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The Motion Control Unit from Super Steer is designed to reduce the roll, sway, and bounce that can be encountered when driving over bumps, dips, and uneven road conditions in an air-bag-equipped motorhome. The Motion Control Unit, which is installed at each air suspension bag, is engineered to control the high-velocity thrust of air released from the air bag.

National RV Inc., C3451, citing a move back to basics, has resurrected the popular Tropi-Cal brand as an attractively priced triple-slideout diesel model and revamped its Sea Breeze and Sea Breeze LX gasoline-powered motorhomes. These changes were unveiled during the National RV Trade Show this past December in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Tropi-Cal, which was a gas-powered line, returns as a diesel pusher priced at approximately $150,000.

To the average motorhome enthusiast, the name McKenzie may not ring familiar. That’s because, until recently, the company’s focus has been on building quality towable RVs.

When Alfa Leisure Inc. introduced its Alfa See Ya motorhome a couple of years ago, I took an initial look at the new model for Family Motor Coaching (“The Alfa See Ya Diesel Pusher,” October 2001, page 78).

Ready-mix convenience foods are always a plus for cooks who don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. But making your own mixes might be more economical, and you can prepare them in quantities that are right for your needs, and know that they are fresh.

At least three companies have marketed a stand-alone, built-in ice maker for the RV industry. The first serious effort was a product that carried the Instamatic label and was equipped with a 120-volt-AC Freon compressor unit made by U-Line.

Here’s a look at several items that may be of special interest to full-timers.

A new way to rent movies
There are several new DVD rental programs available that are especially attractive to motorhomers who don’t want to be tied to  short rental periods or have to worry about returning a movie rented three states back. Already in place is Netflix www.netflix.com) and a similar program from Wal-Mart www.walmart.com), each touting more than 12,000 movie titles from which to choose.
How do these programs work? For approximately $20 per month (plus tax), you receive three DVDs that you can keep as long as you want, trading them in as often as you like for new titles.

We’ve had a fascinating couple of months finding out about some of the weird insects that live in North America. Last month we wrote about cicadas, surely the loudest insect singers.

You’ll know you’ve reached the little town of Leavenworth, Washington, even before you see the signs. First you’ll spot the rows of gingerbread-style buildings standing shoulder to shoulder, and hear the distant sounds of oompah bands.

The Legislative Advisory Committee has accomplished a good deal over the past few years. For one, we now have a cadre of fellow member volunteers who stand ready, on an as-needed basis, to assist other FMCA members who may be experiencing parking rights problems.

The Coughenour (Cohen-hour) brothers of North Carolina have been traveling together in their motorhomes for nearly a quarter of a century. All three — Aubrey, F6479; Charlie, F105311; and Clarence, F64660 — enjoy the lifestyle.

Q: My wife and I just purchased a 29-foot 1997 Flair motorhome, and now we’re looking for a vehicle with an automatic transmission to tow “four wheels down” behind the motorhome. We want a used vehicle that is towable without the odometer rolling up miles, and one that doesn’t require frequent stops to care for its drivetrain.

The “Towables For 2003” article (January 2003, page 66) contained inaccurate information about the Dodge Dakota 4×4. The listing should have indicated that both the manual and automatic transmission versions of this four-wheel-drive vehicle can be flat towed without modification.
In addition, since the article was published, FMC has learned that Mercedes-Benz USA is now advising that none of its automobiles should be flat towed.

Quite often I hear comments from members and non-members that they perceive FMCA to be an organization for well-to-do type A motorhome owners. I can understand how people might get that impression.

As I approach the 10th anniversary of my retirement from the United States Marine Corps, I have had several opportunities to witness firsthand the rebirth of patriotism in this wonderful country of ours. I also have had three opportunities to participate in ceremonies recognizing the contributions of former service members.
The first occasion arose this past year when Genny Lucky, L26, a fellow member of the Woman Marine Association, asked me to unpack my Marine Corps dress blue uniform and assist her in the Memorial Day ceremony she conducts at the G.L.A.S.S.

Since I became president of FMCA, I have emphasized three primary areas that I believe deserve our attention and resources: new member recruitment; the quality of new motorhomes and of motorhome service; and member services. This article will focus on new member recruitment efforts.
Some have asked, “Why do we need new members? We are big enough now.” We need membership growth for several reasons, and I will expound upon two.
First, we lose approximately 15,000 members per year.

Whether you are a weekend traveler or a full-timer, your health — and the possibility that you may need health care — follows you wherever you go. No matter whether you’re in your hometown or on the road, it’s your responsibility to provide accurate information about your medical history when you need urgent health care.
While traveling through Colorado in our motorhome during the summer of 2001, I became acutely ill.

Some might picture San Juan Capistrano, California, as a wistful town anchored in the past. And why not? Nestled among the tawny hills, strawberry farms, and eucalyptus trees, it is the home of the famed 1776 Mission San Juan Capistrano — the “Jewel of the Missions.” But that is only part of the story.

