elkhartjim

I just came from my storage unit and left the cut in two eggs in the dumpster.

Report post Posted 10 hours ago "But if you want to give it a shot at developing a predictive model, I suggest you start with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and go on to a PHD in organic chemistry. While you are at it raise enough money to build an enclosed test track the size of Indianapolis Speedway. Your testing for tire durability will only cost you about $1 a test mile." Interestingly enough, Tireman, I do have a BS in Mechanical Engineering.

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

Wow....I hope Herman didn't catch the loose lips sink ships syndrome. I thought when Smitty posted for beta testers for the new website it was a done deal. I wonder what the name is on the new website? This has been in the works for some time, you don't just build a website in a few days.

Why did you choose to replace it?

Its a Jeep thing, Bill. We Wrangler owners wave at all Wranglers; Patriots and Cherokees not so much, they're not really Jeeps.

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.

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.

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. 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. 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.

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.

All 40'+ Newmars are tag axle. Ventana line is on FCCC chassis and the Dutch Start is either FCCC or Spartan.

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.

I'll count that as a sometimes like.

Oh no...looks like one no like. I guess it doesn't matter if we hijack this thread since its pretty much all over with but the shouting.

The 37' is a non tag axle. All the 40's and longer are all tags and longer wheelbases.

I've actually used that door to facilitate loading and unloading the bathroom and bedroom stuff. Great feature!

See, Bill, there are at least 2 of us that like you.

Just a guess, but I'm not sure you would be allowed to drive a motorhome on to airport property due to security issues. Like Carl said, find a campground in Jersey or PA and bus/taxi to the dock.

Oh come on, Bill. You know we love you, well some of us do anyway.

Interesting, Carl, I hadn't thought about it but the shower door and cabinet doors are the only swinging doors I have. The half bathe door pivots rather than swing, another Newmar design.

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.

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.

We will do our annual birding trip in April for the spring migration staying at the LLano Grande Resort and Country Club in Mercedes. Our plan is to spend two weeks in the valley and then move to Big Bend and finally southern Arizona. South Texas is awesome plus a good opportunity to get the motorhome and Jeep waxed for much less than in the Canyon Lake area. Thanks for sharing, Tom, we should be getting our TPWD magazine any day. On a side note, we were blessed to spend the day with Larry Ditto in the Christmas Mountains a few months ago as he was setting up for a class he was holding an photographing hummingbirds during the Davis Mountains Hummingbird Festival. Wow...did he ever teach us a lot of new things about bird photography.

And "slime in the ice machine".

I know a 6 step procedure may appear overwhelming to a tiger but for an Aggie its a simple procedure. You could have stopped anyone wearing maroon and white at the game and they would have happily helped you, because thats what we do. Whoop!