any interesting stories or advice regarding being pulled over or getting permits to travel re: the length or weight? Our new 42'6" Newell and the stacker (no, I'm not saying the length :) ) is starting to get me worried....thanks, Lynn

There's a certain CHP officer in S. CA who's sole purpose in life is to catch every possible vehicle over 65' ~ and not only write them a $4XX:angry: ticket, but require them to drop the trailer and have a tow truck remove it from the freeway and take it to their yard ($$$:cursing:). I've heard he typically patrols the I-10 somewhere near the LA - Palm Springs area. There's someone on the internet that actually has his schedule and posts it (yes, a CC owner recently left their home at 3:45 am with his stacker, just to be sure he cleared that point by the officer's 5am start of shift!

That's the only "heavy hitter" I've heard of from multiple sources.

Mark

[chockwald]

I'll keep this very brief....18 days.

[chockwald]

We are now down to 11 days....we have moved up our departure from the park to January 30th. We'll take on propane and fuel first thing Monday, and then head to my mechanic's to have oil, and filters (oil and fuel) changed, front A/C recharged, brakes checked, etc. Then it's south to Temecula where we will have our AM Solar installation done, and then off to Mesa, AZ to visit with Tom and Darlene for a few days. From there we want to head down to Senator's Wash and visit with Brad and Karen, then off to the Gulf Coast. I guess the trick will be not to rush things, and just travel slowly. This will be the first time we have ever traveled with no time constraints other than the changing seasons, and I don't know how that will feel just now.

It has gotten very cold at night here in Rancho Jurupa....frost on the grass most mornings, and I have had to scrape ice off my windshield more than once lately. It does warm up into the mid 70's most days.

We had a very nice going away party this past Sunday evening with all our kids, their kids, and all their friends (who consider themselves honorary Hockwald's) who spent 1,000's of hours at our home over the past 26 years, and will continue our second round of goodbyes this weekend with close friends, and in-laws. This "saying goodbye" stuff is not for the faint of heart.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.....at least until something changes my mind!

[folivier]

Clarke,
our plans are to leave sometime mid-Feb. and head on I-10 to San Antonio then take US Hwy 90 down to Del Rio, Langtry, and spend a few days in Big Bend state park. Then on to Mesa, and hopefully meet up with Steve and Tricia, and whoever else is in the area, then on into Utah to Moab.
Hope we can meet somewhere along the road

[chockwald]

I think we will be in the Tyler, TX area around mid February and then head south to Corpus Christi. Let's stay in touch.....we'll not be that far from you. We may be able to meet up in the San Antonio are, or east of there somewhere.

[fulltiming]

Clarke, if you and Elaine are passing through the Austin area in mid/late February, drop by. You can park our driveway. We have 50 amp and water.

[chockwald]

Michael, that would be wonderful! We will be coming through Austin on our way to the Gulf Coast. We're going a little further east initially so we can pass through the Tyler area and visit family, and then down to Austin to see the rest of the family, so that works well for us!

[encantotom]

you are assuming that darlene and i will let you guys leave mesa.

tom

[prairieschooner]

Forest,
Our plans have changed as of late. This new account is keeping me busy with assignments and now we are back to So. Cal. tomorrow. Not sure when I will be able to get back this way.
I have also had a tenant move out so I will be working on our other house next month (the one in Los Angeles that we do not live in) and not driving the Newell around.

[folivier]

Trying to get out of that beer you owe me Steve?
Don't worry I'll find you!

[chockwald]

you are assuming that darlene and i will let you guys leave mesa.

tom

You're right I was caught assuming again......haha! Can't think of anyone I would rather be held hostage by than you and Darlene......I'm assuming there would be lots of pizza?

[folivier]

Hey Clarke, I thought about you and Elaine today as I was re-arranging and loading up my basement storage. Did you weigh your coach since you've been fulltiming?
I guess I'll do that first chance as we head out but I don't think I've added much more weight (I did take out the spare, that'll give me some more capacity).

[chockwald]

We had it weighed a couple of years ago, but since then have discarded a lot of what we were carrying then. At that time we were at 29,000+ lbs fully loaded. Be sure to have each corner weighed. Our GVWR on the label inside our door is 34,000 lbs, so we are well within limits.

[prairieschooner]

Trying to get out of that beer you owe me Steve?
Don't worry I'll find you!


Don't worry we will be able to have a "beer fest" in true Huck Finn style. I would supply the beer (a Keg or two) plus food (a Taco Truck!) and you can help me paint a 3 bedroom house, inside and out.

[folivier]

Not a problem, we're practicing right now. Re-painting the kitchen and a bedroom before we list the house. I found out that Cindy is the perfect height to stand on the countertop and paint above the cabinets. That'll save my back and knees!

[chockwald]

Forest, you are so funny!

[folivier]

Teamwork....

[chockwald]

109.5 hours until we leave on our adventure.....yes, we are no longer counting months, weeks, or days....we are down to hours. Today I wrestled the replacement air filter back into position. Must harder to put back in than take out. This filter is huge. Tom helped me find a source (filterbarn) where I could get this monstrosity for $122.50 shipped....I paid $348 last time at a local supplier who must have seen me coming. Thank you, Tom, for the heads up!! Here is a picture of the beast.

We are down to the "short strokes", and there are a lot of short strokes remaining before Monday morning at 6:30am......we will be coming to a town near you soon.

[folivier]

Awesome Clarke!
We're down to finally (tentatively) setting a date of Feb. 16th to leave.
Should have the house listed this weekend, finally after a mad 2 weeks of getting a lot done. The coach is ready and rarin' to go. Still have to get the mail forwarded, have a couple get-togethers with friends and family to do. Got the basement compartments organized with room to spare. Looked at storage units yesterday for when the house sells. Finished painting- decided to do it ourselves after getting quotes of $40.00/hour!!! Come on guys $40/hr for 1 guy to PAINT???? Not exactly rocket science. Rant over.
Enjoy your lift-off date, let us know how the solar install goes, how many watts of panels?
Too much coffee this morning....

[chockwald]

Installing two 150 watt panels from A.M. Solar along with all the associated monitors, controllers, etc. That installation will begin 1/31/2011 at the Escapee park near Temecula, CA at Jojoba Hills. Once the installation is done then we will have to sit for an additional 24 hours while the sealant, used to seal the holes drilled in my mostly virgin roof, cures. It will be fun to learn how to use this new system. Does this mean I can no longer claim that my coach is "low tech"?i

[zcasa]

Hey Forest and Clarke:

Hello from Costa Rica. They have painters down here that are much more reasonable. You guys are going to have tons of fun beginning in February as you both begin your long anticipated tours around the country. May be able to catch both of you in the southwest if Darlene and Tom have enough pizza to spread around. Lol

See y'all soon.

David

[chockwald]

Darlene had better start making the pizza's now.....lol! We'll be at Tom and Darlene's by next Friday....Saturday at the latest. Tom says I can park in the driveway in front of the 2002 Newell....wow, I forgot how long their driveway is! While we're there we're going to be installing a "new" to us fridge....ours turns 30 in March, so we're switching from a middle aged fridge to one still in 3rd grade, and which also gives us the automatic feature of switching from electric to gas, and back automatically.

Enjoy Costa Rica! Looking forward to spending time along the Gulf Coast as we meander eastward from Corpus Christi to the Florida Panhandle.

[prairieschooner]

Hey Clarke what do you want for your old refrigerator? I may want some parts for ours.

Send me a PM if it is still working.

[encantotom]

we will make anything you want, so come on over. David we always have room for you.

tom

[chockwald]

Decided to change the view out our coach door, so departed Rancho Jurupa one year to the day since we arrived. Arrived at my mechanic's around 7:30am to have oil changed (5.4 gallons of Rotella 40wt), oil filter, fuel filters, check trans fluid (OK), drain air tanks....NO water at all in any of the three tanks (the front two have petcock valves, and the rear has some sort of auto fixture that you press up on a pin and the air, or water comes out), top off tire pressure, and recharge front A/C....it's blowing icicles again! Left my mechanic's place around 1:15pm, and arrived at SKP park near Aguanga, CA (near Temecula) at 3:15pm. Then, turned around at 4pm to drive the 'Bird back to Corona to honor my final soccer assignment (and I mean final). Right now we are in the boondock sites awaiting the availability of our full hookup site so we can move in and begin the solar panel installation. Life is good!

6:40PM - Got the cabling and other associated wiring run today. We were able to follow "plan A" all the way, which means we followed the most direct and shortest route to the battery bank. Steve Ward was of great assistance as we solved a potential ground issue....thank you Steve for being such a good friend! Tomorrow the panels will be mounted, and the battery monitor hooked up. Many pictures to follow. Took a bunch today.

We have the greatest view in site 224....close as you can get to a 360 degree view! Starting to feel the work-a-day tension melt away, and starting to gaze wonderingly at the horizon...what adventure awaits us tomorrow? I don't know, but I'm going to enjoy finding out! Installation will reconvene promptly at 8am tomorrow, and by this time tomorrow nite we will be solar powered. Mike and Lisa Sylvester (The RV Guy, Inc.) are doing a superb, professional installation job. We are involved every step of the way. No decision is made without our input.

This is our first experience staying at an Escapee (SKP) Park.....what a pleasant experience. The nightly rate is $20....anywhere else this would be a $100/nite spot....this is what I would call a 5 star resort. Even the boondock area where we stayed last night has it's own restrooms, and laundry. Almost every single site has a view, some, like ours, spectacular! The boondock rate is $5.00/nite!

Elaine drove into Temecula today to do shopping and picked up a couple of salmon filets that are to die for! That's it for now....will post again tomorrow with many, many pictures.

[chockwald]

Got the cabling and wiring all finished and the solar panels in place, and turned on the system late this afternoon....the sun was low in the sky so we were only picking up .5 amps for just a few minutes. Mike had me turn off the charger so we can run the batteries down a little tonight and then we will get the full effect when the sun comes up and watch the batteries brought up to charge. Mike and Lisa will be attending their annual general meeting for this Escapee park until early afternoon tomorrow, so once they are done they will be able to apply the sealant, and then it will be 24 hours from that point before we can move. It was too cold to apply it this evening. So we will be here until at least Friday afternoon....so, Tom, I will call you tomorrow to adjust our ETA.

