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mypopslou

Our RVing Story

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I am from the East my wife was from the West, we got married and moved West. Never really 'camped" well maybe when I was a Boy Scout. In 1982 we bought a Dodge Van Conversion as we had a young son and another child on the way. One day my wife drags me from our home in Paradise Valley Az to Payson Az. to camp. I fought tooth and nail as I did not want to go but knew all along I would have to do this. Turns out had a fantastic time, and with wife being pregnant we decided we wanted to buy an RV, with a bathroom of course, to do this more often.

That was the start of our RVing story, we started with a 24 foot travel trailer in Phoenix which we moved with us to Cleveland when we were transferred. Had to sell it because of harassment from home owners association. Transferred to Denver and the first thing we did was to buy another 24 foot travel trailer and enjoyed a couple of years of camping and another child before a freak hail storm in Denver in 1991 destroyed it. With insurance money bought my first Class C 27 foot motor-home. Picked it up on the same day our 4th child was born.

Enjoyed that 1991 coach for a couple of years and while attending an RV Show in Denver in 1994 we ended up with a 29 foot Class C motor-home wide-body. This was a nice coach but because it was a wide-body it had a tremendous amount of side sway when driving and scared the heck out of me. In 1997 we traded up to our first 34 foot Class A Gas motor-home. We had may years of great camping, traveling, and tailgating in this motor-home. After our transfer to PA in 2002 we did not use it much so it sat in storage a lot. In 2005 I got the 'bug' again and we bought a 2005 39 foot gas motor-home and really got back into RVing so much that in 2006 we bought our first 40 foot Diesel which we kept until 2016 when I bought our current coach.

We belong to Thousand Trails and somewhere along the trail of all the rv's we owned we decided this is what we want to do full time when I retire. About 5 years ago we realized we had only spent about 3 weeks at a time in the RV and if we were going to do this full time we had better be sure. So at that time when the Thousand Trails parks opened in April we would move into the RV until October when they close and went to work from the RV. We were correct and this is what we want to do, so 2 years ago when my youngest son got married ( my son who was born on the same day I bought my first motor-home) we would move into our coach full time and we rent our house to my son and his wife. We continue to work and go home to our RV each night.

I plan to retire soon and we will hit the road full time. I have realized I don't like the cold weather so this will be my last winter in the Northeast. Next year I am heading for warmer locations.

My wife Kathy and I have been married for what will be 41 years in April and have 4 successful Children and 4 lovely grandchildren. 2 of our children live near us in Pa, one in Kansas and one in Colorado. All of our Grandchildren are in Kansas and Colorado, so guess where we will be headed first when I retire (in the summer of course).

Well that is my RVing story and how we got started with an overnight camping trip in a van conversation that I did not want to take and here we are 35 years later 'living the dream'.

 

Whats your story...

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Bobbie and I didn't get into RVing until 2000. We bought a Ferin Ultrastar 28' class A. The only camping I had ever done was as a Boy Scout on Week end, Summer Camps and as a BSA Counselor. Bobbie had never done any camping.

One day when I  was at a shop picking the coach, I picked up a magazine and thought this is a nice magazine pulled out the card, filed it out thinking I was subscribing to the magazine. Low and behold I had joined this thing called FMCA. A few days later we were having dinner with some friend and mentioned it to him. He Jump in and said I needed to join a Chapter and had an application on an email almost before we got home.

Ben told me that we had to go to a FMCA National Rally. He said there would be anywhere from 6 to 7,000 coaches there, where I replied, "Ben why would I want to go somewhere there would be 12,000 people I don't know". Look at me now!

After the Ferin we traded for a 32' Monaco Windser and then up to our current 40' Monaco Dynasty. We now go to every National Rally we can and always Volunteer, I have been President of the Lone Star Chapter and have just been elected to 1st VP of Lone Star. Have been Parking Lt., Parking Captain, Southern Region VP and now am Senior VP for the Six-State Rally Association.

Bobbie and I have grown to love going to visit Family, making trips just for the heck of it and best of all, we have made some friends allover the country. We have grown to love each and everyone of them.

