This is the second annual conference given on the campus of Okanagan University College at its Kelowna, British Columbia campus. We'll be publishing our "class notes" from the many classes offered on various RV lifestyle and technical topics shortly. Meantime, here are some summary observations:
ARRIVAL DAY OBSERVATIONS
Our primary basis for "comparison" is the "Life on Wheels" RVing Conference offered annually at the University of Idaho in Moscow Idaho. We've thoroughly enjoyed attending (and doing presentations at) that conference during the past three years. This year we opted for a change of venue, and we look forward to a new setting, with a new series of course instructors, and hopefully some fresh insights we can pass along to our readers.
For starters, it's hard not to notice we're in Canada this time. Amazingly, it seems as if we're about the only "South of the Border" types who signed up for the conference. Last year was the first year this course was offered in Kelowna. It attracted some 25-30 students. But it was extremely well received, and the word has spread. This year they established a maximum of 120 students -- and sold out weeks in advance of the program's start. By taking advantage of additional parking spaces for RVers, it's contemplated that next year the enrollment might be extended to 200 -- but that appears to be about the maximum size that can be accommodated on this campus.
This conference includes three days of courses that cover both technical topics and RV lifestyle topics. Since Okanagan University College is the home base of a highly prized RV technician training program, it is superbly equipped to offer up courses on topics such as propane safety, propane appliance troubleshooting, generator servicing, solar, batteries, inverters, and RV exterior care. But it's well balanced with other "lifestyle" topics, including GPS systems, RV travels to Mexico and the Arctic, RV driving tips, financial and estate planning, vehicle towing tips, culinary arts, and a variety of other topics (yes, including computers and internet!).
Conference registrants began checking in at 11:00 a.m. Sunday, the day before the actual classes are scheduled to begin. Three quite level campus parking lots adjacent to the assigned classrooms were made available for the registrants, and the conference staff assisted RVers in finding a suitable spot for what would be at least a three day stay. The parking facilities were generous compared to most rally events we've seen, with ample room for awnings, and in many cases tow cars as well. As a result, when the day's parking was complete, it appeared virtually any rig at the conference could have easily exited the area in the case of an emergency.
The first evening featured a get-together barbeque, and the first chance for the "students" to start getting acquainted with one another. As we live almost at the Canadian border, we're well aware of the friendliness of our Canadian "cousins", and this group quickly proved it would be no exception.
After the barbeque, we attended what we thought would be a rather routine "welcome" meeting in the campus theatre. While it did include lots of administrative nuts and bolts, the real prize was a presentation by Ron Millelsen, Manager of "Vehicle Standards and Inspection" for British Columbia. Regular readers at this site are well aware of the various issues which have been attributed to the "inspection and citation" risks visiting RVers may face when RVing in BC -- this time we would be hearing the facts from the person who is most knowledgeable about the issue, and evaluate the situation first hand.
While we will leave the specifics of what we learned to our more detailed "course summaries" following the completion of the conference, a couple of key points deserve immediate comment. First, it is clear that the policy of BC enforcement -- with the singular exception to be noted below -- is that RVers are not only welcome, but are presumptively law abiding persons. Only if a rig is egregiously overweight is it likely to be stopped for question. The specifics of the BC laws at this moment (and they are being re-examined currently) create several technical issues for RVers. But the enforcement policy results in a climate entirely friendly to visiting RVers.
There IS an exception. Despite the BC policy, local enforcement officials in the general vicinity of Golden, BC have reportedly taken a far more restrictive attitude, and have caused serious problems for RVers who do not conform to the letter of BC's laws regarding weight restrictions. [Another suspect area mentioned was Ft. St. John] One would be inclined to conclude from the comments we heard that RV travel in BC is without significant risk of "interception and inspection", unless one travels anywhere near Golden. Radium is apparently considered within the general scope of this "beware" area. We hope to be able to amplify on this with further information we can obtain during the course of this conference. But in any event, we thought the "Golden warning", and its status as the singular exception to the otherwise tolerant policies of BC enforcement, deserved early comment.
COURSE CONTENT
About a month before the seminar, all registrants were mailed a copy of the course topics and schedule during the three days of classes on June 21-23. In order to match classroom size with the number of students expected to attend each session, the registrants were asked to indicate which courses they were planning on attending each day. The course topics ranged widely across subject matters of interest to RVers, though they represented two "categories" -- technical RV topics and RV "lifestyle" topics.
Although the classes were based on Canadian "experience", with minor exception the course content was precisely the same as it would have been if the venue had been somewhere in the U.S. After all, propane appliance troubleshooting knows no borders. And the same can be said for RVers' use of computers on the road. To our surprise we found we were the only Americans who had registered for this course. This despite the availability of excellent instruction, in the spectacular setting of the Kelowna wine country, and at extraordinarily low cost -- particularly when paying in American dollars. And perhaps best of all was the friendliness and warmth of the Canadian RVers in attendance.
We were surprised -- but interested -- to learn that Canadian licensing of RV drivers reflects a more cautious approach than across the border. For instance, drivers of large RVs with air brakes are required to complete a course on safe driving with air brakes, be certified, and then receive an endorsement on their drivers licenses reflecting their qualification to drive this type of RV. As we'll shortly be acquiring a Class A motorhome which is air brake equipped, it certainly alerted us to the need (even if not a "requirement") to become educated in the use of air brakes before we venture forth in our new RV.
We picked up some quite interesting new (at least to us) tips on some uncommon new ways for towing trailers. We had an excellent opportunity to evaluate tow bar packages for towed vehicles -- as well as the options for towed vehicle auxiliary braking systems. There was an excellent demonstration of GPS equipment. And we had an in-depth look at the world of regular and synthetic motor oils. These and many other topics provided an excellent resource for a new series of our summary topical "class notes", which we'll be posting in the near future.
SUMMARY EVALUATION
We found this a most worthwhile learning experience. And some of the included activities provided an added dimension to the experience. These ranged from an opening night "get acquainted" barbecue, to a tour of one of the local wineries, to an evening of absolutely outstanding entertainment provided by a Canadian Celtic singing group called the "O'Kanangan". You can catch a clip of their music at their website...
At a closing day meeting of all students, comments and suggestions were requested. It appears next year's course may well offer either a pre- or post-conference course on RV driving; or possibly a certified course on driving with air brakes. Perhaps one student comment summed it all up best: "This was the greatest educational value for [Canadian] $100 anyone could get anywhere". This comment drew spontaneous applause.
Next year's course will be limited to 200 registrants. Based on what we saw, it will be a total sellout in the next few months. Those who register for it before July 31, 1999 will be able to pay the "old" registration fee of [Canadian] $100 per attendee. After that the fee goes up slightly to $115. Many of the 124 registrants at this session have already signed up for next year. We've posted registration information at the bottom of our Bulletin Board page.
On a personal note, we'd like to express our appreciation to the many Canadian RVers we met at this conference. Their friendliness and warmth were much appreciated, and we felt very much at home as guests in Canada. We hope others from "South of the Border" will be able to experience this Conference in future years.