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Old 11-10-2017, 04:42 PM   #1
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My impressions after spending a week in Nappanee

This will be somewhat of a haphazard post, but I wanted to jot down some thoughts while they are fresh in my head..

I was surprised at the number of rigs there for service - we arrived early on Sunday thinking we would easily get a spot at the campground but were sorely mistaken. There were probably 20-30 units there for service - that surprised us. Most were Dutch Stars and up - some very beautiful coaches!

As many have echoed here, the service process (we were in for warranty service) was VERY well done. We had our own tech who met with us each day and the communication was outstanding. They fixed everything we asked and a couple of things we didn't. I would highly recommend having work done there over anywhere else. Note: We did not have chassis/engine issues, but did have a FWS issue that was our main problem. It was fixed on the first day.

If you love Newmars, you will be like a kid at a candy store, but outside the window. I spent an hour just watching all of the new rigs from Bay Star Sports to King Aires moving by like it was a parade. It was really cool to be able to see so many new units with different color schemes, lengths, etc., but it was equally as disappointing to not be able to REALLY look at them. I understand the rationale behind this, but at least being able to walk the lot shouldn't be that big of a deal, should it?

We took the factory tour and I have to be honest in saying it was pretty disappointing. The tour guide ( I will not mention her name) was mediocre at best and the tour was loud and rushed. I am posting a separate review of the comparison/contrast between the Entegra and Newmar tours so not much more about it here..

A few numbers/tidbits to share..

Newmar is currently producing 9 coaches a day of all different varieties. That's 45 per week or 180 per month or about 2K coaches per year when accounting for when the plant is closed. Every unit is on the "line" for only four days (this was very surprising to me that they could build a King Aire and a BayStar Sport in the same time but they do). Times vary by model in the paint shop though.

Every unit that is built is a SOLD unit - nothing is built unless it is ordered and paid for by a dealer.

My impression (and this is just my impression) is that there is NO room for error as the units move down the line. It is really a furious pace. I simply cannot believe there are not errors along the way. There was an Essix in the final stages that had almost 100 items that were found by an "inspector" that needed fixing/tweaking. That seems to be a lot of things wrong, but I guess it was impressive that the inspectors spend that much time going over each unit.

In the end, Newmar runs a very high class operation. They focus on quality, the ability to customize to deliver whatever customer wants, but I feel it comes at a higher than average cost. They have a very dedicated group of hard working employees who are knowledgeable about their products, and take pride in their work.

If you have not been to Nappanee and have the chance to do so, I would encourage it
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Old 11-10-2017, 07:42 PM   #2
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Thanks for the update and refreshing my memory of times pass, the amount of coach's produced has increased since I was there last but their dedication has not changed.
As for tours and how busy they are the normal tour guides may have not been there and they might have been processing new owners with their coach build process a new person may have been filling in.
Many tours over the years I have been there were well received by people on tour.
As for coach's there high end owners will only go there for service and getting coach's ready for winter months service and Newmar is a busy place during this time of year full timers on way to warmer climates drop by, coming from northern states.
Glad you enjoyed the experience.
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Old 11-11-2017, 05:56 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jtrving View Post
This will be somewhat of a haphazard post, but I wanted to jot down some thoughts while they are fresh in my head..

I was surprised at the number of rigs there for service - we arrived early on Sunday thinking we would easily get a spot at the campground but were sorely mistaken. There were probably 20-30 units there for service - that surprised us. Most were Dutch Stars and up - some very beautiful coaches!

As many have echoed here, the service process (we were in for warranty service) was VERY well done. We had our own tech who met with us each day and the communication was outstanding. They fixed everything we asked and a couple of things we didn't. I would highly recommend having work done there over anywhere else. Note: We did not have chassis/engine issues, but did have a FWS issue that was our main problem. It was fixed on the first day.

If you love Newmars, you will be like a kid at a candy store, but outside the window. I spent an hour just watching all of the new rigs from Bay Star Sports to King Aires moving by like it was a parade. It was really cool to be able to see so many new units with different color schemes, lengths, etc., but it was equally as disappointing to not be able to REALLY look at them. I understand the rationale behind this, but at least being able to walk the lot shouldn't be that big of a deal, should it?

We took the factory tour and I have to be honest in saying it was pretty disappointing. The tour guide ( I will not mention her name) was mediocre at best and the tour was loud and rushed. I am posting a separate review of the comparison/contrast between the Entegra and Newmar tours so not much more about it here..

A few numbers/tidbits to share..

Newmar is currently producing 9 coaches a day of all different varieties. That's 45 per week or 180 per month or about 2K coaches per year when accounting for when the plant is closed. Every unit is on the "line" for only four days (this was very surprising to me that they could build a King Aire and a BayStar Sport in the same time but they do). Times vary by model in the paint shop though.

Every unit that is built is a SOLD unit - nothing is built unless it is ordered and paid for by a dealer.

My impression (and this is just my impression) is that there is NO room for error as the units move down the line. It is really a furious pace. I simply cannot believe there are not errors along the way. There was an Essix in the final stages that had almost 100 items that were found by an "inspector" that needed fixing/tweaking. That seems to be a lot of things wrong, but I guess it was impressive that the inspectors spend that much time going over each unit.

In the end, Newmar runs a very high class operation. They focus on quality, the ability to customize to deliver whatever customer wants, but I feel it comes at a higher than average cost. They have a very dedicated group of hard working employees who are knowledgeable about their products, and take pride in their work.

If you have not been to Nappanee and have the chance to do so, I would encourage it
Thank you for the detailed review of your experience at the Newmar factory. In your last paragraph you made a statement that struck me as somewhat contradictory. You said it yourself, ...very high class operation... comes at a higher than average cost.

