How to Level Up Your Involvement in the Winnebago Owner Community

How to Level Up Your Involvement in the Winnebago Owner Community
The GoLife Community is welcoming, helpful, and a lot of fun – find out how to get more connected!

By: Noel Fleming & Chris Miller
 
As a Winnebago owner, you’ve made a significant purchase, envisioned your own style of travel, and are set for adventure. Congrats on your purchase and the countless journeys that await! And here’s some wonderful news you may not know yet: when you bought your Winnebago, you automatically gained access to the GoLife Community – which is filled with passionate travelers who also love the RV life and are happy to share their insights! 

Not yet a Winnebago owner but planning (or dreaming) of becoming one? The GoLife Community groups are very welcoming to prospective owners as well! You’ll even see many of the groups are for “owners and wannabes” to encourage involvement from those interested in learning more about a particular Winnebago RV and connecting with owners before making a purchase. 

Road atlases, travel guides, and social media offer endless recommendations; yet nothing truly rivals authentic relationships. The logistics of owning, maintaining, and using your rig can be made easier by joining together with other owners. And the fun-o-meter can be off the charts with shared experiences. Deciding how to participate and the level of your involvement is entirely up to you. 

If you haven’t yet become an active member of the Winnebago GoLife Community, you may be wondering how to begin to connect with other owners either locally or, as we say, somewhere down the road. If you aren’t sure where to start (or what might be the best fit for you), there is a wide continuum of community involvement for you to consider!

What Level of GoLife Community Involvement Will You Start With?

The opportunities for involvement range from the smallest to the largest, and perhaps the closest to the farthest. No matter your comfort zone, there is a place for you to begin your Winnebago owner connections and room for that network to grow.

1. Join an Online Owner Group

If you want to dip your toes into an owner community from the comfort of your home, consider joining a rig-specific Winnebago owner group on Facebook. Simply use the model-specific list of GoLife Community groups to find the group for the RV you have purchased or are considering.

You may also consider joining a group that’s local to you or a group that shares a common interest (such as history, solo travel, and more.) Winnebago owner communities offer something for everyone, and most groups offer both in-person and virtual opportunities to connect.

We were members of an online group long before we even purchased our first rig. Participating in a Facebook group, even as a reader only, is a wonderful way to learn from owners nationwide and to find owners in your vicinity.

If you are a newbie and are accumulating knowledge, making a list of questions you have in advance is a helpful tool in targeting your queries. You can search the group discussion section to see if your questions have been covered previously before asking in a new post, and some groups also have a resources section you can browse. Eventually, you may want to join in and provide insights to new owners as well!

It’s fun to be on either side of the mentee/mentor connection. An actual human with real life experience is an excellent addendum to your RV manuals. (Did you know many owner resources are available online? This guide explains how you can access and download them for future reference.)

2. Connect with Other Owners in Person

If you’re willing, reach out and offer to meet another owner at a central location – even if just for a cup of coffee. Here you can share your excitement about your rig and your travels. 

Once you’ve found another owner you click with, you could also invite them to join you at a local campground. Camping together takes on different meanings depending on your level of experience. If you are new to this particular rig, learning about systems management and mod ideas may be key benefits of camping together.

We often tell new owners that, in the beginning, you need to learn how to work the systems. Then you really learn how the systems work. When we were newbies, we met up with another Winnebago couple at a local dump site for a lesson on how to dump our black and gray tanks. Imagine how comical and memorable that was for us!

If you are already a seasoned traveler, camping together may be more about sharing experiences (hiking, cycling, skiing). In every case, getting together builds connections that can last and reverberate over the years and through the miles. If you find that your local meetup is a success, step out and plan a duo caravan to a chosen destination. You may be surprised by the number of Winnebago owners you meet along the way!

3. Join a Mini Meetup or Caravan

Feeling good about your tandem get together and the other connections made in your online GoLife Community group? It may be time to locate a mini meetup of the same type of rig. Some of our fondest memories were made on a six-rig winery meetup where we camped in a circle on a large swath of grass. We convened centrally to discuss mods, travel, experiences, and future plans.

