Factory Delivery Tips

[jmlmeyer]

We received confirmation from Carl today that our factory delivery is scheduled for October 12. Needless to say we are excited. As I was deciding on the factory delivery option I searched the forum and saw the very positive comments.

I am looking for tips from those of you who have experienced factory delivery on how to get the greatest benefit from the week with a technician.

Thanks

[Norm Mac]

Originally Posted by Packer Jack

We received confirmation from Carl today that our factory delivery is scheduled for October 12. Needless to say we are excited. As I was deciding on the factory delivery option I searched the forum and saw the very positive comments.

I am looking for tips from those of you who have experienced factory delivery on how to get the greatest benefit from the week with a technician.

Thanks

We just completed factory delivery last week.

Couple quick things...

Your Newmar Tech will guide you through the process and will work at your pace to help you fully understand your coach.

They will not let you stay in your coach until your financial transaction is complete. (Something nobody told us ahead of time) Luckily we trusted Newmar and our dealer and had completed our transaction before arriving at Newmar.

We created a 9 page checklist (based partly on the Newmar PDI form) and my wife and I spent several days inspecting, testing, and learning all the systems in the coach.

Factory pickup starts on Monday. We stayed at Newmar until Saturday morning. It appears there is some pressure on your Technician to complete the process by end of day Thursday, and that is when we finished ours.

Relax, You will find issues with your coach and Newmar will do everything they can to resolve them. We only had minor issues that were quickly taken care of, after 3 days our FWS made a loud bang when closing and it took the tech several hours to diagnose and fix the problem.

Thanks
Norm

[sbahrns]

Originally Posted by Packer Jack

We received confirmation from Carl today that our factory delivery is scheduled for October 12. Needless to say we are excited. As I was deciding on the factory delivery option I searched the forum and saw the very positive comments.

I am looking for tips from those of you who have experienced factory delivery on how to get the greatest benefit from the week with a technician.

Thanks

Jack,

First congrats on your new Mountain Aire. It's one we aspire to in the future. We are taking delivery of our Ventana the same week as you, so I'm looking forward to meeting you at some point that week.

Norm has started you off with some good information. There are certainly plenty of other folks on here that have been through the process and will probably add their advice. Having not actually been through it, I can only relate what I have learned from others and from having been to the factory twice this year. You might check the "Who's at Camp Newmar" Sticky for some insight on staying in Nappanee. Also on the 2015 and 2016 Delivery threads, members have posted info regarding their delivery. One thing that has been an issue this summer is space in the FHU lot. I'm hoping in October space will not be at such a premium, but you might want to check the lot when you get into town and cone off a spot for you for Monday. I understand that service does not reserve spots for customer pickup.

Additionally, you will get a confirmation letter from Newmar with your delivery date, where and when to report and some other information regarding pets, etc. Very helpful information.

We live in Southeast Georgia and plan to pull a small Uhaul with our toad to Nappanee with the "stuff" we want to put in the coach. This is mostly items we took out of our travel trailer before getting rid of it. Anything else we find we need we will just buy there.

Finally, you might be thinking of any special requests that you might want Newmar to do while you are there. I can't speak to the extent of the work that they will do, but I've talked to them about installing the Progressive Industries 50 amp surge protector and a couple other items.

This is our first Class A and we are really excited. I'm marking the days off the calendar as I'm sure you are.

Steve

[srrobe]

Jack,
Congrats on the new MA! We took delivery of our DS in May at the factory and it was a great experience. The few things we found that were very minor were taken care of. Our tech also made some adjustments he was not happy with so believe it when I say you are in good hands. They did install our progressive surge protector for a very reasonable fee. Just bring the unit with you when you come in October.

Take a long test drive but avoid wandering back roads. Some are narrow with low trees. You don't want to scratch your new coach.

You will need to get fuel. Newmar does not fill it for you. Ours had just over a 1/4 tank. Martins grocery store in Nappanee is the best/only place and is also an outstanding store to shop and stock up.