On a slightly different note, about a month ago we plugged the trailer into the 7 pin receptacle to check the lights on the trailer. Everything worked, including the brake lights. When we plugged in Monday morning the brake lights would not work. Same problem I had a few years ago when we went to Austin. When we were at my mechanics they tried to trouble shoot the problem, but just could not get any power to the two pins that send the brake signal to the trailer. After a couple of hours I called them off and had them finish the service so we could get out of there. Instead of loading the 'Bird in the trailer I had Elaine follow me down so at least those following would see her brake lights. The brake lights on the Newell work fine, so no problem there. I figured, how hard can this be??? The guys at the shop were trying to tap into the "rat's nest" of wires (that I am starting to clean up as of today), and they just could not get power....weird. Soooo, today I decided to take a look. The tangle of wires left by the guy who installed the brake controller, and the next guy who fixed the problems he created are very confusing, so I decided to look for a clean wire that had not been touched...the wire that runs to the driver's side brake lights. I tapped into that wire, and then ran the power from that wire down to the red and green wires that go down to the 7 pin plug.....I am the man....it worked...I now have power at the two pins that send the brake signal to the right and left brake lights on the trailer....took less than 30 minutes beginning to end. Now the big job is to get back in and remove all the old splices, and connectors and run clean wires again...using the correct colors....that will take a little longer....but, now I have trailer brake lights!

[folivier]

Kinda had to do the same thing for my toad lights. Previous owners had th wiring so messed up that I couldnt figure it out either so I just ran a new set and plug. I know that wiring and can troubleshoot any problems from there.
Glad the solar install is going good, what monitor are you going with?

[chockwald]

Blue Sky charge controller and monitor.

Here is a picture of our site at SKP Jojoba Hills (Aguanga, CA) and of the two 150 watt panels installed. More pictures to follow of entire installation!

[prairieschooner]

The site looks nice. Are the panels working yet?

[chockwald]

Yep, Steve, panels are pushing power into the batteries. I tilted them up this morning. Here are some pics of the panels tilted, the Blue Sky monitor, and the Blue Sky charger controller, as well as the switches and shunt.

[folivier]

Clarke, did you have to make a reservation at the SKP campsite?
Or is it first come, first served?
I joined last night and will probably stay at the ones west of San Antonio and east of El Paso when we leave in 13 days.

[prairieschooner]

They look good, can you post a pic showing the hinges, etc. Still don't know how often I would climb to the roof, just curious.
Forest, I think that Clarke should just show up but you on the other hand............

[folivier]

Might not be a good thing if they know I'm coming....

[chockwald]

Forest, depends on the park. The one we are in is an ownership park (I think these are called Rainbow Parks), and you have to be a guest of an owner to get in. In others I believe you need to call ahead for hookups, but most have a boondocking area which I believe only costs $5.00 per night. Full hookups are generally $20 per night.

Steve, I'll take pictures tomorrow of the mounting brackets and you will see how it works. No hinges involved.

[Brad Townsend]

Good looking job Clarke.
Re: the lights to the trailer problem. I had that happen to me once while back east. The worked then didn't. I opened the rear door where the contacts or relays are and tapped on them then they worked.

[chockwald]

Arrived at the McCloud RV Resort and Spa this evening in Mesa, AZ, and we have all the amps we want as long as they don't exceed 15....lol! Thankfully our coach has few demands that can't be met by 15amps, so it's all good. The run down from Indio, CA was not uneventful.....as night was setting in I noticed that the trailer running lights were not working....shortly before that the cruise control quit working, and then I noticed that when I put on the turn signals all the rear lights lit up.....groan.....when we arrived the docking lights came on spontaneously, and I could only turn them off by turning off the Jake brake....what the? Well tomorrow will be interesting. Got the 25 cent tour of the 2002 Newell.....man that girl is tall! Well, that's all for this evening....I am beat, and I have a lot of problem solving in store tomorrow....should be here through the end of the week!

[encantotom]

clarke,

you will leave when we let you leave......ha

tom

[Brad Townsend]

Clarke
Sounds like your in good hands.

[chockwald]

Brad, we are in good hands, and Tom....I didn't say which week.....lol!

[Brad Townsend]

Maybe you can get Tom to follow you back here to Senator wash for the mini rally.

[prairieschooner]

Have Tom give me a call, I can still remember most of the Wiring for my Brake, Turn and Running Lights from when my Brake Lights were not working.
Sounds like someone may have done something when trying to add wiring .... maybe Trailer Lights?

[prairieschooner]

The Brake Lights would not work on our '82 when we first got it. I found that a PO had "hot wired" a switch at the dash to allow him to energize the brake lights, a real Rube Golberg! After removing all non-factory wiring I found that the problem was in the Steering Column and in the Emergency Flasher and Turn Signal Switches. From what I remember the ROSS Steering Column had this problem and Chuck at Newell was able to find a kit to up-grade and correct this problem.

I cannot remember exactly how this is wired but the Brake Signal is interrupted by either the Turn Signal or the Emergency Flasher Switch so that the Forward Turn Signals do not come on when the Brake Lights do. I was able to locate the problem and solder a jumper until I could get the parts to repair it correctly.

The Relays at the rear of the coach (on ours) energize all of the lights on either the left or right for the Brake and or Turn Signals. There is a Brake Signal at the rear that goes to the Cruise Control to stop it after using the Brakes but I am sure that it was not intended to power up one or more of those Sealed Beams that were originally used as Taillights.

If you do get a kit from Newell then the Hub for the Steering Wheel will need to be turned down to clear the new Assembly. Send me an email and I will forward a copy of the letter showing where it needs to be turned down and the correct dimensions (the file is too large for this forum).

Hope this helps.

[chockwald]

Brad, Tom's new coach is a ways from being ready for traveling. As we went through his coach last night he ticked off a pretty long list of things that need to be done, including new tires. Maybe we could get him to drive the '90 Newell down to Senators Wash? It is ready for traveling. The other problem, I believe his is taking off for Malaysia in a couple of weeks, or less. Neverthess, we will be coming soon!

Steve, I do remember your problem, and what you had to do to fix it. We'll take a look at it in the next day, or so. Tom will be home late from work tomorrow, so we may not get to it until Thursday, or the weekend. At least I have brake lights on the trailer again!

We are also tracing air leaks in the rear compartment (I know he talked to you about that). When I first got up this morning I was a little down because of the lighting issues we had the prior night arriving here. After today I am much more optimistic! The only issue remaining is the turn signals on the coach coming on when the brakes are applied. Tom is also helping me wire up my remaining flourescent light fixtures with LED's we did one this evening so I could duplicate that tomorrow with the others. We are becoming so energy efficient!

The weather here is wonderful.....low 70's with light breeze....perfect weather for working on the coach.

[Brad Townsend]

If Tom could make it, it would be great if he could bring the older coach because there may be someone interested in it. I wish you well with your electrical troubles.

[chockwald]

Brad, the electrical stuff is coming along. Was able to get the trailer back on line. The only remaining issue is that the coach rear turn signals activate when the brake lights do. Tom also helped me troubleshoot some "dead" marker lights on the back of the trailer, and he found a couple of wires that had pulled out of their connectors, so we fixed that in short order. Now all the lights on the trailer work! Steve Ward thinks it (turn signals acting like brake lights) has something to do with the hazard switch in the steering column that everything goes through. He had this issue when he first bought his coach, only he had NO brake lights. So, Tom and I will probably dig into that tomorrow evening, or Saturday. He has a long work day today. I'll be busy converting my flourescents to LED's today!

[chockwald]

Made a run to Hei Tek in north Phoenix to buy suspension solenoids for the rear air suspension today (2 + a spare - Steve, they cost $40 per and they have 12 in stock until tomorrow when I buy 3 more), along with numerous other stops at AutoZone (replacement bulbs for running lights that had burned out), Home Depot to get things needed to replace our fluorescent light fixtures with LED lights, Radio Shak for 18 gauge stranded wire for the LED installation, Parker Hose Supply for air fittings. We left around 11am, and got back home around 3pm. I was able to replace the cove lights in the bedroom (totalling 8 fluorescent fixtures, each with 2 18" tubes) with LED's in about an hour's time. About the time I finished up that project Tom arrived home from work and we promptly began working on replacing the two ride height solenoids. Took a couple of hours, and then we turned the coach back on and it aired up in about 2 minutes....used to take 8-10 minutes! Then we lowered the coach down again to raise it again and 3 and the 4 remaining original solenoids started leaking air....guess they didn't like being jostled and banged around while we replaced the others, so it's back to HeiTek tomorrow morning for 3 more (already having to use the spare I bought)....not going to wait for the 4th to go!

By the time we figured out what was wrong it was after 9pm, so we didn't eat dinner until about 9:30pm, and sat talking and laughing with Tom and Darlene until almost 11pm. Well, it's time to hit the sack....a lot to do tomorrow, and Friday, and Saturday.....Saturday we will swap out our fridge with the one Tom took out of his1990 Newell....by the way, we went over to the storage yard last evening to see the LED lights in the 1990 that he installed in......they are wonderful. Then we went back home and Tom gave me a tutorial on how to covert the single ceiling LED fixtures. I am now an expert in soldering and LED light installation!

[prairieschooner]

A word of caution for anyone looking to buy the MAC Valves...You can only buy them from the Distributor in your area. In my area I am buying them from PROVOAST, that is why I gave the link to the Distributors in the other discussion.

[chockwald]

The end of a very long day, but you should see the smile on my face.....I purchased the additional solenoid leveling valves for the suspension/leveling system....there are six in all for the rear of the coach. Tom McCloud and I sat on his garage floor for several hours disassembling and reassembling the 6 valves. Tom took a picture of everything before we removed it and began "fixing it", and printed a blowup of it so we would be able see what it used to look like, where all the hoses went, and where all the wires connected. We started around 6pm, and finished just shy of 11pm......BUT....now there are no air leaks....at least that can be detected by human ears. We lowered and raised the coach several times and all is good! Before Tom got home from work I converted 2 more fluorescent light fixtures to LED's....3 to go. Also did some more rearranging of things in the trailer.....slowly but surely getting the storage figured out. The early part of the day was spent driving up to north Phoenix to get the additional solenoid valves to fix the rear suspension, and rid our lives of air leaks! Tomorrow several small projects, and then Saturday we will swap out refrigerators. Life is good!

