Slide-outs

[JT4SC]

Anyone ever price out installing a slide-out in their bus?  Anyone ever installed a slide-out in their bus? Pros/cons (other than price)?
Cliff I know you've got slide-outs in your CC, are they a game changer for you or not really?

[luvrbus]

Slides are a game changer, me personally I will never buy another RV without slides but I do think 4 slide are a over kill. I fought slides for years with my wife before giving up saying she was right. Installing slides in a bus unless it is a Eagle is cost prohibited Gary at B&B Coach in Vegas did slides for around $3000.00 a foot unfished, but he never would do a MCI. A 12 ft slide would cost you 50 + grand now. For another 50 grand you can buy a Prevost with factory slides and a series 60.A good friend of mine has the only MCI that they ever made with a slide his is a MCI J model, he has for sale asking $345,000.00.I am looking at Newells with C-15 Cat but all I can find with the Cat C-15 are equipped with the funky 10 speed Z/F transmission and I don't want the Z/F transmission       

[JT4SC]

Slides are a game changer, me personally I will never buy another RV without slides but I do think 4 slide are a over kill. I fought slides for years with my wife before giving up saying she was right. Installing slides in a bus unless it is a Eagle is cost prohibited Gary at B&B Coach in Vegas did slides for around $3000.00 a foot unfished, but he never would do a MCI. A 12 ft slide would cost you 50 + grand now. For another 50 grand you can buy a Prevost with factory slides and a series 60.A good friend of mine has the only MCI that they ever made with a slide his is a MCI J model, he has for sale asking $345,000.00.I am looking at Newells with C-15 Cat but all I can find with the Cat C-15 are equipped with the funky 10 speed Z/F transmission and I don't want the Z/F transmission       

Dang I was afraid you were going to say that Cliff!!  You have a CC Magna right?  Why do you want to switch from CC to a Newell?  What if you could get a double slide-out bus conversion in similar condition/year/price as a Newell, would you still go the Newell route?  Why?

[luvrbus]

I sold the CC it was a nice drive with Cummins Ix15 600 hp but I got tired of all the electronics with one wire (multi/plex) controlling 2 different functions you had 1 remote that controlled every thing in the coach.I will say it was the only RV I never lost money on selling it sold in 1 day and I made money. I am going the Newell route they are built in house from the ground up only problem is they are all custom built when ordered and it can get frustrating trying to find one with a floor plan you like   

[JT4SC]

What year was your CC? What year Newell's are you looking at?
Bringing it back to Bus conversions – is it really that much more expensive to maintain a bus conversion vs. a Newell (or even CC)? Because Newell's look like they've got all kinds of electronics and everything, plus they don't have the benefit of a stainless steel chassis.

[luvrbus]

The CC was a 2008 ,I want to stay with a no later than 2010 I do not want to fight with DEF emission system's on 2010 diesel engines. I am also looking at the Foretravel it is well built RV.I just don't want another bus to deal with parts made strictly for it.Gary Hatt likes his Prevost H-45 but he sheds tears as big a marbles when he buys parts from Prevost,its a nice low mileage bus it just set so long without use it is taking time and money to catch up from setting so long       

[windtrader]

jt - add name to signature.

look for my thread on recent(this year) deep reearch into swapping the MC8 for a Series 60 coach including numerous conversations with nuts that have owned both OTR and factory built RV

Here are a few highlights:

1) Newell is arguably at the top of non OTR RV from a currently viable manufacturer.
2) Newell is NOT a bus so it does not have the same level of driving experience.
3) Bus chassis conversions offer the best ride and comfort.
4) Newell tech support is wonderful. It is a small company committed to producing excellent quality and servicing owners, even those generations removed from the original sale. My personal experience still leaves be a bit befuddled how willing they offer assistance to decades old coaches.
5) Newell does not generally include full engineering docs nor will they supply them for older coaches today. One caution is their specific knowledge abut a coach is a combination of what written docs they have on file and more likely collective wisdom and expertise about the coaches built over time. Cliff mentioned each is designed and built to order; however, the large amount of design and components group into ranges that equate to coach number and timeframe. When you start looking at a lot of them, there is a distinct layout pattern that emerges. Full bath in back, toilet on the left wall, shower on left. Some other style is having the shower and sink between bedroom and forward cabin. Kitchen is often found on starboard side midship, irrespective if mid or front entry.

6) Slides are great but they're designed evolved over time. A common maintenance item is the slide seals and most return to factory for that service. For that manner, quite of them are in the midwest and it is quite common owners bring their coaches to the factory for service and reconnecting with old friends; it is like a family for sure. 

