Who Are You And What Do You Drive?

[dalltop]

We purchased our first motorhome this year. My wife of 22 years and I have tent camped to Arizona twice and once to California from Maryland's Eastern Shore. We continued to tent camp until our daughter was old enough to sleep in a big girl bed and we bought a pop-up in 2004. We still have the pop-up because the wife can not bear to sell it yet. In five years we have been all over the east coast from Ottawa, to Florida multiple times.

Our daughter turned 8 years old this year and we wanted to take her on a road trip across country. Traveling in the motorhome was a great trip. We bought a very clean 1995 Fleetwood Bounder 35uw this year in June. We have put 8000 miles since June this year and we are planning on spending a couple weeks in Florida over her Christmas break this year. My mom lives in Ottawa and we will be up to see her in the spring.

I am David and work as a regional IT systems manager for a newspaper group, my wife Dawn has worked full time as a stay at home mom and part time bookkeeper for the past 8 years, and Laurie is a full time 3rd grader. Princes, our Lhasoapso/Terrier travels with us and enjoys going "bye, bye" as much as we do.

My dad has sold RV's as long as I can remember so I guess it was just a matter of time before I bought one.

[hermanmullins]

I thought I had posted here but I guess I had a SENIOR moment.

I am Herman & my wife of 44 years, is Bobbie. We bought our first Motor Home in 2000. It was a 28 foot Ferin Ultrastar. (never buy twin beds in a motor home if you are over 5' 5"). We traded it in on a 1998 32 foot Monaco Windsor (moved up 4 feet). Then 3 years ago we traded for 2002 40 foot Monaco Dynasty (doubled the last move, 8'). I have been asked what our next coach will be and a say that we always double the move up feet so when thay make a 56 footer we might consider a change. We have been members of FMCA since we bought our first coach. We are member of the Lone Star chapter of FMCA (42 year old cahpter) and the Southcentral Lucky Rollers (1 year old cahpter). Both Bobbie and I still work full time and only make trips and rallies in the Southwest for now. When we retire in a couple of years we plan on doing alot more traveling. If you see a Tan/Brown/Black Monaco with "FAIR WIND AND FOLLOWING SEAS" on the back and pulling a Black GMC Yukon Give us a shout, hollor, or your favorite hand gester. One of the thing that Bobbie and I always try to do is wave at approching coaches. I am amazed at the people that don't wave back. I sometime flash our lights but I guess most driver check their speed rather then wave. But we will still wave, so if you get the chance wave back.

[kingfr]

Hi folks.

I am Frank King, my better half is Kay. We have 4 grown sons, four grandchildren, and two Beagle "children". We have been "RVing" since 1968, when I made a camper out of a 1967 VW Bus. Along the way we have had an Apache Eagle pop-up, two Starcraft pop-ups, and a Starcraft travel trailer. Our first MH was a 31 ft 1991 Allegro. After I took an "early retirement" from the "Itty Bitty Machines Company" in 1997 at 55, we moved to a lake in central Alabama. In 2000, we planned a 3 month trip west in the TT and I decided that the V8 Ford Explorer we were driving was not going to be enough puller for that trip. I discovered that I could trade the trailer for the Allegro for considerably less than buying a new 3/4 ton diesel tow truck. Also, I had a Jeep Cherokee which became the Toad and we were set.

Along the way, I decided that we needed diesel power, so we traded the Allegro for a 35 ft 94 Winnebago Vectra. In 2007, we decided to chuck the stick, make that log, house and go full time. I was slipping up on 65 and we decided that if we didn't do it then, we would never do it. Sold the Log home about 2 months before the real estate crash and ordered a 2008 40 ft Tiffin Phaeton to replace the Winnie. Tiffin service on the original Allegro made the choice of the Phaeton easy. We are from Alabama, and have family in Birmingham, so we get all of our service done at the Tiffin factory.

