January 2007

There’s something about traveling through East Texas that makes you feel as though you’re coming home. Maybe it’s the sweet tea at McDonald’s or the crepe myrtle in the center divider of the highway.

Coach-Net, C4055, based in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, awarded Henry and Erika St. Jean, F99337, of Clearwater, Florida, $1,000 worth of free fuel from Flying J as the winners of Coach-Net’s second “Fueling the Passion” sweepstakes during FMCA’s 76th International Convention in Charlotte/Concord, North Carolina, this past August.
“Erika and I have owned several motorhomes over the past 20 years, traveling through this beautiful country and Canada,” said Mr.

Weather Channel Stormtracker VEC191 weather alert radioThe Weather Channel Stormtracker VEC191 weather alert radio from Vector Products Inc. can keep you informed of impending severe weather conditions wherever you travel.
The VEC191 provides public broadcasts of all-hazard emergency alerts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Opening and closing the drapes in the motorhome’s cab area each day can become a real pain. So we bought a plain extending curtain rod, sawed off the ends, and placed large suction cups on each end.

In 1940 Huntsville, Alabama, was a city that seemed devoted to an agricultural and simple way of life. Its population was 13,000.

Imagine driving your motorhome to a tropical country. Envision yourself swimming over coral reefs and riding horses through a mahogany jungle.

eBay is the world’s biggest yard sale, swap meet, and treasure hunt all rolled into one. If you have a computer, you’ve probably visited it already, simply for curiosity’s sake.

Back in the dim recesses of history, when I was a boy, the future was big news. Buck Rogers’ sci-fi movies and the new series “Captain Video” were regular Saturday morning staples on television.

Selling your motorhome isn’t all that different from selling your house. Outside of landscaping and a garage, possibly a basement, and maybe an attic, your coach is like a small home.

Most of us have lived in more than one house. There’s the one we grew up in, the one we raised our children in, and perhaps the cabin we may have rented year after year that still holds sweet vacation memories.

In 1539, when Hernando de Soto discovered the area around what is now the city of Bradenton, Florida, he brought along enough supplies to start a colony. In fact, the Spanish conquistador arrived with 600 soldiers, more than 200 horses, a herd of pigs, and packs of vicious war dogs, along with nine ships.

Whoa, pardner! Put those quarters back in the laundry kitty. The prime reason for visiting this Las Vegas isn’t slot machines.

By the time you read this, it will be time to get ready for the holidays, and the November committee meetings at the FMCA national office in Cincinnati will have concluded. But as I write this, it’s right around the end of autumn.

FMCA’s Web site now is easier to use when you need information about products you see in the magazine. And it’s easier to learn about upcoming FMCA get-togethers by using the site, too.
The Free Product Information request service, introduced in April 2003, enables Family Motor Coaching readers to seek details about advertised products from the companies offering them by completing a request online, instead of filling out and mailing the reader service card that appears in each issue of the magazine.

Dear Editor:
We were very pleased with the September 2006 issue’s “What’s So Bad About The Badlands?” (“Window On Nature,” page 138) and “The Black Hills” (“Baker’s Dozen,” page 140) by Lowell and Kaye Christie, F47246. We saw the South Dakota Badlands scenery this past July and many other portions of the Black Hills.

Q: I am a retired diesel engine design engineer and cannot overlook the technical mistakes in the article on diesel engines (“Diesel Talk”) on page 60 of the September 2006 issue of Family Motor Coaching magazine. The author refers to “piston movement …

Dear RV Doctor:
I have an older Thetford toilet and the bowl is leaking water. I took it to the repair shop, and they claimed there was toilet tissue in the groove.

“B-3 …. O-65 ….

Folks who first read about this chapter always want to know what the initials in its name mean. But those who first meet the chapter members rallying in a campground have a different question: Why do they have furry tails attached to their motorhomes?
The initials W.I.M.B.C.O.A.

There really is no justice in this world. We humans need to shop until we drop in order to look elegant, yet some birds are ready-made to be stunning.

Who says warm, filling comfort foods have to use every pan in the pantry, requiring hours of cleanup? These snappy, shortcut recipes leave more time for neighboring and sight-seeing while they warm up your winter travels.

Part of the fun of full-timing is sharing travels with loved ones back home. You can snap a picture one minute and have it on your sister’s desktop a minute later.

Unless you drive a really big motorhome with an incredible amount of interior storage, you need to consider available space when stocking the coach. Back when we traveled in a 22-foot mini-motorhome, it was essential.