2016 International Annual Frog Rally August 14 to 20 2016

[AquaMan]

Originally Posted by RKNOLA

Hi BrendaV and Welcome! Going to a rally for the first time can be a little overwhelming, but also a lot of fun. Let me see if I can give you some idea of what to expect.
Yes, sign up at the Forest River Owners Group site first. FROG - Forest River Owners Group On the website there are different categories. Click on "Events & Calendar". Now scroll down to "Rallies & Trips". You will see: 2016 FROG International Rally August 14, 2016- August 20,2016 Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds Goshen, Indiana
When registration opens it will show up there. Also, once they have your email address they should send you and email telling you registration is open. (I usually just check the website often).
Once they open registration they will give you further instructions but most of the time the instructions will be "call the fairgrounds to reserve your rally spot" (this isn't your parking spot, just your "yes, I am attending" spot). They will give the phone number when registration opens. (if they gave it now..... well, you can imagine the pandemonium....).
Then the FROG (Forest River Owners Group) will send you an email asking for all of your info: how many are attending, size of your rig, do you have special needs, are you bringing pets, emergency contact info, etc. Once you fill out all your info, you will need to send your rally fee. (figure on 400 ish - 500 ish for 2 people to be safe. They will announce exactly how much when registration opens). This fee usually covers your camp site for 5 days, usually 2 meals a day, and various activities like factory tours which they usually provide transportation to. There may be some "cocktail hour" type of gatherings included in there too. On the grounds of the Fairgrounds during the rally there are some vendors that set up their booths. (Usually they put them inside one of the buildings so you can walk through and browse the booths without having to worry about the weather).
The "factory tech repairs" you may hear about is: Forest River will send techs to the rally to address repair type issues with the Motorhome/5th wheel or Travel Trailers at the rally. When you register you will be given the opportunity to list 2 (maybe 3) things you want repaired during the rally. Yes, there are limits to what they can/will repair. Simple things usually like "the hinge broke off my cabinet" or "my window shade doesn't work" but NOT rebuild my slide or turn my 2009 Motorhome into a 2016. Forest River sends Techs NOT Magicians!! LOL. But the techs are very nice and very knowledgeable so they will be able to help you and if they can't they can help you get in contact with the right person at Forest River to talk to about your repair item.
There are usually mini seminar type speakers at the rally. They may talk about things like fire safety, or proper tank cleaning for RVs. The exact list of offered seminars will probably be listed in the registration email the FROG sends you. These seminars are usually included in your rally fee.
There will be a LOT of people to meet at the rally. Meeting other owners of the same Forest River product you own is not only fun, but it gives you access to a network of people you can call on to get info/advice/tips on your RV or any other RV related topic. So I usually tell people: bring a small notebook to write down contact info for you and them. If you are computer savy, you can print a "business card" with your personal contact info to give out to new friends you meet at the rally. There is a company called Vistaprint that will print business cards for as little as $10.00.
The info I have given you is based on my past experiences when attending a rally. It may or may not necessarily be exactly what Forest River does or will do, but you get the basic idea.
Hope to see you there!
Karen

Do not call the fairgrounds! Registration is done on the website. The only reason to contact the fairgrounds would be if you were coming in earlier that the rally date.

[youroo]

Originally Posted by AquaMan

Do not call the fairgrounds! Registration is done on the website. The only reason to contact the fairgrounds would be if you were coming in earlier that the rally date.

Youroo!! Agree,if you are Not on the FROG Reservation List 1st,you toss a Monkey Wrench into the Fairgrounds Site Plan!

[F.R.O.G.]

I'm sorry, but there is some inaccurate information here. My changes are in red.

Originally Posted by RKNOLA

Hi BrendaV and Welcome! Going to a rally for the first time can be a little overwhelming, but also a lot of fun. Let me see if I can give you some idea of what to expect.

Yes, sign up at the Forest River Owners Group site first. FROG - Forest River Owners Group On the website there are different categories. Click on "Events & Calendar". Now scroll down to "Rallies & Trips". You will see: 2016 FROG International Rally August 14, 2016- August 20,2016 Elkhart County 4-H Fairgrounds Goshen, Indiana There will be a separate page for FROG Rally registration, apart from the Events & Calendar page, just as there was last year.