Backup: Happens when you forget to empty the holding tank
Byte: What could happen if loose animals at the campground are surprised
CD: What you used to pay for your new motorhome
Chip: Munchies to eat at the campfire

Compress: Something you do to garbage
Computer: Keeps the savvy RVer in touch
Crash: What could happen when the copilot gives inaccurate directions
Dot matrix: Danny Matrix’s wife
Enter: Northern slang for the Southern “C’mon in, y’all”
Floppy disk: A loose hubcap

Hard drive: Any day trip longer than 250 miles
Keyboard: Place with hooks where you hang your assortment of keys
Laptop: Where the grandchildren like to cuddle up
Log on: Tossing another log on the campfire
Mainframe: The steel frame your motorhome body is bolted to

Megahertz: When one of the basement doors drops on your head
Memory: Something you lose with age

Microchip: What’s left in the munchie bag

Modem: What the grounds crew at the campground did with the blades of grass
Monitor: Rear camera necessary for backing up that big coach
Mouse: A critter that finds holes the factory promised didn’t exist
Net: Something a woman puts on her head to preserve her hairdo

Port: Red wine

Prompt: What the wait at a one-dump station is not
RAM: Cousin of a goat
Screen: Should come with the windows

Software: Tissues, toilet paper, and paper plates

Virus: The flu

Web: A spider’s home and a motorhome wife’s nemesis

Windows: Something you want plenty of even though you hate to clean them.

They say you can’t take it with you, and for a while it seemed they were right. I have been an avid model railroader for more than 50 years.

Freightliner Custom Chassis, C1905, rolled out its new top-of-the-line Powerliner II diesel-pusher tag-axle chassis with a ZF-designed independent front suspension (IFS) system for the media to inspect and test during RVIA’s National RV Trade Show in Louisville, Kentucky, December 3 through 5, 2002.
This is the first time Freightliner has used components from the German-based ZF Friedrichshafen AG in its chassis. ZF provides transmission, suspension, and steering products to manufacturers in the automobile, construction equipment, heavy truck, transit, marine, and aviation industries.
According to representatives of Freightliner Custom Chassis, the RL75EM double-wishbone IFS system offers a significant reduction in vehicle roll and steering effort, which, when combined with a reduction in unsprung mass, results in a superior ride, increased comfort, and improved handling characteristics.

Three remote and highly scenic west Texas mountain locations can take you back in time, away from busy freeways, crowded campgrounds, and large metropolitan areas.
Big Bend National Park, Davis Mountains State Park, and Guadalupe Mountains National Park are situated between the huge bend in the Rio Grande at the Mexican border and the New Mexico state line, southwest of Carlsbad. Each of the three areas has its own personality, and all host motorhomers year-round.

FMCA members interested in exploring what’s new in the realm of motorhomes and RV products will want to take stock of the exciting array of exhibits that will be set forth at FMCA’s 69th International Convention. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, March 21, 22, and 23, more than 100 coach manufacturers and in excess of 400 companies that market RV accessories, components, and services will present their wares in Pomona, California, site of FMCA’s “California Dreamin'” convention.

It is bucolic, pastoral, and rustic. Cattle, horses, and vineyards dot the rolling hills of the lovely, lively community of Paso Robles, California.

With inflation slowly creeping upward each year, you would think the group of entry-level type A coaches costing less than six figures would be shrinking right along with the dollar. Not so.

Here’s an idea for a built-in flagpole to display your flag on your motorhome while parked. Sew a sleeve on your flag and slip it over your motorhome’s CB whip antenna.

The Coleman Shade Lodge can provide a shady retreat for any outdoor activity. Measuring 12 feet by 14 feet when set up, the hexagon-shaped Shade Lodge offers 6 feet of headroom around the perimeter and 7-1/2 feet at the center.

VISIT FLORIDA, the official tourism marketing corporation for the state of Florida, has published the newly revised Worth the Drive guidebook, containing 17 self-guided driving tours of the state.
The tours are designed to take travelers off the beaten path and help them discover some of Florida’s best-kept secrets. They meander through undiscovered Florida, from American Indian sites and pristine natural areas to historic restaurants and cultural attractions.
The tours are categorized as Theme Tours; Road Tours; and City Tours with day trips to surrounding areas.

Bounce fabric softener sheets aren’t the only dryer sheets available, but they have become one of the best known brands. Generic brands are offered by numerous large supermarket chains, and they may work equally well, even if they cost less.
It’s amazing how many uses we found for dryer sheets on the Internet and in print — in addition to their use in the dryer, of course.

A simple topping can make all the difference between a plain-Jane meal or dessert or a tasty, eye-appealing dish. Cut circles from sheets of puff pastry, bake them on a cookie sheet to a golden brown, and float them atop steaming bowls of soup or stew.

Here’s something sure to drive you buggy — according to entomologists, there are more species of insects on Earth than any other kind of living creature. As a matter of fact, 95 percent of all known animal species are insects, and although scientists have discovered more than a million species of bugs, 10 times as many may still remain unidentified.
Here’s another fact sure to get under your skin: millions of these creeping critters can exist in a single acre of land.