One of our sons lives in Albuquerque, NM, and another lives in Menlo Park, CA. Both have a kid, and we spend a fair amount of time visiting them. The full time existence make that a lot easier, we can stay nearby and not be underfoot all of the time. We are currently (Dec 2009) Park Hosting at Oak Mountain State Park near Birmingham, and we probably will winter here. We will hit the road again to somewhere in the Spring. (After our youngest son gets married!)

If any of you are in the Birmingham area this winter, stop by and say hello!

[banditrider776@gmail.com]

We purchased our first motorhome this year. My wife of 22 years and I have tent camped to Arizona twice and once to California from Maryland's Eastern Shore. We continued to tent camp until our daughter was old enough to sleep in a big girl bed and we bought a pop-up in 2004. We still have the pop-up because the wife can not bear to sell it yet. In five years we have been all over the east coast from Ottawa, to Florida multiple times.

Our daughter turned 8 years old this year and we wanted to take her on a road trip across country. Traveling in the motorhome was a great trip. We bought a very clean 1995 Fleetwood Bounder 35uw this year in June. We have put 8000 miles since June this year and we are planning on spending a couple weeks in Florida over her Christmas break this year. My mom lives in Ottawa and we will be up to see her in the spring.

I am David and work as a regional IT systems manager for a newspaper group, my wife Dawn has worked full time as a stay at home mom and part time bookkeeper for the past 8 years, and Laurie is a full time 3rd grader. Princes, our Lhasoapso/Terrier travels with us and enjoys going "bye, bye" as much as we do.

My dad has sold RV's as long as I can remember so I guess it was just a matter of time before I bought one.

Welcome.

Nice Bounder.

[banditrider776@gmail.com]

kingfr

Welcome.

[lindacahill]

Hello from Atlanta! We're Pat & Linda, married 30 years and celebrated this milestone by buying our first MH, 02 Discovery 37'. We've been looking and saving for quite a few years and are thrilled to finally have our own. We have 4 kids, two out of the house and two still with us, 1 daughter-in-law and our first grandbaby on the way.

I (Linda) grew up camping in tents and then a camper. My single mom would hook up the camper to the old station wagon and off we'd go down the road with 5 kids and usually a dog or two (back in the late 60's & 70's). My mom (now 76 years old) still takes to the road with her truck & camper, several times a year -- usually with her two camping buddies, both in their mid eighties. She was just as excited as we were when we made our purchase -- she knows the years of enjoyment, experiences and memories we'll collect in our home on wheels.

Since we've had our coach, we've worked in 4 mini trips and are anxiously planning several more this spring. And then we're going to get away from our video production business for a 2-3 week trip this summer. Would love for it to be longer but kids still have activities going on -- our time will come!

I enjoyed reading all the stories on this blog -- like-minded adventurers. Hope to meet some of you on the road!

[Guest Wayne77590]

Welcome Linda and Pat.

This is one "camping" spot you can come to frequently to ask questions and get answers without ever getting on the road. There have been some good questions, and some good answers, but don't ever listen to me. My wife says I think I know it all,l but I don't know anything. Just kidding.

Enjoy the forum, and again, welcome.

[MichaelCanode]

13 April 2010 01:10

Hello, FMCA Friends!

I'm Michael, from Columbus, Ohio, and I drive an Airstream 190 type-B motor coach. I was given an FMCA membership by my parents back in the early 1980's when I bought my first motorhome, an Open Road type-B. I used that coach mostly to attend the amateur radio / electronic hobbyist conventions in and around Ohio, but it wasn't until some time after I bought my second coach (an Xplorer, October 2000) that I re-established my membership and really began to participate in the FMCA "lifestyle".

Now, I'm getting ready to become a Rallymaster for the first time, hosting an event in Urbana, Ohio in honor of the B-17 restoration project, the new aviation museum and the Grimes Flying Lab aircraft project at the city's municipal airport.

"Happy Cybercamping!"

Michael Canode, F13059S

Webmaster - FMCA Ohio Nomads Chapter

[tbutler]

Welcome Michael,

I'll have to look for the rally in Urbana. Why don't you post a notice on the Forum giving dates and a few details? There is a section of the Forum for posting information about rallies such as this one. As an aviation buff, I might be able to get there if not for the rally at least to see the museum and the B-17!

