President’s Message: Bit By The Motorhome Bug

 

By Charlie Adcock, F311374

FMCA National President
December 2016

 

Hello, My Fellow FMCA Family. While sitting around with a group of friends at the FMCA campground in Cincinnati last week, we started talking about our first motorhomes and how we became involved in RVing. When my turn to share arrived, I unfolded the story of how and why motorhoming happened upon Gloria and me.

 

We had started going to a few NASCAR races and discovered really quickly that finding motel rooms could be problematic. I also noticed a lot of big “campers” parked at the races and decided that might be a better option than motels. 

 

So, I looked in our very small local newspaper and came upon an ad for a used motorhome. At that point in my life, I had never once stepped foot inside a motorhome. I called the number and asked about the motorhome that was for sale. The first thing the seller said was that his bottom dollar was $100,000. You can imagine my shock when it sank in that he had actually said $100,000. You guessed it! I immediately hung up and told Gloria about the price. I really thought I probably could buy a very good preowned one for no more than, say, $25,000.

 

I dropped the idea of a motorhome and went looking for a travel trailer. I had not owned one of those either. I found a used trailer, and it was in my price range ($2,500). I soon learned that you get what you pay for. Since this trailer was a bunkhouse model, I decided to invite friends to join us at Talladega Motor Speedway and dry camp with us.

 

At the end of the first day, we all decided to take showers. I cautioned my friends not to use too much water. As good hosts, we let our friends go first. And then Gloria (bless her heart!) made her first mistake — she let me go next. I must say I do know how to take a quick G.I. bath and did so to conserve water. Gloria was the last one to shower, and she tells the story that just as she got soaped up, she ran out of water. So, out came the baby wipes to get the soap off. 

 

Upon inspecting, she discovered that our water supply was contained in one 10-gallon collapsible plastic container. It was empty. For the rest of the weekend, we all had to stand in line at the shower house and take cold showers.

 

Gloria and I returned home not liking our used travel trailer at all. I’m sure it was really nice when it was new, but those days had long passed. I ended up giving it to an employee.

 

It wasn’t long before I was browsing the classified ads in the Little Rock newspaper and came upon an ad for a 1989 Winnebago Itasca Windcruiser. The ad described the motorhome as 36 feet long with a tag axle and a Chevy 454-cubic-inch engine in it, and they were asking $25,000. I failed to mention that all of this was happening in 1999. So, for a 10-year-old motorhome, I thought that sounded pretty good. 

 

I asked a friend who had a motorhome to go with us to look at it. Remember, at that point I still had never been inside a motorhome.

 

We drove 75 miles, just west of Little Rock. When we arrived at our destination out in the country and I took one look at that beauty, all I could see were those shiny wheel covers. Before we ever stepped inside, I told Gloria I just had to have this one. Forget about my expert friend with us; I did not need any advice. I started dickering with the owner, and before long I had talked him down to $24,000. I paid him, and he signed the title over to me.

 

I had a commercial driver’s license, so driving the motorhome did not present a problem. I drove it home, so proud of it that I didn’t even notice the miss in the engine. At the time, I owned a body shop and an auto mechanic repair shop. My first stop was at the mechanic shop. I told my mechanic to start at the front bumper and make the vehicle perfect to the rear bumper.

 

It wasn’t long until he came up to the body shop to ask how well the motorhome ran on seven cylinders. One spark plug was broken off and just hanging. Also, both exhaust manifolds were cracked. With a lot of effort (and money), he did a great job of eventually getting it in tip-top shape mechanically.

 

Then, we decided it needed an overall paint job. I called Winnebago Industries, and they gave me the telephone number of one of their employees who had bought up the company’s entire stock of discontinued repair parts.  I needed all the decals, and he had them. After painting and striping this beauty, it was time to start on the inside. I removed everything I could and drove it to the carpet store while sitting on a 5-gallon bucket (don’t try this at home). We picked out new carpet, had it installed, and put all the salvageable interior parts back in place.  The beauty of living in a really small town is that all of this work took about three months.

 

Then it was time to go to Charleston, South Carolina, with a couple of my retired Air Force buddies to a Super Bowl reunion that we held each year. One of my friends was from San Antonio, Texas, and the other from Mascoutah, Illinois. We all met at my house in Arkansas to make the long trip to Charleston. This was the first road trip in my “new to me” motorhome. By the time we got to our destination, I was head over heels in love with motorhoming. I do remember that the night of the Super Bowl in 2000, it snowed a couple of inches.

 

The three of us got up and left for home in the dark the next morning. The roads were pretty clean, and we got to Columbia, South Carolina, and decided to get off of Interstate 26 for coffee, I think. Anyway, the sign on the exit ramp noted the speed limit as 35 mph. I was doing 45, which probably wouldn’t have been an issue in a car but apparently was too fast for a motorhome. I slid off the roadway and up the bank in the snow. As this was happening, I could picture us rolling over on the side. I yelled, “Get down.” Both of my friends and I are Vietnam vets, so they got down. 

