Going to Newell in Miami, OK! - Printable Version

Going to Newell in Miami, OK! - Printable Version

+- Newell Gurus (https://newellgurus.com)
+-- Forum: Coach related Services (https://newellgurus.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=56)
+--- Forum: Coach Related Service, Repair or Maintainence (https://newellgurus.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=57)
+--- Thread: Going to Newell in Miami, OK! (/showthread.php?tid=7188)

Pages: 1 2

Going to Newell in Miami, OK! - Wanderman - 01-26-2023

Hey All,
I will be at the Newell factory from March 19th (evening) till likely the 28th getting a bunch of things done.

Can anyone tell me what to expect there? Car rental? Things to do?

Please tell me about your experiences or posts all about it!

If anyone wants to visit during that time.. you are most welcome to do so!

Thanks!

RE: Going to Newell in Miami, OK! - bikestuff - 01-26-2023

Rick,

I have spent a lot of time in Miami and can offer a few insights.

First of all…know where to park. If you look at google maps … it’s not obvious as to where to park. I marked up a map to get you started.

Pull into the service parking and park in any available slot. There will be 50 amp power, but no dump station at each site. The dump station is marked on the map. There is almost always a vacancy but if not, I have parked in the coach sales lot.

If the service department knows you are coming, be ready to be pulled into the shop by 6:30am. By be ready, I mean slides pulled in and coach aired up. No need to unplug. The technician will do that when they come for your coach. Note that you may not be the first coach into the shop…so it might be a while before they come and get you.

Once they bring you in, expect a visit from the service writer to get you to sign the service request. It will list the things that you are having done.

Normally, the tech’s do not mind if you watch what they are doing, but be sure to stay out of their way and always think about safety. The entire facility takes safety seriously and will let you know if they notice you without safety glasses.

Feel free to stay in the coach while the work is done. (This is a huge big deal for me. I really, really dont like staying in hotels and staying in the coach made the trip worth it).

If you are traveling without a car or transportation, the service writer can loan you a car if one is available. They have one or two most of the time. (Though its been a while and this may have changed) I often borrowed the car for a grocery run or dinner but usually returned the car in a few hours.

There are few places to eat in Miami. None of them are noteworthy….but the steak house is not too bad.

Walmart is pretty much the only shopping in town.

Joplin Mo (30 miles away) is reasonably sized and has everything you might want (restaurants, shopping, etc).

While you are at the factory, ask them for a plant tour. It is very interesting to see what goes into the new coaches and it never ceases to amaze me how you can see the lineage between older coaches to the newest coaches.

Finally, if you are coming into Miami from the east, you may be tempted to take the back roads to avoid the toll road. That is fine, but expect a low overpass not far from the plant. I think that it is marked 13’ 6” and was very scary the first time I went under it.

I am sure that other’s will chime in with other things to see and do.

Bill

RE: Going to Newell in Miami, OK! - Wanderman - 01-26-2023

Wow That's all excellent information! I sent a list to Newell already to get an idea of time/price, hopefully they will have that already written, or at least have the list to go over.

I saw there are casnos around.. wonder if they have any entertainment or restaurants?

I will have to inquire about the car as I was going to rent one for the 2 weeks.

Low overpasses are pucker inducing!

We will definitely be staying in the coach and let them know as much. I will ask about a tour as well.

Many thanks for the info!

When were you last there?

RE: Going to Newell in Miami, OK! - 360 - 01-26-2023

I'll second everything Bill said.

I do believe there is an Enterprise rental in town as I thought I might need to use it once. If I was going to be there that long I think I'd need to rent a car at least part of the time just to get out an about a little for a change of scenery.

I've only been twice, but I'll post the following comment no so much for you as you're going to be there awhile, but for others who might read this thread. I'll call it the tale of two trips...

