Deciding to purchase a new motorhome is a momentous decision. Costing anywhere from $100,000 to well over $1 million, a class A motorhome is likely the second largest purchase a person will ever make. The decision to purchase new vs used is not an easy one due to massive depreciation. From purely a financial viewpoint, one should never purchase a new RV. However, if you’re the type of person, like me,who doesn’t trust other owners’ maintenance habits and therefore doesn’t want to inherit unseen problems, buying new could be the right answer. But you should at least get exactly what you want and have a positive delivery experience. Which leads to our decision to spec out a new 2019 Newmar New Aire and pick it up from the factory.
Newmar Service Center was recently expanded to double its previous size and includes this customer entrance
Newmar factory delivery (located in Nappanee, IN) is an eye-popping $4500 option that we resisted until now (our 3rd Newmar purchase). Having now gone though the process, and comparing it to traditional dealer delivery, this an option we will definitely select in the future. Why? Well, we’ve now bought and picked up 4 new class A motorhomes from various dealers: a Tiffin Allegro Open Road from Reines RV in Virginia (now Camping World), a Tiffin Phaeton from RV America in Johnstown, CO (now Lazy Days), a Newmar Dutch Star from Trans West in Frederick, CO and a Newmar Essex, also from Trans West. And every single one had problems upon delivery. Guess who fixes it? That’s right, the dealer. And you probably already know my hatred for RV dealers.
Newmar was still working on their new campground which opened later in 2019
Before we get to factory delivery, I’ll touch on the ordering process a bit. You work with a dealer to complete a Newmar order form with all your options and specials, ensuring to select the option, “Customer Pick Up At Newmar Factory”. The dealer submits the order form and after specials are approved (our special request for a Splendide one piece washer/dryer was denied) you receive an estimated delivery date. For reference, we placed our order October 11, 2018 and had an estimate of early February 2019. About 2 months out you’ll get a call from a Newmar customer service rep (who will remain your rep as long as you own the motorhome) with an exact delivery date. Ours was Monday, February 11 (customer pickup always begins on a Monday and ends on a Friday).
We arrived at the Newmar factory right at the requested 8 am time. After a brief congratulations from the hostess, we were taken to our new RV, located in the very large and very modern facility that had just opened a few weeks prior. There it is! And with a welcome mat laid out and nice Newmar branded folding chairs it looked ready for camping. We met our tech for the week (Gene) whom we had specially requested after working with him from our Essex days. Gene is the best. Really, every single tech I’ve met there seems great (but I can personally vouch for Gene). Gene laid out the plan for us: day 1 is introduction to the coach and an explanation of how things work, day 2 is moving-in day, day 3 is test drive day, day 4 is corner weight day, and day 5 is just in case anything needs fixing.
The recent expansion includes a larger customer lounge with a kitchen area
Day 1 was pretty easy as we’re coming from a 2016 Essex, which has many of the same features as a 2019 New Aire. But I can only imagine the learning curve if you’re starting from scratch. Ask lots of questions! Gene knows the answers and is more than happy to spend 8 hours a day with you. You paid for it after all. The only new feature we had to learn was MyRozie, a horrible name for a cool feature: remote control of your RV via wifi.
The entire Newmar Service Center is very organized
Impressive organization
Day 2, moving day, was extra fun as it was snowing…hard. We drove both motorhomes into factory bays, next to each other, and they dripped dark, wet snow for hours. Fun! But at least it was warm. Moving everything over literally took all day. Karla decided to take everything out of the 45’ Essex before moving a single item into the 33’ New Aire. Every single tech that walked past said no way that huge pile is fitting. I was skeptical as well. But it fit! To be fair we had thinned down a bit prior to arrival. But having no washer or dryer was the main reason everything fit — that space is huge when empty. Otherwise no chance.
Our Newmar New Aire (on left) and Essex (on right) before the Essex was picked up.
Our 33′ New Aire with awnings extended
Day 3 we spent driving around the small roads around Nappanee. It drives well, no adjustments necessary. Gene then filled our coach up with fuel, DEF and water. We continued fiddling with features and finding the perfect places for items small and large.
Day 4 we drove over to the weight station and got corner weights with a coach ready for travel (full fuel, DEF, and water; empty black and grey tanks; plus all the clothes, food and other junk from full time living). Gene then adjusted the tire pressure via the Michelin RV tire pressure guide.
Day 5 saw us leaving early and driving to an RV park outside Washington, DC. I know we paid for this day at Newmar, but there was nothing to do. In fact, we found ourselves anxious and ready to leave by Wednesday. But that’s because there was nothing wrong with our coach.
Our New Aire 3341 at a campground
In summary, if you’re buying a new Newmar coach, do yourself a favor and pay the $4500 for factory pickup. It’ll save more headaches than driving to northern Indiana creates. I asked Gene how long he spent getting our coach ready and testing every single feature: 3 weeks! That’s what you’re paying for right there. How long do you think Camping World spends?
