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Newmar Mountain Aire 4001 Rear Diesel Pusher (32-6) by Garth W. Cane

Newmar RVs are built in Nappanee Indiana, just 30 kilometers south of Elkhart. The company was started by two executives from another RV company who felt they could build a better mousetrap. The Newmar brand is a combination of both their names. The company has been managed by Mennonites from the start, in a community of hard-working and talented individuals. The Newmar company started building travel trailers, then fifth wheels and later, motorhomes. Newmar patented the first flat-floor power slideout in motorhomes. Their Mountain Aire line of motorhomes was first introduced in 1990; its first rear diesel motorhomes arrived on the marketplace in 1992. The coach for our evaluation was a 40-foot front entry, three slide unit. Besides a spacious bedroom slide and a passenger-side slideout that contains the freestanding dinette and a swivel recliner chair, there's also a sofa-kitchen slide on the street-side of the motorhome. The passenger-side slideout extends just over two feet and the street side slide extends 18 inches. When these are in the travel position, you can still walk from the front to the rear to use all the appliances and facilities. The cabinets above the sofa look as though they have great storage room, but when you open the doors, you find that they are only about six inches tall inside. This appears to be due to the header board supporting the roof of the slideout. Since many slideouts do not have any cabinets at the top, this allows at least some storage. There are no overhead cabinets in the slide that holds the dinette and swivel chair. The swivel rocker chair in the slide is very comfortable, especially when you put your feet up on the ottoman while watching TV. There is a small end table on the right of this chair with a magazine rack built into it. The dinette table with Corian insert will pull out to form a table for four, and two extra folding chairs are stored in the closet in the bedroom. The chairs are fully upholstered. The freestanding dinette provides a more comfortable seating arrangement as the chairs can be moved around, but you sacrifice the storage that is available under the seats of a standard booth-type dinette. There are two large picture windows in this slideout that have a fabric surround and day/night pleated shades. A three-lamp lighting fixture over the dinette table gives good illumination for either eating or playing cards with friends. The street-side slide houses the sofa that can be made into an extra bed for friends at night and, because of the slide there is ample legroom for stretching out and relaxing. A large window behind the sofa brings light in and offers a great view. Lamps at each end of the sofa provide light for reading in the evening. The kitchen counter is Corian with inserts for the sink covers and also above the range burners. This makes a great work space for those who live to cook. A mirrored backsplash on the wall helps make the kitchen appear larger. The three burner stove top is recessed in the counter and has electronic ignition so you don't need to look for matches. The use of a large microwave above the counter does away with the need for a propane oven, freeing up space below the counter for more storage. The double sink is integrated into the Corian counter and has a window just behind it covered by a mini-blind. A tall faucet at the sink is high enough to allow easy cleanups, while a separate faucet for filtered water sits to the right. At the front edge of the sink is a pull-out condiment drawer. The top space in the over-the-counter cabinets is still restricted by the support mechanism for the roof of the slideout. Under the counter there are plenty of large drawers and the usual large space under the sink for pots and pans, and a wastebasket. Beside this slideout is another storage area that has a full height cabinet since it is outside the slideout. Controls for the Fantastic fan on the ceiling are on this back wall. It can be used as either an exhaust fan to take warm air outside, or as a fan to bring in cool air. A rain sensor on the fan will close the lumidome automatically in inclement weather. Newmar recommends that you always use the vent hood over the stove when cooking, and always turn on the exhaust fans during when showering to keep humidity as low as possible. The bathroom is a walk-through style with the toilet and vanity sink inside an enclosed private area. A tall mirror sits on the wall behind the sink on the passenger side of the vehicle, and a large three-cornered glass enclosed shower, with a larger vanity sink and corner cabinet, on the opposite. The faucets for both the sink and shower have gold accents for a very rich appearance. The water control for the shower is a single type control with a shower head that has multi-pulse effects when rotated. A fold-down seat inside the shower provides comfort and convenience. Another Fantastic vent fan on the ceiling should be used when showering to exhaust the moist air from the coach. Switches in the bathroom control the