admin

When I asked for the opportunity to write this column, my deadline was far in the future. Like everything, time passes by rather fast.

In my December 2004 “President’s Message” column I reported on FMCA’s standing committees and explained their purposes and functions. The FMCA president appoints members to two other groups that I did not mention at that time, but they are very important to FMCA and our first-class magazine, Family Motor Coaching.
The Technical Advisory Committee is a highly qualified group of individuals selected from our family membership to review technical material prior to publication in the magazine.

Directions to the North Dakota State Fairgrounds Parking for FMCA’s 74th International Convention will commence on Saturday, August 13, at 7:00 a.m. Please display your admittance card on the front windshield, lower left-hand corner of the passenger side.
The holding area will open on Friday, August 12, and is located via Burdick Expressway (Hwy.

Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park will forever stand out in my mind as the first place I saw a wolf in the wild. It easily could be the one and only time.

In September 1883 Theodore Roosevelt, a graduate of Harvard University who would go on to become the 26th president of the United States, boarded a train in New York City and traveled to a small town called Little Misery in what is now North Dakota. He had come to “bag a buffalo,” as he explained it, during a trip that historians believe lasted from September 7 to 28.
This part of the country is known as the Badlands.

FMCA members interested in helping to eliminate poverty housing firsthand can participate in an upcoming Habitat for Humanity build in Central America.
Anyone can take a vacation and come back tan and a few pounds heavier. But only special people travel to exotic places in the spirit of helping others.

The 2005 election of FMCA National Officers will be held August 15, 2005, at FMCA’s 74th International Convention in Minot, North Dakota.
This year’s Nominating Committee was elected by the Governing Board in accordance with FMCA Bylaws. Its members are Chairman Bill Walker, F56746; Bob Haught, F82522; Norman Holley, F21819; Fred Kennedy, F44281; Gary Smith, F155557.
FMCA’s Nominating Committee has submitted its slate of candidates for national office.
Although balloting is restricted to National Directors and National Officers, we invite all FMCA members to review the candidates’ resumes and to communicate their preferences to their respective National Director or Area Vice President.

When crew members building the Great Northern Railroad stopped work for the long North Dakota winter back in 1886, they set up a tent city at a place they called Minot. Like magic, the town sprang up almost overnight.

Want to stand where a record wind speed — 231 mph — was recorded in 1934? Want to view breathtaking vistas? Then hitch a ride on New Hampshire’s Mount Washington Cog Railway, one of the world’s steepest railroad tracks.
In the spring of 1858 New Hampshire legislators thought Sylvester Marsh’s request to build a cog railway to the top of 6,288-foot Mount Washington, the state’s highest peak, was a joke. “Let him build a railway to the moon!” one legislator taunted.

We’ve all heard the story about the new motorhome owner who set the cruise control and then went back to the galley to make a sandwich, believing that the cruise control would manage the coach’s direction as well as the speed.

Are you tired of replacing that expensive water pump indicator light that is visible only when you’re standing directly in front of it?
After having the third one in three years burn out in my motorhome, I went to RadioShack and found a 12-Volt, Hi-Brightness Red Lamp Assembly with Bulb (part #272-331) that came in a package of two for $2.29. The average life stated on the package is 25,000 hours.

Sitting around a bonfire with friends is one of the great attractions of motorhoming. Campers can enjoy a real campfire in a contained environment with a firepit from SOJOE, makers of rustic-looking steel firepits.
SOJOE firepits have a 3-millimeter-thick cold-rolled steel shell and come with a stainless-steel spark screen, a poker, and a cooking grate.

The American Recreation Coalition (ARC) has designated June as Great Outdoors Month throughout the United States. Great Outdoors Month, of which FMCA is a participating partner, is a month-long series of events that will include a special focus on the role of recreation as a catalyst for physical activity needed to combat obesity.

“Wow!” is usually the response one hears from folks who step inside the 36-foot-long Pace Arrow 36D for the first time. They are reacting to the 36D’s new concept in space: a full wall slideout that measures 23 feet 6 inches long and 30 inches wide and truly opens whole new vistas.

“Wow!” is usually the response one hears from folks who step inside the 36-foot-long Pace Arrow 36D for the first time. They are reacting to the 36D’s new concept in space: a full wall slideout that measures 23 feet 6 inches long and 30 inches wide and truly opens whole new vistas.

