Ordering a Newmar New Aire from the Factory

I previously talked about why we’re downsizing to a 33′ Newmar New Aire. We looked online at all 3341 model New Aire’s in the country (only 5 as of this writing) and were not happy with the options the dealers selected. We’ve bought all of our previous RVs off a dealers lot because it’s easy. The coach is right there, you can walk through it, and you can drive off that day. But we’re not thrilled with how most (all?) dealers spec out new motorhomes with most options added, so we decided to custom order a New Aire with factory delivery to our specifications. Our number one goal for a smaller coach is to maximize available space in order to fit gear for our lifestyle (namely, hiking gear + backpacking gear + biking gear in addition to all the normal stuff). That means no dishwasher, no washer & dryer, no exterior freezer, no exterior TV and no slide out trays. Try finding that combo on a dealers lot.

New Aire 3341 floor plan

The New Aire Model 3341 has 4 slides, 2 on each side

Will the lack of these options negatively affect our time in the coach? I hope not, but we realize moving from a 45′ coach to a 33′ coach requires some sacrifices. I can guarantee which options we absolutely will NOT miss as we never use them: the exterior freezer and exterior TV. And we didn’t have a dishwasher for the first 3 years of RV ownership and didn’t mind it. But the washer & dryer is a tricky one. We made the decision because the New Aire is pre-plumbed for a washer & dryer, so adding one later is very possible. Perhaps one of the combo washer/dryers is a good compromise (Newmar only offers separates). Or, as Karla pointed out, we rarely use the dryer anyways, so maybe just adding a washer is an option (we mainly wear wool and/or synthetic fabrics suited to outdoor pursuits that should not be put in a dryer). But most likely we’ll just do laundry at a public facility.

Here’s the options we chose:

Glacier Exterior Graphics
Glacier Interior Decor
Bermuda Glazed Maple Cabinets
2-15 Penguin Heat Pumps
Electric Floor Heat
Central Vacuum
Winegard SK300 DirecTV sat dish
Xite HD 360° Camera System
Euro Booth Dinette
Shoe Storage Recessed Into Rear Cap
Assist Handle in Shower
Girard Pkg with Nova awnings
Girard Power Window Awnings
Customer Pickup at Newmar Factory
Special request: Add 2 adjustable shelves in place of washer/dryer

We chose to order our New Aire with a Glacier exterior (from Newmar’s website)

We also chose the Glacier interior (from Newmar’s website)

Interior fabrics/surfaces from left: furniture leather, accent fabric, accent fabric, floor tile, and counter surface

We’ve ordered Bermuda Glazed Maple cabinets

Factory delivery is a great option for any Newmar owner. Yes, you have to get to upstate Indiana (Nappanee, IN to be exact) which is likely not a place you’d normally go. But trust me, it’s worth it. You get a dedicated Newmar technician who is competent and, more amazingly, cares about you, for an entire week. You find anything wrong with the coach, even the tiniest scratch in the wood, and they make it like new.

As a little background, Karla and I made the decision to never take our Newmar Essex (and soon, our New Aire) to any Newmar dealer in the country. It’s not worth it the time and hassle given most dealer’s apathy towards customers. I firmly believe it’s more convenient to go to Nappanee for all service needs (and I say that living in Colorado). We’ll continue to do so from Virginia. That is how much we hate RV dealers. We’ve twice had our Essex to Nappanee for warranty repairs and I cannot speak highly enough about the experience.

Our dealer is very nicely arranging for their driver to drive our Essex back from Nappanee, IN to Denver, CO. So we show up with the old coach, spend a week testing out the new coach and moving stuff over, and then leave with the new coach headed to Virginia. The dealer is charging $1000 for this service, which IMO is a great deal considering the ~2000 miles of RV driving they’re saving us.

The estimated completion date is late January/early February, which works well for us as our house should be done by March.

We like the floor plan layout of the 3341 and have included a number of interior photos below. Karla: “I’m glad they have moved to a recessed induction cooktop in 2019 and provide covers for the cooktop as our cat sometimes walks on the cooktop at night and can turn it on by stepping on the the power button. We have had to make sure we didn’t leave anything on the stove that might ignite overnight”. We also like the new glass dash.

The interior of a New Aire 3341 (but with a different interior finish than we ordered)

Another view of the dining/kitchen area

We will make use of the rotating front seats which we have had in our other coaches but did not need to use as we had more seating

Karla also loves the window behind the sink/counter/cooktop as well as the recessed cooktop (covered and on the right). We did not get the dishwasher which provides 2 more drawers in it’s place