We had a 3-day scheduled appointment at the Newmar Service Center in Nappanee, Indiana beginning the morning of July 27. We arrived on Tuesday, July 26. The RV parking area has about 60 level concrete sites with full hook-ups. There were nice grass sections on each side of the concrete pad to give everyone plenty of space between coaches. We parked in #8 so that we would avoid the afternoon sun in our front window, and would have shade on our patio side. John and Carol Weber were our neighbors in site #7.
Service BEGINS at 6am when they come out to take the coach into the service center. We get UP at 6am on travel days to hit the road between 7:30 and 8:00am, but for the next three days we will be getting up at 5am to be ready for them to take Vinny at 6am! Before going to bed I had all dishes done, and put away, our bulletproof coffee ready for the morning, as well as breakfast, snacks and lunch fixed and ready to load in our small cooler in the morning. Yes, they start working at 6am! Work stops about 2pm. Our coach was always in service bay #50, and returned to the outdoor RV site #8 between 2 and 2:30.
A view of the service center from a window in the loft area of the Customer Lounge.
One of the most incredible things about being here for service was that everyone had access to their coach the entire time! (Unless for obvious reasons, such as: it was in the rain shower area, or in the paint shop.) We all had special color coded, clip-on tags to wear into the service bays. We were blue, so Vinny could be found in the blue bay area. We could go in anytime to talk with the person assigned to our coach, and/or go inside our coach to get whatever we needed! Newmar is definitely top notch when it comes to customer service. EVERYONE we encountered was super helpful and pleasant.
CUSTOMER CARE is a priority to Newmar!
Newmar definitely takes care of their customers’ needs and comfort. This says a lot about Newmar.
The Newmar customer lounge area is absolutely amazing! We have access to the entire customer areas 24 hours a day. So even after 3pm when the parts department and service area are both closed, we still have access to all the customer specific areas! How cool is that!?! I’ve never heard of any company doing that!
The customer lounge has multiple, spacious sitting areas to provide comfort and promote conversation. Two large TV’s allow for separate channel choices. A fireplace that at least during the summer does not put out heat, but provides a nice ambience to a waiting room where customers spend a a lot of time without their “home”. It runs 24hr/7 days a week. A bank of “‘study carols” are also provided under the balcony/loft for privacy where you can plug in, and do work on your laptop. Cool stairs take you to a balcony or loft area that provides additional seating and table groupings.
TWO Pet Lounges!
#1 (the larger one for friendly pets, and with direct access to bathrooms. Great decor!
#2 (overflow? Or maybe if your pet doesn’t get along well with others.)
Lunch Room
Not just coffee, but a large kitchen and eating area to use!
Newmar even provides a nice, clean laundry area for Newmar owners to use during their stay. (Not free, but nice to have available since not all coaches have a washer and dryer, and those that do don’t hold as much as these.)
Start the day with a smile!
Sue greets you with a genuine smile when you enter the lounge at 6am. Her smile and sincerity made me immediately smile as I greeted her back even at such an early hour. A great way to start the day. Newmar is lucky to have such a happy, personable person in this position. Unfortunately, for Newmar and future customers, Sue is retiring in September, but how wonderful for her!
Plans quickly changed!
My plan for these three days was to work hard on blog posts, but then I heard Sue teaching/explaining a card game to some people down below at a table for four. Was I hearing right??? I told Barry, “I think they are playing NERTZ!!!” OMG…I closed my laptop and flew down the stairs. I don’t think I’ve played Nertz since I played with Abby and Elizabeth in Burbank, CA 13 years ago. I used to play ALL THE TIME in college, especially during the January interim my freshman year. We actually had “Nertz parties” in January. (NERTZ – not Nerd LOL)
Here they called it “Blitz” (Dutch Blitz). Evidently Dutch Blitz is a Mennonite game. But they use special cards! (insert photo of cards)
It was hard to watch for whether a card was a “boy” card or “girl” card when playing the descending-solitaire part where it had to alternate between boy/girl. Since there were 8 people who were interested in playing, I went to our motorhome and got regular playing cards to use. People I played with that day and subsequent mornings preferred using regular playing cards. It was much easier to see the red/black solitaire play portion. Speed is a major factor to this game. Originally, I thought there were boy and girl cards in all four colors. Once I realized all the girl cards were yellow and green, and the boys were red and blue, I think you would get used to that, but everyone is already accustomed to standard playing cards, and therefore, recognizes the four suits and sees the red and black. It is hard enough to get people to play, so why give them one more thing on which to focus and slow you down? Being able to use regular playing cards means you don’t have to have a special deck that is only used for “Blitz”. In a motorhome or any RV, efficient use of space is critical!
