Is a Newell Coach considered a bus?

[brojcol]

Hey guys,

In my quest to find the perfect bus for a miserly price, I found a "Newell Coach" RV and did a little research.  Apparently the Newell is very well made and some consider it a bus.  What say the bus boys?

Jimmy

[JackConrad]

Depends on whether the person you are talking to owns a Newell LOL.. We have a friend that has a Newell and swears it is a bus. Per a Newell Ad, Newells never were buses and never will be a bus. That said, they are probably the highest quality motorhome currently being made. Jack

[gumpy]

Nah, it's not a bus. It was manufactured specifically to be an RV. It might have some of the same charistics as a bus (maybe has welded steel frame and forward passenger side door), but it's not considered a bus by this crowd.

[Beatenbo]

A bus is a  bus !

[DrivingMissLazy]

A newell is not a converted bus. They build it from scratch. So no, it is not a bus. It is a motorhome built to look like a bus.
Richard

A bus is a  bus !

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Jimmy,

I have a friend that always buy's Newell coaches. He sware's by them, and usually get's a new one every 2-3 years.

He is an owner of a high profile Indy car team and that's the crowd that Newell caters to.

I think they are the Best of the Best!! and I belive that is what their customers demand.

Nick Badame

[gumpy]

Hmm, I think the last time I went to the Minneapolis RV show, which was about 3 years ago, there was a Newell sitting across the street with a big yellow sign that said something like "Newell Lemon". It was pretty obvious what message the owner was trying to convey.

I think Newell is typically rated rather highly, but quality is a subjective thing and customer service may not meet the same standards, once purchased. Brian Diehl passed on an article to me recently that talked about all the RVs being sold in the last few years, and how quality and service were not up to par with expectations, and the fact that most Lemon laws don't apply to RVs. It was in a local paper a few months ago. Was quite interesting. They talked about a particular couple who had sold thier home and purchased an RV for well over $400K with the intent of full timing. They had spent most of the 9 months they'd owned it in a service center, or on a hook. Don't recall the brand.

One of the high end manufacturers (might have been Newell) had actually opened a factory service center in CA because the quality of service at the dealerships was so poor.

[David Anderson]

Gumpy,

That article was in my local paper, also.  I think it was from the AP wire service.  This lack of quality will become a big issue as more boomers (many who can't turn a screwdriver) buy these rigs as they retire.  RVIA and their lobbying arms are desparately trying to keep state legislators from applying lemon laws to their industry.  As we read more stories about Aunt Edna and Uncle Henry spending their life savings on a rig and it can't get out of the city limits without a breakdown, etc, we will see more industry regulation and oversight. 

I'll keep my 20 year old  bus, thank you.

David

[gumpy]

Now that you mention it, I think it was printed in the Wall Street Journal.

[Stan]

If someone bought a Newel for $400,00, it must have been several years old. Theri coaches are in the million dollar class. Is a Newel a bus? I don't know and from what I read on the BBS most people with converted buses claim it isn't  a bus when they go to the DMV to licence it. Is your converted MC-9 a bus or a motorhome? Like doing a conversion any way you like, you can call it whatever you like.

If you tell a person with a million dollar Bluebird Wanderlodge that he has a converted schoolbus he will get quite upset even though the shelll was made on their schoolbus assembly line and went to a different building for the motorhome parts.

[DrivingMissLazy]

Any ads that I have read for Newell, and I was considering buying one a few years ago, indicate that they build the coach from the ground up with off the shelf drive train plus custom chassis and other parts.
They were never built for use as a bus. They were never built by a bus company. They have always been identified as a custom coach. Never as a bus or as a bus conversion. Me thinks they are a motor home. High class, but still a motor home.
Richard

If someone bought a Newel for $400,00, it must have been several years old. Theri coaches are in the million dollar class. Is a Newel a bus? I don't know and from what I read on the BBS most people with converted buses claim it isn't  a bus when they go to the DMV to licence it. Is your converted MC-9 a bus or a motorhome? Like doing a conversion any way you like, you can call it whatever you like.

If you tell a person with a million dollar Bluebird Wanderlodge that he has a converted schoolbus he will get quite upset even though the shelll was made on their schoolbus assembly line and went to a different building for the motorhome parts.

[TomC]

Interesting to note that Canada only allows newer Marathon conversions and newer Newell coaches to be able to be registered there. Yet, any year of Blue Bird is welcome.  Good Luck, TomC

[JackConrad]

I think that is because Bluebird filed the necessary paperwork to certify there buses in Canada so they could sell school buses in Canada. Newell and Marathon probably felt the cost of certification was not worth it until recently. Just "my guess" YMMV  Jack

[DrivingMissLazy]

Marathon conversions are based on a bus chassis built by Prevost, especially for the conversion market place.

BTW, if you are ever in the area, a tour of the Marathon facility with 20 or more coaches in various stages of conversion is a truly wonderful sight.
Richard

I think that is because Bluebird filed the necessary paperwork to certify there buses in Canada so they could sell school buses in Canada. Newell and Marathon probably felt the cost of certification was not worth it until recently. Just "my guess" YMMV  Jack

[Busted Knuckle]

If yer cat had Kittens in an old oven in the shed, would ay call 'm biscuits??? Just my opinion! BK