Help with MADP options (this might be kind of long)

[utarv]

We are new to the forum but have been lurking on the site for some time now. We are really close to pulling the trigger on a new coach. Newmar has been SO good to us so far in this process, I cannot even begin to tell you how happy we have been so far. We have been working with them to redesign the floor plan a bit so that we can work bunkbeds into the coach and have almost come to a design that will work for everyone. In anticipation that it will work out we are looking at some of the options that they have provided in the brochure. We would like some feedback on some of the options available. We appreciate any feedback you might have as a current Newmar owner. A few specific questions we have are:
1. What in-motion satelite dish would you choose and why? There are 2 choices listed on the option sheet. One is the King Dome and the other is the Kvh R-6. The Kvh is more expensive but what advantage does it provide? Are there other in motion systems that you might recommend instead.
2. There is an upgrade for the awning. Instead of the standard A&E Weather Pro Power we could add the Girard Power Side. What is really the difference and what has been your experience and/or recommendation.
3. We are going to extend the porcelain floor throughout the living room. Does anyone have any experience with the heated flooring? It is a pricy investment at about $9.0. Is it worth it, and how does it work?
4. Does anyone have the extra monitor for the nav system on the passenger side. Do you like where it is positioned or would you have it relocated? Another coach mfg located it closer to the co-pilot and on something that is like a repositionable swing arm. That sales person had also said that it could be used as a dvd player for the co-pilot. Can you do that in the Newmar?
5. Are there any other options that you think we should consider, or changes you think we might consider making?

Thank you in advance for your patience in such a long post and for any wisdom that you can share in our design and purchasing process.

[utarv]

We are new to the forum but have been lurking on the site for some time now. We are really close to pulling the trigger on a new coach. Newmar has been SO good to us so far in this process, I cannot even begin to tell you how happy we have been so far. We have been working with them to redesign the floor plan a bit so that we can work bunkbeds into the coach and have almost come to a design that will work for everyone. In anticipation that it will work out we are looking at some of the options that they have provided in the brochure. We would like some feedback on some of the options available. We appreciate any feedback you might have as a current Newmar owner. A few specific questions we have are:
1. What in-motion satelite dish would you choose and why? There are 2 choices listed on the option sheet. One is the King Dome and the other is the Kvh R-6. The Kvh is more expensive but what advantage does it provide? Are there other in motion systems that you might recommend instead.
2. There is an upgrade for the awning. Instead of the standard A&E Weather Pro Power we could add the Girard Power Side. What is really the difference and what has been your experience and/or recommendation.
3. We are going to extend the porcelain floor throughout the living room. Does anyone have any experience with the heated flooring? It is a pricy investment at about $9.0. Is it worth it, and how does it work?
4. Does anyone have the extra monitor for the nav system on the passenger side. Do you like where it is positioned or would you have it relocated? Another coach mfg located it closer to the co-pilot and on something that is like a repositionable swing arm. That sales person had also said that it could be used as a dvd player for the co-pilot. Can you do that in the Newmar?
5. Are there any other options that you think we should consider, or changes you think we might consider making?

Thank you in advance for your patience in such a long post and for any wisdom that you can share in our design and purchasing process.

[soricobob]

I can only speak to a few of those options: we got the Girard awnings, and have not been impressed, but have never had the others; the tile floor is fabulous, and, if possible, we'd even like it in the bedroom, but I wouldn't spend the extra to heat it, as the floor gets warm with the "furnace"; we have the extra monitor, and its a huge waste of money(for us), as we thought it would handle a lot of things, which the passenger could take advantage of, but it is a slave to the driver's monitor, so you only can watch what's on the driver's screen; I like the basement drawers (operational from one side) and use them a great deal for easy access to what's underneath; the MOST important option, in my opinion, is the rear control panel(to set temps in the coach); we also use the advantium oven a great deal.
Good Luck, and good negotiations!

[Jetsmania]

Hi! We have just sold our 2007 MADP 4528 and will try to answer your questions.
#1 R6 Sat It has GPS on it and locks on fast. Because of the GPS when you go under bridges it recovers very fast. Can also be upgraded to get limited HD.
#2 Girad makes a better awning. With the Girad you do not have supports mounted to the side of the motor home. The awning is hung from the roof. Well worth the money.
#3 The heated floor is well worth the money if you use it. I did not want it, Jill wanted it, so we got it. We would not order another coach without it. In our case with a rear bath the heated floor (it is electric) was divided into 3 zones. 2 zones were up front and the 3rd in the rear. There is a thermostat for each zone to adjust the floor temp. We use it year round. We leave it set in the 80's for when the air is on. Keeps the floor from getting cold. Best special you can blow money on.
#4 The GPS unit has changed since 07 so here is what we did. We had Newmar mount another monitor on top of the dash in the middle. We had the GPS on that monitor.
#5 A quick answer would be; we added a window in the kitchen in the backsplash area, we had the flourscent under the counter deleted and replaced with Halogens, also do the bathroom. I would add more halogens in the couch areas.

