New coach delivered in winter conditions

[redbaron73]

I have a newmar dutch star on order and expect it to be delivered in February. My dealer is in Texas and as you know Newmar is in Indiana. I am concerned that their might be salt roads driven on along the way. I have always lived in the south, where they use sand on the roads. I would hate to think that a new coach would be damaged on the way to me. Does anyone have experience with the delivery process?

I am assuming the dealer arranges for transportation, and as such it would vary greatly. I will be bringing this up as we get closer to actual delivery date but if anyone has been through this I would appreciate your input.

[powerboatr]

if the weather is not favorable for delivery
can you opt to delay the delivery? I imagine not real easy but still could be done
weigh the risks with your insurance company and dealer to let all see the light of a delayed delivery

i imagine newmar has already done the hard thinking and have previsions for winter deliveries
that limit the detriments of winter driving......
i would call newmar and ask.
if your that concerned and its your money...no harm in being diligent

[bluepill]

Motor homes are usually driven from the factory to the dealer by "Drive Away" companies. As an automotive mechanic in NY for over 40 years, I can tell you that road salt is a killer. A MH driven for even 100 miles in road salt will suffer the consequences later. If it were my purchase, I would negotiate with the dealer to pick up my new rig at the factory myself, and therefore I would have control of when and where it was driven. If there was a major storm on the route, I would stop at a campground until the roads were clear and dry again.

[Dwight]

The winter chemicals should not pose a problem if you have a very good extensive strong soap power wash done concentrating on spraying from all directions in every conceivable crevices on the underside when the motorhome arrives. The space between the bay doors is also important. The chemicals that are used on our winter roads are designed to stick to the road surface but consequently the wet spray also sticks to vehicles. (If you park near an ocean area that has beautiful surf and breaking waves, the salty humid air can have the same effect if wind conditions blow inland.)

A good tip for all motorhomes is a very through under-body power washing with soap especially concentrating along the outer wall to floor. After you inspect the cleaning job and it dries for several days it is ready for a do it yourself type undercoating.

Buy a handle that clamps onto paint spray cans & buy a few cans of rubberized undercoating at a auto parts store or walmart. Lay a lot of cardboard under & around your motorhome and while wearing a paint mask or at least two dust masks you are ready to spray ALL metal under the motorhome.

Wear a cap & the grubbiest clothes & long sleeved shirt & use tight fitting throw-away gloves. DO NOT spray the EXHAUST SYSTEM or the DRIVE SHAFT & stay up wind of the messy spray or use a fan to make a wind. Did I forget to mention wearing goggles for eye protection? DO NOT spray WIRES or CONNECTORS. (Someday it may be important to see the colors and numbers for trouble shooting)

My 18 year old motorhome was 4 years old when I sprayed it & it still looks like new with an occasional touch-up spray. Dwight

[billyb]

dwight said it pretty good. my delivery was january 31st, and i know it came thru snow to ny. rvdirect did a pretty good job of washing it, and i did what i could at home when i got there. all the outside hatch locks were full of salt. i did the undercoat spray underneath also. i still get underneath and spray undercoat on it from time to time, and it still looks good.

[Route 66]

It's my understanding that Newmar contracts the delivery driver and Newmar wants the coaches delivered as soon as possible so they can get paid by the dealers.

[KJB]

I will be purchasing a new motorhome in 2013. We pretty much have the RV we want picked out. I live in Wisconsin and the dealer is in Wisconsin and a winter delivery is at least one of my reasons for waiting to place my order. The other reason is because our RV would remain in storage from November to May so we don’t need it now anyway. The dealer did tell me that they do an extensive underbody flush for any unit delivered in winter driving conditions. In all likelihood I won’t place my order till May when they begin accepting orders for the 2014 models. That should give me a July delivery and winter should be over even in Wisconsin by then.

["007"]

Welcome to the forum KJB, you will do right by getting your new Newmar in spring no matter how good a dealer says they under wash a coach after delivery once the salt gets in under the coach there will be many places they will not get the salt out.
My 8 year at the time coach took trip to Fl. and back in Jan 09, the salt no matter how much it was washed out was never the same under coach and aluminum locks even after applying protectorate to them before trip all froze in locked position.
Congrats on your to be Newmar.

[codgerbill]

I just wonder, if you drive the coach in winter after a snowstorm and salted roads are cleared, wont the residual salt(powder) still get into everything?

["007"]

If you were to get a shower the mist and salt on road will even cause a problem.
Salt moisture on starter is not fun either.

[MJFZ]

Redbaron73, might want to consider factory delivery and delay the pickup until after snow season. I am sure the dealer and Newmar could work something out.

Mike

[Deek]

Thanks for posting. This is an issue we have also wondered and worried about.

We are taking factory delivery of our 2013 Dutch Star 4018 on 2/11/13 and then after all PDI is completed with Newmar (about five days there), we are leaving for Florida right from Nappanee. After setting out, we have almost a full week before we need to get to Florida, so we are planning to time our exit from Nappanee to coincide with the weather (and salt on the highways from Indiana till at least Virginia). If we need to lay over at Camp Newmar another day or two to get dry roads, we will.

We also plan to get a thorough briefing on this question at Newmar before we leave so that we know what to do in Florida if we cannot avoid the road salt.

Hopefully, we will have a repeat of the mild winter conditions we had last year in the mid-Atlantic area!

Deek

[redbaron73]

Yes I believe I am going to modify my order to include factory delivery. That way i know what happens and can avoid the salt.

Thanks for all the input.

[redbaron73]

I just spoke with my dealer, and he assured me that the new Newmar coaches are *all* undercoated. All the wiring is sealed, and protected, and designed for winter driving as a car is. In addition they "wash them very good" upon arrival.

I personally don't think he is trying to mislead me, but maybe just not as informed. They are looking into me doing a pickup and discussing with the factory different options.

My question is are these coaches truly sealed underneath? My 08 Fleetwood Discovery certainly is not...not even close.