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elkhartjim

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Posts posted by elkhartjim

  1. Posted · Report reply

    Two things Bill. Its not a club its more like a cult and if a Patriot sees a pile of rocks it turns and runs. A pile of pebbles is a maybe.

    About Hidden Falls, I travel 281 and beginning Friday afternoon the Jeeps are steadily run north, most on trailers. Sunday afternoon they are heading back south much dirtier and often in more than one piece. They'll spend the better part of the week repairing so they'll be ready for the next weekend.

    J ust   E mpty   E very    P ocket

     

  5. Posted · Report reply

    Exactly. But you still have to write the check to a dealer, you cannot bypass a dealer and write the check direct to Newmar. Your friend did it backwards than what most buyers do. They negotiate the percentage discount with a dealer and then design the coach. From my understanding, Newmar won't spend time designing exactly what you want until you've signed a contract with a dealer. They have removed the specs with MSRP from the website but you can have customer service email you one. Yeah, I've heard about the custom paint jobs and having been in the paint and body business, they earn every penny of that $18-40,000.

  6. Posted · Report reply

    I bought through a dealer. If I did it again, I would put together my want list and send it out for bid to several dealers. Best percentage discount off MSRP would get the order. Then I would get with Newmar for the final design of the coach, get the total MSRP and take the dealer already agreed on discount. Pay for factory pick up and spend a week with the techs that build it explaining every nut, bolt and screw so to speak. If any part of the body is found needing repairs, the experts are there to repair it. I would want to take it to FCCC or Spartan for any chassis needs. The only contact with the dealer would be via email, text and wire transfer of money. I know several buyers who have done this and never see the dealer that may be a thousand miles away. 

    I'm in the planning stage now for our 2028 King Air. 

    Edit: You cannot buy direct from Newmar.

  7. Posted · Report reply

    I think we can let the vote continue for a few days so as LBJ always said, come on folks vote early and vote often.:rolleyes:

    I must say I don't exactly know how to tally some of the votes. Is Bill classified a human or a people. He has been compared to spice...salt?? Then there is the I like him with a qualifying tag added. The he is one of a kind comment got a surprise answer from Bill. Then there is one that wonders whoooo we're talking about. :o

    I'm sorely afraid this is going to be a hanging chad kind of voting but we'll let democracy run its course unless of course some mean ole moderator comes along and puts us all in time out. Hey its Christmas, lets be jolly and have some fun, too bad its at Bill's expense.:ph34r:

     

  8. Posted · Report reply

    2 hours ago, FIVE said:

    Re sun exposure.  In Dec 2010 we bought a new 2009 MH.  Naturally we did not see it until we'd owned it for a while, but it had been sitting so long facing south, the large wall opposite our big double windows, facing the west Texas sun, had faded.  In May 2015, the RF tire blew out.

    Did you happen to get the date code of the blown tire? The tire was minimally 6 years old but most likely was 7 years old or more. Did you only replace the blown tire or all of them?

    I keep wondering about Tireman, he has been noticeably absent since all the questions have come up. 

  10. Posted · Report reply

    I have not put I tape to it; I'll need to find my 50' tape. My wife's comment is it drives like her Lexus its just a lot longer. 

    The FCCC chassis is worlds different from the 2008 FCCC chassis we had with the previous coach. Plus, I didn't have a tag and the passive steer tag axle is an added benefit.

    I'm already designing my next coach, 2028 King Air. 

    You do know if you order one its like buying a custom home. They have a designer to work with you to make it just what you want, Cat 5 cabling, electrical outlets where you want them, built in WiFi, flooring, cabinet finish, fabric, lighting fixtures and on and on and on.  Orders today are looking at May or June delivery.

  19. Posted · Report reply

    Carl, have either of you driven one? Our 4369 is a bath and half and the rear bath is huge. The storage space is awesome. I would guess we have 12-15 feet of hanging space and so many drawers and shelves I can never find anything; some we don't use.

    The customer support from Newmar is tremendous. I have two people assigned to me and their office number rolls over to their cell phone for after hours needs. I don't know of another manufacturer that offers that.

    Example: I was having an tire balance issue. I talked to Freightliner about it and they didn't want to do anything under warranty. I called Newmar, Newmar called Freightliner and we had a 3-way conversation, Freightliner called the local Freightliner dealer and made an appointment during this conversation. Newmar followed up with me making sure I was satisfied. Newmar suggests we let them know if we take the coach into a dealer for warranty  work so they can check on the progress of the work. Dealers would use the excuse they were waiting on parts or waiting on Newmar when in reality they had not contacted Newmar. Newmar wants to stop this from happening.

    There is a reason the only coaches they have built for the last few months are coaches sold to owners not dealers. Dealers cannot order a coach for inventory. I believe the wait time is about 6 months if you order now. They will cut off orders for 2018's soon after the first of the year.

     

  20. Posted · Report reply

    I recently sold my 2008 Fleetwood Bounder diesel pusher. I looked at and drove three motorhomes. First was a Fleetwood since I was a Fleetwood owner and it was a rattle trap. The quality of workmanship was terrible. The dash squeaked and rattled and the salesman stated just get use to it because they haven't been able to figure out how to stop it. I was shocked in the quality of a MSRP of $375,000 motorhome. Next we drove a Phaeton, better but too much plastic and the woodwork fit and finish was lacking. Lastly, we drove a Newmar Ventana 4369 with tag. Same price range as the other two but it was like looking at a top of the line custom built home to a cookie cutter tract home. The workmanship is impeccable. The drive...there is nothing even close to driving the Newmar with the Comfort Drive steering. The only comment needed is my wife is comfortable driving this motorhome and after driving our Fleetwood for 20 minutes she said never again. I've driven it in 30 mph cross winds and the wind was barely noticeable. But don't believe me, go drive one but drive it last because it will be the last one you will drive if you drive it first.

  23. Posted · Report reply

    Thanks, Brett.

    He just keeps repeating covering your tires will extend service life. Common sense tells me that but I would like to know the cost (my time), benefit (extended tire life) for me.

    I guess Roger is like a pathologist that performs autopsies.  I guess he has data for failures but nothing to backup longevity.  Maybe I'm looking for a cardiologist. And you exactly correct, without samples of covered and uncovered tires its just an assumption tires will last longer if covered. I've never seen a tire manufacturer state something to the effect, "if you cover your tires you shouldn't need to replace them for X years but if uncovered. continue with the recommended replacement in Y years.

    Thanks. 

  24. Posted · Report reply

    On 11/23/2017 at 10:39 AM, tireman9 said:

    White cover or a mesh screen will keep the tire cooler which will increase tire life. I have posted the test results on my blog. Keeping the temperature down will also extend belt life and there is no tire treatment that can do that.

    Can you publish any real time data to substantiate this claim? Are you suggesting if we only drive at night when the tire temperature is cooler and no uv rays that our tires would last longer? How much longer? That is the question I continue to ask and so far you have not been willing or able to answer that.

    I'm only being persistent because you're the only self professed tire expert on this forum that seems to think covering a tire will increase the tire life and I would like to know by how long.

    Thanks.

     

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