Executive Director’s Commentary
By Don Eversmann, F240000, Executive Director
August 2008
FMCA partnered with Passport America in 2002 to offer members a lower rate to join this discount camping club. Passport America invented the 50 percent discount camping club in 1992 and has continued to improve on that great concept. As a Passport America cardholder, you can stay at nearly 1,500 campgrounds across the United States, Canada, and Mexico at half off the regular rate. Access to Passport America campgrounds is on a space-available basis.
Passport America is now offering an additional benefit that does not require purchasing a Passport America membership to use. MyRVspace.com was designed and built specifically for RVers and is available to FMCA members. The best part is it is all free. MyRVspace.com brings RV- and camping-related resources all together at one place.
I have asked Todd Moning, FMCA.com Web editor, to elaborate on this new Web site and the many and varied ways that FMCA members can use it for information and enjoyment.
By Todd Moning
FMCA.com Editor
You’ve probably heard of the social networking Web site called MySpace. Now comes myRVspace (www.myRVspace.com), an informative and fun networking site devoted to RVers.
“We wanted to give RVers something that no other site or company has ever done before, without charging for these services,” said Vernon Simmons, president/CEO of Passport America, the discount camping club that hosts the site.
Here’s a sampling of what RVers can do at myRVspace.com:
- Set up an e-mail account.
- Create a personal trip journal.
- Rate campgrounds and read campground reviews.
- Participate in RV forums.
Upload and share travel images. - Receive free trip routing.
- Watch the videos of the week.
- View RV pictures of the week.
- All these features and more are free and user-friendly.
Staying connected
MyRVspace.com’s free Web-based e-mail and e-mail service makes it easy to stay connected with family and friends. Everyone who registers with the site receives a free e-mail address, yourname@myRVspace.com.
“Where are they now?”
Your friends and loved ones won’t have to ask this question if you create a trip journal using myRVspace’s “Life’s A Trip” feature. Site visitors can click map points and read your corresponding journal entries to follow your journey. They can even view images of the places you’ve been, if you choose to upload them.
Conveying your travel experiences in a myRVspace journal breathes life into your trips. And the grandkids, and perhaps others, will get a geography lesson while experiencing your motorhome trip vicariously.
Finding information
Get advice or share your own knowledge in the comprehensive RV forums. Among the many discussion topics are buses, snowbirds, recipes, computers, campgrounds, maintenance, funny stories, and industry news.
The Campfire Chat is another venue for discourse among RVers. At appointed times you can have your friends meet you around the virtual online campfire for a live chat.
Other myRVspace resources include lists of events taking place near you and across America. For instance, you can view festivals, RV shows/rallies, and campground and park events by month or by state.
Searchable directories of RV dealers, repair facilities, and suppliers also are at your disposal.
Rating campgrounds
MyRVspace.com enables RVers to reserve campsites 24 hours a day, online. Go to the Campground Guide Search page and look up RV parks by name, location, or distance (in miles) from a city or zip code you specify. Once you find a campground, you can “Reserve Now,” “Rate This Park,” or “Read Park Reviews.”
When rating RV parks, a simple online form prompts users to give a park an overall rating; rate it for friendliness and hospitality; rate the facilities; and provide a short review.
Another helpful feature of the Campground Search page is myRVspace Exit Parks, near the page bottom. Use the provided drop-down menus to find RV parks located within a certain-mile radius of highway exits. For example, if you were traveling in Florida on Interstate 75 and wanted to find a campground located within 5 miles of exit 101, a search with these criteria would result in a listing for Club Naples RV Resort.
The Campground Search page also contains a link to “Find the Lowest Gas Prices.”
Joining myRVspace
You can search for campgrounds, read campground ratings, search for RV-related companies, read forum entries, and use the free trip routing service without becoming a myRVspace.com member. But to take full advantage of the site, you’ll need to register. Signing up involves entering basic personal information and then checking a few boxes about your RVing background and preferences. You’ll also choose a user name and password, which you’ll use to sign in.
This registration process takes only a few minutes. If you’re married, you and your spouse can sign up for separate accounts. MyRVspace never shares or sells members’ personal information with outside parties.
Creating your personal Web space
After joining myRVspace, you can access your personal Web space by clicking “View myRVspace” on the home page. By the way, you can choose to keep your page private, to be viewed by only your buddies, or to have it viewed by everyone.
Post your favorite travel-related digital images right on your personal myRVspace page. Add a bio about yourself and invite a friend to join myRVspace.com. If you invite other myRVspace members to join your buddy list, and they accept, you can view their personal Web space, and vice versa. Links to your friends appears in a box on your personal page.
Now that you’re a registered member, you can check e-mail, create a trip journal, post messages in forums, participate in a live chat, and more.
MyRVspace.com also offers free Web space for RV parks. MyRVspace members can leave comments and become part of that campground’s network of friends.
FMCA members who visit myRVspace.com will value the RV- and camping-related resources. FMCA members who join the site will discover that it is a place for a family of friends as well. So, find information, meet others, share experiences, learn, and laugh at myRVspace.com. For free.
To learn more about myRVspace, visit http://www.myrvspace.com/.