Soar to Great Heights on Our Next Excel Rally!

Excel is ready to launch our next high-flying rally - a trek to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta! Enjoy the crisp autumn air with your Excel family members.

Arrival in Albuquerque is scheduled Friday, October 3, 2008. The tour concludes Sunday, October 12. Camping will be in the Standard RV Campground, and we have reservations on the balloon grounds for 60 Excels. The Standard Campground has an electric generator (24 hours/day), potable water service by truck, and sewer dump truck. And, you will receive free shuttle service to and from the balloon ascension field.

The tour includes 10 FULL DAYS of exciting & interesting activities:

• Two books of gate passes for each unit
• Get-acquainted cookout in the campground the first evening
• Tickets to the Balloon Museum right on the grounds
• A breakfast & a hobo soup supper prepared in our campground
• Close-up viewing of balloon ascensions, both from our campground and at the balloon launch site (the balloons, at times, will drift over our camp site).
• Watch balloonists prepare for ascensions at dawn. Talk to the pilots or join a chase team!
• Tour of Acoma Pueblo, impressively situated atop a 365-foot sandstone mesa. Our visit there will include a tour of the pueblo and lunch at the Acoma Casino.
• Ride the Sandia Peak Tramway, taking you 2.7 miles up to the 10,378-foot Sandia Peak. Be sure to bring your binoculars to spot bear or mule deer on the slopes below. We’ll dine at the restaurant atop the peak.
• Saturday night we will host a farewell party with margaritas and BYO finger foods.

In addition to all that, we will visit historic Old Town to shop, explore the art galleries lining the area’s romantic streets and have a group lunch.

We’ve planned the Excel Rally so you’ll have time to enjoy optional activities with your newfound friends from the group. Additional optional activities include: Atomic Museum, Botanical Garden and Aquarium, Santa Fe, Madrid art colony, Tinkertown, wineries, zoo, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, casinos or additional time spent at the balloon grounds. Information should be available to help you plan optional events.

All reservations, tickets and a portion of your meals are ready for you to sit back, relax and enjoy. Paul and Kay Herrington, along with Steve and Karen Benton, will accompany the group for this fun-filled adventure.

We will begin to take reservations April 15, 2008.

Rally price: $1,229 per unit (2 person rig).

This Excel Tour is limited to the first 60 units making reservations. A deposit of $500 must be included with your reservation, with the balance of $729 due by July 1, 2008. First come, first served. To make your reservation, please call us at 800-368-3759. Visa, Mastercard and Discovery are accepted.

Cancellations:

• Prior to July 7, 2008 - 100% of deposit, less $20.
• July 7, 2008 through September 1, 2008 - $620 refund.
• September 2, 2008, and after - no refunds.
• We highly recommend that you purchase trip insurance.

Traveling Together

Anyone who has taken part in the Excel activities knows what a great job the Herringtons and Bentons do to organize & lead the rallies, tours and caravans. Thanks to their exceptional hosting, we are increasing the number of opportunities for our Excel family to travel together. An expedition is in the planning stage to Washington, D.C. & Virginia in the fall of 2009.

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In memory of Dave Baleria

The Excel Family is deeply saddened with the loss of Dave Baleria, who passed away Feb. 28, 2008, in Benson, Arizona. Dave & Sandy, his wife of 31 years, traveled to 48 states in their Excel RV. Dave established and maintained the “Full-Timers Group”, a website for owners of Excel RVs.

Dave and Sandy RV’d in some capacity for most of their married life. They began preparations to go full timing in 1999 when they attended their first Life on Wheels Conference. They sold everything and hit the road on July 4, 2001, their "Independence Day" as Dave liked to say. They were still living in their original 28' Excel, which was perfect for their needs.

Dave had a long, successful and proud career in law enforcement in Medford, Oregon. He worked for the Jackson County Sheriff's Department and retired in the capacity of Sergeant in charge of training, the DARE program and many other tasks. He was always interested in maintaining his education and earned many professional certifications. He retired in 2000 and then worked for Southern Oregon University in the criminology extension program.

In their full-time life, Dave was especially proud of their association with the Life on Wheels program as core instructors, which they began in 2000. They conducted 11 seminars, with topics ranging from a personal safety series to lifestyles. Dave wanted others to fully enjoy their RV’ing experiences and made many friends. Every seminar always had the best and most recent information available.

Dave had recently completed a CD book, which was an enhanced version of his “Campground and RV Park Membership & Discount Systems,” which he had been offering in paper version for several years. He was working on a second CD book at the time of his death.

His unexpected death occurred while he and Sandy were on a walk. Dave is also survived by his mother, Billie Raney, of Medford, Oregon.

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Excel Introduces the Limited 30TKE

Inspired by our most popular floor plan of the past two years, Excel is proud to introduce another member to our “TKE” family ­ the Limited 30TKE. This model, like its “big brothers,” the 36, 35, and 33-foot TKE models, the 30TKE has all the same class, room and pizzazz you expect from this series.