Take some time to enjoy the area. You are on your own when your tech take your coach to make adjustments. There are some really great places to eat and you are close to a variety of other attractions.

Best of luck to you! It was an exciting time for us and it will be for both of you as well

[dereed999]

Congratulations! I hope your CPU goes well!

So slightly hijacking the thread (but only slightly because our unit rolls off the line early Nov but don't have a CPU date set yet... too far out) with a question:

Originally Posted by srrobe

You will need to get fuel. Newmar does not fill it for you. Ours had just over a 1/4 tank. Martins grocery store in Nappanee is the best/only place and is also an outstanding store to shop and stock up.

If they only fill the tank ¼ full, then how do they produce the UVW sticker?

"Unloaded Vehicle Weight is the weight of this motor coach as built at the factory with full fuel, engine oil and coolants. Does not include cargo, fresh water, propane gas or dealer-installed accessories."

Looking at Newmar's Factory tour video (either the full or weigh unit segment), as part of their post-production shake down they rain test it, road test it, and then weigh it to make sure the weights are proper and produce the legal UVW label for that given unit? I can make all types of guesses/conjectures, but hoping someone has asked before and has the real answer.

[allynne]

All fuels have a standard weight per gal. this varies very little with temp changes. This weight is normally based on standard day values.

Al Sawyer
'05 Mt. Aire

[Jetsmania]

[QUOTE=Packer Jack;2702145]We received confirmation from Carl today that our factory delivery is scheduled for October 12. Needless to say we are excited. As I was deciding on the factory delivery option I searched the forum and saw the very positive comments.

I am looking for tips from those of you who have experienced factory delivery on how to get the greatest benefit from the week with a technician.

Hi! Congrats to Jack & Mary! Great coach, and you will enjoy your factory delivery. Everybody has given you great advice. Just don't forget to bring toilet paper. We look forward to meeting you, as our coach is also being delivered on 10/12. Regards, Jill & Paul

[JohnT]

Congrat's on the new MA.

Do NOT let your DW venture into the local Amish furniture stores. Or you will end up with new dinette chairs for the coach. I speak from experience.

[HavingABlast]

For weights, on our drive with the tech, we stopped and filled up on Diesel (at my expense...not Newmar). The tech had already filled the fresh water tank. He then took the coach into the barn for four corner weighing.



2015 Newmar Ventana 3636, Cummins ISB
2014 JKU Wrangler, SMI AF1, Blue Ox Baseplate and Tow Bar

[zalaska]

Jack, We completed factory delivery of our 2015 DSDP the first week of June. We posted a daily log during our delivery, in the IRV2 - 2015 Newmar Coach Deliveries Thread.
IMHO, Norm Mac provided the key recommendation above - use a checklist to ensure you review all systems for all reasons. That's the primary focus of a factory delivery. Perhaps Norm will share his list...
That said, once we set our delivery date, we discussed a list of items for installation during our visit. Understanding (and being reminded) that our primary purpose was to quality check and understand all coach systems, Newmar graciously offered to do some installations prior to our arrival, and to work with us during our stay. I think most of these were in our daily blog.
Oh yeah - it was to our benefit to know our cut-off date for any last minute order changes. We added a few items (kitchen window, over dash TV, etc.) that we had not included originally. Some of these items cannot be easily added later.
We thought we were really familiar with diesel pushers, but we sure learned a lot. One of the biggest benefits is that your questions will be addressed by factory technicians, sometimes those who literally built the coach, if your tech needs reinforcements. More time was spent on systems new to us, such as all electric, AGS, FWS and Newmar's slide / leveling guidance, Oasis system, etc.
Take your new coach for a lengthy test drive as early in the week as possible. This allows for Freightliner or Cummins to do any service work / repairs while on-site. We had Freightliner diagnose the Check Engine light - which turned out to be an exhaust sensor that Cummins changed out Thursday night. As with several others - our steering wheel was off-center. This was a Newmar installation issue, which they corrected. Thankfully we had enough time to get these addressed during our week in Nappanee. BTW - as an example of how Newmar goes the distance - to diagnose the erratic Check Engine light - we agreed we needed a few warm up / cool down / test drive cycles. To facilitate this - Newmar filled our diesel tank to 3/4 full. Wow - that was unexpected!!
During our week, we seldom left the coach. We worked with our delivery tech and his lead nearly all the time. As an example, to install our surge protector and Autoformer, we thoroughly discussed options, and Newmar gutted and reconfigured our electric compartment. They installed a couple of other items that we had delivered prior to our week, or brought with us. Yes, we were charged for some of this extra work, but very reasonably.
Overall, we had a great balance of new coach orientation, service corrections and a few installations / reconfigurations. If it were not for this forum, I wouldn't have believed any (sub $1MM) RV manufacturer would work this closely with a customer to ensure this level of customization and satisfaction. Our hat's off to those who share in this forum and to the people of Newmar who make this happen!!

