We just returned from the GEAR rally in Richmond VA. It was our first FMCA rally of any size and here are some of the things that impressed me the most.

1. It was hot..hot...hot at the rally.
2. There were a good number of new coaches to visit at the rally and based on Floorplans I liked a full wall slide Southwind, a Forest River Georgetown (two sinks in the rear bathroom) and a Thor Mandalay the best. I also looked inside a 769,000 dollar Beaver that had so much varnish on the woodwork that the smell almost knocked me down.
3. I have to get me a GAS coach built on the Workhorse UFO chassis. I test drove a Winnie Destination built on the UFO and I could not believe how quiet and stable the ride was..it made such sharp turns at high speeds and never swayed a bit. My wife didn't like the house all that much or who knows we may have bought it on the spot. She also didn't like the payment but I am not sure if that would matter if she loved the coach. BUT..she drove it too and now we are looking for a UFO we both love. That may take some time. (Rexhall is at the top of the list)
4. Mike (driver) the Workhorse rep, who I met at the vendor booth, helped me reduce a repair bill by 480 bucks. He said their authorized repair center overcharged me for an ABS sensor replacement and to call AMEX and have them remove the charge off my card. Thanks Mike!
5. I think I won the first annual Grill Cook off with my Lemon Lime Charcoal grilled Beer Can (Corona) chicken but due to a mess up the 750 dollar gas grill, that was first place prize, went to someone else. My dish was announced as the winner but with the wrong cook and he didn't say a word about it to the officials. When I did, they said well...sorry but the prize is awarded. That made the other campers in my group rather upset and any and all officials they could find over the next two days got an earful about how I was robbed and that included the Rally Master. No big deal to me, I will try again next year. The grill was too big to bring home anyway.
6. A stranded RVer sure appreciates it when you help them. Sunday was the last day of the Rally and so late morning the power was cut off to the parking lot where most of us stayed. My group of three rigs moved to the old Grass Campground behind the speedway grand stand where we had 30 amp service,water and sewer early in the morning. A few rigs stayed in the parking lot. Around 4 pm the temp reached 102 in the shade so the parking lot had to be blistering hot. There was a new Destination made by Winnebago parked over behind our original spot so I went to tell them they could move next to us. The owner, who looked a bit tired and frazzled asked me to come in, I did, and there was his living room slide cocked at a very bad angle. One side of it in..the other side out. He obviously didn't want to move it in that condition and no service people would come out until Monday, the next day. That is a lot of fuel being burnt by his generator. To make a long story short, I checked out his slide motors, saw that they were made by Power Gear, and that the right one was not working. By this time there were three of us putting our heads together to try to get him over to the grass. I ran back to my coach, checked out my Power Gear manual, came back to the Winnie, disconnected the power to the slide motors, threw the safety locks as well, and then two of us using 3/4 sockets, cranked the left side of the slide out to even it up and then cranked the slide all the way in. It was a bit difficult but we did it, He then moved his coach over next to us. Later he came over to my rig to thank us all and being new to the Class A world, stayed to ask a bunch of questions which we gladly answered.

That's it. The Rally was a lot of fun and I look forward to attending my next one.

quote:

Originally posted by -Gramps-:
4. Mike (driver) the Workhorse rep, who I met at the vendor booth, helped me reduce a repair bill by 480 bucks. He said their authorized repair center overcharged me for an ABS sensor replacement and to call AMEX and have them remove the charge off my card. Thanks Mike!

-Gramps-, I suggested that you call AMEX and dispute the changes. That is well within anyone's rights. Now the dealer and AMEX will no doubt go round and round on this and come up with some type of final resolution. I'm sure you'll hear a bit more about the charge from either AMEX or the dealer.

Now that you know how much time Workhorse pays for plus the cost for the speed sensor that should help you achieve a workable resolution.

Thanks again Mike,

I am sure that just as you said the dealer and I should be able to work this out. The AMEX rep said that with your info they saw no problem with reducing the charge.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: -Gramps-,

quote:

Originally posted by -Gramps-:
4. Mike (driver) the Workhorse rep, who I met at the vendor booth, helped me reduce a repair bill by 480 bucks. He said their authorized repair center overcharged me for an ABS sensor replacement and to call AMEX and have them remove the charge off my card. Thanks Mike!

Wow, that is great!!





-Tom