aztec7fan

i too am a non-member forum contributer. last year, i looked into joining again since we were planning a long trip with my elderly parents in-law (and two adult sons). i thought the emergency medical coverage might be a good thing to have. after doing research, it looked like the FMCA plan only covers the RV owner and spouse. i went with the Good Sam plan instead which covered everyone. i am also only interested in a motorhome only club, and would be happy to renew my membership (even at $99.00), if this club changed back to what they originally stood for and dropped the dumb name change.

my guess is there is a relay that gets tripped, possibly an over limit relay, and once the fuse gets removed and replaced, the relay resets.

while traveling on I-10 near Pensecola FL, see if you have time to visit the Gulf Island National Seashore. its a beautiful beach and there is a campground right in the park, walking distance to the beach. Ft Pickens is cool to see too.

Ace Hardware also has propane refill.

have you taken the starter out and had it tested? rough guess, it sounds like it may need replacement.

As far as trip planning, take the advice of the previous posters and plan each day in increments of 350 miles or less. this allows you time to have breakfast, get on the road for 2-3 hours, stop for lunch, drive for another 2-3 hours and arrive before dinner, in the daylight which allows for an easier setup. "visiting National Parks" can mean anything from just stopping in at the visitor center, watching a movie and leaving, to taking several hours to take a hike or a tour, or staying overnight in a campground. with your agressive itenerary, you may not have much time to sightsee in the parks, except for a quick visit. keep in mind, the campgrounds inside the NPs may not be able to accomodate a 40ft MCI coach due to size restrictions. Although there are a few online trip planning apps, i would suggest you get out a paper atlas, highlight your route, and then start writing out the itenerary, and where you plan on stopping each night. this is very useful in finding out if you need to stretch out a day, or if you can go farther than planned. we generally dont set up reservations at campgrounds, unless the area is a destination area, like Grand Canyon, or Orlando FL.

what year, make,model of coach, and what model of jacks?

We replaced the RV sleeper sofa in our 2003 Dolphin with a sleeper from a local furniture store.

i had a similar experiance with CoachNet a few years ago. my motorhome was parked across the street from my house, and i found that one of my valve stem extenders leaked, causing a flat. the person they sent out was not equipped for larger vehicles. he had to borrow my lug nut socket, and use my levelers to raise the coach since his jack was too small. I have good sam now.

As you may have seen, there is a plethora of savings cards opportunities for diesel travelers, but not so much for us gas coaches. I have some sucess with using the Upside app to save $$ on gas, and when traveling, i use Gasbuddy to find the cheapest gas in the area. I also save up my fuel points at King Soopers/Kroger, and usually get .50-.60 cents off my gas just before a trip. Maybe others may have other suggestions.

Paul, i appreciate that you will be atrempting to revive this club, so here is a small suggestion to get you on your way: In the magazine, how many articles have there been recently on converted coaches? My guess would be little to none. why should you try to appeal to this small subset of RV owners? because there is a large number of social media influencers out there writing about "van life" and converting schoolies into tiny homes. You know what all those people need? advice, and parts. where can they get the advice? in the magazine. where can they get parts? from advertisers in your magazine. this is how FMCA got started, and this is one small piece of the puzzle to helping it grow. Chris G. f3508s

I'm sorry to see FMCA struggling, but what was the reason for Chris leaving? was he expected to turn the organization around and failed, or what?

Any reason why given?

can you get to the starter and hit it with a hammer? this might free it. could be lots of other things. low batteries? bad electrical connections?

when chosing any RV, the interior configuration should be as much a priority as the engine/chassis. Does it have enough room to accomodate you and any guests that will come with you? Are there enough good seats to watch the TV? do you like the couch, the 'fridge, the bathrooms, etc.

Hmm, i never came accross that issue, but i can see that could happen. have you thought about having a couple of 2x6 planks put together with some rebar stuck through the bottom that you could drive into the ground on soft surfaces. Think this might stabilize them enough?

I did a quick search on "portable leveling jacks", but everthing i came accross were for trailers. what is your need for them? do you want to stabilize the coach when parked to prevent rocking, or do you want to ease the process if leveling when you arrive. The trailer ones might help with stabilization, but i think they are too light weight to lift a corner or side of a class C to help with leveling. in that case, i would look into getting a system designed for motorhomes such as a system from Lippert or Power gear. fyi, i leveled 2 different class A motirhomes over 15 years with just blocks under the wheels.

if you are talking about just road conditions (potholes, ruts, damaged expansion joints, etc), i'd suggest taking the I-80 route. I-70 isn't b⁹ad all the way through Kansas, but once you get to Colorado, its got some areas of road damage that make it rough for about 60 miles. Thats embarrassing, since Im from Colorado. Unfortunately, if you skip I-70, You will miss some of the most beautiful country you will ever see through the Colorado mountains. Its really worth it if you dont mind some of the bad roads on the eastern plains.

I have never had one, but from everything i've read, if you take the $$ you would be paying each month to the extended warrenty company, and put it in a savings account for RV repairs, you would come out ahead.

hmmm, when i called FMCA, the person I talked to said FMCAssist only covered the member and their spouse. They said my parents in law could get a seperate membership if they wanted the coverage and list my motorhome as the qualifying RV.

I got the Good sam one because it coveres everone traveling with you. Our next big trip will have my wifes parents and my adult sons. FMCA only covers the member and spouse.

i would also ask yourself, "what are you getting out of the tour, that you can't get out of roughly following the same itinerary, and visiting at your own pace"? I'm not knocking the tours, just that you already own an RV and have the flexibility to go where you want, when you want.

interesting, thanks for letting us know!

Just like Rayin said, other clubs and organizations such as Good Sam, Escapees, AIM and others are basically competing clubs. KOA is an organizarion that runs its own campgrounds and RV parks, and want you to join their membership so you will stay at their parks. none of these have any interest in working with FMCA to offer discounts. A few RV parks do offer a discount to FMCA members, especially if they are a Commercial member of FMCA.

fyi, this May, we will be taking a trip in our MH with my in-laws and my adult children. i checked with FMCA to see if FMCAssist would cover everyone, but it only covers the member and spouse. i decided to sign up with Good Sams platnum emergency medical service which coveres everyone.