New to RV'ing and my Newmar Essex

woolleyspc · 01-23-2012, 06:12 PM

Taking possession of my new Newmar Essex Thursday 1/26/12. I was wondering if any of you experienced or also new owners can recommend anything I need to ask at the orientation - to have it explained more fully or if there is anything I should be aware of that may be a problem that I need to have checked before we drive off the lot. Thank You for your time in helping my wife and I out

Perry White · 01-23-2012, 06:20 PM

Lucky you. Did you get the full wall slide? Should come with a full set of manuals. Are you picking it up at the factory? If you are, stay for a few days and try everything in it. Nothing worse than driving 500 miles and find out you have to go back.

John H... · 01-23-2012, 06:21 PM

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the MH. Be sure everything is gone over and that everything works. We didn't find out in our first new MH that water wouldn't come out of a spigot until our first camping trip. It was simply a pinched hose that was installed sloppily at the factory...They may not have water in the tanks, but you know what I'm trying to convey..

Lug_Nut · 01-23-2012, 06:23 PM

Congratulations on your purchase! I'm sure you will not be disappointed with your choice. You can't learn, or at least take in, all that the product has and can do. Fortunitely you have iRV2.com. Newmar builds one great ride and the Essex is one of the best. Enjoy!

Peter

Perry White · 01-23-2012, 06:25 PM

If you even think about not really understanding something about your Coach, get on here and ask any questions you have. Somebody will help you out.

Mr_D · 01-23-2012, 06:29 PM

That's quite a "starter" rig you have!!

There are a bunch of PDI (pre delivery inspection) forms available all over the web. I'm sure someone here will suggest some good ones. Go through it while at the dealers. Be sure everything works. Look at the fir and finish etc, although with a Newmar that shouldn't be a problem.

When we ordered our DSDP the NCC was advertised as 5,500#'s so I didn't worry about the CCC. I should have!! It was only 663#'s and all of that was on the rear. The front was overloaded if I filled the tank and propane tank. Newmar did fix it by having Spartan put a 14,600# axle under it.

Nemar skipped a couple things too, we asked for the computer desk to be reversed from normal, which they did. Problem was, they left the wall plugs in the old position.

We ordered MA countertops, which didn't get done on the assembly line. After it was done there really wasn't much difference, the samples sure didn't show the actual colors.

We had them delete two walls and a pocket door to the bath so it was an open floor plan (they offered it the next year). We didn't even think about wall coverings so we have one short section of wall that's the bathroom pattern. Not really noticeable but we would have changed it had we given it any thought.

woolleyspc · 01-23-2012, 06:31 PM

Yes, the full wall slide and we are picking it up at North Trail in Fort Myers- luckily we live in Naples - so we can run some shake down trips around here before we head out. Thanx.

Perry White · 01-23-2012, 06:34 PM

Your lucky. I think half the Essex owners winter at Pelican Lake. Have any trouble, go knock on some doors.

MJFZ · 01-23-2012, 06:39 PM

Congratulations!! Nice coach. The DW and I picked up our new Dutch Star two months ago. We spent an entire day having the dealer demonstrate the function of everything. Every switch, appliance, outlet, valve, we opened every cabinet, read and discussed every label, opened every compartment and discussed everything inside the compartment. We opened and closed the slides and awnings several times. We spent time to understand the generator and inverter/charger/Oasis, water system, water filter,etc. We downloaded the PDI checklist from the Newmar website and used that as we inspected everything. We noted every issue for later discussion and correction. As we found issues our dealer took care of most of them. By the end of the day we still were not finished, so we left and returned early the next day and focused on the chassis the second day. They showed us every filter, (I have four diesel fuel filters) everything I should check daily and weekly ( air, fluids, etc. ), the use the of the Comfort Drive, best practices with Allison Transmission, etc. etc. It was exhausting but well worth it. Make sure you go up on your roof and inspect the roof, the sealants around all protrusions, etc. I crawled under the motorhome and inspected from front to rear with a flashlight. Make sure you note any interior and exterior scratches, dents, rips, or dings during the PDI and we had our digital camera with us just in case. At the end we only had two issues our dealer could not immediately fix-- an oil leak on the vent located on the cooling fan gearbox(side radiator), and scratches on the roof—obviously from the production line as they ran sideways across the coach but not on the top of the A/C covers. Freightliner has fixed the minor oil leak and either my dealer or Newmar will fix the scratches on the roof. I had a Newmar customer service rep call me about the scratches to reassure me they will be fixed--- Wow!! that was customer service!

Take a tape measure and with the suspension fully inflated measure your overall height-- I still need to do this.

This is our third coach ( prior we owned a Fleetwood Tioga class C and a Holiday Rambler Vactioner Class A) we are very happy with our Newmar

Mike

akadeadeye · 01-23-2012, 06:42 PM

Your PDI (pre delivery inspection) should last a couple of days or more. If it doesn't, they aren't telling/teaching you enough. Ask about every button, knob, light, etc. that you can lay your hands on. Start at the dash, then to the control panel, auto genset setting and operation, then every light switch, interior breakers, fuses, slide operations, open cabinets to look at plumbing and other switches that may control something you would think should not be located in a cabinet, washer/dryer operation, leveling jacks operation, generator, exterior awning operation (do-it), tv's and surround sound, DVD, stove, microwave/convection, frig do's and don'ts, furnace/ A/C operation, thermostat operation, fantastic vents operation, smoke alarm, LP alarm.