7) It is a very unique and tight community. It is the only RV that folks reference by chassis number and often have knowledge and experience with the owners. If serious about searching, I would strongly advise only looking at those with pedigree of ownership and speak to the owner(s) directly and the folks on newell gurus. There are a couple members here too.

. Series 60 were used a lot in the production range I was searching 2000-2007. I think Cat was sometimes installed but later it became more common.

9) Prices can vary a lot, condition matters a LOT, some are in showroom condition, kept in conditioned air indoor facilities while others have clearly marginally maintained. Mileage counts too but generally for a 20 year coach, 125k is an average number.

10) These are 45' coaches, so that size has major impacts on where and how you experience traveling with it. At 40' we have plenty of indoor space and being able to get into local cheap fuel stations works with a bit of planning and caution, taking it off the asphalt on dirt roads into public lands to boondocks is generally navigable, at 45' the clearance is simply too low. At 45' it should never see dirt.

10) Last and most important insight that finally buried the hatchet is the fact these things have a LOT of systems and that means more maintenance and time and money spent keeping it going. At this point in life, I am on a mission to lessens the hassles in life. And that sentiment was expressed by other Newell owners that sold them, moving toward less complicated rides. Once the barrage of posts about stuff needing fixing, that was it. My current ride was converted with such well thought out design and foresight as to ease of maintenance and service, it is perfect. The sole reason initiating the search was Series 60 as I really wanted to get off the 2 stroke platform. 

[JT4SC]

jt - add name to signature.

look for my thread on recent(this year) deep reearch into swapping the MC8 for a Series 60 coach including numerous conversations with nuts that have owned both OTR and factory built RV

Here are a few highlights:

1) Newell is arguably at the top of non OTR RV from a currently viable manufacturer.
2) Newell is NOT a bus so it does not have the same level of driving experience.
3) Bus chassis conversions offer the best ride and comfort.
4) Newell tech support is wonderful. It is a small company committed to producing excellent quality and servicing owners, even those generations removed from the original sale. My personal experience still leaves be a bit befuddled how willing they offer assistance to decades old coaches.
5) Newell does not generally include full engineering docs nor will they supply them for older coaches today. One caution is their specific knowledge abut a coach is a combination of what written docs they have on file and more likely collective wisdom and expertise about the coaches built over time. Cliff mentioned each is designed and built to order; however, the large amount of design and components group into ranges that equate to coach number and timeframe. When you start looking at a lot of them, there is a distinct layout pattern that emerges. Full bath in back, toilet on the left wall, shower on left. Some other style is having the shower and sink between bedroom and forward cabin. Kitchen is often found on starboard side midship, irrespective if mid or front entry.

6) Slides are great but they're designed evolved over time. A common maintenance item is the slide seals and most return to factory for that service. For that manner, quite of them are in the midwest and it is quite common owners bring their coaches to the factory for service and reconnecting with old friends; it is like a family for sure.

7) It is a very unique and tight community. It is the only RV that folks reference by chassis number and often have knowledge and experience with the owners. If serious about searching, I would strongly advise only looking at those with pedigree of ownership and speak to the owner(s) directly and the folks on newell gurus. There are a couple members here too.

. Series 60 were used a lot in the production range I was searching 2000-2007. I think Cat was sometimes installed but later it became more common.

9) Prices can vary a lot, condition matters a LOT, some are in showroom condition, kept in conditioned air indoor facilities while others have clearly marginally maintained. Mileage counts too but generally for a 20 year coach, 125k is an average number.

10) These are 45' coaches, so that size has major impacts on where and how you experience traveling with it. At 40' we have plenty of indoor space and being able to get into local cheap fuel stations works with a bit of planning and caution, taking it off the asphalt on dirt roads into public lands to boondocks is generally navigable, at 45' the clearance is simply too low. At 45' it should never see dirt.

10) Last and most important insight that finally buried the hatchet is the fact these things have a LOT of systems and that means more maintenance and time and money spent keeping it going. At this point in life, I am on a mission to lessens the hassles in life. And that sentiment was expressed by other Newell owners that sold them, moving toward less complicated rides. Once the barrage of posts about stuff needing fixing, that was it. My current ride was converted with such well thought out design and foresight as to ease of maintenance and service, it is perfect. The sole reason initiating the search was Series 60 as I really wanted to get off the 2 stroke platform.

