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Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Déjà Vu All Over Again

We are still here at the Winnebago Service Center in Forest City, Iowa.  Almost all the work has been done on our Journey and it has been top notch.  I can see why so many people say it’s worth the trip to come here.  Mike, our service technician has been great and has kept us informed all along the way of the progress.

At promptly 7 am every morning (except today, more on that later) he arrives at our door and takes the Journey into one of the 36 repair bays at the Service Center.  Again, promptly at 3 pm, he has the Journey returned to us for the evening.

So far, along with the repaired slide leak, we have a new set of three deep cycle batteries,

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a fully tested and functional inverter, as well as a nice shiny, clean windshield, at no cost to us because our insurance company picked up the tab for that.  :c)

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Still remaining is the replacement of the cracked exhaust pipe.  The black spot is where the pipe cracked.  The new pipe was ordered but didn’t come in yesterday as expected so we had a day off.  Mike called this afternoon to confirm the pipe arrived today and will be installed tomorrow.  He also will take care of a couple of loose body bolts that were discovered.

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Having the day off gave us a chance to sleep in a bit and later take the Winnebago Factory Tour.  They build 40 motorhomes a day and there were chassis, parts, partially and fully assembled unpainted motorhomes all over the place as well as completed, painted and ready to ship units as far as the eye could see. I’m talking in the hundreds of units.

They have the building process down to a science and the computer controlled machinery used to assemble the motorhomes is very impressive.  Unfortunately, no cameras are allowed on the tour, so you’ll have to use your imagination.

In the Visitor Center they have a 1967 D-22 Brave motorhome on display, nicknamed the “Eyebrow” style because of the front overhanging cap.  It has been restored and is fun to walk inside and look at.

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They also have this sign next to it.

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For 2015 they are coming out with a new model, a retro looking Class A with the “Eyebrow” cap as well as the same paint scheme and colors.

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We saw one on the lot already built and it looked pretty cool.  You can read more about it here.  It brought a smile to our faces.

After the tour, what better way to enjoy a treat that to have some ice cream at the place Sherry recommended.  Thanks Sherry!  :c)

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If all goes well tomorrow and the work is completed we’ll avail ourselves of Winnebago’s free overnight site and head out on Friday for our next destination, as soon as we figure it out.  Ah, Semper Gumby (Always Flexible).

Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.

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17 comments:

  1. I appreciate your review on the Winnebago facility. Seems I've found a little leak underneath, and may need them...

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  2. WOW Paul they are bringing back the Brave and you were the first to tell us. Winnona and I are thrilled. Can't wait to read all about it. Are we talking a smaller RV here like the Brave actually was? Glad you went to Scoopy's the folks there are really really nice home town folks.

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    1. Yes it's going to be in two versions, a 26 and a 27 foot model.

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  3. Thanks for the review of the tour and visitors center. Love your Semper Gumby - my husband is retired USMC. Very clever. Becki

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  4. We had heard that Winnebago was bringing back the eyebrow. Seems that is counterproductive. It has to hurt the gas mileage.

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  5. So glad the repairs are going well and are not too "exhausting." :)

    Soon you'll be back on the road again!

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  6. Should you head north, you do not want to miss the Spam museum:)

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  7. Happy to hear that the things are going fine! have a nice journey!

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  8. Paul so good to hear that all of your repairs are being taken take of promptly. I usually will agree with you, but that new "brow" version is just butt ugly.

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  9. Yay! Glad they've treated you so well there. Cute name of the ice cream place, hope the treat was as good as the name!

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  10. Nice to get your land yacht ship shape again, then on the road!

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  11. Cute new-old rig ... too bad the price won't be retro either ;-)

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  12. It's not often you can find repair folks quite like those at Winnebago. It's too bad they can't just drive the Journey in the stall at 7 AM with you still in bed. What difference would it make? Finding a free place to park the rig is great too. Maybe you can just "camp" there next time you go through.

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  13. Oh gosh how cool to bring back The Eyebrow!!! such fond memories of my old 72 Winnebago "The Ultimate Behemoth"

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
    Karen and Steve
    (Blog) RVing: The USA Is Our Big Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com
    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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  14. Nice to hear all your repairs are going nicely. I'm left wondering who would spend real money on that retro eyebrow rig? It's pretty darned ugly looking to me.

    Before you go you might want to check yourself into one of those 36 repair slots to have a "couple of loose body bolts" tightened.

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  15. Glad the repairs are going well but I have to agree with some of the others. That retro Brave is not my cup off tea. Guess that's why we all have choices :)

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