Should FMCA Allow Towable RVs-- Vote NOW

[BillAdams]

6 hours ago, manholt said:

Bill, did you buy tires?  At fleet price?

No, I bought tires at the FMCA discount price.  It was not that much better than if I had tried to buy without the discount.  Since I only need  tires every 7 years I will just re-join 6 years from now.  Since 1994 I have only recently discovered that benefit and only used it this one time in 23 years.

[jimnorm]

On 10/12/2017 at 6:02 PM, Isaaac1 said:

I am 48 and own a class A motorhome, there is a guy on the online owners forum for my model that just bought one this week, and while I am not sure his exact age I know he is younger than I am and has 4 year old twins.  The problem is not that there are not younger people that own motorhomes, the problem is there is little in the FMCA to attract them.

Isaaac1, you illustrated my point exactly. FMCA is hiding its light under a bushel. FMCA is not campaigning to gain new members from the demographic we are based upon, Motor Home Owners. They, the Board, apparently have convinced themselves that tearing the organization down is a better path to growth than building it up.

I will add a thought to the discussion here. We could certainly allow towable people to attend a rally WITH THEIR TRAILER as a way to show them the 'error of their ways' and hope to turn their next purchase to a Motorhome, but to fundamentally change the organization based solely on a wing and a prayer? Sorry, bad choice.

[jimnorm]

On 10/13/2017 at 7:46 AM, smithy said:

We have programs in place with many manufacturers and dealers. We offer comp memberships to their buyers, and we convert those comps into paying members at a pretty enocouraging clip. Much better than other associations. 

Smitty, that is fantastic news, but frankly I have not seen this at the dealers I have been to or purchased from. If this is truly the case, then kudos and keep it up. It is a better path than opening us up to towables.

[cwswine]

5 hours ago, manholt said:

Pathetic!  Less than 10%...  One would think that even with RVillage, we would be above 10% by now!

I would say that’s not bad percentage base it off the percentage that goes to rally’s. Most national rally have less than 2% of the membership bothers to show up and look at the effort put into organizing one.  

[rossboyer]

1 hour ago, smithy said:

Not sure. We have put a notice on the front cover of the magazine, on the front page of the website, in the newsletter, digital magazine announcement etc. 

To me it seems that it is up to the members to get involved to get other members to vote.  I think FMCA staff has done all they can to stimulate the vote as you have stated above.  Maybe there will be a last minute surge of votes.

[manholt]

smithy.  I'm not against you.  Your job is hard enough already...

[rpelatt]

4 hours ago, Hermanmullins said:

repelatt,

Let me ask you some questions. 

Are you in a Chapter?

If so have you ever held an office?

Do you attend either a Chapter Rally, an Area Rally or a National Convention & Family Reunion?

Do you Volunteer to help anywhere?

If you see the need to change the officers, you are welcomed to run for one of the offices. That are open to any FMCA member in good standing. 

What I am saying if not involved get involved. What FMCA doesn't need are more arm chair quarterbacks. 

IMHO

Herman 

Hello Herman,

repelatt,

Let me ask you some questions. 

Are you in a Chapter? No, I am not.

If so have you ever held an office? Not in FMCA,  but yes, in several trade organizations as relating to the business I owned. Also served as VP and later Pres. of a local off-road club.

Do you attend either a Chapter Rally, an Area Rally or a National Convention & Family Reunion? No, I have not due to time constraints

Do you Volunteer to help anywhere? Yes, now that I am retired I have averaged 500-600 volunteer hours per year for the past three years with the Tonto National Forest here in Az.

If you see the need to change the officers, you are welcomed to run for one of the offices. That are open to any FMCA member in good standing. 

What I am saying if not involved get involved. What FMCA doesn't need are more arm chair quarterbacks.

If you look at my posts up to this vote issue you will see that I do not criticize, or go on a rant. Until this vote started, I was happily minding my own business, assuming that FMCA was a well oiled machine. I thoroughly enjoyed my membership knowing I belonged to an association that  catered exclusively to Class A, B, & C RV's. I have gained a huge amount of knowledge reading the various forums here. I enjoy the magazine and even look forward to the ads as they always pertain to our type of RV. IF there was any mention that the Association was having financial problems then I am guilty of missing that article. From reading this thread as well as the one that preceded it, I suspect I am not the only one to share that feeling. Having said that I totally agree with others on this thread that to go outside of the charter, and authorize an expenditure of $250,000 (and that is just one that we have heard of...are there others?) is wrong no matter how you look at it. My question remains: Why didn't the directors put it out to the membership that we were approaching a dire position and ask the membership for input before going down this path in which the entire charter must be amended? 

Bob

[rossboyer]

I am not sure where the “dire financial” statement was raised, but the last I heard FMCA has 7-8 million in reserves. But more members along with more income means that more can be provided to the members. Since many manufacturers have merged product lines, there are fewer manufacturers to advertise in Family Motor Coaching which was a major income source to provide benefits to members. Therefore, other revenue sources needed to be found. I would have preferred that every member get another motor homer to join. I guess we are lazy and created our own problem. 