Wow Don, that is incredible insight!!  I will search for the post you referenced, it sounds exactly like where I am at.  So in the end you decided to keep your older Coach?  The grass isn't always greener on the other side, I have to keep that in mind!!!
I'll respond more when I get the chance to check out your other thread. 
Thanks!!
Jimmy

[luvrbus]

Monaco is a good driving and riding coach with the 10 air bag system,the year model I am looking for International Harvester Truck owned Monoco and most have the International truck engine I don't care for other than that they good. Don Cat engines were used in the RV's since the 80's you see a lot of those even with the CAT 6 speed automictic transmission, Cat just left market in 2010 for trucks and RV's they didn't want to deal with EPA emissions, slide seal replacement is due to owners neglect 99% of the time,I would not want anything but HWH slide the ones they use in some RV's like Happy Jack are a joke with the windshield wiper motors powering the slide out. A long time DD 2 stroke fan if planning on using the RV they make no sense the little Dodge, Ford and Chevy diesels in pickups have more torque and HP than a 92 series DD and they run longer and cheaper. We used our RV and bus most of the time it was 30 to 40k a year average, a lot of people are going to the super C they drive and handle better         

[windtrader]

While the Newell search was on, the SuperC option was also examined quite closely. There are only a handful of superC built similar to commercial vehicles. Freightliner has one used for paramedic and ambulance service and the other is the full sized chassis used by virtually all tractors.

The Renegade Verona LE has Prevost level trim, fit and finish. The Classic is on the more robust chassis. Both have the engine in the front and your drive in the cab forward. This is a very different experience than having the diesel in the rear. More engine noise and less smooth ride is expected. I nearly pulled the trigger on a great find but the wife did not like the interior, too dark. It was 2019 and had the darker wood theme. I forgot but there is one other builder that offers something like the Classic. The target market for this level is car racing and those in traveling businesses that haul those massive trailers full of stuff.

[luvrbus]

Depending on the application the super C are built on Medium duty and heavy duty truck chassis,Ford,GMC and I/H are big players in the M/D super C's ,I/H and Freightliner, are the major players in the heavy duty line you see a few Peterbilt's, GMC has left the M/D race and Mack has entered the race. My new neighbor is into off racing he a new super C on a Peterbilt converted by Outlaw of Texas, OutLaw and Featherlite are big on converting for racers.As for ride and handling you need to ask someone that owns a Super C the people I know say they are less stressful to drive and ride great better than a bus engine noise is almost none existence in the few I ridden in some time you could hear the fan come on   

[rusty]

Mine is built by Show hauler on a Frieghtliner frame with a DD16 and a DT12 transmission. The front axle is 18000 lbs so it is a little stiff. When driving my Eagle in any kind of wind you had to drive it and at the end of the day you where wore out. In the Frieghtliner it takes a pretty stiff wind before I notice it and then it still holds the road. The truck is very easy to drive. It has adaptive cruise. It has crash midagation. As far as noise you can hear the fan when it comes on but it hardly ever comes on
We just got back from a trip thru Louisiana Texas Arizona and New Mexico and the fan came on maybe 6 times mostly on a longer hill. Most of the noise is from the slides. I get around 8.25 mpg and DEF is a gallon every 200 miles. The seats are very comfortable. The motor and Trans combo are great and the truck doesn't know a hill. Some times the transmission will lug the motor a bit so you have to switch to manual mode. All in all it is a great ride. Truck drivers sure have it easy
Wayne

[windtrader]

Very nice - Show hauler was the other high end maker I referred to; very expensive like the Renegade Classic and the newer models. I'd sure hope they drive nice for what they cost. My research was limited to Renegade that builds on Freightliner and the newer ones have plentiful service and parts options. The Classic chassis is commercial and it seems costs are higher than the mid level chassis

[luvrbus]

Very nice - Show hauler was the other high end maker I referred to; very expensive like the Renegade Classic and the newer models. I'd sure hope they drive nice for what they cost. My research was limited to Renegade that builds on Freightliner and the newer ones have plentiful service and parts options. The Classic chassis is commercial and it seems costs are higher than the mid level chassis

The Freightliner chassis like Waynes's can bump $200,000.00 alone at the factory. My neighbors new Peterbilt with the ISX 15 -650 HP Cummins and B4060 Allison was $219,000.00 from the factory in Denton Tx it is at Outlaw in Texas being converted, he plans on towing a Featherlite trailer grossing 28,000 lbs behind a bus would not handle that weight 20,000 lbs is their limit