[prairieschooner]

Your '82 is loving the attention and now a new Refer! Sounds like Life is Good!

[chockwald]

Steve, life is good......got the solenoid cluster taken apart and reassembled last night and it works great!!! Still holding the same PSI 9 hours later.....would have been flat by now, if not earlier. Here are some pictures....the before picture is a picture of the picture Tom printed out and made notations on so we could be sure to hook everything back up correctly, and the second is the after. Took about 5 hours beginning to end....we sat on his garage floor doing the work....that cold concrete is tough on old joints!

By the way, Tom did the lionshare of the work....I was there for moral support, and to hand him things....I did use a wrench a little bit, but BIG thanks goes to Tom for a couple of late night efforts.....my '82 Newell and I thank you Tom!

[encantotom]

ok, so you dont think i am soooo incredibly old and slow and creaky.

it only took 4 hours not 5. (i worked till 7pm doing my day job)

i was comfortable sitting on the garage floor (i rather like it to be honest)

it was a lot of fun to work on something with someone. like most of you it is usual to do things by myself and how to hold something by leaning it on something or making a jig etc.

clarke is great company and darlene and elaine are enjoying each other.

i told clarke that he would likely get tired of us wayyy before we do of them.

my neighbors think it is a bus convention at my house. we have two newells, my f350, clarkes tbird, darlenes honda, our sonata, the jeep and car for the young couple that lives with us all in my driveway or in front of my house. i have great neighbors so no one cares.

forest will be coming by in a few weeks. it will be fun to see them.

whos next after forest?

tom

[chockwald]

Converted three more ceiling fixtures to LED today, and installed LED lights in one of the engine bays. What a difference! Tomorrow the fridge.

[chockwald]

Tom and I spent a good portion of the day installing the Dometic Classic Aibsorption refrigerator. This one is around 8 years old, but Tom is not quite sure.....it is several generations newer than my 30 year old refer which was totally manually operated....the newer one switches back and forth between gas and electric automatically, and looks great! Helped Tom pull some wire for the new headlights he is installing in the 2002 coach. Will work on converting more 12 volt fluorescent and automotive lights to LED tomorrow, and Monday....hope I will be done by then. Put in a nice LED light in the engine compartment.....man, it is like daylight in there now....before had ONE of those 4" X 4" lights with one automotive bulb....just enough light to tease you.

Darlene even got into the act today helping Elaine repair the end of the awning pull down. The loop that you hook to pull down the awning was about to come undone, and so Darlene brought several of her sewing machines (Brother, Baby Lock and an industrial grade Juki to do the work outside on the sidewalk in front the coach and did a wonderful repair!

After a hard day of work Tom treated all of us to dinner at Texas Roadhouse.....thanks Tom!

[prairieschooner]

Clarke,
Would you post some more pictures of the new Refrigerator? It is encouraging to know that Tom's Coach Works has been able to help you guys get a newer unit in.

[chockwald]

OK Steve, here you go....this newer Dometic is a little wider inside, and a little deeper inside, and a little taller inside. The control panel on the OLD one is inside the fridge below the crisper drawers. The newer one has the panel ("eyebrow") on the outside above the freezer door. The gas line in the picture of the rear of the new fridge is temporary. I'm having a custom line made. The green cover visible is the Dinosaur cover for the Dinosaur board Tom put in a few years ago to replace the old one. Also, a bonus picture of one of the converted fluorescent fixtures. And finally, a picture of the old Dometic sitting in Tom's garage. The new fridge is quite a bit lighter than the old one. I will be removing the faux wood panels from the old one. Elaine ordered black ones from CampingWorld for the new Dometic yesterday that should arrive by tomorrow.

[chockwald]

We were awaiting a FedEx delivery of the fridge door panels today/this afternoon/this evening......apparently it is still residing in the FedEx terminal in North Phoenix until tomorrow.....soooooooooo......the Mesa vortex has not released its grip on us, or our coach. There has been talk that an unnamed person residing on, or near Encanto Street in Mesa, AZ has somehow delayed the delivery of the package....lol. Really, leaving Tom and Darlene's is bittersweet, but our dream is to travel, and change our view out the front window on a regular basis. Another part of the freedom to wander is to decide when to move, and when to sit still. Sitting still here in Mesa has been delightful, and therapeutic. I leave here much more confident in my ability to take care of our coach, and for that I owe Tom a debt of gratitude. Not as much for what he did, which was a lot, but for encouraging me to do things myself. The Thunderbird is loaded in the trailer, and we are ready to head southeast into Texas......

[Brad Townsend]

No Senator Wash?
By the way how are your panels fastened to the roof? I hear they are now using 3m tape.

Brad

[folivier]

We made it to Coushatte Recreation Ranch yesterday west of Houston for our first night. Nice place about 8 miles off I-10 way back down a lonely road.
We may hang here a day or two then head for San Antonio.
Only probably was the speedometer is totally out now. The speedo quit working last year but I've just been using vmspc but now the odometer is out so I guess its time to replace it. I might wait until we get to Arizona, I heard theres a great repair shop in Mesa....

[express1]

I think the vmspc give miles also....But since you are going to the famous shop in Mesa, I would have it replaced......also could you check on body and paint work? The head on the scrub brush broke off and I put about a 8" scratch on the front of my coach....Glad I was paying attention.....

[encantotom]

clarke and elaine just drove off into the sunset from our house.

they left for the second time today and this time i was able to see them off. i will let clarke explain why.

we will miss having them around.

tom

[prairieschooner]

What is that behind that Newell, A Castle? maybe Tom's Coach Works?

[larryweikart]

This may not be the exact place to inquire, but, since I continue to see comments about this great repair shop in Mesa, Az., I was wondering if any of you wealthy Newell owners would like to invest in a small LLC to build or purchase a building in the Mesa area so that talented Newell mechanic, Tom, could spend more of his "spare " time restoring our "old" Newells. The club could be called "McClounds Prouds"

[larryweikart]

Sorry, typo.....meant to say "McClouds Prouds"

[chockwald]

Brad, I apologize...we ended up staying at Tom and Darlene's so long that we are now under the gun to get to Tyler, TX, and then on to Austin, TX by the 27th. I arrived in Mesa with my tail between my legs....the cruise control had quit working, the docking lights switch melted down as we were parking, and the rear Mak valves were leaking like a sieve. Along with those issues we were going to install Tom's used Dometic Classic. In addition Tom showed me how to convert my fluorescent lights to LED lighting, so that took a few days of labor.

The solar panel brackets are mounted using a heavy duty 3M two sided tape, and then sealed with Dicor (sp?). No holes drilled in the roof for any part of the installation.

We had planned to leave Tom and Darlene's on Wednesday afternoon, but CampingWorld did not ship our item until Wednesday, so we were not able to get it until today, and that took a few phone calls to FedEx to keep it off the truck so we could go and pick it up on our way out of town. We left their home around 10am to head over to Tempe to get the CampingWorld item, and then head southeast on I-10. We only got 2 blocks when I noticed that the air pressure was over 150 psi! Bad news....I pumped the brakes to reduce the pressure as we limped back to Tom's house. I called Tom and he recommended I call his mechanic, Leo, at All Aboard America, and see what he said. Leo immediately diagnosed the problem as a defective pressure regulator. On the way back I stopped by Leo's shop on the way home from FedEx (as it turns out CampingWorld shipped the WRONG ITEM!), and bought the replacement regulator, and headed home. Tom arrived home from work just after we got home and supervised me in his work clothes while I removed and replaced the air pressure regulator....normally it is mounted on the back of the mechanical compressor, but in our case it was mounted remotely on the front wall of the driver side engine bay. We at last departed Encanto Street around 3pm and made it to Benson, AZ where we are staying at Benson I-10 RV Park for the night (Passport America) for $15 for full hookups including 50amp, and cable TV...nice overnight park! Needed fullhookups tonite to dump my gray tank so I could take a shower!

Well that's all for tonite!

[Brad Townsend]

Thats ok Clarke, I figured something like that happened. I am glad you got all the stuff done that you were able even the last minute problem. You couldn't have been in a better place.
Just think if that happened on some long stretch in texas in the middle of nowhere. I am sure there will be another time to get together.
Safe travels.

[prairieschooner]

Clarke, would you post the part number and manufacturer of the regulator you had to replace?

[fulltiming]

Clarke, sorry to hear about the pressure regulator but that is certainly one of the best locations for it to happen if it had to happen at all. One of the things I love about Tom is his willingness to share his knowledge with others and his willingness to work on almost anything.

Glad you are on the road any hopefully you will have smooth riding to Tyler.

[cubeman]

I'm sitting here pondering and dreaming of full timing in a Newell? Some have done it, some are doing it and others are dreamin' about it.

Either way, it's all good.........:thumbsup:

Myself, I'm working on a happy medium. Hum..???

Now, to finish getting rid of a life accumulation of possessions (JUNK) for a simpler life of enjoying a condo on wheels...no more mowing the lawn (acreage) ugh! Actually really burned out on property ownership. I will miss the greenhouse, though. There has to be an alternative for that one?

What-cha thoughts....????:o

Ken W.

KEN . YES YOU WILL MISS THE GREEN HOUSE :( BUT THINK OF WHAT AWAITS YOU . :thumbsup:

[cubeman]

I AM NEW TO THE SITE AND STILL TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT . MY WIFE AND I FIRSTY VISITED THE NEWELL FACTORY IN 1991 AT THE TIME WE OWNED A BB . I WAS ALLWAYS DRAWN TO HOW NEWELL WAS AHEAD OF THE CURVE. I KNOW THAT THRU THIS GROUP ERIKA AND I WILL FULFILL OUR DREAM AND OWN THE BEST MADE COACH IN THE WORLD .:thumbsup:

[rheavn]

Cubeman,
Welcome to a most informative site with some of the most helpful & friendly people I have found anywhere. I started looking at Newells in '94 and finally got my "dream coach" in 2010. Couldn't be happier. The site has a learning curve, but just post questions & wait for an onslaught of answers.

