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For some motorhome enthusiasts, a bigger coach is not necessarily better. Yet they still want the style, comfort, and livability that have become the standard in today’s type As.

The vast majority of the liquefied petroleum gas (LP-gas) sold to the motorhome industry is propane (C3H8); however, I am told that butane (C4H10) is still available in certain parts of the extreme South and in Mexico. Huge differences exist between these fuels, and motorhome owners should make certain that they are indeed getting propane when filling their tank in those areas.

Below is a chart that illustrates some of the differences between propane and butane.

This is pretty neat info! Now we can tell how much fuel each appliance consumes.

What to do about the mail is always a concern for the traveling family. Motorhomers who enjoy extended summer trips or winters in warmer climes and full-timers who travel wherever the winds may take them are especially aware that keeping up with the mail can be a source of frustration and worry.

As any traveler will tell you, the need for good telephone communication is heightened when the road beckons. To help enhance enjoyment of life on the road and provide peace of mind to members, FMCA began offering an emergency telephone message service in 1982.

This month’s “Window On Nature” column delves into the natural history of gray whales. So it seemed appropriate in this column to suggest some places where these magnificent mammals can be seen during their 12,500-mile migration.

It’s wintertime, and time to go whale watching along the West Coast. Although many whale species call the Pacific Ocean home, the gray whale (Eschrichtius robutus) is the obvious choice to write about, even though it isn’t the largest, smallest, fastest, or strangest whale in the ocean.

Atlantis Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp
This makes an elegant appetizer but it’s also a satisfying supper meal when you serve several shrimp with salad, bread, and a side dish such as corn souffle. The recipe is from Atlantis, the gourmet restaurant in the Renaissance Orlando Resort at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida.

Full-timers can find numerous ways to save money, time, and aggravation. The key to doing so is by staying informed about the best products and information sources available.

The FMCA Strategic Plan is alive and well. Many of you will recall that the Strategic Plan was approved by the Governing Board at the 2001 summer international convention in Redmond, Oregon.
The plan was developed over a three-year period by an 11-member select committee.

The 29th annual FMCA South Central Area Six-State Rally, dubbed the Roundup At The “OK” Corral, was held October 8 through 11, 2002, at Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Oklahoma. The event took place just a few days after FMCA’s 68th Premier International Motorhome Extravaganza in Hutchinson, Kansas, and many of the 450 motorhomes in attendance were driven straight from the wet, muddy convention.

Q: My wife and I are planning a trip from the San Francisco Bay area to the East Coast and back. I would like to buy a laptop computer so that we can keep in contact with our friends and relatives via e-mail.

Dear Editor:
After attending FMCA’s convention in Hutchinson, Kansas, we were on our way to a Tucson Drifters chapter rally in Branson, Missouri, where we were to co-host the event.
We entered the small town of Parsons, Kansas, approximately 80 miles from Hutchinson, and came to a stop at a light on Main Street. We then experienced an RVer’s worst nightmare.

As the New Year rolls around, it seems an appropriate time to communicate with you about your member benefits. FMCA provides its members many benefits that are specifically tailored to the traveler and, in some cases, the motorhome owner.

The proposed FMCA Bylaws state, “The President is FMCA’s chief elected officer. The president shall promote FMCA’s welfare and programs and preside at all meetings of the membership, Governing Board, and Executive Board, and shall exercise supervision and control of the affairs and business of FMCA.”
This description of the president’s duties is simple and straightforward, and except for being more concise, is basically the same as the one in the current Bylaws.

Your motorhome came with an instruction manual, but your life didn’t. It’s a big world out there, with no shortage of off-ramps and activities to pursue.
Now, I’m not one to interfere (okay, maybe I am), but I’ve given your traveling lifestyle some thought, and I have a few recommendations.

I remember watching Lisa Whelchel, F264975, on television years ago as Blair Warner, the self-centered rich kid she portrayed in the 1980s sitcom, “The Facts of Life.” So, sitting in her motorhome discussing her life, then and now, was quite an experience. Lisa is nothing like the character that catapulted her to teenage stardom.

When it comes to insurance, I am usually as much in the dark as the next person. However, when I found out about the Deductible Reimbursement Insurance Plan — group travel accident and medical deductible and co-insurance reimbursement coverage that is being extended to FMCA members — I immediately became interested.

