Is it a problem finding parts for an older Newell Coach?

Nara Queen · 05-07-2013, 04:46 AM

Good evening guys! It's that crazy lady Nara again with all her questions.

My husband and I were recently discussing how we've only ever owned a fifth wheel and although we've pretty much made our decision to find and purchase a Newell because we know we want an older superior coach. (We are currently thinking the 80's area.) We love the look of the older classic Newells, as you know we have been reading and posting at this forum for some time now. We were talking and have some concerns on finding and locating parts for the older Newell coaches. Have you found this to be a problem? and what about the costs for such parts? Also what about labor costs for the older coaches as well as being able to readily find someone who can work on the older coaches? Once we finally make a purchase we'll be fulltiming and we plan on only moving every six months so we wouldn't be running our motor coach hard, so to speak. I just want to make sure we keep everything in working order.

All thoughts are appreciated!

Thanks again,
Nara

MrE · 05-07-2013, 04:24 PM

I have owned two older Newells and I have not had problems finding parts, but I have seen posts here where owners of certain basement A/C units were unable to locate parts. I have always taken the approach that when something fails it is the perfect opportunity to upgrade to later technology. This works well with TVs, radios, microwaves, furnaces, refrigerators, inverters, chargers, etc.

Finding someone capable of working on a Newell Coach would require due diligence on your side. Your running gear is comparable to over the road trucks and buses so you would look for shops that work on similar equipment. I prefer independents with good reputations to the dealerships but that's just me. As far as other repairs that you may need you'll need to use common sense to determine who you should go to.

Randy J · 05-07-2013, 06:06 PM

We have a 91 Newell coach and when we've taken it in for minor repairs the shops have never had a problem getting the parts they needed.

77newell · 05-07-2013, 07:34 PM

Regarding my 77 coach there are two different answers; one for the chassis and one for the house part. Getting parts for the chassis has been little problem though occasionally due to age it has required some research to figure out the exact part number that is applicable. Getting work done on 2-stroke Detroit Diesels has been a bit more of an issue since it has been about 20 years since they were last produced for over-the-road service. My solution has been to check on the experience with these engines if a mechanic is going to do work. I have done most of my own work so this has not come up very often.

On the house side, the older coaches have relatively simpler systems and getting parts has again required some research but I've never run into an "impossible to find" part. In terms of service personnel I've needed very little and on those occasions that I did need help I was easily able to find capable people.

One of the themes you may have noticed in my answers is that our coach has been largely self-serviced rather than hiring people. This has significant economic consequences. The older the coach the more things wear out or age out. Most of these are not huge but if you pay someone to fix them the cost is considerable.

At a minimum if you are going to hire repairs done I would strongly suggest you substantially hone your troubleshooting skills so that the repair person is just doing the repair and not spending oodles of time figuring out what is needed. Even a skilled service person can easily spend far more time finding the item with the defect that fixing and if their troubleshooting skills are weak you will end up paying for a lot of stuff that had no effect.

chockwald · 05-08-2013, 12:33 AM

We have owned our 1982 Newell for just over 5 years now, and have not had a problem locating parts. About a year ago while we were in Tyler, TX the engine water pump failed. I was able to find the exact gear driven water pump on Ebay for $89. When we first bought the coach the dash air wasn't working. The old Chrysler belt driven compressor in the rear had to be replaced, and again it was not difficult to find the part. The original cruise control had quit working, and the maker was no longer in business so we had it replaced with a modern Cruise King cruise control. Internally, we have just been upgrading....we replaced both CRT TV's with flat screens. The old Dometic fridge was replaced with a late model Dometic. The microwave, again with a late model replacement, and on it goes. We have replaced all the interior lighting with LED lighting ourselves.

The biggest issue is being able to find competent mechanics who know Detroit Diesel 2 strokes. They are still around, but you have to look. As others have said, the more trouble shooting you can do to isolate the problem yourself, the less it will cost to fix things. This forum, and others are a great resource to find the information, and, or parts you need.

Personally, if you are going for an 80's Newell I would avoid the ones with basement A/C's.

Charlotte Rosita · 05-08-2013, 04:53 AM

Nara we are getting ready to do some extensive work on the inside and outside. I'll let you know how it goes when it comes to finding parts and such. From the sounds of it looks like you are wanting a coach ready to go for the most part. You may want to look at coaches that have already been redone. Good luck with making a purchase.

77newell · 05-08-2013, 02:48 PM

Just to clarify, I have had no problems finding parts for the 2-stroke engine, our local Detroit Diesel shops have been able to get me what I needed when I needed it as long as I provided the engine serial number.

prairieschooner · 05-08-2013, 03:51 PM

I agree with Clarke that while the parts are available a good mechanic would be important. Thankfully I am a mechanic and don't need to or let anyone else work on our coach, including oil changes! The Detroit Diesel is a great engine and will last an amazing amount of time if properly taken care of. Suspension items have been readily available although if I had to pay a mechanic it could get expensive.
When it comes to the "House" items I have been able to attain or modify other parts to do as good or a better job.
I agree...80's look great!

bluesky · 05-08-2013, 04:50 PM

We have enjoyed our '83 Classic for 3 years and have had no problems getting both parts and mechanical service on our coach. Our coach has been completley refurbished inside and out and is in absolute perfect condition. We are interested in selling, so if you have an interest, PM me. Cheers.

MrE · 05-08-2013, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluesky

We have enjoyed our '83 Classic for 3 years and have had no problems getting both parts and mechanical service on our coach. Our coach has been completley refurbished inside and out and is in absolute perfect condition. We are interested in selling, so if you have an interest, PM me. Cheers.

That's a beautiful coach

JustDustin · 05-08-2013, 06:40 PM

I'm with Jon, Glen your coach is a real beauty!

86loco · 05-10-2013, 02:52 AM

Jon I would very much have to agree with you, that coach of Glenn's is downright exceptional. If were to keep our '86 then something along those lines would be in order. Just don't tell my little brother. shushh! He's trying to help talk me into a newer coach so he can get the '86. What can you say, good taste runs in the family.

I almost forgot. Parts have not been hard to get for my coach. Especially getting a couple of great deals from members around here.

bluesky · 05-10-2013, 06:04 PM

Thank you for the compliments on our coach, it really is the cleanest "old" coach I've ever seen. We've had folks actually ask us if this is a new coach that has a classic style. We have had the coach about 3 years and have not used it too much. I've been to a few large music festivals in her and it's absolutely, over the top, perfect. I can dry camp all week, as long as I'm conservative with my energy use and run the genny in the evenings. We are planning a 2 month cruise this September and October. My wife is retiring in June, so this is our first opportunity to take a large tour of your country. We'll see Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico ... can't wait. Cheers.

Cheri Smith · 05-10-2013, 08:12 PM

I would say that we've been lucky when it comes to parts. Haven't had any problems locating them and having someone work on our coach has also come easy. Of course we do a lot of the small repairs ourselves and we've come on the forum for help with things we are clueless about.

prairieschooner · 05-11-2013, 04:13 AM

Sorry Glenn but you haven't seen ours (and a number of others) and it is 99% original including the IMRON paint! (a true survivor) and so is Clarke and Elane's and allot more that we have been next to.
If you are in the neighborhood when traveling stop by so we can compare.