Solar Eclipse Eye Safety

 

As we all look forward to the August 21st, 2017 solar eclipse, please pay close attention to the following safety recommendations:

1. In and around Atlanta, it is NOT safe to directly look at the eclipse without proper eye protection…not even for a few seconds.  Temporary, and sometimes permanent loss of vision may occur if we fail to take proper safety precautions.  This damage will occur painlessly since the cells in the retina that are damaged during the eclipse do not have any pain receptors. Although in Atlanta there will be a 97% eclipse, only 100% eclipses may be safely viewed without proper eye protection and even then, only for the exact amount of time of that 100% eclipse…not before and not after.  So, in Atlanta, do not directly view without certified ISO (International Organization of Standardizations) eye protection.

2. It is only safe to view the eclipse if you wear special certified and verified eclipse glasses.  NASA has released a list of vendors that are approved.  Please do NOT purchase your eclipse glasses from any other vendor…only purchase them from one of the following approved manufacturers and purchase them directly from that vendor.  All approved glasses will be stamped with both the ISO approved symbol as well as the manufacturer’s name:

   1. American Paper Optics (Eclipseglasses.com)

   2. Rainbow Symphony (Eclipse shades)

   3. Thousand Oaks Optical (Silver-Black Polymer and SolarLite)

   4. TSE 17

   5. Baader Planetarium (AstroSolar Silver/Gold Film)

3. Be sure to inspect your approved glasses to ensure that they are ISO and manufacturer stamped and inspect the lenses looking for any scratches or defects in the lenses.  Do not use them if they are scratched, wrinkled or more than three years old.

4. NASA has found that several vendors NOT listed above are selling eclipse glasses that contain the ISO stamp even though they do NOT meet the required safety standard for direct viewing of the eclipse.  DO NOT BUY THEM.  Only purchase from the NASA approved vendors.

5. In Atlanta, the eclipse with take place from 1:05 pm until 4:01 pm.  The peak of the eclipse will occur at 2:36 pm and will last for 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

6. It is NOT safe to view the eclipse directly with any of the following:

   1. Regular sunglasses, no matter how dark they are and no matter how many pairs you put together.

   2. Through any binoculars, telescopes or cameras (even cell phone cameras) without certified lenses that are approved and manufactured specifically for that device.  It is NOT safe to view through these devices even if you are wearing approved direct viewing eclipse glasses.  These approved direct viewing eclipse glasses are only safe to be used for direct viewing without looking through binoculars, telescopes or cameras.

If you have any questions, please feel free to go to the NASA.GOV website or contact our office at 404-233-3513.

 

Ross Eyecare Group

2625 Piedmont Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30324

www.rosseyecare.com

We are proud to say that we have now had our first Entegra Coach University (ECU) under our belts and it was, according to those in attendance, very successful!  Just to clarify, this is a 3-day instructional class taught by PJ Clanton with some help from Mike O’Connell and “Big” Mike from Spartan had a condensed portion of all things chassis related as well.  This classis opened to 7 coach owners at a time – we keep it small in number so that it is a much more intimate setting to make you feel that you are getting the most out of the class as possible.  Our purpose is to provide you with as much knowledge of your coach as we can so that your experience is even better than before.    Imagine owning a 2012 coach since 2013 and never knowing you had in-floor heat;  I can tell you that these owners left here much happier just knowing this besides all the other information they were given. 

We have a class coming up September 11-13 as well as October 9-11.  Even though September is full, you may still sign up in case someone cancels for some reason and there are still a couple of openings in October.  Try to join us if you can – we don’t think you will be disappointed.  Cost for class is $600.00 and you can click on www.entegracoach.com/ecu for more details and for registering.  Classes for next year will be posted later in the fall so that you might be able to plan your schedule around dates that might work for you.

As always, we appreciate your business and your friendship.  If you have any questions or concerns that we might be able to help with, please be sure to let us know.  

Take care, stay well and keep rollin’ along………..

Joyce Skinner

Director,  Entegra Customer Service

Entegra has added a great new service at Middlebury

The Annual Inspection Record

To see what this inspection includes just click on the tiny url: http://tinyurl.com/ybn8pjds

Note from Joyce Skinner: 

Dear Friends,

Some time ago, I had mentioned that we were in the process of defining the complimentary PDI that we have offered over the years and, once completed, we would share with all of you. I am pleased to say that after much thought and consideration, we have developed a process that we think will satisfy the needs of all of our customers and ensure that your coach is operating in the best way possible.