Looking back at this later, I wondered if the four color backgrounds would actually be easily to see versus is that a club or a spade further away from you? Or maybe use four jumbo-print regular card decks. Just be sure the back of each deck is distinguishable from all other players’ decks. (Red bicycle, blue Bicycle, casino deck, orcas, etc.)
Wow—this is fun being here! So much for working on my blog during the day…or in the evening, because…
Wednesday night John and Carol W. invited us over to their coach to play cards. We played “Five Crowns”, and then they taught us “Fire House”. It was a really fun evening!
John and Barry used a “TornadoSeat” to set their glasses on while we played cards. We loved how the TornadoSeat went from being an EASY to STORE round disc about two inches in height to a sturdy stool-type seat that extends to a maximum height of 18 inches. One would be perfect for us to use between our recliners since the space is quite restrictive when we put the foot/leg rests up. If we got two of these telescoping seats, we could easily use them outside both when we travel as well as at home. They would be perfect to use with our grandkids as they grow since the seats adjust easily in 1.5″ increments.
Tony and Heather arrived on Thursday, so the six of us went into the Newmar customer lounge lunch room where tables allowed for more than four people could play cards. Friday night Carole C.– with whom I played Nertz first thing that morning, came with her husband to teach the six of us “Richelieu”, sometimes known as Kentucky Rummy – or is similar to it. When we finished playing Richelieu, Carole and I stayed and played a couple games of Nertz! We had so much fun. We played two really good competitive games.
Now—getting back to why we were at Newmar.
We contacted Newmar back in February 2022 with our list of desired service items. They were able to give us three days beginning July 24 to do the work, and sent us the estimated quote. Since Newmar service was a go, Barry then adjusted our trip around those dates.
1) We wanted our slides serviced to make sure they were in good working order for the next several years. Slide issues can wreck havoc. Average RV mobile repair services around the country are quite limited to what they can do, and simply do the best they can.
Our service tech, Dave replaced the bolts in the slide motors with new and improved ones that they use now. He also shifted the long slide to the rear which allowed the reveal (gap between the slide and the body of the motorhome) to be even vertically along the front edge and back edge of the slide. This was huge. We NOW can truly extend and retract the slides when at ride height, which is the protocol for Newmar slides. The best part about this was that by extending the slides at full ride height, and then pressing “auto level”, the four hydraulic jacks held the leveled position! Prior to this when we leveled first, and then put out the slides, we were almost always having to manually adjust the jacks because the driver side jacks especially did not hold position well. Dave checked the hydraulic jacks for any leakage. There was none. Time will tell, but so far we are extremely pleased! It seemed logical to think you should level first before extending slides, especially a full length slide. Therefore, many people don’t follow the extend and retract process at ride height. This included us, but for us it was because at ride height the upper left corner of the full slide did not have enough gap to slide out without possibly rubbing against that edge of the body. After Dave performed his magic it has been a breeze putting that full slide in and out!
2) We had a “regen” performed on the DEF emissions system plus installation of a new DEF filter, and new air dryer filter. If you don’t do this regen maintenance procedure, a clog can occur and the motorhome will shut down right there on the road without warning!
Rodney, who did this portion of our service, highly recommended buying the DEF in the clean, sealed containers from retail stores instead of filling at truck stop fuel pumps. IF we use the cheaper DEF at those truck stops, at least make sure we wipe off the nozzle before inserting it to remove any gunk including any possible diesel contamination on it. While we hate to pay so much more for the packaged DEF, it sounds like the payoff and efficiency of it would be worth it. We saw a YouTube video from “RV in Myles” a couple months ago where he said he buys the sealed DEF to avoid contaminated DEF from truck stop pumps. Wouldn’t truckers want clean DEF? We will try to have packaged DEF, but will be OK to use DEF at the truck stops if we need to. We will add the step of wiping off the nozzle before inserting it to do what we can to prevent contamination.
