Our first RV rally! The Tiffin Allegro Club was holding a
rally in Orlando and it seemed a good way to learn more about our coach and
meet other RVers with similar coaches. When we found out that a new friend we
met last month in Gaffney, SC was attended we elected to sign up and join him.
What the heck, it was being held fifteen minutes away at the Central Florida
Fairgrounds. I could even keep my dentist appointment!
We have never been to an event like this and the logistics
amazed me. Two hundred and sixty coaches were to arrive and needed to be parked
in the same day. Volunteers arrived ahead of time, had everything set up, and
guided the coaches into position with little trouble. We were in the block
designated to arrive between 1:00 and 3:00. Coaches wishing to be parked
together had to arrive together, so we coordinated with Jerry to pull up at the
fairgrounds at the same time. We both arrived at 12:55 and as it turned out we
were very fortunate to get parked in the very last row of the main group of coaches.
I say fortunate because we ended up with a very nice lake view instead of
looking at neighbors across the way.
Getting in was not entirely without issue. Water hookups
were scarce, and people were running hoses great distances to get to a faucet.
We heeded instructions in the pre-rally packet and filled our water tank before
arriving, so it was not an issue for us. Electrical power, however, was crazy.
We knew to bring a 50 to 30 amp adapter and an extension cord, but for the
group of about eight coaches in our section the outlets were typical household
20 amp outlets! Half of the outlet boxes on the pole were charred black and not
functioning. It was a scramble as everyone juggled for a place on the pole with
a working outlet. Those that did not have adapters for the three prong
household outlet had the additional burden of finding one. Once everyone was
settled in that pole looked like something out of a “What Were They Thinking”
YouTube video. In the end the power was adequate thanks to cooler weather
reducing the draw of multiple air conditioners.
Days were spent in seminars and checking the wares of the
vendors that had come. I managed to get a few things like a flagpole holder and
LED bulbs to change out the majority of the bulbs in the coach that were not
already LEDs. Some of the seminars were just vendor sales pitches, but others
provided good information. One of the best was a pet first aid class.
Meals were busy events as you can imagine since there were
close to six hundred mouths to feed. The caterer had plenty of food, so no one
went hungry even if they arrived a little late.
Barbara was unable to stay the last night since she was
leaving at 4:00 AM to travel with her grandniece on a school trip to
Washington, DC. Our current golden retriever foster and I were left to spent
the last night together and break camp the following morning.
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| Bella crept out of the bedroom and found her own space |
All coaches were required to leave by noon, and I thought
that it would be a madhouse as 260 coaches headed to the exit at the same time.
Reality was much different. I never noticed more than a half dozen coaches
lined up at the exit at any one time.
I was impressed with how well the entire event was handled.
I was also pleased to find so many friendly people. Everyone seemed to be
enjoying him or herself, particularly the Le Mesa RV sales staff. Each evening
at dinner they announced the couples that bought coaches that day. Over the
course of the rally nearly twenty coaches were sold!
The Tiffin Motor Home Company provided another nice benefit.
Technicians worked long hours every day of the rally providing up to three
minor repairs on each coach – FREE! Thank you Tiffin!
Would we attend another such rally? Perhaps, but it would be
dependent on the location and ease of access. Driving out of our way to one
will most likely not happen. Not that we did not enjoy the rally, or that the
rally was not run well, but because we prefer our gatherings to be much smaller
in size, or focused on a specific activity of interest such as May’s rally
in Moab with the FMCA 4Wheelers.
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| Bill and Barbara with new friends and solo travelers Jerry and Linda |
We would like to thank the Tiffin Allegro Club and Tiffin
Motor Homes for putting on a wonderful, well-run event.
