Spartan Academy

We finished our week at Spartan Academy in Charlotte, MI. Charlotte is pronounced CharLot by the way. Spartan Motors has really put a lot of thought and effort in the training they provide RV owners. From the onsite RV parking (electric sites with water and dump stations nearby on the Spartan grounds) to the classroom facility, they show that they care.

All of the instructors were excellent and had an incredible knowledge base. A chassis in the classroom along with hands on working demonstration boards for air brake systems, drum and disc brake, comfort steering, and a Hadley air suspension was rather impressive. Other training aids included ride height sensors - pneumatic and electronic, Ujoint clip, and a table full of parts. 

In addition to learning about maintenance, the last session was about some things you could do to get off the side of the road in an emergency. This included demonstrations of changing belts and air dryer bypass. 

Spartan provided breakfast and lunch daily, and the swag bags were excellent. We didn’t win the 3 night stay at the RV resort, but there were two folks who did. The class is limited to eight coaches too. It’s helpful that the class size is not too big. Big Mike had plenty of stories to keep the training interesting too.

Part of the week of training included an inspection of your coach with a technician. Harold loved it. Of course, we had some work done while we were there. Who better to work on your chassis than the folks who built it? I feel better about going down the road, knowing that everything regarding driving has been inspected. Harold says that the coach drives so much better now.

Speaking of driving, yes, I did get behind the wheel. The training included two hours with a driving instructor from Preferred Driving and Testing, Inc. The first hour was spent in the lot learning about finding references to use when driving, backing up, and parking. The second hour was spent on the roads around Charlotte. Street driving, country roads, and interstate driving with enough turns and stops to make it interesting. I need more practice for sure, but at least I’m not totally afraid anymore.

No, Harold, you cannot blow the siren.