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Old 04-01-2016, 06:38 AM   #1
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Talking GNR for July 2016

We are going to make this years GNR. We just purchased a 2015 new Sunova 35G. We plan to get there on July-12-2016 and stay thru July-23-2016. Could you have someone give me some guidance on what seminars to attend that will give me a good overview and operation instructions about my unit. I purchased my Sunova in Katy, TX from Camping World. Their make ready and instruction review personnel are next to nothing. The first person they sent out was a complete dud, so I sent him back to the manager and ask for a better/more qualified person. The next one was not much better. Anyway, I would like to set down with a knowledgeable person that can explain some of the tips and tricks about my unit and give me straight answers on how to solve a problem. I have been reading the instruction books supplied. As always these books are great back-up, refresher information guides after you have had problems. I have picked up some good info from other members blogs explaining their encounters. Thanks for your time and I will be watching for your reply's.
Sandy and Bob Dow and Rambo the Wolf hound 12# poodle.
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Old 04-01-2016, 03:15 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by Texas-Flash View Post
We are going to make this years GNR. We just purchased a 2015 new Sunova 35G. We plan to get there on July-12-2016 and stay thru July-23-2016. Could you have someone give me some guidance on what seminars to attend that will give me a good overview and operation instructions about my unit. I purchased my Sunova in Katy, TX from Camping World. Their make ready and instruction review personnel are next to nothing. The first person they sent out was a complete dud, so I sent him back to the manager and ask for a better/more qualified person. The next one was not much better. Anyway, I would like to set down with a knowledgeable person that can explain some of the tips and tricks about my unit and give me straight answers on how to solve a problem. I have been reading the instruction books supplied. As always these books are great back-up, refresher information guides after you have had problems. I have picked up some good info from other members blogs explaining their encounters. Thanks for your time and I will be watching for your reply's.
Sandy and Bob Dow and Rambo the Wolf hound 12# poodle.
Itasca Sunova 35G 2015
Might see you there! This is our first also. We should be getting some info from the GNR as to what is available and cost. As I understand it, some seminars are free and others are pay. I am thinking I want to go on the factory grand tour but I don't know how much that costs.

If you are having work done go to the service center as soon as you pull in and get an appointment. We have a minor issue that we want FC to take care of.

Happy and safe trails.

Rick Y
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Old 04-01-2016, 03:32 PM   #3
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First thing plant tours don't cost anything and they can be booked in advance. Every tour I have been on has been very interesting. I don't know if they are going to have coach weighing they did last year and I would recommend that if you have not has a 4 wheel weighing.
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Old 04-01-2016, 09:12 PM   #4
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Wink

I have registered for GNR also, and on 7/18 will be buying my very first RV, a 2016 Winnebago Solei 36G from the dealer in Forest City. Witclub has not yet published which seminars they are having. When they are ready, it will be shown here: WIT Club Grand National Rally - Overview | Winnebago International Travelers
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Old 04-02-2016, 10:46 AM   #5
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As for tips and tricks on your new coach.....
All you have to do is stroll around the rally grounds and look for coaches like yours. Folks that go to rallies are always open and friendly and full of real life experiences. You will learn a lot and make new friends too. The rally is so big that you'll see many rigs like yours.

The folks doing the seminars are experienced and know how much seating they'll need, so there's almost always seats available. So when selecting what seminar to attend, you can decide at the last minute and still find a place to sit.....or change your mind and leave one that's not too informative and find another.

Enjoy!
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Old 04-02-2016, 11:12 AM   #6
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First thing plant tours don't cost anything and they can be booked in advance. Every tour I have been on has been very interesting. I don't know if they are going to have coach weighing they did last year and I would recommend that if you have not has a 4 wheel weighing.
I was left with the impression, on one of my trips to FC, that during the GNR a special tour could be purchased that put you on the assembly line. Did I misunderstand? We do enjoy the simple tours when we go.

The 4 wheel, total weigh is always a good thing to do. The grain elevator in town did the total weigh for free. I haven't done it there but some folks were talking of it.

I am looking forward to the experience. This will be our first vacation in years.