First, we have changed the name of the previously known PDI (post-delivery inspection) to Annual Inspection Record. In changing the name, we hope to eliminate any confusion with what we do in service and the PDI (pre-delivery inspection) that each coach goes through as it leaves the production area prior to shipping to dealers.

Attached you will find the new form showing the outline of each and every item that will be inspected and, if warrantable issues are found, will be corrected during the one time complimentary inspection. You will see that we have taken great care in doing a thorough inspection of your coach so that you can enjoy its best performance and maintain your lifestyle. Once you have taken advantage of the complimentary inspection, you may choose to bring the coach back annually for this same AIR.  The fee will be $129.00 for the inspection only – anything found in need of attention and/or repair will be addressed, with your approval, and additional fees will be added accordingly. If you choose not to have any of the items repaired/serviced, the inspection fee is non-refundable. Performing this inspection on an annual basis came about from suggestions made by many of you and, there have been several that have taken advantage of this valuable inspection already.

THIS OFFER IS FOR THE INSPECTION TO BE DONE AT OUR SERVICE FACILITY IN MIDDLEBURY, IN. ONLY. TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT, PLEASE CALL 800-517-9137, OPTION 2 AND 2 WHEN LISTENING TO THE PROMPTS AND ASK FOR DANNI. SHE CAN SET UP AN APPOINTMENT DATE FOR YOU.

The other change I want to bring to your attention is that we can no longer sell parts to retail customers. This decision was made for two reasons (1) It goes against our dealer agreements and (2) lack of customer participation. Therefore, beginning June 1, 2017, you may contact any Entegra dealer to inquire about parts availability and pricing information. Please know that this change has nothing to do with anything other than trying to do what is best for you, our valued customers.

If you should have any questions at all about any of this information, please feel free to give us a call and we will do our best to provide answers.

As always, we appreciate your business, your trust in our product and your friendships. All of us here at Entegra Coach wish you a safe and enjoyable travel season!

Sincerely,

Joyce Skinner

The ECOA Newsletter Rollin' Along is available here:  

Rolling Along June 2017 1.pdf

MayFest Rally at Stone Mountain GA

May 11-15, 2017

Sponsored by Entegra and National Indoor RV Center (NIRVC)

MayFest kicked off with Dancing With The Star’s

Julianne and Derek Hough’s “Move Beyond”live tour. Rally attendees were bused to The Fabulous Fox Theater in Atlanta for this fabulous evening. It is difficult to say which was more fun, the show, or the bus ride back to Stone Mountain when the Entegra crew served us snacks, beer, and wine.

Each morning started with a delicious breakfast followed by informative talks. The Mother’s Day Brunch was very special with each of the ladies receiving a red rose; the breakfast buffet, in addition to the usual fare, included Belgium waffles and fried chicken tenders; and we dinned on the terrace outside the golf club overlooking the lake and the mountain.

NIRVC brought along their excellent technicians to provide service on up to three items for the rally attendees. There was a good mixture of planned activities and on your on time. Another highlight of the rally was attending the Laser and Fireworks Show which is projected on the side of the mountain. We had premier seating with an excellent catered dinner on a terrace overlooking an expansive lawn and the mountain. The general public brings blankets to sit on that lawn for the show. We felt very special!

Thank You –Entegra and NIRVC for this wonderful rally, and Joyce Skinner for the great pictures.

Lynn Crowley

Entegra Coach is recalling 1,727 model year 2012-2013 and 2015-2018 Anthem; 2013 and 2017-2018 Aspire; and 2012-2018 Cornerstone motorhomes built on a Spartan Motors chassis. The ball joints on the independent front suspension (IFS) modules can loosen and separate, leading to a partial loss of steering.

Please check Entegra/Spartan Recall page for more details.

January News:

Three years ago nine Entegra Coaches made their initial appearance at the Tampa Super Show. After two years of steady growth, our club hosted a grand total of 72 coaches for this 2017 event. Many learned how to manage on 30 amp power and maximize their onboard resources. The weather cooperated and sunny days reigned supreme.