[dalltop]

Hello, we are David, Dawn, and Laurie Alltop. Dawn and I have been married for 23 years and our daughter is 9. We are weekend warriors even though the wife says we should just switch to home schooling and full time. We travel now in a new to us 1995 Fleetwood Bounder with our Lhaso Apso / Terrier mix dog Princess (guess who named her!).

I have grown up around the business side of RVing. We did a little bit of camping as I was growing up too, but my Dad has been, and still sells RV's. If you ever bought a RV from Mid-Michigan area you may know Ken Alltop. I grew up "on the lot".

Dawn and I started tent camping around 1996. We tent camped cross country to the Grand Canyon once and then to California, both times starting from Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Laurie's first camping was at 8 months old.

We upgraded to pop up camping. Then last year we bought our Bounder motor home and drove to California and back. What a great trip! Since we had the motor home I decided to spend last Christmas some place warm so we went to Florida. It was not a great year to go but we missed the worst of the cold and had a very nice trip. This motor home is really growing on us. I believe it is time to sell the pop up.

I work in the newspaper industry as a regional systems manager. We are community based group of newspapers so even thought our industry is having issues, the community papers are still valued in their communities. Dawn is a stay at home mom but she does offsite bookkeeping for a few clients. Laurie at 9 is a full time student.

We have not met a dirt road we did not like (1997 Grand Cherokee), sailing, motorcycling, biking, hiking, ATVing, theme parks, reading, and of course camping. Driving. Love to drive. I can drive for hours and never say a word. No radio, no CB, just tires, wind. I miss the Mid-West back roads that you just drive until you are lost. I have lived in Michigan, Indiana, Maryland, Texas. Dawn moved a lot too. I guess that is why we travel now so much. Now that we have roots we just need to tumble for awhile.

Ok after typing all of this and posting I realized that I had already posted in this thread! Whoops. All well.

[f342207]

Hello all,

Jim & Sherry Seward here and we're new to the forum. Our FMCA # is F342207 and we became members January 2004.

We presently live in Las Vegas, NV having migrated west from Missouri in 1958. We both retired in 1993, Sherry from the FAA and myself from the LVMPD.

This coming August 13 we'll be celebrating our 55th wedding anniversary, and she's a keeper, don't know why she's put up with me for all these years but I'm sure thankful she did.

We began RV'ing in 1995 with our first coach being a 1984 34' Airstream and our present coach is a 2000 38' Residency, and toad is a 2003 Suzuki XL7. We are not full timers as we only average 6,000 miles + or - per year.

We enjoy spending summers in WA state up around the Birch Bay Lynden area near the Canadian Border. In the winters we sometimes head south to the Rio Grande Valley via Quartzsite AZ.

Over the years our travels have taken us back to Jacksonville FL and visiting the many states along our way.

That pretty well sums it up "About Us"

Our best regards to all, and we wish all safe, pleasant and trouble free journeys.

Jim & Sher

[regnier1@mnsi.net]

Hi!

We are Mike and Laura and we have just purchased our first Motorhome. We have yet to take delivery but it is a 2001 Georgie Boy Cruisemaster 35'. I can't wait to start travelling but it will be weekends for us for a couple of years until we retire. Our travelling companion will be our Lab mix dog Gordie Howl and on occasion perhaps one of our two grown kids. We couldn't be any greener at this if we tried, never having owned an RV before, but history has shown us to jump in with both feet to just about any endeavor. We will be hauling (eventually) a Chevy Aveo, OMG, that makes us over 40'!!!!!!

I will post some pictures of "George" after he arrives and will more than likely be asking a gazillion questions in the very near future. Oh, just thought of one! Could anyone offer a suggestion as to what kind of Bike rack we should get? Thanks so much and look forward to reading the posts to all these great forums!!

Laura

[tbutler]

Hello all,

Jim & Sherry Seward here and we're new to the forum. Our FMCA # is F342207 and we became members January 2004.

