Introduction and Questions

[l.halkias]

Hello,

My name is Lee Halkias and I am new to the forum. I have previously owned a 38' Country Coach and am the current owner of my second 40' Foretravel, which I am very happy with from a quality standpoint. I am presently full timing and am enjoying that. I have considered buying a Prevost conversion or a Newell several times and have decided that if I do make the switch, it will be to a Newell. While I am in a position to pay cash for a coach, maintenance and repair costs are important to me, so I am interested in reliability. I am not particularly hung up on slides; one of my Foretravels has a hydraulic slide with the flush profile and the air bladder, as discussed in the forum.

I have potentially found a late '90s 45 foot Newell with 1 slide, which I have not seen in person yet. I am a fan of keeping it simple, so am somewhat leary of making the switch to a larger all electric and more complex coach. As previously stated, I'm familiar with the slide mechanism, but a floor mechanism that raises and lowers scares me somewhat. Some of my Foretravel rally friends have previously owned Newells and I have talked to several current owners. I am well aware of Newell's build quality and good reputation.

So, I have two questions:

Any comments on the slide floor mechanism?

And what is your experience with an all electric coach from the standpoint of staying in some RV parks where only 30 amp power is available?

I welcome your comments and will appreciate your perspective.

Thank you very much. Regards, Lee

[fulltiming]

The Newell flat floor slide is a time proven mechanism. While air seals do add some complexity, the lifting slide floor mechanism is rarely in need of service. Newell used HWH hydraulic operators during the late 90's and early 00's, then switched to Valid electric operators in mid 2003 models.

As to 30 amp electric service, during hot weather, any large coach can be a challenge to cool on 30 amp service. Since Newell uses some 240 volt appliances (dry and Aqua-Hot electric element for instance) there will be some additional challenges. The Aqua-Hot powered by diesel will solve the heating issue. Not having to mess with propane is a nice benefit.

[The Newell]

Hi Lee and Welcome,

I hope you are enjoying the Newell Forums, You have just found and joined the most informative website pertaining to Newell Ownership on the web. If you have any questions/answers please feel free to post them or to send one of us moderators a

private message. We are all here to help so don't be afraid to call on us! In addition to the forums Newell Classic offers, Classifieds for buying and selling Newells along with a Newell Gallery so that one can compare the different generations of Newell

Motor Homes.


Welcome Again!

Joseph

[Dom Ferris]

Welcome Lee Halkias,

Great having you and I'm sure many will respond to your questions. I don't see an issue and would actually prefer an all electric coach. And if there was a point that I only had 30 amp service then I would make sure I took that into consideration after purchase and install a suitable solar system and run certain items off the inverter Microwave, cook top stuff of that nature if I had to. There are a few campground directory's available and list whether or not the park is 30 or 50 amp service so try to stay away from the 30 amp parks if you can.

Dom

[Randy J]

Welcome Lee! You will get lots of help here. Good people. Great site. Lot's to learn. We haven't had a problem using 30 amp electric service. Most parks have 50 amp now.

[Neweller]

Lee! So glad you are with us and hope we can help you grow in Newell wisdom and knowledge. Foretravels are great coaches too and are a great fit for many. They had been on my short list for years and I would have a hard time knocking them as I feel they are a fine company. Newell Coach has at least two highly respected salesmen that had been with Foretravel for a very long time prior to jumping ship. When I was last at the factory I checked out a really nice two month old 2012 Foretravel that was traded in on a Newell. Kind of shocked someone would trade a coach that new on another, but I guess money was no object in that case.

I think Lee if you go by the factory in Miami, OK you will get to experience all you want of how the floor slide is built and how it operates. Down right impressive.

I'm with you on the slide option. After being inside several single to quad-slide units, I'm starting to get second thoughts of moving to a multi-slide for my intended use purposes. It doesn't matter all that much to be about the whole slide thing as much as it does to my wife, she would be fine with just one living room slide. I don't care about the whole bedroom slide since I'm in there to sleep, get up and get out of there. If used prices were not as good as they currently are I'd seriously consider adding a slide to a '95 and newer and doing some custom body accents.

[l.halkias]

Wow, thanks to all of you for your responses and kind words of welcome.

Regards, Lee