To keep this short, we loved the MADP and there is no question you will love it. You get great bang for your buck! The only reason we sold ours is we want to move up the Newmar Line. I will E-Mail you my cell number. You can call me and I can give you more ways to spend your money! Paul

[RVDude]

There are several similar previous threads on this forum. Do a search using the find button above and you will find loads of info you never even thought about asking.

Without a lot of details on your specifics.

Girard, expensive but by all means. The quality is unsurpassed.

Heated floors. Pricey and electric. IF you plan to spend a LOT of time in the very cold, it might be worth it. I know I would have liked it spending this past winter in Colorado mountains at minus20. But at $10k and more importantly being only electric I passed, and still would pass. If it were powered by the hydronic furnace than I would suggest differently. Ask if they will do it using hydronic heat.

Nav monitor no way - too small, just ask them to add, if possible given the new gps configuration, a video cable from the gps to the existing front TV. Cost me $50 and I have wide screen nav on that TV.

Not sure if the MA has the EPLEX system, if so opt for the extra monitor for it in the bedroom

Other thoughts that may or may not apply to MA but worthy of at least thinking about... Your mileage WILL vary and there WILL be lots of discussion about many of the following...

Add two-way dimmer switches to many many more of the halogen lights, add halogen down lights directly over each sink in the bath/lav on a two-way, move 110v outlets to the wall from under cabinets - especially kitchen, I think pure sine inverter is standard check, increase house batteries to 8 if not already, change batteries to AGM, consider adding elec conduit if you plan to add satellite or move AV appliances around or fidget with your coach, add elec conduit in chassis frame rails from the front to the very back for hitch accessories, as a solo driver I find the remote control rear view camera an absolute necessity, side cameras are in my opinion rather useless, VORAD is very pricey but the smart cruise feature is a God send, depending on the sofa design/layout consider extending the side bolsters so you can actually lay on the sofa against the bolster to watch TV - go lay in one and you'll understand, add extra monitor by driver for the backup camera so it can be active all the time, if you have the booth dinette consider redesigning the utterly worthless storage bay in/under them into more of a plain and simple box - I wish I had caught that one, if there consider deleting the appliance garage, add a Sanicon unit - you can't beat that 1 inch super flex hose, try for a 50 foot electric cord, TripTek is pretty much a waste, Spartan should be able to upgrade you to Smartire, I suggest Onan and Norcold, if you boondock add flourscents all around, add halogen downlights to shower, consider making the sofa hide-a-bed queen sized, if you are thinking of cold weather again make sure the Oasis has the engine preheat pump to heat the engine from the Oasis - I think it is standard on Oasis, consider the SelectComfort mattress - no more hip holes, add shelves to kitchen cabinets...

Go sit in a unit as you contemplate every one of these and all other suggestions. You can't really think about them in your living room and understand how they'll work for you.

That should get you started and positively blow the budget... ENJOY!

[CLM]

I don't like the girard. The side edges of the material part are not taut and tend to flap. The awning moves up and down a great deal in a light wind. It has the wind sensor, but a gust came along and the sensor did not pull it in. The front side arm bowed in, the awning went a little crooked. I got panicked and brought it in.
Just my experience.

[Jetsmania]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Not sure if the MA has the EPLEX system </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Hi! MAPD does not have E-Plex. All switches for the Halogens are already a 2 way dimmer switch (6 volts or 12 volts). The Oasis does come standard with the engine preheat.
Jeff, here is one for you to figure out, Newmar for '09 is now mounting the sewer pipe under the water bay. It is supposed to hang down aproz. 2" They did not want the sewer hoses connected inside the bay. They claim they have had problems with sewer hose leakage in the bay. They also claim problems with Sanicon. That is why the sewer pipe will be isolated under the coach. For the Sanicon fans, what option is available for them other then to leave their unit outside the coach when in use??? Paul

[GaryKD]

The KVH R-6 is an HDTV solution. Go here to read about it. HDTV is something to consider as long as the rest of the coach (wiring, receivers and monitors) can handle it. And you want to pay for it.

[Aridon]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by GaryKD:
The KVH R-6 is an HDTV solution. Go here to read about it. HDTV is something to consider as long as the rest of the coach (wiring, receivers and monitors) can handle it. And you want to pay for it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>



DirecTV HD will be very limited to around 14 stations out of the almost 100. So don't go that route if you want HD. Go for a 5LNB non dome variety from Winguard or Motosat.

Dish will be switching to MPEG4 and the new frequencies KA/KU switch once they get another satellite in the air. Their most recent was DOA on orbit and is a loss so it will be a year or two before that happens but when it does Dish HD will be migrating to the new frequencies on the new bird as it was supposed to with AM14 or whatever the name of the failed satellite was.


Bottom line, you will be replacing your dome in a few years if you want HD so you might be better off getting a future proof solution like a motosat dish and using a DVR for in motion viewing.


Also I'd suggest wiring your coach just like your house. Run everything to a single cabinet that way you can easily switch between whatever feed you want to view, camp groung Cable, satellite on the roof or tripod if you have to go that route due to trees. Make sure you have plenty of AC outlets, we included ethernet as well for multi room viewing of DVR content and 2 cable connections / satellite connections for your dual tuner DVRs. Saves you the hassle of running them later.

