East Coast Rally

[davebennington]

trdeal

I do not see why guest or other than Heartland units would not be welcome, It will give them a chance to see what a group of really nice coachs look like. (I am bias of course) Seriously if we don't fill the 15 spots we will have other brand units next to us anyway.

Dave

 

[trdeal]

Thanks for the quick reply. I will get on the phone and see if our friends would like to come.

 

[HappyKayakers]

Dave,
We already had plans to go to a Samboree that week, also in Myrtle Beach. But we'd sure like to stop by and see all the other Heartland products in a row, and participate in the discussion group with the factory. Are you going to post a schedule prior to Oct 1?

 

[davebennington]

Rally

HappyKayakers:

So far this is the plan that I have suggested by no means cast in concrete. Unlike the National rally that Jim put togeather this is very loose. I have not heard back from Scott about sending someone from Heartland. I will email him again at a later date.


My suggestion is we can do a potluck dinner and greet one another on Friday, October 6th.

On Saturday the 7th maybe in the afternoon we can have a round table discussion (NOT a ***** session) about Heartland and our coaches and/or tow vehicles. (The Heartland folks have been invited and Scott has said he will try to have someone there).

Later in the evening a potluck dinner or if we can arrange it a catered BBQ if we can find someone to handle it. Still working on this one.

Suggestion for Sunday October 8th perhaps a breakfast before leaving for home.

PLEASE, Do not take these suggestions as the way it is going to be they are only suggestions. If someone has more input and would like to do something different by all means jump in a let your self be heard!!!


Dave

 

[phranc]

Dave ., Sounds pretty fair to me .. Perhaps some one may have have a mod or 2 they could show the group..A nice low key relaxing weekend with friends is always a fine idea...See ya soon

 

[fulltimer]

My wife and I made reservations at Willow Tree Campground yesterday. Looking forward to meeting everyone. I think my wife said there are nine units signed up.

Fulltimer
Tom & Jan Webber

 

[davebennington]

Rally

Hi All,

This message is for anyone who is planning to attend the East Coast Rally in October and has not registered yet. Tomorrow (September 6th) is the last day to register in order to be guaranteed a site with the rest of the Heartland group. Looking forward to meeting all of the other Heartland owners and putting a face to the forum responders.

Dave

 

[Phil Smith]

Dave,

Do you have a list of who is currently registered?

Phil

 

[davebennington]

Rally

Phil,

So far the number of attendees is up to 6 with a 7th undecided. while not a large number still pretty respectable for a regional rally. Don't you think?

Scott has said he will have someone there from the factory also.

Dave

 

[jbeletti]

Dave,

Six or seven is 25% of what the International rally had for rigs. I'd say that's a great response for a Regional rally.

The banner will ship out to you tomorrow.

Jim

 

[Deb]

Hi Everyone,
I signed up today to go to the rally. We had conflicts and they were finally worked out. See everyone on the 6th of Oct.

Deb

 

[davebennington]

Rally Update

Hi to All who are coming to the East Coast Rally.

We have about two (2) weeks until rally time. Is anyone getting excited yet? I know we are looking forward to it. It has been a rough summer not much camping because of family health problems, but the weekend of October 6,7,8 maybe the 9th is all OURS!!!

I just spoke with Scott from Heartland and he will be there as well as several of other people from the Heartland group. I think Saturday afternoon would be the best time to have the roundtable and exchange of ideas with Scott and his people. Some folks may not get in until Saturday the 7, and that will give them time to get settled.

Get ready for a GREAT weekend of camping.

Dave.

 

[phranc]

Dave .. Oh Yeah!! We are also 'gearing up'. See you on fri..

 

[phranc]

Everybody ready to go? Fridge has been started,tires/lugnuts checked and we'll put cold stuff away when we leave tommorrow AM..Starting to cool down here in central NY.See ya'all on fri.....
BTW ..We are comeing down on I 95 to exit 193. How is the SC rt 9 from Dillon down to the jct of 905??

