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Old 02-14-2018, 05:01 AM   #701
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Have you considered pedal extentions, https://www.amazon.com/Best-Brake-Pe.../dp/B0198VE4YO, so you can more comfortably reach the pedals with out having the seat pushed up all the way. It am very disappointing to hear that for $400k you can't expect high quality., but that is the RV industry on whole. Newmar is better than the worst, not a great marketing slogan. I agree smaller Class A Diesel pushers would be in demand and I for one would give up my Sprinter for a true 30 footer, no bigger. I would like just 3-4 feet more than I have with my 25' Sprinter. I think the 2812 Bay Star Sport has a great layout and size and would buy it as a DP. You just can't find a less than 30', high end full featured motorhome with gas or diesel engines,
Mr. Traveler, Sir: Ok, enough of the short jokes . The extensions may be an option though. I have no problems driving, I just don't like being trapped behind the wheel, but will probably get use to it. We're alike in a lot of ways. I too believe a 30' DP would be the perfect size having driven a 25' the last five years, but realize the engineering problems encountered. Remember the 28' Tiffin Breeze that was about 30 ft. I really liked that coach, but as you know, it had major engine and handling problems. You're driving the best coach I believe out there bar none. I have driven the Unity for 5 almost 100% trouble free years, having had two of them and still have my 2017 Leisure Travel Unity MB. I was talking with Bob Tiffin one time and told Mr. Tiffin that if he ever built a Breeze with a Cummins engine I would be the first in line to buy one. A year later one Saturday morning at 8:00 am sharp my phone rings and it's Mr. Tiffin telling me to hang on, it's coming and to stop by the factory and I could the proto type. I did, and it was fine with me, but my wife would have nothing to do with one and she hadn't even seen the New Aire since it wasn't out. I like the Breeze, but the rear radiator is a deal killer for me. I can't handle rear radiators. Bay Star has a 30 foot gasser that I looked closely at but my wife (here we go again) wanted a DP so it was out. The New Aire is first class, even though I don't care for all of the wiz bang stuff. I'll take the old 6 gallon water heater any day over the Oasis. Anyone can fix (or even replace for $500) the old hot water heaters. Try getting help on the Oasis (and believe me you will need help some where down the road) in small town U.S.A. Good luck, and there goes your carefully planned out trip.
R. D. Vanderslice
2018 New Aire 3341
2017 Leisure Travel Unity Mb
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Old 02-14-2018, 05:14 AM   #702
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Originally Posted by Idleup View Post
rdvan,

Congrats on your delivery and your successful trip back.

I didn't think there would be any wiring improvements, since they can barely build them fast enough!

Regarding your mountain performance, the New Aire will climb mountains, I never got to flasher speeds yet and we have major mountains here in North Georgia where I live.

In hilly terrain - leave it out of 6th gear all together, remember the Allison actually has two close ratio overdrives gears 5 & 6 - 4th is actually a running gear.

You'll need to keep the rpm up on the small blocks like the 6.7. You don't want to be in 6th gear at the base of a hill unless you're doing 75+ mph and have the help of kinetic energy climb the hill.

Enjoy - Mike
Thanks for the tips Mike. We go to the mountains of Colorado each year so I will get my mountain experience quickly. I've climbed them all in different rigs and will have a new adventure with the New Aire. I'm use to the flasher routine and really don't mind it as long as the coach doesn't heat up during the long pull. My 400 hp Cummins non DEF powered Country Coach would pull the mountains fine, but would heat up. My old cheap Itasca 350 hp Cat non DEF was the best climber and I would pass nearly everyone on the way up the mountain. Cats were known for their climbing.
R. D. Vanderslic
2018 New Aire 3341
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Old 02-14-2018, 05:33 AM   #703
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Thanks for the update. Glad you have a good dealer. That really helps.

I am 5'10". I have found moving the chair, adjusting the steering column and adjusting the pedals I can get things comfortable for driving. It takes a while and no memory function. When you flip the drivers seat around you have to move the steering column and the chair so you have to start all over again for the next drive.

Maneuverability with this machine is much better than I expected. As long as there is enough overhead clearance, after I drop the Jeep, I can get it into most any pump with diesel that I would have used with the 25' Unity. This is important with the little 75 gallon tank.
Thanks Turbo,
Like I mentioned in my original post, the New Aire will practically go sideways due to the 60 degree wheel cut and short wheel base. I can't stand the truck stop line out back and having to stand knee deep in spilled diesel fuel while filling up. I carried a separate pair of shoes for fuel stops since I didn't want to track diesel fuel back into our nice coach. Also, and very important, we're not locked into having to buy the B20 fuel that most Interstate fuel outlets are required to sell. We can go a block down the street and get a B05 at a better rate and much cleaner environment. The 75 gallon tank is small, but I usually stop at least one time each day anyway.
R. D. Vanderslice
2018 New Aire 3341
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Old 02-14-2018, 06:44 AM   #704
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Our FPU is just around the corner. I’m wondering how much benefit we’ll get from the 4 weeks it will be in the hands of the service dept. before we arrive.

