Our mini-city of RV folks has been quite fun. Last night we had a happy hour after getting our coaches back and someone told us about an all-you-can-eat barbeque restaurant in a nearby town. So, spontaneously, about 20 of us jumped into several cars and we drove to the restaurant. It was a wonderful time. We shared stories about how we got into RVing and where we planned to go. One couple is headed to Mesa, Arizona. It was fun listening to them describe it from the previous winter and why they could not wait to get back. They rent a place in a park with all kinds of activities and club groups. We will have to check out the place sometime in the future.

I met a guy named Warren who told me about many of the RV parks he has visited across the country. He prints out something from their websites and they keeps them in a notebook. We went through his trips through the south of the US as well as his trips through the western states. I have visited some of the same towns, but it is really nice to have names of parks that handle large motorhomes with easy access to main roads.

This is my first time to Winnebago factory, so I went on the tour of their facilities. I went in the two huge buildings where our motorhome was made. They make about 35 to 40 motorhomes every day. Some class C, some gas motorhomes, and some diesel pushers like ours. I was quite impressed with how it is set up. I had heard that this facility was the largest RV manufacturing facility in the US. On the tour, they told us it was the largest RV manufacturing facility in the world. They also said they are looking for about 200 more workers because the demand for RVs is large. Their production is currently limited by their number of workers.

Each day, we meet with our technician working on our coach in the morning and end of the work shift. I have been very impressed with what they have done and how they have traced down the recurrent problem with our matrix system. They thought everything might be finished tomorrow.

Well, I make it to the Winnebago factory in Forest City, Iowa. I discovered a small, friendly city of people bringing their RVs for repairs and upgrades. There are back-in sites available with 50 amp service. Nearby, there is the Winnebago Rally Grounds that has water and multiple dump stations.

Forest City is quite isolated. Minneapolis is two hours north and Des Moines is two hours south. The big thing for visitors to do here is a tour of the Winnebago factory. I am going to try and go on the tour sometime this week. Supposedly, this is the largest RV factory in the U.S. It is sort of funny that this small town in rural Iowa has had such a large impact on the RV industry.

As soon as I pulled in and unhooked the Jeep, I was greeted by several people already parked. One gentleman from Seattle got out and helped guide me into my site as I backed up the motorhome. Along with several other people, this is my first trip to Winnebago. Others bring their rigs here yearly for various items rather than work with local dealers.

We meet our service technicians every morning at 7:00 am with our rig’s ready to be driven and we get them back at 3:00 pm and the technicians is supposed to tell us what they accomplished that day. The low was 37 degrees this morning, so it was nippy and dark waiting outside for the Customer Service doors to open at 7:00 am.

At 3:30 pm, all the RVers gather around and have a happy hour to talk about the latest information about their coach repairs, where they are going next, and where they have been. Forest City is a very small town and sometimes groups of RVers go to various restaurants together.

One couple has a motorhome that was struck by lightning and they keep discovering different things that were damaged. They have been here several weeks having work done. One guy loves coming to Forest City yearly. He thinks Winnebago does great work. He was telling me some of his favorite RV locations and Vernal, Utah (where I was born) is one of his favorite places. He was surprised when I told him I was born there. He gave me names of a number of places he really likes to take his RV in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. He thought California and Colorado were not very RV friendly. It was fun comparing notes on places we have visited.

Winnebago has an area with WIFI and coffee where we wait while our coaches are being worked on. Groups of people are discussing where they like to take their RVs for winter. One group likes to go to Florida and another group likes to go to Arizona. It is fun to listen to their perspectives.