Service Helps Find Free Overnight Parking
Boondockers Welcome, C12795, which launched in 2012, now includes more than 800 North American locations that offer RVers free overnight parking on private property. RVer hosts and guests can connect online at www.boondockerswelcome.com, which was started by Marianne Edwards and her daughter, Anna Maste.
All that is asked of hosts is that they offer a legal, free parking space; many hosts also provide guests with electric and water hookups. On the Web site, users can search locations and filter the results to show only certain criteria, such as the size of the RV that is accepted and whether pets are welcome.
Marianne and her husband, Randy, have been avid RVers for 15 years. Marianne writes about their adventures at www.frugal-rv-travel.com. The idea for Boondockers Welcome, however, developed after an experience Marianne had on a solo RV trip. She found herself without a campsite reservation in a popular tourist area, and no safe place to park for the night. She saw an RV parked in a driveway and, knowing from experience that fellow RVers would understand, knocked on the door and asked permission to park overnight.
Boondockers Welcome is open to all RVers. Initial contact between members is handled securely through the Web site, so hosts never get an unexpected phone call from an unfamiliar person. Before hosts reveal their name, address, or phone number, they can go online to read a profile of the person making the request, along with recommendations posted by fellow members.
Annual membership is $19.95 for those who can offer an overnight parking location; $24.95 for those who cannot. FMCA members receive a 10 percent discount with the coupon code FMCADISC. For more information, visit www.boondockerswelcome.com.
Coach House To Mark 30th Anniversary
Coach House Inc. is gearing up to celebrate its 30th year of manufacturing motorhomes in Venice, Florida. To mark the anniversary, all 2015 model-year Coach House RVs will bear a custom-designed metallic shield with the “Coach House 30 Years” logo.
Ruben Gerzeny and his sons David and Steven started Coach House in a small warehouse off the U.S. 41 Bypass in Venice, Florida, in 1985. The Gerzenys, having been involved in selling RVs, believed demand would increase for smaller, easier-to-drive models, so they began converting Ford, Dodge, and Chevy vans into Type B motorhomes. The vans’ roofs were removed and replaced with a molded fiberglass top to provide stand-up headroom. The vehicles were outfitted with plumbing, electricity, propane, heating, air conditioning, kitchen and bath, water and waste-water tanks, cabinets, beds, sofas, and more. From the start, Coach House emphasized handcraftsmanship and backed their vehicles with customer support and warranty service available throughout North America.
In 1996, Coach House moved into a new factory in Venice complete with offices, a showroom, and campground hookups. The company developed a downsized Type C motorhome called the Platinum and brought it to market in 2000. The Platinum starts as a cutaway Ford E-450 chassis, and Coach House manufactures a one-piece hand-laid fiberglass shell, reinforced with carbon fiber, which is mounted to the chassis. Then all the cabinetry and systems are constructed.
In 2007, Coach House introduced a downsized Type C motorhome, the Platinum II, constructed on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 chassis. It features the same sort of one-piece fiberglass shell as the Platinum, while offering greater fuel efficiency, thanks to its Mercedes turbo-diesel engine.
Coach House kicked off its 30th year by introducing the Arriva, an all-new Type B motorhome. Unlike the original Type B Coach House motorhomes, the Sprinter passenger van comes from the manufacturer with a high roof, so there is no need for Coach House to build its own custom top.
Coach House motorhomes are sold direct from the factory in Florida. For more information, contact Coach House at (800) 235-0984 or www.coachhouserv.com.