When registration opens it will show up there. Also, once they have your email address they should send you and email telling you registration is open. (I usually just check the website often). There will be an e-mail that goes out prior to the opening of registration to announce the date that registration will begin. If you are registered as a member of FROG and we have your current e-mail address (have you been getting the newsletters?) then you'll get the e-mail. The date that registration opens will also be posted on the Forums, on the FROG Facebook page, and in the "News" section of the new FROG website that we're about to roll out.

Once they open registration they will give you further instructions but most of the time the instructions will be "call the fairgrounds to reserve your rally spot" (this isn't your parking spot, just your "yes, I am attending" spot). They will give the phone number when registration opens. (if they gave it now..... well, you can imagine the pandemonium....). No. Do NOT call the Fairgrounds unless you plan to come in early. I've asked the Fairgrounds not to take early reservations for days prior to Wednesday, except for the parking crew that I'll be asking to come in earlier. If you are coming in early, the Fairgrounds will let us know, but they will NOT assign you a spot. We'll assign spots from the office so that you don't have to move after arrive. Neither early registration nor early arrival guarantees you a full hookup spot.

Then the FROG (Forest River Owners Group) will send you an email asking for all of your info: how many are attending, size of your rig, do you have special needs, are you bringing pets, emergency contact info, etc. Once you fill out all your info, you will need to send your rally fee. (figure on 400 ish - 500 ish for 2 people to be safe. They will announce exactly how much when registration opens). This fee usually covers your camp site for 5 days, usually 2 meals a day, and various activities like factory tours which they usually provide transportation to. There may be some "cocktail hour" type of gatherings included in there too. There will be no such e-mail. When you register online you will provide all of the information that we need, including names (as you want them to appear on your name badge), number attending (including all names), information on brand, size, electric service, slides, etc. on your rig. You'll also have the opportunity to register for optional tours -- there are nine of them this year. You'll pay at that time by credit card or indicate that you are sending in a check. YOU DO NOT HAVE A CONFIRMED RESERVATION UNTIL WE RECEIVE PAYMENT. Registration fee is $475 for two people in an RV and $350 for one. Additional persons are $125 for age 12+, no charge under age 12. The fee includes six nights of camping, four buffet dinners, six breakfasts, access to vendors, seminars, factory tours (including transportation), factory service (within reasonable limits), entertainment, and more. There is a charge for any of the nine optional tours that you select, varying by tour. The charge applies to everyone on the tour, even under age 12.

On the grounds of the Fairgrounds during the rally there are some vendors that set up their booths. (Usually they put them inside one of the buildings so you can walk through and browse the booths without having to worry about the weather).

The "factory tech repairs" you may hear about is: Forest River will send techs to the rally to address repair type issues with the Motorhome/5th wheel or Travel Trailers at the rally. When you register you will be given the opportunity to list 2 (maybe 3) things you want repaired during the rally. Yes, there are limits to what they can/will repair. Simple things usually like "the hinge broke off my cabinet" or "my window shade doesn't work" but NOT rebuild my slide or turn my 2009 Motorhome into a 2016. Forest River sends Techs NOT Magicians!! LOL. But the techs are very nice and very knowledgeable so they will be able to help you and if they can't they can help you get in contact with the right person at Forest River to talk to about your repair item.

There are usually mini seminar type speakers at the rally. They may talk about things like fire safety, or proper tank cleaning for RVs. The exact list of offered seminars will probably be listed in the registration email the FROG sends you. These seminars are usually included in your rally fee. All seminars are included in your registration fee.

There will be a LOT of people to meet at the rally. Meeting other owners of the same Forest River product you own is not only fun, but it gives you access to a network of people you can call on to get info/advice/tips on your RV or any other RV related topic. So I usually tell people: bring a small notebook to write down contact info for you and them. If you are computer savy, you can print a "business card" with your personal contact info to give out to new friends you meet at the rally. There is a company called Vistaprint that will print business cards for as little as $10.00.

The info I have given you is based on my past experiences when attending a rally. It may or may not necessarily be exactly what Forest River does or will do, but you get the basic idea.
Hope to see you there!
Karen

A few other observations. Last year was the first time that we had to close registration. In four years the attendance at the FROG Rally has gone from 208 to 350 to 510 to 715, up by roughly 40% each year. This year we expect over 800. Last year we opened registration the last week of March and had to close it the second week of May. We will not fill up in the first 24 hours (or at least I don't expect to).