Can't wait to see what is over the next hill or around the next bend in the road. 

Herman & Bobbie 

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We started out in 1987 going to car shows and sleeping in a tent . Every show we went to it either stormed on us or was so hot and humid we couldn't sleep . the last show for the year was at Cedar Creek in Oct. and a cold front blew in with the temp dropping we woke up with the air mattress floating in water inside the tent My New tentt was leaking at the seems . Needless to say we both got sick and I promised my wife for the next year we would have a travel  Trailer to show our 66 Chevelle show car . We purchased our 72 Mobil Scout from a retired couple in Boerne in March 88 and used it until 97 where we went to Texas Motor Speedway for the First Nascar Race where we Played in Rain up to our ankles and saw all the beautiful motor Homes . People parked in front of us made the coment that before next year we would have a Motor Home and of course I said we wouldn't because the Trailer was paid for NOT . We purchased our first Motor Home in Oct 97 a 1989 Rockwood Driftwood W/460 Ford Engine which I dearly enjoyed until the Diesel Bug Bit me . In 2000 we purchased a 94 American Eagle  and enjoyed it until I goa sick and couldn't drive it anymore . We joined FMCA in 2001 because I wanted to belong to something that we could fit in and try to enjoy meeting others . We bought a Safari Zanzabar after I got well in 2009 and it turned out to be a real P.O.S.and kept it for 3 years until my wife told me I couldn't spend one more cent on it ,I had spent a whole lot of money trying to fix it up . The next day I traded it for a 2003 Dutch star and joined a FMCA Chapter in which I was elected Third Vice Pres - Wagon Master . This year Herman contacted me inviting me to join Six State Rally Assoc . as Show Coach Captain . Because of certain things that are going on in the chapter I will probably be quitting the chapter and start look at other choices but will stay with Six State , Like Charlie it's all about having Fun

      michael

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We are really Newbees!  Raising 6 kids and working crazy hours we never got into camping or RVing.  As soon as we were Empty Nesters we began our nautical adventure, working up to ownership of our 40' twin diesel motor yacht (well used).  Since it was docked up north we only lived on it full time during the summer, but we began to make our plans for retirement.   Plan was to live aboard and travel full time upon retirement.  As we approached retirement though we got cold feet and began looking at RVs.  Bought our first fiver a week before the house sold and after closing went full time.  After a couple years decided to buy a home in Florida.  Missed the full timing RV lifestyle so we recently sold that house and are now back full timing but in a coach.  We are locked in to this full time adventure until our health makes us stop.  

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How ya'll doing. My wife [Paula] and I stated camping as a family in 1972. We started out on the ground in sleeping bags, but that got pretty old fast. Then we started using our pick-up truck with an mattress in the back. Later that year we added a camper shell. In 1980, or so, we purchased a Four Star slide in camper. We thpight we were in heaven. It had a ice box and a fresh water tank. It did not have any waste holding tanks and we had to plan all our travel stops were there was a Ice House, so we could keep the ice box cold. That lasted for a couple of years. We had three kids so we moved up to a 28' Fireball fifth wheel trailer and used it until I broke the frame supports in the king pin area. We traded it off on a 30' Fleetwood Terry Resort 5er but only kept it for a year or so. It leaked really bad when it rained and the dealer could not repair it, so we traded it for a 32' foot Snowbird. We used it until 2015 when we got our first class a motorhome. It's a 2004 Holiday Rambler Endever, 38' with two slides. We are in our late 60's and plan on traveling a whole lot more now that we are both retired. traveling with our grandkids has been a blast. I can't wait until our great grandkids get old enough to travel with us. Well we are getting ready to head out to the western area Indio Rally. Hope to see some old friends and make some new ones. See everyone on the road.

Safe Travels

Rick & Paula Ammerman F442485

 

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Rick, 

Try and make plans on going to the FMCA National Rally in Gillette Wyoming next summer (July 18th to 21st). David and Loretta Marlowe have some really nice thing set up for the kids to do. It would be a good place to take your Grand Kids.  

