Our New Newmar Motorhome

March 8-17, 2023

We used to have a 2019 Newmar Dutch Star 4369. We thought it was our "forever home" and we loved it dearly. But then we lost it in an unpredicted windstorm when it toppled over. We cleaned out our stuff and stayed with friends while we figured our life out. We settled in, planning on shopping for a long while to find our next "forever home." This is the third part in a three-part series about that stage in our lives.

We knew we wanted a Newmar because it fit us so well, and because of how well it survived the incident. Most of the inside of the coach was too destroyed to use, but the outer walls and chassis were in very good shape. It seemed like it would protect us well if anything happened again. Newmar makes beautiful and tough motorhomes.

We thought about going with a Super C instead of a Class A coach so we could tow more, but in the end we came back to the same model, a Dutch Star 4369. We would also look at the Mountain Aire 4551 if there were any.

We were staying just south of Tucson, and there was a Newmar dealer in south Tucson. We took an afternoon to go up to Freedom RV and see what they had. We figured we would make a new relationship with a salesperson who could help us find our new coach. We walked in and started working with Marlena, who was friendly and very knowledgeable about Newmars.

She took us out to look at their limited stock, and she said we might want to consider the Dutch Star 4325. It was a new model for the 2023 year, and it was the same size as the 4369 with a different floorplan. The kitchen was bigger, with additional counter and storage space. The guest bathroom was a little bigger, with more storage space. The bedroom was exactly the same. The master bathroom gave up some space to make it all work.

We didn't want to spend the money it would take to get a new Newmar, but we wanted to see it just because we were there. It had upgraded paint they use on their Essex model (fancy!), and anyone who knows Margot knows how much she loves the color blue. It was blue, white, and black, and all gorgeous.

We loved it, of course. But there was no way, right? Marlena told us to make an offer, and we gave them what we thought was a ridiculously low amount of money. After a tiny bit of bargaining, our offer was accepted. What?! It was listed on their website so we grabbed the sales photos. Take a look!

It's beautiful, and better than our previous coach (though we will miss that massive master bathroom from time to time). We traded the big sofa bed with an air mattress for theater seating (benefits and drawbacks to both). The other couch folds out to a queen bed, so we can still have visitors. The kitchen will let us have a toaster oven (we missed having one!), and all of the storage is a game changer.

One thing we really liked was the flooring. Instead of the glassy, shiny stone floor that showed every drop of water and every bit of dust, we would have a white and gray floor with texturing in the stone that would show marks a lot less. You are all now welcome to wear shoes in the house.

The wait was torture

Freedom RV washed it before we went to pick it up, and some of the paint flecked off on a piece of trim. Thankfully, it wasn't on one of the huge sides of the coach, just a piece about three inches in diameter. It was surprising for a new Newmar coach. But it had to go to the body shop for four days. We spent the weekend before it left just moving almost everything in, and then it left to get work done.

We picked it up and finally started living in it just two days before a four-week mark since losing the last coach. Four weeks! We moved so much, and we were exhausted -- but very happy. We were off on our next adventure, and in a few short weeks we'd be caught up to the schedule we had planned for 2023 before all of this happened.

We think her name will be Darcy. Darcy the Dutch Star. What do you think?

We were safe, happy, and Lacey (our Mini Australian Labradoodle) was doing well with all of the change. It looked like our future was going to be bright!

Use the buttons below to read the entire story from the beginning. We welcome your comments -- follow us here to see where we take our new coach as we live in it full time. Thanks for visiting!