[brucedelta]

I have been working on configuring a MADP order and will give you some of my thoughts.
1) I asked for a dome prewire setup. KVH is supposed to have a new unit this summer that will get the new bands for more HD options.
2) I also asked the difference between awnings and apparently the girrard comes straight out of the roof without the arms on the side. Most people like it and consider them very good.
3) I only have experience with the floor heat from feeling it in the Jetsmobile. It is very nice and as he said they love it. We tend to wear slippers over bare feet so I did not see much value in it for us. Additionally the reason to own an RV is to get away from the cold, so I could not justify it.
4) The new nav system is unknown. I planned on RVDudes idea of running a cable to the overhead for the passenger. Since you could not enter anything on it I do not see much value on the extra screen.
5) other options
I am sure jetsmania will chime in agreement here - ditch the hand crank antenna on the ceiling and get a power unit.
Do you want the ladder on the back - It is popular to delete it.
I asked for porcelain flooring in the bedroom, they denied it. - not sure why.
This one is personal taste, but I always thought the headboard looked like it was misaligned. You can opt for a all wood unit.
Prewire for a rooftop cellular antenna.
You can ask for a 1" pvc conduit from axle to axle in basement so you can snake wire in it in the future.
RV dude has posted some pictures of his bay and how he has slides arranged. One of the things on my task list is to find out which tray he has. Is it the small storage tray? Basically this eliminates a problem with the full tray in that you can not put tall things on the driver side or they will not get under the rail. So the pictures from RV Dude showed how he used the 2/3 tray and then containers on the driver side to more fully utilize storage.
I asked for 12V and 110V power in a bay on the drivers side also based on advice I saw here.
I asked for the Horns mounted behind the hood instead of on roof. No need to polish chrome that way. Not my original idea, I saw it on SJCaldal11's coach which is also where I saw the wood headboard.

[GaryKD]

Adrion,
Direct TV has considerably more than 14 stations in HD. Go here to see the list.

[Aridon]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by GaryKD:
Adrion,
Direct TV has considerably more than 14 stations in HD. Go here to see the list. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


Gary its around 100 I have them all. My point was with DirecTV and a dome you will only get a small fraction of the actual total HD available. Around 14 or so HD stations if memory serves me right (only the left over HD still on the 110 and 119 birds the new satellites 103 and 99 are not viewable with domes and are where most of the HD is located). Which is why I was saying if they want HD then a dome and DirecTV is a bad combo. Dish and domes will be a bad combo in the future.

[GaryKD]

Adrion,
Thjis is not my skill area so pardon the possible redundency of the posts. Are you saying:
A. Today all the channels mentioned in my previous post are not available to a KVH R-6 DX user?

or

B. When Direct TV has their new satellite up and running the previously mentioned channels will move to the new satellite, which will require another dome to be purchased?

[RVDude]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">All switches for the Halogens are already a 2 way </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Sweet! We EX buyers get to pay extra for that. Maybe it was just me... Make sure ALL the lights you want on 2-way are, especially any added lights. The EX does not 2-way the very front overheads, the dinning table overhead, the wall sconces - you might want your equivalent lights to be 2-way on some of these.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Newmar now mounting the sewer pipe under the water bay </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Now that makes a Sanicon boondoggle! Seems to also make one more thing to snag under there.. I'll have to see one, don't have an answer as you really don't want to leave the macerator pump outside freezing it's little you know whats off.

Other stuff:

Any "prewire" should be replaced by "conduit" as you never know what types of wire you'll need for cell, the new HD setups (once they figure it all out), solar, and the like. Many installers want to use their own wire too so they'll just bypass "prewire" and punch a new hole. Besides, the conduits are like $50 each. Make sure to spec a pull cord in them and spec that they terminate in a box on the roof to avoid guessing where they are. Newmar uses a cheapo tiny elec box, I would ask for something like AMSolar's "combiner" type box if Newmar can get/has something similar.

Air horns off the roof increase your clearance too. They are the high point (by 4 inches) on 07 models at least. See lug_nut's posts elsewhere in this forum for super ultra mega power nuclear air horn addition. I think he is over compensating for something ;-)

The slide trays I suggest are the standard "short" or 2/3 or half or whatever Newmar might call them - NOT the "full" slide tray - for bruced's reasons. Far cheaper to let Newmar install than aftermarket, at least it used to be, but Newmar probably plugged that loophole! Power trays take up more space and really, do you really need them to be power? It is pretty kewel though. I would put them (manual trays that is) in bays 3 and 4 on the door side (DS) leaving bay 2 open side to side for really long/big stuff and maybe ask Newmar to install wire shelving in bay 1 DS see my pics elsewhere for what I installed in bay 1 DS. This gives you bay 2 and 3 open top to bottom on the ODS side for tall stuff. I use Rubbermaid Totes as they fit perfectly. Bay 4 ODS is for Oasis.

Now, who has the VSOP?