Our Baby......

This is our baby, a 1982 Newell 36' Motorcoach diesel pusher.









We never, ever thought we would own a motorhome of this quality, or size. Our prior RV experience was a 1987 Fleetwood Tioga 26' Class C motorhome with a 460ci gas guzzler Ford big block V-8. Driving that motorhome now feels like driving an American Motors Matador compared to the Newell. The Newell Corporation headquarters is Miami, OK....way up in the northeast corner of the state.....just a few miles from the Missouri border. They were founded in 1967, and have manufactured an average of 35 coaches a year since then. They were the first, and only manufacturer to build their own chassis from the ground up. They were the first to employ the diesel pusher technology in motorhomes, and the first to specialize in mid coach entry doors. They continue to be leaders in the industry, and are considered in the same breath with Prevost.

The Newell provides us with most all the amenities of home....kitchen with oven/stove, microwave, double sink, refrigerator-freezer (over/under), plus a basement refer. We also have a Splendide washer/dryer combo, bathroom with toilet and sink on the passenger side, and a full shower on the driver side, both with closing doors. Our master bedroom is in the rear of the coach featuring an overside queen size pedistal bed, and 4 hanging closets, and a vanity for Elaine. In the salon area we have a queen size sofa bed, and a small dinette area. Included are two LCD TV's...one in the salon, and one in the bedroom. We had oak wood floors installed shortly after we bought the coach.

The exterior is covered in rivited aluminum, and painted with DuPont Imron paint, still the original paint applied originally in 1982. It is powered with a 6V92 TA Detroil Diesel 2 stroke 350 turbo charged horse power engine. The genset is a Kohler 7.5kw LPG.

Who are we, and what is a Newell???

We are Clarke and Elaine from Ontario, California, not Canada! We get that a lot. We have lived in Ontario for the past 23 years paying a mortgage, and raising 5 children. Now that our children are "up and out" we have jumped with both feet into the world of Recreational Vehicles! Our first motorhome was a Class "C" 1987 Fleewood Tioga Arrow 26'. We learned a lot, and spent a lot in repairs over the 5 years we owned it. About 14 months ago we decided we wanted to move up to a Class A diesel pusher. Prior to our purchase of our 1982 Newell we did a lot of research, and looked at a lot of Class A motorhomes. We stumbled, quite by chance, on to our 1982 Newell. I had never even heard of Newell's, and it is no wonder...they only manufacture about 30+ coaches per year since 1967. There are not a lot of them on the road, but when you see them they catch your attention. We were looking for a used coach about 10, or less years old. The 1982 Newell was 26 years old when we first looked at it in Thousand Palms, CA! Elaine fell in love with the coach the first time she set foot in it. I was not convinced early on that this was what we wanted, however, after a lot of research I found out how unique these coaches were, and how well made they were. Newell (http://www.newellcoach.com/flash.html) is the only motorhome manufacturer that manufactures their own chassis from the ground up using what is called "bridge construction". This allows for a lot of basement storage, and enables Newell to custom build each coach, and to install plumbing, electrical, and systems as the frame is being built. The frames are aluminum making them much lighter than other coaches. You can see pictures of our coach here:

http://www.newellclassic.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=213

After test driving other coaches, and then the Newell I was convinced this was the way to go. This 26 year old coach had no rattles, a solid Detroit Diesel 6V92 TA 2 stroke engine that had 103,000 miles at the time we purchased it. All the systems worked, or were easily fixed (the dash A/C and cruise control had to be fixed). We have now owned it for 14 months, and put on 11,000 miles. With each trip we fall more in love with this mobile work of art.

Our plan is to become full timers within the next 5 years. Between now and then we will be on the road at least once a month on short and long trips. We hope you will enjoy sharing our Newell adventure with us!

An added bonus to buying our Newell is that we have joined a small community of Newell owners and made many new friends. We all congregate on a daily basis at NewellClassic.com where we share stories about our trips, as well as mechanical, or system issues that need solving. Not only have we made friends with several coach owners, we have actually gotten together with them in person. Most recently 13 Newell owners organized what we called a "mini-rally" in Austin, TX near Lake Travis for 4 days this past April, 2009. In August of this year we have organized another mini-rally in Creede, CO at Mountain View RV Resort for 5 days.