1998 Newmar Dutch Star Diesel Puller

[Marvin Moose]

I am considering the purchase of a 1998 35' Newmar Dutch Star diesel puller on a freightliner chassie with a 300 hp Cummings diesel and would appreciate the views of those who have owned or own one and their experience. This unit has only 28,000 miles on it.
Thanks for your help.
Marvin Moose

["007"]

Welcome Marvin Moose to the Newmar forum & irv2.
That year they had problems with front tires and were on a recall list.
Would think previous owner had recall done and tires would have to be changed by now also.
For a DP you have some miles to go if maitained should have a while.
Others DP owners will have some answers also.
Enjoy the forums and do post often.

[Norm4015]

A man I know bought a 1998 Dutch Star diesel puller and he kept it a whole six months before trading for a 1999 Dutch Star diesel pusher. He told me it was under powered, noisy and had a top speed of 65 mph. Are you sure it has a 300 hp Cummins in the front? I thought the pullers had a 210 hp engine.

Any way, take it for a test drive to determine the level of noise and if it has hill pulling power.

(On Edit) I have been racking my old brain about the 98 Dutch Star diesel pusher because I looked at them back then and once had brochures on them. I think Newmar only made them three years and due to low sales they stopped making them.

I believe they had a 210 hp Cummins 5.9 liter engine. They had a mechanical 542 Allison 4-speed transmission. They did not have air ride or air brakes. At least one model year you could order a Ford diesel engine to lower the price. Having a drive shaft from the front to the rear eliminated pass-thru storage. In other words, the diesel puller was more like a gas motorhome with a diesel engine.

If I'm wrong on this I'm sure someone will correct me.

[DonnaB]

There are so many issues with buying a rig as old as this and so few miles. Indicates that it sat idle so long that the real issues are going to be with the 'stuff' inside the coach. We had a '92 with only 23K miles when we purchased it when 12 yrs. old. We ended up replacing a significant number of high dollar items over the 3 yrs we had the rig. If the previous owner(s) actually used the rig and just didn't drive it often (hard to imagine but could happen) then maybe there isn't too much of a problem with major appliances throughout the coach. Most likely it sat idle and the probability is that you are looking at some major repair issues down the road, and soon. If you are even the least bit handy with tools, a lot of issues can be done without the expense of the 'professionals'.
In my humble opinion, I would be looking for a coach that has been used more, i.e. more miles than one that has sat. If the coach owners cannot provide maintenance records from day one I would be suspect. Most coaches that sit don't get the attention needed because of the expense such as changing oil and trans fluid as recommended by the mfgs. because they don't have the miles to justify it. Ours lost a transmission because of algae growing the the fluid. Took it a couple of years for the failure to become apparent even though I changed fluid and filters when I bought the rig and then after I had put an additional 15K miles on it.
I guess what I am saying is beware of hidden troubles that can get expensive. We had a lot of them, but loved the rig. Ended up buying a new rig because of a size issue when we decided to go full time.

Good luck with your plans and hope you have as much fun as we are having traveling.
Don

[Geaux Tigers]

Marvin Moose,

We purchased a 1997 34' Kountry Star diesel puller from the second owner about 4 years ago. When we purchased it there were only 35,000 miles on it. I must say, we have loved our Kountry Star and have no intentions of replacing it anytime soon. It now has 50,000 miles on it. All of our appliances, generator, and furnishings are still the originals.

Norm4015 is correct about the original engine & transmission setup. Our 5.9L Cummins was already upgraded with a plate in the fuel injector pump to 275HP when we got it. I am satisfied with the acceleration and performance. Traveling the mountains in Tennessee and Kentucky is not a problem. We leave the cruise control on and we maintain speed going uphill where the truckers cannot. The original Allison transmission was a weak unit and the second owner of our coach had to replace it after it failed. He opted to upgrade the transmission to an Allison 643 4-speed transmission which is the same unit used in schoool buses and garbage trucks. We have not had any problems with the Allison 643. Our coach consistently gets 10-11MPG traveling around 62-63MPH pulling a '74 VW Beetle.

I like the simplicity of leaf spring suspension and hydraulic disc brakes. We don't mind the ride and braking is very good. We are also okay with the engine noise level but it is evident when climbing steep grades. Finding shock absorbers was a chore because the chassis is not listed in anyone's parts books. I finally got the correct ones by going back to Freightliner to get information about the originals (which were covered with undercoating) and then contacting the shock manufacturers.

I hope this helps you in your decision.

--------- Jim