Newmar Baystar 3014 – 1-Year Review (2 of 3)

We purchased our 2023 Newmar Baystar 3014 at the end of September 2022. This is our 1-ish year review of the motorhome. In the first part, I explained why we love our Baystar and how we’ve upgraded several of the systems.

In this post, I’ll circle back to the delivery experience and warranty issues we’ve had to date. I’ll then follow-up with a final post on several things we’ve learned about Newmar Baystar’s in the last year.

My Experience with the Dealer

Our two previous motorhomes were Winnebago’s, so we didn’t know where to shop for a Newmar. We asked Newmar and they sent us to a dealer a little south of Sacramento CA. Frank, the sales person, was great to deal with. He specialized in Newmar’s, so was a good source of information, and he was low key in his approach.

We liked what we heard, and started to talk to him about ordering one from the factory to our specifications. He was able to get us one of their allocations on the factory assembly line so they could start building it almost right away. We were thrilled about that. He also worked with us on a fair discount for the purchase and a good value for our trade-in, a 2017 Winnebago Adventurer 35P. After a deposit, it was time to relax and wait for the motorhome to be built and delivered.

Newmar was awesome to work with, as they let you choose from many factory options and will even customize the rig if you want additional outlets or different exterior colors, etc. They even gave us a personal virtual factory tour, with our tour guide walking through the factory with her camera while we zoomed. Once our RV construction was in-progress, Chris was even able to send us several photos of our motorhome on the factory floor. Im not sure they are still so accommodating, but I thought the personal attention was amazing and something I wouldn’t have expected for a gas coach. Kudos to Newmar!

Mid-September, we got word the motorhome was complete and on its way across the country to us, 2,000 miles away! When the dealer received the coach, Frank sent us a few photos on the lot right away. He said it would be ready for delivery in the next day! That should have raised some yellow flags for me. So far, I’d grade the whole experience as a “A”, but that was about to change.

Probably 95% of sales at this dealer are trailers and fifth wheels. I think they just didn’t know how to deliver a Newmar appropriately. When I showed up, they had the motorhome on the lot, all cleaned up. But I noticed that all over the motorhome were swirls and halos in the direct sunlight. I didn’t know enough to document the paint issue then, but I’ve learned a lot since. Newmar has a specific process for washing and caring for the coach. Part of that is no brushes. I think they used stiff brushes in a circular motion to clean the motorhome after the long journey, and in the process, marred the paint. Because I didn’t document the issue at the time, it ended up costing me thousands to remove the swirls and halos they created on day 1. I’ll chock that one up to experience.

In Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI), they found a problem with the refrigerator, but missed several obvious issues, including chips in the paint and Diamond Shield, a loose propane connector, a leaking faucet, several missing accessories (tablet holder, remotes, etc.), and a king bedspread on a queen mattress. I would have been happy to wait a few days so they could wash it appropriately and inspect it throughly. So, unfortunately, I’d have to give their delivery process an “F”. I hope they have improved since.

For warranty issues, they were frustrating to work with, wanting to keep the motorhome for weeks while they got to the issues in their timeframe. After a few interactions, I convinced the Service Advisor to have it ready to work on when I brought it in. Even with that, after “fixing” the awning, steps and fridge, I had to bring it back multiple times for rework. They weren’t bad people and they tried at some level. I’m thinking they were just overworked and didn’t feel the need to listen and provide quality work. Once we got through the initial issues, I decided never to bring it back to them. I’d give their service department a “C-“, which is the same grade I’d give them overall. I didn’t mention their name on purpose as I’d rather share solid recommendations only.

Our Warranty Issues in the first year

What were our issues? I’ll describe each one. None are major, and none caused us to delay plans or ruin a camping trip. While the list may look long to you, it’s about normal for a motorhome, and most of these were easy fixes. Overall, I was very satisfied with the build quality. We’ve had no major issues with the chassis or house or major systems to speak of.

CAB

• Passenger window hard to lock. This was a potential security issue, so a NewServe Mobile Tech came out to our site in Mesa AZ and fixed this for us under warranty by shaving the plastic part of the lock just enough for a great fit. NewServe (part of Newmar) and Damian are awesome to work with.
• Driver seat lost power and does not lock in place. I fixed the power issue myself. The wires in the seat pulled apart and it was an easy fix. The seat locking in place was a safety issue and NewServe fixed it by bending the bracket back in place. Both were probably caused by turning the seat around too far by me or the dealer, and not a factory issue, but I appreciated Newmar covering it under warranty.

KITCHEN

• Refrigerator door would not seal. This was caught during PDI, and Newmar chose to replace the entire fridge. This was caught during PDI but the dealer still chose to deliver the motorhome to me and not tell me until the walk-through. When they replaced the fridge they left it sticking into the hallway about 2 inches further than the factory. When the slides are retracted, that makes a difference, so I had them rework it.
• Leaking kitchen faucet. This was an internal failure, rather than a loose connection, and the dealer replaced the faucet. This should have been caught during PDI, but luckily I did during the walk-through.
• Squeaky dinette table. The dealer adjusted and lubed the table. This should have been caught during PDI, but luckily I did during the walk-through.
• Freezer shelf rusting. The shelf in the freezer was starting to rust and Newmar sent me a new one under warranty.

