The Maintenance Session is a large RV gathering at the Elkhart County 4H Fairgrounds in Goshen, IN. Originally, it was limited to Holiday Rambler diesel pusher motor homes, but now also includes Monaco, Beaver, Safari, Fleetwood, and American Coach diesel units, all brands manufactured by REV. This event draws over 200 units for 6 days full of educational seminars about the systems and options in these coaches, as well as providing food events, tours, service appointments, new and used motor homes for sale, and social opportunities, in one location. We attended this event for the first time last year, and were impressed at all that goes on for such a reasonable cost. Here's the registration form with a lot of details -
http://www.ramblinpushers.org/images/stories/ms-2017/hrrvc-2017-ms-registration.pdf . It takes over 200 volunteers to organize and run the event.There were over 200 units attending.
The MS has so many things going on that it can be overwhelming for a first-time attendee. This year, a new program - First Timer Guides - was formed and we were asked to be guides for two of the new couples. We were invited to move to our assigned site on May 2 to get ready for the check ins on May 3 & 4. One of our assigned couples was in Decatur, IN at the REV Technical Center getting issues fixed on their new coach, and unfortunately, they were unable to come. The second couple, Dean and Sue from Texas, also had repair issues and didn't arrive until May 6, but we were able to help get them acclimated to all that was happening, and met with them several times during the event.
Besides the educational opportunities available in over 100 seminars, many of the motor home components can be serviced on site by the reps of the various companies involved, including the Fleetwood Parts and Technical Support trailer technicians, and Cummins Engines. There was a tire retailer doing checks and installs on site as well. Labor is often done at no cost and any needed parts may be discounted. There were well over 600 service calls completed during this event, again without moving RV's to other locations. Many vendors also have booths inside to sell items or give information. We took advantage of the service opportunities by having our Blue OX towing system suggested maintenance ($35 including needed parts), had our propane system checked for leaks (Propane Sniffer volunteer at no cost), and made arrangements to have our slide toppers replaced in June in Florida. There was no one on site that could check out the problem in our dash air. We purchased two more LED fluorescent replacements.
A big part of any RV gathering is food, and the MS does not lack in that department. Many of the vendors sponsor various food events. There were social hours, 3 free lunches, meeting refreshments, and 6 breakfasts called Hospitality. You might think Hospitality would mean pastry and coffee. Not at the MS! The Hospitality buffet started with bread items (several varieties of toast, bagels, spreads), then there were two kinds of eggs, biscuits and gravy, grits, applesauce, 6 kinds of cereal and 3 kinds of milk, many types of juice, fresh fruit salad, an endless array of donuts and pastries, and coffee. Breakfast was followed by announcements and news of the day regarding seminars, weather, etc. There was also a commercial food truck with lunch options for sale everyday.
See schedule here - http://www.ramblinpushers.org/index.php/2017-schedulehttp://www.ramblinpushers.org/index.php/2017-schedule
The weather overall was quite cool and very windy with some rain. Another service offered at the MS is transportation all over the fairgrounds by golf cart, again staffed by volunteers, always riding around looking for those who wanted a lift.
The week went by quickly, and we enjoyed meeting new people and seeing some old friends, as well as learning more about the home we call Little House.
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