Happy trails,
Rick Y
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Old 04-03-2016, 01:20 PM   #7
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Rick
Winn do run several one day bus tours/excursions to places of interest in Iowa and beyond during the week before the Rally. There is a charge for these. If you haven't received the GNR WIT News magazine (ours came last week), you can download it in the WIT Club news from within the Winnebago Industries site. There are 5 or 6 "special" tours around the factories that you can take. You must sign up ASAP for these as they fill up quickly. They are in the GNR issue.
We are attending as well - all the RV seminars and entertainment are free. The seminars are usually put on by the manufacturers so they are well versed in the products. Winn suppliers also have booths/sell in the Hall so you can get some items at excellent prices. If you can, arrive before the Weekend and attend the Puckerbush festivities in Forest City - there is lots to do in the area. Good luck and see you there,
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Old 04-03-2016, 05:43 PM   #8
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Rick
Winn do run several one day bus tours/excursions to places of interest in Iowa and beyond during the week before the Rally. There is a charge for these. If you haven't received the GNR WIT News magazine (ours came last week), you can download it in the WIT Club news from within the Winnebago Industries site. There are 5 or 6 "special" tours around the factories that you can take. You must sign up ASAP for these as they fill up quickly. They are in the GNR issue.
We are attending as well - all the RV seminars and entertainment are free. The seminars are usually put on by the manufacturers so they are well versed in the products. Winn suppliers also have booths/sell in the Hall so you can get some items at excellent prices. If you can, arrive before the Weekend and attend the Puckerbush festivities in Forest City - there is lots to do in the area. Good luck and see you there,
Thanks, Bob, for the info. I just checked the site but didn't find a signup for the special factory tours. Being our first GNR I really don't know what to expect from WIT. I take it that a information package is coming? When do they send those out?

We do enjoy Forest City when we go for service. It is a small town but the folks are friendly and DW loves the quilt shop very much. We go on the standard factory tour at least once each visit. My trip plans bring us in on the 13th. All I can imagine is more RV's in one location than I have ever seen before. Should be fun.

Hope to see you there. Is there a irv2 meeting area??

Happy trails,
Rick Y
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Old 04-03-2016, 06:02 PM   #9
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All the info including a sign up sheet for the factory special tours is in the GNR WIT newsletter that we just received. You can go to the full Winnebagoind web site , click Lifestyle, WIT Club and you will find it to download as a pdf at the WIT club site home page under "WIT Club news" on the top RH corner. The form to register for the special tours is enclosed. You should have received this by now assuming you are a WIT member. Don't know if there will be an IRV2 get together.
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Old 04-04-2016, 08:12 AM   #10
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Rick
All the info including a sign up sheet for the factory special tours is in the GNR WIT newsletter that we just received. You can go to the full Winnebagoind web site , click Lifestyle, WIT Club and you will find it to download as a pdf at the WIT club site home page under "WIT Club news" on the top RH corner. The form to register for the special tours is enclosed. You should have received this by now assuming you are a WIT member. Don't know if there will be an IRV2 get together.
Thanks again, Bob. I take it the limit is not per day but the total is 2 buildings? That is not spelt out. I'll print the form and mail it in ASAP.

See you there if I can.

Rick Y
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Old 04-04-2016, 08:38 AM   #11
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We will be there with the Grandkids as usual. BTW, WIT says bring the Grandkids for a small fee and they will entertain them, and they WILL! It will be the third year for ours and they love it. They will be 11 and 13 this year.

The factory tours are free and I've done them twice. You do not have to sign up early for a factory tour and they are pretty good. They run several a day and you will see almost everything from overhead. It is amazing. They do have special floor tours but I haven't been too interested in them. The tour begins in the museum.

Do rent a golf cart. The grounds are very big and you cannot drive your car or truck around. They do have shuttles running all day and evening, but if you want the flexibility to be on your own you need the golf cart.

All the seminars and entertainment are free. There is music in the afternoon and evening of each day with some very good live entertainment.

There are several food venues where you can purchase lunch, dinner and snacks. Most are pretty darn good. There will be wine and cheese parties in the evenings that are put on by the dealers. Last year there was a car show and a parade.

If you have issues with any of your systems, (such as your frig, ect.), get to the main building as soon as they open on the first day and get your name on a list for repair. Most repairs are done for free except for parts in some cases. We had all the springs on our jacks replaced by HWH last year for the cost of the springs. $10.00 a spring. They came and did it right at our site. Norcold also tuned up our frig. No cost.

They do have wifi, but with around a thousand rigs it gets pretty slow. We will use the hotspot on my iphone.

Winnebago pulls out all the stops for the GNR. They have their own Carnival rides at the park and their employees run them. They also have employees that work with the children every day. There will be dealers there as well offering some pretty good deals. No, they don't chase you around and pressure you, but you will be able to tour all the newest model.