EXTERIOR

• Awning does not open consistently. The dealer tried to fix this 3 times. I explained to the tech that it looked like the Carefree awning “tractioner” was mis-aligned, but he told me it was designed to work that way. NewServe fixed the issue by adjusting the tractioner. 🙂 He came to my site with a new motor, but that wasn’t needed, after all.
• Squeaking steps. This was the most frustrating issue of all. The steps squeaked horribly when entering the coach (Here is a video to demonstrate). This should have been caught during PDI, but luckily I did during the walk-through. I took it back to the dealer three times to fix the issue and they couldn’t. NIRVC tried and even worked with Newmar to fix and didn’t make progress before I had to leave for home. NewServe inspected it and thought the sub-structure may need to be re-built. Finally, Newmar made arrangements with Lippert to replace the steps at DeMartini RV in Grass Valley CA. Only after they replacing the steps, the squeak was still there….maybe worse than ever! Tony Hartman at Demartini RV was the only one who took the time to troubleshoot the issue right on the spot. I stepped on the stair while he got underneath to locate the problem area. After about 10 minutes, he said he knew what was causing the issue and could fix it for good!! He added a rubber gasket between the RV structure and the steps, and it’s now a joy to walk into the motorhome! Thanks, Tony and DeMartini RV!
• Power wire to hitch. It turns out Newmar builds all their motorhome with the power wire in the hitch disconnected. I’m not sure if they expect the dealer to complete this during PDI. NIRVC hooked up the power wire and Newmar covered the cost under warranty, which I appreciated.
• Rear Cap Imperfections. After about a 9 months, some small cracks in the fiberglass developed in three places near the bottom of the rear cap. I thought maybe it was from rocks hitting the backside of the fiberglass, but Newmar believed it was imperfections in the fiberglass and agreed to have DeMartini RV cover the repair under warranty. They did a great job on the bodywork!
• Missing accessories. The dealer found and/or replaced the missing bedroom remote and tablet holder, and the correct sized bedspread (king provided instead of queen). This should have been caught during PDI, but luckily I did during the walk-through.
• Scratch on hood and tears on Diamond Shield. The dealer repaired the paint and replaced the affected Diamond Shield under warranty. This should have been caught during PDI, but luckily I did during the walk-through.

GENSET

• Fuel pump failed. During my monthly testing the generator would die after about 20 minutes. I took it to Holley Generator in the Sacramento area and they replaced the fuel pump under warranty.
• Rubber gaskets broken. The rubber gaskets that keep the generator door closed were torn and Newmar sent me new ones under warranty.

SLIDES

• Full-Wall Slide out of alignment. During a long trip, the front side of the FWS did not close completely, leaving a 1-inch gap. It may have been caused by some construction debris I found (small block of wood and screw) when inspecting the area by hand. DeMartini RV reset the slides and covered the cost under warranty.
• Bedroom slide loosened trim. When retracting the bedroom slide, I heard a pop and noticed the trim above the bed move! The dealer said the slide locking mechanism was hitting some trim and fixed it by simply removing the trim. It was in an area you could not see and I was happy with the fix.

My Service and Repair Network

So there you have it. All of the issues were easy fixes or replacements, except the step issue. I sincerely appreciate Nick at DeMartini RV for spending a little time troubleshooting to find the creative and practical solution. In fact, I can’t say enough about the people at DeMartini in the SF Bay Area, and NIRVC everywhere else. Knowing I can count on reliable and quality repairs and maintenance is key to us enjoying our motorhome experience. While not a warranty issue, NIRVC also came through big time on bodywork needed after hitting an animal that had strayed onto the highway. They kept our summer vacation on track and lived up to their reputation for great bodywork! I wrote about it in this blog post, When Bad Things Happen to Good RV’s.

On all of these warranty issues, Newmar really came through and went the extra mile for me. Knowing they had my back gave me confidence that any issues I came across would be resolved well.

I feel blessed to have found several great repair facilities in the last year, all of which I would give 5-star reviews to (Note I have not received any compensation for these recommendation — just grateful for their service to the RV community), including:

• Repair and Maintenance – 
  • DeMartini RV – Grass Valley CA
  • NIRVC – Las Vegas NV and Surprise AZ
• Solar and Battery – AM Solar, Springfield OR
• Suspension – Henderson Lineup, Grants Pass OR
• Liquid Spring – DZ Services, Sacramento CA
• Generator – Holley Generator, Rancho Cordova CA
• Mobile Repair and Maintenance – NewServe (part of Newmar), AZ, CA and FL

 

If you’re still with me after this long post, I hope this DETAILED account of our first year in the Baystar will prove useful to you. Even with everything you have just read about, we still managed more RV travel than ever! Now that our first year is out of the way, we look forward to many more years of enjoying our Newmar Baystar.

 

However, no manufacturer is perfect and there are many interesting things and peculiarities we have learned about Newmar’s and Baystar’s in the last year. My final 1-Year Review post will detail what we’ve learned along the way, in hope that it may prepare and equip you for your Newmar Baystar. I also hope to learn more about my Baystar from your comments!

Al & Deb