Everyone will have water and electricity. Some of the sites have 50-amp service, but most are 30-amp. Yes, even with a unit that handles 50-amp service, you can survive on 30-amp. (Cindy and I fulltime in a Berkshire on 30-amp when we're not on the road. You might have to use one air-conditioner at a time, but the weather has usually been very pleasant during the FROG Rally. You might not be able to use your clothes dryer. You will live.

There are about 200 full hookup sites. If you don't get a sewer site, we will offer a free pump-out during the week. (You can get as many as you want, but we will pay for one.) Neither early registration nor early arrival guarantees you a sewer. Simply being handicapped, such as having limited walking, will not guarantee a sewer site. If you have a medical situation that REQUIRES that you have a sewer site (I currently know of about three or four of those), please let us know when you register and we will make every effort to accommodate you.

Last year a ridiculous number of people registered, only to decide later that there plans had changed and they wanted to cancel. Not only does that result in a lot of work, but in many cases the cancellation came too late to offer the site to someone else that we knew had been asking about coming. We were left with some empty sites that could have been filled. This year, except in extreme circumstances, there will be a cancellation charge to cut down on that. We've never had to do that, but the number got really out of hand and some people missed out on an opportunity to attend because of the late cancellations.

There will be some restrictions on service activities this year, unfortunately again because of some of the silly requests that we've gotten from some attendees in the past. If you submit a service request, you'll be contacted by your division in advance to make arrangements. There might be some requests that are declined. I will not overrule the divisions on those.

The FROG Rally is a great time, a wonderful opportunity to meet new and old friends, to get acquainted with Forest River staff from the executive offices to the plants, a terrific opportunity to learn new things, and much more. I hope I'll be able to see many of you there!

[AquaMan]

Thanks Bob! I knew you would be around to clear that up. I think RKNOLA was confusing some of the procedures of local rallies, with the International Rally. A lot of what was said holds true for those rallies, just not the International.

[Boots49]

Bob, you must be glad that there is only1,(maybe 2) international rally's in the year. I am amazed at how you & Cindy get it done & get it right. Thanks to you & your staff. Sue is looking forward to helping Cindy at registration & I will tackle parking again.

[RKNOLA]

QUOTE: The info I have given you is based on my past experiences when attending a rally. It may or may not necessarily be exactly what Forest River does or will do, but you get the basic idea.

PLEASE SEE THE ABOVE!!! To clarify: all I was doing was offering some help to a new member who asked about the rally who was given some incorrect, info from the beginning by another poster. (I didn't see anyone jumping on him).
No, I have never been to a Forest River rally. Neither has the poster that asked about the rally. But I can tell you, so far I have been made to feel like an imposing outsider when it comes to a FR rally. Without a consistent flow of NEW ATTENDEES the rally will NOT grow! No matter how big it is now. Please help to make a rally (ANY rally) open and inviting to a new attendee. NOT just an "insider event". I have seen several "rally threads" on FRF that are filled with inside jokes and jabs at other previous attendees. But the 2 or 3 times I tried to ask about a rally I was given snippy, rude "you don't belong here" type of answers. That is not a good way to encourage new members or make them feel welcome!! I really don't think anyone wants to spend their hard earned money to go to an event that is for "only the cool kids"!!
So to all of the previous rally attendees: please ease up on the new kids!!
Thank you,
Karen

[F.R.O.G.]

Karen, please be assured that I'm not trying to criticize or to make anyone feel out of place or unwelcome. Clearly, the growth of the FROG Rally and the locally organized events show that we welcome growth and encourage new members to come. I just want to ensure that we provide complete and accurate information and let people know what they can expect and how to get registered.

At the recent Forest River/FROG weekend at Lazydays in Tampa, over two-thirds were first-timers, and at last year's FROG Rally I'd estimate that the number was well over a third. I just want to make sure that people are as clear as possible on how to register.

I'm sorry if I said something offensive in the process.

[youroo]

We have Never been to a "Frog Event,Big or Small" that we felt as "Outsiders" the point of any Rally is bring People into the fold of Fun! I helped plan the 1st Frog Rally but due to Weather conditions could Not attend! Have helped at Many more and host the Oldest Continuous Frog Rally! I have found that Members "Go out of their way" to make New people ! Sorry you feel you are being "Jumped On",but then again like you stated "Have Never been to a Frog Rally"! Youroo!!

[AquaMan]

As Bob and Youroo have stated, everyone is made to feel welcome when you are at a rally. Having been (still am) the butt of a few jokes at FROG rallies, I can assure you that regardless of your rally status, you will be welcomed and will have a few stories of your own by the time you leave! I also didn't mean to be harsh in any way, but the Goshen rally is great undertaking and just a little bit of misinformation creates havoc for Bob/Cindy and the event planners.