More to come...
The factory pick up would be the best option in my opinion, other than having to pay twice for the delivery. It would be extremely embarrassing for them to have to look you in they eye while you are pointing out the glitches you have found 1 minute into your walk through. They supposedly do a PDI before it leaves the factory for the dealer, but I don't believe for a minute that that actually happens. The dealer is left to correct all of the flaws and it is embarrassing to the poor tech guy having to go over the coach with you. But, if you have a good dealer, like I did, they will get the issues taken care of. I have visited Country Coach, Monaco, Tiffin, and Marathon Prevost and they all have a little area at the end of the line with these tech people, clip board in hand, going over the coaches as they come off the line. What they are doing, I have no idea . But, it looks good to the tourist.
R. D. Vanderslice
2018 New Aire 3341
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Old 02-14-2018, 06:58 AM   #705
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What ever the reason, its highly doubtful having the couch 1/4" closer to the floor would justify all this major change. I think its a major blunder from some Pencil-head designer when you consider the extra complexity, linkages, loss of storage compartments and belt line changes.

This could very well be the same guy who designed the TV door opening upward into the slide rather than rearward like the other doors on the 3341. I don't think there are too many New Aire owners who would get on their knees and climb under that door to use the TV. Lucky for me, I still have the option of moving it to a forward compartment.

We could only hope this guy moved on to "Thor Coaches" by now!

Mike
Mike, the bay door (as you know) over the TV has two stopping points, one going all the way up like the other doors and the other stopping point parallel with the ground.
Do you think the though process on that one was to maybe provide a little shade for the exposed TV?
R. D. Vanderslice
New Aire 3341
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Old 02-14-2018, 07:28 AM   #706
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Ward,

Thanks for the image, I originally thought of mounting mine like that but bailed out because of the heat at the top of the dash from other stuff like the monitors could eventually tax the boards, since all the heat rises and compounded further with the sun beating down on the black dash, its going to be an oven during summer. Also this Xite never shuts off, its creating heat 24/7.

I spent days under my dash, and now have it cleaned up enough to where my Xite and Silverleaf modules are now 6-8" lower than the top of the dash.

I was thinking of finding some kind of small attractive louvered cover to mount in the hatch itself to let the heat out, or maybe a small computer fan that kicks on should the temp rise.

Mike
Mike, so your Xite never shuts off. I'm guessing the screen stays lit up? I'm thinking that mine does the same thing and they told me that's just the way it is. Some safety reason or something to that effect. I was drinking "water from a fire hose" at the time so that went right over my head. I have an extra unused toggle switch that I'm thinking about running the Xite hot wire through (I think it is the red one) to have the ability to turn it off. I undid the wire each night while I was on staying in my coach by just lifting the top off and undoing the wire. What do you think the deal is with it staying on all the time?
R. D. Vanderslice
2018 New Aire 3341
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Old 02-14-2018, 09:48 AM   #707
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Originally Posted by rdvan View Post
Mike, so your Xite never shuts off. I'm guessing the screen stays lit up? I'm thinking that mine does the same thing and they told me that's just the way it is. Some safety reason or something to that effect. I was drinking "water from a fire hose" at the time so that went right over my head. I have an extra unused toggle switch that I'm thinking about running the Xite hot wire through (I think it is the red one) to have the ability to turn it off. I undid the wire each night while I was on staying in my coach by just lifting the top off and undoing the wire. What do you think the deal is with it staying on all the time?
R. D. Vanderslice
2018 New Aire 3341
RD my screens shut totally off - are you hitting the little "House Button" at the bottom of the menu page, it will shut monitors and radio down but the guts stay alive>

Mike
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Old 02-14-2018, 10:50 AM   #708
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4. I don't really think the factory does a PDI. Honestly. If they do they need to fire their inspectors. Obvious things like bay doors needing adjustments, uncleanness, dangling wire in storage areas, horrible rattles, paint flaws, loose Oasis exhaust pipe, and so forth. They can't be missed and the dealer is left to correct these issues. Maybe that's how it's designed.
I don't know.


R. D. Vanderslice
2018 New Aire 3341

RD

Could you explain what you meant about the bay doors, are they not closing right or mis-aligned?

Mike

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Old 02-14-2018, 06:38 PM   #709
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What Were They Thinking - Part 2 ->

Yesterday I posted some observations about antenna placement in the NA 3343, here. As I thought about it overnight I decided to attack the problem. The WiFi Ranger SkyPro box had to be moved.

As covered in the previous post, Newmar elected to crowd the TV, WiFi and AM/FM radio antenna all together on the front passenger side of the coach right up against the metal structure of the awning assembly. Antennas, particularly ones that transmit cannot be installed close together. High frequency signals like WiFi, TV and to some extent FM radio do very poorly when blocked by metal structures on a line of sight to the transmitting antenna.

