Avoid the New Aire

[Charlievette]

Until Newmar spends the time and the money for an owners manual that is designed for the 3341and 3343 avoid the New Aire. It’s a disgrace to design a new vehicle and use second and third hand sources for documentation. If your serious about a New Aire download the owners manual...It is a DISGRACE. Many of us have spent hour after hour to find answers to easy problems if there was documentation with a photo problem solved. Newgle is a pathertic excuse for a high tech manual. Silverleaf and Rosie also fail to have a straight forward direct manual identifying the many modes.
Do I sound angry....Your damn right.

[turbopilot]

Originally Posted by charlievette

Do I sound angry....Your damn right.

You are absolutely right. An awful manual very general in nature often with documentation that does not apply to the NA at all. Very confusing for a new owner.

The manual is nothing but a bunch of color banners warning me about everything but not telling how to operate the coach.

On the positive side the documentation assembled on this forum for the NA is very complete but very hard to find doing searches. It takes a lot of work to learn about this coach. However watching this forum in the last few months there are very few new questions that have not been answered in previous posts if you can find them.

I still think the NA is worth the hassle but I don't minimize the hassle.

[wildtoad]

Newmar manuals are not very good, and the problem is not limited to the New Aire.

[deaton]

FWIW, you don’t have to buy a New Aire to experience this issue. The manual I got with my 2017 DSDP is equally useless. I think it may be the same manual. But I experienced the same issue with previous coaches from other manufacturers.

At a recent Newmar Rally I took this up with a Newmar official and in the course of the discussion, he more or less admitted that what they call a “manual” is mostly a “let’s cover our [moderator edit]” legal disclaimer. Newgle is their effort to improve upon this by providing an online collection of vendor related documentation, but it still falls short of what’s needed to properly service these coach’s. And the problem only gets worse as the complexity increases.

When I bought my 08 Monaco, it came with a better manual, but there were still many instances where “as documented” and “as built” were not even close. But I least they did allow the owner (in those pre-bankruptcy days) to purchase a full set of excellent electrical schematics for $100 or so.

As long as people line up to buy these products while accepting these jokes for documentation, this situation is unlikely to improve as writing good documentation is a VERY EXPENSIVE exercise, and especially so when high costs is spread over relatively low production volume.

But if I ever buy another coach, it will still likely be a Newmar product.

[lkin]

Not just Newmar. I have a Tiffin with a manual that is generic, and more often than not the things covered are not the same as my coach.

[Sidewinder4]

Good manuals would cost future maintenance revenue if they were done professionally. Not just Newmar however, industry as a whole is following the same practice. Further, look at replacement parts, Newmar has proprietary agreements with some manufactures that replacement parts have to come only from Newmar. My first encounter on this practice, was bedroom slide motor.
Only way to combat this somewhat is to be a do-it-yourselfer. Paying high labor cost is the end result that manufactures are looking for with mauals done poorly/vague in my opinion.
To Newmar's credit, utilizing tech support by phone helps offset some cost and saves time in many cases where manuals are of little help.

Just saying!

[rdvan]

Originally Posted by charlievette

Until Newmar spends the time and the money for an owners manual that is designed for the 3341and 3343 avoid the New Aire. It’s a disgrace to design a new vehicle and use second and third hand sources for documentation. If your serious about a New Aire download the owners manual...It is a DISGRACE. Many of us have spent hour after hour to find answers to easy problems if there was documentation with a photo problem solved. Newgle is a pathertic excuse for a high tech manual. Silverleaf and Rosie also fail to have a straight forward direct manual identifying the many modes.
Do I sound angry....Your damn right.

Hello Charlie,
I'm not going to get into a war of words, but your Topic Title is just flat wrong and in my opinion a real disservice to those of us who own New Aires. But, I fully understand your anger over the issues you have had. I know because I have been there. I left my Tiffin Allegro Bus on the side of the highway 300 miles from home never to be driven again and it was a fully paid for coach. Another vacation ruined. Keep in mind I left a paid for $300k coach on the side of the road and drove off in my toad. But Bob Tiffin (my hero) put enough pressure on Freightliner and they sent a wrecker to get it. They repaired it in San Antonio,Texas after towing it 100 miles, and told me to come get it. I said no, I will never drive it again, have a driver take it to my dealer 300 miles away. I sold it back to the dealer. This is my fourth Class A, three being diesel pushers, and one being "The Worlds Finest Motorcoach". The New Aire has it's set of problems, but to me they are no more numerous than the other Class A's I had, just different, and most of the problems seem to be with the "high tech" aspect. But, one difference I seem to be noticing is the lack of involvement my Newmar. That is inexcusable.
R. D. Vanderslice
2018 New Aire 3341
Still a Happy Camper (at this point anyway)

[101stveteran]

Manual that came with our 16 dutchstar was garbage and that's where it went, in the garbage.

