NEWMAR

Newmar, the manufacturer of our beloved Busse Bus – a Dutch Star 4369, headquarters is located in Nappanee, IN (along with almost all recreational vehicles manufacturers).  We had an appointment to have our coach serviced and to provide for the warranty work after one year.  We didn’t need a campground as Newmar allows you to park (and hook-up) in their parking lot.  They are currently building a new “campground” area that looks really nice.  We got into the parking lot late on Sunday night for our Monday morning slot.

Awaiting us was Dave and Keithann Wood who we met back in NIRVC in Atlanta.  We sat around and chatting with them over appetizers and drinks.  Early to bed as the technicians pick up the coaches starting at 6:00am – yikes!

Ready to go at 6:00am and our technician, Rory, was there at 6:15am and as we drove to the Service Center (down the street about 1.5 miles) he asked me if I knew Justin and Ashley Bradley.  I said no, and he asked again.  Upon thinking about it, I remembered that Justin is Janice Bradley’s son.  Janice is another BeautiControl gal from Avila, IN.  Well, apparently Justin and Rory are next door neighbors and Justin informed him that we were coming to Newmar for our warranty work.  Justin heard about our travels when we met up with Janice and Justin’s family in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida.  What a small world!  Rory asked to be our technician – it worked out beautifully and Rory was a absolute gem to work with.  Here’s some pictures from the Service Center:

Look how immaculate the interior of the Service Center is!  That’s how Newmar takes care of things.  They have a wonderful waiting area with TV’s, WiFi, puzzles, and other things to keep you occupied.  Even a pet owner waiting area (although not as big or nice) and a laundry facility.  So glad we purchased a Newmar.

Rory knew that we were in a bit of a hurry and needed to back in Chicago for Ari and Matt’s wedding so he really tried to accelerate the process.  Originally we were quoted being there until the following Wednesday – but Rory was going to try to get us out by Friday.

Janice drove over to Nappanee to visit with Justin, Ashley and their kids (Dylan and Connor) and they invited us over for dinner.  Nice evening and great food!

Wonderful spending some time in a “real” home.

During the week we were able to take the dogs to get groomed and play in the Nappanee dog park.  Bear also enjoyed playing with another dog inside the waiting area – the dog was named “Bear” too.

Isn’t the little Bear cute?  Looked like a Teddy Bear!

Nappanee is filled with creative people and their artwork can be seen all over the town in this “Junkyard Dog” exposition:

Pretty cool, isn’t it?

Well we had about 30 items that needed to be taken care of as well as some maintenance work to be completed.  Major warranty work: new windshield and front-end repainted (both of these were defects at the time of our purchase) and a lot of minor work: shade not closing all the way, exhaust fan not working, and some cosmetic things like trim work.  All the warranty work was completed free of charge – again, great company!  Maintenance work I had to pay for (A/C cleaning, generator tune-up, etc.), things that need regular maintenance.

On Wednesday they replace our windshield and we cannot stay in the coach so Newmar puts us up at a local dog-friendly hotel on a lake.  Very beautiful place although we didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time there.

Along comes Thursday and Rory believes that we will be good-to-go on Friday as all that is left is our front end coming back from the paint shop.  Ari is getting a little freaked out with the wedding in two weeks, so Kat decides to drive the jeep back up to Chicago with the dogs leaving me a night on my own and then picking of the Busse Bus Friday morning and driving home.

On Friday morning I pull the Busse Bus into the Service Center about 7:00am only to learn that the paint shop hadn’t finished yet and that I would be stuck in Nappanee over the weekend by myself and without a jeep to get around.  Good thing that Dave and Keithann were still around as I had a great dinner with them.

On Saturday I called Justin and he was kind enough to pick me up and we headed back to his house for a nice rib and steak dinner.  Delish!  He even drove me home later – the thought of walking the few miles did not appeal to me.  The next morning I walked a couple of miles to the Starbucks which was located inside of the grocery store.  Nice walk!  I saw this sign on the way back which I have to remember because Nappanee is Amish Country:

Which I did – I read an entire book!  Monday morning the paint shop had completed my front-end and I was on my way home to celebrate the marriage of Ari and Matt.