With the dog days of summer just around the corner, here are several recipes, and even entire meals, that can be made without lighting the stove. If the day turns chilly, add mugs of instant soup to the menu.

Overnight Bean Salad
Make this recipe two or three days before a potluck meal, or keep a big batch in the refrigerator to eat every day.

When the first Shakers arrived in the United States, they were officially known as the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Coming. It’s not surprising that the name Shakers became more popular.

Springtime is full of music, and humans aren’t the only ones expressing their love in song. In the bird world it’s vital to the process of finding, wooing, and winning a mate.

I hope many of you have taken advantage of one of the greatest benefits offered to FMCA members — educational seminars designed specifically for motorhome owners.
Along with Aon Recreation Insurance, C95 (formerly RV Alliance America), FMCA cosponsors the Fire & Life Safety seminar, which is presented by veteran firefighter Mac McCoy, C7648. Aon and FMCA also cosponsor the RV Safe Driving Course, a great way to sharpen your driving skills.

When the Ferrin family, A436, invited every motor coach owner they could locate in Denver, Colorado, to their home in Golden (a suburb to the west), on July 23, 1966, little did they realize what they had started.
The group gathered several months for meetings and outings and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. While at Camp Hosa, located in the foothills 30 miles west of Denver, in October 1966, the participants decided to join a new organization called the Family Motor Coach Association.

The Great Eastern Area Rally, or “GEAR” as it is known to many, had its beginnings with the first FMCA Eastern Area Rally in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in 1987. The first “Great” Eastern Area Rally (not that the previous rallies were less than great) was held in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1995.

Annoying Ammonia

Dear RV Doctor:
Being a rookie RVer, I accidentally did not have my motorhome fully leveled while camping and, therefore, I now have a leak in my RV refrigerator. I am getting that wonderful ammonia smell when the door is opened.

The address listed for Harbor Products Inc., the company that makes the Rescue Tape featured in the February 2005 “RV Products” column (page 48), was incorrect. The correct address is Harbor Products Inc., 630 S.

Family Motor Coach Association is made up of two distinct types of members. Most of us are quite familiar with family membership, since this is the category we fall into as motorhome owners.

The United States Congress is considering legislation that, if passed, may result in greater costs to motorists using the interstate highway system. A bill called the “Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users” (TEA LU), or House Resolution 3, has already passed the House of Representatives and has been sent to the Senate for concurrence.
The bill has many parts, but it’s Section 1603 that we are considering here.

FMCA’s 73rd International Convention, held March 21, 22, 23, and 24 in Perry, Georgia, is now history. This was the fourth time we have visited the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter.

The book Utopia, written by British statesman Sir Thomas More and published in 1516, described More’s idea of a perfect society. Communal living without individual possessions was the order of the day, and everyone worked for the good of mankind.

Two things can ruin an RV vacation: bringing too much stuff or not bringing enough. The problem is, until you get there, you have no idea how much “enough” is.

Think of Colorado, and snowy ski resorts spring to mind. However, in contrast, the southeast corner of the state is flat, flanked by the front range of the Rocky Mountains.

A windshield with a surface that has been sealed with Diamon-Fusion’s bonding agent is said to be up to 10 times stronger than standard windshield glass and to shrug off most road debris without a visible injury. Rain, snow, and splashed water reportedly slough off without impairing a driver’s vision, and dead insects can be cleaned from the surface with less effort.
How is this accomplished? I could go into a long-winded discussion about contact angles, surface tension, topography, and polarity, but I’d rather keep it in terms most of us understand.

You can see the snowcapped mountains for miles as you head southeast on Oregon’s State Route 82. By the time you reach the end of the road and catch your first glimpse of the sapphire-blue jewel named Wallowa Lake, you begin to understand why the Nez Perce Indians loved this area.

What do you do when your town is about to die? In the 1980s, the people who call Deadwood, South Dakota, home were nearly faced with that possibility. The smaller gold mines had all closed, and even the mighty Homestake Mine (where the Hearst family fortune had its genesis) was in trouble.

A genuine Southern welcome was extended to thousands of motorhomers who sojourned in Perry, Georgia, for FMCA’s “America On The Move” convention Monday, March 21, through Thursday, March 24. This grand gathering — the association’s 73rd International Convention — took place at the Georgia National Fairgrounds & Agricenter, which hosted previous FMCA conventions in 1996, 1999, and 2002.

