2022 Newmar London Aire 4551 - RedBaron Build

[redbaron]

I called on Good Friday and left a message. Call was returned Monday, and they set an appointment for Tuesday 9am.

I arrived at 8:50, and was on the road by 10:30. I took a tour of their factory and spent time chatting with the techs.

This is a small business that is very good at what they do. I was very pleased.

[Name] Mike Hagar
[Work] (817) 783-6396
[email protected]
[Work] 5345 South I-35W
Alvarado, TX 76009
United States of America
[Work info] Director of Sales & Marketing, Centramatic

 

[Rich W.]

Perfect, thanks. After reading about the variety of benefits, if these are half as good as they claim, they are well worth the $$, and the price and labor seem quite reasonable. I was going to wait until I got new tires, but will still have another 5-6k miles to go in this trip after Austin, and on old tires, so this seems like a good time to get them. It will be interesting to see if I notice any difference. Tire temp is something I can monitor and compare and a very good indicator.

We can now return to the original topic…..

 

[osull]

I posted only a few days ago about it not being the time to buy. The sentiment was in regards to a USED rv, and also USED vehicles.

The same sentiment is true for purchasing NEW - On the lot RV's from most dealers. I did, however, find an exception to the rule.

Newmar coaches have already started to trend down on sales. Dealers are wanting to sell specific models. There are a few models that have sold out, but for those with a higher budget in mind (Luxury line), the deals are actually better now than they have been in a while.

July 16, 2021 Newmar is doing a 2% price increase on all diesel product, and will no longer guarantee price protection for orders placed after July 16, 2021. This is something that others in the industry have already implemented, and it makes sense.

Newmar has also changed the entire order process slightly. In the good old days of "pre-covid", dealers would buy out all the coaches they could and have blanket orders in the build slots that would then be customized. This allowed the dealer to know exactly when it was coming in, and then make changes last minute.

This practice alone was a huge disruption to the supply chain, and it is amazing that Newmar allowed it to go on for as long as they did. Most likely the push back by dealers was too much to upset, so Newmar dealt with it, as did the customer.

Why the customer? Think about it--if everyday you come to work knowing that someone is going to run up to you with a yellow sticky note telling you to change something, yet you still have to produce the same amount of product...how is that even possible?

I know that orders never where changed once they entered building 7, but they did change while still in the chassis shop. The person making changes had to find the product from somewhere, and this chaos has trickle down effect.

When covid hit, the entire supply chain halted. Not only could custom orders not be fulfilled, but stock orders couldn't either..parts where a huge nightmare.

So the new process is this: A deal must be signed by customer, including paint, blueprints, and specials. Only after all are signed can the build be assigned a coach number, chassis vin, and production run. Dealers know that they have x amount of chassis available in each run, but if they fail to turn in an order, then a dealer in the runs after them with an order ready to go will be moved up, and the dealer will take the back of the list.

Once you sign off, there is still a very small window to make changes. If you do make changes, your vin / build will be canceled, and the process starts over. You will most certainly lose your slot assignment.

After the small window passes, you and your dealer are legally bound to the coach as you signed off on it.

You are at risk for your deposit, and your dealer will have to purchase the coach and put it on their lot for someone else to sell.

Now to my situation. @ARD started looking at 2022 DSDP coaches, and I was helping her with paint schemes. Newmar did a terrible job with the 2022 Dutchstar pattern, especially at the rear of the coach. No matter how you color it, the rear looks like an homage to Donald Trump's hair....look at it:

View attachment 7827View attachment 7828View attachment 7829


I could not unsee it after I said it---and I don't think Renee could either.

She then flipped to the London Aire. I got to wondering why she would make that jump. I have always said my next model up would be the LA, but I figured I had a few Dutch Stars left in me before that big jump.

The answer revealed it self as I started pricing. For my coach, the net difference between selling my 2019 DSDP and buying the 2022 LA4551 is $200k - $235k. I don't know exactly as I have not sold my 2019 yet, and I have not received final pricing on the specials.

That price difference is in line with the difference in buying a new 2022 DSDP today vs a 2022 LADP, which means I did not take a depreciation hit. That doesn't happen---ever, and so this became the right time to buy.

More about the build to come...still working on the final selection items and waiting to sign off on my deal sheet.

the hair thing is a bridge too far for me to follow way too much time on your hands ;=)) good luck

 

[osull]

the hair thing is a bridge too far for me to follow way too much time on your hands ;=)) good luck

 

[Rich W.]

To me it looks kind of like a sci-fi, anime, emoji…..

 

[ehochuli85]

Echoing Congrats to @redbaron on the beautiful new London Aire, and wishing you many years of great times and safe travel. We have really enjoyed our 2018 London Aire for the last 4 1/2 years, and I know you and @ARD will love yours, as well.

The one piece of advice I'll give you both is not to hesitate to call that Newmar 24/7 service hotline number that's on the driver's side window. Anyone who owns an RV knows there will be problems, so the key is how to solve those problems as quickly and painlessly as possible.

The London Aire service specialist is Rick Drinkwine, and I don't think I've ever received better customer service from anyone, in any business, than the service I've received from Rick. Many of my problems in the first couple years were user error, but whether it was an actual problem, or just me being an idiot, Rick has always been very responsive, pleasant, and has a solution. And it doesn't matter whether you're out of warranty. My hydraulic motor died 2 days ago. I called Rick. He called me back in 10 minutes with HWH on the line, and they diagnosed the problem over the phone, sent me the replacement pump, (arrived today), and Rick found a mobile service tech in the area who is coming out tomorrow to install the pump. (Yes, I pay, because it's out of warranty, but that doesn't change the outstanding service Rick provides).

Well, here's hoping you never have any problems, and never need Rick, but either way - safe travels and wonderful memories.

Ed

 

[FLSteve]

The guys at the factory figured it out. They had been selling the steer axle part numbers for the tag.

When installed on the tag, it was pushed against the wheel very tight.

The correct part has an inch gap.

@redbaron ... so when you install these does it push the rims outward a little bit on the tire studs? Just wondering if I will have any clearance issues if the tire is already close to the edge of the wheel well when not aired up.

FLSteve

 

[redbaron]

@redbaron ... so when you install these does it push the rims outward a little bit on the tire studs? Just wondering if I will have any clearance issues if the tire is already close to the edge of the wheel well when not aired up.

FLSteve

The thickness is 1/8". It is not a noticable difference.

 

[lostinfla]

I've had the Centramatics on our coach for about 3 years now, and they really do smooth the ride out. I bought them on line and had them installed at N Trail. If you have the ability to remove a wheel, it should be an easy install.

 

[FLSteve]

Getting my centramatics installed at the factory.

We just made it to the Centramatics factory parking lot ... installation of my balancers will be first thing tomorrow morning.

FLSteve