We also had the opportunity to mentor a novice traveler, who proudly nailed a number of systems and problem-solved an LP issue within hours. At these small meetups, you also have more opportunities to learn each other’s stories. We’ve learned that wine, food, and live music help to add to the fun.

There are also Fantasy RV Tours offered only to Winnebago owners, for those wanting to connect while traveling on a journey that is planned for you. Winnebago GoLife Perks members receive a special discount for these tours (learn more here), but the company also has other tours offered to RV owners of any brand.

That’s right, Fantasy RV offers 60 tours per year with leaders who guide you through a pre-planned travel itinerary that includes everything: camping accommodations, events, excursions, and meals. You could even join one of the tours with friends you’ve met from an online Winnebago owner group! 

Check out these insights from Winnebago Vista owners, Kenny and Sabrina, on the Fantasy RV Tour Balloon Fiesta Rally!

4. Go to a Larger Winnebago Owner Event

Now that you’ve successfully attended a mini meetup, how about a larger scale get together? You could explore a larger meetup with others in similar rigs to you or meetup with owners who are local to your part of the country. 

Search for Winnebago owner events in a calendar-view list or use the interactive map to search by location. 

One of our favorites is the Amana Mods, Maintenance, and Merriment Meetup where owners come together to hang out and help each other work on their coaches. We’ve had sessions on tire inflation, learning about correct jack points, checking for roof leaks, maintaining fans, and adjusting roof racks.

This meetup’s main purpose is for attendees to work together – whether you are a helper, a helpee, or both. You can find this meetup and many others listed in the Facebook group: Winnebago Compact Coach Meetups. This group’s sole purpose is for meetups of Class B (camper vans) or Class C Winnebago RVs.

Are you looking for another type of Winnebago owner event? Check out the complete list of owner-organized events happening across the Winnebago GoLife Community. You will discover a plethora of rallies and meetups of special interest or state groups to join. 
 
After getting a feel for the GoLife Owner Community, you could even start your own group or plan a meetup! Winnebago Ambassador Kathleen Hanson created this fun and simple guide for those looking to host their first meetup. If you’re ready to plan a more advanced owner event, check out this article from a Winnebago EKKO owner.

When your group or event is official, be sure to reach out to the Winnebago team using this form to have your event added to the list and request support. (Just note that all events and groups included on the Winnebago GoLife Community lists must follow the Community Standards.)

5. Attend the Camp Winnebago Annual Rally!

While a meetup could be smaller in size and is often (but not always) less structured, a rally tends to be on a larger scale and likely includes a pre-determined schedule with a wide range of activities. We’ve attended rallies where we’ve joined attendees on group hikes, mountain biking trails, yoga sessions, wine tasting, mala bead making, trivia, games, seminars on how to maintain your rig, travel tips, app guidance, mod tours, and so much more.

We’ve also attended a number of rallies with Winnebago OEM (original equipment manufacturer) vendors who educated, answered questions, and met owners at their rigs to discuss or inspect systems.
 
If you want to experience the granddaddy of all RV rallies, check out Camp Winnebago. For more than 50 years, Winnebago has been welcoming owners home to Forest City, Iowa, for their annual gathering and celebration of Winnebago brand RVs and their owners. 

Want to know what it feels like to camp with 500+ Winnebago owners? At Camp Winnebago, you have the opportunity to spend time with owners of all different RV models, attend educational seminars, and enjoy entertainment. This is the largest gathering of its kind, and there is something for everyone – you won’t want to miss the themed row parties! 

This gathering also provides a unique chance to spend time with Winnebago employees (the people behind the brand who convey the heart of Winnebago). While in Forest City, taking a Winnebago Factory Tour is also a great way to learn more about what happens behind-the-scenes! 

Having been embedded in the wonderful Winnebago community for years, we hope that everyone finds their people and that this article helps inspire you to do so! Do you have any other tips for becoming more involved in the Winnebago owner community, please share them in the comments!