WIT Rally in July

We are interested in attending the WIT Rally this July.  (Dar sent me the link)  Anyone have any suggestions as to which sites are best?  Also, any of you that have attended prior...are there certain breakouts we should definitely attend?  Thanks in advance.  It would be nice to meet some fellow forumers....LOL

Hi Mikie, guess who?  ;D

4ducksrus said:

Anyone have any suggestions as to which sites are best? 

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You can't pick a site per say, those are assigned upon arrival. You can choose a section referred to as "parking areas" on the registration form (there are descriptions on the form). As you probably noticed on the form section C-50 is already filled up which is 50amp with your car at your coach. If you want 50amp then you should reserve Section E asap because that books up early as well. The remainder, other than dry camping, of course have 30amp. Personally I would recommend your state row if you would like to meet people from your home area, you might make some good friends that are easy to get together at later dates with and could join your local area chapter Winnie group. Lower D (also 30amp) is a little bit more spaced out than the state rows and is generally the next to fill after 50amp.

4ducksrus said:

are there certain breakouts we should definitely attend? 

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Not sure what you mean by "breakouts" but there are seminars and such that you will receive an itinerary for upon check-in. You don't have to pre-schedule those, you just show up to whichever one you would like. After you mail in your registration form you will receive a special seminar/class sign up packet with classes that have limited room, such as; MH driving lessons for woman, convection microwave cooking, quilting, etc. You also at that point can sign up for the different Winnie factory tours. That gets mailed in and you receive confirmation back with reservations.

4ducksrus said:

It would be nice to meet some fellow forumers

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Last year John Canfield was nice enough to get us on the itinerary so that we had a tent reserved to get together and meet. I am not sure if him and his wife will be attending this year or not but I am sure he will be along to let us know.

Pheww, Sorry, that was probably TMI!
Dar

Well done Dar!!  You covered everything except our attendance - we won't be at the 2011 Grand National Rally, we will be hanging out in some of our western states and wheeling our Rubicon.

I need to start a 2011 GNR sticky thread so we can get some excitement going for this year's event.  We really enjoy the GNRs and for us, attending about every other year works out quite well.  There are a bunch of GNR 'junkies' that haven't missed a year's attendance for many, many years.  Every Winnebago Industries product owner really needs to attend at least one GNR in their lifetime.  Chances are, one won't be enough!

Maybe somebody will step up to host a 2011 GNR Meet and Greet?!?!?

John Canfield said:

we won't be at the 2011 Grand National Rally, we will be hanging out in some of our western states and wheeling our Rubicon.

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Yep, I was afraid you'd say that  :'( but wheeling with the Rubicon sounds like a blast!

John Canfield said:

I need to start a 2011 GNR sticky thread so we can get some excitement going for this year's event. 

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That sounds like a great idea!

John Canfield said:

Maybe somebody will step up to host a 2011 GNR Meet and Greet?!?!?

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I'd offer but at this point we are not even sure we will be there. Therefore I vote for Marty & Diane ;D, no pressure!

Dar said:

Therefore I vote for Marty & Diane ;D, no pressure!

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I think that's a great idea!

I guess my work convention language got into that one...we call "classes/sessions" breakouts.  That's what I was referring to.  I looked at the itinerary and noticed that there were some classes scheduled and wondered if some were better than others?  Also, we have a small star in our windshield that is supposed to be covered under our warranty (was there when we purchased rig and it's on our contract to have it covered).  We were thinking we would like to have it done at the factory and wondered if this was even a possibility and if so would it be possible to have it done at the same time as the rally?

Hard to say what seminar sessions are better than others - some might appeal to you, some to your co-pilot.  I think they all have some value and those that focus on explaining your coach internals will be the most valuable to you.

Winnebago will not accept (they won't file with the insurance company) third-party insurance for repairs during the rally and a period of time on either side of the rally.  Getting repairs done at the factory is an outstanding idea - it is one of the very few places I trust with my Horizon.

Our dealer said to take it to any authorized Winnebago repair center and that they will pick up the bill.  We will pay up front and then be reimbursed so, I'm thinking we could have it done at the factory...right?  If I'm understanding you correctly, I can have it done there, just not during the rally.  Do they make appointments?  That way we could plan it into one of our trips.  The star is barely noticeable and they did repair it, but we want to have it gone since the MH is brand new to us.  Thanks for all of your information.

John Canfield said:

Winnebago will not accept (they won't file with the insurance company) third-party insurance for repairs during the rally and a period of time on either side of the rally.  Getting repairs done at the factory is an outstanding idea - it is one of the very few places I trust with my Horizon.