So this morning I decided to do something about it and started by moving the WiFi Ranger SkyPro external antenna further aft on the coach with full line of sight over the steel structures along the sides of the roof.

I was up on the roof of the NA starting pull the Dicor off the SkyPro and my cell phone rings. It was Newmar wanting to do a customer satisfaction survey on the delivery experience of my New Aire. You can't make this stuff up. So there I sit on top of the NA for 20 minutes answering the questions. They got an ear full. By the way this is the first time anyone from Newmar has ever called me since I purchased the coach last August.

Ok, so now back to the Dicor. I freed up the SkyPro from the Decor not knowing what I would find under it. To my delight I found they stuffed all of the original internet cable into the roof as they installed the SkyPro. So I had plenty of cable to move the SkyPro back to the raised roof over the bedroom without doing any cutting and splicing. This was very good news.

Here is the configuration of the antennas before moving the SkyPro:



And here is the same spot with the SkyPro removed and everything sealed up:



Here is a view of the SkyPro in the new location looking aft across the the raised roof over the bedroom:



And here is a view looking forward across the top of the raised roof:



Note the rabbit ear antennas on the SkyPro fully extend above the horizontal line of sight 360 degrees around the unit. These rabbit ears are flexible so hopefully they will tolerate passing tree branches.

After getting everything installed I did some testing. All of my testing so far has been done in a steel aircraft hangar with the big bifold door open. Testing radio signals inside a steel structure is not optimum but since I am very familiar with performance before the modification it is a good measure of progress.

Over the Air Television Reception: With the SkyPro right next to the Winegard OTA antenna I could never get any local channels after channel scans on the Sony TV's. Today all the local channels came in after moving the SkyPro. Some were weak going in and out but much better than before.

Xite FM Radio: With the SkyPro immediately adjacent to the flexible AM/FM antenna I could only get a few FM stations some with poor reception. After moving the SkyPro all the stations came in strong just as they do moving around in the car in the local area. This is a major improvement.

Xite AM Radio: No change, still bad reception. I suspect this has something to do with all the microprocessors and inverter/charger in the coach which is typical for AM radio.

WiFi Performance: No change I could measure. Need to test this more outside the hangar. I have several hot spots around the hangar nearby which are strong and always worked well with the SkyPro in the original position. I suspect there will be better WiFi performance for weak signals when the coach is outside.

There is no doubt placement of the SkyPro WiFi box is very important for the reception of multiple sources of electronic devices on board. In the next few days I will move the coach outside and do more testing.

If you have a New Aire 3343, you definitely want to move the SkyPro box. It may even help in the 3341.

With all the testing I have been doing on the coach, I think I have discovered a significant enhancement for improving over the air television. Still doing testing on this discovery. Just a tease for now. Will post details in a few days as I assemble the pieces and test the system.
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Old 02-14-2018, 06:54 PM   #710
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Turbo,

Super job on the relocation, where you'll see an improvement is when you get into a campground with weak WiFi, having that above the roof line will make a difference since the structure of the New Aire's roof is aluminum, being above that ground plane is going to help on incoming weak signals.

I'm sure the strong transmit RF coming from the Ranger was also over-loading the front end on the FM radio as well.

Looking at your new position, I only see the coax, is the power for the system run through the coax or are the wires hidden from view.

Thanks - Mike
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Old 02-14-2018, 07:02 PM   #711
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Turbo,

Super job on the relocation, where you'll see an improvement is when you get into a campground with weak WiFi, having that above the roof line will make a difference since the structure of the New Aire's roof is aluminum, being above that ground plane is going to help on incoming weak signals.

I'm sure the strong transmit RF coming from the Ranger was also over-loading the front end on the FM radio as well.

Looking at your new position, I only see the coax, is the power for the system run through the coax or are the wires hidden from view.

Thanks - Mike
It is POE (Power over internet). Just the ethernet cable is all you need.
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Old 02-14-2018, 07:09 PM   #712
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Thanks - sure makes it nice to move. Was all that cable in the roof or did you have to splice in some additional.
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Old 02-14-2018, 07:12 PM   #713
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Thanks - sure makes it nice to move. Was all that cable in the roof or did you have to splice in some additional.
All stuffed down the hole in the roof. Looks like the original cable shipped with the SkyPro retail version.
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Old 02-15-2018, 04:55 AM   #714
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RD my screens shut totally off - are you hitting the little "House Button" at the bottom of the menu page, it will shut monitors and radio down but the guts stay alive>

Mike
Mike, are you talking about the silver "chrome knob" located in the lower left corner of the screen? I can turn off that screen, but the one to the right (back up camera) never goes off? I have to unplug it.
Also;
1. Was it ever decided whether the bays have a duct for heating?
2. Is there a way to stop the beeping/warning when in reverse?
3. Seems like it was decided that the screen on the right gets all of its request from its neighbor to the left and that all of the buttons actually do nothing?
4. Is there a book on the Xite?

Sorry to ask so many questions, but Newmar's one book covers it all is sub standard and I'm being very nice.
Thanks,
R. D.
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