[Boots49]

I agree with Youroo. We have never felt as outsiders from day one. Let's all have fun. See you soon. Looking forward to our camp fires.

[ATTACH][/ATTACH]

[Oakman]

All Forest River owners are welcome at the rallies. Don’t confuse the Forest River Forum with the Forest River Owners' Group (FROG). The Forest River Forum is owned by an L.L.C. called Social Knowledge and has no affiliation with Forest River. This forum is just a bunch of owners of Forest River products that come here for RV help, ideas, and camaraderie. At times that camaraderie can give a new member the impression of a “click.” But that is not the case, it’s just that many members have met the others at various rallies and become friends, hence a lot of banter on this forum.

Joining this forum makes you a member of the Forest River Forum (FRF) but not FROG. To become a FROG you must register on the official Forest River Owner’s Group website at this link. FROG - Forest River Owners Group

It’s free to join and you will then be an official FROG. At the Goshen Rally I always look forward to seeing the friends we’ve made at other rallies but I also look forward to making new friends. All are welcome at the rally…except owners of Thor products. Forest River rocks.

[aceinspp]

Originally Posted by Boots49

I agree with Youroo. We have never felt as outsiders from day one. Let's all have fun. See you soon. Looking forward to our camp fires.

[ATTACH][/ATTACH]

I will agree whole hardly on that statement as I happen to arrive at a camp ground last year that was hosting a FROG ralley. We where asked in by Buckeyegal and Yooroo and and invited to participate in there event. Such nice folks and this how we got to attend our first rally and meet FROG Bob and Cindy. Later RJD

[RVChick]

Hey RKNOLA! From one Karen to another, welcome to FRF! I hope we meet at a FROG Rally! You will have so much fun, and you might possibly meet forever friends at these events, like I have! (Be sure to look for us Phat Phrogs at a rally too!).
I understand what you are feeling, but trust me, we truly did not mean to make you feel badly. Like Oakman said, a lot of us have been on this forum a long time and because of this forum we have also had the pleasure of actually meeting many in person, doing what we love....camping! The FROG rallies bring together a huge following of fans of not only our FR campers, but the rallies also provide opportunities for those new and old friendships, to gather and have a great time! FROG Bob has a lot of phrog fans who plan vacations around FROG rallies!





XLR Owners United!

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by w5ci

Is goshen wet or should we bring plenty of our our own adult beverages

Not only is it wet, but the "Adult Beverage Store" on the main drag by Wal-Mart boasts a "Beer Cave"

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by aceinspp

Even GA got to selling on Sunday. Stone age Indiana Later RJD

Come one state over to the west RJ...we still have dry counties and you can't buy hooch until after noon on Sundays (keeps the fellers from taking a nip during the sermon )

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by F.R.O.G.

Indeed there will, Bob. The caterer that did Pete's Dinner the first three years is going to be doing all of our meals this year.

AWESOME Bob!! If their "regular" meals are half as good as Pete's Dinner last year, we are going to be eating EXTREMELY well!

[Boots49]

I hope Pete will be there this year again. Sue & I could not make it last year because we went to Germany at the same time. The year before Pete could not make it do to illness, maybe this year we will all come together.

[aceinspp]

Originally Posted by BamaBob

Come one state over to the west RJ...we still have dry counties and you can't buy hooch until after noon on Sundays (keeps the fellers from taking a nip during the sermon )

Been there done that when I was still working and made trips to Alabama. Bummer first time I ran in to it. So now looks like you need a few more transit folks to make there way into your state and get into legislation and soon you will be up to date like the rest of us. Later RJD

[F.R.O.G.]

Originally Posted by BamaBob

Not only is it wet, but the "Adult Beverage Store" on the main drag by Wal-Mart boasts a "Beer Cave"

To expand on that, it has been FROG's policy since the first "official" event that we do not provide alcohol at any FROG event. Where we have group dinners, alcoholic drinks are not included. If members want to bring alcohol, or have a drink from a cash bar at a dinner, we have no problem with that as long as they are legal and are acting responsibly.

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by F.R.O.G.

we have no problem with that as long as they are acting responsibly.

[emoji87][emoji15]


2008 2500hd Duramax
2015 Columbus 320RS
2016 nights camped "0"
2015 nights camped "34"