[jmlmeyer]

Jeff,

Thanks for input. I read your posts on 2015 delivery thread and found them to be very helpful. Can you provide a little more detail on exchanging 3 exterior lights with motion detecting LED. Which lights did you replace and what did you replace them with?

[zalaska]

Originally Posted by Packer Jack

Jeff,

Thanks for input. I read your posts on 2015 delivery thread and found them to be very helpful. Can you provide a little more detail on exchanging 3 exterior lights with motion detecting LED. Which lights did you replace and what did you replace them with?

Jack - sorry for the delayed response. We installed 3 " Starlights SL-1000 Smart Light 1000 12-volt Exterior Motion Light, Black ", which replaced the 3 standard "security" lights on the exterior of the DS. We used this same model LED motion light on our previous coach, and found it to be reliable.

We replaced all 3 exterior lights - the one outside the entry door, and the ones on each side. The standard Newmar installed lights are individually controlled simple "porch lights", each controlled by a toggle switch in the coach monitor panel and passenger armrest area.

One big benefit of these - NO wiring or switch changes are necessary for installation. The new motion sensing LED lights "simply" replace the existing lights, using just the two existing wires (+ & -).

Now, that said - there was some custom work required to mount the lights properly. The original porch light by the entry door is actually a bit smaller than the body of the new LED light. Therefore, replacement was easy, and covered the footprint of the original. Silicone the new light frame to the coach, tie the wires together, adjust the sensitivity and you're done.

The other two original lights, one on each side about mid-coach, are actually larger than the new LED lights. The challenge comes about because Newmar does not paint behind the original lights. So, when you take the originals down, the area behind them is stark white. Our delivery tech custom created a piece of ABS to the exact size of the original light, and used it as a base to mount the new LED light on, on each side. The ABS was black plastic, and may have been the same material as the floor protectors used under the slide out rollers. In any case, they created a perfect base for the new lights, mounted these with silicone and then mounted the new LED lights on this new base. The work was done so well that the new install doesn't draw attention, despite the base plate showing behind the LED light - only about 1/2". Hard to describe any better without photos - maybe tomorrow.

How they work - that's the great part! Flip the light's toggle switch on-off-on, and they're armed. If it's daylight, there's a photocell sensor that prevents the LED light from coming on - but they do flash a noticeable blue LED every 5 seconds. Once it gets dark, they flash a green LED every 5 seconds, while monitoring for motion. If motion is detected, the bright LED comes on for a minute. If additional motion is sensed, another minute of LED light. They can also be used as standard lights, if the on-off switch is just flipped on once. The green flashing LEDs are definitely noticeable at night!

Since they're LEDs, they draw only a few milli-amps of current.

Oh yeah, they're available on Amazon for about $60.
( Amazon.com: Starlights SL-1000 Smart Light 1000 12-volt Exterior Motion Light, Black: Automotive )

Good luck with the new DS and delivery process!

-Jeff