[isaaac1]

Ok, here is a straight forward question on the topic of recruitment, what is your selling point for someone age 40-60 that is not retired?  Assuming they don't need new tires this year.

[rsbilledwards]

For those that do not know Herman allow me to introduce the oldest next to dirt 80 something year old energizer Bunny. He was the leader of the Coach Parkers at the last Rally Janet and I went to, I think. He is one of the youngest hardest working old Bunnys I have ever seen...he was everywhere at the same time it seemed. He is one of those examples we all should take notice of and is under appreciated!!! He tries his best to lead by example. well done Herman.

Hope I don't get in trouble now...

 

B

[jleamont]

3 hours ago, rossboyer said:

I am not sure where the “dire financial” statement was raised, but the last I heard FMCA has 7-8 million in reserves. But more members along with more income means that more can be provided to the members. Since many manufacturers have merged product lines, there are fewer manufacturers to advertise in Family Motor Coaching which was a major income source to provide benefits to members. Therefore, other revenue sources needed to be found. I would have preferred that every member get another motor homer to join. I guess we are lazy and created our own problem. 

Interesting, when most RV dealers and over 90% of the campgrounds I have been to have no idea what family motorcoach is I beg to differ. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where the problem resides. 

Mentioned on one of the other posts regarding this ludicrous proposal..when I book a reservation I ask if Family Motorcoach members get a discount, only two times in 8 years I was told yes, the other times, I either get silence then NO or I have never heard of that...we do except Good Sam.

The other problem, the FMCA commercial Campgrounds we have been through (never stayed) are run down dumps, that in of itself will tarnish the name. Being a part time RV family I have only toured 4, all in the North East and they were scary. 

Recap and let this sink in.. if RV dealers and Campgrounds haven't heard of the organization how is prospective members ever going to?? Yea, I know Ross speak to people while camping, I do it and I went as far as day one I always where my FMCA polo shirt. One person here and there isn't the impact needed. It just scratches the surface.

I have to agree with Smitty, Rvillage was a shot to get the name out there, better gamble then doing nothing. Personally I think knocking on campground and dealer doors would be more beneficial but the unfortunate part of that, they won't promote it without something for them, it's the world today  

[manholt]

Bob.  I think we all get where your coming from and agree!  We on this forum are about 90% for not, changing FMCA...that seems to be the minority!  It's very frustrating to most off us and even more so, when I read responses from some that wrote, the complete opposite, several pages back...in Texas we call them "Post Sitters", you may call them "Fence Sitters". they have no idea how they got there, what their doing there, or how to get off !

Ross.  You know when and where!  You can and have in the past answered your own question!

Bill E.  Yes!  Total agreement.

Isaak1.  We have been down that road and I don't know!

Joe.  ???  Have no clue, to a turnaround or even if one is needed...smithy say's that we are loosing money...must be FMC  not  FMCA ! 

[isaaac1]

manholt, that is my point, I don't know either, as a 40 something year old, I don't know how to promote the FMCA to others in my age range, my main reason for joining does not really apply to that many others (to allow membership is a specific brand coach owners chapters / owners club).  So that leaves me with what, when someone asks about the egg on my coach at a camp ground, hey do you need new tires?

[rossboyer]

I did get the closest campground to our home to become a FMCA Campground and it is not a dump. I know three chapters routinely schedule rallies there. You have to ask and present the benefit to them. I purposely selected a FMCA campground to overnight on the way to West Springfield last year and it was not a dump either. 

[fagnaml]

As I stated before, I joined FMCA two years ago when I "graduated" from a travel trailer to motorhome to provide more space for my growing family and to learn about motorhome ownership.   I need to "down play" the concept that motorhome owners are "old" folks.  The 300+ motorhomes that arrive in Baton Rouge for each LSU home game have owners that are mostly in the 45 - 65 year old range (like me).  A large majority of those owners are similar to me in that they are first time owners who purchased good condition 5-10 year old motorhomes to have a larger RV for growing families.   This past weekend while walking through the RV lot I'd guess only ~20% of the motorhomes had FMCA membership plates.    The owners on either side of me were not FMCA members.  When I asked why, both said they hadn't heard of FMCA (so I gladly educated them).   Both however were members of Good Sam Club because of their visits to Camping World.  The discounts for Camping World purchases, RV park discounts and fuel discounts are their primary reasons for being Good Sam Club members.  When I explained to them that the annual FMCA membership is twice the price of Good Sam Club which included the tire purchase benefit and medical assist benefit but no other everday purchase discounts, no fuel discounts, and fewer RV parks that have FMCA discounts they were not interested in joining FMCA.

As Issac1 has stated many times, FMCA is not very attractive to the middle age, 45-65 year old crowd and is highly disadvantaged from a visibility stand-point compared to Good Sam's Club being "owned" by Camping World.   Additionally the "everyday" purchase discounts at Camping World and fuel discounts at Pilot/Flying J Truck Stops are significant reasons for keeping a Good Sam's Club membership.   A tire purchase discount some point in the future "is not on the radar" of motorhome owners.   The "middle age" crowd generally has no health concerns and sees little need for a "medical assist" benefit that must be funded by membership fees.