[cubeman]

Cubeman,
Welcome to a most informative site with some of the most helpful & friendly people I have found anywhere. I started looking at Newells in '94 and finally got my "dream coach" in 2010. Couldn't be happier. The site has a learning curve, but just post questions & wait for an onslaught of answers.

thank you Steve , could you share how you went about your purchase ? When we look at a newell :wub: how would yu say it compars to a Prevost , Blue Bird ? when we look at price we find the Newell and Prevost close with the BB 30% less . Were is the greater cost Justified ? the main difference we found was BB is out of business . with the coaches in our price point this would remove the warranty issue . then we noticed that most of the systems very similar so thru sites likethis repair and parts are equell .
So our dream coach is the 2001 we saw at Q this past Jan :o .
2001 45 Newell 250 k
2001 prevost 210 k
2001 Wanderlodge 130 k
HELP :unsure::unsure:

[rheavn]

Cubeman,
Why don't we start a new thread under "General Discussion" as we are off topic here. Just go to "General Discussion" and open it which will open a bunch of topics that have been discussed. Look up in the right corner just below the page numbers and you'll see "Forum Tools". Click on it and you'll see a topic "Post a new thread". Click on it and you can start a discussion. You can even copy & paste your question into the new thread from here. This will help you understand the workings of the forum.

Hope this is helpful.....................

[cubeman]

Thank you , I did see how we were off topic there sorry :unsure:

[chockwald]

We had a smooth drive to Tyler....left Tom's house on Friday and drove to Benson, AZ....around 160 miles I think....still had 1,000+ miles to go so drove 565 yesterday and around 453 today.....just as we were parking the coach a seal in the water pump expired, and we quickly lost a few gallons of coolant....I drained another 4 gallons quickly into a large bucket to get the coolant level below the pump and stop the leaking. Tom has already helped me locate a possible replacement on Ebay....just have to confirm it is the same configuration as mine.....it is a mechanical, or gear driven pump, but I need to confirm the outlet, and inlet configuration. The ones on Ebay look the same, but will remove tomorrow and confirm part #. All in all, the best place for this failure in your driveway, or in one of a relative in this case! My knowledge base continues to grow.

Thank goodness this did not happen somewhere in West Texas 100 miles from anywhere!

[chockwald]

This morning I printed off the pictures of the pump on Ebay I was interested in, and then compared them to the pump I have, and it is an exact match! The pump was shipped today by the seller via UPS, and has a tentative arrival date of 2/23/2012....Thursday....perfect! Attached is a picture of a pump like mine...this is not the one I am buying, but he had the best picture of the engine side of the pump I could find. I rotated the picture to give you an idea of how it is mounted to the engine.

[chockwald]

Today, Monday, February 27th, we are pulling up anchor again and heading for Austin, TX to visit Michael and Georgia Day, and also Elaine's sister and brother-in-law. After that on to the Gulf Coast. I'm glad to be moving again as this sitting in one place fixing things is wearing me out!

[chockwald]

Arrived at Michael's home on Lake Travis around 4pm. What a great view of Lake Travis they have. Michael provides 50amp service, and water for guests arriving via coach. We are very near La Hacienda RV Resort where we all met for the Austin Mini Rally a few years ago.....can it have been 3 years? Great to see good friends....as I have often reported, owning a Newell is a wonderful experience, but the friendships that have followed our purchase of our '82 are priceless, and are really the best part of owning a Newell.

[tuga]

Clark,

We were in Austin in October 2011 and Lake Travis was almost dry. Have the rains filled it up again or at least to a low level. It did not even look like a lake in October.

[rheavn]

Clarke,
Why don't you & Michael put together another mini rally? Sounds like a nice destination. Nice and centrally located.

[chockwald]

Tuga, it is about 48 feet down today...it was 52 feet down until they got a big rainfall last week.

Steve.....Austin is a nice destination, and La Hacienda RV Resort where we had the Texas rally a few years ago is very nice. I'll talk to Michael about something in the future. He still has a lot at La Hacienda where he keeps his Newell.

[chockwald]

For those of you who may venture to Austin in the future, Michael and Georgia Day will provide you with a great view of Lake Travis, water, 50amp service, and wonderful Texas hospitality! We are really enjoying ourselves here. Last night Georgia hosted a retirement party for Michael. Many of the guests were neighbors. Elaine and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening, and the amazing dinner Georgia prepared. Thank you Michael and Georgia for including us.

[chockwald]

Left Austin at 11am and arrived San Antonio around 2:15pm.....stopped in Kyle, TX at the local HEB supermarket to fuel up, and do a little shopping....119 gallons at $453.....should last us now until late April based on our travel plan. Will hit the Mission Trail bike path into downtown San Antonio tomorrow morning for a day of site seeing (Alamo, Riverwalk, and 4 missions). Traveled 102 miles today.....more what you can expect from us the next 8 weeks....when we move......

Always hate getaway day....saying "until next time" is painful for me. We had the most wonderful hosts (Michael and Georgia Day) for 7 days, and will miss them a lot, but now we are on our own for several weeks with no obligations.....looking forward to a more relaxed pace. Off to Corpus Christi on Tuesday. Georgia gave us a wonderful going away breakfast today.....Quiche.....or at least a very good variation on that theme....thank you Georgia....wonderful breakfast, and even better conversation!

[prairieschooner]

Looks like the fuel was about $3.80/Gallon, not bad! The Land of Fruits and Nuts (California) sure does Tax us! At last check best price locally is about $4.40/Gallon. We will need to get into Yuma next time we need Fuel.

[chockwald]

Actually, $3.77, and we were grateful! The best we have done was in El Paso at $3.59/ gallon. Most prices we see are in the $3.99 to $4.07 range. If we see a really good price, we go for it.

[chockwald]

Arrived Corpus Christi 10am, and an early start from San Antonio. Visited Padre Island National Seashore, and obtained our Senior Passes (formerly Golden Age Pass). Living off our batteries, and solar panels while we are here in a park just north of Corpus Christi staying in a free site. Got this info from Escapees Days End publication. It costs $10 to get it, and it paid for itself today with a free site for 3 days next to the Nueces River. What a great site for FREE!

[ccjohnson]

Best fuel price we've seen this trip out was 4.01 at Pride Service Center in Eloy, AZ I-10/8 split.

[chockwald]

Moved south from Labonte Park, 16 miles north of Corpus Christi, this morning to Padre Bali Park (a Nueces County Park) right on the Gulf, and on Padre Island. For the first time in 3 days the wind is a minor factor. We had a fire tonight, and sat out side talking, smoking cigars, drinking a little Scotch for a couple of hours. Supposed to have rain the next two days on and off....will drive into Port Aransas tomorrow to explore, and have lunch.....life is good! Pictures taken standing on top of the sand dunes that separate the park from the ocean....both pictures taken standing in the same place, but 180 degrees different. We are about 100' from the ocean.

[tuga]

Best fuel price we've seen this trip out was 4.01 at Pride Service Center in Eloy, AZ I-10/8 split.

Reminds me of Alaska. We paid $4.04 in 2010! Heaven only knows what it is now!

You know, the $4.00 price barrier is more of a mental thing than a pain in the pocketbook!

If you travel 15,000 miles a year and you average 6 mpg that is 2,500 gals. For the last few months in my part of the USA we were paying $3.80/gal. So an extra .20/gal only comes out to $500 PER YEAR or $41/month.

It's not too bad when you consider the fun we are having.

Are we having fun yet?

[chockwald]

Good perspective Tuga.....I think of buying diesel kind of like paying rent on a really nice condo with a great view. The slower I move, the less my rent is, but I still get a great view wherever I am.

[chockwald]

Left Padre Island yesterday after dumping 8 days worth of effluent from our tanks.....very happy to have been able to make it 8 days this time. We then drove over to a local do it yourself car/truck wash and washed a week's worth of salt and sand off the TBird, Newell and trailer. Humidity was at 93%. Still no Spring Break crowds. We drove 133 miles east on 35 to Palacios, TX. This is a very quaint little fishing village.....they have a large shrimp fleet here. We are staying in Bayside RV Park right on the shores of Matagorda Bay. This is a Passport America park....the discount does not apply to waterfront sites, where we are, but if you stay in the middle row, or fence row it is $10-15 per night. The waterfront row is $35. Nice park, friendly staff, and we recommend it. We had to drop the trailer as none of the pull through sites was available, but the trailer is only 50' from us.

Elaine and I have been using small walkie talkies when parking, and backing lately, and, WOW, has that improved the communication....the hand signals were just not working....lol!!! Plus, Elaine has become a parking/backing expert and gives great verbal directions!

Heading to Galveston today.....humidity currently at 100%....had to run A/C all night, but that's what it's for right? Hoping humidity goes down and sun comes out so we can do more dry camping, and use those solar panels for their intended purpose.

[chockwald]

Left Padre Island yesterday after dumping 8 days worth of effluent from our tanks.....very happy to have been able to make it 8 days this time. We then drove over to a local do it yourself car/truck wash and washed a week's worth of salt and sand off the TBird, Newell and trailer. Humidity was at 93%. Still no Spring Break crowds. We drove 133 miles east on 35 to Palacios, TX. This is a very quaint little fishing village.....they have a large shrimp fleet here. We are staying in Bayside RV Park right on the shores of Matagorda Bay. This is a Passport America park....the discount does not apply to waterfront sites, where we are, but if you stay in the middle row, or fence row it is $10-15 per night. The waterfront row is $35. Nice park, friendly staff, and we recommend it. We had to drop the trailer as none of the pull through sites was available, but the trailer is only 50' from us.

Elaine and I have been using small walkie talkies when parking, and backing lately, and, WOW, has that improved the communication....the hand signals were just not working....lol!!! Plus, Elaine has become a parking/backing expert and gives great verbal directions!

Heading to Galveston today.....humidity currently at 100%....had to run A/C all night, but that's what it's for right? Hoping humidity goes down and sun comes out so we can do more dry camping, and use those solar panels for their intended purpose.

[folivier]

" Hoping humidity goes down"
Yeah, that'll happen! Dude you're heading right into more humidity. Some days I think we get over 100%!!

[chockwald]

It was 100% this morning....down to 88% as I write. What I have a hard time getting used to is the small difference between high and low....today 73 high, low to be 68....WOW!

[folivier]

Yeah, that's why we use our air conditioners year round. Not as much for the temp as for the humidity. In summer our highs will be in 90's and lows in 80's. Not much relief.