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Winnebago completely handled our insurance claim for a windshield replacement at the rally last year.  The factory is "Busy" that week and worked on over 600 coaches last year.  It might help to get to Forest City early or stay late if you need extensive repairs.

John is correct in that they will not file with "Extended Warranty" types of insurance for you.

We attended our first GNR last year and loved it. We learned so much!

We stayed in the California row (with our WIT chapter) even though we had Texas plates and flew our Kansas Jayhawk flag. We had many folks wondering where we were really from!

If you have a state row that you "belong" to, go there. It's lots of fun. If not, the 50A area is nice. And, there are plenty of fun folks there, too.

As new DP owners, we made a point to attend every seminar we could about systems - Freightliner, HWH, Winnebago Systems, and a bunch more, plus a couple of sessions related to fulltime RVing. It was all good! We were so done at the end of each day we missed most of the evening entertainment. But, we heard great things about that!

Arrive a few days early, if you can. The pre-rally festivities are fun. And, if you need service, schedule it for after the rally. If you can go somewhere for a week and come back, all the better. Folks at the service center will be in a better mood by then.

It was great to get together with other rvforum folks. (Thanks again, John, for pulling that together.) We won't be at GNR this year, as we'll be Jeepin' somewhere in Colorado.

Where are you gonna' be, John? Actually, I think we're not far from you, now. We've been in Kerrville for the last couple of months. Aren't we close to your 'hood?

We highly recommend GNR. Enjoy!

Mary

4ducksrus said:

Do they make appointments? 

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No appointments for service during the rally and a week or two on either side of the rally - first come-first served.  We try to arrive at least a week early and sign up for service first thing so we can get our service done before the rally begins.

Boris and Natasha said:

We won't be at GNR this year, as we'll be Jeepin' somewhere in Colorado.

Where are you gonna' be, John? Actually, I think we're not far from you, now. We've been in Kerrville for the last couple of months. Aren't we close to your 'hood?

We highly recommend GNR. Enjoy!

Mary

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Well said Mary! 

We are currently in Las Cruces, NM participating in the Chili Challenge off-road event.  Here's a link to my comments about the event and some pictures in the Rubicon Owner's Forum.  Yup - Kerrville isn't too far from us when we're home, we're a few miles west of Harper.  We will also be doing Jeepin' in Colorado this summer - perhaps we can meet up.  Maybe we can hold the first annual RV Forum Off-Road Event!

We attended last year as "first timers" We really had a great time and we attended many seminars and did a couple Winnebago plant tours. we still were not able to do as much as we wanted, but maby this year we (I) will.

A couple of things for a first timer....
Instead of going directly to the campground when first arriving go to the park (I am sure others can give better directions than my feeble memory can), dump your holding tanks and fill your water tanks.There is a "honey wagon" and the cost in 2010 was $20 for the service.People will use the buddy system with water hoses to help refill the water tanks if you need it later in the week.

The sights may not be level so bring a shovel and some leveling blocks (They will have some wood there for leveling).

Your tow vehicle will be parked and not used on site. You can either take the free trolley or rent a golf cart (Cost last year was $240 and if you wanted a canopy on the golf cart it was another $60 or maby it was $30...I forget... :)

It was a great experience and a lot of fun. This year we probably wont go on all the factory tours because there is soooo much other things to do. The entertainment was fantastic too.

Went to my first GNR in 1990 and several others as the years passed.  I have always felt the week prior to the official rally was more fun.. The tours and special events normally take place during this time and during the rally you will be very busy attending seminars, club meetings,  entertainment and if you take kids picking them up from their activities.  As said getting work done is possible but a little tenuous.

A must do is dinner at the Branding Iron Restaurant in Thompson, about 20 miles away, a good meat and potato place.  Bill's Market is a fully stocked store as good as any Safeway or other super market. Liquor etc is a little pricey so consider taking your own.  On Tuesday a row party is held so check with your state president to see what they have in mind, and if you don't  have one or don't belong you just stop in at any one you choose to visit. Pucker Brush Days is a town sponsored event although not the Rose Parade it is well attended and lots of fun.

The rally has gone on for over 40 some years so the ins and outs are well covered and staff knows what they are doing.  Their goal is to have you enjoy the experience.  My preference for parking is lower D although first go around I would  stay in the state row, there is where the action is.

Don, 70041

With about 1500 rigs in attendance you will find someone to mentor you, believe me it is a great place to visit

I'm locking this thread since we already have a 'sticky' thread started to be the primary GNR info source.