3) We had a couple interior cosmetic issues taken care of.
4) Lastly, we had Vinny’s transmission fluid changed.
5) Uh -oh. Dave discovered a power issue with our retractable power cord. We noticed loss of power at times, but assumed it was issues with the power pedestal where we were staying! (It will be interesting when we return to Pio Pico TT.)
Luckily, our extended warranty came through for us once again! Unfortunately, we had to pay the bill in full at Newmar, and submit the paid bill for reimbursement from our warranty company. Considering this was an unexpected $1K added to our total service bill, having it covered was a great relief, even if we have to wait to be reimbursed.
FACTORY TOUR – Thursday
Newmar Factory Tours started back up a couple weeks or so before we arrived. We signed up for the tour on Thursday. The actual factory is 2 or 3 miles from this new service area. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour. We are amazed how they can keep straight what goes in which coach since they may work on a Ventana, and the next one could be a London Aire! The average employee has been there 12 years. It is considered a great place to work. The environment is one of teamwork and positive vibes. Newmar maintains a solid moral mission statement driven by godly principles which has been the guiding light for the company since its inception. They is ONE work shift. They begin work at 5am! Some workers choose to cross train in new areas of the build process. Factory workers all take breaks and lunch at the same time. About 50% of the work force is Amish. Amish have great work ethics, and appreciate the Newmar mission statement. Newmar puts out 8 coaches a day. The factory, service center, and offices are not open on Saturdays or Sundays. No photos or videos were allowed.
A LOCAL PARK PROVIDES UNEXPECTED ENJOYMENT
Within about a mile from the Newmar Service Center was a park that we just had to stop and check out. The Art Path borders Oakland Ave which is the street you turn left on as you exit the Newmar Service RV area. Continue just beyond Martin’s Super Market.
“American Muscle” – artist Branden Hockstetler
“Pretty As a Peacock” – artist Jeff Stillson
“Fields of Blessings” – artist Casey Kiel
“Needle & Thread” – artist Jeff Stillson
“Plant a Seed” – artist Kerri S. Bash
“For Sale” – artist Wes Burnworth
“Work Until Dusk” – artist Karol Keller
“The Candied Apple” – artist Emily Hershberger
“Juicy Fruit” – artist Jeff Stillson
“Opening Day” – artist Hayley Maggard
Near “The Apple Orchard” was “The Flower Garden” that had about 10 art sculptures. Each piece alternated with a beautiful green tree that was dedicated as a memorial tree.
“Flower Power” – Artist Brian Van Voorst
“Home Grown” – artist Jenny Shaw
“These Things are Fun, and Fun is Good” – Dr. Seuss (Who doesn’t love Dr. Seuss!?!)
Artist Cybil Stillson
“SUNFlower” (I named this one since I didn’t see a tag for it.)
“Flower Child With a Rock & Roll Soul” – artist Hannah Kirkwood
“Growing Minds” – artist Branden Hochstetler
“Watching Over Others” – artist Jeff Stillson
“Kassidy” – artist – Nappanee Arts Council
This one I think was my favorite. It was obviously a framed picture.
“Blooming Bristles” – artist Jeff and Cybil Stillson
What a cool “picture” of flowers that sparkle in the sunlight.
Then when you take a closer look, you discover the picture is a mosaic made from colored toothbrushes and little round dental mirrors! I absolutely loved it!
Can you tell I was totally enjoying these displays? While I took pictures of the displays, Barry captured me.
We never expected spending three days for motorhome service to be so much fun! That certainly eased the pain of the bill.
We left Newmar and Nappanee about noon on Saturday. I can’t say enough great things about all the people at the Newmar Service Center, the accommodations to customers and just great service. Several Newmar owners come every year for maintenance. We will be back for sure, but not on a yearly basis. 🙂
We visited the RV Hall of Fame and Museum in Elkhart, Indiana Friday morning. I’m making it a separate blog. Watch for it. 🙂
The lounge looks fantastic. That was not there when I was there. Everyone parked by the factory then. When I was there in the factory the RV’s were on air and one person could just move them around. Even sideways!! I was amazed. Do they still do that??
Yes, they still move the coaches around like that. It is pretty amazing to watch! Wouldn’t it be nice to park them like that when you arrive somewhere!? LOL