First trip I got in super late, didn't really sleep, started super early as Bill stated and I also needed to get out that same day for a prior commitment I had made. Mind you my service advisor had done me a favor to squeeze me in. But I just had no perspective and I was not my best self. I repaid the favor of getting squeezed in with impatience. While it was still fun to see the other coaches, etc. I was just trying to get in and out and my pace and their pace didn't align. Was not much fun, but it was truly all my fault.

Second trip I got there in good time the night before. Had a nice nights sleep and even though I thought maybe it would only take one day I planned for two minimum. I changed my clock to what I'll call Newell Time. For me that just means that things move at a little different pace and if you lean into it it's actually really nice. Super skilled craftsman who literally could not have been nicer. As Bill said they also didn't mind if I watched them work part of the time. I never felt like I needed to watch over them, but I was curious to see how they tackled a couple of the items. As luck would have it we found an issue while there that was not on my list initially and it was zero problem to knock it out since I was not in a hurry. It was a fun trip.

I now look forward to my next trip if there is something I can't tackle on my own. Sounds like they also converted the little house on the property to some kind of customer lounge area. Not sure if that is done yet or not, but what they had planned sounded really nice.

Save travels!

RE: Going to Newell in Miami, OK! - CaptainGizmo - 01-26-2023

Bill covered it and Brad topped it off! ;-)

The new customer lounge is done and I hear it’s nice.

The first trip, you’ll erel like a fish outta water. Just know that they are SWAMPED on Monday morning, taking in a dozen coaches sometimes. So, be kind and patient but let them know you are there just to be courteous.

Buffalo Run casino has a nicer restaurant and we had good food and cocktails last year.

You MUST go down to The Regatta at Grand! Truly the best experience around. Marc and Teresa are the hosts and are great friends of the Newell family. Their restaurant is fantastic. It’s also the best place to stay for all the local shakedown trips.

RE: Going to Newell in Miami, OK! - BusNit - 01-26-2023

I was spoiled and parked on the sales lot when we visited Smile

RE: Going to Newell in Miami, OK! - Jack Houpe - 01-27-2023

We live 50 miles from Newell in NW Arkansas, not to far to the south is Bentonville AR, home of Walmart but better than that Crystal Bridges the largest American art museum in the USA and its free, also there are many first class restaurants.

https://crystalbridges.org/

If you want to visit a ghost town you can just go north out of Newell and you'll come the town of Picher OK, very interesting place, we use to take our 4 wheeler to the chat piles in the early 80s was a blast.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picher,_Oklahoma

If you have time you can drive even further north to see Big Brutus the largest electric shovel in the world. Really cool!

https://www.bigbrutus.org/about.html

If it was different time of year I would recommend some fishing places but not now.

RE: Going to Newell in Miami, OK! - Wanderman - 01-27-2023

WOW!
I am beginning to have a large list of fun stuff for my factory trip!

Thank you to everyone that responds.
The only glitch I have had so far, is painting. 3-ish corners of my Newell had pre-existing damage (likely from curbs and not lifting the front when needed) Newell arranged for their outside fiberglass guy to come in and repair the damaged areas at a very reasonable price. (1170.00 ) Thy were going to paint those areas as well, the following week, and managed to squeeze me in to the paint shop, which was really great of them. However, to paint these 3 lower corner sections the wanted over 5000.00! Definitely not in my budget. I will get them done locally in NY, if I can find someone.

I am looking forward to this trip as it will be longest "not at work" time in a long while.

Thanks again all!

Rick

RE: Going to Newell in Miami, OK! - kmeinke - 01-27-2023

(01-26-2023, 09:08 AM)Wanderman Wrote: Hey All,
I will be at the Newell factory from March 19th (evening) till likely the 28th getting a bunch of things done.

Can anyone tell me what to expect there? Car rental? Things to do?

Please tell me about your experiences or posts all about it!

If anyone wants to visit during that time.. you are most welcome to do so!

Thanks!

We are also arriving on Sunday the 19th and will be there the thru Thursday the 23rd. It will be our first trip

RE: Going to Newell in Miami, OK! - Wanderman - 01-27-2023

I look forward to meeting you!

Rick