We presently live in Las Vegas, NV having migrated west from Missouri in 1958. We both retired in 1993, Sherry from the FAA and myself from the LVMPD.

Jim & Sher

Welcome to the forum Jim and Sherry,

We're in MO right now visiting with family. I'm a MO lifer until we went full time in the motor home. Louise was "imported" from Denver (our next stop) when she got her first teaching job in the St. Louis area. We make our way south to the Great State of Texas each winter ending up at Sandpipers Resort in Edinburg, Texas. Perhaps we'll see you somewhere in the RGV!

[tbutler]

Hi!

We are Mike and Laura and we have just purchased our first Motorhome. ... Could anyone offer a suggestion as to what kind of Bike rack we should get? Thanks so much and look forward to reading the posts to all these great forums!!

Laura

Welcome Laura and Mike,

We started green in RV's with a used motor home. I had done extensive tent camping, Louise had limited tenting. We jumped right into the motor home thing in 2001. Not only that, we packed it up, sold the house and went full time on the road. You have found the right place to get answers and help with your questions. Don't hesitate to ask for help with just about anything.

Regarding bicycle racks, I would look for one that can be folded down to allow access to the rear of the toad (assuming you are putting the bike rack on the rear of the toad). We got a bike rack for the ladder on our motor home to carry our grandson's bicycles last summer and it was quite unsatisfactory. I wouldn't recommend that route for anyone.

Traveling with a Pontiac for the first two years full time we used a set of Thule roof racks which worked fine. When we went to the Chevrolet Trailblazer it had a 2" receiver and I searched and found a rack that would accommodate our Bike-E recumbent bicycles. Our Bike-E's were difficult enough to put on the roof of the Pontiac, I wasn't going to wrestle them onto the roof of the SUV.

The rack I found was marketed under the name Draftmaster. The original company has since sold the product to Atoc, Inc.. That is a really cool rack which lowers the bikes to the pavement for access to the rear of the toad or for unloading the bicycles. It swivels back up with a lift from you when you are packing up to go. I have found it possible to remove the rack including the bicycles from the receiver so I can take them off the toad without having to unload each bicycle. This is useful when we need the toad but won't be using the bicycles. The down side of the Draftmaster is that it requires removal of the front wheel as did our Thule roof racks.

Now I am seeing many bike racks that store the bicycles with both wheels attached. Some are made to clamp onto the frame of the bike (won't work with our box frame Bike-E's). Others have some kind of platform for each wheel or sometimes just a solid platform. Camping World sells one that works well. Yesterday I was directed to a trailer supply shop that has a web outlet. In fact, I think the web business is their primary business. Anyway, their lobby was filled with bicycle racks of all sorts. You might take a look at their web site etrailer.com for an extensive selection of bicycle racks. They carry Thule and Yakima and other major manufacturers racks and their selection is the most comprehensive I've ever seen. I didn't see the Draftmaster though!

I found it easier to shop the web for bicycle racks as most bicycle shops only carry a limited variety. Once you have identified a few possibilities then you can shop bicycle shops (or outdoor shops like REI) to look at the actual rack and assess its quality and suitability.

[regnier1@mnsi.net]

Thank-you Tom for all that very valuable information. I will check out the site and hopefully find the ideal setup. Never thought of attaching the rack to the toad I had it in my mind that it would go on the back of the MH. Thanks for the idea and the info!

Laura

[eddie.leblanc@yahoo.com]

This is Eddie LeBlanc and Carole Miller from Beaumont Texas. We've been together since 1996, so a piece of paper won't make a relationship, as much as being best friends and soul mates.

We are newbies to Coaches, but have had campers and etc. for many years. We are looking forward to getting close to retirement but still have a job to deal with. Eddie is retiring from 36 years at DuPont soon, as the site is closing down the end of the year. Carole will still do some time as a Licensed Professional Counselor. Eddie also plays in a band called "Stone Cold", and Carole is an alternative healing practitioner. We are both into metaphysics, meditation, and etc.