As a base camp from which to inaugurate a late-winter sojourn along California’s central coast, the bucolic and provincial town of San Luis Obispo is as near perfect as a place can be. The town’s name means “Bishop Saint Louis” in Spanish, and it is often referred to by its initials — S.L.O.

When I complained to my husband, FMCA Insurance and Risk Management Committee chairman Dick Sherman, about how difficult it is to understand the association’s Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) policy, he pointed out two things: 1) It is not a policy that I see in the magazine but simply a description of the policy; and 2) It seems perfectly clear and straightforward to him.

Membership in the Family Motor Coach Association brings with it a wealth of benefits that are of value to the motorhome traveler. Some of these benefits are obvious — the subscription to Family Motor Coaching magazine, for example — and some are not so obvious.

The Recreation Vehicle Safety Education Foundation (RVSEF) has completed work on its comprehensive RV Safety Education Program, and it is now available to FMCA members. RVSEF, a nonprofit safety education organization, provides safety education materials and services to the RV community.

Approximately 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, California, is a region called the “Inland Empire,” filled with prospering businesses and suburban communities. It’s close enough to L.A.

When getting our motorhome ready to roll, on occasion I have neglected to lower the antenna or stow the jack pads before taking off. Since I needed a nudge to remember these items, I came up with a simple reminder by using spring-type clothespins borrowed from my wife’s clothespin bag.
I disassembled the clothespins, painted them red (any color will do), and reassembled them.

Meguiar’s Deep Crystal System is a multistep process that cleans and protects the painted surfaces of RVs and other vehicles. According to company literature, the 1-2-3 format eliminates confusion about what products to use together and provides an integrated system that cleans, polishes, and protects a vehicle’s finish.

The “Go Fast” Blue Bird, a specially outfitted 2003 43-foot Blue Bird Wanderlodge LXi, was at the center of opening festivities for West Virginia’s largest outdoor festival, Bridge Day, held October 19, 2002, in Fayetteville.
Governor Bob Wise got the event started from a special platform placed on the roof of the motor coach, which was parked on the 876-foot-high New River Gorge Bridge. Later, an estimated 400 BASE (Building, Antenna, Span, and Earth) jumpers parachuted into the gorge.

The site was Hutchinson, a city affectionately known as “Hutch” to the 43,000 residents who call it home in south-central Kansas. The event was FMCA’s 68th Premier International Motorhome Extravaganza, which took place October 1, 2, and 3, 2002.

The 19th annual Rocky Mountain Ramble was held August 27 through 30, 2002, at the Adams County Regional Park and Fairgrounds in Brighton, Colorado. It was the first event hosted by the newly formed Rocky Mountain Motorcoach Association Inc.

Many of these “stuffed” recipes can be prepared ahead of time at home and refrigerated or frozen. For safety’s sake, remember to keep everything cold.

We finally had our new motorhome, a diesel-powered 40-footer complete with slideouts. Its gleaming-white exterior was emblazoned with beautiful graphics in several shades of brown.

According to Jaimie Hall, author of Support Your RV Lifestyle! An Insider’s Guide to Working on the Road ($19.95, Pine Country Publishing), the biggest change in full-timing during the past five years has been the massive growth in the number of people who work on the go. Many went full-timing with the intention of working along the way, but others have returned to the workforce because they want to buy a new motorhome or have found that they truly enjoy working.

Loss of habitat is the number-one threat to native creatures and biodiversity. The introduction of non-native plants and animals to a specific area or region comes in second.

Resealable plastic bags should be high on a traveler’s list of must-have accessories. They provide secure storage for items and do it in a way that saves space.

Q: I would like to know whether a 1995 Nissan Pathfinder, two-wheel drive with automatic transmission, can be towed four wheels down without a drive-shaft disconnect?
Richard Hotard, F301483
Thibodaux, Louisiana
A: We weren’t conducting our annual towing surveys back in 1995, so we don’t have information about specific vehicles from that model year. The information we published then was in more generic terms.

Dear Editor:
I am a resident of Hutchinson, Kansas, where FMCA held its recent convention. I just want to take a minute to express my thoughts about FMCA’s visit here and the impact it had on the people of our community.
You all made a significant financial contribution to Hutchinson by eating in our restaurants and making various purchases in our shops, gas stations, and entertainment facilities — which we very much appreciate.
But what I really wanted to tell you about is the emotional impact your visit had on some of us.