[chockwald]

Moved on from Galveston Island this morning taking the Galveston/Bolivar FREE ferry over to Bolivar Penninsula and up Texas 87 to I-10. We are now in Duson, LA at Frog City RV Park. Humidity is down in the 50's here!

[folivier]

If you go through New Orleans heading east DO NOT take the Huey Long Bridge over the Mississippi river. Very narrow and has a wiggle in the middle (they built the bridge from each side and didn't quite meet in the middle!) Better route is the GNO bridge (Hwy 90), or take LA 20 north of Thibodaux and cross there and get on I-10. Or take Hwy 90 to Boutte and get on I-310, cross the river there and get on I-10.

[chockwald]

Good advice Forest.....90 was not a good experience.....very rough in places, and some of the bridges we just bounced across....the T-Bird actually moved physically to the left inside the trailer from all the rough and bouncy road. Will take 20 across to I-10.

For everyone else we arrived in Thibodaux around 2:30pm.....spent a couple of hours on the way down at Avery Island. Very interesting place, and guess what....it is not a literal island. It is the largest of 5 salt domes in Louisiana, and since it is elevated above the surrounding Bayou it is called an island. Great place to visit....especially if you love Tabasco sauce.....once we exited our coach we could smell Tabasco in the air the entire time.

We are enjoying staying on Forest's property, and he has very nice neighbors. His neighbor, Darrell, has a small soccer pitch on the back of his property, so I feel right at home.....lol. Discovered when I was dropping the trailer that I had not raised the landing gear far enough yesterday in Galveston when we hooked the trailer back up, so I'll have to track down a replacement and install it before we leave.....nothing worse than self induced mechanicals.

Watching a little March Madness on DirecTV now.....

[chockwald]

The front landing gear, or jack, if you will, only cost $25 to replace. Forest steered me to Southern Trailer Works out on 308 about 5 miles from here....we went there this morning, and they had exactly what I needed. Took about 5 minutes to put in the new jack.

[chockwald]

Spent the afternoon with Tuga Gaidry and Matt Russo talking Newell's and life. What a great afternoon.....thanks guys for dropping by. Got the bent tongue jack replaced.....here's a picture of the repaired jack.

[express1]

Clarke & Elaine, we also had a good time, but as always the visits are just to short. Maybe we will get together again before ya'll leave.

I did send the info on Connie's music.
thanks again,
matt

[chockwald]

Spent this morning cleaning my radiator, and engine compartment, and the other half of the coach (back and passenger side). I did the roof, driver's side, and front yesterday. This afternoon Elaine and I went over to Nicholls State University just a few miles from Forest's home to attend Swamp Stomp which features Zydeco music. We spent about 5 hours there enjoying the music of several bands, and the nice breeze....very nice day to be outside. We will probably go back tomorrow to hear a couple more bands, then off to New Orleans for the day on Monday, and then up to Baton Rouge on Tuesday. Had crawfish for the first time today at Bubba's II just up the street. Life is good!

[tuga]

Clarke,

On your visit to the Big Easy, be sure to ride down St. Charles Ave either in the T Bird or on the "street car". St. Charles Ave. ends at Lee Circle and from Lee Circle you are close to the D Day Museum and the Aquarium. The French Quarter is across Canal Street; it has some really neat places and sites!

Enjoy!

[chockwald]

Good information Tuga.....we will follow your advice!

[ccjohnson]

In response to the walkie talkie post:
Fran & I use our cell phones when backing the coach into the garage. It is very helpful fitting 42'6" into 43'3" space!

[chockwald]

It also helps the marriage to last longer.

[chockwald]

Drove into NO today.........walked Bourbon Street, took trolley down St. Charles, toured the National WW II Museum, ate a Higgens Club.....nice day.

[Flydrifter]

Check out Gasbuddy.com, it will give you all the gas and fuel prices ina city and the stations which they are at. I have the app on my iPhone, and it includes the map feature, can save you big time.

Ray
1996 Newell, #420
Tulsa, OK

[chockwald]

Thanks Ray, I have that app on my phone and it is invaluable....have used several times recently.

Clarke

[chockwald]

Getting ready to roll the wheels again.....heading over to the Civic Center to the RV Dump station to dump, then back to hookup the trailer. The last thing is the mail delivery....waiting for a Priority Mail envelope that should come today......otherwise we are here for another day. From here we will roll up to Baton Rouge to site see, and fuel up.....found a station selling diesel for $3.76.

[chockwald]

As much as we loved our stay in Thibodaux (Forest's RV Resort and Spa) it was time to escape the gravitational pull and move north to Baton Rouge....we had intended to drive up in the T'Bird, but the 3 days of rain kind of nixed that, but here we are now at a Walmart Supercenter in Prarieville, just south of Baton Rouge a few miles. Tomorrow we will fuel up the Newell ($3.85/gallon at Murphy Gas), repark the Newell, then drive the 'Bird into Baton Rouge to see the sites. We'll then head east toward the Mississippi state line stopping just short....about 95 miles. Then into Mississippi on Sunday. Our current goal is Gulf Shores in Alabama. Rained hard again last night most of the night, and a lot more lightning and thunder.....much closer this time.

[chockwald]

We've covered a lot of ground since Saturday....we are now in De Funiak Springs, FL. We have been dry camping in Walmart Supercenters the past 4 nights....the solar panels are doing great, even with me watching a lot of NCAA March Madness the past few days. We'll head to just past Tallahassee tomorrow, and then south to Cedar Key. Our trip is evolving, and we are going to get further into Florida than we first planned. Love being able to make it up as we go. Having a blast, and life is good! We're doing a little over 100 miles per day....nice pace, and taking time to explore where we stop each day by bicycle.

[tuga]

Clarke and Elaine,

As you travel further south down into Florida, try to go to Captiva and Sanibel Islands. They are located on the west coast of Flordia and are really neat. I think using the T Bird to tour the islands would be the best way to do it; the roads are 2 lanes and congested in places.

It has been years since I have been there, but from what I recall it is a beautiful place. I passed thru traveling by boat the first time and then went back by car a few years later. Truly a unique place!

[fulltiming]

Concur with Tuga. We traveled that area with friends in 2008 and it was great. Some photos of the area can be found http://www.patrick-irish-wolfhound.com/flphoto.html beginning about 1/2 way down the page including close by excursions to Darling National Wildlife Refuge and Corkscrew Swamp.

[chockwald]

We are now in Cedar Key, FL (on the west coast about 150 miles south of Tallahassee).....beautiful place! Don't know if we will get that far south this trip, but we will be back next winter after Xmas, and will definitely hit those places! Coach is running great!

[chockwald]

Went Kayaking today with new friends we have met here in Cedar Key, and then to a potluck at the Tiki Bar a block down the street.....this place really has a great vibe, and I wish we weren't leaving tomorrow.....BUT, we will be back, that is for sure!

[chockwald]

We arrived in Stuart, FL (about 60 miles south of Kennedy Space Center) on the east coast of Florida, and are courtesy parked at a friend's home for the week. We just finished our 2nd month on the road. From here we will journey north on I-95 to St. Augustine, then continue north to Savannah, GA. After that is still up in the air....all I know for sure is that come June 15th we will be in Spokane, WA....what route we take is yet to be decided, but we are having a blast.

[chockwald]

Made a compilation video of random video I have shot on our transcontinental trip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg9KoM2ICAM&list=UUwfiycyUK4E_u9Zyo6pfDPQ&index=1&feature=plcp

[chockwald]

We are now in Savannah, GA.....what an amazing city! Most streets have a tree canopy over them. Spent some time down on the Savannah riverfront, and then in a local brew pub called the "Distillery".....great local brews! Staying at Red Gate RV Park....what a cool place.....like parkland.

[tuga]

Clarke,

We took a tour of Savannah a few years ago and one of the things that I was most impressed with was St. John the Baptist cathedral that was on the tour. It was one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen. That church and the tree lined streets really make Savannah stand out as a beautiful city.

It was funny, we were in the Newell pulling a toad when we exited the interstate to do some sightseeing in Savannah. The exit we took brought us to the historical district, and as luck would have it, we found 5 parking meters that we vacant. So I just pulled over and occupied all 5 spaces! Luckily we had $10 in quarters for the parking meters. It's funny how you remember the odd little things on vacations.

I think they call it memories!

Hope you and Elaine experience many, many memories!

[chockwald]

Saw St. John the Baptist Cathedral today.....it is beautiful!

[prairieschooner]

Tricia saves my Quarters for Gambling, etc. I am going to have to find out where she hides them!

[chockwald]

And the world gets smaller......we are parked tonight in the Walmart in Macon, Georgia. I am sitting in Elaine's seat on my computer and see a couple drive up in a small SUV and get out and start taking pictures. I go outside to introduce myself and find out I am talking to a fellow Newell owner (1983) and member of this site....Slugbugrichard (Richard and Sheila). They are in town taking care of his mother's estate. Just finished talking with them for 30 minutes....Tom, they live in Scottsdale, and inherited their 1983 Newell 38' from Richard's father. He posted about a year ago about repairing his three Suburban gas heaters. Very nice couple. I love serendipity. Originally we had planned to overnight about 50 miles east of here in Dublin, but their Walmart is NOT RV friendly.....so, because of that we met Richard and Sheila.

[chockwald]

Spent Tuesday in Atlanta touring the site of the 1996 Summer Olympics at Centennial Olympic Park, as well as the World of Coca Cola building. Tuesday night we dry camped, again, in a Walmart Supercenter on the northwest corner of Atlanta, and were serenaded by rain on the roof all night.....very soothing. Wednesday we continued or westward trek back into Alabama where we will spend a couple of days with old college friends catching up. We are parked in the driveway of a neighbor of our friends. From here we will head north toward Michigan to see my sister.

[larryweikart]

Where in Michigan and when do you plan on being here. I'm here in South Mi. right off of I-69 at the 3 mile marker. I would love to meet you if you have time. I am leaving for Az on April 30th.

[chockwald]

We will be in Chelsea, MI by April 27th, or 28th at the latest Larry....we would love to meet you, also. Chelsea is about 20 miles west of Ann Arbor off I-94.....not that far away...in fact we will probably be coming up I-69 to I-64 on our way in to Chelsea.....where are you staying?