Exterior. Same kind of detail. Open every compartment and ask about anything you see. Inverter/converter, batteries (coach and chassis), outside entertainment appliances, central vacuum system, more breakers and fuse locations, (after he shows you the location of all the breakers and fuses ask him if he is POSITIVE there aren't any more some where), including the BUSS cut-off breaker, how to check fluid levels and where to add fluids, air filter usage indicator, operation of holding tanks for dumping, water connections for city water and to fill the fresh water tank, how to winterize the coach from the siphon hose system provided.

If your PDI lasts for more than one day, take the opportunity to go over your coach owner's manual the night in between to highlight or list the things you do not understand in order to get questions answered the next day.

Our PDI lasted only 6 hours (largely our fault) and it was grossly inadequate. Full disclosure........we had never owned an RV of any kind before so our learning curve was greater than others more experienced. But, these are very complex and complicated machines and after two years we are still learning.

Good example, months after taking delivery we are ready to pull out of a site in an RV park. Jacks down, water and electric unhooked, slides in, ready to go. Started engine, released brakes, it wouldn't go into Drive or budge. What the ****! Sat there and thought and thought. What's wrong now? Process of elimination. What is different compared to when we can usually move on out. After about 5 minutes, the only thing different was that we had put some clothes in the dryer right before we were ready to leave and the coach systems would not let us move while the dryer was operating. Turned off the dryer and off we went. Did they cover that in the PDI? No.

You get the idea. As mentioned above, there are PDI checklists you can get on the web.

Good luck with your Essex. They are beautiful coaches.

Don

Just Because · 01-24-2012, 05:05 AM

After about 5 minutes, the only thing different was that we had put some clothes in the dryer right before we were ready to leave and the coach systems would not let us move while the dryer was operating. Turned off the dryer and off we went. Did they cover that in the PDI? No.

My bride would surely be unhappy about that. We wash and dry going down the road all the time.

Iron Man · 01-24-2012, 07:03 AM

Good example, months after taking delivery we are ready to pull out of a site in an RV park. Jacks down, water and electric unhooked, slides in, ready to go. Started engine, released brakes, it wouldn't go into Drive or budge. What the ****! Sat there and thought and thought. What's wrong now? Process of elimination. What is different compared to when we can usually move on out. After about 5 minutes, the only thing different was that we had put some clothes in the dryer right before we were ready to leave and the coach systems would not let us move while the dryer was operating. Turned off the dryer and off we went. Did they cover that in the PDI? No.

I wonder if that is on the new coaches or with the Allstar? We are able to run washer and dryer while we are running down the road. I wonder what the reason is for the dryer to be off?

RVNeophytes2 · 01-24-2012, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by woolleyspc

Taking possession of my new Newmar Essex Thursday 1/26/12...

One of my closest friends here in TX has an Essex, loves it. Here comes the good news: it was his choice after years of research, growing up in motorhomes, and inheriting his father's eighth RV, a Newar London Aire.

I just spent some time in it with him, later helped him install a flat screen bedroom TV.

The only hiccup he's had is water finding its way into the coach via the slideouts.

I'm thinking it happened for several reasons, all operator-curable. First, he levels the coach, rather than manually tilting it nose up or down on the heels of a normal leveling. Next, he wasn't in the habit of wiping off his slideouts prior to retraction. Last -- this is the design of the rig -- the retraction cycle is continuous, so slideouts might not shed all their water in time for total retraction, eg they continue to shed a bit indoors. 'Poor guys has some nasty rust spots on his carpet.

I also suggested that he "walk the slides" with a bath towel tossed onto the upper slideout surfaces after retraction in rain. We did this in both our rigs after overnighting in steady rain, probably retrieved a quart of water after our slides were in.

Somebody here suggested we'd never would've had this problem if not for inadequate maintenance or design; both rigs are meticulously maintained and pristine. Plus, on a lark, I walked next door to where my neighbor was fussing in something in the palacial interior of his late-model Prevost. He too reported water ingress during slide retraction. In his $1 million coach.

I love the chassis in yours, it grips the road as if on rails. The engine noise is barely discernible, which is odd to me.

Oh. We did have to deal with a stubborn basement door latch. A slipped cable stop; I stupidly drew it tight and reset. No good. They need some slack. Newmar's basement door latches are surprisingly lightweight, he's rechecking and lubricating each.

In all, a magnificent coach. Congrats, and enjoy!

akadeadeye · 01-24-2012, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron Man

Good example, months after taking delivery we are ready to pull out of a site in an RV park. Jacks down, water and electric unhooked, slides in, ready to go. Started engine, released brakes, it wouldn't go into Drive or budge. What the ****! Sat there and thought and thought. What's wrong now? Process of elimination. What is different compared to when we can usually move on out. After about 5 minutes, the only thing different was that we had put some clothes in the dryer right before we were ready to leave and the coach systems would not let us move while the dryer was operating. Turned off the dryer and off we went. Did they cover that in the PDI? No.

I wonder if that is on the new coaches or with the Allstar? We are able to run washer and dryer while we are running down the road. I wonder what the reason is for the dryer to be off?

Only thing I could figure was that our dryer vent to the outside is on the driver's side and passing wind might interfere with proper venting.

Don