lights, and the electric heating pads on the waste tanks so that they do not freeze when traveling in colder weather. One extra feature that we noted in this unit was a hook in the hallway to keep your clothes handy - far nicer than having to streak from the shower to the rear closet, especially in cooler weather. Pocket doors slide out to close off the bathroom area for complete privacy from the front living area. Both the kitchen and bath areas have a ceramic tile floor. The large rear bedroom has the bed headboard in the street side slideout for increased floor space, and to allow extra room in front of the dresser. In the overhead cabinet above the window is an electrical panel with all the 120-volt and 12-volt circuit breakers, and the Heart Interface system for controlling the automatic start for the generator when the batteries were low. A full-height cabinet on the left of the window could be used either as hanging storage or as several shelves. Across the rear wall you'll find a full-width wardrobe with sliding mirror doors, with a corner cabinet holding a Sony flat-screen television at the top and an optional combination washer/dryer in the lower section. We have found that the best time to use the washer/dryer is when you are hooked up to the sewer in a campground as the waste water does not have to go into the holding tanks. The sliding doors on the wardrobe had excellent travel locks to prevent them from swishing from side to side as your travel around corners. The windows on both sides of the bedroom can be opened for good cross-ventilation and feature rich looking fabric surrounds with high quality day/night pleated shades. Air conditioning vents in the ceiling distribute cool air evenly, even when the bedroom is closed off with the privacy door. The test coach was built on a Freightliner chassis with a 400 horsepower rear diesel engine. It was equipped with power brakes, power driver window, Allison push-button electronic transmission, air applied parking brake, an engine retarder brake, HWH computerized leveling jacks, and adjustable brake and accelerator pedals. The Smart Steering Wheel had controls for the headlights, cruise control, windshield wipers, and four-way flashers so that you didn't need to take your hands off the wheel. The dash held the usual controls and gauges such as fuel, transmission and oil temperature, rpm, and the speedometer. Most controls were on the left side of the dash where they were more easy to reach by the driver. The center console included the AM/FM stereo radio with CD player, along with a screen that came out to show the backup monitor and could be used for travel information with the TripTek system. Above the windshield was the large Sony flat-screen color TV, with Bose surround sound system. A Winegard television antenna on the roof allowed access to local stations, and the coach could be equipped with either a Winegard or KVH satellite receiving system for access to the 300 channel universe. The windows on each side of the driving area could be protected from the sun with pull-down see-through shades. The exterior of the coach has fully painted graphics with the front coated with Diamond Shield 3M protective film to prevent rock chips. A stainless steel ladder leads to the gelcoated fiberglass roof with 1/4-inch foam R7 insulation in both ceiling and walls (he floor has R11 insulation). At the rear is a 10,000 pound hitch and wiring, and a rear protective guard to stop stones from being thrown up on your tow car. There are individual awnings over each window and lots of exterior storage space. The rear compartment on the curb side stores the engine batteries and four six-volt house batteries. The Trace inverter is right next to the battery compartment and connected with short heavy duty wiring. A large slideout tray in one compartment pulls out on the curb side only although this section is accessible also from the opposite side of the coach. This area also houses the control mechanism for the 21-foot Weather Pro awning. One large compartment just behind the entry door is a pass-through storage area, but you have to remember to remove items from the storage compartments before you extend the slideouts. On the opposite side you will find the 50 ampere power cord and the fresh water hose on automatic rewind reels. One area has the dump station with water filter system, external shower, hot and cold water drains, basement heater blower fan, water pump, and winterizing kit. There is also a hand towel and soap dispenser here - talk about a nice feature! Under the street-side slideout, there are two large storage areas and another ahead of the front tire that contains circuit breakers, and the controller for the Smart Steering Wheel. Overall, storage capacity is excellent. The Mountain Aire 4001 is an excellent coach for long term travel. The almost-identical model 4007 offers the same basic layout but without the curb side slideout - another option for those who would prefer to give up the slideout in favor of increased sitting and entertaining space under the awning. Either way, the Mountain Aire is a delightful motorhome. (Page Top)