Newell impresses.

[Matt D]

A couple of days ago, a Newell Coach pulled into Tiger Run. This coach is being shown by Phil Cornelius, one of the sales staff at Newell.

The remarkable part of the story is the Open House sign at the front of the site.

Open House?

Oh yeah sign us up.

This is the coach we looked at..

Coach #1652 - Newell Coach

Ever since my friend Larry spent some time in Miami, OK. at the factory, I’ve had an interest in the brand.

Phil Cornelius was a true gentleman and has a resume heavy in the high end coach world. Think of names like Foretravel, and Marathon to identify where Phil spent the early portion of his career.

Phil was gracious enough to walk us through his product and allowing us to bask in the sheer sumptuous majesty of a coach listed for a tad over $2M.

The thing that captured our attention was the bunks! Yes, bunks. As it turns out, Newell Coach produces around 26 coaches a year, 7 of which are built on spec.

As you enter the coach and begin to absorb the thoughtful design, it begins to dawn on you that this coach is closer to a Corporate Jet than a Motorhome.

One immediate impression was not just how interesting the “Timber” detail was on the ceiling, but that I could barely reach up an brush the ceiling with my fingertips. Keep in mind I’m 6’0” and have freakishly long arms.

In addition to the impressive headroom, the numerous windows were exceptionally large, not just in width but the height seemed very generous.

At first glance, there is no obvious method for the 4 roof A/C units to deliver their divine chilled air. A/C vents are cleverly placed inside the ceiling perimeter, so the impression is that of a completely uninterrupted ceiling.

All available space inside the coach is devoted to storage. There are little storage shelves and drawers everywhere.

While I’m not an expert at upholstery, the hides used in this coach are beautiful and well crafted.

The bathrooms are simply amazing with a hammered copper sink in one of the 2 full baths. The other bath sports a different but equally impressive decor.

Mechanically, the coach is essentially hand built and all mechanical design decisions are back driven by the goal of simply producing the best coach possible. For example, the King bed is designed to extend to full length at rest, or fold at the head of the bed to enable easy walk around access while the 4 slides are retracted. I’m not going to talk about the clever slide mechanisms, but suffice it to say the Newell flat floors are achieved with little compromise.

The Newell chassis is built at the factory and sports many features you would expect from a company in business for the length of time Newell has enjoyed.

Major suspension bits are provided by ZF, and share more similarities to the underpinnings on a current model BMW, or Mercedes Benz equipped with Active Suspension.

The engine is the mighty Cummins X15 with easy access on three sides to ease maintenance concerns.

While we couldn’t quite manage the price of entry, it was fantastic seeing a coach in person that is fabricated with an obsession for detail.

Unfortunately, we just missed a 10 year old bunk coach that was closer to our budget.

I’m going to have to call Phil when my Lotto numbers hit.

-Matt

[pbucha]

Great write up, thanks!
It's fun to dream.

[Matt D]

I remember seeing the LH in Red Bay when we were there and always liked that layout.



-Matt

[lowejug]

I agree.... if the funds were there this would be my next coach... truly a coach to the next level ... some day I will have one... but for now I will take my entegra....

[Saltydog44]

A friend at our resort in Port St. Lucie had a 10 YO Newell. It was amazing and he raved about their service. The windows blew me away

[saddlesore]

Yup...
There is a reason the manufacturers of the "hand built" coach products are expensive....and durable ...even when 20+ years old..

[dave&ginny]

10 or 15 year Newell coaches are on the road and doing well. I have a friend with a 2005 that still looks and drives great.

The question I have is, how long will our current coaches last AND will the company stand behind them long term? My friend with a 2005 Newell says he's still gets top notch service from the factory (he bought it used) and they treat him like he's the most important person in the world.

I question how long a new Cornerstone will really last after spending $550,000-$600,000. And the lack of company support once the warranty is over. There's only one dealership out there selling Entegras that I trust (NIRVC) and they're at the mercy of the manufacturer who at times seems a bit shaky with their polices.

