I bought a Newe..... Umm, I mean bus!

BusNit · October 19, 2021, 03:33:12 PM

So in my searches for a decent bus style RV and with the sale of my current bus project, I found a nice well kept although dated 1993 Newell 44' coach with the Detroit 8v92TA. My criteria were that it had to be made of a steel/aluminum skeleton, a serious over the road chassis and the exterior had to be sheeted in aluminum or steel. This unit fit the bill. I should mention a preferred plus was a tag axle with reverse wheel mounting. I have been busy chasing down air leaks and will be working on those for a bit before getting to the inside. Absolutely in love with this thing. I could use Kevin's help, but he is going to be very busy for the next couple of months. With 125k on the clock, it does still have a bunch of oil drips that need addressing. My wife and her dad were hanging out inside the day I brought it home.

chessie4905 · October 19, 2021, 04:17:55 PM

nice

kyle4501 · October 19, 2021, 04:51:03 PM

Looks like you have found a very nice coach!

I hope you have many many years of fun travels.

Bustle · October 19, 2021, 05:12:09 PM

Congratulations. Newell is probably the best custom coach builder. The rig is nice.

buswarrior · October 19, 2021, 05:48:32 PM

Most exciting!

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

RJ · October 20, 2021, 02:01:15 AM

Quote from: BusNit on October 19, 2021, 03:33:12 PM
So in my searches for a decent bus-style RV, and with the sale of my current bus project, I found a nice, well-kept although dated, 1993 Newell 44' coach with the Detroit 8v92TA.

Simon -

Might want to print this out and keep it with your coach for future reference, link is below.

FWIW & HTH. . .

RJ

luvrbus · October 20, 2021, 03:56:43 AM

Is it a DDEC 8v92 (electronic) ? Newell is a good coach ,they can be a bear to work on in some areas though.I almost bought a J with the 550hp Cat engine when I got my Country Coach enjoy the ride,the leaks on the 92 are a minor fix most of the time.If it did not come with the 8v92 manuals 2 for the machinal engine 3 for the DDEC engine invest in a set best money you can spend lol and read

BusNit · October 20, 2021, 08:17:50 AM

Thanks! I went through the paperwork and stack of receipts from the previous owner (Should have run away when I noticed he was spending between 5-15k a year!) that showed they have been using 40wt oil. I already ordered 10 gallons of Delvac 40 from Orielly's auto parts. Engine is DDECii and I am looking to buy the scanner offered for sale here. PM'd the seller. I do have all manuals for the bus. It was taken care of although many of the repairs he paid for were done haphazard. An example is an unused air line was folded over and zip tied shut.... Interior trim repairs he paid 500-1000 and they used silicone as glue which didn't hold...

The good is that all airbags were replaced, new michelins in 2019 and they did fix the squatting rear suspension. The rear holds air and stays aloft on its own for a week so far. The front squats down after three days. On board compressor is leaking air and sounds like $#!% running. I have a new one coming. Looks like they kept it on 24 hours while it was stored. Surprised it lasted as long as it did.

The Bad... ECU was replaced to a tune of 5k last year. I am curious why it would have failed but in the paperwork, it doesn't state the reason they found why it failed. Some Melamine cabinets are delaminating, bus being painted a dark color really heats up the interior despite it being spray foamed. (Getting local quotes of 30k to paint which is way out of my league)

luvrbus · October 20, 2021, 08:48:56 AM

When I come to Phoenix I know you don't have this book it is a student teaching manual that will help you under stand how the DDEC works with the fixes lol and 500 pages to try and digest , makes life a lot easier for a DDEC owner,I don't have anymore copies so you will to copy it.FWIW the wood work is why I didn't buy the Newell the Country Coach is by far better crafted wood working

BusNit · October 20, 2021, 09:09:31 AM

Awesome, I appreciate it!! No, I do not have that one. yeah, price was a determining factor and quality of the chassis itself. The interior was a hit or miss. Overall, it is workable. I really do not want to strip it down to steel and start over. Cabinet melamine can be glued. (Base wood is ply and not particle). Countertops can go, flooring can go, T-12 fluorescent cove lights can go, and upholstery can be changed. Other than that, the addition of solar on a roof with no airs on top would help. The old TracVision satellite dish can go. That thing sticks up almost 2'. One thing I hate is the 20" steering wheel. I need to find one that is 16"

Bustle · October 20, 2021, 09:20:55 AM

Hey - I would love to take a peak at that manual as well.

rancher · October 20, 2021, 12:01:47 PM

Quote from: BusNit on October 20, 2021, 08:17:50 AM
Thanks! I went through the paperwork and stack of receipts from the previous owner (Should have run away when I noticed he was spending between 5-15k a year!) that showed they have been using 40wt oil. I already ordered 10 gallons of Delvac 40 from Orielly's auto parts. Engine is DDECii and I am looking to buy the scanner offered for sale here. PM'd the seller. I do have all manuals for the bus. It was taken care of although many of the repairs he paid for were done haphazard. An example is an unused air line was folded over and zip tied shut.... Interior trim repairs he paid 500-1000 and they used silicone as glue which didn't hold...

The good is that all airbags were replaced, new michelins in 2019 and they did fix the squatting rear suspension. The rear holds air and stays aloft on its own for a week so far. The front squats down after three days. On board compressor is leaking air and sounds like $#!% running. I have a new one coming. Looks like they kept it on 24 hours while it was stored. Surprised it lasted as long as it did.

The Bad... ECU was replaced to a tune of 5k last year. I am curious why it would have failed but in the paperwork, it doesn't state the reason they found why it failed. Some Melamine cabinets are delaminating, bus being painted a dark color really heats up the interior despite it being spray foamed. (Getting local quotes of 30k to paint which is way out of my league)

Looks like you found a nice coach. The good thing is the previous owner had been spending some money to keep it up. It would be nice to know what happen to the ECM.

windtrader · October 20, 2021, 12:02:42 PM

Awesome buy! Newell is top tier, nobody can argue that there are better coaches overall. I'm sure you are on the Newell group but they are very involved and surely know the history of your coach. Just about every unit there is known by serial number. Feel free to hang here, there are a couple who do drive Newell.

BusNit · October 20, 2021, 12:54:30 PM

Thanks guys and Don, yes I love this site and do not plan on leaving. In fact, I paid for the platinum membership but it doesn't show on my avatar. I am a member of the Newell Guru forum and the FB. The guru forum has top notch guys there as this site does. I enjoy looking at bus conversions. The MCI I absolutely wanted was well done despite needing a little updating but the seller would not budge on price considering the engine was fubar as was the airbags and pneumatics systems. The Newell is a nice coach but I settled on the dark color. The selling points were the true unmolested 125k mile engine, newer tires and the fit and finish for something that is nearly 30 years old.

Glennman · October 20, 2021, 01:14:01 PM

Very nice coach Busnit. The look on your father-in-law's face can be either "I wish this was mine" or "what in the world were they thinking?". However, your wife appears to be pretty pleased with it!!!