2009 Allstar break-in summary

[Robsons]

Hey all,

I thought some might be interested to review the various things that needed fixing during our first year of ownership. Many seem to be listed in other threads but I've never seen anyone post a single list for their coach.

In no particular order...

1) Wipers (failed 45 minutes after leaving the dealership. ultimate fix was for Newmar @ Nappanee to use shorter wipers and I installed a big lock washer to the nut inside the coach wall)
2) Levelers (3 out of 4 failed within 4 months. Newmar arranged for them to all be replaced while we were travelling. Never got an explanation for why it was happening)
3) The valve that switches between filling the water tank or supplying the house w water (probably had been incorrect the whole time but wasn't replaced til a month ago. for some reason it wasn't shutting off completely even when I rotated the handle all the way which meant the system would lose pressure and the water pump would cycle every minute or so to repressurize)
4) Slide roller spit out a bunch of ball bearings (happened in first month. nearby repair shop got replacement part from Newmar)
5) Dashboard stereo volume knob faulty (would not change the volume properly - jumped volume settings and sometime adjusted volume opposite way from which you turn it. Still waiting for Newmar to send me a replacemennt radio which I will have to install myself.)
6) Leak in ceiling at TV antenna (never amounted to much water so it may have been there from the start. Nappanee guys replaced a boot and recaulked the area)
7) Outside temperature readout on instrument panel was blank (was there from the beginning. Eventually had Nappanee get it fixed. Seemed to be a bit of confusion between Spartan & Nappanee crew on this one.)
8) Entry step very wiggly and stair paint just peeled right off (needs new bearings and new paint but I may do these myself - we're not headed back to the factory for quite a while)
9) Transmission started downshifting on the highway for no reason (happened about 2 months into our trip. Very unsettling to have your coach bucking like a bronco at highway speeds!! ended up apparently being a bad ground wire that was causing the transmission brain to intermittently lose connection w the transmission controller or something like that. had a new wire strung at an Allison shop which took an afternoon)

That's everything I think. Mostly little stuff but some were fairly annoying. But when you consider that there are probably over 1 million parts in a coach like this, it's not too bad.

Newmar customer service has always been very accomodating and their reputation for being customer-focused is well deserved.

Dave

[Robsons]

one thing to note as well...

we never had to get towed and except for the transmission wire we were never really impeded from travelling, just inconvenienced.

a very good experience overall and much better than some of the stories we've heard from friends on their new rig break-ins.

[Dav5942]

Not bad at all! Our list is longer but we've got 60,000 miles and nothing to slow us down. Great product and the Mid-Engine is great to drive, would definitely try to find another one if this one ever wore out.