Highway 1

[chockwald]

Just returned from a 6 day jaunt down PCH from Monterey to San Luis Obispo. We left home on 10/28 travelling up I-5 to Lost Hills where we cut across on State Route 46 to HWY 101 and then north to Salinas to State Route 68 which we took over to Monterey and PCH where we headed south to Big Sur for the evening. We spent the night at Big Sur Campground and Cabins. The interior roads are narrow, but they had a spot not too far from the entrance that fit our 36' coach....spaces 99 and 100 work well.

The next day we cruised "slowly" down PCH through Lucia, Gorda and Ragged Point to San Simeon. We made a point of pulling into Vista Points every 10 miles, or so for a break. We knew we had about 55 miles of very narrow, windy road, so the multiple breaks worked well. We probably averaged around 25mph over this stretch. We stopped in at Hearst Castle for a tour, and arrived around dusk at Morro Bay.

I had driven this stretch before in an SUV, and have even ridden this stretch on a bicycle, but was concerned about how I would do in the Newell. Well, it worked out fine, and I would do it again. The third picture shows me S/B on HWY 1 in traffic....there was a lot of construction (repair) going on and we had to wait in line several times to await the passing of N/B traffic in the one lane available in some places.

We spent 3 days in Morro Bay, 2 at Morro Dunes RV Park, which I highly recommend...right across the street from the beach, and a great view of Morro Rock. Very quiet, and clean. We spent the first evening about block away in Morro Strand RV Park, which is just basic overnight spot...very clean, with level spots, but no view, and a little too "industrial" for us.

We left Morro Bay on November 2nd, and drove 133 miles south on HWY 101 to Ventura (Rincon Parkway) where we picked up a spot right next to the ocean for 2 nights....very quiet...even with the occasional commuter train.

The weather was gorgeous most of the time...when it rained it was usually after sunset, and who doesn't love the sound of rain on the metal roof???

Arrived home Tuesday, Election Day, around Noon. Great uneventful trip....everything worked well.

[Richard and Rhonda]

Thanks for the trip report. I would personally like to hear more about others trips in their coach of choice.

Is that a Bluebird beside you in the first pic? Did you guys have any jawbone session on coach comparison? Just curious how the BB owner reacted to the Newell.

[chockwald]

Richard...good observation. The Bluebird Wanderlodge to the left in the first picture belongs to a good friend who we were travelling with. It's a 1984 1/2 PT-36 with a 6V92. It was garaged its entire life until two months ago when my friend purchased it to full time. He retired last December, so he's got a few years on me before I retire. He'll be wintering with his wife down in Palm Desert.

Here's a better picture of the coach....

[larryweikart]

Nice report Clarke: I have also taken that same trip about 20 years ago in a 40' Rockwood pusher. What a ride! Dry camped overnight across the road from San Simeon. A nice trip everyone should experience. Thanks for the good work, Larry

[HoosierDaddy]

Thanks Clarke for the great report. Brings back good memories of making a similar trip in a Chevy HHR a few years ago. Yep, my wife had to see the Castle too! (I found it interesting as well) It is interesting that your bud's coach is similar in size and engine to yours. Are they comparable in performance? I would think that the B.B. is considerably heavier.. It is a great looking coach as well. How do the interior style/function compare?
Dean

[chockwald]

HoosierDaddy.....you're right, the Bluebird is about 39,000 GVW, and mine is around 30,000 GVW. It's hard to tell if our MPG is similar as his genset is diesel and works off the main fuel tank, while my genset is LPG. The engines are both 6V92 Silver edition 2 strokes, but are set up quite differently. He has a side mounted radiator that is driven by a large electric motor that when on drains off a lot of horsepower, while mine is rear mounted and belt driven. Same trannies. His fuel filters are the type that you pull out the old filter from a cannister and insert a new filter, while mine are the screw on cartridge type, and easier to find replacements. We have different water pumps for the engine cooling system. As I understand it there are three different water pumps installed on the 6V92's....walking, standing and running, I believe. His water pump failed on his trip back from Texas just outside of Amarillo, and they had a hell of a time finding the correct replacement...he was stranded at a truck stop for about 4 days.

I like my interior setup much better, and while both are the same length we both agree mine feels more spacious. One big difference for me is the bedroom setup....his bed is setup side to side with no walk around space, while mine is walk around. My bedroom is much larger than his. His entry door is at the front, while I have mid entry, which I prefer.

One thing I am envious of in his rig is the amound of overhead storage, and drawer space within the coach, but his basement storage is much more limited than mine. He has no pass through storage as his 300 gallon fuel tank runs down the middle of the coach

Another feature I like about his is the accessibility to the genset....all he has to do is throw a leaver, and push a button and the genset slides out. I have to manually disconnect the exhaust, and then pull the genset out....fortunately I can check oil and water without pulling it out.

His curtains are all electrically opened and closed, while mine are only moved by hand. Over all my coach is much more user friendly, and very, very low tech....much less to break. He has a lot of electronic gadgets, but that stuff breaks, and he is, in fact, struggling with a few of those issues now.

Here are a couple more pictures of our stay at Rincon Parkway, just north of Ventura, CA.