Maybe the Newell isn't a bad deal for the long haul. I have to respect a company that looks at quality and the well being of their customers before increasing production.

[saddlesore]

Originally Posted by dave&ginny

Maybe the Newell isn't a bad deal for the long haul. I have to respect a company that looks at quality and the well being of their customers before increasing production.

I have had the same experience with Foretravel.. and our coach is 16 years old.
Last time I was in Nacogdoces a '69 Foretravel came for annual service and when I asked the owner he said the same thing, good coach,good service and FT was willing to take care of any issues..

But like ours,, had to pay for the work as we both are way past any warranty.

Foretravel has retained all the build sheets and parts numbers (and the upgrades done)

[dave&ginny]

Originally Posted by saddlesore

I have had the same experience with Foretravel.. and our coach is 16 years old.
Last time I was in Nacogdoces a '69 Foretravel came for annual service and when I asked the owner he said the same thing, good coach,good service and FT was willing to take care of any issues..

But like ours,, had to pay for the work as we both are way past any warranty.

Foretravel has retained all the build sheets and parts numbers (and the upgrades done)

Foretravel has always been a great coach that I admired but when they switched to the Spartan chassis they lost me. Spartan isn’t bad but I don’t believe they’re any better than Freight Shaker. If I’m going to spend big bucks I want the best.

[saddlesore]

Originally Posted by dave&ginny

Foretravel has always been a great coach that I admired but when they switched to the Spartan chassis they lost me. Spartan isn’t bad but I don’t believe they’re any better than Freight Shaker. If I’m going to spend big bucks I want the best.

The spartan chassis that Foretravel uses has been "tweeked" to meet FT's design demands.. ie: the outboard air bags and many other considerations.
Reason for the change from their own "in house" chassis is that the R & D costs to keep up with the never ending EPA demands for the engines and associated add on components became cost prohibitive.
So they have Spartan build the chassis to the Foretravel design specifications.
And Spartan cannot build, sell or incorporate the Foretravel priority designs for any other manufacturer.

[dave&ginny]

Originally Posted by saddlesore

The spartan chassis that Foretravel uses has been "tweeked" to meet FT's design demands.. ie: the outboard air bags and many other considerations.
Reason for the change from their own "in house" chassis is that the R & D costs to keep up with the never ending EPA demands for the engines and associated add on components became cost prohibitive.
So they have Spartan build the chassis the Foretravel way.
And Spartan cannot build, sell or incorporate the Foretravel priority designs for any other manufacturer.

It’s still Spartan hands building them. How many bad radiators does it take across several brands before it understood that quality was sacrificed for profits. I had problems with stripped grease zerks that Entegra had to fix.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe Spartan is the worst but they’re not the best either.

[MRUSA14]

Originally Posted by dave&ginny

10 or 15 year Newell coaches are on the road and doing well. I have a friend with a 2005 that still looks and drives great.

The question I have is, how long will our current coaches last AND will the company stand behind them long term? My friend with a 2005 Newell says he's still gets top notch service from the factory (he bought it used) and they treat him like he's the most important person in the world.

I question how long a new Cornerstone will really last after spending $550,000-$600,000. And the lack of company support once the warranty is over.

What lack of company support? Entegra will work on and support any Entegra ever made whether in warranty or not.

How many of us will still own our Entegras after 15 or 20 years? For that matter, for the price difference of a Newell you could replace your Entegra with a new one numerous times.

[brobox]

If we all had Newall's there would be nothing to complain about. I'll bet the Newall forum doesn't have a "Show us Your Mods" thread.
Beautiful coach without a doubt and probably our favorite of the custom build coaches. They seem to have storage where the other manufactures think you eat out all the time.

[dave&ginny]

It is true you could buy several Entegra coaches for the cost of a Newell but don’t forget about the frustration with each new coach.