Herman

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Herman, we are planning on being in Gillette, Wy., not with the grandkids. My son and daughter in law live in Oklahoma and are renewing their vows in June, so we are going to take a 2 1/2 month trip to the rally. Hope to see you again up there. 

 

 

 

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Herman, if i mention your name at Perry do i get a good parking spot? We have been through 2 travel trailers and 5 motorhomes since 1976. our current coach is 2007 Monaco Dynasty with 104,000 miles. I am trying to wear it out before i wear out. Sorry we missed meeting you in Texarkana. We were supposed to volunteer with the Cousin Cajuns but had to cancel because of oil leak. Came home pouring a gallon a day through engine. I will try to find you in Perry.

Gene 

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Looking forward to it.

A little story. Several year ago when I was Parking Lt. in Shawnee, Oklahoma, I got many calls from the then Area Vice President, telling me that one of his friends called and wanted a good Parking Spot and he told them come on he had a special spot for them.  I finally said to him, "How many Special Spots I had?" he told me "not to worry that all parking spots were special ".

So let me say, "Come on in I will have a special parking spot for you". :)

Herman

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What happened to the OP?  Herman, this is not, nor is every other Post an advertising spot for a FMCA rally!  If we are to stay on topic, then there is no exceptions...is there? :o

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Mypopslou --

My RV story dates back to the early 1970's when summer and fall weekend adventures in the Snowy Range of southern Wyoming with my parents and brother in a Holiday Rambler travel trailer (a 24 footer I think).   Nothing beats brook trout fishing in the summer and deer/elk hunting in the fall in the Snowy Range.  Those adventures mostly ended when college, then marriage, then three children came along although during the annual trip "home" to Wyoming my family used the travel trailer while my parents stayed in the comfy Snowy Range Lodge.   Away from Wyoming during the early years of marriage our camping was limited to tents for Mom or Dad Webelos and Boy Scouts weekends.  We didn't have the finances to afford any type of RV while our kids were young.  Then the cost of college education for all three children got in the way of a family toy.

Seven years ago that all changed when my company placed me on an 18 month temporary assignment as project manager for a large capital project.   Rather than throw my per diem money away for an apartment, I followed the lead of my contract construction managers and purchased a new 30 foot, Tracer Executive travel trailer to use as my temporary home.  My per diem money fully funded the cost of the travel trailer!  At that time my wife and I were empty nesters and our daughter (the youngest) was just finishing college.  After the temporary assignment the travel trailer provided many weekends of fun especially for home LSU football games when the entire family (three kids, their spouses and a couple of very young grandchildren).   More wonderful grandchildren arrived (we now have seven) and the travel trailer suddenly became too small for an LSU weekend!

Two years ago we upgraded to our current 39 foot Damon Astoria motorhome which very comfortably gives air conditioned comfort for the entire family on a hot September weekend in Baton Rouge (the kids and grandkids stay in hotels as my wife and I need our private respite after entertaining all day long!).   When we were thinking about upgrading to a larger RV, one of my tailgating buddies (who owns a 40 foot fifth wheel) gave me the best RV advise I've ever heard -- make sure your new, bigger RV comes with a steering wheel !!   That advice was perfect!

My wife and I are now in our late 50's with retirement another 5-7 years away.   Until then career demands limit our outings to long weekends in the Texas Hill Country, Baton Rouge or some where in between.   When retirement arrives, we'll go on one week or one month or whatever durations outings in hopefully in a newer motorhome.

The adventures continue with many more wonderful experiences and memories waiting for us down the road at destinations unknown.....

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Mypopslou.  Welcome back & your absolutely correct.

I got mine listed on several other post's, dating back to 2013 on this Forum!  I guess one more time and a short version is not going to hurt.

When I was a 24, I went to the Los Angeles Auto Show with my father, so he could droll over his next Buick!  I got board and wandered around until I stumbled over a 1967 Winnebago, it was $8,300 at the Show, so I bought it, got it the next day and drove it back to Harvey, LA. and left it in the yard to the company I worked for...I was Oil Field Trash.  I lived in it for 17 months, cost me $20 a week for 15A electric and water, my relief paid me $25 a week to share it and then after 17 months, I sold it to him for $8,300!