We recently got a great deal on a 1992, 40 foot, Beaver Marquis. Fine coach with plenty of get up and go. The attention to detail is breathtaking even in an older one. The custom Gillig bus chassis is a delight to drive. And it's got nicer features than the 4 bedroom in Beaumont. One thing nice about the Beaver is, we don't have to yell at each other from across the house, and there's still a bath tub in it.

We'll be taking short trips due to the need to keep up with the jobs. But we will appreciate the time to relax and see the sights. And with a couple of recent hurricane evacuations, we now have a plan to grab the cat, Zeba, and just start up the Marquis and drive north.

At least we're already in Texas, the greatest state (sorry I'm a little partial, we're both native Texans), so we don't have to travel far to get to some of the most beautiful camp sites in the USA.

We're learning as we go, but know this is a dream come true.

See us on the road, we'll wave for sure; or come sit a spell.

Eddie LeBlanc & Carole Miller

'92 Beaver Marquis (325 HP 3176 CAT 1225 Ft-lbs Torque)

'98 Honda Accord V6 Toad (Blue Ox Aladdin TowBar)

[tbutler]

Thank-you Tom for all that very valuable information. I will check out the site and hopefully find the ideal setup. Never thought of attaching the rack to the toad I had it in my mind that it would go on the back of the MH. Thanks for the idea and the info!

Laura

I just kind of assumed the toad is how you would carry them. I failed to mention trunk mounts as a possibility. If you have a car without a receiver, a trunk mount would be an alternative to the roof rack. There are possibilities for mounting on the receiver of the motor home but with a tow bar, there isn't really much flexibility in how you mount the bikes there. If your toad is a pickup truck then there are mounts for the bed of the truck to keep them secure. Lots of possibilities.

[mountainkowboy@verizon.net]

We are Chuck and Ruthie, we are not retired yet, but we ARE training very hard for it. We own an 05 Holiday Rambler 34SBD Admiral SE. It was a purchased to make the show rounds by the dealer, so its pretty well maxed out with options. We got a gret deal on it as the 07's were hitting the showrooms. Came up from an HR Alumascape 5er and truck campers before that.

We travel as often as we can and spend most winter weekends in Socals Palm Desert away from the snow. We travel with Dixie and Hanna our 4 legged canine companions and self proclaimed motorhome guards. When we retire in 3 years, 4 months, and 2 days, we will hopefully workamp for some years while exploring the USA. After that we have no idea what we will be doing yet, snowbird, settle down, anything is possible.

We enjoy exploring on our Harley and with our classic Scout and we presently are towing an 06 CR-V 4WD most of the time behind the moho. We are working on getting the Harley and the Scout behind the moho for the long run. I dont think that we will be getting another moho when we retire, the present one seems to suit us just fine the way it is.

We look forward to meeting new folks with like interests out on the road and in the campgrounds. If you see us or any of our toys at the campground, dont hesitate to come up and say hi.

[afchap]

I am Paul, and DW is Jean. I retired from the Air Force in 2005 after 5 years Reserve followed by 26 yrs active duty. Two years before retirement we bought our first RV, a 2003 Winnebago Ultimate Advantage 40e. Our first trip was to visit the kids in Alabama, and to take them our three tents since we felt no need for them anymore!!

We are fulltimers, traveling with two Maltese dogs, and towing a Honda Odyssey which functions as the rolling garage for my recumbent Catrike and/or 2-wheeled Gecko. We have no home base, but do have a storage facility in Alabama near two of our children.

[phy0749]

Jim and Liz and duchess from Pawleys Island SC. I am a retired Marine and DOD, she retired from insurance sales.

Coach, 2000 Beaver Patriot, Cat 330. Toad is a Honda CRV. Have recently entered the RV lifestyle, working the bugs out of the beav and looking forward to new life for the both of us. The beav has been sitting for to long. Looking forward to meeting new friends.