Whether towables owners are allowed to join FMCA or not, FMCA has a significant image (old folks only) and visibility/marketing problems that hopefully national leadership recognizes exists and will quickly address.

 

[jleamont]

22 minutes ago, fagnaml said:

As I stated before, I joined FMCA two years ago when I "graduated" from a travel trailer to motorhome to provide more space for my growing family and to learn about motorhome ownership.   I need to "down play" the concept that motorhome owners are "old" folks.  The 300+ motorhomes that arrive in Baton Rouge for each LSU home game have owners that are mostly in the 45 - 65 year old range (like me).  A large majority of those owners are similar to me in that they are first time owners who purchased good condition 5-10 year old motorhomes to have a larger RV for growing families.   This past weekend while walking through the RV lot I'd guess only ~20% of the motorhomes had FMCA membership plates.    The owners on either side of me were not FMCA members.  When I asked why, both said they hadn't heard of FMCA (so I gladly educated them).   Both however were members of Good Sam Club because of their visits to Camping World.  The discounts for Camping World purchases, RV park discounts and fuel discounts are their primary reasons for being Good Sam Club members.  When I explained to them that the annual FMCA membership is twice the price of Good Sam Club which included the tire purchase benefit and medical assist benefit but no other everday purchase discounts, no fuel discounts, and fewer RV parks that have FMCA discounts they were not interested in joining FMCA.

As Issac1 has stated many times, FMCA is not very attractive to the middle age, 45-65 year old crowd and is highly disadvantaged from a visibility stand-point compared to Good Sam's Club being "owned" by Camping World.   Additionally the "everyday" purchase discounts at Camping World and fuel discounts at Pilot/Flying J Truck Stops are significant reasons for keeping a Good Sam's Club membership.   A tire purchase discount some point in the future "is not on the radar" of motorhome owners.   The "middle age" crowd generally has no health concerns and sees little need for a "medical assist" benefit that must be funded by membership fees.

Whether towables owners are allowed to join FMCA or not, FMCA has a significant image (old folks only) and visibility/marketing problems that hopefully national leadership recognizes exists and will quickly address.

 

Glad to know we are not alone and have the exact conversation as you did up here in the North East on a regular basis.

[BillAdams]

Great post from Mike and Cindy.  There are just no real benefits to draw younger members.

[cwswine]

On 10/14/2017 at 6:16 PM, Isaaac1 said:

Ok, here is a straight forward question on the topic of recruitment, what is your selling point for someone age 40-60 that is not retired?  Assuming they don't need new tires this year.

Those that don’t like or have time to attend rally’s I don’t think there is a answer to your question. 

[aztec7fan]

That was a good post from fagnaml!  

A couple things to add to the selling point for FMCA: the magazine does contain good knowledgeable info for motorhome owners on proper care and maintenance.  Also, Sam's club members get either $10.00 or $30.00 back when they renew.

Minor issues, to be sure, but I always like to ask a motorhome owner when was the last time they weighed their coach.  Most have never done so, and I point out (nicely), that their tires may not be inflated to the correct pressure, and I learned that from FMCA.

Chris G.

[manholt]

Neither Escapees or GS have a Forum as informative as FMCA!  Rally's are good, Chapters are better and the individual is the best.   

[BillAdams]

I would have to disagree.  The Good Sam (RV.net) forum is pretty awesome and covers much more extensive areas of RVing.  There are not the small groups of repeat poster as seen here but rather a much broader knowledge based from hundreds of posters.  I have not visited Escapees in a long time so I can't say one way or the other but I do see that it is quite active.

[elkhartjim]

Escapees has a great forum, in my opinion. I've even sold two toads and a towbar on their site. Lots of experienced rvers. 

[manholt]

I'm happy, your happy!  I'm happiest here...I also belong to the two other groups and yes, they do have their own purpose for me!

[f457930]

I believe that FMCA's best selling point is that it caters to motorhome owners only. That is the one thing that sets it apart from GS.  I am also a GS member because the financial benefits are worth the price.  I choose to be in FMCA simply because it provides  motorhome info that I am interested in and the opportunity to socialize with like minded folks.  I have friends and relatives who own towables (great people) that I have talked to about FMCA benefits.  They are not interested in the things FMCA provides.  I think FMCA is about to give up its niche in the RV world.  Good luck to us.

 

 

Dee

[isaaac1]

I too am a Good Sam's member, in fact I just renewed for 3 years today, my reason is simple economics, many commercial campgrounds offer a 10% Good Sam's discount, assuming a $35-$40 per night rate, and an annual membership cost of $23 per year (discount rate for renewing for 3 years), the membership pays for itself in just 6 or 7 visits per year to qualifying rv parks.   Will I break even on this part of the deal, maybe, maybe not, in my first year of membership It was probably close as I used it on  4 or 5 nights at participating locations.  I also qualified for a discount on my RV insurance by being a member (FMCA had the same insurance discount), then of course there is the Flying J discount, and Coupons From Camping World (which I never use).