[larryweikart]

We live on an Island on Coldwater lake off of exit 3, First exit in Mich and about 30 miles before you get to I-94. The island can be seen from I 69 so it's very close.(right on your way to Chelsea, nice city) Have a building about 5 miles from house with 50amp. service if you wish to stay overnight.

[chockwald]

Larry we would love to stop by for a day/night and meet up. We would probably be there the 27th mid day....does that work?....would love to have access to 50amps. Been very cloudy lately which kind of impairs our ability to recharge via solar. In fact we are parked in a park today to get the batteries back up to 100% after 10 days dry camping and sporadic sun. Hoping for sunnier weather the next week, so. Send directions/phone to chockwald@gmail.com. You are on our itinerary!

[chockwald]

Elaine and I had a wonderful time visiting with Larry and Vanessa in Coldwater, MI.....one day was just not enough. Thank you Larry and Vanessa for your hospitality, food, and great conversation. As I repeatedly said here on this forum.....the unexpected benefit of owning a Newell is all of the amazing friends who come with the Newell experience. Larry and Vanessa are heading Tom's way in just a few days. We are now in Chelsea, MI....about 20 minutes west of Ann Arbor. Will be here for a week visiting with my sister and her husband.

[chockwald]

After a week at my sister's property in Chelsea, MI we are moving west again. I noticed yesterday that Hoosier Daddy, Dean Stoops, lived about 150 miles southwest of Chelsea, so I emailed him to see if we could stop by and visit, and he said "yes". So we have arrived at Dean's home in Kimmell, Indiana and are sitting here looking out at pastureland in all directions......what a magnificent view! Dean has a Bed and Breakfast on his property called Kimmell House Inn (http://www.kimmellhouseinn.com/) just outside Kimmell. If you are ever in northern Indiana give Dean a holler....he'd love to meet more Newell owners.

[Richard and Rhonda]

Hey,

You're getting closer to WV, come on down.

[chockwald]

Richard........I did not realize that Huntington, WV was so far west! When we are in Campbellsville, KY next October for our Amazan Fulfillment Center job we will definitely drive over.....looks like only 240 miles from Campbellsville!

[chockwald]

For those who may be interested, here is a link to a YouTube video I compiled from footage my sister shot the day we had to back out of their driveway...I was wondering all week if I could get out without unhooking the trailer...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWLFMJPuxVE

[HoosierDaddy]

Thanks for stopping by Clarke and Elaine!! We enjoyed your visit and I'm totally impressed with your beautiful coach......and trailer.....and T-Bird.....The perfect combination for FULLTIMING , Awesome!
Dean

[chockwald]

Dean, we had a wonderful time there....it just wasn't long enough!

We are now in North Platte, NE....if we were traveling today we would find ourselves in Cheyenne, WY tonight, but the forecast for Wyoming is snow today, we will stay in North Platte another day.....bike around to a few historical sites, and generally take at easy. The weather here is not too cold, and it is supposed to be only partly cloudy today. We are at 2500' elevation, and have been steadily climbing for the past two days since we crossed the Missouri River.....not doubt because we are approaching the Continental Divide. Nice to be at higher altitude after many weeks near sea level, and under 1,000'. Enjoying the much dryer air.

[chockwald]

Arrived in Cheyenne, WY this afternoon.......I see that Forest is in Southern Arizona....we just cannot sync up our travel plans....lol! Enjoying the cooler temperatures at 6,300' elevation, and enjoying the view of the distant Rockies. Staying at a Buffalo Ranch this evening, and will be eating buffalo meat tonight! Life is good......coach running wonderfully....not even a hickup...we're approaching 7,000 miles in our travels...will pass 8,000 around Spokane. Oil consumption is below average.....have been averaging around a quart per 1100 miles......used to use a quart per 700 miles. And amazingly, our dash air is still blowing ice cubes, when we have to use it......used it for the first time in over a month a few days ago coming into Omaha, NE.

P.S. - Today was our 100th day on the road!

[folivier]

Sorry Clarke, really was hoping we could hook up somewhere. We put the coach in storage this morning and left for home in the Jeep. Cindy's mother's day present from me was to be home by Saturday so she could spend it with her mother and our boys. We plan to return in October to travel more around Arizona. We really enjoyed our time with Tom and Darlene.

[chockwald]

Forest, we will hook up eventually! In late August we'll begin our trek back to Kentucky and the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Campbellsville....after Amazon, just before Xmas, we will head down to Florida to spend a month at Cedar Key...a place we fell in love with. Then down to Key West for a while......Isn't this life the best?!

[smagown]

Clarke:
Are you still in Cheyenne?
I'm 45 miles south of you in Ft Collins.
I'd love to see you guys. 318 614 1443
Thanks,

[folivier]

Got a project going up there Steve?
Fridge is still working great, thanks again.

[smagown]

Hey Forrest!
I've been working up here for 14 months. I've got jet lag. Left 'Dega Monday morning at 6am, got to W Monroe at 1pm.
Packed and left for the airport at Jackson the next morning and landed at Denver at 5pm.The weather is much cooler up here
& 62% humidity this morning. Took my 62 Vette for a stroll last night with the top down.
It sure felt good to back my Newell into my new shop. It is west of my house overlooking the pond and a 600 ac dairy.
Come see me!
Thanks,

[chockwald]

Clarke:
Are you still in Cheyenne?
I'm 45 miles south of you in Ft Collins.
I'd love to see you guys. 318 614 1443
Thanks,

Steve, I wish I would have known sooner...we left Cheyenne this morning around 9am and are now in Rock Springs, WY. We would love to have seen you!

[chockwald]

Yesterday we visited Kennecott Utah Copper Mine. It is the largest open pit mine in the world. I though some of you guys would appreciate the equipment they use to move the ore. They call these vehicles "Haulage Trucks". Their tires are 12.5' tall, and cost $25,000 per tire, which means 6 tires cost $150,000. The tires are replaced once per year on all 80 Haulage Trucks.....that is a lot of dinero. They can haul 320 tons of material at one time, and each of the 80 Haulage Trucks travels 50,000 miles per year within the confines of the mine hauling ore. They pretty much run 24/7, and move about 13 miles an hour.

[chockwald]

Time to move northward......we'll be leaving South Jordan, UT tomorrow morning for points north. We'll probably spend a week exploring in Idaho, before we end up in Coeur d'Alene for the Memorial Day weekend with friends. I'm sure there will be a visit to Cabelas while we are there. Weather has been magnificent (clear and dry), and many bike rides have been taken. There is one bike path along the Jordan River that we have ridden twice.....we rode south about 12 miles, and then the next day 21 miles north into Salt Lake City for lunch.

[chockwald]

We spent 8 days at my brother's home in South Jordan, UT, and this morning we pulled up anchor and moved 222 miles north to Idaho Falls. We are currently staying at Snake River RV Park. When we first pulled in there was a line up of motorhomes waiting to register and get their sites....I was concerned that our "no reservations" policy might have backfired this time, but as it turns out they had a spot for us long enough that we didn't have to drop the trailer. Got here about 3:30pm after driving about 100 miles in a driving rain storm. The weather is good here with some clouds, and about 10 degrees warmer. Nice to visit Idaho when it isn't snowing.

The first picture was taken in November of 2009 at Snake River RV Park, and the second taken today, May 18, 2012.

[MarkofSJC]

For those who may be interested, here is a link to a YouTube video I compiled from footage my sister shot the day we had to back out of their driveway...I was wondering all week if I could get out without unhooking the trailer...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWLFMJPuxVE

WOW! That was masterful backing! Not only did you look really close to the fence and the neighbor's yard, but I thought for sure you were going to pinch the trailer as it jack knifed against the coach. I would have given up after about 4 minutes! LOL

Have a great weekend!

Mark

[chockwald]

Hi Mark! Fortunately my trailer has an extra long tongue, which makes it easier to back. I managed not to "pinch" it in the video, but I did pinch it in Alabama....damaged the tool box on the front of the trailer a little, but was able to straighten it out. Helps to have 2 sets of eyes (my wife, and brother-in-law) to avoid pinching and hitting the fence!

[chockwald]

Left Idaho Falls Saturday and drove 84 miles over to Craters of the Moon Nat'l Monument (19 miles south of Arco, ID). Spent three days there and loved it.....plenty of sun for our solar panels....got back to 100% every day! Only $5 per day with our Golden Age Passport cards! Very nice facility and a lot to see....we did not see everything in 3 days we were there. Rode our bikes all over, and did several hikes. Now up US 93 at Challis, ID for 2 days....will sit out the rain here and then move up to Missoula, MT. About a mile from the Salmon River at Challis RV Park and Resort (Passport America park) for $14.50 per day. Walking distance to store and restaurants, and very friendly owner (Frank).

The picture is the solar eclipse we watched Sunday night up at the Visitor's Center.....I took the picture of the sun directly with my phone camera and somehow the lens captured the partial eclipse (see eclipse in red spot just below the sun)....I don't know how I did that, but it is very cool.

[chockwald]

We have been in Coeur d'Alene, ID the past three days visiting friends and enjoying the area. Went boating yesterday....the weather here still feels like late winter.....very cool, unlike other regions of the country right now. 48 degrees here as I write at almost 9am. On to Spokane in a few days where we will sit still for about a month.

[2dogs]

Clarke and Elaine, Come on up to sandpoint, we are the camp hosts at the bonner county fairgrounds 33 spaces nice and quiet ! 208-2fivefive-8734
Brian and lana

[chockwald]

Dear Brian and Lana:

Had no idea you were so close.....we just moved over to Spokane (at my sister's home) for the next 5 weeks, but we will call, and drive over in the T'Bird to visit in the next couple of weeks for sure!

[chockwald]

Settling into Spokane for a month. We've moved, for the time being, out of the coach and into a suite of rooms at my sister's large home. Will give us a chance to empty out the coach, do some deep cleaning, and make more decisions about what we are carrying with us....."are we using that?", or "I forgot we had that with us" type of stuff. Continuing to enjoy the cool weather here in the Pacific Northwest.

We had planned to spend time with David and Denise Zonker later this month when they drove up from Denver, but I just got a call from David a few days ago advising he had a terrible bike accident (went over the handlebars) and broke a collarbone, and an arm, so he is out of action for at least 6 weeks, or more. I told him there are two types of bike riders....those who have crashed and those who will....he now belongs to the first category with me (broke my collarbone in 1999 in a 35mph mountain bike crash).

