Newmar is based out of Nappanee, Indiana. Many motorhomes are built in northern Indiana and primarily by Amish people. The last time we were here was in 2017 for service and annual maintenance. From Shepherdsville, Kentucky it was a four and a half hour drive to Nappanee.
Nappanee, Indiana
Nappanee is just large enough of a city to normally keep us entertained and supplied. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic, everything but essential businesses were closed. Even most restaurants were closed including carry out service. However, there was toilet paper!
Both times we have been here, the city displays artwork around town.
This time it was themed “Junkyard Dogs”. The sculptures are scattered primarily around the main street of Nappanee.
Being dog lovers, it was a treat to see so many dog sculptures. Since most businesses were closed, Main street was deserted.
Last time we were here, there were decorated apples around the city. They had since been moved to the “Apple Grove”.
Newmar
Newmar moved their service center to a new location and created a new service lounge.
Their new customer lounge was very nice. Even the dog area was a welcome improvement. For a week, we were the only ones in the dog lounge. Last time, we hung out in their dog friendly laundry room. They even provide pads for the furniture. The staff were amazing by frequently wiping down areas with disinfectant.
Our second day there it snowed. Fortunately, it was gone in a day. It was an opportunity for Jake to run in the snow. Overall, the weather was pretty bad. In addition to snow, we had torrential rain and wind gusts to 50 mph requiring us to bring our slides in.
Other than the usual service requirements, two of our slides leaked water. They were able to find the source of one (not enough sealant). But the other one had been elusive over the years. Even after repairing it, the slide leaked again. Good thing we had another rain storm.
Because they removed the overhead cabinets and the inside of the slide was exposed, we saw where the leak was coming from during the torrential rains. In production, they overtightened a bolt cracking this locking mechanism and distorting it’s gasket causing a leak. Even though the service center was considered “an essential service” and stayed open, their production side closed. Unfortunately, some of the materials needed for our water damaged cabinets were in the production side delaying our repairs.
After numerous chips and one huge crack across the windshield, it was time for it to be replaced. This mean’t they needed the motorhome overnight so we got to stay in a hotel. We had previously stayed at the Oakwood Resort in Syracuse, Indiana. Their restaurant stayed open for carryout only and the food was amazing.
The resort is on a lake. Since it was early spring and the weather is unpredictable, there were not many boaters on the water.
There was hardly anyone else staying at Oakwood. Jake really enjoyed all the windows so that he could watch other dogs and squirrels outside. We enjoyed the bathtub!