[FLJOE]

Originally Posted by charlievette

Until Newmar spends the time and the money for an owners manual that is designed for the 3341and 3343 avoid the New Aire. It’s a disgrace to design a new vehicle and use second and third hand sources for documentation. If your serious about a New Aire download the owners manual...It is a DISGRACE. Many of us have spent hour after hour to find answers to easy problems if there was documentation with a photo problem solved. Newgle is a pathertic excuse for a high tech manual. Silverleaf and Rosie also fail to have a straight forward direct manual identifying the many modes.
Do I sound angry....Your damn right.

Welcome to the RV world my friend. We haven't owned that many RVs but we have never seen a manual that was exactly model specific. They are generic and useless and I suspect that is standard all through the RV industry. You have to get it out of your head that the RV industry is anything like the auto industry, including providing good owner's manuals.

When you bought your last sticknbrick did it come with an owner's manual?

[toneil7163]

I just sent in my deposit Friday on a 2019 New Aire.

Should I change to a 37' Dutchstar? You guys are making me real nervous about my purchase. Is it that bad?

Does anyone have a positive experience with these? I know they sold a bunch.

[turbopilot]

Originally Posted by toneil7163

I just sent in my deposit Friday on a 2019 New Aire.

Should I change to a 37' Dutchstar? You guys are making me real nervous about my purchase. Is it that bad?

Does anyone have a positive experience with these? I know they sold a bunch.

You are seeing all the facts with very little "confirmation bias" baked into comments. Unusual for a forum where you often see folks stubbornly defending their purchase in total denial about the problems. This is a good thing.

Except for the new technology in a New Aire, as other commenters have said, this is not just a New Aire issue. The RV industry appears to be a wasteland of poor documentation and field service.

["007"]

I am afraid you all a little late with this thread many new owners awaiting their NEW AIRE's.
You think you have it bad as far as owners manuals you should have been here 15 years ago, Newmar has come pretty far even if yours are full of warnings on not what to do, or pay the consequences.
Everyone wants every answered instantly like off their I -Phone, maybe some day.

[Vacay Wheels]

My Bay Star manual is nearly useless as well.

[Charlievette]

Originally Posted by rdvan

Hello Charlie,
I'm not going to get into a war of words, but your Topic Title is just flat wrong and in my opinion a real disservice to those of us who own New Aires. But, I fully understand your anger over the issues you have had. I know because I have been there. I left my Tiffin Allegro Bus on the side of the highway 300 miles from home never to be driven again and it was a fully paid for coach. Another vacation ruined. Keep in mind I left a paid for $300k coach on the side of the road and drove off in my toad. But Bob Tiffin (my hero) put enough pressure on Freightliner and they sent a wrecker to get it. They repaired it in San Antonio,Texas after towing it 100 miles, and told me to come get it. I said no, I will never drive it again, have a driver take it to my dealer 300 miles away. I sold it back to the dealer. This is my fourth Class A, three being diesel pushers, and one being "The Worlds Finest Motorcoach". The New Aire has it's set of problems, but to me they are no more numerous than the other Class A's I had, just different, and most of the problems seem to be with the "high tech" aspect. But, one difference I seem to be noticing is the lack of involvement my Newmar. That is inexcusable.
R. D. Vanderslice
2018 New Aire 3341
Still a Happy Camper (at this point anyway)

No offense taken. The leader heading was to get people to read the post. I have had several conversations with Newmar staff above the level of customer service.
My opinion, nice people with a Lasse Fare attitude about their dealers (though they did have several discussions with RV One as if it would do any good) the manuals and documentation. Doubtful anything will happen. But Newmar reached out to me so hope.
What infuriates me and others on the forum is you can buy a $20,000 Ford and get an owners manual that is written for the vehicle. Newmar needs to hear from owners of the New Aire concerning the owners manual. The crap they give us in the new owners package is just that crap.
I LOVE the coach, but having owned and flown high performance aircraft, operated ocean going yachts my expectations are the same for our coach.
The RV vehicles last year and are in line to exceed that number this year.
Lots of money and greed out there and we have to be aggressive in voicing our displeasure when ignored.
Nice doesn’t seem to work.