aztec7fan

Maybe totally different, but on several Isuzu box truck we used in our fleet, we encountered this problem, and it turned out to be the king pins.

Ross, I know most of my suggestions might appeal to a small portion of the membership (or none at all), but the idea is, if you (fmca), keep doing the same thing, you will keep getting the same results. These ideas are just examples how fmca needs to think outside the box. You said the gaming room wouldn't work since there are very few kids at the events, but how many 20 and 30 year olds play video games after work? If you have a sporting event at a convention, and only 20 people participate,all you need is half those people to post on social media how much fun they had at an fmca event and it's amazing free advertising. Thanks for listening, Chris g

I am old school, (f3508-s), so my ideas are old school too. I'm 54 years old and still work,so have limited time to go Rally's and conventions. Make fmca budget scaleable, so, no matter if you have 10,000 members or 100,000 members, it doesn't lose money. Remember, in the 1960s and 1970s, there were only a few thousand members, yet there was still a glossy magazine and great conventions (and points you could earn by recruiting new members that could be redeemed for prises). Make conventions interesting for all ages. I've looked over the activities, and frankly, they are boring. Knitting and painting, and crafts may appeal to some,but not me. I have an old 1989 southwind, so most of the how to's don't apply to me. How about procedures on tire changing, installing chains in the winter, locating all the chassis grease points, would really appeal to me. How about some outdoor activities? Stage a football, basketball or volleyball game(s) between competing chapters? In 1972 we had tug of wars over a nasty mud pit, and I still remember it. Set up an outdoor theater and show somewhat recent movies like avengers or star wars? Set up a gaming room with x-boxes and play stations and have various competitions. If a track is nearby, have a pulling competition to see which chassis has more power. Try to recruit more of these people who are converting busses and vans into "tiny home". You see articles on these folks all the time online. All these arguments about losing members is just a re-hash from 5 years ago. Adding towables wasn't the big boon everybody said it would be, just a band-aid. Heck, I'd almost like to go back to being motorhome only if we could then just focus on our core membership. Chris g.

FYI, my 1989 Chevy 454 p-30 has now gone 103,000.

Wayne, you have good points, that towables and motorhomes are very similar in design and features. My point of not renewing is that the organization forced upon the membership that we must include towables or the club will falter and die. This is like creating a classic Corvette club, and then when you don't have enough membership to sustain the club, you then accept classic Mustangs. They are both classic cars, with 4 wheels, an engine and transmission. By accepting something other than your original purpose (motorhomes, land yachts, converted coaches, etc), you diminish what the founders intended. I've been a member off and on since 1969, so maybe I'm probably just an old stick in the mud. Enjoy the "new", FMCA. I'll go subscribe to Motorhome Magazine and get a Good Sam membership. Chris g. F3508s

"before I take that exit, to the highway in the sky, I'm gonna take old 30 one more time" Song by CW McCall called "old 30". Talks all about the Lincoln Highway, aka hwy 30. It was the first transcontinental highway. Most people think Route 66 has that distinction, but the Lincoln Highway pre-dates it by several years.

I'm letting my membership lapse in October when it's up. Since the move to include towables, the club has become even less relevant to me. Maybe when I retire, the kids move out and we start full timing, I might see a desire to rejoin, but not for several years. Chris g. F3508s

I've had it happen before on two different jeeps. Start simply: Rotate the tires or replace tires if they are getting low on tread. Also have the alignment checked. Finally, also have a tire person look at the rims and look for a bent rim. If none of this solves it, finally have a mechanic look at suspension, tye-rods, etc.

I've had the fan clutch on our front engine gasser go out several times in the last few years. I've gotten really good at replacing them. Never had a catastrophic failure like your. Mine just stopped working, or start squeeling badly. I also got mine at oreilies with a lifetime warrenty so just swapped it out last week on a weekend getaway to the mountains at no cost.

So , I got an email recently regarding a "health insurance" benifit from FMCA. I read with interest what it might cover, but all online info was very limited on specifics. The one thing that stood out was that at the bottom of the info, it said it was not a major medical plan, and not a replacement for regular health insurance. Why can't FMCA look into working with a provider to supply a discount to full major medical insurance for us who are too young for Medicare and medicaid? Chris

Does anyone have a set of FMCA magazines from this time period that would list vehicles that can be flat-towed?

When driving my 32' gas southwind, my wife yells at me alot. I don't think it's the engine noise, though.

Me too! I love the flexibility to be able to cook on gas while boondocking. Also have 4 burners, and I've used up to 3 at one time.

You might also want to try Prospect RV Park. http://prospectrv.com/?utm_source=rvparkreviews.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=RVLife_Campgrounds It's in Wheat Ridge, which is a suburb of Denver, but is close to I-70 and the main city. I've never stayed there myself, but it seems to get pretty good reviews. The clear Creek RV park is pleasant, since it's right next to the river, and parks, and Golden, which is a nice small town, but it can be considered crowded depending on the size of your rig. Dakota ridge is ok, but it gets mixed reviews since it's pricy, and some sites are small. Chris g. Westminster, CO

We have a 1989 32' southwind. In the Sacramento area we visited relatives, went to Muir Woods NP, pier 39, and Alcatraz island.