A six-week journey led to FRVA rallies, interesting travels, and a spruced-up Roadtrek.
By Sue Hankins & Pat Yacklon, F395564
September-October 2025
Sue Hankins and Pat Yackon decided to have CDI give their 2010 Roadtrek, with its fading paint and graphics, a new look. The before photo is shown here.
Are we crazy, or what? We asked ourselves that question a couple of times last year when we drove our 2010 Roadtrek 210 Class B motorhome from Southern California to northern Iowa to have it painted.
It all started in March 2024 at the FMCA (now FRVA) 108th International Convention & RV Expo in Tucson, Arizona. We were walking through the vendors area when we spotted a company that paints RVs. The paint was chipping off our Roadtrek, and the decals were faded. We stopped and talked with Luke and Brenda from CDI (cdicus tompaint.com), a company based in Forest City, Iowa, that paints RVs manufactured at the Winnebago Industries factory nearby, along with products from other companies. CDI has a second location in Charles City, Iowa, as well. We liked the fact that they paint RVs and don’t use decals. They use stencils to paint the design on the vehicle and then apply two layers of clear coat.
During the convention in Tucson, Luke came out to look at our RV and gave us an estimate. It was in the price range another well-known car painting company had given us. That option incorporated decals from an outside source that we would have to pursue. We were sold on CDI.
We had already signed up for a Roadtrek International chapter rally and the International Area Rally in Muskogee, Oklahoma, in May 2024. Iowa was just another 500 miles north of there. “It’s right on the way,” we told ourselves — one of our famous sayings. So, we scheduled an appointment for just after Memorial Day. That would give us a week to get there following the rallies.
At first, we thought we wanted to duplicate our Roadtrek’s original color and design. Luke and Brenda asked if we would be open to looking at other ideas as well. They had several books of pictures and designs. Before our trip started, Luke emailed us computer drawings to help us visualize different designs on our RV, and we worked back and forth until we settled on a customized look. We would pick the actual colors when we got there.
They told us to allow about two weeks for the painting, so we started looking for a place to stay during that time. Searching online, we found Three Fingers Campground (threefingerscampground.com) in Forest City, which offered a cabin on a lake. And it was only 4 miles from CDI.
We arrived in Forest City on a Thursday. We had reservations for a tour of the Winnebago factory in town on Friday morning. The two-hour tour was fascinating. Winnebago makes most of its soft goods in-house — seats, cushions, drapes, mattresses, even bedspreads. The tour ended with a bird’s-eye view of the production lines where everything is put inside the RVs and finished. The RVs then go to CDI to be painted.
We had four days before our appointment at CDI and found a wonderful small campground in town. Pammel Park is right on the Winnebago River. Even though we stayed over Memorial Day weekend, it was not crowded. We enjoyed four relaxing days of watching the river and the golfers on the other side of the river.
On Tuesday, we arrived at CDI at 7:00 a.m. Several employees greeted us by name. They were so friendly and welcoming. A team of four or five came out to inspect our RV and go over any areas of concern with us, listening and writing everything down. They came inside with us as we picked out color samples, offering suggestions. They had asked us ahead of time if we would be part of a promotional video they were making. A cameraman interviewed us and followed us through our experience. Jason, the production manager, gave us an interesting, detailed walking tour of the eight stages of the painting process, so we saw Winnebago RVs being painted from start to finish. We were impressed with the CDI team and the attention to detail.
Brenda then drove us to our rental cabin at Three Fingers Campground. The 100-year-old farmhouse has been completely modernized. It sits on a “finger” of a lake, with lake views on three sides and an open area and a cornfield on the fourth. It is on campground property that you can walk to, but you feel secluded. It is owned by a wonderful young couple, Denise and Jonathan, who were so friendly and welcoming. Must be an Iowa thing! Since we had no transportation while we were there, they offered to help us with anything we needed and even went to the grocery store for us.
For two weeks we relaxed, walked around the lake, and watched six or so pairs of Canada geese on the grounds with their ducklings. And we literally watched the newly planted corn grow — well, at least a couple of inches.
By the middle of week two, Brenda called to ask if we would like to see the stencils on our camper before they painted it. You bet we would! She picked us up, and back at CDI, we saw what looked like our baby underneath a mass of yellow stencils and cover. They showed us some parts they had removed and repaired, and we tried to make out the pattern of our design.
On Friday, the big reveal day, Brenda picked us up again. We were so excited. When we arrived at CDI, part of the team was there, along with the videographer. Our Roadtrek was parked inside the building. They opened the door and drove her out. We had been looking at computerized drawings, but they did not compare with what we saw. She was gorgeous! The metallic blue and blue-gray colors of the new design were eye-popping. We loved it! It was better than we could have imagined.
After many walks around the coach, trying to take it all in, and hugs from the team, who had begun to feel more like friends, we drove off, listening to a CD that we play when we leave our FRVA rallies: Willie Nelson’s “On The Road Again.”
We drove 4,300 miles round-trip; were gone for six weeks; attended two rallies; and took our time enjoying our travels. We saw some beautiful country and met some wonderful people. And now, we have a one-of-a-kind, gorgeous Roadtrek.
So, are we crazy? Maybe a little. Are we happy campers? You bet we are!
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