Right Town, Wrong Year
Family RVing Magazine Panel member Tony Wiese, F178480, pointed out an error in the “Tacoma, Outside And In” article in the September 2019 issue (page 56). Hudson’s Bay Company set up Fort Nisqually in 1833, not 1883, as is stated in the story (page 58).
Family RVing regrets this error.
Praise For FMCAssist
As members of FMCA since purchasing our Winnebago Sightseer motorhome in 2010, we never expected to have to contact Seven Corners, which administers the FMCAssist Medical Emergency and Travel Assistance Program. What a fabulous benefit!
We were on week six of an RV trip. We left Wisconsin May 11, 2019, and attended our granddaughter’s high school graduation in Arizona on May 24, and then we visited multiple national parks in Arizona and Utah. We arrived in Grand Junction, Colorado, on June 16. My husband was unable to walk or communicate clearly when he awoke at 2:00 a.m. on June 17.
Emergency medical technicians arrived at the KOA where we were staying, quickly determined that he had suffered a stroke, and immediately transported him to St. Mary’s Medical Center. Just two hours after I called 911, he was in surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain, the cause of his stroke. We were ever so thankful to be in this metropolitan area with a wonderful medical center, and caring doctors and staff, at his ultimate time of need.
My husband came through the ordeal with flying colors, spending almost four days in the hospital, fully regaining use of his left side without any long-term residual effects, and with only one major restriction: no immediate driving.
We were 1,200 miles from home, had our cat and dog along on the trip, and I’d never driven the Winnie. With the Rocky Mountains between us and home, it was hardly a time to learn!
David Shelton from Seven Corners saved us. He took all of our information, offered to fly us home (which we declined due to our pets), and said they would provide a transport driver for the Winnebago, all at no charge. It would take only a couple of days to work out the details. This was truly an answer to our dilemma and definitely more than we could have imagined.
The Grand Junction KOA folks were fantastic, juggling other reservations to extend our stay in the same RV site from two nights to eight. And while we had spoken to David several times, a driver from Horizon Transport, Nikki, came up with a plan. She was driving a motorhome to Salt Lake City, Utah, and would then drive the 283 miles to Grand Junction. Since I planned to drive our towed vehicle home with my husband and pets, she would drive our Winnie and tow her own car to Wisconsin, thus having transportation back to Indiana for herself. And this was all occurring beginning the following day!
Nikki arrived at our home in Wisconsin three days later and just seven hours before we did, keeping in touch all the way. She was greeted by our friends, a prerequisite for her arrival.
We will be forever grateful to FMCA for this wonderful benefit, to David Shelton for administering it, and to Nikki for safely driving our Winnie home. We have so thankfully shared this very positive experience with many an acquaintance, and all because we are members of FMCA.
Thank you so very much.
Hubert (Steve) & Vicki Cole, F415473
Menomonie, Wisconsin
Watching TV The “Old” Way
I very much enjoyed the well-written article “Intro To RV Entertainment Systems” by Mark Quasius (September 2019, page 38). This is too vast a subject to cover in so few pages. I like “old stuff” and have always had RVs with old stuff. I have had satellite TV in my RVs for more than 20 years, both DirecTV and Dish. I have never had an automatic satellite dish and prefer to align my dish manually. (Hint: Purchase the best satellite finder you can afford.)
Mark is correct that DirecTV allows only East Coast or West Coast feeds for RV dish users. With Dish, I call tech support with my new zip code and receive local stations for that area. That may change several times in a week. No over-the-air antenna required. I use simple receivers that have no hard drives. For a DVR, I use a 1TB external hard drive for a computer (less than $50), plug it into the receiver’s USB port, and activate it with Dish for a one-time fee of $40. Check Dish for receiver compatibility.
My RVs have coax and a coax distribution system (RG-6, I hope). It is too expensive and troublesome to convert to HDMI or Ethernet extenders, but there is another solution. Use an HDMI-to-coax converter, called an RF modulator. Make sure that you get one that is HD and supports your video protocol. They can be expensive. That will get you to 1080. If you need the 4K stuff, purchase a smart DVD and use an HDMI cable to connect to your TV. I have found that some companies are very good at helping customers select the products they need. Try Crutchfield, B&H, or Satellite Guys.
Remember: This is rocket science!
Larry Turner, F163595
San Antonio, Texas
Windshield Repair
After we left the FMCA convention in Minot, North Dakota, this past August, we headed west through Montana. While we were traveling through Bozeman, a rock chipped our RV windshield. We reported it to our insurance company and started looking for a glass repair facility.
We had spoken with the RV Glass folks during the convention and happened to get one of their glass repair kits. As a temporary measure, we cleaned the area and placed one of their clear patches over the chip to protect it and keep the dirt out.
We called several glass repair places that could not help us before we found Novus Glass of Missoula (2704 Brooks St., Suite 3, Missoula, MT 59801; 406-207-7041; www.novusglass.com/locations/Missoula/en/). Once we explained our problem to Jaren, he said he could work us in. When we got there, he met us at the motorhome with his repair tools, and he had the glass repaired in 30 minutes. We were so grateful for the above-and-beyond service. If anyone ever needs a vehicle glass repair in Missoula, contact these folks.
Darrell & Patti Stone, F423619
Whitney, Texas
Solar Panels Installed
At A Welcoming Place
At the FMCA Minot convention, my husband, Keith, and I talked to Brian Burkholder and bought solar panels for our RV from Solar Energy Systems LLC. They are based in Nappanee, Indiana.
We drove to Nappanee (a wonderful place to visit) to have them installed. I have to share what a great experience it has been and how great we’ve been treated by Brian, Rhoda, Brendon, and Nate.
They plugged us in at the facility to do the work. It was highly pleasant to have a view of a cornfield and to watch Amish folks passing by in their carriages. We enjoyed the town and the blueberry festival that was held down the road in Plymouth, Indiana.
We highly recommend Solar Energy Systems LLC: 8015 W. 1350 N., Nappanee, IN 46550; 574-773-0546; www.sesindiana.com.
Ann Bice, F168486d
Conroe, Texas