Living life in Phoenix, AZ

We have been staying with Darlene and Tom McCloud for the past two months or so.  I have been working in Phoenix, AZ for APS and am just about to wrap things up here and move on to a new project for FedEx in TN.  We have really enjoyed staying here, and although we didn’t do nearly as much sight-seeing as we would have hoped, we really like the Phoenix area.  We spent most of the non-working hours going through the engine and solving many leaks including an air leak in the Dupree sewer valve system, a hydraulic leak in the big fan on the Detroit Series 60 engine, an anti-freeze leak in the air compressor in the engine bay.  I’m planning to check all the ping tanks and there  was a suggestion on the Newell Gurus forum to check the valves for the ride height in case they were rusted so they don’t add more sediment to the air system.  We still need to have an oil analysis done when we are in TN at about 2000 miles with the new engine we had installed and change the oil.  We will plan to do that once we are safely in Collierville, TN.
The coach is cleaner now than it has been since we have owned it and even the engine bay is clean!  I ended up removing the big over hang load adapter (OHLA) to repair a leak. This big chunk of metal  holds the big hydraulic fan up so the motor does not get stressed.  While I had the fan out I CRAWLED to the back of the engine bay and stretched to get the back wall as clean as I could.  On the trip (from hell) to Phoenix we had the Turbo blow out on us and it spewed a thick black coating of diesel oil all over the driver (left) side of the engine bay.  Needless to say this was NOT fun to clean up and took several days of shimmying through a very tight opening in order to do so.  At one point while I was laying down cleaning inside the bay I decided to pull myself out of the bay.  As I was shimmying out my belt caught on the fan relay switch at the rear of the engine.  I thought I was going to have to call a friend for a few anxious minutes... I finally undid my belt and the trauma was over.  At least now I have a great way to tell if I have put on too many pounds!  Time to start working out again...

So far on this trip we have met Clark and Elaine Cockwald - very nice couple with a cool 87 (I think) Newell classic that is in really great shape.  Clark has done a lot of work restoring and reviving the coach inside and out.  The furniture and flooring inside were in great shape and the whole coach was very clean.  Clark has a neat grass carpet that he lays out when he is camping and it makes the coach look like it is in a little oasis.  Then he sets up his BBQ and a fire pit to complete the scene.  He also pulls a nice trailer with his VW inside along with a variety of tools.
Last night we met Jim and ? - they have a very nice 84 ? Newell classic that has newer LED lighting that Jim custom built throughout - this coach could be a show coach.  The furniture that Jim designed and had built were outstanding as was the craftsmanship with which it was created.  There was a small club chair that my wife absolutely loved and attached to it was a table/TV stand - the TV was on a lift and was hidden until needed - the TV looked to be a 32 inch.  There was a fold-down table built for a computer in front of the passenger chair.  All of the upholstery had been redone and looked brand new!
I should have taken pictures of both of these classic Newells!

Darlene and Tom had a party on Saturday night that was great!  They had tons of food and drinks.  About 200 people showed up!  It was fun for all and the conversation was fantastic.  We met Cindy and Joe Galowitch who own a 1998 Newell (same years as our current coach) and had a great evening talking and exchanging stories with them.  We have a lot of common interests including homes, boats, and Newells.  We hope to see more of them in the future!