Elaine and I have just finished our fourth month on the road on May 31st........we were talking about how we have spent 24/7 together for the past 4 months......and we still like each other!

[express1]

Clarke, I'm part of that "crash group" I crashed into a metal light pole at Disney a year or so ago and still have elbow issues.. Ron Skeen was with me for great moral support......between laughs.

[chockwald]

Matt, when are you heading back out on the road, and where will you be? Coming back to the Pacific Northwest? We'll be in the Washington/Oregon area until at least mid August.

[chockwald]

Tomorrow will mark two weeks in Spokane....we have been riding our bikes virtually every day, and sampling a lot of local coffee shops, and local eateries. The weather has been quite cool.....low 60's, until today when it got into the 70's. Working through a list of small repairs on the coach, and doing some deep cleaning. I have found a mountain bike trail just over the backyard fence of my sister's home......I've ridden that trail twice now for 6 miles each time. Enjoying the Spokane area.

[tuga]

Settling into Spokane for a month. We've moved, for the time being, out of the coach and into a suite of rooms at my sister's large home. Will give us a chance to empty out the coach, do some deep cleaning, and make more decisions about what we are carrying with us....."are we using that?", or "I forgot we had that with us" type of stuff. Continuing to enjoy the cool weather here in the Pacific Northwest.

We had planned to spend time with David and Denise Zonker later this month when they drove up from Denver, but I just got a call from David a few days ago advising he had a terrible bike accident (went over the handlebars) and broke a collarbone, and an arm, so he is out of action for at least 6 weeks, or more. I told him there are two types of bike riders....those who have crashed and those who will....he now belongs to the first category with me (broke my collarbone in 1999 in a 35mph mountain bike crash).

Elaine and I have just finished our fourth month on the road on May 31st........we were talking about how we have spent 24/7 together for the past 4 months......and we still like each other!

Clarke,

The glue that is holding you and Elaine together is LOVE! There's nothing like it!

[prairieschooner]

What's the weather like there? I am getting an itch to travel, just don't know where just yet.

[chockwald]

The weather has been cool with rain every few days....raining right now, but forecast is for partly cloudy the next 5 days. Temps have been in the 60' and 70's since we have been here.

Installed a 30amp box yesterday in my brother-in-law's garage, so now I have access to more than 20 amps! Haven't had to use the A/C one time since we have been here, but have used the electric heater (only one at a time since I"ve only had 20amps, and each electric heater draws 10+ amps) a lot!

Steve, we attended the "Car" d'Alene car show this past weekend in Coeur d'Alene, ID....what a hoot it was! Have been doing a lot of hiking, and biking since we arrived almost 3 weeks ago. Will be here 2 more weeks, and then back on the road! Getting the itch to move again. We'll head over to Whidbey Island (NW of Seattle) and spend a coujple of weeks with friends there, then over to the Olympic Peninsula to explore for a couple of weeks, then down into Oregon for a few weeks....we'll start our trek back to Campbellsville, KY around the 4th week in August, arriving there by 10/1/2012 at the Amazon Fulfillment Center for our 2 month stint to recharge the fuel coffers.

[folivier]

I was about to email you about the solar panels to see how they were doing in the rain and clouds.
Ours did great in Utah! So much sun and the winds kept the dust from settling.
Stayed at a blm campsite for a week. Only had to run the genny for an hour at night to heat water for showers.

[prairieschooner]

c'mon Clarke, I know that you are a bike guy by please, please, please take better car pics!!
PS the last pic looks like the one in my shop!!

[chockwald]

The time (4 days) we spent at Craters of the Moon in southern Idaho the solar panels did great......didn't have to run the generator at all. Here in Spokane we are plugged in, so the solar panels have been a non-issue, but since we left Michigan we have done well with the solar panels restoring our house batteries into the mid to high 90% range each day. They have given us a lot of flexibility in where we stayed while on the road. The last time we paid for a camping spot with hookups was in Challis, ID about 4 weeks ago.

[express1]

Matt, when are you heading back out on the road, and where will you be? Coming back to the Pacific Northwest? We'll be in the Washington/Oregon area until at least mid August.

Clarke, I'm having a tuff time making a plan.....Now in Reno, wanting to meet Ron Skeen in Ouray in August...just don't know why I should move for now....55-85 daily. Golf...Golf...may start working part time at local golf resort soon....although north west was a good trip and would do again.....REDWOODS.... see what I mean?

[chockwald]

Clarke, I'm having a tuff time making a plan.....Now in Reno, wanting to meet Ron Skeen in Ouray in August...just don't know why I should move for now....55-85 daily. Golf...Golf...may start working part time at local golf resort soon....although north west was a good trip and would do again.....REDWOODS.... see what I mean?

Matt, you are in one of my favorites areas in the world.....have spent a lot of time over the years in the Carson Valley, Tahoe, Reno area going back to the early 50's as a child. We will not get down that far this year, but next summer we will, for sure.

Today is the 4th of July...can't believe we've been on the road for over 5 months now....155 days!! Getting ready to leave Spokane after 5 weeks, and head over to the Washington coast, specifically Whidbey Island, for a couple of weeks, then out to the Olympic Peninsula, and then down into Oregon in August. Will begin to head east again in early September after Labor day, arriving in Campbellsville, KY around October 1st where we will spend 2 months working at the Amazon.com fulfillment center earning a couple year's worth of diesel fuel money, then down to Florida for Christmas.

We wish all of our Newell family a happy, enjoyable and safe 4th of July!

[chockwald]

Today is July 9th and in an hour, or so we will hook up the trailer and head to the Washington coast via the Methow Valley. The hot temperatures have finally penetrated the Spokane Valley....hit 100 yesterday, and it is predicted to hit 100 again today, but with our early start we should be clear of the hot temps by early afternoon when we hit the foothills of the Cascades in northern Washington. This is the first time I have been HOT in 7 weeks! Spent the morning yesterday, before it got hot, washing the Newell for her trip....she hasn't moved an inch in almost 6 weeks! We moved the car trailer out of the driveway and up to the street last night, and then loaded the T'Bird. Just waiting for the Lovely Elaine to awaken so we can back out to the street and drop the trailer on the hitch.

[chockwald]

Arrived south of Coupeville, WA (Whidbey Island) Wednesday around 1:30pm, and are now courtesy parked on the property of our long time friends Bob and Karen Fenstermacher....we go back to the early 60's! Temps have been in the 50's and 60's since we arrived, with rain all day yesterday with the requisite lightning and thunder......some thunder claps seemed to be right over our coach.....:-). Here are pix of our location and view. You can see Puget Sound in the background.

[John Dyson]

Hi all:

What a wonderful place to visit. You are blessed! It is beautiful there.

Just a note to all who were so helpful before we left on our "initiation trip" from San Diego to Springfield Oregon....I was quite worried and bought the orange "cones" just in case we had an impending break down. We have never traveled more than 2 hours from home and our coach is a 1980. Everything ran just great...I was so impressed. What a way to travel for sure! 2000 miles and we had no major issues. Even the trash compactor still works. Traveling in a motorhome is great...but of course...my husband had to do all the driving because I am too intimidated by all the switches, and largess of the bus (38') way too big for me to attempt. Anyway...thanks to all who helped with my questions...it was a wonderful trip and we are so very impressed with Newell. Now, will probably plan to redo the windows and maybe paint down the line. Thanks again, Cindy

[The Newell]

Cindy, glad to hear your trip went well. there will always be something to look at or tweak but in general these rigs just go.

[chockwald]

Glad your maiden "long" trip has gone well. We carry 2 large orange cones, which, so far, we have never had to deploy. We are over 8,000 miles on our journey with no problems after the first 1,300 miles (water pump, air valves, etc.). Since then smooth sailing. Hope goes well on your return trip to San Diego!

[chockwald]

The last time I updated this thread was last July.....probably time to bring things more up to date. We spent the summer in the Pacific Northwest, then in early September we began our trek to Campbellsville, Ky to work 11 weeks at Amazon.com. On the way we spent a week at Flaming Gorge in Wyoming....part of that time Matt and Connie Russo (Express1) joined us in their coach.....what a cool place. We visited friends in Wyoming, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri before arriving in Campbellsville October 3rd. We had a great time at Amazon, and made many new friends.

After Amazon we headed south to Florida, stopping over for a couple of days in Rossville, GA to have our coach serviced at Choo Choo Express Garage. They are 2 stroke experts. From there we headed down to Cedar Key, FL where we spent 5 weeks right on the Gulf. Then on down the west coast of Florida to the Keys...we got all the way to Key West. Then up the east coast visiting friends. Spent 4 days at St. Augustine, then 2 weeks at Savannah, GA. We were in Savannah for the St. Patty's Day parade. We had planned to go as far north as Maine, but the weather just did not co-operate.....too cold. From Savannah we headed inland and eventually up to Ashville, NC, which is a way cool place. We spent 4, or 5 days there. Then up to Huntington, WV to visit the Entrikens (Newell owners, and good friends) for what we had planned to be a 5 day visit, but I got sick with the flu and was down for a week with that....after 12 days I felt good enough to head east to Washington D.C. We spent 5 days getting there, and then 2 weeks at Greenbelt Park just outside of D.C. ($8/day with Golden Age Passport). Washington D.C. is an amazing place to visit, and I am glad we had two weeks to see it all....we could have easily spent 2 more weeks there.....no kidding!

We left D.C. 6 days ago, and just arrived here in Indianapolis, IN at the Speedway where we will spend 2+ weeks working up to and including the INDY 500. We'll be here into early June, then head to Spearfish, SD to attend an informal rally with owners of previously owned Newells....Classics up to early 2000's.....for a week.....16-17 Newell coaches should be there, including John Clark from the Newell Factory. From there we will head into Alberta, Canada with 2 other Newell owners for a few weeks.

The Newell family is a wonderful thing, and through this forum we have met in person many other Newell owners, and become good friends. I think in the 15 months we have been on the road we have spent time with 7 Newell owners at their homes all over the country, and with Matt & Connie Russo ("express1") on the road in Wyoming's Flaming Gorge, and another couple, Forest and Cindy Olivier ("folivier") in Cedar Key for 5 days. We have had many other offers, but they just didn't work into our travel plans last year......in the next 12 months we will be meeting more Newell owners.