The Entegra Annual Dinner was held at the Pepin Center whose caterers prepared awesome dishes and desserts, Kudos to Stephanna and Anne for their great planning. Entertainment was provided by the Florida Senior Barbershop Quartet, Equinox, whose membership included ECOA president Pat Bauer. A comedic, ventriloquist rounded out the evening’s entertainment. A highlight of the event was the introduction of the new Entegra leadership team. Darold Bontrager, President; Matt Thompson, COO, and Ken Walter Vice President of the motorized division shared remarks and stayed to answer any questions owners had. Bob Martin from Thor Industries was also in attendance.

The second annual Lazy Day’s Cookout was held on Thursday. Seven grill masters lined up the hot grills and roasted brat and hamburgers to accompany the fine salads provided by the fantastic ECOA cooks. The club wishes to thank Lazy Days for providing the meat and desserts which served over 200 people.

Happy Hours were held each evening at various coach sites. Regular visitors to the varied sites were Mr. Bontrager, Mr. Matthews and Mr, Walters. They stayed late, passed out cards and again answered questions from the participants.

The Entegra display hosted by Lazy Days was very busy, We heard that 25 coaches were sold. A raffle was conducted by our own Chuck Lasley and many owners walked away with great prizes: YETI items, Entegra apparel, and credits to the fests coming this year.

Our club will again attend in 2018. If you would like to join us for a week of few keep watching the ECOA web site.

ECOA at FMCA Family Reunion West Springfield. MA  

 We had a fair number of ECOA members attending. The weather was rainy on Tuesday and as we arrived the weather cleared for a great week with near perfect weather. Doug and Carol French were the Wagon Masters for the event and did a great job bringing the members, new and old, together. Entegra, along with its dealers Lazy Days and RV One,  sold a number of new Entegra coaches at the event.

Janet wrote up the service requests with her usual efficiency for the few issues we had with our coaches. Rod, Rodger and their new supervisor Brian were there taking care of any issues the owners had. As expected this superior Entegra service team insured that we, the ECOA members, were happy campers.

Lazy Days also had service technicians to help out with owner issues.

The Entegra leadership team was there and as always answered any questions we had. Tadd, Chuck, Pat, Ted, and Brian were there helping the dealers with new sales and insuring that the current owners were well satisfied with our wonderful coaches.

As always the folks who had an opportunity to look at the new 2017 Entegra's were certainly well impressed as were Lynn and I. Jayco and Entegra have really pushed the bar for innovative, quality coaches in a few short years. While I don't have the numbers, it looks like Jayco Motorized are leading the pack with the best coaches out there.

As ECOA members and coach owners we can be very proud of the Jayco Motorized management team and there commitment to quality, innovation and most important, support of their current customers. The 2017 coaches are leading all of the other manufacturers in innovation and commitment to quality.

Doug and Carol French set up a great dinner on Thursday night for the Entegra coach owners at Latitudes, a fine restaurant near the Big E expositions grounds. Lazy Days sponsored a cookout on Friday night that was attended by ECOA, new coach buyers, and potential Entegra owners. The cookout was enjoyed by all! Again, many thanks to Doug and Carol, and my wife Lynn, for all the hard work in making this a great event.

Sunday morning the FMCA Family Reunion came to a close with everyone getting ready to head to their next destination in their Entegra coaches. It's been a great week and Lynn and I look forward to seeing everyone real soon at another Entegra event.

Tom Crowley

ECOA  VP

A new initiative to bring more value to our club has been offered by the Family Motor Coach Association. The FMCA, and with the endorsement and support of Entegra Coach, Inc., your Owner’s Association will be able to provide a complementary first-year membership to all of our associate club members who are not members of FMCA. This will not be a limited membership, but will provide full access to the benefits of FMCA membership for one year. Watch for a coupon to come in email if you have yet to join the FMCA. 