Take a look inside the 30TKE and you’ll be impressed with this fabulous floor plan. Our design team took all the wonderful features of the TKE, including the rear entertainment center, the wide-open living room and spacious kitchen, and developed a plan for the 30-foot version. The kitchen features handsome cabinets to provide great storage as well as plenty of countertop space for you to enjoy meal preparations. Enjoy the view of your LCD television in the rear entertainment center from anywhere in the living room or the kitchen.

And check out the redesigned enclosed bathroom. The new location of the toilet and drain pipe opens up better storage in the basement compartment.

Excel’s Limited 30TKE is sure to appeal to the full-time RV’ers as well as anyone in the market for an outstanding 30-foot Excel model.

For more information, please contact your nearest Excel dealer today!

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Excel Customers Enjoy Appreciation Luncheon at Victoria Palms Resort

Warm fellowship was enjoyed by all who attended Excel’s Customer Appreciation Luncheon in February at the Victoria Palms Resort in Donna, Texas. Hosts Vaughn & Duana Peterson welcomed approximately 400 guests.

After everyone enjoyed the delicious meal, Vaughn shared the latest news from Excel. Several lucky attendees went home with door prizes provided by Excel.

Many Excellers stayed for some time after the program to visit as they renewed friendships, met friends from their state Excel clubs, and talked about their travels and winter activities. Many Excellers who have participated with the Excel caravan trips the past few years also enjoyed an informal reunion as they also stayed for a nice, long visit.

We have received many notes of thanks for those who attended the luncheon, saying they had a great time and appreciated the lovely luncheon. Excel appreciates all those assisted with this event, as your participation helped make this a most successful day!

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Welcome Changes in Our Sewing and Electrical/Appliance Departments

Recent changes inside the Excel factory are helping to make our facility operate with more efficiency. These changes are occurring in our Sewing and Electrical/Appliances Departments.

An area of the factory was opened up after our new Customer Service Center was built in 2005. Since then, plans were devised to remodel the former service center to accommodate the Sewing Department, as this area is located next to the Finish Department. Many of the items that the Sewing Department constructs are installed in the Excels as the coaches enter the Finish Department. Thus, it is more efficient to have the sewing room located close to the Finish Department.

The first portion of the Sewing Department to move to the new area was the mattress construction. Then work progressed to remodel the area for the rest of the sewing room to relocate there. Moving day arrived in mid-March and in just a few days all the equipment, fabric & supplies found their way to their new home and sewing production quickly resumed.

Plans are now underway to rearrange storage for the Electrical/Appliance Department in the space vacated by the Sewing Department. Various supplies and appliances will be stored in this room, including TV sets, DVD players, microwave ovens, stoves, etc.

We invite you to stop by for a tour of the Excel factory to see these changes and see how your Excel coach is designed and built. Factory tours are held Monday-Friday at 1:30 pm.

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From the Excel Mailbox

Dear Excel,
We purchased our RV from the original owners in October 2007. We have just completed two months of "extreme" camping in Joplin, Missouri where my husband was working on the (FEMA) storm clean up. This was the very first time we have camped in mid-winter.

We just wanted to tell you how pleased we are with our RV. Although we had some problems with water freezing outside at the source, we never had any problems with our RV. Based on your location, I know you understand the type weather we experienced. The lowest temperature we had was about 9°, and there might have been a wind chill as well. However, we were very comfortable and NEVER felt any draft in the camper whatsoever! My husband had several previous RVs, and was absolutely delighted as he expected to feel a chill at times!

I just wanted to tell you what a great product you make. Although this unit is three years old, we couldn't be more satisfied with our purchase. You include a lot of extras in your construction, and this is the only type RV we will ever have. Thanks for building a quality product!

Mary & Richard Bell
Cherokee Village, AR



Dear Excel,
As new Excel owners, Cindy and I wish to express our appreciation and respect for your product, service and value.

The quality of our TKE, both in design and construction, is impressive. We completed extensive research before deciding, including the RV Consumer Guide to narrow down companies, and visited the manufacturing operations of four companies. You convinced us that you had the best balance of product and process design, engineering experience, and the most consistent and reliable manufacturing.

We would like to thank George Haist for helping us through the initial stage and the great plant tour, and for working with Doug’s RV to customize to our needs.

Finally, and of great importance, is the service from Doug (Doug’s RV) and his dealership. We were ignorant to the importance of the dealer when we began this process. Now, we can see that the dealership role is paramount. His personal commitment to our satisfaction and his team’s competence in making it happen were truly outstanding!

Sincerely,
John & Cindy Kubish
Livingston, TX

'Excel Extra' Online

If you would like to receive the "Excel Extra" via the Internet, we'll be happy to add you to our online email list. Email us at newsletter@excelrvs.com, and add "Excel Extra Online" to the subject line. Don't forget to include your name in the message.

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Welcome New Excel Dealers

Holiday Hour RV
350 West Lincoln Highway
Cortland, IL 60112
(815) 756-9438

Double B RV
1002 Highland Road
Cleburne, TX 76033
(817) 556-2800

Excel Club News

Check out the latest happenings from our family of state Excel Clubs here...

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Excel Show Schedule 2008

View the 2008 Schedule here.

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