 

Fortunately, I managed to get the motorhome back on the pavement and stopped. But during those few seconds, many things flashed through my mind. The main thought I had was, ‘Gloria is going to kill me for wrecking our motorhome,’ and she had yet to ride in it. The worst thought I had was, ‘She would have to send money to get me home.’ We pulled over in a nearby parking lot, and after a close inspection showed no damage, we continued our journey and safely returned home.  And I was bit by the “motorhome bug” and never recovered.

 

The second trip was to San Antonio, Texas. Gloria and I stopped for the night near Waco, Texas. This was another memorable time. The rains came, the wind blew, and threats of tornadoes were in the area. Gloria stayed awake all night waiting for the tornado. Each trip we take is another entry into our “making memories” book. We didn’t own that motorhome very long, but we sure made some lifelong memories in it.

 

Well, on to more serious stuff.

 

I suspect many of you have heard that the Executive Board hired an executive director during our meeting in October. We are all very excited to announce that Mr. Chris Smith has assumed the position. Chris has worked for FMCA for the past three years as our director of administrative services/controller. Join me in congratulating Chris in his new role as executive director. Please read his column — FMCA Update — starting on page 12 to learn more about him.

 

There are two very important dates to remember in December.  The first one is December 10. That is my birthday. And, of course, the other is December 25. Gloria and I, along with national senior vice president Jon Walker and his wife, Sondra, want to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas.  For our friends who do not observe Christmas, we wish you Happy Holidays. May all your celebrations with friends and family be meaningful, safe, and joyous.

 

Some of you I will see at the Western Area Rally in Indio, California, in January; some at the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation, and RV Show in Arizona in January; and some at the Southeast Area Rally in Lakeland, Florida, in February. And by all means, don’t forget about FMCA’s 95th International Convention, set to take place March 7 through 10 in Chandler, Arizona. To register, refer to the form that appears on page 69 of this magazine, or visit FMCA.com. And to whet your appetite for the fun things to do while in the Chandler area, read the story that starts on page 62.

 

Until next month, remember, “It’s all about having fun!”

 

Questions About The Articles of Incorporation Amendment?

 

Several members have asked for details regarding the current ballot related to amending FMCA’s Articles of Incorporation. Following are several questions and responses intended to clarify. The ballot appears on pages 84 and 85 of the October 2016 issue or online at FMCA.com.

 

What does the association want to do that it cannot do within the current Articles of Incorporation? In other words, what prompted the decision to place this issue before the membership for a vote? Discussions have surfaced for a number of years now regarding how FMCA can attract young families. The reality is that many young families do not travel by motorhome. This is true in large part because they are still employed full-time and thus have limited time to use a recreation vehicle, and they may also have limited discretionary income. So, for many younger families, a towable RV that can be pulled by a pickup truck or an SUV that can be used on a daily basis is their choice.

 

Recent studies indicate that millennials are joining the RV lifestyle. Sales statistics show that since the economic recovery, towable RVs are far outselling motorhomes. 

 

In order to accommodate younger RVers and possibly to serve as a feeder organization for FMCA, the idea has been floated of starting a sister organization that would welcome owners of towable RVs. Many members have offered this suggestion — some because they have children and grandchildren, or close friends, with towable RVs — and FMCA’s marketing consultants have asked about this concept as well.

 

What will happen to FMCA? I like being part of an organization that focuses on my interests as a motorhome owner. FMCA is the world’s largest motorhome owners organization, and the plan is to maintain that niche. FMCA would remain as it is, an association for motorhome owners. The new organization would be a separate entity.

 

Who will make the ultimate decision about starting another corporation? Nothing would be done without the advice and consent of FMCA’s Governing Board, and no business plan has been created to date. However, we learned from FMCA’s attorney that in order to fully explore this idea, FMCA’s Articles of Incorporation should be amended. He noted that organizations ordinarily state their primary business purpose in their Articles of Incorporation but also include a general purpose clause that allows the corporation the flexibility to engage in any lawful activity. For whatever reason, FMCA’s Articles of Incorporation, drafted in 1971, have no such general purpose clause, which limits FMCA in terms of its activities.

 

So, during its meeting in Massachusetts, FMCA’s Governing Board voted to move forward with the process of amending FMCA’s Articles of Incorporation to make them as broad as possible. The amendment language on the ballot is that suggested by FMCA’s attorney.

 

What are the next steps if this change to the Articles of Incorporation passes? If the change to the Articles of Incorporation is approved by the membership, the next step would be to make a change to the purpose statement in FMCA’s Bylaws. FMCA’s Bylaws Committee would draft this suggested amendment, and it would be voted on by FMCA’s Governing Board during its meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, in July 2017. FMCA’s Long-Range Planning Committee also would begin working on considerations related to a sister organization for FMCA. And the hope is that a basic plan could be shared with the Governing Board in Indianapolis as well.

 

Even if the Governing Board decides not to move forward with forming a sister corporation, this change to the Articles of Incorporation would allow FMCA more flexibility in today’s fast-paced world to adapt to changing needs and expectations over time.