Editor’s note: Mr. Eversmann presented the following report to the FMCA Governing Board during its meeting in Hutchinson, Kansas, this past October.
I would like to provide you a summary of the significant things that have been happening within the Family Motor Coach Association.

Our initial contact with any potential FMCA convention site usually starts with the facility’s staff. Such was the case with the Kansas State Fair Association in Hutchinson when we first contacted them in 1999 about the possibility of the fairgrounds hosting an FMCA convention.  The site played host to the South Central Area Six-State Rally that year.
From this initial contact right up to the time the last coach had left the fairgrounds after FMCA’s Motor “Home On The Range” convention in October 2002, I have had nothing but thanks and praise for general manager Bill Ogg and his staff.

Gold was hidden in Arizona’s Bradshaw Mountains; silver, too. And copper, in huge, profitable amounts.

Strange and wonderful things happen in life, and the explanations for why they happen often make for interesting reading. Such is the case not once, but at least twice, with Newell Coach Corporation.
The history of the company — how it got started and why it continues to thrive in the provincial northeast corner of Oklahoma — is a fascinating two-part story.

We drove west toward Vicksburg, Mississippi, roughly following the route that Union General Ulysses S. Grant took during the Civil War as part of his unrelenting campaign to take the city on the hill.

Following its successful 1999 purchase and subsequent upgrade of General Motors’ gas-powered motorhome chassis manufacturing operation, Workhorse Custom Chassis, C8291, ventured into new territory this past July by unveiling its new R Series diesel-pusher chassis to industry insiders gathered in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In an effort to provide motorhome customers with more choices and options, the new Workhorse diesel chassis will be equipped with Cummins engines in three horsepower modes. The standard engine is the 350-horsepower ISC power plant, with an optional 330-horsepower ISC engine also available.

The corner shelves in our motorhome’s shower are in a handy location for bars of soap or shampoo containers. But the shelves are designed to shed water as well as any item placed on them.

A replacement suspension kit from Holbrook Specialties promises to improve the ride and towability of a Jeep CJ. The asymmetrical springs of the Holbrook LongLeaf spring kit are approximately 10 inches longer than the vehicle’s stock springs.

Motorhomers who want to explore the natural wonders and rural history of Minnesota may be interested in Shawn Perich’s new book, Backroads Of Minnesota ($19.95, Voyageur Press). The book leads travelers on a scenic tour of the Gopher State, revealing many of Minnesota’s hidden treasures.
Included in the book are more than 30 recommended drives that visit many of the parks, rivers, lakes, and other sites that capture Minnesota’s colorful history.

It seems safe to say that if any company can create a coach that offers as much luxury as is implied in the term “mansion on wheels,” it would be Newell Coach of Miami, Oklahoma. Newell builds custom coaches that epitomize luxury and range in price from $700,000 to more than $1 million.

When you decide to make your motorhome your full-time residence, one part of the process must be to take a look at your insurance coverage. The RV insurance policy you had as a homeowner and part-time motorhomer won’t cover all the bases.

November has been designated “National American Indian Heritage Month” in the United States, so we decided to recommend some sites to visit to help celebrate the occasion. Those who live in or are visiting the Midwest or South will notice that none of the mound-building American Indian cultures are represented in this month’s column.

Winter camping is a snug and cozy time, when meals are more fun to make, because they warm up the interior of the coach and fill it with great aromas. The family is hungrier, fresh from the ski slopes or biking trails.

Some years back, we lived in an area that claimed to be the foggiest place in the United States. Old-timers said the location had been used during World War II to test the ability of pilots to land their planes under extremely foggy conditions, and the airport in the northern California town of Arcata had some of the most consistent fog anywhere.
More recently, we checked some weather maps and found that the area along the northern California coast still is as foggy as we remembered — more than 60 days a year the visibility drops to less than a quarter-mile.

With colder weather creeping up on us, we’re reminded that winter isn’t far off. But for some FMCA members, winter is a lifestyle rather than a season.

Members of FMCA’s Golden Spike and Western Bounders & Buddies chapters have enjoyed many good times at rallies and different outings throughout the years. But every so often there is one exceptional rally that will be talked about long after it’s over.