It's a really good party so come and be prepared to have fun.
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Old 04-04-2016, 08:57 AM   #12
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BTW, we will be in the C50 section. In that section you have a larger site and room to park your vehicle alongside your rig. It mean you have 50 amps, but no water or sewer.

There is water at the end of each row and we usually gang up and run hoses to fill our tanks. We just put the hoses out and leave them so anyone can use them.

When you get there go to the main building and purchase tickets to have your grey and black tanks pumped. I forget the cost but it isn't too bad. Then all you do is place the ticket on your windshield under the wiper in the morning, and they will pump you out during the day.

If you go with the state rows you may or may not get 50 amp, and often you are crammed in a very crowded row. Of course if you have friends in that row, that may be preferable.

There are also rows for special groups such as vets, ect.
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Old 04-04-2016, 09:08 AM   #13
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One more bit of info. If you are in a state row or not in the C50 section, your toad will be parked in a parking lot on the periphery of the grounds. There is no room to park it in those rows. You can ride the shuttle to the parking lot, but the best is to have the golf cart.

Of course you really do not need your toad while there.

We use a tow dolly and at the entrance they have us unload the toad and park the tow dolly in a parking area just for them. Then the car can follow the Motorhome to the site and park there. The next thing we do is go get our golf cart. The only time we use the toad is to go into town. There is a really good dealership there in town, (Lictschin), and a good A&W. The grandkids love it.
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Old 04-04-2016, 04:45 PM   #14
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BTW, we will be in the C50 section. In that section you have a larger site and room to park your vehicle alongside your rig. It mean you have 50 amps, but no water or sewer.

There is water at the end of each row and we usually gang up and run hoses to fill our tanks. We just put the hoses out and leave them so anyone can use them.

When you get there go to the main building and purchase tickets to have your grey and black tanks pumped. I forget the cost but it isn't too bad. Then all you do is place the ticket on your windshield under the wiper in the morning, and they will pump you out during the day.

If you go with the state rows you may or may not get 50 amp, and often you are crammed in a very crowded row. Of course if you have friends in that row, that may be preferable.
We bought a pump out ticket last year but we didn't need it really they are $25. You don't need to purchase them too much in advance of need. they sell them in fellowship hall every day. If you go to customer service for repairs while you are out you can dump your tanks at a city park for free it is just up the road from the rally ground. They recommend you dump there before you enter the rally grounds so you are empty. This dump station has multiple dump stations so quite a few RVs can dump at the same time. This is probably the best dump site I have ever seen. We brought our bikes to get around the rally ground so we did not need a golf cart and we got some exercise.
There are also rows for special groups such as vets, ect.
We bought a pump out ticket last year but we didn't need it really they are $25. You don't need to purchase them too much in advance of need. they sell them in fellowship hall every day. If you go to customer service for repairs while you are out you can dump your tanks at a city park for free it is just up the road from the rally ground. They recommend you dump there before you enter the rally grounds so you are empty. This dump station has multiple dump stations so quite a few RVs can dump at the same time. This is probably the best dump site I have ever seen. We brought our bikes to get around the rally ground so we did not need a golf cart and we got some exercise.
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Old 04-05-2016, 08:07 AM   #15
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Good advice. We went to that public dump after the rally and were in a line several blocks long but there are several dump stations so it went fairly quickly.
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Old 04-10-2016, 09:49 AM   #16
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As far as the wheel position weighing, "RVSEF" will be there again this year to provide that service. They will be doing it off the rally grounds.


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Old 04-10-2016, 09:57 AM   #17
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It looks like the entertainment is going to be really good this year. I have been scanning through the WIT magazine and looking forward to the rally.
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Old 04-12-2016, 02:59 PM   #18
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I received my WIT notification today and I tried to sign up for a factory tour. The response I received was that the factory tours are full.

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Old 04-13-2016, 05:39 AM   #19
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I got the same answer, they told me I could stand by the bus stop, if it was not full just get on. Think I will have to pass on this one..
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Old 04-13-2016, 06:55 PM   #20
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I got the same answer, they told me I could stand by the bus stop, if it was not full just get on. Think I will have to pass on this one..
All the other tours are still open. A simple email is all you need to register for other tours. Pick the tour, day and time and send it in. We are planning to have a good time.

Rick Y
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