I spent the next 7 1/2 years working in the North Sea...dreaming about coaches and been buying them ever since!  After coming back and moving to Texas, my work schedule was 28/24...suppose to be 28/28 but it took 2, 3 days to get back to work...had plenty of time to travel.  Been retired now for most of 32 years and have yet to be board traveling around this beautiful country we all share!

My spell check is Chinese! :)

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Carl, although I have been living full time in my coach, I have not yet retired. I am thinking about it everyday so i know I am getting close. I like you do ever anticipate getting bored visiting all the wonderful places in this great country of ours.

I just have to make the decision and set a date and be done with it, maybe soon

Hope that I am able to enjoy 32 years after retirement and would also hope the money would last that long...lol

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Finally have the time to type this out.

This all started in 2007 DW wanted to take a trip to the West Coast (Disneyland), she began planning it and said how it would be fun to do it in a motorhome. Priced out rentals and WOW was that expensive (almost $11,000 plus fuel). Side tabled the plans. I worked at a Dealership that motorhomes frequented as a mechanic, we discussed buying a fixer upper and selling it after running this trip or maybe in the end of the season, I figured if I got it cheap enough, why not? 

Found a 1998 Coachman Santara 311SB Class C used on consignment, retired Army Sargent owned it and had passed away, his widow wanted it to go away. It needed some work as it had been sitting for a few years. Picked it up under wholesale in February 2008, DW told me it had to be ready to go for July, trip is now booked. I spent three months repairing and upgrading items on the coach side and chassis side. I had it ready in mid May, took it out on a shake down trip and had a blast! Kids loved it DW was on the fence but still had fun (she had fun but didn't want to admit it) . This was not our first time with RV experience, more for me as my grandfather had a few trailers over the recent years and in the 70's did a bus conversion, which was #2 RV, first one was an old bread truck, i remember helping him out with those as a kid. 

We set out for CA in July 08 with gas prices at $4.30 per gallon :wacko: and my American Express with $0 balance :lol:. Sight seeing all the way out and back, I cannot tell you how much fun that trip was and excited everyone was, we really made some memories. We returned and I told the DW I was going to detail the coach and put it up for sale, she looked puzzled and the kids started yelling NO!! We ran that coach another 6 years and 45,000 miles all over the place, locally and another trip to CA. May 2014 the old coach needed some more TLC and my DW saw opportunity to get something bigger as the kids were bigger now and space was getting tight. We saw the need for a Toad as the kids were older and we didn't destination camp like before, we were now going to an area to explore something and really needed a car, to make matters worse the towing capacity on the current coach couldn't handle a toad over 3000 lbs and my Jeep was almost 4000 lbs. We upgraded to our current coach, while I miss that old coach I think I really miss the memories and the fun trips we had.

Hmm, found this on the web, while not our old coach, its identical! 

Santara.jpg

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Part two, almost forgot.....

So March 2013 comes along, I decided to replace the carpeting, it was balding in some spots. As I'm removing the interior I found the guys dog tags, brought a tear to my eye thinking about all he had done for our country and how i'm certain someone was trying to figure out what had ever happened to them.

I carried them into the house like it was the American Flag, picked up the phone and called the dealer, asked them to get in touch with the widow and explained what I found. They were apprehensive to contact her, which I begged them to do, took them a week to pull our archived files and they agreed to help. Sadly were unsuccessful to reach her as the number was disconnected. I believe she moved into a nursing home and I vaguely remember something to do with the coach being a hang up on her moving when we looked at it several years prior. We proceeded to locate potential relatives on the web contacted many people until we actually found a daughter a few months later. Mailed them back to the family. Over the years I kept finding stuff that told me he was hard core military, I would have loved to have meet him and I was sure he was smiling at how well I was taking care of his coach that he treasured.

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Wayne.

You forgot Semper Fi !  So, I'll be  nice and CYA by Semperi Vigilanti....your welcome! :D

Joe.  Wish more folks where like you!  A lot of them would throw the tags in the nearest dumpster! :angry: No Respect.

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