I would urge all of you to take time to get to know some of the Newell owners here, and meet up with them whenever you can. There is more to owning a Newell than the amazing machinery.......the friendships that came along with Newell ownership are amazing.

[chockwald]

Finished our workamping gig here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway......16 straight days working at Gate # 2 on 16th Street.....the main entrance. Got to meet Mario Andretti, and A.J. Foyt, as well as Tony Kannan, the ultimate winner of the INDY 500 this year. Great experience working here, and many new friends made. My wife flew to Oregon yesterday for 6 days, and when she returns on June 4th we'll head to Spearfish, SD for the pre-owned Newell mini-rally.

[rellick]

The last time I updated this thread was last July.....probably time to bring things more up to date. We spent the summer in the Pacific Northwest, then in early September we began our trek to Campbellsville, Ky to work 11 weeks at Amazon.com. On the way we spent a week at Flaming Gorge in Wyoming....part of that time Matt and Connie Russo (Express1) joined us in their coach.....what a cool place. We visited friends in Wyoming, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri before arriving in Campbellsville October 3rd. We had a great time at Amazon, and made many new friends.

After Amazon we headed south to Florida, stopping over for a couple of days in Rossville, GA to have our coach serviced at Choo Choo Express Garage. They are 2 stroke experts. From there we headed down to Cedar Key, FL where we spent 5 weeks right on the Gulf. Then on down the west coast of Florida to the Keys...we got all the way to Key West. Then up the east coast visiting friends. Spent 4 days at St. Augustine, then 2 weeks at Savannah, GA. We were in Savannah for the St. Patty's Day parade. We had planned to go as far north as Maine, but the weather just did not co-operate.....too cold. From Savannah we headed inland and eventually up to Ashville, NC, which is a way cool place. We spent 4, or 5 days there. Then up to Huntington, WV to visit the Entrikens (Newell owners, and good friends) for what we had planned to be a 5 day visit, but I got sick with the flu and was down for a week with that....after 12 days I felt good enough to head east to Washington D.C. We spent 5 days getting there, and then 2 weeks at Greenbelt Park just outside of D.C. ($8/day with Golden Age Passport). Washington D.C. is an amazing place to visit, and I am glad we had two weeks to see it all....we could have easily spent 2 more weeks there.....no kidding!

We left D.C. 6 days ago, and just arrived here in Indianapolis, IN at the Speedway where we will spend 2+ weeks working up to and including the INDY 500. We'll be here into early June, then head to Spearfish, SD to attend an informal rally with owners of previously owned Newells....Classics up to early 2000's.....for a week.....16-17 Newell coaches should be there, including John Clark from the Newell Factory. From there we will head into Alberta, Canada with 2 other Newell owners for a few weeks.

The Newell family is a wonderful thing, and through this forum we have met in person many other Newell owners, and become good friends. I think in the 15 months we have been on the road we have spent time with 7 Newell owners at their homes all over the country, and with Matt & Connie Russo ("express1") on the road in Wyoming's Flaming Gorge, and another couple, Forest and Cindy Olivier ("folivier") in Cedar Key for 5 days. We have had many other offers, but they just didn't work into our travel plans last year......in the next 12 months we will be meeting more Newell owners.

I would urge all of you to take time to get to know some of the Newell owners here, and meet up with them whenever you can. There is more to owning a Newell than the amazing machinery.......the friendships that came along with Newell ownership are amazing.

Let me know when you make it up to Alberta, perhaps we can meet !

[chockwald]

Let me know when you make it up to Alberta, perhaps we can meet !

Would love to meet you....we will be in Cochrane at Bow Riversedge RV Park July 3rd for a week. We'll be with two other Newell owners....ecantotom (Tom McCloud) and folivier (Forest Olivier).

[rellick]

Would love to meet you....we will be in Cochrane at Bow Riversedge RV Park July 3rd for a week. We'll be with two other Newell owners....ecantotom (Tom McCloud) and folivier (Forest Olivier).
We will have to try make that, I have a brother in Calgary also, we'll stay in touch.

[rellick]

Would love to meet you....we will be in Cochrane at Bow Riversedge RV Park July 3rd for a week. We'll be with two other Newell owners....ecantotom (Tom McCloud) and folivier (Forest Olivier).Reminds me of a funny story, I was fishing with a buddy of mine at the bridge that crosses the Bow river, quite a few years ago. We were casting away under the bridge, after catching a couple of rainbow trout he let out a big cast throwing his line right up on the bridge just as a car was passing ( they do highway speed right there) he must have caught the bumper or something, that line tore off his reel in a puff of smoke in about a second then SNAP!! the car never did stop and the look on my buddys face was priceless. I couldnt stop laughing, it all happened so fast, it was amazing!! So if you plan on doing any fishing there keep this in mind!!lolrollinglol

[rellick]

Would love to meet you....we will be in Cochrane at Bow Riversedge RV Park July 3rd for a week. We'll be with two other Newell owners....ecantotom (Tom McCloud) and folivier (Forest Olivier).
Were booked in for the 3rd! See you guys there!!:thumbsup:

[folivier]

Awesome Keith look forward to meeting you.

[chockwald]

Great news Keith.....looking forward to meeting you!

[chockwald]

Well, as you all know, the Newell mini rally in Spearfish was an unqualified success.....in all we had 32 coaches attend.....including 3 Foretravels, a Wanderlodge, 2 Prevosts, and a Class B, so 25 Newells, including the 2010 Newell show coach that was at the FMCA rally stopped by on the way back to Miami, OK for a day so we could all take a tour. Made many new friends, had 3 great potlucks, two nights of touring each other's coaches, and a lot of fixing stuff. One day Richard (Richard and Rhonda) came over to help me with my speedometer issue. He crawled under the coach (after it was properly blocked) to look at the speedo generator....I hear him exclaim...."Oh my, what do we have here?!"......I ask....."what's going on Richard?"....he replies...."come under here and see what I see"....I comply......as I crawl under I see him pointing at the point where the drive shaft conects to the transmission.......as I focus I hear him saying something about loose bolts.....as I focus on the bolts connecting the drive shaft I see that ALL 8 bolts are LOOSE.....ALL!!! Of course it was easy to replace them with eight new grade 8 bolts and top locking nuts purchased from the local Fastenal hardware store (cost $6.70), but to think I was just miles from a serious mechanical failure that could have cause serious damage left me shaken for about 24 hours. Thank goodness for friends, and a fresh set of eyes. I had begun to feel a vibration coming from the rear of the coach the last 50 miles into Spearfish, but couldn't decide if it was the road, which was in poor condition, and under construction. I don't know if we would have made it to the Montana border. A lot of coach owners received help with various issues, and a lot of new friendships developed.

From Spearfish we we formed a caravan with ecantotom (Tom McCloud), and folivier (Forest and Cindy Olivier) for 5 days up to Cochrane, AB, Canada.....we visited Devil's Tower, and Little Big Horn along the way, and visited with our friends in Billings, MT who have the '61 GM Bus conversion having the 8V71 rebuilt. We have now been in Cochrane since this past Wednesday. This coming Wednesday we will journey up to Banff, Lake Louise, Columbia Icefields and Jasper. Then we'll head back south on Canada 2 into Glacier National Park seeing it from both sides of the border. We met Jim and Gail Ellis who own a 1987 Newell, and have spent the last year here at Bow Rivers Edge RV Park here in Cochrane working for the park. They are great people, and why not.....they are Newell owners.

[rellick]

I'm sitting here pondering and dreaming of full timing in a Newell? Some have done it, some are doing it and others are dreamin' about it.

Either way, it's all good.........:thumbsup:

Myself, I'm working on a happy medium. Hum..???

Now, to finish getting rid of a life accumulation of possessions (JUNK) for a simpler life of enjoying a condo on wheels...no more mowing the lawn (acreage) ugh! Actually really burned out on property ownership. I will miss the greenhouse, though. There has to be an alternative for that one?

What-cha thoughts....????:o

Ken W.

Ken, I didn't know you started this thread?! All this time I was thinking it was Clarkes thread I was sure he said he started it?

[chockwald]

It is Ken's thread.......I started writing about our travels under this thread a couple of years ago, and it kind of became "my" thread by default, but you are correct, it is, indeed Ken's thread. I don't believe I ever said I started it.....I have just continued it.

And, of course, this is the perfect time to play catch up....it's been almost 4 months since my last update so here goes:

We had a wonderful time visiting the Columbia Icefields, Jasper, Lake Louise and Banff. The scenery along PH3 from Jasper south to Lake Louise is just stunning. After a while you run out of adjectives to describe what you are seeing. We entered Alberta on July 2nd, and exited 3 weeks later on Jluly 23rd at the border crossing just south of Cardston, AB with the Oliviers (folivier).......Tom and Darlene McCloud headed over to Lethdridge, AB where they spent a number of weeks visiting family. Forrest and Cindy Olivier continued on south, and we spent several days on the east side of Glacier National Park at St. Mary, and then moved southwest to East Glacier for a week, then over to West Glacier, Kalispell and Columbia Falls continuing to drive into Glacier National Park almost every day. Again, adjectives begin to fail you.

We then moved south to Polson, MT on the shores of Flathead Lake for a week, then further south to Missoula where we parked the coach at the fairgounds for four days while we drove the car down to Salt Lake City for the wedding of my brother's daughter.

From there we headed west to Couer d'Alene, ID where we spent a month on the shores of the Spokane River, just a half mile from the lake. We really enjoyed Coeur d'Alene....what a beautiful town! While we were there we flew down to Dallas, TX for a school reunion, then drove over to Whidbey Island to visit friends for a few days.

Before we knew it a month had flown by and we were on our way eastward again to Sidney, MT where we took on a workamping gig working the sugar beet harvest for 3 weeks. We made some money, and enjoyed the experience lot. We leave here Sunday bound for Salt Lake City to visit my brother and his family, and then on southward to SoCal where we have lined up a camp host job at the same park we spent a year at before hitting the road (Rancho Jurupa Regional Park in Riverside, CA). We'll spend two months there visiting our kids, and grand kids before heading out again just after the first of the year.....to where we are not yet sure, but what we do know is that we will be going places we haven't gone before.