With the emergence of production-built motorhomes (circa 1962), the need for refrigerant-based cooling systems for these new vehicles became apparent. Roger Aldrich, engineering manager at Dometic Corporation, explained that RV air-conditioner technology originally was borrowed from the residential and commercial industry.

If you’ve grown tired of hearing “Shut the slide on the screen door” every time you move it to access the door handle, here’s a solution I came up with so I never have to move the slide again.
First, take a plastic coat hanger and cut off the straight section at the bottom. Discard the rest.

XPower Powerpack 400R portable power sourceThe XPower Powerpack 400R from Xantrex Technology Inc. is a seven-in-one power unit that is said to be ideal for those who need portable or backup power.
The unit, which is approximately the same size as a small boom box, provides 115-volt-AC or 12-volt-DC power that can be used to operate or recharge numerous electrical devices.

The fifth edition of the Big Rigs Best Bets campground directory is now available to assist motorhomers who travel in coaches that are 35 to 45 feet in length. The new edition covers all 48 states in the continental United States and lists more than 900 campgrounds that can accommodate large motorhomes.
The directory provides detailed information about each park listed, including recommendations for specific sites; whether the sites are pull-through or back-in; utilities available (electrical amperage and sewer); approximate length of the sites; directions; telephone numbers and Web site addresses; and more.
Besides the addition of nine more states and roughly 100 more campgrounds to this edition, readers also will find a new Wi-Fi section.

Clients of Royale Coach by Monaco include celebrities such as Dolly Parton, and owners who are not as renowned but nevertheless appreciate fine luxury coaches. A long list of successful people own these coach conversions, which have price tags that can reach above $1 million.

One burner and one pan can add up to a colorful, multi-ingredient meal with recipes such as these.

Noodlecakes And Gravy
The best bargain in the supermarket is ramen noodle packets. Here is a way to turn them into a crusty main dish with a creamy gravy.
2 3-ounce packets of chicken- or beef-flavored ramen noodle soup mix
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3 or 4 scallions, finely chopped, including the tender part of the green
2 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
Vegetable oil
2 tablespoons flour
In a large microwavable container, cook the noodles in water according to package directions.

Despite their name, jackrabbits aren’t rabbits. Cottontails are rabbits.

Balloon festivals are great events to experience the excitement of flight. What’s best is that you can get your thrills firsthand, or, for those with queasy stomachs, by watching others.

Amidst the hills of Kentucky thrives an FMCA chapter whose name calls to mind the Bluegrass State’s equine heritage. The KY.

In March 2002, the Heart of Georgia Travelers chapter held a rally at Beaver Run RV Park in Metter, Georgia. Henry and Juanita Hogan, F258257, and Hartis and Dorothy Rogers, F274094, were our hosts for the event and provided a wonderful Saturday night dinner with fried catfish, grits (several flavors), shrimp (several flavors), hush puppies, and all the trimmings.

Dear RV Doctor:
My wife and I are ordering and buying a new type A motorhome — a 33-foot, gasoline-powered coach with a 7,000-watt generator and 50-amp shore power service. The unit comes with a 300-watt inverter as standard equipment.

Q: I am trying to find a good product to deal with the problem of cleaning the black streaks that come down the exterior of the RV. Do you have a recommendation?
Adam Radzik, F335007
South Orange, New Jersey
A: There are numerous cleaning products available that will remove black streaks from the sides of motorhomes.

Dear Editor:
The Moose Chapter FMCA is a new chapter being formed at the Northwest Area Rally on June 11, 2005. You do not have to attend the area rally (held at the Linn County Fair and Expo Center in Albany, Oregon) to attend this meeting, which takes place at 2:30 p.m.

Thanks to a white duck we all have become familiar with, I am sure most of you can pronounce the title of this month’s commentary. Although Beverly Spurgeon, director of member services, and I plan to cover a couple of items in this month’s commentary, I wanted to start off by announcing a new partnership that has recently been formed between FMCA and American Family Life Assurance Company (AFLAC).

My wife, Jeri, and I are avid sports fans, especially when it comes to Oklahoma University Sooners football. We discovered back in the early 1970s that a fun way to use our motorhome was to take it to the home games.

I’m a history buff. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not a history scholar.

Trip planning has become much easier in recent years with so many more resources available to assist in the process. By using this wealth of information, travelers can turn a humdrum trip into an exciting adventure.