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Family RVing Magazine

Monthly Archives

April 2005

  • Ride ‘Round The Chattahoochee Trace

    Need a new theme for your next trip to or through Georgia? The siren song of the mighty Chattahoochee River has bidden travelers since ancient times. It’s no less beguiling today, a shining stream that divides most of Georgia from Alabama and widens into Lake Seminole, one of the best fishing lakes in the South.
    Let’s look at a map.

    Read more
  • Mandalay 40B, 2005

    When a 2005 Mandalay arrived on the West Coast this past November, I jumped at the chance to take my turn behind the wheel of this luxurious, diesel-powered motorhome. For a week, the 41-foot coach — model 40B — took me across a broad range of driving scenarios and Southern California landscapes.

    Read more
  • RV News & Notes: March 2005

    Gulf Stream Coach Inc., C2697, based in Nappanee, Indiana, has added another floor plan to its lineup of luxury motorhomes. The 2006 Friendship G7 8387 is a 38-foot, triple-slideout coach built on a Freightliner chassis that comes standard with a 350-horsepower Caterpillar engine, a six-speed Allison transmission, and a full air-ride suspension.

    Read more
  • RV Products: March 2005

    Spec Tools’ Twin-Action Box WrenchSpec Tools’ Twin-Action Box Wrench is designed to work where other wrenches can’t, thanks to its squeeze-handle turning action, which eliminates the need for swing room when working in tight places. Using a patented, reversible mechanism, the wrench turns 45 degrees with each squeeze of the nonslip, rubber-gripped handle.
    The tool also works as a conventional box wrench and as a box ratchet, making it possible to access nuts on long bolts that even the deepest sockets can’t reach.
    The Twin-Action Box Wrench comes with 10 metric/SAE inserts; three low-profile metric/SAE sockets; four screwdriver bits (two slotted and two Phillips); and a 3/8-inch adapter that fits any 3/8-inch socket, extension, or adapter.

    Read more
  • Tech & Travel Tip: March 2005

    We could never figure out a good place to keep our toothbrushes when traveling in our motorhome. We were in a home-improvement store one day and found some wire guides with adhesive tape on the back.

    Read more
  • Olympia: A Capital Visit

    Olympia, Washington, is not as well known as Seattle, but it has come a long way since the first settlers arrived there. The town, which wraps around Budd Inlet at the south end of Puget Sound, was called Smithfield back in the 1840s.

    Read more
  • American Carriage Originals

    In 2002 Mark and Jocelyn Fechner, founders and owners of American Carriage Originals, C7791, of Tehachapi, California, relocated their coach conversion business from a 7,800-square-foot production facility to a new multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art complex. The new facility sits on five acres; houses 28,000 square feet of indoor bays, shops, and office space; and includes five full-hookup sites for visiting coach owners.

    Read more
  • The Land Of The Trembling Earth

    One normally wouldn’t expect to explore a swamp without a canoe or a boat, but the fascinating facets of the mysterious Okefenokee can be sampled during a daylong circle tour of Georgia’s gigantic, nationally famous swampland.
    Good roads, major entry points, and nearby campgrounds promise a pleasant journey for motorhomers. It’s a moving armchair exploration, certainly not difficult, and yields an interesting view of what the area’s first inhabitants called the “land of the trembling earth.”
    The entire Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge sprawls across approximately 396,000 acres of southeastern Georgia and is administered by the U.S.

    Read more
  • Oil Analysis 101

    We all have heard stories about the coach owner who did all the maintenance per the recommended schedule, watched the temperature gauges, and yet the engine blew with disastrous results. How can this be? Could it possibly be a defective part, improperly torqued bolts, or manufacturing contamination? Who knows, but it happens.

    Read more
  • The Rotary Connection

    FMCA members have an opportunity to belong to one or more of the association’s 480-plus chapters. In fact, some folks have told me that they believe the real fellowship in FMCA lies within these groups.

    Read more
  • Virginia’s Peninsula: Surrounded By The Past

    Virginians call it “the Peninsula.” Outsiders may know the large coastal expanse of land that is bordered by the York River to the north, the Chesapeake Bay to the east, and the James River to the west, as the home of Newport News.
    Either way, it’s an area with a fascinating history. A few examples: the Jamestown settlement and the surrounding woodlands were home to Captain John Smith and the legendary princess Pocahontas.

    Read more
  • Thinking Inside The Box

    Commercial mixes offer masterful shortcuts in the galley. But if you have allergies or other dietary concerns, you can make your own.

    Read more
  • Fun-Filled Area Rallies

    As I write my article this month, I am at home in Oklahoma for a few days. My wife, Jeri, and I just returned from the Western Area Rally in Indio, California, which took place January 12 through 16.

    Read more
  • Membership Profile

    Every four years FMCA sends out a Membership Profile Questionnaire, or survey, to a random sample of members in order to collect statistical information to place in the FMCA Media Planner. FMCA uses the Media Planner to attract advertisers and commercial business based upon the demographics of FMCA members and other information about the membership.
    Each time the survey is performed, we try to share the highlights of the responses with our members through this column.

    Read more
  • Readers’ Forum: March 2005

    The e-mail address provided for Spatial Data Sciences Inc. (SDSI), the company that provides free trip routing for FMCA members, was incorrect as listed in the February 2005 “FMCA.com” column (page 120).

    Read more
  • Technical Inquiries: March 2005

    If you check the Contents page for the location of the “Technical Inquiries” column in the April 2005 issue of FMC magazine, you won’t find it listed. No, we’re not playing an April Fools’ joke on readers.

    Read more
  • Anatomy Of A Rally

    First of all, you don’t have to be an FMCA executive or a full-timer to become a rally host. All you really need to do is to step forward and say, “I will,” which really means, “We will.” And if your wife is a school secretary, and the “I will” rally is scheduled near the end of the school year, well, you are really brave.

    Read more
  • The Olympic Snowbirds

    If you visit an Olympic Snowbirds rally, expect to have such a great time that you find yourself joining the chapter before the weekend is over. At least that’s what most guests end up doing, according to chapter president Denny Nelson, F205137.

    Read more
  • A Success Story

    Occasionally we learn that an FMCA member has successfully dealt with and resolved a motorhome parking rights problem. These situations make good object lessons for the rest of us.

    Read more
  • Ghost Towns Of New Mexico

    Depending on your source of information, New Mexico has more than 150 ghost towns, or 60, or maybe 50. The state’s most famous “ghosts” are, of course, the few that are well publicized and cater to tourists.

    Read more
  • Snowy Owls

    Have you ever seen a snowy owl in the wild? We haven’t; we try to stay out of the snow. We wouldn’t count it among our “life” birds, but we have seen one on the silver screen in the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

    Read more
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COMING SOON:

  • Engine Oil Changes & Analysis: What RV owners need to know about these important maintenance tasks.
  • RV Roundup – Big Bunkhouse Models: Floor plans that feature bunk beds or dedicated bunk rooms.
  • When Your RV Needs Repairs: How to navigate the RV service and warranty work process.
  • We Will Rock You!: A full curriculum awaits attendees at FRVA’s “Rock & Roll High School” convention in Gillette, Wyoming.
  • Torrey, Utah: Not far from Capitol Reef National Park, this town offers access to nearby adventures and a thriving culinary scene.

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