[carlball]

Hi all

My wife Kathi and I have camped since we first met 25 years ago. I had already owned several TT. When we first got together I ordered a new fully dressed motorcycle and a very large tent trailer to go with it. We spent three months going around North America (Canada and the US not much Mexico).

We have since traveled by motorcycle and tented, moteled all over. When we took that first trip with the bike and trailer we met a couple that had a small MH and a cargo trailer with the bikes and tools in it. That has been our dream since. There are lots of mountain passes and other spots that we want to ride over on small dual sport bikes before I can't ride anymore. My body is breaking down on me. We have just bought a 1999 Roadtrek 200 with a 454 in it. That will pull the cargo trailer that I am now hunting for. We will likely never be full timers due to a large age difference. By the time Kathi is retired I will be to old to full time. But that won't stop us from doing what we can while we can.

Carl Ball

Ontario Canada

[zekegb]

Greetings,

We were tent campers for 35 years. I backpack and still pitch the tent sometimes. Wife sure enjoys the motorhome if (usually) she gets up during he night. Still have "real" Coleman stove, lantern, and ice box. Made several trips around country and to Europe where we flew with our camping gear, rented a car, and camped for a week or two.

One time when we were camping at a state park on the Oregon coast we were meandering through the campground to see how everyone else does it. Stopped at a site where man and wife were enjoying a glass of wine. Looked at their coach. He said, "Have you ever seen one of these?" I said no. It was a Trek.

Trek is unique. No bedroom - queen size bed comes down from the ceiling at night. Space of a 38 foot coach in a 24 - 29 foot coach. Lots of space in the living room area. Full-size bathroom. Quality coach. Lots of storage. We enjoy USFS and state park campgrounds.

That did it for me. We now own a 2003 Monaco Safari Trek 2810. We found it in Iowa in 2009, and purchased it in February. Flew out in May and drove it back to Oregon.

Still working. Planning several trips to places we have visited and plan to spend more time.

Al

Gladstone, OR

2003 Monaco Safari Trek 2810

8.1 GM Gas

[pat@austx.biz]

Hello,

I am a SWF who is a full timer in my 2000 Newmar Kountry Star. Thoroughly enjoy traveling in the motor home and my last trip was from Washington State (Cascades), Oregon, Califorinia, Nevada (Carson City), dance rally in AZ, NM to Austin, TX. The Star is my first motor home but have been a full time RVer since 2004 (5th wheels). I retired first from federal service and have spent the majority of the past 9 years traveling for fun and for my work. I've met so many nice folks in my travels. I am back in central Texas for the holidays but plan to be back on the road mid January heading west from Dallas area.

I have been leaving my 2012 Buick Enclave in Austin while I travel because the Enclave while tow able, is too nice to tow and too large to fit in my recently purchased enclosed trailer.

pat@austx.biz

[wildcats]

Hello! Cathy and Denny here.

We are new to this forum, but not new to RVing.

We are both retired educators (37) years. Upon our retirement three years ago, we purchased a new 2011 Fleetwood Bounder and started our new experience. Never really had the time with raising two boys and with me being a coach and full-time athletic administrator. Cathy and I reside in Indiana, and have our entire life. We travel with Lexie (Pug), our boss. She decides when and where we go. Retirement is great and the freedom is even better. We reside in Jasper, Ind. The best thing about RVing is the people we meet and the friends we make.

Everyone is so friendly and helpful. I am a longtime eagle scout and Cathy is a Hilton camper. The 35k Bounder is the answer for both of us.

[CarlAda]

Hi. Carl and Ada here, home based in Medford Oregon. We just upgraded our 95 Tropical to an 08 Jayco Seneca HD 35GS last week -- haven't taken delivery on it because we're taking delivery in Oregon rather than California where it was purchased. Anxiously awaiting getting our hands on it and doing our shakedown cruise with it. We travel with an English Bulldog, a sweetheart of a pit bull mix, and a Burmese cat. We're both retired, me from the US Submarine Service and Ada from the VA Medical Center. When I'm not traveling, I'm either on the golf course or tooling down the road on my bicycle.