 

[Phil Smith]

Phranc,

Last time I ran that part of hwy 9 I think it was pretty good but I was not pulling the camper. Best of Luck and see you Friday!
Phil

 

[jbeletti]

You guys really having me itching here - wishing I could join you in Myrtle Beach. Have fun!

Jim

 

[Phil Smith]

Itching just aint going to cut it! Have diesel will travel!

Phil

 

[trdeal]

Everyone have fun at the Rally in Myrtle Beach and Be careful. Sure wish we could be there to meet all of you. Maybe we can be there next year.

 

[davebennington]

East Coast Rally Notes

Hi All,

Well the East Coast Rally is in history book. I will have to say in my opinion it was a success, we had a GREAT time. The Rally started on Friday the 6th with everyone arriving and meeting for the first time face to face. There were 4 Bighorns and 2 Landmarks in attendance. The weather did not look good for a camping weekend but as it turned out the gods smiled upon us and the rain held off the entire weekend. That evening we were off to Calabash (the seafood capitol) for dinner. Then back to the campground for a good nights sleep.
The next morning we met the late arrivals, and planned the day. We had a meeting to exchange ideas and what each of us did to enhance our units. We adorned and had lunch before beginning a walking tour of one another's coaches.
Some of the highlights included a very heavy duty bike rack, laminate flooring, extensive interior changes to a unit to accommodate full time living, a way to put Plexiglas on a screen door, and what kind of damage a blowout can do to a unit.
It was about then Scott Tuddle and Jim Fenner from Heartland arrived to finish our walk thru of the trailers, they had many helpful suggestions and ideas as to how each of us could handle issues we may have. It was decided to meet for the pot luck dinner and have a round table discussion with Scott and Jim. This meeting proved very fruitful, as it gave everyone some insight as to how Heartland came to be and where the company is going in the future. Some of the items that were included in the discussion were how Heartland handled problems, and suggestions that how we thought they could improve their products.
After the roundtable adorned it was time for picture taking and relaxing by a good old fashion camp fire.
The next morning everyone came to a potluck breakfast before saying our goodbyes and breaking camp and heading home.
It was decided that this should be an annual event to be held in the fall of the year at this campground (Willow Tree) it is one of the best that I have ever seen and that way it will not conflict with the National Rally.

Side notes:
I would like to thank Deb Smith who created some of the best looking name badges that really made the day, very professional job.

Jim, The banner will go out in tomorrows mail.

Dave (bennington) Yocum

 

[Deb]

Hi Everyone,

Allan & I had a great time getting to know everyone, and we are looking forward to the next time.

We are the ones that had the heavy duty bike rack. Allan feels like he has his Phd in "bike racks". We had a near catastrophe this summer with our first bike rack. We had a local RV shop weld a hitch on to our 3055 frame. The bikes were falling off the rack before we got to the Delaware Memorial bridge. The weld wasn't welded properly and not enough strength to take the weight and bounce on the rough roads. To make a long story short -- we started over again. We asked our dealer who he would recommend to weld on another hitch. He gave us the name of a shop in Knoxville. Our new hitch could pull a car - if needed. More investigation into another bike rack led us to purchase a Thule bike rack (not cheap 350 plus). We are very happy campers and feel SAFE carrying our bikes.

We have had some serious problems since we purchased our 3055 last May. But they are being resolved one by one, and even with the hassle of getting the problems worked out - we still feel like we made the right decision to purchase the 3055. I would do it again knowing the problems in advance, because I know that Heartland stands behind its products.

It was very interesting to tour everyone's coach. We all have different lifestyles and to see the changes to accomodate our individual differences was a real treat. All of us are so used to seeing new coaches at RV shows, but seeing "real homes on wheels" was special. Thanks everyone for sharing.

I always knew that Heartland was a great company with customer service at the top of their agenda. Allan & I want to personally thank Scott Tuttle, and Jim Fenner for traveling half way across the US to meet with 12 Heartland customers (six couples). That is amazing to me - and deeply appreciated. It also speaks volumns about customer support from Heartland. It is a company with true Heart - pun intended.

Deb & Allan Smith