The “Full-Timer’s Primer” column that appeared in the October 2002 issue of Family Motor Coaching emphasized the importance of using wise tax strategies all year, not just on December 31 and April 15. But, as I found out from tax expert Julian Block, full-time motorhomers should be aware of other tax-saving opportunities.

This past December I attended the annual National RV Trade Show, sponsored by the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA), in Louisville, Kentucky. As FMCA president Jeff Jefcoat and I toured the new motorhome displays and visited with the manufacturers, it was very encouraging and exciting to see what is happening.

“The Big 10” was the name given to the Northeast Motorhome Association’s 10th anniversary rally, held August 8, 9, and 10, 2002, at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction, Vermont. Rally masters Charlie and Helen Caserta, F101979, along with members (and spouses) from the Northeast Motorhome Association’s executive committee — Bill and Ellie Skolfield, F227377; Bill and Pat Conway, F99081; and Gerry and Esther Rogers, F98387 — spearheaded the volunteer effort for this rally.

Q: We own a 32-foot 1992 Pace Arrow with a Chevrolet 454 engine and an automatic transmission. We like the motorhome very much but would like to improve its stability and performance.

Dear Editor:
I have copies of Family Motor Coaching magazines from 1994 through 2001. The set is complete except for the January issues.

This month I am dedicating my column to the questions most frequently answered by the staff in our Membership Services Department. I have found that although the facts are quite familiar to those of us who work with the issues daily, they may not be to members who deal with us infrequently, or those who are new members of FMCA.
The Membership Services Department has compiled the following list of the most frequently asked questions and the answers.

FMCA offers its members many different benefits. But a number of these benefits require some action on the members’ part, or they won’t be fully enjoyed.
Chapter membership is a member benefit that is ours for the taking.

Each year during the week after Thanksgiving, the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) stages a trade show for the RV business community. It features a large display of recreation vehicles, from 10-foot pop-up trailers to 45-foot motorhomes.

Southern California’s Mojave Desert is the home of a strange river that tumbles down the wrong side of a mountain, flows in the wrong direction, runs beneath its own riverbed, rises occasionally to the surface, and then disappears under desert sands.
But this is nothing new. The Mojave River has been behaving this way for hundreds of years, puzzling Spanish missionaries, American pathfinders, and desert newcomers.

Miami-Dade County, Florida, may not be as well-known as its biggest city, Miami, but it should be. It encompasses not only Miami, but Miami Beach, Coral Gables, and points south.

Motorhomers love to talk about their coaches, no matter whether the conversations take place at FMCA conventions and rallies or while visiting neighboring campers. And there’s so much to talk about — horsepower, length, high-tech accessories, comfort, color, and on and on.

The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) is an international trade group that represents the specialty automotive industry. Its members include manufacturers, distributors, retailers, auto restorers, and an assortment of companies that are dedicated to making the automotive world a better place for those who love their vehicles.
SEMA began in 1963 as the Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association.

When people think of San Diego, they often picture a family vacation destination with beautiful beaches; a world-famous zoo; Sea World; and gorgeous golf courses. Historic sites usually don’t come to mind.

It’s not just the sights that attract millions of people to Memphis every year. It’s also the sounds rooted deeply in the city itself that draw the masses.
Memphis is cited in nearly 400 songs, more than any other place in the world.

The Baja is billed by Subaru as “a new type of crossover vehicle that blends the feeling of freedom and ruggedness of a compact four-door pickup truck with the driving dynamics, safety, and comfort of a passenger car.” Motorhomers may find it to be an excellent choice for a towed vehicle. The Baja is reminiscent of Subaru’s Brat, which was introduced in 1977 and was produced for 10 years.

During FMCA’s 27th annual winter international convention in Perry, Georgia, in March 2002, I had the opportunity to sit down with Chuck Goode of Cummins Engine, C4251, and Mike Meloche of Detroit Diesel, C4620, and talk about some of the common questions and misconceptions related to diesel engines.
The following information applies to most turbocharged diesel motorhome engines, regardless of the manufacturer, and addresses some of the more common questions and myths associated with these power plants. If you’re a diesel owner, see how well you do answering these questions.
Warm-up
Q: Should a turbocharged diesel engine be fully warmed up to its operating temperature before being driven?
A: We’ve all heard –; literally –; this early-morning drill.

While attempting to find a convenient storage space for the rubber gloves that I use while refueling or emptying holding tanks, I noticed that the box the gloves are packaged in is nearly identical in size to a standard tissue box. I purchased a tissue dispenser (with a snap-off bottom) at a local store and attached the base to a vertical surface inside a storage compartment along with two hook-and-loop straps.

Alcoa’s new forged-aluminum Dura-Bright wheels are said to wash clean and stay bright without polishing. Unlike conventional wheels, Alcoa Dura-Bright wheels are protected by a patented treatment that penetrates the wheel so that brake dust, grime, and oil residue wash off quickly and easily.

Chassis manufacturer Spartan Motors Inc., C3322, and motorhome builder Travel Supreme, C8691, have teamed to produce the first motorhome built on Spartan’s new mid-engine chassis, the Me2. The new motorhome made its commercial debut at RVIA’s National RV Trade Show in Louisville, Kentucky, December 3 through 5, 2002.