Meet our new Bay Star!

We purchased a 2023 Newmar Baystar 3014 back in May, and were waiting with anticipation over the summer as they built it in Nappanee, Indiana at the Newmar factory.

We had been thinking about trading in our Adventurer for awhile, and I had been looking at class A diesel pushers and had it narrowed down to a few models.

However, after thinking through how we want to use the motorhome in the future, and what we’ve learned over the last few years about our needs and preferences, in the end we decided to downsize, instead!

Then , when Newmar came out with a redesigned Bay Star for 2023, we we knew we had found our next motorhome.

We loved the reputation of Newmar, the functional floor plan for a couple, the updated look of the interior, and improvements to the electronics, such as adding Car Play and a matrix lighting system.

It’s hard spending that much money for something you have never seen in person, but we had the online photos, and we toured a 2022 version of a similar model at the dealer, Manteca RV. Still, there is a lot of faith involved in the process.

The factory notified us when they began the build process, and kept us informed along the way. They provided a live virtual tour of the plant, walking us through the entire factory. We were able to ask questions and tailor the tour to our interests.

They also sent a few photos of our coach during construction. It’s always a good sign when they let you see the process of making the sausage.

Newmar makes all of their coaches, from the Bay Star to the London Aire, on the same line. So our coach could be right next to their top of the line coach.

Finally, Frank, our salesman, called to let us know our Bay Star had made the 2,200 mile journey from the factory all the way to Manteca.

We were thrilled to pick up the new RV on September 15!

Before going on our first RV Trip, I had planned to install a new suspension system called Liquid Spring. It replaces the existing shocks and springs for a new computer controlled hydraulic system that makes our big RV drive like it’s an SUV. We are more than happy with the Liquid Spring suspension, and I’ll tell you all about that in our next post! In the meantime, here’s additional information and a link to their web site.

Here’s a few interior photos to introduce you to our Bay Star.

At the front are two captains chairs, that swivel to face the living area when camping. These are very comfortable and a great place for conversation or watching TV. The table in the middle transforms into a middle console when on the road. Note the large Car Play monitor in back, that also displays the side and rear cameras.

Looking to the rear you can see the rest of the coach. It measures only 30’ 11”, but feels as big as our last coach inside. We gave up mostly storage space, but we have found a place for everything in the new coach and still have empty drawers and storage compartments! Also note the high 7 foot ceiling and the hidden AC units. Even when running, it is very quiet inside.

The dinette sits next to a large picture window. We like having a window on the passenger side, overlooking our camp. The TV, with a Bose sound bar, is well-placed for watching from the dinette, sofa, or captains chairs. This layout is actually similar to our Winnebago and we loved it. Note the storage under the dinette benches and the large drawers under the entertainment center.

Newmar is known for their woodworking (being located in Amish country). The slide headers and cabinet doors are solid wood. We like the functionality of the kitchen and it feels more spacious than in our last RV. The counter over the stove simply folds back when needed, and the convection microwave takes care of our baking needs. The refrigerator is a residential model, so no more soft ice cream!

The bathroom has a good layout, and the shower is larger than our last RV at 30” x 40”. We also have a Truma on demand water heater, so unless we are dry-camping, showers can be as long as we like.

We also love the multiplex lighting and other controls for the coach, operated from this 10” monitor, or anywhere you might expect a light switch. Its nice to be able to turn off all the lights in the coach after you are in bed, for instance…no more getting up to turn off a light that was left on!

The bedroom is snug but functional. We like the rear window and it will be nice when camping at the ocean in a back-in space.

The reason our motorhome feels so spacious is this full wall slide that extends the living space by over 2 feet!

Back to the front of the RV, here is where we spend most of our time while indoors. It’s nice and bright, and a great place to hang out. Of course, we have an RV to travel and enjoy other areas, so we don’t spend too much time indoors. But when we do, it feels like home!

We’ll continue our adventures in our new Bay Star and have some exciting trips planned in the coming year. We hope you will travel along with us as we write about our travels along the way.

Next stop, however, is Sacramento to install the Liquid Spring suspension!

Here’s a 5 minute video walkthrough of the interior of our Bay Star. I plan to follow up later with a video of the exterior, after the Liquid Spring installation and a solar panel and Lithium battery upgrade later this year.

Al & Deb