You get what you pay for. Newmar is the sweet spot in production motorhomes. Quality at an affordable price. If you want high quality you have to pony up.

Otherwise you go entry level and there too you get what you pay for!
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Old 11-11-2017, 08:35 AM   #4
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If you look at the types of post on the first page in both the entegra and newmar forums it tells the story. There are many more issues on the entegra forum vs the newmar. This has been my experience as well in owning both brands. I do all my own warranty work and have done this on both brands. There is a huge difference as to what is going on behind those panels.

Newmar is beyond capacity production wise and is not trying to market their coaches during the tours. Entegra however uses the tours as a way of selling coaches.
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Old 11-13-2017, 05:30 AM   #5
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I have never owned a Newmar product, but have owned a Country Coach and a Tiffin Allegro Bus and toured their factories, plus Monaco. "100 items that were found by an inspector that needed fixing/tweaking", that is shocking. I understand that they have one production line that builds everything. They need to fire the whole crew and shut down the factory. This is truly disheartening if you are not being facetious. Motorhomes are complicated, but that is unacceptable.
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Old 11-13-2017, 08:25 AM   #6
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100 items to be corrected/tweaked out 100 total items, very bad. 100 items out of 10,000 total build parts/steps not so bad. Sounds like they are trying to get to zero defects but coaches are built by humans so 100% error free is probably never going to happen on a consistent basis. And the inspectors did find the issues and scheduled them to be fixed.
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Old 11-13-2017, 08:26 AM   #7
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I wonder if Newmar takes the findings on the inspection reports to improve the operation either in training or process changes?
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Old 11-13-2017, 08:56 AM   #8
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I wonder if Newmar takes the findings on the inspection reports to improve the operation either in training or process changes?
While at Newmar recently for warranty work, I asked if service gave feedback to production and I was told they do on a constant basis.
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Old 11-13-2017, 10:07 AM   #9
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We did the factory tour the same week and saw that exact Essex. The list of 100 items included about 97 very, very tiny imperfections. We were actually VERY impressed that they were clearly using a fine tooth comb on that unit. So many of the touch ups they were doing from that list were barely visible to the naked eye. They had pieces of orange tape marking the defects and my husband and I were laughing at how they took perfection to a whole new level. The list was something to be impressed by and not disappointed by IMO. That list was FULL of things that other manufacturers wouldn't even bother correcting.
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Old 11-13-2017, 10:25 AM   #10
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I have never owned a Newmar product, but have owned a Country Coach and a Tiffin Allegro Bus and toured their factories, plus Monaco. "100 items that were found by an inspector that needed fixing/tweaking", that is shocking. I understand that they have one production line that builds everything. They need to fire the whole crew and shut down the factory. This is truly disheartening if you are not being facetious. Motorhomes are complicated, but that is unacceptable.
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100 items may seem like a lot, but, depending on what those 100 items are would really tell the story. Case in point, a missing latch screw = 1 item. Compartment(s) not vacuumed or wire ties not trimmed aren't really big issues but count towards this 100 count. The fact the inspector found these "items" BEFORE the coach left the factory is far more important to me than waiting for the new owner to find them and then have to schedule an appointment to get these items fixed.
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Old 11-13-2017, 10:47 AM   #11
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I have never owned a Newmar product, but have owned a Country Coach and a Tiffin Allegro Bus and toured their factories, plus Monaco. "100 items that were found by an inspector that needed fixing/tweaking", that is shocking. I understand that they have one production line that builds everything. They need to fire the whole crew and shut down the factory. This is truly disheartening if you are not being facetious. Motorhomes are complicated, but that is unacceptable.
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Previously - Leisure Travel Unities, Country Coach Allure, Tiffin Allegro Bus
Finding 100 items is a good thing. I can assure you that most other brands have the same types of issues and they show up at dealers with those issues still to be addressed. We've seen it at shows and dealerships. A short list of issues doesn't mean the coach actually has few issues. More likely it means the QA process is inadequate. They are hand built unlike cars and trucks. I seriously doubt with Newmar's reputation that they are building shoddy coaches. They're actually inspecting them before they leave the factory.

Go check out Hebard's Travels on YouTube. Their lemon series illustrates the state of some RV manufactures' QA processes. Swamped with orders, unable to hire enough people to build them, management focused on anything but quality. Newmar could probably sell twice as many coaches but until they have the infrastructure and people to do it, they won't.
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Old 11-13-2017, 11:18 AM   #12
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My impressions after spending 10 days at the factory, back when we picked up our special-ordered Dutch Star, left me with a lot of negative feelings about Newmar. I was in disbelief. However, ultimately it was all my fault. I'm the one who "wrote the check". Besides, I'm old enough to know that complaining is a waste of time. I always try to enjoy the enjoyable part of it. Having done all maintenance and repairs myself, I often wonder how people do it (the ones who have to pay for everything that needs repairing/replacing). I'm grateful that the people in the Newmar parts sales department are so helpful/friendly.
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Old 11-13-2017, 11:20 AM   #13
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Very good point Irv. The finished product is outstanding and the craftsmen who do the work want their product to be top notch. I was being facetious myself when I said "fire the whole crew", just forgot to put the little smiley face at the end. Most manufacturers won't even let you see the coach until after it has gone through the inspection/repair phase at the end so you have to give Newmar credit.
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Old 11-13-2017, 12:11 PM   #14
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My impressions after spending 10 days at the factory, back when we picked up our special-ordered Dutch Star, left me with a lot of negative feelings about Newmar.


Hello Cloud Dancer--when was your factory pickup? I noticed the rig in your signature is a 2003.
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