Wm. Patrick Bauer

ECOA President 

Entegra Coach Owners Association,  1609 Dower Way, Sun City Center,  FL  33573  813.310.5707

Griots Garage on Maintaining and Protecting our Entegra Paint Finish

From Pat Bauer,

 

Thank you for your email in which you are asking for advice on how to maintain and protect the finishes on your Motor Homes.  You said that you see the benefit  in both the Boss and 3’ Random Orbital. The following is my recommendation to simplify the care for you clear coated paint jobs on your motor coaches. Just so you know, I am a proud owner of a Pleasure Way Class B motor coach that I take a great deal of pride in and therefore what I recommend for your rigs is what I use on my motor coach. So the following is a step by step series of steps and procedures that I recommend to start with, particularly if the motor coach has been neglected for a period of time.

 

First wash you rig with our Paint Prep, item # 11135, Dawn Dish Detergent or Simple Green to remove any old wax, sealant or road oils. You want to see the water sheet off instead of beading up. I recommend that you use our Wash Mop Stick Kit, item # 78306 with extendable pole so as not to scratch your rig.

 

The next step is to apply our Speed Shine, item # 11146 and Paint Cleaning Clay, item # 11153 to remove particulates that if not removed can cause new swirl marks and light scratches.

 

Next step is to apply  polish if needed for scratches or swirl marks or oxidation. This can be accomplished with our Complete Compound, item # 10862 with the Use of our  “Random Orbital, item # 10813 and our 3” Random Orbital, item # 10739.

 

When you are satisfied with any surface correction you made, I recommend the application of you Liquid Gloss Poly Wax, item # 10916 as this will provide the longest protection of up to 14 months and offers the highest shine for that wet look. This is a man made polymer like a sealant that works very well on RVs, boats and trailers that typically most owners don’t want to do any more often than they need to.

 

You mentioned the Boss Orbital. The Boss Orbital was designed and is recommended for those who have extensive experience with the use of orbital’s and for professional detailers who need to conduct more serious paint corrections. Also the traditional Random Orbital is much better suited for wax application and the Liquid Gloss Poly Wax and sealants than the Boss. The Boss also requires a completely different set of polish pads than the regular Random Orbital. That’s not to say that you can never use the Boss system for what I recommend for you , but it is much more than I think you will need.

 

Assuming you use the regular Random Orbital, item # 10813 you will need the following foam pads. For Polishing with the Complete Compound, you want to use our Orange Foam Correcting Pad, item # 10633. I recommend at least three as these because they will get laden with product, will get mushy and will wear out if you don’t replace them occasionally. When replacing them you simply rinse them in like warm water and let them air dry.

 

For applying the Liquid Gloss Poly wax, I recommend that you use the Red Foam Wax Pad, item # 10620, and again replace then periodically so that you have a fresh pad. When buffing off polish I recommend our Polish Removal Cloths, item #11115, and for buffing off the Liquid Gloss poly wax I recommend our Wax Removal Cloths, item # 11116.

 

I have the following recommendations for your wheels and tires. I recommend our Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner item # 11026 for cleaning and our Rubber Cleaner, item # 11137 and our Rubber Prep, item # 11071 for deeper cleaning before applying new Tire Dressing. I use and recommend our Long lasting Tire dressing, item # 11044 because after I apply it I wipe it down with paper towels to achieve a satin finish instead of a glossy finish. For wheel protection you can also apply the Liquid Gloss Poly Wax to help defray brake dust on your wheel.

 

We also offer glass polishes to remove water spots, item # 11074AND Glass Polishing Pads, item 10614 for the 6” orbital and # 10665 for the 3’ orbital.

 

Whew, I know this is a lot of information and once you get your motor home in shape, you don’t necessarily have to apply each and every step. After that you want to use the proper soap foe washing and the proper drying technique to prevent water spots, and if you do get some water spots we have products to help that as well. I hope this helps.

 

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reply to this email, or call our Customer Service Department at (800) 345-5789 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. PST Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Saturday.

 

Thank you again for your email Pat, and remember to call me personally if you have any further questions!

 

Best regards,

 

Alan

 

 

Have fun in your garage!

 

Alan McWain 
Customer Service Representative 
Griot's Garage 
(253) 922-2400 Ext. 114 
amcwain@griotsgarage.com 
www.griotsgarage.com

Wm. Patrick Bauer, President

Entegra Coach Owners Association

www.entegraowners.com

1609 Dower Way

Sun City Center, FL 33573

813.310.5707

wmpbauer@verizon.net

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